Sun 19 Aug 2013 by The Guardian Newspaper

S U n D A Y COVER 22

APC:

Will This Be Buhari’s Retirement Benefit?

E D i T i O n

NEWS FEATURE 28

BUSINESS 42

SPECIAL REPORT 26

Housing Estates: Living In Shadow Of Former Glory

Much Ado About Banks’ N1.2 trillion Public Sector Funds

First Ladies’ Project: Gone With The Winds

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Vol. 30, no.

www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Confusion Over Payment Deadline For PHCN Assets From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja

• Govt Should Offset Liabilities Before Demanding Payment, Say Buyers

sort of stalemate dogs the A power deals as the August 21 deadline set for preferred

nigeria (PHCn) to pay the 75 per cent balance of the bid prices approaches. The situation is compounded by the position of the

winners of assets of the Power Holding Company of

prospective owners of the distribution companies (DiSCOs) who are asking the government to show good faith and settle all liabilities

before demanding balance payment from them. They are worried that, once government collects balance from them, it would relax

Casket bearing the remains of the late Prophet Timothy Obadare being taken to the resting place in the Mausoleum in Osun State…yesterday.

efforts to offset outstanding obligations; a situation, they fear, will put them at loggerheads with the workers. in the past week, silence

PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM

Anambra: How APGA Crisis ‘Shot Down’ Soludo, Others From Leo Sobechi, Awka iGnS that the protracted SProgressives leadership crisis in the All Grand Alliance (APGA) would negatively affect the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State emerged after the party’s screening exercise in

• Aspirants Storm Abuja To Appeal ‘Verdict’ • Committee Illegal, Says Okwu • How Membership Card From Rival Chairman Disqualified Aspirants • Ukwa Denies Allegation Abuja, where six aspirants, including former Central Bank Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, were disqualified.

Dissatisfied with the process, the affected aspirants, some of whom are already in Abuja, have vowed to appeal the “verdict” of the committee.

Although the screening committee, headed by Alhaji Tayo Sowunmi, gave varied reasons ranging from pending investigations by anti-corruption

agencies to the aspirants’ lack of capacity to prosecute their ambition, the disqualification of Dr. Chike Obidigbo, on grounds of filing a party membership card signed by the rival national chairman, Maxi Okwu, suggests that the so-called reconciliation CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

and palpable confusion seem to have been the case. indeed, the new owners gave strong indications that the date would not be possible, urging government to conCONTINUED ON PAGE 2

NEWS 4

Federal Govt Moves To Repatriate ‘Nuclear Materials’ From Ajaokuta

TheGuardian

2 | Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

PHCN: Govt Should Offset Liabilities Before Payment, Say Buyers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 sider a further shift. There is also growing concern over other implications of the delay for labour issues. The Guardian learnt that the new owners have not been able to access the utilities for ‘shadow management’, as is it is usually done. It was learnt that the new owners have been denied access to the utilities by labour and the current management. As a result, they are unable to do ‘shadow management’ General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Joe Ajaero, had last April instructed members to prevent investors from commencing ‘shadow management’ until labour issues were resolved. Shadow management means allowing investors to have access to their new asset to observe and understand the operations of the business they have invested. There is also confusion over the balance payment date, as the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) had earlier given September 21 as deadline. How the August 21 deadline was arrived is not clear but Ministry of Power and the investors seem to agree on the date. When both parties met last Tuesday, there was no contention over the date. The BPE executed the Share Sale Agreement (SSA) with the preferred bidders of five PHCN successor generation companies and 10 DISCOs.

The bidders were subsequently given March 21, 2013 as deadline for the payment of the initial 25 per cent of the purchase consideration. All the bidders honoured the agreement and duly paid 25 per cent of the purchase consideration, amounting to $387,963,767.35, with the balance 75 per cent due on September 21. Meanwhile, Ministry of Power sources said government might have rounded off payment of severance package and other entitlements benefits to workers. A source said the payment was completed on Friday. Payment for distribution companies would commence tomorrow, The Guardian was told. The entire payment system, sources said, would be rounded off within the next one or two weeks, much later than the contentious August 21. Government is still considering if it should hold a stakeholders meeting before August 21. The new owners said they have not been notified about a meeting on the issue and that no new date has been communicated to them since last Tuesday when they met with Power Ministry officials. Leader of the investors, Dr. Ransom Owan, said since government has not completed labour liabilities, the right thing to do is to shift the balance payment deadline. He said: “We understand that severance payment for workers of the generation companies was completed on Friday and that of distribution com-

panies would commence on Monday. The issue around shift of payment date is pending; government has not announced a date. “If government is unable to do that, we are afraid this might portend future challenges for the process. There are speculations that the meeting would be held on today. We have not been contacted.” Government, last week, assured that liabilities would not be passed on to the preferred bidders. On Tuesday, the winners premised their inability to meet up with their payment obligations on the lingering labour crisis. Government had earlier expected the new owners to pay their balance early enough to enable it use the funds to offset the severance pays. But when this was not forthcoming, alternative sources had to be secured, according to government officials. But the private investors who have rallied themselves under the auspices of the Roundtable of Distribution Companies (the Disco Roundtable) said that government should shift the deadline for payment to September 21, in an apparent move to give them time to gather their money. They seem to have latched onto the delay in workers payment to make their own demands, claiming that their lenders were unable to give them money until labour issues were completely resolved. The Disco Roundtable is asking government to immedi-

ately release subsidy fund contained in the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) model for each of the distribution companies to them. They described the electricity sector as an infant industry worthy of nurturing and consider giving them tax holidays up to 5-10 years and urged for further assistance. Owan asked government to conclude all labour issues and meet all conditions

precedent before August 21; release subsidy fund contained in the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) model for each of the distribution companies under new owners; fund the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) adequately; issue extended 5-10 special tax holidays for electricity distribution akin to the telecom start up assistance to mitigate tariff increase and high cost; and extend the long

stop date to September 21, 2013 to allow for the full satisfaction of all conditions precedent items by government. Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, who met with the team in Abuja, gave the assurance that government would soon convene a stakeholders’ meeting because of the nearness of the deadline dates.

The final Burial of CAC’s General Evangelist and WOSEM Director, Apostle Timothy Oluwole Obadare, was held at the New WOSEM International Conference Ground, Ilesha, Osun State…yesterday. Picture shows CAN President, Pastor Ayo Orisejafor, greeting widow Elizabeth, while Pator Paul Obadare looks on. PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM

Disqualified APGA Governorship Candidates Storm Abuja For Appeal CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 between Governor Peter Obi and Victor Umeh was a façade. There were allegations of underground plot by Umeh’s loyalists, who allegedly held a meeting to ensure that certain individuals, including the immediate past Secretary to the Anambra State Government (SSG), Oseloka Obaze, whose names were marked at the meeting, were not cleared to run the governorship election on the APGA platform. A source within the National Headquarters of APGA told The Guardian that Umeh and his inner caucus members had sworn to deal with certain aspirants identified as core loyalists of Governor Obi. The source, who is conversant with the affairs of the party, stressed that the plot was to ensure that such people with known allegiance to the Governor neither fly the party’s flag nor succeed the incumbent governor.

“But, apart from (the issue of) loyalty to Obi, there were others like (Prof.) Soludo who ‘eternal influence from Legacy House’ do not want their names to appear on the APGA column of the ballot paper,” the source disclosed, adding that it was in a bid to execute that narrow mandate that the serious contenders from Anambra North Senatorial zone were disqualified. But a member of the threeman screening panel, Ichie Onwuka Ukwa denied any mischievous plot, saying: “We did not screen out anybody. First of all, we followed the guidelines, did interviews and then those that passed, passed; those that did not qualify were, of course, disqualified. So those that met the conditions of the guidelines were cleared. “Let me tell you this, approach whoever you want to approach among those candidates; the reasons for their disqualification were clearly stated in the certificate of clear-

ance or disqualification. It is not a question of speculation. Political speculation has no space in something of this nature; it is a serious business. There is nothing and it has nothing to do with anything playing out, we have passed that stage in APGA. (The issue about) Maxi Okwu is not something one should start talking about; we have passed that stage.” On what impact the contentious disqualification, especially that of Soludo, could cause the party in its efforts to win the governorship election, Ukwa said the party was marching forward, maintaining that “he (Soludo) is not the only one disqualified neither is he the first to be disqualified. “Exercise of this nature has never been the end of any political party when an individual is disqualified. Besides, this is a democratic process; the opening for appeal exists. If anyone feels sufficiently aggrieved, he should take advantage of that opportunity for redress through the appeal process,” he declared, adding that, since the appeal panel has not even started work, it would amount to speculation to say that some names were marked for disqualification. “Dr. Chike Obidigbo, one of the disqualified aspirants said he has been inundated with phone calls from many people making inquiries on why he was disqualified. “In my instance, they said I filed a membership card endorsed by Maxi Okwu. But the truth of the matter is that at the pronouncement of the

Court of Appeal Judgment recognising Victor Umeh as National Chairman, I obtained a fresh membership card endorsed by him and sent to the party with a request that the former card should be replaced with the recent one signed by Umeh. “Whether they effected that replacement is what I don’t know; but, as we speak, I am on my way to Abuja to face the Appeal committee. A lot of confusion is in the air such that you don’t know whom to trust. I hope they will spare the party these further distractions.” Francis Emeka Idigo, another disqualified aspirant, also hinted that he would appeal to the committee. “Being a law-abiding and loyal party man, I will go on Appeal and see to the logical conclusion of the whole thing. The reason they gave is laughable and not one of the conditions in the guidelines for the primaries. They said lack of capacity to conduct the election. I have been in an election before; this is not my first time. Financial statement was never asked for, even if they did, our Electoral Act stipulated the maximum a candidate can spend in the election, which is N200 million. And I don’t think there is anybody that started this race that does not have N200 million.” Asked whether crisis of leadership led to the skewed screening, Idigbo, a lawyer, added: “I would not know; I have asked my supporters to remain calm as I fight it out. I

know in the end justice will prevail. I will be back in the race and I will contest and win the primary.” The governorship aspirant said the disqualification of Prof. Soludo erases the suspicion that the screening committee worked towards a predetermined outcome even as he said it was impossible that some people were working to soften the ground for an eventual governorship victory for Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, who left APGA for the rival Labour Party. On how the screening affects the reconciliation and reunification of APGA factions, factional National Chairman, Maxi Okwu, said he would not say whether Obi was stabbed in the back or a victim of mischief, saying: “Peter Obi remains my leader and I will speak to him privately.” However, Okwu insisted that there was no true reconciliation in the party. According to him, Umeh and Obi came to a truce for the purpose of the elections. “How that will play out is what we are still watching. But take it from me; it is a short-gun marriage. “As I told you, we have filed our suit and it would be processed on Monday. Jega has refused to answer my questions because he cannot answer them. He has been playing hide and seek with us. I have dragged them to the Court of law; he must answer the questions. And that case is going to change the face of APGA forever. “Finally that screening committee is illegal. Article 16 of

the APGA Constitution, which is here before me states clearlythis section deals with duties and functions of committees; (A) Working Committee, (B) Finance, (C) Publicity, (D) Screening/selection committee. This is the constitution of APGA filed with INEC, (Independent National Electoral Commission) which must be obeyed; but Umeh is lawless. “Forget that he has been throwing documents around quoting the law. Subsection (D) says, screening and selection committee shall be headed by the national chairman of the party and six members to be appointed by the NWC, (National Working Committee) but Umeh put up a three-man committee to do the screening. It is an illegal committee and what they did is a farce! But that is their headache; we will meet in the court of law.” Prof. Soludo could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report but a former State Chairman of the defunct All People’s Party (APP) Mr. Bonaventure Maduafokwa, said if, indeed, the former CBN Governor was disqualified for not being in the party for a long time or due to a pending investigation, APGA was not being fair to its own image. Maduafokwa recalled that, in 2011, the party fielded Mr. Chuma Nzeribe 24 hours to the primaries, basically because he had the capacity to run for the election, recalling that it was based on his (Nzeribe’s) popularity that he gave Dr. Andy Uba, a good fight

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

Legal Tussle Threatens South West PDP Congress From Azimazi (Abuja) and Tunde Akinola (Lagos) ARELy six days to the speB cial congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to elect its national Secretary from the South West, legal tussles still pose serious threat to the programme. In the same vein, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday, dismissed the insinuation that the “reconciliatory” moves of five Northern governors with the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, would have negative effects on the APC. Former Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was in court to challenge his removal, had written a petition to the national leadership of the PDP insisting that until his court action is effectively cleared, the position of the national secretary would not be vacant. He added that conducting an election for the po-

• Reconciliatory Meetings Not A Treat To APC, Says Lai Mohammed sition would be an exercise in vain. The Ogun State chapter of the PDP had equally petitioned the national leadership of the party over the planned congress and sought the immediate reversal of preparations for the congress. Signed by the State Chairman and Secretary of the Ogun State chapter of the PDP, Mr. Adebayo Dayo, and Alhaji Semiu Shodipo, the petition said it was wrong for the party to contemplate conducting zonal congress, with the aim of beginning a process that would lead to the election of a replacement of the former PDP national secretary, Prince Oyinlola. Confirming the challenge, Chairman of the convention planning committee, Professor Jerry Gana told The Guardian that the issue was being addressed by a special legal team headed by the

LAGOS party’s legal adviser, Simon Jok. According to Gana, the fact that the matter is being addressed by the legal team will not stop preparations for the congress, because there is hope of resolving the matter before the August 24, 2013 date for the congress. Oyinlola vacated office as secretary following a Federal High Court judgment, which ruled that the zonal congress that nominated him for the position was illegal. Meanwhile APC’s Lai Mohamed insisted that the reconciliation moves in the PDP would have no negative impact on his party’s bid to winning Northern governors, including Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), who

went into a closed-door meeting with Tukur to register their anger over the manner the PDP was being run and the need to change the leadership style. The three governors were among the five from the region that had met political leaders on the crisis in the party. The other two governors are Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa). According to Mohammed, 2015 is still a “long time” and that the preoccupation of the APC is for now delivering democratic dividends to Nigerians. He said: “In politics, 24 hours is a long time, not to talk of one year. Elections are coming up in 18 months time and our major concern is to sensitise Nigerians on how we will be different from other political parties. “What should interest Nige-

rians is what the so-called parties have to offer. They should let the people know their stand on security, power supply, how to tackle unemployment and food security in the country. The people should know their vision and mission,” Mohammed said. He said the future would determine if the governors would join APC or not. “What determines the success of a political party is the calibre of people in it. In politics, nothing is impossible because we do not know what can happen,” he said. “We did not form our party around an individual or group of individuals; the formation of APC is borne out of the desire to take Nigeria out of the present quagmire it has found herself. All we are bothered Mohammed said the APC would accommodate people of like minds to turn Nigeria around.

NEWS Nigerians Bid Obadare Final Farewell From Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo was a befitting final deIlateTparture for the renowned founder of World Soul Winning Evangelistic Ministry, Prophet Timothy Oluwole Obadare, as his remains were yesterday buried at Ileki, Ilesa, Osun State. His final resting place, WOSEM Shiloh, where the multi-million naira mausoleum is located, played host to people from all walks of life, including the Osun State cabinet, led by Governor Rauf Aregbesola; clergymen, captains of industry, politicians and traditional rulers. Amid prayers and words of exhortation by clerics, people were urged to emulate the virtues of the late clergyman. Speaking at the funeral, Aregbesola said Osun State government committed huge sum of money in the celebration of Prophet Obadare, in recognition of his life, having braced the odd of his disability to impact lives. Aregbesola noted that the life and times of the Ilesaborn preacher have several lessons for people to learn from, pointing out that he demonstrated rare talent in managing his ministry and winning souls for Christ within and outside the country. He urged Nigerians to take a cue from Obadare’s life by aspiring to succeed in whatever calling they find themselves, irrespective of their physical condition. According to Aregbesola, the economic benefits of having the final resting place of Obadare in Osun State was enormous due to its tourism potentials, adding that pilgrims and tourists that will be visiting the place, henceforth, will add economic value to Osun

FG Commissions Projects In Imo Olubunmi Oluwaseun and her husband, Oluwadamilare Bodunrin Kuku, during the Solemnisation of Holy Matrimony at the African Church Cathedral, Ebute Metta, Lagos… yesterday. PHOTO OSENI YUSUF

From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri ENIOR Special Assistant to SPrecious President Jonathan, Dr. Kalamb Gbeneol, at

Groom’s parents, Dr. Sunny Kuku and Patricia Abdul Rahman (left); bride’s parents, Prince Olawale Oladehinde and his wife, Oluremi, during the Solemnisation of Holy Matrimony between Olubunmi Oluwaseun Onabanjo and Oluwadamilare Bodunrin Kuku, at The African Church Cathedral, Salem, Ebute Metta, Lagos… yesterday. PHOTO OSENI YUSUF

the weekend commissioned multi-million naira projects in some parts of Imo State. They included a solar powered borehole with overhead tank at Atta, Ikeduru Local Council and a Primary Health Centre in Ikwuano, Isiala Mbano Local Council. Accompanied by Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official, Andrew David Adejo, Gbeneol said President Jonathan is concerned about the people’s welfare. Adejo said the programme has put in place a “user friendly platform”. In a thank you speech, Madumere expressed the readiness of the Imo State Government to partner with every initiative that will bring development to the people of the state.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

NEWS

Rivers To Appeal Court Order Restraining Judicial Inquiry Into Assembly Crisis From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt HE Rivers State Government says it will appeal the judgement of a Port Harcourt High Court restraining the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the crisis that rocked the State House of Assembly on the July 9 and 10, 2013. The Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Leyii Kwanee, has accused the anti-Governor Chibuike Amaechi Five of using the judiciary to frustrate efforts to unearth the causes of the

bloody fracas that erupted on the floor of the Assembly, particularly on July 9. Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, yesterday, said the state government has been informed of the judgment of the Rivers State High Court presided by Justice Iyaye Lamikanra restraining the Judicial Commission of Inquiry constituted pursuant to the Rivers State Commission of Inquiry law to examine and make findings with respect to the disturbances on July 9

RIVERS and 10 in the Rivers State House of Assembly, which disturbances agitated the peace of the state for those two days and after. “For the avoidance of doubt and for purposes of clarification, the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, CON, as Governor of Rivers State, has powers under the law to commission an inquiry into any matter or issue, however such matters arose as the enabling law does not state the categories or circumstances in which

His Excellency can be prevented from constituting, such inquiries,” she said. She further said: “Consequently, the exercise of such power does not make him a judge any more than the appointment of a High Court Judge also makes him a judge in any matter concerning him before such judge that he appointed. “To the extent that the judgment of Justice Iyaye Lamikanra did not recognise this principle, the Rivers state Government does not accept it as well reasoned and shall

take steps to appeal against it.” On his part, the Deputy Speaker told The Guardian that he was worried by the court’s order restraining the judicial commission headed by Justice Biobele A. Georgewill, from unravelling what really happened on the floor of the House. He said it appears one of the lawmakers opposed to the governor, Victor Ihunwo, is trying to use the judiciary to frustrate efforts aimed at restoring peace to the state legislature.

Governor Sule Lamido (backing the camera); former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governor Aliyu Wamakko and Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso at the wedding Fatiha of Faisal Adamu Ciroma and his bride Hafsat at Wuse II Jumu’at mosque in Abuja… on Friday.

INEC Serves Notice For Anambra Guber Begins Prosecution Of 93,000 Ghost Voters From Leo Sobechi (Abakaliki), Uzoma Nzeagwu and Chucks Collins (Awka HE Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has concluded plans to prosecute more than 93,000 ghost and fraudulent voters on its register in Anambra State. Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukogu, disclosed this to journalists during a press briefing yesterday. He, however, did not give details on gender, age, council

or community or whether the commission’s staff are among persons to be charged to court. He confirmed that their prosecution, which would commence Wednesday, next week, August 21,2013, would be carried out in batches. The Commission has also released notice for the conduct of the November 16, 2013 governorship election in the state. In a statement titled, “Notice of Election”, signed by Onukogu, the electoral body said: “Pursuant to the powers

NATIONAL conferred on it by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and section 30(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), the Independent National Electoral Commission hereby gives notice that the Election into the Office of Governor of Anambra State shall hold on Saturday, November 16, 2013 in Anambra State.” The statement indicated that all registered political parties are entitled to participate and sponsor candidates for the election. It pointed

out that all relevant forms including nomination forms shall be collected from, and on completion, be delivered to the national headquarters of the Commission at Plot 436 Zambezi Crescent, Maitama, Abuja by the respective party’s National Chairman and Secretary or their respective party representative recognised by the Commission. INEC stressed that in its resolve to ensure a credible election, “the Commission shall strictly apply the provisions of all relevant laws governing the election”, even as it advised all parties, their

candidates and supporters to “adhere strictly to all laws, regulations and guidelines, regulating the process.” The statement reads in part: “The attention of the public, particularly the registered political parties, candidates and associations is accordingly drawn to Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which prohibits associations other than political parties from canvassing for votes for any candidate or, contributing to the funds of any political party or election expenses of any candidate.

FG Moves To Repatriate ‘Nuclear Materials’ From Ajaokuta From Lillian Chukwu, Abuja O avert contamination of the environment, the Federal Government has inaugurated an inter-agency committee for the repatriation of radioactive substances in Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL). Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada, at the weekend said, “the issue of nuclear materials ha ve always generated discord.” When the government awarded the contract for construction of the steel plant to

• Russia Rejects Toxic Materials • 10-member Committee Trace Origin • Radioactive Substances Imported By Solviet Union Owners 30 Yrs Ago • Why It Generates Discord, By Minister Tyazpromexport (TPE) of the defunct Soviet Union between 1983 and 1988, the company imported some radioactive materials for various specialised facilities in the plant. The 10-member committee to be chaired by Permanent

Secretary in the Mines and Steel Ministry, Linus Awute, is mandated to establish the country of origin of the radioactive sources. The minister cited other terms of reference of the committee to include: •Establishing “necessary li-

NATIONAL aison with relevant countries to facilitate repatriation. •Determining the methodology for handling the safe evacuation of the substances; estimate the probable cost implication and submit a report of the exercise to the Federal Government.” Director, Steel and Non-ferrous Metal department, Abdullahi, also said: “The collapse of the former Soviet

Union has occasioned many political and administrative changes leading to the Russian Federation not accepting to take back these radioactive sources, saying it is not part of the purchase.” The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, which was notified since 2004, by the ASCL about these conditions explained that the extant policy for management of spent or disused radioactive sources is to repatriate them to their original manufacturers or suppliers.

Ewherido: Group Tips Emerhor To Fill Vacuum

DELTA HE Delta Central Elite T Forum, a body of youths from Delta Central, has called on its members to sensitise people in their wards to close ranks and vote for Olorogun O’tega Emerhor during the forthcoming Senate by-election. Briefing newsmen after a meeting in Sapele, yesterday, former National Secretary, National Union of Urhobo Students, Warri Ojarikre Dennis, said the group has found a replacement for the vacuum created by the death of late Senator Ewherido. “We have been searching for someone who truly has the interest of the Urhobo at heart; a true son of the Urhobo, who is ready to carry on the laudable programmes Ehwerido was known for. We have found that in Olorogun O’tega Emerhor. “We urge all beneficiaries of Ewherido’s humanitarian policies to weep no more because a perfect solution has been found in Emerhor.” Meanwhile, Emerhor has congratulated Delta State born athlete, Blessing Okagbare, for doing the Urhobo and Delta State proud in Moscow. He said: “I am proud of her; she should be celebrated by all Nigerians. I want to tell our daughter, Blessing Okagbare, that the people of Delta Central Senatorial district are proud of her. She has brought joy and pride to the district.” The Delta Central Elite Forum further called on the people of Delta Central to look beyond political parties and structures and massively support Emerhor. It said: “What is a political structure other than the presence of people to help realise your political dream and perfectly execute your policies. This, O’tega Emerhor has across the senatorial district and even the state. “We make bold to remind everyone that everybody cannot come from one political structure.

El-Shaddai Bible Church Holds 2013 Convention LAGOS HE El-shaddai Bible T Church, Breakthrough Cathedral, Ogudu Ojota, has announced plan to host the maiden edition of its convention and anniversary with the theme, “Ignite the Flame”. The three-day event will kick-off 5pm-8pm on Friday, August 23, with Ignite His Praise. A Business Seminar titled, “Becoming an Entrepreneur in a Challenging Environment”, holds on Saturday. The convention will climax on Sunday, August 25, 2013, with a ministration tagged, “A New Beginning”. The Resident Pastor, Peter Aiyegoro, said: “The convention is an opportunity to appreciate God.”

NeWS 5

THe GUArdIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

NeWS

Group Lobbies For Top NddC Job By Chuks Nwanne He Ogbia youth Leaders Forum (OyLF) has called on their kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan, to support Bayelsa State’s quest to clinch the position of executive director, Projects, in the new Niger delta development Commission, NddC, board. In a statement jointly signed by the National Chairman, Comrade Tuanam Henry eteli and National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Azibanator Andy Jonas, the OyLF declared that aside from giving serious considerations to the ‘Big Six’ Niger delta States – Bayelsa, rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross river, edo and delta (BrACed) – when

BAYELSA the new board is constituted in September, the President must also ensure that a Bayelsan gets the position of executive director, Projects. The statement reads, “with the expected inauguration of the new board of NddC by September 2013, a sound NddC board is strategic to proper management of human and material resources that can really translate to the development of the region. We, therefore, call on the Presidency to take precaution in the choice of new appointments to avoid the recurring decimals of unproductive service delivery.” The group noted that since

the chairman of NddC board is expected to go to Cross river and Managing director to Akwa-Ibom, it would augur well if the position of the executive director, Projects (ed/P) comes to Bayelsa State because it has never occupied the position since the formation of the commission. Interestingly, the group contends that its clamour is driven by the fact that there is an urgency to facilitate the rapid and sustainable development of the Niger delta into an economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful region. Commending the efforts of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger delta,

Kingsley Kuku, for his various developmental interventions, especially as they affect Niger delta youths, OyLF called for a management that will anchor the NddC’s mandate to deliver on critical infrastructural development as well as human capacity building. Otherwise known as Jonathan’s Kinsmen, the OyLF is a group comprising youth leaders from across various organisations such as the National youth Council of Nigeria (NyCN), Nigerian youth Parliament (NyP), Niger delta youth Leaders Forum (NdyLF), South-South youth Assembly (SSyA), Ijaw youth Council (IyC), and Ogbia Graduates Forum (OGF) and others.

Lawmaker Urges States To Support LG Autonomy From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia MeMBer of the House of representatives for Isiala Ngwa North and South in Abia State, Chief Chinenye Ike, has urged States’ Houses of Assembly to vote for local government autonomy during the constitution amendment process. He told The Guardian in Abia State that for the said local government autonomy to be enshrined in the new constitution, a minimum of 24 states’ legislature in the country ought to vote for it during the referendum. On which section of Ukwa

ABIA Ngwa land the next Abia State governorship candidate would come, Ike said all interested and qualified candidates should await for the People’s democratic Party (PdP) pronouncement on where the position should go to, whether the old Aba province (Ukwa Ngwa) or Abia South Senatorial zone. While some want the slot to go to Ukwa Ngwa, others say it should specifically be zoned to Abia South Senatorial zone on the basis that the position has been rotating from Abia

North to Abia Central since coming of party politics. Ike, however, noted that there was already a document prepared by the founding fathers of Abia State stating that the principal offices of the State like governorship should be rotated among the component sections, which was before the creation of the State, on the basis of old Bende and old Aba Province, now, Ukwa Ngwa. According to him, it would be whosever emerges in accordance with the PdP declaration that the party will adopt and support as its can-

PdM Unveils Agenda From Adamu Abuh, Abuja eWLy registered Peoples N democratic Movement (PdM) has unveiled its roadmap, assuring a new political order that would guarantee fairplay and quality service to Nigerians. In a statement made available to The Guardian, yesterday, and signed by Malam Bashir yusuf on behalf of the party believed to enjoy the support of friends of former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a key member of the ruling Peo-

NATIONAL ple’s democratic Party (PdP), PdM said it would create an enabling environment aimed at ensuring good governance in the polity. While identifying corruption as a menace that must be stamped out for the good of the country, it promised set of objectives that would guarantee the following, among others: “That economic and political power are genuinely democratized through political grass-

root participation in the structures and organization of power. In other words, sovereignty, in all its ramifications, belongs to the people alone; “That leadership will be sought through a rational arrangement which will be informed by the common good and sustained by the popular will of the people; that leaders must live by example through personal integrity, honesty, sincerity and commitment to fair play in the service of the people.

don’t Throw Nigeria Into Crisis, Okupe Warns APC • Says Jonathan Has Constitutional Right To Re-contest From Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau Chief rKed by what he termed a do-or-die manner members of All Peoples Congress (APC) are conducting themselves ahead the 2015 elections, Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, dr. doyin Okupe, has warned the opposition party against throwing the country into crisis. He also said the Constitution allows Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015. But, he admonished some top members of the Peoples democratic Party (PdP), particularly some governors who are

NATIONAL romancing with APC, to quickly retrace their steps. Okupe who was a guest of Kaduna-based Liberty radio said yesterday, that it was unfortunate Governor of rivers State, Mr. rotimi Amaechi, and some other PdP governors have allowed themselves to be used by opposition.” He described APC as “a house that was built on faulty foundation. This is a party that was put together not for the interest of the country but personal aggrandisement. When you build anything on premises that are evil, it will not stand

the test of time. “If you come together just because we hate Jonathan, saying that we cannot allow this Niger delta person to continue in government, it is wrong. Secondly, APC members are united and brought themselves together not because they want to help Nigerians in any form but they just want power for personal aggrandisement. Bola Tinubu has seemingly conquered the South-west. Like Napoleon, he wants to expand frontiers. He wants to come to the National scale and expand his business empire.”

didate. earlier, while fielding questions from journalists at his Osusu country home in Isiala Ngwa North LGA, he hinged the growing spate of corrupt practices in the country on not effectively punishing those found to have engaged in corrupt practices. He lamented the delays in the passing of budget, award of contracts for constituency projects and the release of funds to execute them, saying it is in the third quarter of the year that such funds are usually released.

emir Commends New Varsity On Academic Standards From John Akubo, Dutse He emir of Hadeijia and Chairman of the Jigawa State Traditional Council, Alhaji Abubakar Maje, has commended the Federal University, dutse, for adhering to stipulated academic standards. He gave the commendation when Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Jibrilla dahiru Amin, and the management team paid a courtesy call. The monarch said he had

JIGAWA sought admission for his wards at the institution but was told they could not be taken because they did not meet cut-off marks. He said he was impressed that the management maintains university standards. The emir also observed that the new university has brought development to the area, especially in terms of job creation.

Lagos Deportation: We Maintain Neutral Status, red Cross Insists By Ikechukwu Onyewuchi He Lagos State branch of the Nigerian red Cross Society has distanced itself from media reports on the deportation of some Lagos residents to South east credited to its Anambra counterpart, saying it maintains a “neutral status” on the issue. The submission was made last week in a statement signed by Chairman of the

LAGOS chapter, Mobolaji Onibudo. It stated that being a humanitarian body, the society has not taken a position on the decision of government. “We have contacted our Anambra State branch on the alleged comment and wish to state that the red Cross will, at all times, maintain its neutral status in line with its fundamental princi-

NIOB Seeks Legislation On Building Collapse (NIOB) has called on the Na-

From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja

OrrIed by the high incidence of building collapse in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Building

tional Assembly to expedite action in the enactment of legislation that would give legal backing to the enforcement of the National Building Code.

TheGuardian

6 Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Cityfile Gwarinpa Estate:

Immense, Beautiful, … Expensive

A section of Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja.

From Itunu Ajayi, Abuja IG money you might say, but N50m may not fetch you a three-bedroom bungalow there. With a little more, perhaps N70m, a prospective buyer could smilingly take possession. For N700,000, a tenant on government’s pay roll could conveniently rent a Boys’ Quarters consisting a room and a parlour, and a two-bedroom bungalow could burn a N1m per annum hole through a moneybag. Welcome to Gwarinpa Estate! The largest of its kind in Nigeria and one of the largest in Africa, the estate sits on an expanse of land measuring about 1090 hectres and has seven residential areas marked by about 12 different house-types. Some of these bear unique names like Abriba, Maiwa, Akure, Modified Badagry, Bakassi, Bonny and Foreign Affairs etc. The streets are named after prominent personalities. Some, however, bear numerical designations. Others are tagged Avenues. However they are called, Gwarinpa Estate flies with facilities such as good roads, wide drainages, water distribution network and electricity supply. The environment is serene, free from the throttle and rattle of electricity generators, which many Nigerians, including government offices, rely on. As far as the Gwarinpa lexicon is concerned, this object is unpopular and residents don’t care for them. Reason: the sprawling territory is connected to the National Grid. Other facilities include schools, police station, telephone exchange, worship centres, shopping stores, gas stations, green areas for relaxation and plots for private residential development. The weather in Gwarinpa is cooler than in other parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The landscape is rocky. An aerial view, especially at night, when street lightening comes on, drives home the picture of a well planned and properly managed environment, akin to what is obtainable in the developed world. Policemen and other security agents are positioned strategically at various locations around the estate. And for a fare, as low as N50, a commercial tricycle operator would ferry passengers for a distance of one to two kilometres. Taxis, which cover longer distances, charge more.

WARINPA was initially owned by the Gbagyi, one of the G original inhabitants of the FCT. It used to be called Da’kmba. According to historical account, persons who had committed grave offences in their communities were excom-

PHOTOS: ITUNU AJAYI

municated to the hilly area. Women were not exempted from the punitive measure. Those who committed acts, like adultery, were also sent to the place. The community sometimes forgives the offender who is asked to pay a fine before reintegration. But this reprieve doesn’t come until the exiled has spent a minimum of two years on the hilltop. In the course of time, the former name was dropped. According to some account, the change followed challenges of pronunciation encountered by Islamic Jihadists. Gwarinpa is not alone in name change. Karu (originally called Karuyi), Garki (formerly Paye), and other areas in the FCT, have received similar baptisms. The Guardian found that some of these old names are still engraved at entrances into the palaces of local chiefs around the FCT. At the palace in Garki is the inscription Sa-Paye. The palace in Karu has Sa-Karuyi. The Guardian learnt that the prefix ‘Sa-’ suggested the title of the chief. HE massive residential outlay was conceived in 1996 by the TFederal Housing Authority (FHA) in response to increase in

demand for decent accommodation in the city. It followed the exodus of people from Lagos and other parts of the country to Abuja as a result of its new status as capital. Though a brainchild of the FHA, all the 4,190 units of houses in Gwarinpa, all of which are 100 per cent completed, have been sold to individuals. However, the FHA carries out maintenance of facilities, like streetlights, drainages and business activities. The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), under which the estate falls, exclusively manages waste disposal. The Guardian observed a waste bin overtaken by rubbish at a location on 3rd Avenue. And as expected, flies and rodents feasted with abandon. During a radio programme on Wazobia FM, last week, some residents of the estate expressed their disappointment at the inability of AMAC to live up to its responsibility. Callers on the phone-in session worried that the area could be at the risk of an epidemic, if the agency continues to turn a blind eye to heaps of refuse. The estate can be accessed via four entry points manned by police and other security personnel on the payroll of the FHA. It is bordered by Dawaki Estate in the North; Kado Estate in the

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

CITYFILE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 South; Saraha Estate in the West; and Jahi District in the East. Gwarinpa has rubbed off on them, and marked distinctions grow thinner by the day. Nevertheless, most areas in Gwarinpa are known to have much bigger houses. Some even spot swimming pools and ample spaces. Ownership of property in Gwarinpa is often a showcasing of five-bedroom detached duplexes with two carports; fourbedroom detached duplexes with one carport; four-bedroom semi-detached duplexes; three-bedroom semi-detached duplexes; three-bedroom flats in a block of four; three-bedroom flats in a block of six; three-bedroom detached bungalows; four-bedroom detached duplexes; and two-bedroom blocks of 12 flats. Commercial areas, like schools, banks, hospitals and private businesses are located strategically within clusters of houses. Places of worship, especially churches, are mostly found in a particular section of the estate. A major praying ground for Muslim faithful, especially during festive periods, is also located at a section of the estate. ROJECT Manager of the estate, Sunday Agbo Adai, told The P Guardian that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) went into partnership with private developers for a speedy completion of the estate, in order to guard against vandalism, and discourage hoodlums from turning uncompleted buildings into abodes. The initiative, he said, has remarkably helped to guarantee the security of the area, as miscreants have no hideouts to perpetrate evil in and around the place. Adai said the high-profile security arrangement and proper management of the estate has also made it a choice residential area for some top-shots in society, some of whom he said relocated from places like Maitama and Asokoro. “There are cinemas, gyms, gardens for recreation and playgrounds for children. For those who may want to relax after a hectic day at work, we have shops where people can sit and take pepper soup and the likes. These are lock-up shops, which were allocated in plots and built by the allotees. “If you take a drive, mainly around 1st Avenue and at the back of 3rd Avenue and also 2nd Avenue and around the Kado Binko market, you will see a lot of social activities taking place. Lots of supermarkets are springing up. All the major eateries in the country have their branches in the estate,” said Adai. For sunset crawlers, a typical nightclub begins operation at around 11pm till the wee hours of the morning. Such clubs are, however, not located around residential areas. This, Adai said, is to ensure that residents are not disturbed by noise and other club activities. He said the Federal Housing Authority, as a matter of policy, makes sure it controls the springing up of nightclubs and ensures they are not built in restricted areas. He told The Guardian that all vacant lands in Gwarinpa have been allocated to private developers who have already built estates and are still building more for sale. Asked how the FHA was able to handle the original owners of the land, Adai said the owners are left to occupy four villages of Kado Binko, Gwarinpa village, Galadima and Lungu villages, all situated around the Estate. He explained: “Of recent, during the Good Governance Tour embarked on by the Minister of Information, there was a directive that these communities should be integrated into the Estate, instead of being relocated out of the FCT. So, the management of the FHA is already working towards that direction. This integration would involve provision of facilities to the villages with construction of roads and supply of electricity and other complements.” For tourists who may require lodgings in Gwarinpa, the estate prides itself of having 5 and 4-star hotels. Room rates, depending on their sizes, fall between N25,000 and N14,500 per night. There are more expensive hotels though. There are also private car hiring services ever willing to pick up customer from the airport. The cost of car hiring in Gwarinpa may include liability insurance, theft protection and airport tax, VAT, road fund tax and unlimited mileage.

‘Gwarinpa Estate flies with facilities such as good roads, drainages, water distribution network and electricity supply.’

...But where is the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)? A waste bin overtaken by rubbish at 3rd Avenue.

Int’l Conference Seeks Protection Of Girl Child Rights cently held AU conference on maternal and infant mortality, revealed that teenage mothers make up a disproportional part of maternal EPRESENTATIVES from 31 member counand infant mortality, adding that giving out tries of the World Association of Girl underage children in marriage and denying Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), Africa region, including the Chairman of Africa Union the girl child access to education and helpful information must be stopped. Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Clarice Zuma, who hinted that the African contiDlamini Zuma, on Monday, converged at the nent is not only blessed with a youthful popuNigerian Union of Teachers’ (NUT) Pavilion, lation, mineral, landmass and natural Lagos, to discuss issues affecting the overall resources, said that the greatest resource development of the girl child and young Africa has is its people, women in Africa. Meanwhile, the Chief Commissioner, NigerThe Africa Regional Conference, which is the ian Girl Guides Association, Dame Christie decision-making body that brings together representatives from member countries, part- Tobi, while presenting her welcome address, noted that leadership is at the core of the girl ner organisations and many international guiding and girl scouting movement, adding guests, is held, rotationally, every three years in one of the member countries in Africa. This that most successful women in the world have been Guides. year, the Nigerian Girl Guides Association, Also speaking, the Chairman, African Rehosted the conference for the first time in gion, Helinoro Rakotomalala, remarked that Nigeria. the conference will bring about needed ideas The theme of the conference, 10th in the sethat will help achieve Vision 2020, which is ries, is ‘African Young Women: Soaring To‘empowering the girl child and young women wards Excellence’. to take action to change the world’. Zuma, who delivered the keynote address Lagos State Commissioner for Education, appealed to Africa leaders all over the continent to abolish every form of detrimental cul- Olayinka Oladunjoye, who declared the conference open on behalf of Governor Batural and religious practices that infringe on the rights of the girl child and young women. batunde Raji Fashola, stressed that Nigeria is in dire need of girl guiding. She said research findings during the re-

By Ujunwa Atueyi

World Board Chairman, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), Mrs. Nadine El-Achy; WAGGGS African Region Chairman, Mrs. Helinoro Rakotomalala and Chairperson, Africa Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, during the opening ceremony of the 10th Africa Regional Conference of WAGGGS, held at the National Union of Teachers Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

CITYFILE From Chidi Iloamaeke, Jos WO facts stand incontrovertible about T Plateau State: once it had a reputation for calm and hospitality; then it fell from that lofty position into a chasm of violence and meaningless bloodshed. Happily, a third could be in the making: that peace, once lost, is again dawning on the region. “Things are becoming normal,” said Mr. Ibekwe, an indigene of Imo State, who lives at Katako, an area predominantly Muslim. “It is not rumour any more that there is peace in this land. That was why I have decided not to return home. We no more hear of killings anymore, except in very remote areas, as a result of cattle disputes, among settlers and some indigenes, even though some of these turn out to be rumour.” Ibekwe, a businessman, has lived in the state for 26 years, and all his children were born there. “I came to do business, and partly also because of the favourable weather. I married my wife here. All my children now run their own businesses here. Plateau is peaceful. It was here I made some money and built a house in my village. I do not regret coming.” At the height of tensions, Ibekwe’s kin has mounted pressure on him to return to his Orlu, Imo State base. He narrated his challenge: “It is not easy for a family man to change environment,” and added: “the reason I want to remain in Plateau is because the peace we enjoyed before the crisis is now returning. If you are driving home in the evening, you will find it very difficult because of traffic congestion. This is a sure proof that the population is increasing; visitors from other states are crowding Jos.” Hajia Mariam Abdulfatai is an indigene of Lagos State but resident in Rikkos, Jos. “I have watched war on television,” she said, “but I never witnessed one until 2001, during the first crisis. It was terrible. I lost my shop in Katako; it was burnt down. All shops at the market were burnt. During the 2008 crisis, my shop was looted.” But Abdulfatai sings a different tune now. According to her, “I encourage people to come to Plateau State because it is safe; nothing will happen to them.” She went on: “Today, we can see a return to peace. We thank God. We pray that the government would help restore even more peace. Christians and the Muslims are relating well and people now go to places where, during the crisis, they dared not venture.” She has a word of advice on how to sustain peace in the state: “We settlers should understand one another and live in love. The government on its part should fear God. Whatever it promises the people should be actualised, especially employment, so that youths can be engaged productively and avoid the temptation of being exploited by unscrupulous persons. A hungry and jobless youth who is offered a mere N5,000 could dance to the dictates of the giver.” A trader and an indigene of Plateau State,

The popular Terminus Roundabout at the heart of Jos city .

PHOTO: CHIDI ILOAMAEKE

Plateau: Peace After The Pains Mrs. Lami Emmanuel stays at Faringada. “During the crises, I lost three sisters. I still feel the pain of their death,” she said. She, however, adds: “By the grace of God, I think there is permanent peace, now, in Jos.” Those of us in Faringada, both Christians and Muslims, live in harmony.” Another indigene, Abdul Hadi, said he has lived in the state for 22 years. According to him, before the crises, “business was moving fine but during the disturbances, people suffered. I lost a lot. I lost my house, my friend and property. All I escaped with was a shirt and a pair of trousers.” Hadi said: “God has restored normalcy to Plateau State,” and urged the state government to “pay workers’ salaries on time so that people would have food to eat.” Narrating his experiences, Abdulahi Sani who

‘If you approach anybody now and request that person to join you in any crisis, your offer will be turned down, as a result of the bitter experiences he or she has had. We all are tired of starting any fight.’ hails from Gombe State, said his younger brother was “killed during the crisis and my shop was burnt down. I returned to Gombe.” He, however, noted that given the present situation of things, “there is peace in Plateau,” even as he gave credit to the Special Task Force (STF) charged with restoring normalcy. Sani, however, appealed to the state government to create more jobs to discourage people

from taking up arms. “If there is employment, it will be difficult for persons to engage in fighting because they have something at stake. But if they are unemployed, they will have little to lose; this could fuel frustration and killing of innocent lives.” In Faringada, The Guardian met Mr. Chukwuma Peter, an indigene of Anambra State from Aguata LGA. Born in Plateau and having spent 32 years there, Peter describes his experience living in Jos as “peaceful except for the crisis that rocked the state. However, Plateau is now a calm state. In short, everybody is tired of further crisis. If you approach anybody now and request that person to join you in any crisis, your offer will be turned down, as a result of the bitter experiences he or she has had. So, we all are tired of starting any fight.”

will be disbanded. The case of Destiny, who has been through too much too soon, provoked tears, as the parents narrated their ordeal in the hands of the abductors. They came with him to the police headquarters, Asaba, where the three suspects were paraded before reporters. Exposed to the elements during his time in captivity, the boy had greatly emaciated by the time he was freed. His face was gaunt and grey. On July 15, the father had driven home only to have masked gunmen walk in behind him.

They ransacked the house and made away with about N250, 000 in cash. They carted away his wife’s jewellery, took his mobile phones, and grabbed the little boy. The kidnappers demanded N10 million as ransom. They probably reasoned that the father could afford it because his younger brother is a member of the Delta State House of Assembly. The parents, however, did not play ball with the abductors. Threats to cut the boy to pieces or use him for ritual purposes were to no avail. On July 17, three days after he was forcefully plucked from his father’s bosom, the boy was released.

Sad Story Of A Three-year-old’s Kidnap From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba F kidnap-for-ransom cases in Delta State, the story of three-year-old Destiny Osanebi is disheartening. The boy was abducted, recently, at the small town of Ashaka, Ndokwa West Council of Delta State. His cold-blooded captors kept him in the woods for three days, while insects feasted on his body. An itinerant hunter, eventually, rescued him and handed him over to his distraught parents. The police arrested three suspects who were paraded before journalists in Asaba at the police headquarters last Friday. If convicted, they risk death by hanging in accordance with a new state law, which prescribes the ultimate penalty for kidnapping. The Delta Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Lucky Uyabeme, gave the names of the suspects as: Goddey Ogun, 45; Obiose Cornelius, 35; and Ijeoma Uzor, also 35. They were all members of a local vigilante group, which was supposed to help the police fight violent crime in the community. Ogun is chairman of the vigilante outfit. Uzor is vice chairman and Obiose is secretary. Uyabeme said two single barrelled guns were recovered from the men. He disclosed that they will be arraigned in a court, adding that the police are on the trail of some of the gang members who escaped. He also announced that the Ashaka Vigilante Group has been outlawed, in line with police policy that any such body involved in crime

Little Destiny... through too much too soon.

‘It’s Time To Fix Lagos Airport Road’ By Paul Adunwoke OMMERCIAL bus drivers plying the Muritala Mohammed International Airport Road, Lagos, have again expressed their frustration over government’s seeming inability to put the stretch in the best shape possible. They complained about the narrowness of the road and the presence of potholes, saying these adversely affect their operations. Dominic Akin, a road user, said: “The situation is deplorable. It is hampering the smooth conduct of our everyday business. We need good roads because we pay taxes. Moreover, the road is not wide enough.” Mr. Fadoju Oluwatoyin is the Director/CEO of Africa Centre for Economic and Strategic Studies and coordinator of commercial vehicles plying the route. “The road is very narrow and there are a lot of

potholes. These are often to blame for motor accidents in the area. Good roads are crucial to our existence because on them we search for daily bread,” he said. Oluwatoyin also disclosed another disturbing issue: reckless driving. He pointed an accusing finger at uniformed men, saying that with the help of a task force, efforts are being taken to curb the trend, and also halt the activities of criminally-minded persons operating along the road. The Director noted that effort is also being made to enlighten commercial drivers on safe driving. An official of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, however, said that the road in question does not fall under the oversight of the agency. “It is a federal road, and there is nothing we can do about it,” he said. A section of the Muritala Mohammed Airport Road, Lagos.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

CITYFILE Wasting Precious Hours For Mrs. Jonathan

The Tenor Of WOW, Nigeriana!

From Itunu Ajayi, Abuja By Adidi Uyo

ENUE: Major streets in the Federal Capital Territory V EVENT: Women Empowerment Peace Rally CONVENER: National Council of Women Societies in collaboration with Dame Patience Jonathan TIME: 7am An unusual gridlock was, first, noticed at Area I. It extended to Finance Quarters Junction in Wuye. Since the long queue of vehicles was on the other side of the road, what immediately came to mind was that a terrible accident had occurred. There was, however, a very important event in which the President of the country would be conferring merit awards on some deserving Nigerians, hence, there was no time to stop and find out what the queue was all about. The road through Wuse market, bypassing Sheraton Hotels and towards the intersection at the Yar’Adua Centre was barricaded. Again, the thought was that since the President would be coming to town, security operatives needed to cordon off some areas to facilitate passage for Big Brother. But by the time vehicles, especially commercial taxi drivers, were able to manoeuvre their ways towards the Federal Secretariat (having knowledge of routes better than private car owners), it was evident that what was being witnessed had nothing to do with the award ceremony the president was scheduled to attend. There was a long array of buses with banners bearing the portrait of the First Lady. The buses were parked on walkways and hundreds of people, mostly women in different shades of ‘Ankara’ attires, walked elegantly, towards Eagle Square. “It’s the PDP campaign for 2015,” a woman in the taxi said. “No, this is not about PDP. Can’t you see they are mostly women,” her friend replied. The first speaker was visibly irritated: “Look at Patience’s picture all over the place. This is her own way of campaigning for her husband,” she said. The argument went on and on. In frustration, taxis had to drop their passengers at the middle of nowhere, telling them to forget about the fare. Many of them said they would rather park their vehicles instead of embarking on a merry-go-round looking for means to beat the traffic. The time was past 10am in the morning. Since the Eagle Square is located in the neighbourhood of the Federal Secretariat, the bureaucratic seat of government, the entire area was restricted to vehicles. Civil servants had to walk from where taxis dropped them. Those who came in cars had to find a place, not too close to the secretariat, to park them. When it became clear that the jamboree was a programme tagged: ‘Women Empowerment Peace Rally’, a taxi driver asked in pidgin whether organisers of the event could be sued for wasting the time of people in long traffic hold-ups and making life unbearable. But who will sue the most powerful woman in Nigeria, and by extension, Africa (the country prides itself as the giant of Africa). It was the fourth working day of the week. A lady who had to trek all the way to Energy Commission wondered why the event could not be fixed for a Saturday. “At least, they should have been reasonable enough to do this kind of thing on a Saturday, so that those of us who do not have anything to do with politics or their rally would be in the comfort of our homes and would not be subjected to this avoidable hardship.” Local radio stations in the FCT tried their best to warn people on areas where the gridlock was severe. But the harm had been done; people were already stuck. President of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS),

LANGUAGE ON PARADE

‘They should have been reasonable enough to do this kind of thing on a Saturday.’ PHOTO: PHILIP OJISUA

Nkechi Uba, had said that the rally would be first of its kind. Truly it was. She had earlier in the week appealed to women to come out en masse. They did. They came from the 36 states of the federation including the FCT, and the capital city was locked down. Some sections of the media had reported that the First Lady would be hosting 15,000 women during the rally. But what Abuja residents witnessed on Thursday far outweighed that figure. Some said the participants numbered 30,000 or more. The truth about sending out invitations in Nigeria is that if 20 are dispatched, organisers should make provision for 40 persons. Some residents who spoke to The Guardian said the First Lady might have underestimated the turnout. But the question people are asking is: what is the rationale behind hosting such event in the FCT and during working hours? “A white man says, ‘time is money’, but it is not applicable to us in Nigeria. Can you imagine the man-hours wasted today? I had to find my way back home when it was evident I cannot get anything done today. To make matter worse, tomorrow is Friday when people work half day. It’s so embarrassing. We keep praying as this country and yet continue to waste precious time. The God we pray to works. You see where we missed it?” Mr. Toriola James asked. “I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with Nigeria’s money? But where would they get the money for all these? Isn’t it our money? Did they come with their personal money when they were coming to rule us? At the end of the day, it is still our money. “They called this a peace rally. What is peaceful when people are seated in their cars in the middle of the roads, not knowing how to move or where to move? How many women have they empowered so far? Is empowerment measured by distributing Ankara to them? Go to villages and see what women are going through. Have they done anything for such people?” asked Olalekan Agoro. Indeed there are questions. …And more questions.

Lagos Clamps Down On Illegal Abattoirs

Some of the siezed meat.

By Gbenga Akinfenwa HE Lagos State government, on Friday, clamped down on two illegal slaughter slabs. As early as 8am, the team, consisting officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Enforcement Unit of the Lagos State Task Force, stormed the Oshogun Abattoir in

Ketu, situated at 41, Moses Adebisi Street, and later, Ajegunle Abattoir in the Ikorodu area of the state. The move, the authorities say, follows several warnings against the operation of illegal abattoirs. At Oshogun, butchers and animal sellers took to their heels, upon seeing the state officials, leaving behind the remains of two cows. By the time the team reached Ajegunle, news of the clampdown was already there. As a result, no carcass was seized. The team, however, apprehended three butchers. Veterinary doctors on the team confirmed that one of the confiscated remains had tuberculosis, and was therefore a risk to would-be consumers. While parading the arrested persons at Task Force Office, Alausa, Ikeja, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr. Nuraini Funsho, told reporters that the state embarked on the measure because it is government’s responsibility to protect public health. According to him, a way to check the transmission of diseases from animals to man is through regular inspection of abattoirs. Funsho disclosed that the ministry has spent over N1.5b on refrigerated vehicles that convey meat from certified abattoirs to markets. “Whoever consumes this would transfer tuberculosis to the family. There are so many diseases that can be transmitted. Most of the illegal abattoirs slaughter animals that have been condemned from certified abattoirs. It is disrespect to public health. Funsho appealed to Lagos State residents to patronise certified abattoirs at Oko-Oba, Matori, Ajegunle, Badagry and Epe, among others.

E are not overstating the W fact if we say that Nigerians are being wowed with WOW

all the time, for it is one of the delightful things that is seemingly constant in our polity, as manifested in our news media, virtually, daily. You guessed it: WOW is not an ordinary word. It stands for War Of Words. Not for us on the language train any war of munitions. But any war of words: you can be sure we’ll indulge in it with utmost glee. “Why I’m at ‘war with First Lady,’ by Soyinka” is the headline of a melodramatic news story in the Sunday Punch of July 21, 2013. Besides the person of Soyinka, the way the headline was punctuated tells you that our one and only Nobel Laureate could not be talking about the war of munitions. But would it not amount to an ant engaging in a war of words with an elephant, if the combatants are the First Lady and Kongi, the wordsmith who suffer no fool gladly with his mastery of the English language? I mused. Sure enough, the news story provided one of the most delectable words that had been fired by one of the combatants in any war of words I have witnessed lately. According to the news story, the occasion was the commemoration of the Laureate’s birthday tagged, “WS79 – Memoirs of Our Future: An Audience with Prof Wole Soyinka.” At the event, which was held at the African Centre in Convent Garden, the professor was asked a question that had to do with the alleged interference of Dame Patience Jonathan in the affairs of Rivers State and abuse of power. Responding to the question, Soyinka was reported to have said that he was not afraid to stand up and call the First Lady to order and also educate her, if she could not take a cue from how other first ladies behaved. Listen to the rat-tat-tat, I mean, the words that came tumbling from Soyinka’s mouth: “People said I call her a domestic appendage. What’s the problem with that? What’s the problem with Madam Sheppopotamus?” Oh-oh, what’s that? I do know of the hippopotamus, described as a large heavy African animal with thick dark and short legs, that lives rivers and lakes. But sheppopotamus? Does the appellation, Madam Sheppopotamus, have anything to do with the fact that the First Lady hails from a riverine area, Rivers State, to be precise? Or does it have to do with facts anatomical, if you can catch my drift? It beats me silly, believe me! But after mulling the title over and over, I asked myself the obvious question: “Who else but a connoisseur of words - one who can mint gold from mud, as it were - could invent a title so apt and significant, for what it has added to our lexicon?” Surely, only Kongi can! The deftness of Soyinka’s verbal mintage, “Madam Sheppopotamus,” can only be measured by the deafening silence that has greeted it, so far, from the minstrels variously titled, who occupy various positions atop the Rock in Abuja, persons whose duty it is to sing in defence of the First Lady, or, for that matter, the President, by hauling verbal missiles at anybody who dares speak truth to power. Such silence was not the case, however, in another war of words, in which the latest political party in town fired the first salvo, or, was it returning fire for fire? I really do not know which is which. Anyway, “Presidency, APC in war of words,” was the headline of the story, published on August 15, 2013, by The Punch. I am sure you can gauge the tenor of the war of words from the lead of the story, which reads thus: “The Presidency on Sunday blasted APC leaders saying that they were not only unprogressive but also describing (sic) them as ‘politically expired politicians.’ However, the APC reacted swiftly saying Nigerians knew very well that most of the PDP leaders were septuagenarians and octogenarians.” Wow, how do you savour the flavour of the language of this verbal war? One side is yelling: “You are politically expired politicians!” And the other is countering: “Look at who’s talking – septuagenarians and octogenarians!” As they say, in war the first casualty is Truth. So, you may ask, in this particular war, is truth a casualty? You may be able to answer that question if you can look at what may be considered the facts of the matter, as professionally supplied in the second paragraph of the news story. “APC national leaders – Chief Bisi Akande, is 74 years, MajGen Muhamadu Buhari, 70, Asiwaju Tinubu, 61, and Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, 61. The PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, is 76, Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, is 80, and Chairman Disciplinary Committee, Umaru Dikko, is 77. After doing the arithmetic on those numbers, tell me: “In this war of words, whose words tell or reflect the truth?” Let us search it together. Fact: A man aged 76 is a septuagenarian. Ditto the one aged 76, and the one aged 77. And a man aged 80 is an octogenarian. The numbers do add up and so justify the words traded by the APC. But what about the rather caustic words, “politically expired politicians,” which were hauled from the Presidency? Well, for an answer to that question, and more on the war of words, join the ride on the language train, next time, for yet another unfinished business!

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

Backlash Abraham Ogbodo

08055328079 (Sms only) abogbodo@yahoo.com

Fast-Forwarding Fashola UR governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola has O a way of leading the pack in a number of things. By some consensus, largely forced by the media, he ranks the best governor in Nigeria, far better than Godswill Akpabio, who is singing to high heaven an uncommon transformation in Akwa Ibom State. But before I delve too deep, let me explain why I am appropriating Fashola, describing him as ‘our governor.’ I live in Lagos and I have to be extremely careful here, so that I don’t mix-up issues. There is a difference between just living in Lagos and being a Lagosian. Recent developments more than underscore the distinction. For emphasis, I am not a Lagosian; I only started living permanently in Lagos from August 1987, when I was posted to the state after school for the compulsory one-year national youth service. And so I need to tread most carefully to avoid being bundled into a waiting truck in the middle of the night and dumped at dawn in some spot near Effurun Roundabout or Enerhen Junction in Delta State. Having made this point, let me go back to the point I was making about Fashola leading the pack. His brand of politics and economics is very different. The man carries on as if we had gone to Surelere in 2007 to beg his father to release him for us to serve as governor of Lagos State. And since we need him so badly in Lagos more than he needs us, we are being careful not to annoy him, so that he does not abandon us midstream for his law practice. Everything he does in the state is in our interest and it will be most uncharitable, to ask a man who is only trying to help some stupid question or even seek clarification on confusing issues. For instance, when he sacked all the medical doctors in the employment of the state over a F I were PDP, I will summon courage and call Ibusiness off the party. I mean, getting down to serious and stop cutting corners and deceiving myself. The next two years in the life of the Peoples Democratic Party are too delicate to mismanage. It is not a time to respond to every volley fired from the huge arsenal of the opposition. If I were PDP, probably, I will not join issues with the likes of chief Bisi Akande, Nasir el Rufai and Lai Mohammed, the ever-ready and untiring spokesman of the Action Congress of Nigeria and now the All Progressives Congress (APC). These men are too good at what they have elected to do, giving the ruling party and its presidency regular dose of sleepless nights, just as the ruling party and its government are unable to make life relatively comfortable for millions of citizens who are outside government. These men in the opposition are fire spitting, throwing regular salvoes and hitting dangerous targets that hurts so bad in the PDP and the Presidency. Each time they fire, the Presidency quakes with anger, because, apparently, they are not always prepared. They are always off guard, because there is nothing to guard. The ‘enemy’ aims correctly and then the President’s men run around, looking for fitting responses, and most times, overshooting the runway. Take the recent exchanges for instance, when Akande was so generous to ask President Jonathan to take a holiday from his trouble-infested PDP and spend time with the new and fresh APC. That biting joke, for the PDP was like spreading salt on a fresh wound. But that is the truth, that the PDP is presently a mess. Instead of responding to Akande, if I were PDP, I will go into my closet and do a thorough self-examination, to see how fast I can improve myself. That is not to endorse the use of unkind words and other untruths, like accusing Jonathan of ethnic and religious bias. We are talking about practical party politics and development. The opposition chief also referred to the Jonathan Presidency as being kindergarten. This is not so highly derogatory, except for its innuendo. A kindergarten is a preparatory ground for children who are moving to primary class. The innuendo, for me is not directly hitting at the person of Jonathan, but more at the 14 year-old kindergarten presidency that is presided over by the PDP. You couldn’t remain in preparatory class forever, pleading excuses for your perennial failures. A good example here is the epileptic electric-

trade dispute that could not be amicably settled, it was in the interest of the state. And when it was no longer in the interest of the state to have the doctors sacked, he gave back their jobs to them. Maybe, there is a big gap here and the governor has to do some more down-to-earth talking. Although he has been saying that whoever is less able to live in Lagos under the prevailing rules can move to Shagamu or some other corner, there is still need to have a town hall meeting, at say, Tinubu Square or Epetedo to lay the issues bare. I mean some of us living in Lagos still think Fashola has a responsibility to make us happy. That is very far from the position. To put it mildly, the man does not have a mandate to massage us. His mandate is to make Lagos look good for Lagosians alone. The settlers, who include all the Igbo trade traders in Alaba, Ladipo and the other markets scattered across the state should quietly conduct their businesses and learn to stay out of trouble. If the governor says the roads in Ajao Estate, for instance, cannot be rehabilitated because there are too many Igbos living that area, the residents should accept it as a wise decision. Since no competition is afloat to establish star contributors to the development of Lagos, I suggest also that settlers should drop this argument that they helped to build 80 per cent of Lagos. I do not know where that trash is coming from. One assessment done by Femi Fani-Kayode confirmed that the Yoruba alone built Lagos. I agree because it makes better sense. I mean, why should a man or woman abandon his or her own place and help to build another man’s town by a whopping 80 per cent? Does that make good sense? It stretches to very ridiculous level the spirit of African communalism and apparently, not the same point that the most revered Mwalimu (the Teacher) Julius Ny-

erere was making with his Ujamaa philosophy. Actually, Governor Fashola deserves our understanding. Lagos State in terms of land mass is the smallest in the country, yet its population of about 15 million makes it the most populous. Whereas land is not a very big issue in Kano, which claims equal demographic status with Lagos, same is about the only issue in Lagos, where the enormous pressure on the tiny land left uncovered by the lagoon is forcing Fashola into a delicate balancing act to make all sides happy. And so, like Nazist Germany, Lagos needs land. But since the stuff cannot come by conquest or through imperial quest, other means have to be used. This is what is giving rise to outlandish propositions like the Eko Atlantic City, which is seeking to create a settlement out of the Atlantic Ocean. It is not easy at all. Even within these extremely slim options, Fashola is expected to create some allowance for enough ground to bury people when they die. In other words, as he plans for the living, he thinks equally of the dead. For now however, the priority is on the living and the cremation option was invented to precisely contain this challenge. And this is where Fashola is simply fantastic. While others in his situation would have only agonised and made no progress, he did excellent planning. No wise administrator will waste land on cemeteries when there is none to build houses for the living population. If fire, which is not scarce in Lagos or elsewhere for that matter can deliver much easily what land is needed for, why waste the scarce resource? My only annoyance is that the governor missed two golden opportunities to underscore his point. I had genuinely expected that the cremation option would be thrown into the mix when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was bereaved. Ok, let us agree that Fashola was not in control of all the variables in that particular instant because it wasn’t his mother that died, but it wasn’t the same ball game when his father, Alhaji Ibrahim Ademola Fashola died about a fortnight ago. I was just thinking that the cremation policy of the state would have permanently stuck if Asiwaju and the governor had led by example. That point on cremation would have been easier to sell to others. Anyway, those beautiful opportunities to sing a loud song regarding cremation are lost forever and nobody is too sure when another will knock. But Governor Fashola has got to continue with other things like ensuring that every

SUNDAY NARRATIVE Alabi Williams williams.alabi@ngrguardiannews.com 08116759790 (Sms only)

If I Were To Be PDP ity situation in parts of the country. Just last week, the power ministry announced a huge drop in the amount of electricity generated in the country from the peak of 4,517.6MW as of December 2012 to 2,628.6MW. It must be noted that these were figures released by the ministry and it is difficult to verify the authenticity. What is verifiable is that electricity supply is miserly and frustrating. The excuse this time was that there were severe leaks in the supply of gas to some strategic plants across the country. The leakages were traced to the activities of pipeline vandals. When there were no vandals, the ministry sought another technical excuse of low headwater elevation as responsible for the limited generation at Kainji and Jebba hydro stations. Excuses and more excuses. For the opposition and millions of citizens, these are no longer tenable excuses, but more of proceeds of half-hearted policy execution. Just on May 29, the federal government was beating its chest as the FEC rolled out drums to celebrate its mid-term report. They did not tell Nigerians to expect outages in August. Instead, government announced that power generation had increased from 3,514 MW in 2011 to 4,500MW and that average hours of power availability in 10 major cities had increased from a low of less than nine hours in 2011 to 15 hours in 2012. As far as the opposition is concerned, government’s handling of the power sector since 1999 has not shown any mastery. You cannot be struggling over one thing year after year and you expect people to take you seriously. Even the information handlers in the presidency must be getting frustrated by now, having to go out each time to explain why government is unable to fix electricity. What the PDP government should do now is to organise a prayer retreat where everybody will have to fast, no food. It does not matter that Ramadan just ended, this is the time to proclaim

an endless austerity because the party is over. At that retreat, the President as the leader of the party must show seriousness and willingness to see the party succeed. It is on record that 75 percent of the budget is spent on running cost and servicing government. That gluttony has to cease, so that government will have enough money to spend on roads and other services. If the roads are good and electricity is good, there will be less vitriol from Akande and the opposition camp. And there will be less of heating the politics and getting the Presidency angry over obvious failures. Let the President read the riot act to all men and women who have been invited to come and chop, that the party is over. After 14 years of kindergarten democracy, this is the time for Nigerian investors to reap real dividends of the democracy they sweated and toiled for. All those parastatals and agencies of government that had been misappropriated by the ruling party to nourish party members at the expense of the people must be told to change tactics. The only way to make this PDP government people-friendly is to cause service delivery to improve drastically. For instance, the President must pay close and particular attention to FERMA, that federal agency that is responsible for fixing roads in order to ensure smooth and safe driving for citizens. If you do not want road users to dump your ruling party, the President must insist that every pothole is smoothened come rain or shine. That dubious excuse that ‘it is rainy season, therefore we cannot fix roads’ should be thrown to the dogs. Nigerians will no longer buy that. The power (electricity) situation is now a national embarrassment and a shameful thing to talk about, but the fact of the matter is that the PDP government should set a final deadline on this vexing subject, so that citizens will not pile up their anger and frustration against the party

adult living in Lagos State pays his or tax and as at when due. There is also need to broaden the tax revenue profile of the state so that more money can be earned to build roads and prepare roadside gardens to make Lagos look more beautiful. I do not know if taxing churches and mosques is one of the options the governor is placing on the table. But if my opinion will matter here, I suggest the government look into this more seriously. The area holds tremendous prospects, much more than the inflows from hotel owners and even industrialists. Once, I had conducted a census of the churches within 500metre radius of the area I live in town and recorded 40, even when I did not have the logistics to be thorough. Let’s put the average density of churches at say 20 per 500 square metres. At that statistics, the 3577 square kilometres landmass of Lagos may contain about 140,000 churches. This may round off to 200,000 worship centres if mosques are added. At a paltry and non progressive flat rate of N20,000 a month (I pay more than that in tax to the state) per centre, the state will earn about N4billion from only this source. Any General Overseer (GO) who refuses to pay this little tax should be deported from Lagos. The key challenge in Lagos State is over-population. Instead of allowing people to stream in without restriction and then turn around to deport them on some weak excuses, the state can adopt something close to the British visa bond to exercise control at the point of entering Lagos. I do not mean the state should institute a visa regime as if it is a sovereign state, but it can create some refundable caution fee of say N500,000.00 to be paid by every settler at the time of his or her settling in Lagos. Same will be refunded if the individual is ready to go back to his or her state of origin after his or her years of sojourn in Lagos. The law should set a sojourn time limit for all settlers so that some folks do not live forever in Lagos. If a settler has stayed 50 years or has reached 70 years, whichever comes first, he is good to leave Lagos. He should be given back his caution fee so that he can go and die peacefully in his home state. A settler who overstays or commits felony automatically forfeits his caution deposit. If a settler dies before the expiration of his sojourn time, the body should be taken to his state of origin for burial or cremated in Lagos. There is strictly no land in Lagos to bury settlers because some identifiable persons do own the land. come 2015. You cannot be begging foreign investors to come here and you are unable to provide the power they will use when they come. In order not to be seen as jesting, the government should learn to do first thing first. The president must also look carefully at the SURE-P disbursements. As 2015 draws close, there will be increasing temptation for the executive to become lazy and repatriate funds for campaigns. President Jonathan must not fall for that trap, because every pothole on any federal highway will count against his government and his party. Now that a stronger opposition (APC) is gathering strength by the day and the PDM (Musa Ya’Adua’s rugged political machine) is roaring on the runway, care must be taken to ensure that the PDP does not run into more trouble. This is the time to retrace steps from all that wasteful misadventures in Rivers and Adamawa, where governors are struggling to outdo Abuja in the control of state party machinery. There are now good alternative platforms to assist in the dismemberment of the PDP if the owners remain unreasonable. Those are some of the prayer points to be marshaled at the retreat. The PDP government should hasten the resolution of the faceoff with ASUU. The more students remain at home, the more parents get sorely angry with government and the ruling party. Anger against any government is not an electoral asset. If I were PDP, this is no time to exchange vitriol with anybody, I wouldn’t even bother to respond because the firepower from the enemy camp is always too deadly. Instead, I will concentrate on fixing those things that make the opposition spit fire. I will work extra hard to make citizens happy with me, because if citizens are happy with me, the opposition may go to hell. But when citizens are unable to ventilate their anger and frustration, they look up to the opposition to help them rain curses and imprecations against government. It is a waste of time replying every opposition missile because there are millions of such missiles being hurled at government each time PHCN brings a fictitious bill, or a costly traffic builds up just because FERMA did a miserable job along Iyana Ipaja, Lagos in March, and in just four months the rains had washed the lowquality material off the road, a pretense for yet another contract. These are the real enemies of Jonathan, those who keep cutting corners and frustrating government efforts.

TheGuardian

Sunday, August 18, 2013 | 11

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Outlook ASUU: What Is Interest Of The Nation? By Tope Temokun HAVE closely followed the unending struggle of ASUU close to two decades now and to me ASUU’s agitation could be surmised under two sub-headings, namely: struggle for proper funding of the educational sector and struggle against federal government’s inability to keep to its words by reneging in each successive year on its agreement with the lecturers. Ever since this ongoing phase of ASUU strike, schools of thought have emerged and stakeholders have been polarized along divergent camp lines of opinions. For me believe there should not be undue interruptions of the academic calendars of our universities. I believe every young woman who enters into the university should not grow old into menopause before being awarded her sought degree and certified ripe for entry into the congested labour market, just as I believe that social conflicts, which can be resolved through negotiation and concession, should not be dragged on to the barricades. I believe in a few more things in addition to these and I must also endeavour to declare some things I do not believe in, and my reasons for not believing in them and in declaring so, I intend not to condemn those who believe otherwise; for as far as I know they have equal right to their belief as I, to mine. I believe every workman deserves his adequate and propionate pay. It is just; it is biblical. I believe our tertiary institutions need some rescue, from its present state of total moral and financial paralysis. I quite also believe it is not the effect of this malady hacking the souls of our universities that needs be tackled, blindly letting go the cause. This current phase of the strike took me again to 2009 when ASUU went on strike and one Dr. Olusanya wrote a very damaging piece entitled “ASUU: Beyond Aluta continua”, on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, in the opinion page of The Guardian newspaper. I must revisit Dr. Olusanya’s 2009 position as published then because there has not been, after that publication, a more expressively damaging and vilifying public piece of writing on ASUU – Federal government head-on collision ever since and whether anybody likes it or hates it, whoever makes such a publicly controversial position on issues of so monumental national significance must be prepared to answer to it whenever occasion demands, and at any time, probably till death. That is the historical lesson of it. So we must ever return there, so long the problem survives. The starting point to address this issue is to ask what are ASUU’s specific demands before July 1, 2013 when this strike commenced. ASUU has demanded that the universities be given autonomy. By autonomy, ASUU asks the government to let the universities generate regulatory polices internally, to deal with particular peculiar and specific problems confronting each university. The government retorts, saying, if we give you autonomy, then we will also give you financial autonomy, meaning that, each university will be let alone, that is, abandoned, to generate fund internally, for its sustenance. But the government has not specified

CONversation

how the universities will generate multi-millions needed to keep the university going. Perhaps, by killing the students left in their care for rituals or by keeping them away in those laboratories for ransoms from their parents. ASUU has demanded, among other things, for wage uplift befitting of their efforts and patriotic services, but few Nigerians, sharing Dr. Olusanya’s school of thought, whose very expressive opinion then till today still captured the principles of anti-ASUU’s school of thought, believe that even if a professor, considered the pinnacle of career in the academia, earns less than half a million as a monthly wage, which is less than half a Local Government councilor’s monthly takehome, and a graduate assistant earns less than a hundred thousand naira, equivalent or far less in some cases to take-home of any illiterate political errand boy in the name of PA to a state parliamentarian, yet Dr. Olusanya, and those who share with him, have posited that ASUU’s demand for wage increase is uncalled-for, and unrealistic. That was the head and tail of Dr. Olusanya’s piece above-titled. The question I want to ask anybody who belongs to Dr. Olusanya’s school of thought is that, which of ASUU’s demand is unrealistic? Is it their demand for better funding of the universities, which means injecting sufficient fund into the universities to tackle its internal challenges, and abate incessant interruption caused by students’ and workers’ protest, so that Nigerian children can go to school and come back home with robust knowledge and refined outlook and not just with a paper certificate which merely certifies the emptiness of their return? Or can it be ASUU’s demand for autonomy which can afford each University, based on its own peculiar problems and challenges, to structure out internal policies to tame what are to them domestic problems? May be, what is unrealistic is ASUU’s supplication to upgrade their wages, such that a professor can at least be placed on equivalent earning, with a Local Government councilor, or at least close it. Dr. Olusanya, in his piece in 2009, said if a professor earns N450, 000 and a graduate assistant earns a N100, 000, demanding for wage increase is illegitimate, alluding happily to the fact that after all, federal employees and civil servants in oil-rich states is on minimum monthly package of N7, 500. Lest I forget, I think Dr. Olusanya who also retired as a federal director in the federal ministry of education should have been more sincere in his logic in his 2009 piece which still unset-

tles my mind till now, by declaring how much he retired on, how proportionate is the financial weight of his bank accounts with his assets, both landed and nonlanded properties, to his legitimate earning, or what he could have legitimately saved from his earnings. If a university professor rides and dies on a rickety old-model 504 car, it doesn’t matter, as long as the politicians can steal enough and share some crumbs among their cronies in the ministries, for the universities to die of starvation. ASUU argued then that whatever concession won should also extend to the lecturers in the state universities, but Dr. Olusanya had quickly spited then that ASUU president, then in 2009, is from a state university and had rather thought what is good for the geese should also be good for the ganders and that those in the state universities should warm up for a different show-down with the governors to win their won concessions. This is intellectually embarrassing, for this kind of allusion and reasoning to be coming from a doctor and retired director from the ministry of education. No wonder policies emanating from that ministry have choked life out of our universities for decades now and left behind battered images of old figures. Dr. Olusanya argued that ASUU is a professional body, not a trade union. I respectfully understand, by all conceivable conceptions, that, in law and in fact, ASUU is a trade union, association of university teaching and research workers, coming together, to protect, the interest of their members and the interest of the academic progress of the society. It does, therefore, not betray much learning and understanding from anybody to say anything less. But then what does that have to do with a government not honouring its negotiated and signed agreement? Is the government at liberty to lie to or play conman to a professional body, on the excuse that it is not a trade union? Dr. Olusanya had recommended new consciousness for ASUU, without recommending new consciousness for the government and he, with all that share and applaud his thoughts then, believed his recommendation is the long-sought panacea to this crisis. This is intellectually dubious and one-sidedly cowardly. Just four years after, we are back there and this time what is it about: Nigerian lecturers have demanded full implementation of a 2009 agreement and a 2011 memorandum of understanding

If we give you autonomy, then we will also give you financial autonomy, meaning that, each university will be let alone, that is, abandoned, to generate fund internally, for its sustenance. But the government has not specified how the universities will generate multi-millions needed to keep the university going. Perhaps, by killing the students left in their care for rituals or by keeping them away in those laboratories for ransoms from their parents

they had with the government of this country on various issues ranging from university autonomy, to funding, and lecturers’ remuneration. The government has said it wants a renegotiation of some parts of the 2009 agreement. The Federal Government insisted some of the agreements reached with the union were not implementable. What manner of new consciousness, if I may ask, was Dr. Olusanya recommending for ASUU then? I ask this question because it is necessary for one to be mentally faithful to oneself, even in the face of personal moral crisis; for somebody of perceived learning to do otherwise amounts to intellectual infidelity, which consists not in believing, or in disbelieving, but in professing to believe that which one cannot, by all logical inference, reasonably believe in. Why are we unblessed with a government that puts its hand on paper to deceitfully end lectures’ strike, and dubiously come round later to say that the agreement it signed is not implementable and yet some people in this country will see nothing morally and publicly wrong about that but will wish ASUU dead for calling for more restoration of sanity to the system. The most dubious argument I have ever heard since my university days, back then in Ife, whenever they wanted to incite the students against their teachers during each strike session, is to pontificate to the listening students that where two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers and that the students are the ones at the receiving end. The most progressive reaction from our block then, which is still valid till now, is that no elephants at sight in this fight. If there is any elephant at all, it is the federal government. Both the lecturers and the students and the students’ poor parents, representing the public education sector now grossly underfunded and neglected, are the grass; they are at the receiving end. This dubious gospel of “two elephants fight, the grass suffer” being peddled to incite the students against their teachers is also a creation of our anti-ASUU and pro-government intellectuals. This is the confusion plaguing the soul of the leadership of the students’ body today, that lures them far away now from the traditional collaborative standpoint of old between ASUU and NANS on issues of national importance like this, and now playing neutrality, or taking mediating stand between ASUU and the government, as if they are third party. The most damaging thing intellectuals have done to any society is allowing their mind to be polluted by material proceeds accruing or accruable from flirting with government, and thereby retiring permanently to a sterile position of inability to look at issues with straight and honest eye. It is usually impossible to calculate the moral damage intellectuals who fall victim to this kind of common affliction, do to the people, because in times of social crisis the people look up onto them for explanations, but having corrupted and prostituted with the chastity of their mind, and having subscribed to believe things which they do not ordinarily and conscientiously believe, they now stammer, they no longer have explanations to offer. •Temokun, a lawyer, writes from Lagos.

By Obe Ess

TheGuardian

12 | Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Editorial Reducing The Price Of Cement ANY previous executive orders and promises to bring down the price of cement yielded nothing. So, the assurances given the other day in Abuja by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, on the reduction of cement prices sounded like another ventilation of gas that could not have raised any hope. Cement manufacturing in abundance in the country, using the hugely available raw materials, is the only sure way to achieve a low price of the product. Over-dependence on importation is, certainly, not likely to help. Government should therefore be more realistic and know from which standpoint it is raising people’s expectations this time around. Of course, the challenges facing cement production in the country are not different from those of other industrial products. Aganga, who was speaking during the 2013 ministerial platform by the ministry said what government was targeting in the first phase of the backward integration policy on cement was production and availability, which he said has been achieved. He said, before now, Nigeria was spending more than N250 billion on cement importation, as the country produced only two million metric tonnes. He disclosed that 28 million metric tonnes of cement is now locally produced and even exported. The minister said the second phase of the integration policy, which would address pricing issue, had started with a committee already set up to work on it. The committee’s work covers pricing, control, quality, use of cement and export. While consumer protection seems to be the main focus of the committee, the minister did not state how this would be achieved and when the current price of N1, 800/bag of 50kg cement would come down. Besides, he did not elaborate on the production aspect. Who is producing or who would produce the cheaper cement since some of the cement factories owned by governments are still comatose? Or, is government collaborating with private manufacturers to achieve its goal? In a free market economy, where government has little or no power to intervene in pricing and with cement production largely done by private entrepreneurs whose overriding interest is to maximize profit, how would the cheaper price promised be achieved With frequent somersaults in policy formulation, and without streamlining the mechanism for sustaining low prices, the big private manufacturers certainly have the upper hand in this matter. So, how does government intend to prevail on the almost monopolistic cartel in charge of production to reduce price when there is no cement manufacturing concern owned by government, through which it could flood the market with the product? Besides, the enduring harsh economic conditions that precipitated high production and distribution cost are still there. Setting up a committee to address pricing issue may not be out of place, but it remains to be seen how the committee would achieve low price stability. President Goodluck Jonathan, not long ago, issued a 30-day ultimatum to cement manufacturers to reduce the escalating price. But rather than come down, the price skyrocketed. So government has always not succeeded pegging the price of cement because it is outside its control. The solution is for government to redress the anomalies in and reactivate the industrial production sub-sector. The right environment should be created to boost production and distribution at lower costs. Lack of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), high cost of power and high transportation cost are extremely hug challenges incapacitating the industry. Government should not be discussing with manufacturers on price reduction without doing its own part by creating an appropriate environment. As at 1973, there were at least five functional cement manufacturing plants under the management of the government of Nigeria. The plants were at Nkalagu, Ewekoro, Kalabaina, Calabar and Ukpilla. The combined output of these plants satisfied local need at the time at affordable price. Government should resuscitate comatose cement plants and place them in capable hands and cause the utilisation of the abundant limestone and other raw materials in the country’s interest. Cement availability is crucial to infrastructural development and there is acute shortage of housing for the teeming Nigerian population. Concrete roads are more desirable than the asphalted roads that fail too soon after they are built. Therefore, there is a huge cement need in Nigeria. And that need must be fully met at affordable prices.

LETTERS Interview Of George Uriesi, Managing Director, FAAN lent contracts in the Nigerian the organisation. I hope the Federal aviation industry. Government will go after those • G. O. U. Onwubuya, exposes the fact that public responsible for those fraudu- Festac Town, Lagos. assets are being expropriated via fraudulent contracts imposed on Government agencies. FAAN had been of recent in the Press and the Courts over IR: Whenever the history of tive by providing a means some of these contracts. Even the banking industry in through which victims of Dr. Fasheun of OPC came out to Nigeria is written in future, the issuance of dud cheques can defend one of the beneficiaries tenure of the present Central reach him directly. By doing, the of the questionable contracts, Bank Governor, Mallam Lamido room for any cover up or collabbut appears to have retracted Sanusi Lamido would go down oration with any bank customer when the truth dawned on as one with a remarkable differ- by any of the banks in the counhim. ence when compared with the try would have been closed. In The issue of the Airports, FAAN, previous holders of the office. addition, the directive should and Bi-Courtney, and some of He has taken steps in the past to cover the period the last five these contracts are in the pub- check the rot in the banking sys- years since he launched on the lic domain because of a tem and his latest directive that cleansing of the banks. He Management of FAAN, a all banks in the country should should borrow a leaf from the Minister of Aviation, and a compile the list of issuers of Inspector General of Police, Head of State, who are all insis- dud cheques and forward same Mohammed Abubakar, who out tent on fighting this scourge of to the Economic and Financial of an act of exemplary leaderlegalised fraud. Only God Crimes Commission (EFCC) for ship, volunteered the direct knows the other organisations necessary action is indeed email address through which where such contracts are exist- another milestone in the string he can be reached by the public ing and Nigerians who have of laudable achievements all in a bid to sanitize the police been victimised for resisting recorded by him since his tak- force, an effort that is no doubt such contracts. I agree with ing over of the bank in 2008. yielding good results. FAAN M.D that some of these It would be recalled that a day The CBN Governor is also people who are parading con- after this directive, the case, advised to go a step further by tract documents should right- among several ones previously publishing the names of issuers fully be in prison. reported in the newspapers was of dud cheques in the newspaUnfortunately, mention is not that of a 29-year old hairdresser, pers as was done in the past made of the godfathers, the Mrs. Joy Jegede who was sent to when the identities of chronic political appointees, who prison in Ilorin over issuance of bank debtors, bank directors imposed such fraudulent and a dud cheque of N620, 000, as and defaulting companies that only self-serving contracts on reported. that wrecked some banks were the Agencies. There is no doubt that this is unmasked at the beginning of The misfortune of Nigeria the first time that this nefarious his tenure in office. In addition, today is that a political action that has continued to any branch of any bank that is appointee, with absolutely no add to the already dented found to have compromised the stake in an organisation, exer- image of our country is being directive in any way should cises full authority, with no brought to the limelight and equally be exposed and sancresponsibility, since he is only a addressed. The CBN Governor is tioned accordingly. birds-in-passing in the however enjoined to stop any •Odunayo Joseph, Organisation. His only stake possibility of circumventing or odunayo_ being what he can milk out of frustrating this laudable direc- joseph2006@yahoo.com IR: The interview with the S11/8/13) FAAN M.D. (Sunday Guardian is quite elucidating. It

CBN Governor On Dud Cheques

THE GUARDIAN,Sunday, August 18, 2013

REPORT OF GKS MINISTERS' CONFERENCE 2013 “Only by righteousness will Nigeria be exalted”- GKS Ministers charge the nation LORY, honour and adoration be to JEHOVAH, the Creator, Possessor and Sus- DECISIONS tainer of the entire universe, by Whose After diligent, sober and prayerful deliberawisdom and might the saving gospel is being tions, the Ministers’ Conference arrived at the preached to all nations for the benefit of all following decisions by the grace of God: people of goodwill by His grace through Jesus Evangelism Christ our Lord. Conference reiterated the fact that Station The 2013 GKS Ministers’ Annual Conference Ministers should, with the assistance of the was held in Salem City, Warri, Delta State, Central Working Committees (CWC), plan for Nigeria from Thursday, June 27 to Sunday, Public Lectures in rural areas, towns/cities June 30, 2013 by the grace of God. At the Open- without security challenges and other places ing Session, the Chairman of the Executive where convenient while in areas with secuBoard, Brother G. O. Ifeacho, addressed the rity challenges, Doctrinal Services should be ministers on the theme of the Conference organized. The dates and venues are to be which was “Understanding what the will of submitted to the secretariat for planning bethe Lord Is”, drawn from Ephesians 5:17. fore the 2013 Feast of Tabernacles by God’s Brother Ifeacho said that ministers must have grace. proper grasp of their duties and be able to do them well in order to project the truth effec- Conference set up Panels on Publications, tively by the grace of God. This calls for knowl- Marriage Solemnization Procedures and the edge, faith and readiness to do the will of God Review of the GKS Constitution. Also a new at all times. (Psalm 119: 105; Hosea 4:6; GKS Annual Ministers Conference Committee Deuteronomy 4: 6) He urged ministers to live for 2013 – 2015 was set up. by example, as our Lord Jesus Christ did in order to attain the required degree of excel- The panel on the Review of the GKS Constitulence in the practice of righteousness, adding tion is made up of: Brothers S. C. Nwaeke that the Conference provided Ministers the (Chairman), B. T. Hart,, T. T. Iwoh, T. C. Maziopportunity for stock-taking, for self-ap- Rapu, (Secretary), T. O. Ugoji, M. K. Bazunu, praisal and for re-dedicating themselves to and O. E. Oriaku. The Committee on PublicaGod by His grace. - John 6:38. See also tion of GKS Doctrines, has Brother B. T. Hart as Chairman, as well as Brothers D. O. Ikpuri, T. Matthew 5: 20; Hebrews 12: 1-3. O. Esimagbele, K. U. Owivri, and O. U. UweWORKING SESSIONS jeyan (Secretary). A number of reports were presented during the working sessions, among which was “A The chairman of the Panel on Marriage SolReview of events in God’s Kingdom Society emnization Procedures is Brother S. C. (GKS) from June 2012 to June 2013” by Brother Nwaeke while the members are Brothers P. O. G. O. Ifeacho, Chairman of the Executive Ekireghwo, D. E. Alli, T. C. Mazi-Rapu, M. O. Board, which was read on his behalf by Urhobo, E. U. Oddo while the secretary is Brother T. M. Ekiseowei, Secretary of the Exec- Brother O. E. Oriaku. utive Board. The Chairman reported to Conference that Public Lectures were held at The Ministers Conference Committee for 2013 eleven locations; that six Doctrinal Services, – 2015: The members are: and a “Watch and Pray Live In Campus” pro- a) Brother T. O. Esimagbele (Chairman), gramme were held in three higher institu- Brother T. O. Ugoji (Vice Chairman) and tions. He said the Watch and Pray Brother I. O. Odiete. Others are Brothers E. U. programme is currently running in nine Oddo, O. M. Ewharekuko (Secretary), O. U. radio and two television stations, the latest Uwejeyan and A. E. Ekireghwo . being Aso Radio Abuja, Ray Power FM 100.5, Lagos and Unique FM Accra, Ghana by God’s Promotion grace. Plans are also on to start the pro- Brothers A. I. Okocha and E. U. Oddo.were programme on radio in Benin, Enugu, and Mon- moted from the rank of Junior to Intermediate Ministers by God’s grace rovia, Liberia.

Brother G. O. Ifeacho, thanked God and commended Branches and individual members who are supporting the Evangelism drive of the Lord’s Ministry, particularly on Watch and Pray. They include the Rivers State Zone members who are paying for the Watch and Pray programmes in NTA and Treasure FM, Port Harcourt,; Lagos Zone members who are sponsoring the programme on Ray Power FM, Lagos; Owerri Zone for the monthly Watch and Pray phone-in programme on Heartland FM Owerri; Yoruba Nationale who are sponsoring the programme on Ara FM, Ilesha and the brothers who paid for the first and second quarters on Aso Radio, Abuja. Conference was told that efforts were in top gear for programme to be on air on a Radio Station in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

WORLD AFFAIRS Our Lord Jesus Christ had long ago predicted that the last days in which we are now living will be characterized by political, social and economic upheavals, resulting in an unprecedented level of insecurity, distresses and perplexities and an upsurge in the activities of false prophets and miracle workers. See Luke 21:25,26; Matthew 24:7,8, 11, 23-26, 32-35.

This prophecy is fulfilling to the letter. Despite the efforts of statesmen and learned men of the world, nations are daily sinking deeper into the cesspool of immorality, greed, injustice, oppression, normlessness, etc., while wars, economic crises, political instability, mutual suspicion, intrigues, poverty, diseases, poverty, crime, natural disasters continue to escalate. People are hoping On property acquisition and development, for and are being given lofty promises of Conference was informed that the Lord’s Min- peace and prosperity, yet things are getting istry built a block of six three-bedroom flats worse by the day. See Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11; 2 Timfor Senior Ministers and partitioned a duplex othy 3:1-5. into two duplex apartments for the Vice Chairman and Secretary of the Executive While we commend the efforts of federal and Board and that the Lord’s Ministry with fi- state governments in Nigeria to improve the nancial assistance from the Laity acquired a material conditions of their people, it is eviproperty adjacent to Salem City which would dent that a lot still needs to be done. Nigeria be put into use soon. Also, the Service Halls at is now said to account for 25% of the reported Orogun in Delta State, Diobu, Choba and Ele- cases of kidnap for ransom in the world, maklenwo in Rivers State, Igueben in Edo State, ing her the global capital for such practices. have been completed and dedicated and that Things are now so bad that Insurance comtwo bungalows each consisting of three bed- panies are reportedly exploring the possibilroom flats had been acquired at Oshogbo in ity of establishing special Insurance cover for Osun State, while no fewer than twelve serv- potential victims. The problem of secret cults ice halls are under construction. The GKS Lon- is mounting by the day and reports about don Branch Service Hall which foundation child trafficking, including the new phewas laid last year, is now completed and ready nomenon of “baby factories” are still making for dedication while the Sub-bethel home at the rounds in Nigeria. Currently, the level of Ibadan undergoing construction has reached conflicts and the consequent degree of milifinishing stage by God’s grace. Brother G.O. tarization in Nigeria is such that she is rated Ifeacho also informed Conference that two as one of the 14 most unsafe nations among new Units of the Church were opened in Oko- 162 countries assessed in the current Global Afor near Badagry in Lagos and another in Os- Peace Index (GDI). hogbo, Osun State.

We strongly condemn the preoccupation with the General Elections of 2015 whereas there are a multiplicity of problems in the country crying for attention. It goes without saying that governments should play down on the politics of 2015 in order to calm the restiveness of the youths and enhance national security. Nigeria must turn to God Almighty and His word in the Holy Bible if she is to enjoy reasonable peace and security. We need to eschew pettiness and the quest for personal aggrandizement and BRO G. O. IFEACHO work always for the public good. The Chairman of the Executive Board, GKS. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” declared Solomon the prophet in i n Proverbs 14:34. places We also wish to draw the attention of the where the public to the following issues: wearing of trousers is the War against insurgents: Parts of the country norm, to complain ofare virtually under siege due to the volatile security situation in some of the coastal areas ficially to their superiors/employers. We apof the country and the North East where a bat- peal to the government to respect the tle is going on against secessionists, follow- religious sensibilities of her citizens who being the declaration of a state of emergency by lieve that wearing of trousers violates their President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday faith. May 14, 2013. We appeal to groups and individuals who have grievances against the gov- FESTIVAL DATES ernment to use constitutional means to 1. Youth Assembly: To hold on zonal basis from redress their grievances. They should not take Saturday, August 17 - Sunday, August 18, 2013. laws into their hands by resorting to violence 2. Freedom Day: To hold on all Sundays in Ocand murder. (Hosea 4:1-3; Genesis 9:5, 6) Gov- tober – 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th of October, 2013. ernments should also strive to urgently ad- 3. Christian Feast of Tabernacles: dress the socio-economic problems of the The celebration will start from Sunday, Denation so as not to provide a fertile ground for cember 15 to Sunday, December 22, 2013 in Salem City, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria, by the insurgencies to take root. See Proverbs 29:2 grace of God Bill on Same Sex Marriage: It is highly unfortunate that some Western countries are re- CLOSING SESSION portedly threatening to impose sanctions on The 2013 GKS Ministers’ Conference ended forNigeria if the bill on same-sex union is passed mally on Saturday, June 29, 2013 with the readinto law in Nigeria. We enjoin the Federal ing of the declaration of faith by Ministers by Government of Nigeria not to be intimidated God’s grace. by these threats but to go ahead to ensure In his closing charge, Brother G. O. Ifeacho, that the bill is signed into law. Homosexuality Chairman of the Executive Board exhorted is contrary to nature and directly violates the members of the Lord’s Ministry with the laws of God. It was because of this sin that God words of Jesus Christ, in John 8:29, charging Almighty destroyed the cities of Sodom and them to continue to do the will of God and to Gomorrah. The same punishment awaits look unto Him as He will never leave us alone those “…Who knowing the judgment of God, by His grace. The Chairman exhorting all GKS that they which commit such things are wor- members to be diligent in the work of God, the thy of death, not only do the same, but have chairman commended those who are faithpleasure in them that do them.” - Romans fully fulfilling their spiritual obligations and 1:32. See also 2 Peter 2:5-7; Leviticus 18:22; 1 prayed God to bless them abundantly by His grace. The Conference came to a successful end Corinthians 6:9,10; etc. by God’s grace, at 8:13 p.m. after the rendition Wearing of Trousers by Youth Corp Members: of TSP 192, (the GKS Anthem) and saying of the It is astonishing that the National Youth Serv- closing prayer by the Chairman. ice Corps Directorate in Ogun State was reported to have compelled a lady deployed to SPECIAL THANKSGIVING SERVICE do her Youth Service in that State to leave the On Sunday, June 30, 2013, a Special Thanksgivcamp because she refused to wear trousers. ing Service was held to thank JEHOVAH the PreWe are not aware of any report that the order server of mankind for the success that had been reversed. We are amazed at this de- crowned the 2013 Ministers’ Conference and velopment because we know that institu- for His goodness generally by His grace. Durtions such as the NYSC and the Police have ing the Divine Service, Brother T. T. Iwoh, Staskirts for women who ask for them. Why then tion Minister, GKS, Owerri zone, preached the should women be compelled to wear sermon “The Voice of Conscience”. In the sertrousers contrary to their faith in a suppos- mon, the Minister, emphasised the need for edly democratic dispensation which has re- worshippers of God to serve God with a good heart condition, with a conscience void of ofspect for human rights? fence towards God and man. - Acts 24:16. It is regrettable that despite the efforts by Churches including the GKS in educating the In conclusion, we thank God Almighty impublic, especially government agencies that mensely for helping us to the end of the 2013 it is wrong for Christian women to wear GKS Ministers’ Conference and pray that He trousers, some still have difficulty accepting will continue to prosper His Church and help that position. The Bible says: “The woman us all to practice His righteousness for our shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a blessings and salvation, all by His grace man, neither shall a man put on a woman's through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” - Deuteronomy 22:5. Yours in Christ, We note with regret that leaders of Churches who are known to oppose the wearing of T. Michael Ekiseowei, trousers by women have kept silent on this Secretary, Executive Board, GKS issue. A good number of members of the National Assembly are also known to be pro- God’s Kingdom Society (GKS) fessed Christians. But they have apparently (The Church of the Living God) kept their distance from the matter, as far as Salem City, P.O. Box 424, we know. We urge Christian women working Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. Tel: +234-708 668 8474, +234-802 329 5127.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

ENVIRONMENT Christine K is the Director, Heinrich Boll Foundation (HBS), Nigeria and West Africa Office. With headquarters in Germany, HBS is Green Think Tank that supports individuals and projects that are committed to ecology, human rights, democracy and self-determination. During a-five-day confab on resource governance, held in Abuja, she spoke to CHIJIOKE IREMEKA on sustainable green resources, illegal mining of solid minerals, roadmap to climate change and renewable energy sources among other issues. How would sustainable green resources, otherwise renewable energy improve Nigerian electricity supply and boost her economy? enewable energy is an inexhaustible supply of electricity. We are used to using electricity sources from oil and gas, which in the end would finish. But renewable energy sources like, wind, solar, and water in some places, can never finish. These are renewable energy sources. Now, Nigeria is rich in oil and oil would finish one day. Nigeria is also rich in renewable energy sources. It has renewable potential that can power the whole of the country and more. Nigeria is rich wind, sunlight, biomass which can be used for electricity. If you look at Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), it has national grid spread across the country. There is many more electricity in the national grid but there are other sources to be moved to decentralise the grid with cleaner renewable energy. One can use solar and biomass installations. This can take six to eight months to install and if the community can come together with their local government as well as private investors and develop wind turbine in the local level and other cleaner sources of power, it can last them for 20 or 50 years. All they need to do is maintain it. It might be expensive at the beginning but it’s much cheaper than electricity from oil if they are correctly installed. In the country’s Vision 20:20:20 government is talking about investment in coal as a source of energy, how does this translate to green resources or greener sources of energy? Coal is good but the problem with coal is that it contributes to high CO2 emission and I do not think there is cleaner coal anyway and these are part of the gasses to contribute to green house degradation. It does not necessary mean that we must make use of every resources we have. Some are good but their other sides are hazardous to the environment and man. So, trying to solve one problem, we shouldn’t create another one. We should be conscious of future when choosing any form of renewable source of energy. What is needed at the moment is an incentive to encourage private investors to invest in the country’s green resources. Government has to encourage investment on renewable energy by allowing those importing the materials to pay reduced tariff and make renewable energy in the country a priority for it thrive. Also, there is an urgent need for quality control because what exist in the country at the moment is the importation of cheap and poor quality chips and other materials from China, which does not do the technology any good. We will not blame China because they produce high quality solar panels and at the same time, produce very poor ones and they are the ones being imported into Nigeria and installed incorrectly. Some are installed under a tree, where no light can penetrate yet people expect result. Also, the technology is important to know where to fix the solar panels. Some people have bought panels do not know much about the technology.

‘Sustainable Green Resources Is The Way Out Of Climate Challenge’

Christine K

People don’t know the panel or battery to use and at the end, they said it didn’t work. Some of them purchase this fake panel and after few months, it goes bad and they say that the technology does not work. So, there is a need for the training of the engineers on how to install the panels for effectiveness. The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has a role to ensure that only quality solar panels and materials for solar technology are imported in the country for solar energy generation. If they can do this within a couple of months, things will change for good. Good thing. Nigeria does not have to invent it, it’s everywhere in the country. What is needed to be done is to discover what renewable source that is effective in each region and develop it. We should be able to know which is available in the south, west and north. They should also know why they want to use it. Is it for irrigation or small scale industry or large scale industry or not. There is a lot of planning when dealing with renewable energy. So, back to Vision 20:20:20, the overall mission is trying to make renewable energy work. We have to give renewable energy higher priority in the county for it to thrive. We do not need nuclear energy because it is not economically viable. We need a massive energy development in Nigeria for economic development. The vision 20:20 is around the corner but I think the major issue now is trying to implement what is in the plan for the vision. What is the role of local government in this revolution since much is being said about community? Renewable energy is fantastic to feed the

Leader of the Yoruba Community in Jos, Chief Toye Ogunshuyi (left); Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama; and Head of Hausa-Fulani Community, Alhaji Garba Abdulkadir, during an interactive session of ethnic community leaders in Jos.

whole national grid. Local government plays a crucial role in making renewable energy work. If the local government chairman has the need to supply the community electricity, he can do it with ease and he will be popular to do so. The local government budget is not much per se but with N150 million one can buy a small hydro turbine to provide electricity for over 2000 people. It can carry their televisions, bulbs and other electrical gazettes and this can last for over 30 years. Also, there is need for energy mapping in all local government. You can say, let’s have a little of hydro power. Then, you need to know what direction the river flow, when the river goes down and up so as to know how to build it and generate power there. If these facts are not established, you can fix the turbine wrongly in a manner that when the water goes down, the turbine comes on the surface and for that reason, will not supply electricity and somebody will say it’s bad technology, but that is not true, it was actually bad planning. There is the need for scientific study for you to know where to place it to get electricity. Using Makoko community, where a pilot programme on renewable energy has been conducted as an example, would you advocate same to all regions in Nigeria? Makoko is an interesting example of a community where a cleaner energy resources is being use to develop the environment. Though I would not call it a community, because government has not engaged Makoko the way others have been engaged on the ground. We have conducted a survey with international experts to determine what the community can do for themselves. Fortunately, they have a lot of waste and they can generate elec-

tricity from the waste to power their houses. We are working with the community leaders and people. We have people who will be collecting waste from people for the purpose of electricity generation, using biogas digester, which could be used to power generators. This will also be turn into organic manure for fertilisation of their parcels of land. This would create jobs for the community. You can now charge your battery at low prices and organic fertiliser developed there will helpful in biding the soil particles together. This is being implemented right now. What are your experiences with solar energy technology in Nigeria? Everybody knows that dependents largely on oil wealth, yet oil is already peaking or it has reached the point of shrinking. That doesn’t mean that oil is finished already but it will finish one day, 10 year, 15 years, depending on what is taking of the ground. Currently, there is no strong public debate on PIB, how to develop the gas sector, the role of the government as a regulator and not competitor, how to exploit oil and gas as well as leave the business in the hands of the private sectors. We are of opinion that there should be a robust debate on how every ordinary Nigerian would benefit from it. The presence of Gas can give the country cleaner energy supply. The first thing every Nigerian needs is electricity. People need to question the source of money spent on the energy and monitor it to enthrone transparency. There are other aspects of Nigerian resources, which are not tapped, the solid mineral, which has potential to define Nigeria as a rich country. There are a number of solid minerals in the country, like copper, which will be useful to IT companies and others. But mining of these minerals are done by local artisans, which has a lot of implications to their health. At least, 90 per cent of the solid minerals mining are done artisanal miners. The minerals are mined illegal and there is no license to that effect. There is the need the government to monitor and regulate the mining sector. Some foreigners are doing this to the peril of this country. It is not fair that some foreigners come to the local communities and promise them of development and job creation and begin to dig up the ground in search of gold at the peril of the country and the villagers. For instance, in the Zamfara State, some people discovered gold and started digging ground for gold, as they were digging for gold, poisonous lead were being dug out and that led to death of many children in the village until it was discovered and others were salvaged. Of course, the salvaged children will never be same again. This shouldn’t be. It happened because no is in control of these minerals. The same happens to numerous other minerals in Nigeria. Also, mining of blue sapphire Taraba State has destroyed that environment and livestocks. Nigerian solid mineral sector will create a lot of jobs if developed but somebody needs to regulate and monitor it. Certain companies are being given land for one project or the other and they begin to do other practices that nobody knows. So, some government agencies should be on the ground.

Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, lifts child of a trader during his visit to newly inaugurated scout market camp in Ibadan… Friday: PHOTOS. NAN

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

LAFETE

Afrobeat Meets Hip-Hop In 2 Kings Concert By Chuks Nwanne HE stage is now set for one of the biggest concerts in the country this year. Tagged 2 Kings Concert, it features two of Nigeria’s finest artiste at the moment, Afrobeat maestro, Femi Kuti, and hip hop star, Tuface Idibia. The gig, which is organised by Scoale Entertainment in conjunction with Too Much Music, is billed for August 25. It holds at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, starting with a red carpet reception. Speaking through his media company, Media Image Managers (MIM), Executive Producer of the concert, Mr. Scott Oritsejemineyin Igbene, described the oncoming show as the mother of all concerts, adding that the only snag at the moment is the lack of sponsorship. “We have been in talks with many multinational companies in the last couple of months when the idea was muted, but the response has not been encouraging. But we have not given up hope yet, as we are still in talks with a multinational alcoholic beverage company and a mobile telecommunication giant, we hope they will come around very soon as we have less than a week to the show.” Notwithstanding the sponsorship challenges, the show must go on. “This has not detered us, we have practically done everything with monies we can garner from friends and family as well as personal savings. The show must go on no matter what. So, this is a passionate appeal to all corporate bodies who are interested in promoting Nigerian music and arts to come on board and let’s make this a huge success, as this is the first time these two icons, Femi Kuti and Tuface, will be sharing one stage in a show strictly designed for the duo. I won’t be the one to tell you that this is a show of a life time, the 2 Kings Concert,” he said. Igbene revealed that concert is being stage to launch Music Against Hunger (MAH) campaign. “The MAH project will create a volunteer platform for music icons to encourage every youth to pursue personal excellence and

use their capacities for the sake of others by promoting a life of service, dedicated to creating a hunger free nation with harmony in all aspects of life,” he said. He added, “this show is more of a charity show, which is meant to kickstart the Music Against Hunger (MAH) initiative. So, we need the support of everyone on this. The Platinum table costs N3, 000, 000, which entitles the donor to have front view table that sits six people. It comes with bottles of premium champagne, chops, premium spirits, gift packs among many others, while the Gold table is N1, 000, 000 with accompany perks. We call on kind hearted Nigerians and corporate bodies to buy up the tables and support this noble cause in an evening filled with fun and music.” Femi Kuti, the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, in a pre-event statement, promised to lock down the entire stage on August 25. He started out his career in music as a member of his father’s band and then went on to create his own Positive Force, in the late 1980s. His international career began in 1988, when he was invited by the French Cultural Centre in Lagos and Christian Mousset to perform at the Festival d’Angoulême (France), the New Morning Club in Paris and Moers Festival in Germany. Like his father, Femi has shown a strong commitment to social and political causes Tuface throughout his career. His songs have been sampled by different international artistes Tuface Idibia, arguably one of the while featuring international acts in his work most successful hip pop artistes in like in 2001, when he collaborated on his Nigeria, has consistently ranked as one album Fight to Win with a number of U.S. the best Nigerian musicians of all-time. musicians, including Common, Mos Def, and Tubaba as often called by fans, has Jaguar Wright. received five Headies Awards, four In addition to several award for musical Channel O Music Awards, one BET Award, Femi Kuti excellence, Femi Kuti has been nominated for MTV Europe Music Award, MTV Africa the Grammy Awards three times in the World Music Award for his musical work, and album, Face 2 Face (2004), which established him as a viable solo artiste. Music Category in 2003, 2010 and 2012. numerous additional nominations. “It is a great honour to be on the stage with “Nigerians should get ready on Sunday, He was a member of the Baba (Femi). All I have to say is come and see August 25, it will be an explosive evening,” defunct Plantashun Boys, whose disFemi Kuti said. bandment saw the release of his debut fireworks on that day.”

Ojo's In D'House! Premieres On EbonyLife Tv STV viewers are in for an exciting and D hilarious time, as one of EbonyLife TV’s much anticipated comedy drama series, Ojo’s in D’House, begins showing on the pan African Channel. The drama series centres on the flamboyant excesses of Mrs. Elizabeth Ojo, the matriarch of a nouveux riche family that has recently moved from a lower middle class neighbourhood into a new, upper class vicinity. In the story, the entire Ojo family has to cope with the constant commotion that usually results from Mrs. Ojo’s compulsive obsession with the pursuit of social acceptance and her relentless attempts at trying to prove to her new neighbours and friends that she is of high social standing, in spite of her ordinary background. The bubbly drama reveals how Mr. Tafaa, Elizabeth’s down-to-earth husband; Samuel, her mischievous son; and Nichole, her nerdy daughter, all have to always be on their toes as they continue to be forced into being part of the schemes Elizabeth hatches in pursuit of social recognition. Sometimes, these attempts get her into awkward and embarrassing situations that end up being too hot to handle for her, like ending up on the cover of a notorious tabloid magazine after a bad makeover and much more. However, the Ojos are not the only ones who have to contend with Elizabeth’s needless excesses. Mrs. Williams, the Ojos’ standoffish neighbour is not excited about Elizabeth being her new neighbour and tries all she can to avoid her; but over the course of a few months, to her dismay, she finds herself increasingly in Elizabeth’s well intended but disastrous visits, parties, and functions. Mrs. Williams usually ends up having to deal with one form of embarrassment or the other as a result, like a running stomach, silently enduring a horribly cooked meal, and witnessing an awkward birthday party. The compelling drama which now shows every Tuesday at 9:30pm on EbonyLife TV, Channel 165 on DStv, is sponsored by MTN, and stars Najite Dede as Elizabeth Ojo, Jude Chukwuka as Tafaa Ojo; with Taiwo

Arimoro as Samuel Ojo, Odenike Odetola-Odeleye as Nicole Ojo. Funmi Eko plays Mrs. Williams while Bassey Ekpenyong plays Bitrus Pambot Nankut. According to Quinty Pillay, Head of Scripted Programming, EbonyLife TV, “The cast and story lines of Ojo’s in D’ House will make you scream with laughter and compel you to call your friends, ensuring they are watching too. Our cast is so true to life that you will wonder if the Ojo’s are YOUR next door neighours. Better keep your doors locked and ensure Elizabeth Ojo doesn’t rope you into her world of wonderful, well intended but disastrous visits, parties and functions. I bet you, this is a light-hearted and delightfully funny series, an absolute must-see!”

on the project. I look forward to seeing how all the pieces come alive”, commented Funmi Eko (Mrs. Williams). Taiwo Arimoro (Samuel Ojo) believes “Ojo’s in D’House was an experience that taught me that I had to be disciplined as an actor and I enjoyed every second of it.” “Ojo’s in D’House is original and creative,” said Bassey Ekpenyong (Bitrus). “Working on it was mentally and physically tasking, but we were able to produce a fine work of art.” The Executive Producer, of Ojo’s in D’House

and CEO of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu, says, “the drama series, like everyone of our original homegrown programme, is created by those who love television entertainment programming just like our viewers. We are pleased to be showing yet another exciting homegrown content to our viewers across the continent. We will continue to deliver upscale programming that makes great statements about who we are as proud and exciting Africans.”

OR Series Writer, Ayoade Adeyanju, Fbecause “Ojo’s in D’House inspired me I worked with top-class creative minds. Each episode is a reflection of our different experiences as Africans and our rich sense of hunmour.” “This show is witty and extremely funny yet warm with memorable characters”, said Series Producer, Ijeoma Agukoronye. “Africa will look forward to inviting the Ojo’s into their homes each week for 30 minutes of great television.” For Najite Dede (Elizabeth Ojo), “Shooting ‘Ojo’s in D’House’ was an amazing experience because everybody from every part of Nigeria was represented in the cast and crew. We had a common goal, endured obstacles, had bad days and good days, but we got it done. When it was completed, it was beautiful. The programme is about Nigeria and what can be accomplished. Whenever we come together for a common goal, we make beautiful things happen.” According to Jude Chukwuka (Tafaa Ojo), “it is the best thing that will ever happen to television in my generation. “It was quite an experience working L-R: Najite Dede (Elizabeth Ojo), Taiwo Arimoro (Samuel Ojo) and Jude Chukwuka (Tafaa Ojo) on set

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

16 BY BENSON IDONIJE benidoni@yahoo.com

All That Jazz

ARTSVILLE

With Sonny, Please… Rollins Rules The Scene

BY TOYIN AKINOSHO

Ellah This, Ellah That HE 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize will be chaired by, T you guess, Ellah Allfrey. The news comes two months after the press release announcing the inaugural Etisalat Prize for African

this day and age when jazz afiIforNcionados have to turn to reissues the real thing, it is gratifying to know that a veteran’s fresh work is out there - waxing strong - as a current favourite. The 2006 Grammy Award - nominated Sonny, Please by the saxophone colossus (Sonny Rollins) has continued to intensify in popularity and acceptance even as it grows on the people, with time. It is also the subject of media attention as writers react with such favourable comments and critical acclaim as, “his strongest studio album in a decade or more; “best jazz instrumental album;” “Sonny is in championship form, both swaggering and capricious”- and more. In his 80s, Sonny is still relevant – very much so – even though the fierce and forceful attribute, the high energy level is gradually diminishing, having been mellowed by age. But the rhythmic intensity is still there. And so also the machine gun precision with which solos of interminable choruses are executed. The sidemen (Clifton Anderson, trombone; Bobby Broom, guitar; Bob Cranshaw, bass; Steve Jordan and Joe Corsello, drums; Komati Dinizulu, percussion) are solid professionals, but none lifts the band. That chore is left to Rollins. They provide nominal support; Sonny provides the thrills and chills. The repertoire is typical late – career Rollins: a couple of standards and a few pleasant if not especially memorable originals, with a jazzed version of a light classical tune thrown in for good measure. As ever, the frame is less important than the picture, the background less important that the foreground. Rollins’ improvisations provide the substance, and that substance is considerable. Rollins has always been more venturesome than most of his contemporaries. In Sonny Please, he’s more intrepid still than a vast majority of musicians half his age. The qualities that have long defined his playing – the questing lyricism, the physical and emotional tenacity, Shakespearian imagination – remain objects of wonder. His solos are ingenious in the best sense of the word, combining a childlike joy of

discovery with grown - up passion and wisdom. His tone is brighter and more brittle than it once was; the edgier tone throws his expressive devices into stark relief. Every nuance is felt. In Sonny Please, we are reminded that Rollins is the antithesis of the polished technician, and how that’s a very good thing indeed. Rollins has always been far too intent on exploring his creative unconscious to worry about refinement. There is an educated uncertainty to his playing that comes from improvising on the cusp of what one knows and what one knows is possible. Today, Rollins seems, if anything, even less concerned with surface. He’s trying to reach the core. His paying here is raw. It is imbued with the essence of what makes jazz great, what makes him the saxophone colossus, an accolade he earned in 1957: Just as Rollins was able to play superbly with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, two of the most influential musicians and bandleaders of the 50s, he was able to infuse new spirit into the famous Max Roach group, contributing solos of stunning virility that, at the time, was his trademark. But all of this seemed, to some listeners, mostly elaboration on the basic ideas of others. They were waiting for what could be considered a definitive statement from Rollins. With the release of Saxophone Colossus, they thought they had it. This LP, recorded with Roach, bassist Doug Watkins, and pianist Tommy Flanagan, is notable for two tracks, Moritat and Blue 7. With the latter piece, serious criticism of Rollin’s work began. In the first issue of the highly influential Jazz Review, Gunther Schuller called Blue 7 “an example of a real variation technique. The improvisation is based not only on a harmonic sequence but also on a melodic idea as well … what Sonny Rollins has added conclusively to the scope of jazz improvisation is the idea of developing and varying a main theme, and not just a secondary motive or phrase which the player happens to hit upon in the course of his improvisation and which in itself is unrelated to the “head of the composition.” Writing about the same record in The New Yorker, Whitney Balliett called Rollins “possibly the most incisive and

fiction, of which Allfrey is on the board of patrons. Ms Allfrey was on the panel of judges that decided the winning entry of the inaugural Kwani? Manuscript Prize, a new literary prize for unpublished fiction by African writers, which was awarded last month to the Ugandan writer Jennifer Makumbi. Born in Zimbabwe and educated in the United States, Ms. Allfrey began her publishing career as editorial assistant at Penguin Press, working on history and modern classics titles. Before joining Granta, from where she recently resigned, she was Senior Editor at Jonathan Cape, an imprint of Random House. Allfrey is located squarely in the centre of the discourse between the diaspora and the homeland on the one hand, and, ‘the west and the rest of us’ on the other. Comparing the global reception of Shakespeare’s Macbeth with that of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, she wrote in The Guardian of London: “The permanence of the Scottish play is easily taken for granted. But I cannot help but think that without the audacity of Achebe’s belief that the world was ready to read a story of Africa by an African, from his own perspective, our literary landscape would be condemned to a bleak monochrome”. She was the chair of the fiction judging panel of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, a literary award for books by Caribbean writers. Allfrey, who was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to publishing in 2011, served as a judge of the Caine Prize for African Fiction in 2010 and 2011 and was appointed Deputy Chair of the award in 2012. It doesn’t look like an African writing prize committee is complete if it is not blessed with the inclusion of Ellah Watakama Allfrey. Skype, Onsite Performances, To Nourish Today’s Book Party Afam Akeh is in the United Kingdom. Amatoritsero Ede lives in Canada. Both Nigerian authors will be participating in the Book Party at the Eko Hotel on Victoria Island this afternoon. They will be doing so via skype, a form of video teleconferencing. Obi Nwakanma, who teaches in the United States, had not responded to invitation as of the time of our going to press. The Book party is being held to celebrate the 11 writers on the longlist for influential jazz instrumentalist since the 2013 edition of the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature Charlie Parker,” crediting him with (NLP), promoted by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) “a tumultuous and brilliant musical Ltd. The eight home based writers include Iquo Eke, Promise imagination that probably equals Ogochukwu, Gebinyo Egbewo, Obari Gomba, Remi Raji, Chijioke Parker’s.” At about the same time, Amu Nnadi, Tade Ipadeola and Okinba Launko. “The party is traRollins, the subject of these encomi- ditional” says Jahman Anikulapo, programme chairman of the ums, had told critic Nat Hentoff, “I’ve Committee For Relevant Art (CORA), organisers of the parley. The Book Party is usually staged to preface the announcement of just started. I’ve just scratched the surface. That’s an honest appraisal of the final three laureates, out of which the winner of the Prize myself.” All of this honesty and natu- money will emerge. “This is the 5th edition of the party, and CORA is setting up an elaborate feast to honour the longlisted ralness are copiously displayed in works and authors, out of the near 200 entries, which the Sonny Please, the album of the organisers said they received for the 2013 prize”. The former edimoment. tor of The Guardian On Sunday says that the essence of the Party is Another Rollins record from this to enable the public encounter the poets and engage the works period and one of his most remarkthat have been adjudged fitting to earn the prize money. “As able – especially in terms of paving experienced in the past four editions of the Party, the longlisted the way for Sonny Please is Way out authors will be brought face-to-face with the core of Lagos literWest, which he also recorded in 1957. ary community as well as members of the public. Their enteries Rollins had always wanted to record will be reviewed, discussed and critiqued even as the individual without a piano; and since his record poets read from their work”. It is a package of literary feasting, company had the likes of bassist Ray featuring performances, wining and dining, where the shortlistBrown and drummer Shelly Manne ed authors and their works are celebrated for emerging as some available, Rollins formed a trio. The of the very best in the country. Anikulapo describes CORA as “a most intriguing tune in the album is group of artistes, art enthusiasts, art promoters and art writers committed to the development of the Arts of Nigeria and their Wagon Wheels which enjoyed rave enabling environment”. reviews from critics including Whitney Balliett.He said, “Rollins fashions choruses that are – regardA Hundred Years In Five Books less of his persistently goat like tone and his abrupt, cantankerous phrasFIVE man panel is to interrogate the 100-year history of ing – a clear indication of a striving Nigeria as a geographical expression through five books at toward an improvisational approach the 15th Lagos Book and Art Festival, LABAF in November 2013. that is revolutionary, for it is based The event is the colloquium, the intellectual heart of the three on a remarkable use of polyrhythm day feast running at the Freedom Park on Broad Street from and it wrestles continually with a November 15 to 17. The books to be discussed include Obafemi new, elastic phrasing that completely Awolowo’s Path To Nigerian Freedom, Chinua Achebe’s A Man Of reshapes the accepted measure - by- The People, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s Reforming The Unreformable; measure patterns of the 32 – bar cho- Nasir el-Rufai’s The Accidental Public Servant; and Alabi Isiama’s rus, which Charlie Parker and Lester The Tragedy of Victory: On-The-Spot Account of The Nigeria-Biafra Young were the first to break down.” War In The Atlantic Theatre. Akin Adesokan, associate professor of comparative literature at Indiana University, Bloomington and This revolutionary improvisational author of the novel Roots in the Sky, will deliver a keynote approach reached its apotheosis address opening the colloquium. His working title is Henry Carr recently in Sonny please. in Lagos: A Narrative of Modern Nigeria. The ensuing 90-minute If any track in this album gets to discussion and questions and answers will run from 12.30 to the marrow, it is his performance of 3pm on the Festival’s opening day. The five books under review Someday I’ll find you” a Noel Coward at the colloquium form a significant part of the 20 books that tune that Rollins must know better will be discussed over the three day event. The theme of this than the back of his hand. Rollins year’s LABAF is Nigeria’s Centenary, The Lagos Narrative. LABAF is a takes small liberties with the melody, culture picnic with a high book content, primed to attract famiplaying it mostly straight with just lies and a public that seeks cultural entertainment. All the last 14 the faintest hint of a smile. editions since September 1999 have been filled with fun and Characteristically, thematic improvi- thrills, with a full band performing, galleries displaying art, thesation is the adopted approach here. atre performances, and a series of art, craft, textile, dancing workshops focused on kids happening all over the open field. For Rollins, the melody is supreme. The festival features scores of book stands, symposiums on literAlthough harmonically based, his playing on it is free – freedom borne ature and book parties. There are at least four drama skits and out of his mastery of the idiom and a full theatre productions on the festival grounds throughout the compulsion to create something that three-day duration of the Festival. The idea is to make “The Book” have mass appeal. has never before existed!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

NEWSFEATURE P/28 State Of Our Estates, Master Plans Gone Awry

HEALTH

P/30

Child Survival: Between Breastfeeding And First 1000 Days

JUNIORGUARDIAN P/34 Sofunix Shines At 2013 WASSCE

HAMZA SPECIAL REPORT P/20/26 African Traditional First Ladies’ Pet Projects: Gone Values… A Stand On Tripod With The Wind...

CAMPUS P/36 African Students Create Anti-Malaria Soap

LIVINGWOMAN Anybody familiar with the Paediatric Unit of the Murtala Mohammed Hospital in Kano cannot easily forget the sterling performance of Dr. Yashua Alkali Hamza, who toiled all through her days as the Head of the unit to make sure that patients that came her way get the best treatment. Now on her own and providing high quality medical care as the Medical Director, Childcare and Wellness Clinics, Wuse 2, Abuja, she recently told ADAMU ABUH she is piqued that a vast majority of the Nigerian populace is still at the receiving end of the appalling medical services in the country. ASHAu is of the view that notwithstanding the many problems authorities have to contend with, Nigerians should be provided with qualitative medical services such as is obtainable in India and China. As the country Director, Maternal Health Champions Programme (MHCP), she is involved in the empowerment of health workers with requisite skills and experiences required to uplift the healthcare sector. And this, she says can be feasible only if Nigerians insist on the best. “I believe that those saddled with the responsibility have to always strive for the best and aim at world standard. There is a reason for establishing world standards and those other countries that Nigerians go to have done their best to achieve it. If they could do that, why can’t we? “As citizens, we have to demand the best from our leaders because it is only a small percentage of the populace that can afford to go outside the country for medical treatment. But why should this be so? Those countries that people go to, why can’t we strive to be like them? I agree that there are private hospitals in Nigeria with state-of- the-art equipment, but people need to push for that same level of excellence in public facilities as well. The policy makers, the patients as well as the healthcare providers – all of us have to insist on the best, what is higher than the status quo because that is the only way we can improve. “Countries such as India and China also have huge population and other challenges. Yet, one of the countries Nigerians go to for medical treatment is India because they have a very good healthcare system and their population has not impeded their quest for quality healthcare. So, a large population shouldn’t be a deterrent.” According to Yashau, researches have shown that Nigeria is capable of establishing world standard healthcare system. And only focus and ridding the country of corruption are all that is required. “We have to do what is right in the sense that every intervention should be evidence-based. We shouldn’t be doing things haphazardly. Things should be planned in a certain way for the desired outcome. Whatever we do should be very clear. “If our resources are fully and well utilised, Nigeria won’t be where it is today. Nigerians deserve the very best but if this is not done, then you end up having the kind of horrible maternal and child mortality rate we have. “Nigerians should not get used to the way things are; it isn’t right to allow public health facilities operate as they do. Maternal health is crucial though a lot of people have done a lot of intervention in this area. But the fact that Nigerian women are still dying shows that there are a lot of problems with the way the intervention is carried out. So, we have to do targeted interventions that take care of different dimensions and not just the supply side, which is the hospital. We also need to take care of the demand side and the issue of decision-making, service delivery and all that. For me, looking at healthcare in a holistic manner and not accepting the status quo and striving for excellence should be the goal of every policy maker, every citizens and every health care provider.” Yashua, who is satisfied that she gave her best during her stay in the Kano Hospital said those who believe Nigeria is one of the worst places to be a mother shouldn’t be faulted. “Yes, there are often sensational headlines aimed at grabbing people’s attention concerning the state of public medical facilities and we should agree we do have a public healthcare problem, especially when it has to do with mothers and childbirth problems. It is very risky giving birth in a lot of countries and Nigeria is no exception. The challenge should be how to move forward and ensure that every mother is taken care of because the discrepancy in maternal mortality between developed and developing countries is huge. “Infant and neonatal mortality are preventable. Many of these things can be prevented with good quality healthcare and an enlightened populace. These problems have always been there but how do we move forward from the rhetoric?” Comparing her experience in both the public and private medical sectors, she says: “In some ways, it’s been very similar and in some ways very different. Working in the public sector has afforded me the opportunity to come in contact with different kinds of people and different kinds of illnesses and diseases. It has also enabled me to learn first-hand how these diseases affect people. It has definitely prepared me for the private sector. “In the private sector, however, things are a lot calmer. The inequality is huge because at the public side, you have so many patients being attended to by just one doctor and the patient time is short. The ability to really practise the way you want is curtailed because of the number of patients. “But in the private sector you have time to do that and to be really focused and give as much to patients. On the other hand, it shields a doctor from the very real threats of illnesses that afflict ordinary people everyday. I believe there is a huge discrepancy in how healthcare services are distributed, as those who need them the most have least access, which is a very unfortunate thing. Ironically, those who probably need it the least are the ones to get vaccinated; they are the ones that are well nourished. “The discrepancy is much in the public sector because sometimes patients have to wait for hours to see a doctor and sometimes they don’t even get to see the doctor. But in the private sector, there is immediate access to doctors and they get care easily. “I think it is more or less a policy issue. It is very well known that the numbers of available doctors are not enough for the population. The sitting of doctor is a factor probably because those in

THE GuARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

‘Only The Best Medical Care Is Good Enough For The People’

HAMZA rural areas are not likely to have doctors and other healthcare personnel. The decision by the various level of government to employ is at their discretion and sometimes the process takes a long time. “It’s very important for policy-makers to realise that the need in the public sector is really great and it is something that has to be addressed so that people can get the type of access required. The quality of care is also important.” Could the problem be that of poor funding? “I think it has to do with everything. The funding could be better but apart from that, it has to be directed at areas where the most impact can be made. Things should be done in an organized and proper manner. “For instance, people talk about building hospitals, which is very obvious, but it shouldn’t just stop at that. It should also be about equipping these hospitals and getting the right personnel.” The experiences she gathered while in the public domain, she says, have been of tremendous help. “They have been rich and very fulfilling. I rose up to the rank of the Head of the paediatric department and that was where I actually started. In many ways, being in the public sector has turned me into the kind of medical practitioner I have become. I still do volunteer work and participate in policy discussions in an advisory capacity. I sometimes go back to do some clinical work as well as training of healthcare personnel. Shedding light on why she chose to be part of the Maternal Health Young Champions Programme (MHYC), which is implemented by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and funded by the Harvard School of public health, she says: “It is about mentorship. What this programme does is to identify emerging young maternal health champions— young people who have distinguished themselves in terms of passion and commitment towards maternal health issues. They are paired with in-country mentors, who handle them for a period of nine months. They then go back to their various communities with a small grant to implement ideas that would improve maternal health. “We have had the first cohort of champions and they are doing fantastic work. One of them is pushing for a blood donation

campaign and as you know, haemorrhage is one of the leading causes of death among women who have given birth. We have some of them who are working with midwives and others working on attitudes of healthcare personnel because that is one of the deterrents to people attending hospitals. We are very happy with our champions. This particular cohort will end in September and we are looking forward to another set. “I think it is important that we empower young people to understand what the problems are; especially the issue of maternal health and health generally. So, by creating that passion and commitment, the younger generations are already being equipped with the power to make needed changes.” On whether any tangible progress is being made on the issue of maternal mortality, she says: “It is very difficult for anyone to think that he/she has all the answers and solutions. When you sit down to discuss with people, you would be surprised at the knowledge you get. I think one of the trends is that of community advocacy; that of empowerment for community members to enable them take the decision that impact positively on their lives. I think there is more awareness now because of the efforts of various groups of people. So, more people are accessing healthcare and going early to hospital. But we have to make sure that if they go to the hospital, they get what is required. “So it is not just to create demands, we have to make sure that the supply side is very okay. A lot of people are also accessing vaccination services, which are lifesaving. A lot of people are aware of malaria control measures, which are helpful like insecticides treated nets, environmental control and early hospital attendance to ensure that the ailment is taken care of quickly. I think there is still a lot of work to be done though because in spite of all this, we still haven’t made a dent in the system. There is some progress but there is still a lot of work to be done.” Would she consider an offer to serve in the public service again? “I believe that I am contributing my best to the public from where I am now. I participate in a lot of policy discussions and I participate in a lot of discussions with NGOs in order to make things better. I have done a lot of public health research in different universities around the world and I feel that I am in a very comfortable place presently. I think I will continue to contribute as I am doing now from wherever I am and as far as I am concerned, I haven’t left the public sector; I am still there.”

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

SPOTLIGHT Christy Vincent Atako was recently appointed the Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), an organisation that seems unable to meet the aspirations of the people of the region since its inception, as no month passes without one form of protest or another over failure to implement targeted projects. But Christy, who until her appointment was the Director, Education, Health and Social Services, told ANN GODWIN that she is poised to make a difference and change the poor image of the Commission. HE confidence she exudes may be linked to her long romance with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) spanning two decades. She started as an Assistant Director, Community Affairs in the old Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) in 1993. From 1995 to 2001, she served as the Zonal Information Coordinator and Assistant Director. In 2001, when OMPADEC was converted to Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), she became the Assistant Director and Acting head of Community and Rural Development Directorate. A year later, precisely in June 2002, she was promoted to the office of Assistant Director, Community and Rural Development and from 2003 to 2007, she served in the capacity of a Deputy Director, Community and Rural Development. She was the Head of Corporate Affairs before her recent appointment. These years of rich experiences, according to her, has prepared her for an adequate repositioning of the Commission and change the perception of people about it. “I am very comfortable sitting here because I understand almost everything that happens within this Commission. Having been part of NDDC from the beginning, I know the challenges and also the passion with which we have worked in this Commission. I understand the feelings of the staff and to a large extent I know how the people of the region feel about the Commission. “So, it’s a privilege to be here to serve, although I do not see myself as better than any other person. I really do not entertain any fear of delivering on the mandate, only a little bit of anxiety because we really want to make a mark. Everybody else is qualified to be here but if God has put me here, I desire to make a difference.” In the course of her experience and intimacy with the Commission, she has come to understand that the easiest way to achieve the target is to engage the communities through unearthing their priority needs and then working towards realising them. “One of the reasons the Commission was established was to impact on the lives of the people of this region. We are to ensure that we bring development to the grassroots, to those who do not have the opportunity to access the government. But why it appears the people are not very happy with NDDC is probably because we have been unable to showcase what we have done, and NDDC has done quite a lot. “Secondly, we have not been able to engage the communities to find out what their pressing needs are. Every community has its priority and a lot of need, which is natural. But I think what would have enabled us have significant effect on them is if we had been able to go down to the target beneficiaries of our projects and programmes and ask them exactly what they want and then make them a part of the decision making-process. We get them to conceptualise these projects, plan together and get them involved in the monitoring and then do the evaluation together to ensure that we get the required value and mileage. Probably because we’ve not been doing this is the reason for the people’s dissatisfaction but we are here to make changes.” On frequent allegations of corruption in the Commission, she says, “Corruption is everywhere and why there are allegations of such here is because sometimes you innocently deal with the wrong people thinking they are the right people. At the end, the potential beneficiaries of the project disassociate themselves from those people you have dealt with and you then realise you had dealt with the wrong persons, who gave the impression they were actually the targeted beneficiaries. “NDDC means well. And the corruption people talk about does not mean that NDDC staff is fraudulent or have stolen money. No, a lot of us do not even get any other money apart from our salary.” Notwithstanding the numerous challenges,

Atako

partments to be minuted on. It goes to the directors as well as the staff within the directorate. They all minute on. Tell me, how can it be possible to buy up all these people? It is not so easy.” Speaking on her administration’s blueprint, Christy, who said she was groomed with very focused and disciplinarian parents, says she “intends building a sustainability mechanism into our projects/programmes and ensure that they serve our target beneficiaries and population because every of our project is targeted at a certain population, that is project ownership.” She throws more light on the strength of the Commission’s staff noting “NDDC is not over bloated as is being alleged. We even have deficiency in the engineering department. In developed countries, you have specific site engineers and professionally, an engineer is not supposed to supervise more than one mega project, but it is not like that here. The highest number you have in any department is three or four.” Christy, who has a PhD in Guidance and Counseling, is of the view that the Commission does not have challenges with funding as such. On the current increase in the number of women given appointment in strategic positions she says: “It is a good development and on that account, I give three gbosas to President Goodluck Jonathan, not because I am a woman. Generally speaking though, women are more meticulous and passionate about anything they do. They are prudent and not reckless with money. And women like to mother everybody around. One thing I long for, as a woman in this Commission is to have a successor. “I see everyone around me as my sister, brother and colleague and the one vow I have made is to leave the place better than I met it. I do not know how long this journey will last but I intend doing my very best. The moment a woman gets married, people from her husband’s place will be watching to see how she behaves. And so, women are conscious of whatever they do, because we do not want to become a source of shame and embarrassment to our husbands and the family. Another thing that pushes us to excel is the general belief that women are weaker vessels, so we always want to prove otherwise.” The cute energetic mother in her 50s already has a grandchild. And though she did not come from a rich family, she had a very good upbringing. “My mother is alive. My father died two years ago. One thing that has helped me is what my late father used to tell me. He would say: ‘My dear girl, no matter how pretty or intelligent you are, it is nothing without character.’ So, if you misbehaved, my father would not hesitate to spank you, reminding you of the need to do what is right. “ Again, I think my level of exposure and the courses I read have helped me to relate very well with people. I did a lot of public relations and I know that the best way to live a very happy life is to relate very well with people and be happy at all time. I am a very cheerful person and even when I am very tired or irritated because as a human being, one gets angry sometimes, but few minutes after, you see me in my happy mood again. And then, I spend most of my time in the office, if I am not happy there, then I would be missing a lot.” On how she copes as a wife, mother and career woman, she says: “I am very luck to have married a good man. He is very understanding and gives me the necessary push. I dare not stay in the house longer than 7am else, he would say ‘look at the time. Won’t you go to work today?’ He is always urging me to go to work because he believes that if you receive a salary you didn’t work for, it is fraud. on, because the people will monitor the proj- Even sometimes when I feel very tired and canect by themselves and if they notice it is below not cook, he will tell me ‘don’t worry. I can what has been approved, they will ask quesmanage tea.’ So what I do is to cook different tions. This way, if anybody plans to shorttypes of food on weekends. Then I label change the people, he/she will have a and put them in the fridge. I have a maid that rethink.” also assists me.” She also debunked the rumour that memA strict disciplinarian, who ensures her chilbers of the National Assembly influence the dren are well trained in every aspect, Christy Commission in terms of getting contracts. frowns at some parents’ nonchalant attitude “We have the certificate of compliance. Before with regards to their children’s upbringing. any payment is made, it first goes to the Audit “These days, parents encourage their children department, Finance and other different deto cheat in exams. So, what do you expect from such a child? They see such malpractices as right and this spreads to all other areas of their lives. Parents should learn to inculcate values of hard work, integrity and perseverance in their children. Interestingly, Christy rarely has time to relax. “That is a problem and my only weakness. I hardly rest and I think it is the Lord that has been helping me all this while. I do not break down. I just eat normal food and don’t fall sick. It’s something that runs in my family. My mum is 77 years but she runs faster that a 20 year old. She is very agile.

‘NNDC Will Witness Great Transformation’ Christy is sure of her preparedness to tackle the future and move the Commission to the next level. “Yesterday, I sat down with the other directors and we did an appraisal. And having realised we have not been able to adequately articulate our internal processes and procedure; we decided to redefine and streamline them. So now, if for instance, we say we want to site a project in a community, we must follow the process of working together and involving the people. I believe that should reduce whatever corruption might be going

Corruption is everywhere and why there are allegations of such here is because sometimes you innocently deal with the wrong people thinking they are the right people. At the end, the potential beneficiaries of the project disassociate themselves from those people you have dealt with and you then realise you had dealt with the wrong persons, who gave the impression they were actually the targeted beneficiaries.

TheGuardian

20 THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Special Report

Some young children after observing their rite of passage

African Traditional Values… A Stand On TriBy Gregory Austin Nwakunor and Gbenga Salau FTER walking the long stretch of road from Ihu Ngwu, when Uzoma Nwadiokpa got to Ogbo-Obodo, where the last performance of Ihene — priests and priestesses of Obida, a stream in Ogwashi-Uku — normally held during every Iwu Festival. He stopped: his eyes searched for familiar spots in the vicinity. For instance, he looked around for the cherry tree that he used to climb with others when they were kids; it was not there. Nwadiokpa could barely make out where Apasue’s ogwa (palace) was. Apasue’s Nansu (totem) had long fallen after he passed on. Nwadiokpa could also barely make out where Kwendu’s Unomo (shrine) was. Same for Ebiri. Neither could he point to that of Nwachukwu Atagana. All priests of Obida, who made the place a holy enclave, have passed on. All he could see were new houses. In fact, where Atagana had his abode, a cassava-grinding machine was already installed. Nobody was expected to erect any structure there because the place was now the abode of the gods and spirits of these priests, who had become an ancestor. According to the people’s belief, ancestors are not just ghosts, neither are they simply dead heroes, but are known to be ever present and watching over the household and directly concerned in all the affairs of the family and property, giving abundant harvests and fertility. On January 18, 1993, he performed the last Iwu rite for Atagana as his eze-iwu. After the burial, Nwadiokpa left Ogwashi-

Uku for the city, where he had lived ever since, visiting home only once, in 2000. Thinking of Iwu Festival, the image that came across was the youngmen running to the stream in white wrapper called Mpe, all wielding canes, with a few holding otite, which had been snatched from their ohene. Once, it was fashionable to be an eze-iwu. Any young person, who was not one in Azungwu felt bad, as he was entitled to the secret of Obida. To Azungwu people, Iwu was a festival that inspired attachment. Now, its green tendrils have become cut by religious adventurism of the Christian faith. If there are still celebrants, they are just a few. As he walked to his family compound in Umulogai, Azungwu, he clung to its memories. A cultural heritage that is gradually vanishing. There was a moment of silence… HE relationship between Ifedayo Jaiyeola T and Oyindamola Jaleyimi couldn’t have been more perfect. Both are from Osogbo, Osun State. They met at a friend’s party. Before their relationship grew, Oyindamola asked Ifedayo if his mother was still alive. He answered, “yes!” “Oh, if your mother is still alive, then there is no need to go on with this relationship. I can’t marry anybody that has a mother,” she said. Ifedayo was taken aback by what he heard and never believed that such an excuse could come from a lady. He told a friend, who was candid enough to say Oyindamola should be left to be. “She was truthful and honest to tell you this. What if your mother suddenly became a witch, who wanted to kill her and her children?” He wondered, how could this be?

“Well, that’s what you get if a lady doesn’t like or want your mother around you.” Chukwudum Barnabas Okolo, in his Urbanisation and African Values, says, “extended family characterises the life of the African and somehow shapes his personality and outlook on life. Unlike Western man, for instance, the African sees his nuclear family as broadening out into a larger family unit.” Professor Jacques Maquet describes this broader family life thus: “The African child has only to take a few steps in his village to visit several who can substitute for his father, mother, brothers and sisters, and they will treat him accordingly. Thus the child has many homes in his village, and he is simultaneously giver and receiver of widespread attention.” Perhaps, that was what Lanre Odugbemi did not discover until much later. When he first married Foluke, his home almost turned to another Cairo. Everyday was marked with one protest or the other about what ‘Mama’ did or did not do. At the end, Lanre dumped his mother in an aged peoples’ home. Mrs. Ayinke Sebiomo was left to die, uncared for. Aided by his wife, Ibidapo, Tayo abandoned his mother in a cubicle, where she cooked, ate and slept. She was prevented from coming into the living room and when she died, the son celebrated the death of ‘Iya rere’ with a cow. For Oyewunmi Oyeronke, Associate Prof. of Sociology, Stony Brook University, United States of America, vanishing traditional values are not peculiar to Nigeria. “When you have what people call modernity and people become more individualistic, that is what

you see. They think only about themselves, and indeed, their notion of who constitute family finally starts to change. And one of the terrible ideas we got from the West is this idea that family is nuclear. So, their main responsibility is to their husband, wife and children. Of course, that has to do with the expanding materialism. That is the problem.” Respect for old people, senior citizens, particularly one’s parents, grandparents and relatives has become eroded. Two humanitarian organisations, Rotary Club of Ekulu and Little Sisters’ of the Poor Old Peoples home, only last week, expressed worries over increasing number of abandoned old parents in the streets and roads of Enugu metropolis. Both organisations said they were disturbed that some people have formed the habit of chasing away their parents because they were old and could no longer take care of themselves. The Reverend Sister in charge of the Kitchen at the home, Anastasia Okpala, said most of the old people currently in the home were got from the streets. She disclosed that most of them resorted to roaming the streets of Enugu after their children abandoned them. T about 4pm, December 27, 2002, the final A rite of inheritance called Igbunazu of Adaku Okafor was concluded in OgwashiUku. It is a custom in which a woman may be inherited or ‘remarried’ to her late husband’s brother or any one related to him, whom she had chosen. The new husband is

HE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

SPECIAL REPORT

... Of Vanishing Traditional Values expected to look after the woman and her children as his own. Called Levirate marriage, in many African cultures, the inherited wife is not traditionally considered as one’s own wife, and the inheritor, therefore, must marry his own real wife. These days, most ladies do not want to be inherited. Once their husbands die, they leave the home to remarry, except when their children are mature enough to resist this. Nkechi Adinkwuye, 16, who lives in Ejigbo, confessed, “I cried the day my mother told me she wanted to remarry. When daddy died, and she was asked whether she wanted to stay or remarry, she boldly told the family she will marry us the children, now she is gone. We can’t get the care and attention that our daddy’s brother would have given us.” As part of the inherited value system, urban dwellers supported the education of their kin or affines, regardless of their income. There were no urban dweller who did not support in full or in part the education of a kin or affine. They were also asked to provide some assistance, either financial or material, for kin or affines. According to Francis Okoh, while at St. Michael College, now Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Uku, “my elder brother took care of my education. He also helped in getting my first job in the civil service.” Job placement was a common request from kin or affine, which every urban dweller expected to receive. A kin and affinal relative may be welcomed regardless of whether he or she brought a gift from home or was invited to come. A clan member is obliged to welcome kins regardless of social or economic status. A swathe of betrayal of value system has settled over the country like a duvet. Prof. Niyi Osundare of University of New Orleans told The Guardian, “our world is upside down.” According to him, “respect for human life is no longer part of us. When I was young, young people were not allowed to see dead bodies. I still remember when my grandfather died; I was told I had to be taken away because I was not suppose to see a dead body.” He continued, “when I was growing up, we never locked our door; my grandmother would say only thieves lock themselves within. I never saw destitute on the streets in Ikere-Ekiti. Of course, not everybody had enough, but society took care of them. We did not experience any robbery and all these things that we see all over the place now. I still remember that my father used to keep a couple of yams at the crossroad, on the way to our farms. You put five yams and a number of pebbles that translate into shillings. At the end of the day, the yams would have disappeared and the shillings would be on the leaf. It was blind merchandise and commerce. You never knew who bought and you did not need to know. At that time, Nigeria did not have as much money as it has now, and we were not as poor. Now, we have more money but we are poorer, our lives are less insecure and our values are upside down.” S a way of life of the people, cultural valA ues provided a kind of blueprint or map for relating with others. A human being takes many years to mature and become a functional adult. They provided that growth protection: not only to infants, but to old adults, widows, orphans, physically challenged, hearing and visually impaired, the sick and weak ones alike. They helped you to know how to act in a gathering — when you are with a stranger, in a funeral, naming ceremony, toward a person who smiles, leers or swears at you. They supplied you with broad, standardised answers, formulas and recipes for dealing with each of these situations; above all, they defined types and forms of marriages, specified who was permitted or not to enter into marital relations and have children, legitimised status of children, what is moral or unethical and what should not be permitted. Initiation and puberty rites reminded everybody of the important gap being created in the modern cultures and social development.

Friends of the groom prostrate to ask after a girl’s hand in marriage A.B.C. Ocholla-Ayayo, the author of Culture As A Lived Experience, which outlines the vanishing traditional values and culture, points out that there are “aspects of culture, which are directed towards socialising young members into functional adults by implanting norms, beliefs, values, knowledge and skills, as well as socio-cultural ideologies and social philosophy based on historical background of the people.” Observers of events say as a result of globalisation, Africa’s culture and traditional knowledge and experiences are dying, leaving the continent in danger of losing its past, jeopardising the future of its values, which are stored in the memories of Africa’s elders, healers, griots, midwives, farmers, fishermen and hunters and thinkers remaining. Today, as Africa increasingly gets absorbed into the global system, its ethnic values are gradually dying or being sucked into modern civilisation. Culture purists believe that African youths have turned away from their elders, breaking an ancient but fragile chain of oral traditions. And when cultural norms and values are changed suddenly, a vacuum is created with serious consequences. For the Professor of African and African-American Studies, University of California, Davis California, Moradewun Adejumobi, “it is not a surprise that values change, what you have to look for when your values change is, is it changing to something that is beneficial and positive?” Osundare believes, “we have no values, and that is why things are the way they are: Children know that elections in this country are not won by people who should win them. That is what has crept into the educational system. Our children do not believe any more that you have to achieve through hard work, no. It is now, put in a little effort and get huge reward that everybody is saying and they believe that there is a short cut to success. You do not need to work hard, you will start your exam and your parents will buy marks for you from examination computer room. And this is how we came to this path and no country can survive the way we are going.” According to Osundare, “parents have a lot of blame in this, children do not only learn from what they are told, they learn from what they see. When you are in your sitting room and all your children hear is, no, 10 per cent is not enough, I want 15 per cent; the children are really wondering, what those 15 and 20 per cent are about, bribery, they will get to know later. When your children hear you negotiating with thugs, and you supply them with gun and axes and you ask them to kill your opponents.” In the words of Professor Dan Izevbaye of the Bowen University, there are two things responsible for the vanishing values. “One is the kind of social organisations that we have. The second is the kind of government access and care for citizens that we have. If family values that help in the upbringing of children are re-

tained, what we call traditions emerge from mainly families and lineages. If we have a government that is not caring, that does not provide for its citizens, of course, things will go wrong. So it has to come from those two aspects, from the individuals who ought to know that family values are important and a key unit in human society. Then government should provide for their people. If you do not provide for the people, things will go wrong and all kinds of things will happen.” In Causes and Consequences of Rapid Erosion of Cultural Values in a Traditional African Society by E. O. Wahab, S. O. Odunsi and O. E. Ajiboye of the Department of Sociology, Lagos State University, published in the Journal of Anthropology, Volume 2012 (2012), these researchers found out that there is a correlation between social forces such as colonialism, westernisation and erosion of cultural values. They note, “in sub-Saharan Africa, people and culture are inseparable since there is no denial of the fact that what makes any human society is its culture. For a society to be societal it must be cultural; therefore, society and culture are also intertwined.” Adejumobi said, “the problem is that good aspects of our values are being lost in favour of values, which are destructive to the community. Again, it is a sign of the ignorance that we have about some of the useful things in our culture. Many Nigerians are ignorant of their culture and we need now to have instructions about our culture in schools so that we are at least familiar with the things that are useful in our culture.” An opinion also shared by Osundare. In his words: “When you tell your children, you do not need to learn Yoruba, English is the language that matter and when people come to visit you, you call junior to come to greet your uncle, say hello to uncle. And you say proudly junior does not speak Yoruba, he is very bright, his English is so good, you are already killing that child because he will not know enough English and you have already destroyed the Yoruba he has or the indigenous language he has. He can never use English like a native speaker, so that child grows up not knowing any language at all. What our politicians have done to our values in this country, so many years of military rules, when we had no lives and the soldiers put guns over our heads and they stole our money. And when they were going, they arranged for themselves to be succeeded by Herodise politicians, look at the billions that are being stolen. You set up a bank, get customers, steal their money, liquidate the bank, then you run away with the money while other people are dying of hypertension because they have lost their money.” Today morality and ethnical values are not being implanted on the young generation. A study carried out in 1989 revealed that the general assumption is that parents and teachers are providing necessary guidance,

since young people spend most of their time under their care. The problem, however, centres on what exactly young people are taught, since teachers do not know what parents have or have not taught and what is left for the teachers. Parents do not only assume that teachers are best equipped to teach sexuality, for example, which they rarely teach, but also spend very little time with the children. The study found out that majority of the youth 64.8 per cent receive their sex education from friends; 15.6 per cent from peer groups; 8.3 per cent received their sex education from teachers and only 0.7 per cent have received sex education, from the church leaders. Already, the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP, warns in its report on the disappearance of traditional knowledge that, “Nature secrets, locked away in the songs, stories, art and handcrafts of indigenous people, may be lost forever as a result of growing globalization.” Any laxity, lassitude, and levity exhibited by its custodians would result in rapid erosion and disappearance of the uniqueness of the people and their culture. The Guardian gathered that adherence to the pristine purity and unadulterated cultural traits, values and virtues of peoples and places preserve a society. What has been lost in Nigeria now is the organic community with the living culture it embodied: Folk songs, folk dances, virginity among others are signs of something more. For Wahab, Odunsi and Ajiboye, to ensure fulfillment of the above, one would, first and foremost, recommend that, on the level of individuals, everyone who is attached to any culture be culturally conscious and alert to his or her identity and its uniqueness. In other words, culture is inseparable from people and should therefore be cherished and relished. “Further, the social institutions such as the family, which shoulders the responsibility of procreation and orientation of new ones should not be loose in its function of socialisation, the agents of which should be closely monitored.” They note, “on the part of the government, political power should be utilised to encourage cultural peoples, regardless of their tribal divergence, to develop interest in promoting and market their cultural uniqueness and potency, which could be of socioeconomic advantage.” Osundare says, “we have to change this value system and the way we deal with one another because this country is not producing anything but a importing one.” Oyeronke added, “we ought to have the rule of law that determines, which laws that we are going to have on the book — Because we use these laws to promote our values and our values to promote laws — So the values that we want to promote in the society we will back those values with the reward and punishment system. This is what they are doing in china. We will back those values we want with reward and the ones we don’t want with punishment. That is the way it

TheGuardian

22 Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Cover

Buhari By Gregory Austin Nwakunor

FTER almost 14 years and three months of Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) leadership, opposition now seem ready to pare back some of their excesses. At least, to have a regulated structure that will fight the PDP in 2015, but with the 2013 and 2014 gubernatorial elections in Anambra, Osun and Ekiti states as starting point. The registration of All Progressive Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), no doubts, has created opportunity for opposition in the country to be stronger. Though, the day is still very young to see the party as formidable enough to dislodge the ruling party from the seat of power, facts on ground show that APC, as currently composed, will bring stronger challenge in the political equation. Currently, of the 36 state governors in the country, the PDP has 23: Abia, Rivers, Niger, Jigawa, Adamawa, Kano, Sokoto, Taraba, Cross River, Kebbi, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Plateau, Kwara and Kaduna, while the APC has 11— Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Imo, Nasarawa, Borno, Yobe and Zamfara. Also, out of the 109 Senators in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, the PDP has more than 60 members and in the House of Representatives out of 360 members, the ruling PDP has more than 200 as compared to APC’s 126. However, the trouble with opposition, at least, in Nigeria is that like the tide, when it ebbs, it is very easy to see ‘who is swimming naked’. Except on pages of newspapers, opposition hardly exists. Perhaps, the emergence of APC will change this perception. Perhaps too, APC will end up like the others in the past— analgesic. According to political pundits, this is about the brightest moment for the opposition to unseat the incumbent. They believe that it is about time the vituperations associated with opposition that have since gone strangely quiet and flattened to be active and strong. Many avid watchers of unfolding events say that PDP is now fractured, and thus, may not be strong enough to muster as much support as it did in 2011. The view is that many PDP members are cur-

2015: The Odds Against Buhari rently ‘floating’: though physically in the party, their minds are out of it, especially those from the northern parts of the country, who are likely to dump the ruling party to join forces with opposition, if a presidential candidate from the North does not emerge in the party. Only last week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) widened further the Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2015 general elections with registration of two new political parties. This comes on the heels of the recent registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The new parties are Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), which belongs to the associates of the former vice president Atiku Abubakar and the Independent Democrats (ID). Many believe that the newly registered PDM will serve as a fallback platform for Atiku to contest the 2015 presidential election if he fails to get the PDP ticket. They point to the recent Nigeria Governors Forum election, which has further polarised the PDP. At the behest of the Northern governors and tacit support of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, the Presidency supported candidate, Jonah Jang, was floored by the Rotimi Amaechi who was supported by the opposition. Nevertheless, many PDP members still believe that APC may not be that expected opposition, as it stands now, it is not only grandstanding, but built around the ambition of two of its leaders —Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) and General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) — who surprisingly, may sound the death knell of the party. Strangely, since 1960, opposition party has never unseated any incumbent. They always floun-

der at the last minute. For six years, the Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) had the majority in the Northern House of Assembly because it mustered its way out of the challenging aggregations of Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and United Middle Belt Congress, and that, which Action Congress and the National Council of Nigerian Citizens provided in the centre. In 1979, the moment the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) came to power, it held on to it, winning the 1983 elections in what many referred to as ‘tainted moonslide’ victory, until the military struck. Since 1999, the same trend has continued. PDP, already, has won four straight elections and produced three presidents. Opposition has always had the right attitude towards unseating the incumbent, but it has always been difficult to extract the right approach. At the end of every political contestation, a couple of blips have emerged throwing spanner in the wheel, especially, when it comes to the issue of the party’s standard bearer. Observers say that for the party to dislodge the PDP in 2015, it must be able to form a broad-based coalition and institute proper internal democracy, by that, the APC will then be attractive to several PDP governors who are ready to defect. There are already moves and intense lobby to have a serving PDP governor from the North, or perhaps, an influential member of the House of Representatives, as the APC candidate in the 2015 presidential election, if a non-Northerner emerges from the PDP. Feelers that Buhari might re-consider his earlier decision not to contest a future presidential election has further raised the stakes as the

race for the 2015 presidential election draws closer. Many have argued that if Buhari and Tinubu step aside, it would pave the way for the emergence of a younger candidate in the 2015 presidential election. Though the hot phase of convention is yet to come, this fortuitous seasonal torpor often determines the eventual right to the allocation of resources. Members of the party have begun secret moves to source candidates for the election. For many, the only way the opposition can dislodge the ruling party is to allow for new drivers. Reluctant politicians have always emerged in Nigeria to take the reign of power. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was not expected to be Prime Minister in 1960, but he did. The same thing happened, when Alhaji Shehu Shagari defeated established politicians such as Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, Senator Olusola Abubakar Saraki and Alhaji Maitama Sule. In 1993, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola won, beating some tested politicians including Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. In 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo defeated Dr. Alex Ekwueme and others, while in 2007, the unassuming teacher from Katsina, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, emerged president. Another unheralded politician, Goodluck Jonathan, succeeded him. Ambition killed NPN in Kwara State in 1983, the same way it did to Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) in Anambra and Unity Party of (UPN) in Oyo states. It also killed the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) chances in Lagos State in 1992, when Femi Agbalajobi and Dapo Sarumi, which rubbed off on the candidature of Yomi Edu. When strong candidates tussle for power, the party suffers defeat. One essential reason that has thrown up these reluctant ‘politicians and candidates’ is the efficiency of party structure. These reluctant candidates grow up to become engine room of the party. Strong candidates often distract parties, sometimes, weakening electioneering strength. The likely emergence of former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari as the flag bearer of the APC may not receive the support of majority of the Southerners who believe he is a hardliner. CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

COVER

Why Buhari Would Remain Unbeatable In Kano From Adamu Abuh, Abuja HE name of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) rings a bell in Kano, just like it does in any other part of the core northern states. It is a name that is associated with forthrightness and zero tolerance for the spate of recklessness and impunity that has brought the country to its knees over the years. Though loathed by most aristocrats and the high-heeled in Kano and other parts of Nigeria that are keen on sustaining the status quo, GMB as General Mohammadu Buhari is fondly called represents what the late Malam Aminu Kano was to the ordinary citizens in Kano, who were at the receiving end of years of poor governance in the polity. The average Kano citizen, who by nature is progressive and anti-establishment could easily recall how corrupt government officials were clamped in jail in the heydays of GMB as Military Head of State in the early 80s would always be keen to cast his vote for GMB anytime, any day. GMB who is widely perceived as a no nonsense person; the average Kano person still looks forward to the return of the war against indiscipline days, when GMB could confront any law breaker, no matter how highly placed he or she is in a bid to correct the ills of the society. In 2003, when GMB started his foray in the political landscape of the country, he found in the kano electorate willing supporters. On Election Day, they believed a messiah had come beckoning on them to come for redemption. They moved out in droves to cast their votes, for not only GMB, but anybody endorsed by GMB. Under the “SAK” refrain propagated by the

• Those Who Connive To Inflict Harm On Nigerians Are The Enemies Of Buhari likes of Hajia Najaátu Mohammed at the time, all the candidates fielded by the then All Nigerian Peoples party (ANPP) swept the polls for the simple fact that it was the party that handed over GMB the ticket to be its presidential flag bearer. As soon as GMB endorsed Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, the Kano electorate voted as if it was a Jihad to ensure the defeat of Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2003 kano governorship polls. GMB recorded landslide victory against former president Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Musa YarÁdua and incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan in the 2003, 2007, and 2011presidntial polls in Kano, reputed to have 5,135,415 million registered voters going by the last 2011 voter registration exercise conducted by the independent national electoral commission (INEC). It was on record that GMB, while vying for the presidency on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) handed down a resounding defeat to Malam Shekarau, who as incumbent governor and presidential candidate of the ANPP in his kano ward polling unit in the last 2011 polls. In the build up to the 2011 polls, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who lost his seat due to what was later termed the GMB hurricane in 2003, had already learnt a huge survival lessons. Though Kwankwaso campaigned vigorously for votes for his PDP, he was careful not to speak ill

of GMB. In the end, Kwankwaso won the governorship seat on Election Day for the PDP and Buhari got his landslide victory. Buhari’s uprightness more than religion and ethnic considerations could be adduced for the massive support he enjoys with the kano electorate. With the 2015 polls around the corner, it is very unlikely that the former Head of State who tossed president Shehu Shagari out of power on 31st December 31, 1983 would loss the favour he had been enjoying. A former House of Representatives member who is a die-in-the wool supporter of GMB, Farouk Adamu Aliyu faulted the notion that GMB could be a liability to the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking to the Guardian, he said there is no way GMB would not add value to the APC, adding; “The GMB factor has always delivered the North and beyond, everybody knows that, for APC it is more than a done deal. This is a party, which he helped to midwife, remember he is a man of high integrity, probity and discipline. I know for sure, APC as of today is the party to beat, and it is more diverse than our defunct political parties (ACN, ANPP and CPC), if you give GMB the presidential ticket of the party, he will have capable hands across the country more than any other time. “I don’t know why some critics who have nothing negative about GMB will bring the age issue; don’t we all want to age gracefully? Who

wants to die young? Don’t you or any of the critics of the age matter want to live as long as practicable so long one is healthy? Just recently an 89year old man won election, GMB is 70 and is a healthy man. “As I said before, GMB is a symbol of discipline, probity, openness, integrity and inclusiveness, these and many more is what he intends to bring on board if given the chance, whether his past will haunt him? That should be left for the electorate to decide, if democracy is to be allowed to work? All these issues of age, his past, etc, should be left for the people to decide.” He said apart from the elites, who are of insignificant number among the electorate, GMB is well liked by the northern political class. He noted: “Ninety per cent of northerners are with GMB, inclusive of the Christians, whom I assure you have no problem with him. The remaining 10percent are the elites that have connived to inflict harm on us all as Nigerians. Remember, when it comes to stealing our collective resources, the issue of religion or where you come from does not matter, the earlier people shine their eyes the better.”

As I said before, GMB is a symbol of discipline, probity, openness, integrity and inclusiveness, these and many more is what he intends to bring on board if given the chance, whether his past will haunt him? That should be left for the electorate to decide, if democracy is to be allowed to work? All these issues of age, his past, etc, should be left for the people to decide.

OKOYE: Buhari Is A Strong Asset For APC Festus Okoye is a constitutional lawyer and human rights activist. He spoke on the chances of the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, as presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the event that he emerges in 2015. From Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau Chief Is Buhari still a good material in spite of his age? HE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which is a major block or plank of APC, believes and sees General Buhari as a moral compass and the symbol of their party. The large proportion of the marginalised and helpless masses especially in the North of Nigeria sees him as their hope for a better tomorrow. So, for the elements that form the block of the former CPC, he is an asset and so many of the members of the CPC in the National Assembly rode on his back to victory. I think that Buhari is a good material for the party, if it believes that he has the broad base to bring in the votes from the Northern part of Nigeria. Secondly, I believe that at 70, Buhari is still very agile and mentally alert to pilot the affairs of Nigeria. With his work ethic and military background, I believe that he can still serve this country in any capacity for another period of five years. However, the decision as to his political future must first be made by his party through political party primaries before the Nigerian people will be given the option to say yes or no.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 Buhari has been a serial presidential candidate since 2003 when he first took a shot and contested under the platform of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), which is now part of the APC. He also ran on the party’s platform in 2007, before moving to the CPC in the 2011 presidential election. He is believed to be rethinking the decision he made shortly after the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal challenging the declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP as winner of the election, not to run again. Analysts calculate that if Buhari emerges, some already dead weights would be carried on as burden for the APC. Already, there are biases against Buhari’s candidature. They point out that it would be very difficult to sell the man to many, who see him as a religious extremist, who hates Christians and will use his Presidency to champion a Jihadist’s agenda. Those who hold a perceived religious bias will always vote against him. It is a burden he has to bear. But it would be foolish to extrapolate the pedigree of Buhari.

But some say he should he leave the stage for more vibrant and youthful candidates? I am not sure that Buhari has asked anybody not to contest the APC primaries. It is left for those who claim to be youthful and dynamic to join the party and position themselves as credible and saleable alternatives to him. The fundamental thing is that elections and vibrancy are about people with electoral value. Buhari has electoral value and elections are about votes and not about dynamism and youth. Dynamism and vibrancy can add value to the fortunes of a party, but it cannot on its own be the sole determinant for sponsoring a candidate for election. But Buhari has said that if the party chooses someone else he will abide by the Party decision and campaign for the said person. So, it is left to the party and its members to make their choice. What do you think of his chances in a general election? The political terrain can be unpredictable. It is left for the party to do the political mathematics and determine the electoral worth of the candidate. It is possible that Buhari can get majority of the votes from Northern Nigeria and if the ACN component remains faithful to the APC and fields an acceptable candidate from the South West and the Governor of Imo and Rivers are able to give the APC 25 per cent of the votes they can comfortably go for the presidency. The political dynamics can change and Nigeria and Nigerians may see him as the change the country requires to move forward. Things can also change dramatically and his opponents can profile him and reduce his electoral advantage. But time will really Okoye tell.

The Odds Against Buhari That is what he is bringing to the table: honesty, integrity and competence. These are some of the character traits that are needed in a country where corruption has reached an alarming proportion. Those who believe in the credential of the former soldier as ‘Mr Clean’ are in the majority. But sadly, this class of Nigerians is becoming extinct in the political apparatus. For those who want Buhari to run, they argue that without him flying the APC flag in 2015, the merger would not make any impact because it would be difficult to find a replacement like him with such huge followership.

He is a man of integrity and one man whose zeal for a better Nigeria is unequalled. This is one Nigerian that was in the army, rose to the rank of a General, was once GOC, 3rd Armoured Division Jos, former petroleum minister, former Head of State for two years, former Executive Chairman Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), thrice presidential candidate, yet does not have property or bank account outside this country, not in Abuja, not in Lagos. He lives on his pension. Now, if this man is not a saint, then tell me the definition of a saint. Buhari is one privileged Nigerian that never abused the opportunity this nation gave him to serve. Without mincing words, one can authoritatively say he is the most qualified Nigerian to occupy that seat come 2015. “Honestly, it takes a disciplined mind like Buhari to fix the many problems confronting this country,” said a supporter. “PDP has nothing to offer Nigerians. We need decent people like him to clean the mess PDP will leave behind in 2015.” No doubts, a strong candidate like Buhari would surely have strong effect on the party, but one thing again, APC should not send a wrong signal that it is an aggregation of people with revenge motive that power shifted and not rotated as earlier

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THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

COVER

DOGO: Let Buhari Be A Man Of His Words And Retire Elder Saidu Dogo, former Secretary General of the 19 Northern States, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), takes a look at the preparations for 2015 and the quest for the North to occupy the presidency. He spoke with SAXONE AKHAINE, The Guardian’s Northern Bureau Chief on the chances of General Muhammadu Buhari and the newly registered All Progressive Congress (APC) during the 2015 polls.

• At 70, Buhari Should Groom Successors And Forget The Presidency in the service of this country. Many of them are in key positions in this country, and who were his contemporaries in the Army and they have a lot of these problems still hanging there. And the truth is even this, everybody has the right to contest, but there is a time we should allow sanity to reign. If I, at 70 I’m supposed to be resting now and be guiding people on what they should do, what is Buhari coming to do in government that he did not do when he was Head of State? The fact is also that, given six months, if we have a good leader who knows what he is doing, we can change everything about this country. You don’t need three, four or five years to rule before you turn the nation around for good. That is the truth. Let me tell you, Ezekiah was a youth of 18 years old, he is recorded in the Bible as the king who transformed the rot he met in Israel after he father died and he came to the throne. He brought the people back to righteousness within a short time. You see, it doesn’t have to be an old man that could transform Nigeria; it has to be a person who fears God. Buhari as an individual cannot change anything in this country. The same corrupt people that are surrounding APC are also in other political parties. They are the same people who are backing Buhari. In this case, where is the sanity? Who would you see as posing the kind of opposition to Buhari; given the fact that APC is also blessed with other presidential materials that are within your kind of age requirement? As I said earlier, definitely there is going to be opposition against him in that party. If fairness will be the order of the day in APC, there is no way Buhari can emerge as the 2015 presidential candidate of. Somebody who came into that union without much stake in terms of the number of states his party won during the last election, it is on this basis that a right thinking person would not score Buhari high for the Presidential ticket of the party. People should

There is this general feeling in the North that Muhammadu Buhari is most likely to emerge as Presidential candidate of APC in 2015. How would you score Buhari and the Party for that race? ELL, it is very funny for any one to think of General Buhari coming back again to contest for the presidency in 2015, in the sense that we want people who are men of their words. Buhari woke up morning and he told the whole world that at his age, at 70 he was no longer coming out to contest any election. But, some of us were surprised that as it is now, Buhari is still clamouring to contest the Presidency. In the first place, considering the age of Buhari, it is a disadvantage for that office. At 70, when Nigerian youths are supposed to be groomed and brought to contest for such offices like it is done all over the world, he is still nursing the ambition. Take Obama as an example, he was in his 40s when he became the President of the United States. At 70, it is a big disadvantage against Buhari to come out and tell Nigerians that he wants to contest for the presidency again. And again, people should also be taken by their words, and if he decides to come back, I think it will not augur well for him and his party. It will be better as a gentleman who has been a Head of State before, let him be contented with that and allow the youths to take over from where he stops. Some of his followers believe that a Buhari Presidency come 2015 will bring sanity to the Nigerian economy and polity as well? You see, it is true Buhari is not God. That is one thing. There are many people in this country that honestly can turn Nigeria for good and also bring the country back on the path of the fear of God. All that is needed is that such people should be encouraged. Look at it this way, you are talking of APC, in this union of this new party, which comprises the former ANPP, CPC and others, when you look at the situation properly, one of the merging parties came up with five states during the last election. I think Buhari’s CPC only won one state. Now, will it be fair for the party that came with five states into this union to be denied the Presidency and give it to Buhari? Even if people are saying General Buhari is popular, why is it that his popularity is confined to only one state that his party won in the last election? If we are to use that as a yardstick to measure his popularity, it will only be fair if things are done properly and not based on sentiments. I cannot see the Southwest and the rest of Nigerians in APC accepting the game that the Buhari supporters are playing. And for people to suggest that Buhari should be brought as a presidential candidate, I think such people are not being fair to that party and it will definitely cause a lot of problems within the party if Buhari insists. That is the way I see the entire scenario. But when you look at the entire thing holistically, you now begin to wonder why Buhari should insist on going for the Presidency again. I was thinking that there are people that work with Buhari, and he could have easily said, ‘look, we are sponsoring you, go ahead and we will be at the background and support you. You see, as a gentleman, that is what is expected of Buhari. But, then, to keep on insisting that he must be the one at the forefront shows some element of somebody trying to take the place of God. I can tell you, that God is the all-sufficient and all knowing, and can do all things; but for mankind, they should give other people a chance and see them grow. And again, politically, when you look at Buhari, many people have a lot of grudges against him. That is a basic fact. There are lots of people who feel that he has not done well while Dogo

also reason that in any investment, the person that invests, let’s say five percent and insists on taking the big share does not show fairness? So, I perceive that if Buhari insists further, they are going to have a lot of trouble in that party, because it will be difficult for anybody to concede the presidency to him. If the APC is serious about 2015 Presidency, all the party needs to do is to get somebody who is capable of turning the country around for good, and definitely, not Buhari. And fairness must be applied because if this is not done, the party may crash. I personally know the line of thinking in that party, because many of them are saying that they cannot come with many of their forces and resources and then would be relegated to the background. As a religious leader, do you think some public utterances of General Buhari may be his undoing? Some of his utterances in the past might be a factor against his ambition. But, some of these utterances Buhari has come out to deny them even though it has not gone down well with the Christian community in the North. Because

This issue of linking terrorism with poverty is nonsense, because one AK 47 gun is more than N100, 000. Tell me, which ordinary person would give out N100, 000 or N200, 000 naira to purchase a gun? It is not a question of poverty, it is satanic evil that is happening and the government is playing with it. That is why it has gotten to this height. It is unfortunate.

such utterances bordering on religion, for example, will make people to work for somebody who will protect their religion. Christians feel aggrieved about his attitude. And they wonder how a leader who wants to rule over this country could come out and show this type of desire and advising his people to vote along some parochial lines. Secondly, you see, nobody here in the North can say that respect for leadership is not ordained by God. We respect leadership because the Bible teaches us that. Look, whoever is on the seat of power should be respected, and this is because all authorities come from heaven. No leader should be disrespected, provided God allowed him for a purpose. If a sitting President is occupying the office and they invite Buhari for meetings and he refuses to attend, is Buhari God? We Christians believe in leadership. Buhari has been called upon for several meetings and he refused to attend, this is not good and such a person will find it difficult to come to power in Nigeria. You mean if APC should present Buhari, as it’s Presidential candidate in 2015 it may lose the election? Yes, I want to believe that. And that is why I said earlier that there is a lot on the ground. We are living in the 21st Century; let us have a feel of what is obtained in other countries, where old people like Buhari are not brought into position of leadership. And fairness and justice also demands that those people who worked hard and came into the union should be given a chance. Looking at the build-up to 2015, there are problems in the Governors Forum, the PDP and in Rivers State. Is that healthy for the polity? We have every reason to believe that these people know what they are up to. In any family with children, they fight. That is the problem. You see, the PDP has a lot of people who are strange bedfellows, who have nothing in common. But, they found themselves in the party. I want to believe that with the kind of leadership in that party, if they put their heads together there is no problem they cannot solve. It was a good thing that the APC came as a formidable opposition and they would help the ruling party for now and put it on track. So, it is a good omen in Nigeria that this is happening. But, what I want to discourage is when people are predicting trouble, particularly, ‘if I don’t get what I want, that I will make Nigeria ungovernable’. That is the problem we are having today, unresolved. That is the problem we are having with the insurgency that is spreading like wild fire. They have made Nigeria ungovernable because they are not in power, and that is why we are where we are today. I want to commend the federal government for allowing APC, a formidable opposition to emerge. That shows true democracy and that shows that the ruling government, at least is trying to entrench democracy in this country. If it were in other countries, with the power they have they would stop any party that may challenge their leadership. There are some of northern leaders who think President Goodluck Jonathan cannot contest in 2015; how do you see that? The truth is that every human being has the right to contest any election. Look at it this way, it is a very simple thing; what are we talking about in the first place, all of them have the right, nobody has to stop anybody from contesting the primaries in their various parties. If you are allowed to contest primaries in the PDP and you lose the election, fine. You see, the time has come when we must face political realities. That is why you see that in America today, from one family, the Bush family, the father ruled and later the son came and also governed America and nobody said anything in America. Are we more democratic than America? The truth is that let the best candidate emerge in Nigeria. If the best candidate comes from anywhere he can rule for the next 50 years, provided the constitution is followed. This is the truth of the matter and unless we get to that point, we may not be serious with issues pertaining to our development in this country. This is the problem that has not allowed competition. Look, at it, I am a northerner and if you are talking of core north, I am from Kaduna State; but the truth is that most of the leaders that have ruled Nigeria since the colonial times are from the North. What are we saying is; let us allow others to rule based on merit. When northerners were in the leadership position of this country, the South-south supported the North, it is only fair for the North to CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

COVER Challenges Buhari Might Face In His 2015 Presidential Quest presidency should prepare to fight it out with other interested aspirants. “All the three merging parties have their presidential hopefuls. I ITH the registration of the newly formed can see them warming up for it. We shall insist All Progressives Congress (APC), the conon conducting primary elections. And whoevtest for the presidential seat intensifies, especially in the North. Politicians in the party have er wins we expect the defeated contenders to already started looking towards the directions support him,” he said. When asked why the North should not proof their would-be presidential materials for duce a consensus candidate, the former secrethe race. Either through zoning or any other tary revealed that that could not be possible arrangement, the APC presidential candidate since similar arrangements in the past did not is most likely to come from the North. work. Going by that likelihood, the first political He revealed and reminded angrily that, “I was material that readily comes to mind is the one of those that were trying to see that North three-time presidential contestant under two came up with one presidential candidate durdifferent political parties, retired General ing the last general election, but our efforts Muhammadu Buhari. He contested twice were fruitless. We called the attention of Bello under the just de-registered All Nigeria Maitama Sule, Dan Masanin Kano, Justice People’s Party (ANPP) in 2003 and 2007. He Mamman Nasir and other elders from the contested under the Congress for Progressive North. Malam Shekarau, Buhari and Ribadu Change (CPC) in 2011. He formed and regiswere all invited. But it was an exercise in futilitered the CPC to enable him have political space to contest for the exalted position. There ty.” Bako boasted that when APC manages to hold were too many independent minded persons on to internal democracy alone, beating the in the ANPP, who funded the party and were ruling party, PDP, would not be a big deal. not ready to be tossed around. On his part, the chairman of Buhari Network Being well loved mainly by the masses, Buhari is very popular in the nation’s political for Justice, AbdulMajid Banbilki Kwamanda, said APC was formed to strengthen democracy landscape, especially in the North. Many people believe he is honest, transparent, resilient, in Nigeria, and that those who are interested in the contest for the presidency should be hard working and focused. Yet, these are the encouraged to do so. same factors recognised by observers as “I do not buy the idea of someone dropping responsible for his failure to become presihis or her ambition just to create space for the dent. other. I don’t subscribe to the idea that someWhen he contested under ANPP, all other body should drop his ambition for Buhari. You presidential materials stepped down to pave way for his emergence as the party’s flag bear- see, I don’t have any politician in mind, who is better qualified than Buhari, but I still insist er. While in CPC, he was the only candidate. on keen democratic contest between him and The bone of contention now is whether Buhari could make it as the presidential candi- others,” Kwamanda maintained. date of the APC. If ANPP and CPC were ‘progressive parties,’ there are now more progressive elements in the APC to contend with. In the first place, the issue of some persons stepping down for Buhari in the present arrangement seems very unlikely. Though, there was nowhere in the past where Buhari insisted he must be left unchallenged at the primaries, the fact is that he was domineering. That may not happen now. In spite of his sterling qualities, which made him tower above many, there is an emerging school of thought that thinks Buhari’s Chances are slim and thorny. While some opinions have concluded that being a three times looser, Buhari would lose again when given another chance, others have gone an extra mile to challenge the processes that saw to his emergence as flag bearer for three uninterrupted times, concluding that they were undemocratic. The opinion is that those were the reasons for the man’s serial failure. This time around the former Head of State may not find an easy ride to emerge as flag bearer. Many in the coalition are now asking for keen democratic contest in the primaries. This is where the issue of internal democracy comes in. In his view, the immediate past Kano State secretary of All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) Rabi’u Bako insists that, “Internal democracy should be put to practice if we are ready to wrest power from the power mongers - PDP. If you look at it very critically, all the merging parties came together through democratic process.” In what appears like a challenge to the idea of leaving the presidential position to a particular aspirant, Bako demands for a fair play. He adds that whoever wants to contest for the Buhari meeting southwest leaders

From Abba Anwar, Kano

Kwamanda is still jittery of the presence of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau and Malam Nuhu Ribadu in the APC, two candidates in the 2011 elections. He thinks both Shekarau and Ribadu are in the party to tear it apart. But he still insists that they should contest if they so wished. On those who say that Buhari is too old to contest this time around, he said: “When you say Buhari is too old, why can’t you look at our President now who is younger than Buhari, and look at the kind of blunders he makes.” Some persons who make it their responsibility to study Buhari’s political trajectory are of the view that, here was a person who found it very difficult to manage his party, CPC, which caused the loss of key states at the 2011 general elections to other parties on a platter of gold. They argue that the political clout Buhari enjoyed in the past is no longer available. That according to them was why his anointed gubernatorial candidates in some states in the north failed woefully during the last general election. Examples of Kano and Katsina were given. In Kano, it was retired Brigadier General Lawan Ja’afar Isah, who had the backing of Buhari, but CPC became third after PDP and ANPP. Though at the presidential polls, Buhari was clearly ahead in the category, defeating Shekarau, who contested under the banner of ANPP. In Katsina, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari was Buhari’s anointed candidate. He also failed woefully. In Kano and Katsina states, it was believed that Buhari’s unnecessary interference in the local politics in those states was the root cause of the party’s failure. Not too long ago, an association called for the

intervention of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu to rescue APC from imminent collapse in Kano State. The leadership of the association complained that Buhari’s presence in the party was a threat to their survival. Some people are worried that the political rivalry between Buhari and Shekarau, that forced Buhari out of ANPP before the 2011 general elections could resurface. According to some Buhari fanatics, all the political blunders Buhari made were, more or less masterminded by those that were too close to him politically, the likes of Engineer Buba Galadima and Sule Yahaya Hamma are always mentioned in this category. This in itself is a minus for the former Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) Boss. People have started doubting his capacity as strong leader if he could not manage a party and could not make up his mind without depending on some persons. His style of leadership as a military Head of State, to some people, is no longer a point of reference. To them, military rule is different from democracy. With the coming on board of political materials like the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Nasiru El-Rufa’i, some think Buhari may have changed his from his old, rigid self. According to some opinions, people like Buba Galadima have started distancing themselves from anything Buhari because of his closeness with some latter-day ‘progressives’. Of recent, there were reports that Galadima had retired from politics. Whether Buhari is going to make any difference this time around is still unfolding. And many factors will be at play

At 70, Buhari Should Groom Successors And Forget The Presidency CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 support them now that they are in power and support the President to succeed. And the truth is that Jonathan has the right to also contest for the 2015 presidency. The insurgency in the North still rages, despite the emergency rule and the Committee set up to probe the problem. What do you think that is going wrong? To the best of my knowledge, it looks political. Political in the sense that this particular regime is not ready to clamp down

on those that are the sponsors. We have heard much about talks like, Senators, some governors and other backers of Boko Haram, but who has been arrested and dealt with? We cannot say that the security forces don’t know these people and don’t have information about them. Let me also say, that a long time ago here in Kaduna, we had reasons to complain that between Zaria and Kaduna there was a training camp for insurgents. Nothing was done and they allowed these people to go ahead with their training. And today the problem has degenerated. The problem with government is

that we reported, but they did not act quickly. You shouldn’t be playing politics with the lives of Nigerians. Again, when we reported the incident, one of the commissioners of police came, and he reported to the Inspector General what we had reported some years back, about the training camp between Kaduna and Zaria. Then, it leaked out to the Press and the Police Headquarters was not happy, but that is the truth. In Jigawa, during that time, there was training and we had to report. And the insurgents had the audacity to use loud speakers. At their training camps

people would be passing and you could hear them. We reported it and nothing happened. It is a very serious matter. How did they come to Jigawa State to do that? Who were those that allowed them? This issue of linking terrorism with poverty is nonsense, because one AK 47 gun is more than N100, 000. Tell me, which ordinary person would give out N100, 000 or N200, 000 naira to purchase a gun? It is not a question of poverty, it is satanic evil that is happening and the government is playing with it. That is why it has gotten to this height. It is unfortunate.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

SPECIAL REPORT

First Ladies’ Pet Projects:Gone With The Wind...

The late Maryam Babangida

Maryam Abacha

The late Stella Obasanjo

Successive Nigerian First Ladies, defying the dictates of the constitution, which makes no provision for that office, have always undertaken one pet project or another. But aside the repetitive nature of these projects, no sooner do their executors leave office than the often outrageously expensive projects fizzle out, leaving Nigerians to wonder at the prudence of such venture, KIKELOLA OYEBOLA and BISI ALABI WILLIAMS report. VER since the late First Lady, Maryam Babangida brought the institution of first ladyship in Nigeria out of its quiet, passive mode into the limelight, when between 1985 and 1993, she presided over the nationwide execution of her pet project, Better Life Programme (BLP), it seems now to have become a tradition for virtually other Nigerian First Ladies to undertake one project or the other while in ‘office’. Maryam Abacha’s Family Support Programme (FSP), which ran from 1994 to 1998, was designed to replace BLP. Also, a national affair, it was reported to have gulped more than N10 billion of taxpayers’ money the same period her husband was retrenching civil servants. And although not so conspicuous during her husband’s administration, nonetheless Fati Abubakar, as the First Lady, established the Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) in 1999 few weeks to her husband’s exit from office. When the late Stella Obasanjo took the baton from Fati Abubakar, Nigerians thought they were going to get some respite from the deluge of First Ladies and their pet projects when her husband, former President Olusegun Obasanjo stated initially that there would ne no first lady, in the sense that the military had abused that office. But this was not to be, as the late Stella soon went ahead to launch her Child Care Trust Foundation (CCT) in May 2000, when over N200 million was reportedly raised. Turai Yar’Adua, the last but one First Lady from 2007 to 2010 launched a non-governmental organisation by the name of Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF). She also commissioned a cancer outfit long before her husband died. The pet project frenzy has, however, not been restricted to the national level. At the state level, many governors’ wives have deemed it worthwhile to embark on one programme or another. Thus, there have been such projects as Titi Abubakar’s Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) and the New Era Foundation, organised by Oluremi Tinubu, former Lagos State First Lady from 1999 to 2007. Others include the Idia Renaissance, founded by Eki Igbinedion while she was the Edo State First Lady and another programme by Zainab Kure, the former Niger State First Lady among others. Today, the country is dotted with many abandoned projects, championed by ex-First Ladies. For instance, at the Iddo area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, a large expanse of land acquired by Idera De Foundation, the pet project floated by Mrs. Mutiat Ladoja, wife of a former governor, Senator Rasidi Ladoja, for the purpose of training women and youths in skills development, is currently overgrown with weeds. Also in Akure, the Ondos State capital, the land acquired by the Handicapped Education

Foundation (HANDEF), a non-governmental organisation founded by Mrs. Olufunke Agagu, wife of former governor of Ondo State, now lies in waste. The list is endless. Although all these projects enjoyed so much patronage and were launched with fanfare and widely acclaimed for the duration they lasted, records have it that less than 10 per cent are still functional and meaningful. This disheartening outcome has been attributed to many factors ranging from corruption to lack of sincerity on the part of the initiators from the outset. “While it would be unfair to lump all these projects together and label them as total failure, it is, however, true that nearly all of them have gone under,” says Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC). “For instance, Maryam Babangida’s Better Life for Rural Dwellers programme, which was the pioneering project, has gone into extinction. BLP died with Maryam Babangida. The offices and officers are nowhere to be found, as they are rarely seen at civil societies’ meetings. The same goes for the Family Support Programme (FSP) of Maryam Abacha. Stella Obasanjo’s Child Care trust (CCT) is barely surviving; it has been rendered virtually impotent nationally. Titi Abubakar’s WOTCLEF, though still on, is nationally inactive. “Of all of them, only Fati Abubakar’s Women’s Rights and Advancement Alternative (WRAPA) is still very visible and functional. The organisation still has offices in all the states of the federation and is particularly active in the northern part of the country. Remi Tinubu’s New Era Foundation is also still very much alive, just as Eki Igbinedion’s Idia Renaissance.” The reason for this dismal performance, Akiyode-Afolabi told The Guardian, can be linked to the fact that the originators were never that passionate or genuine enough as is required for projects of such nature to survive. “In my opinion, most of these programmes were embarked upon just to generate funds for the initiators and to make them feel relevant while it lasted.” Dr. Rasheed Akinyemi of the department of Political Sciences, University of Lagos, says Nigerians should not expect the phenomenon to disappear soon, although it is another avenue for pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain. This, he says, is due to the seeming goodwill and dynasty built by the pioneer, Maryam Babangida, which constitutes the major attraction to which subsequent First Ladies are drawn. “What the late Maryam Babangida did was an expression of the style of that administration. Before Ibrahim Babangida’s time, preceding governments were hard-core military men, who saw themselves as corrective governments and not so populists either. But because Babangida had something up his sleeve, to-

gether with his wife, they tried to project a certain image designed to penetrate the civilian populace for their propaganda. Successive administration saw that it somehow popularised the Babangidas and so they keyed in,” he says. Akiyode-Afolabi doesn’t completely agree with him, as she says the idea behind a few of them, especially Better Life Programme, was good. The problem, however, is the implementation and the ingenuity of those executing them. “Maryam Babangida’s BLP brought the plight of the rural dwellers to the fore, which was the first time such would happen. BLP was a civil project aimed at elevating the status of the rural people, but along the line, it became Maryam Babangida’s personal affair, which eventually led to its downfall. “Fati Abubakar’s WRAPA’s success story can be hinged on the fact that it is run like any normal non-governmental organisation. The leadership is very strong because Fati ran it as an independent organisation while in office. So, there is sustainability, which has been factored into the outfit right form the very beginning. But those whose projects revolve round them and who had no thought or vision for the future are bound to collapse,” she says. In Akiyode-Afolabi’s view, it is irksome that the projects don’t usually delve into broader issues. Rather, the scope is usually narrowed, as they are forever treating the same issues of women and children welfare. “They lack creativity and originality. It seems more like they just go into these things without giving a thought to the viability.” On his part, Akinyemi laments the fact that in spite of Nigeria’s reputation as the giant of Africa and the most populous African nation, Nigeria as a whole has not become enlightened. “There is a widespread poverty of the mind, which over time has served as an umbrella excuse for practically all the ills in the country. So, self-preservation and survival instincts have over-shadowed the quest for solving the general ills bedeviling the society. Nobody is making conscious effort at looking for the solutions for the general wellbeing,” he says. But because the money for these mostly bogus projects is not included in the budget, Akiyode-Afolabi says it might be somehow tough to censor this seemingly fruitless exercise, although Nigerians should start thinking of taking them to task on accountability. “The First Ladies always claim that the money used in executing the programmes is mainly from donations and so, they hide under this. For instance, during the launching of Stella Obasanjo’s Child Care Trust, it was gathered that state governors donated N4 million to N5 million each. There were also donations from other well-to-do individuals and corporate organisations. Of course, all this was not documented. So, how do you begin to trace

it? “Nigerians must, however, start asking questions concerning accountability since these projects were supposed to be executed on their behalf. Well-meaning First Ladies desirous of contributing to the development of the society should embark on such programmes separately from their ‘office’. They should also endeavour to run such organisations as your regular non-governmental organisations, which have to source for funds mainly from outside Nigeria. They shouldn’t make it look as if it is in support of their husbands’ works or terms in office. And then there is the political undertone, which they give to the whole thing, which somehow makes it fraudulent and even more complicated. “Presently, most of them are not audited and there is no way to monitor their activities or trace the money being spent and this is where corruption comes in. In any case, firstladyism in Nigeria is a product of a corrupt system, which is allowing such to thrive. A lot of public pressure is needed. Nigerians should insist on accountability, as a lot of state funds go into these projects,” she says. Corroborating this stance, Akinyemi says: “It is only in Nigeria that this kind of thing can happen. Why should people not query such? In developed countries, First Ladies don’t have access to public funds. And if Nigerian First Ladies have genuine dreams or ideas they feel will impact positively on the wellbeing of the people, they should discuss with their husbands who can then include it in the national development. “If these ideas get approved, they should then involve appropriate stakeholders, who will become the eventual owners for perpetuity.” To tackle the problem, Akinyemi suggests that Nigerians must start a revolution, albeit silently. “Personally, I think this revolution must start from religion. Nigerians believe that the church and mosque are the safest places to stay and they place so much faith in the religious leaders, who in any case are not showing good examples. There is a world of difference between spirituality and religiosity, as is being witnessed in Nigeria. “Somebody said religion is the opium of the people. And so, Nigerians need to fight this opium in order to see clearly and take their destinies in their hands. Unfortunately, the civil societies and other non-governmental organisations that should be in the vanguard in this matter are not performing up to expectation. “By the time Nigerians start the revolution on the religion platform and begin to query and demand response from their pastors, politicians will start getting worried because they use the so-called religious leaders to influence the people. This, I think will be followed by societal revolution.

HE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

SPECIAL REPORT

Current Projects Of Some First Ladies Taking a cue from their predecessors, many incumbent First Ladies at the state level are also executing various pet projects, report BISI ALABI WILLIAMS, ABIODUN FAGBEMI and AYOYINKA OLAGOKE. Ekaette Akpabio, Akwa Ibong State Her Family Life Enhancement Initiative is the primary social intervention in the state. The initiative serves disadvantaged individuals and groups with the tools and opportunities they need to overcome social disadvantage and unlock their potentials. It redirects the focus of development efforts at the family as the primary unit for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Beneficiaries of FLEI include girls, women, and persons with disabilities, children, widows and the poorest of the poor. All over the 31 local government areas in the state, Mrs. Akpabio has helped several people – the widows, economically challenged to find a sense of direction, and to lead productive lives. She has provided seed money for the people to start small-scale businesses. Her kind gesture has earned her the name “Mother Teresa” of her state. For all she has done in improving the material circumstances of the people of the state through her initiative, she was given a Congressional Certificate of Recognition last August. Kemi Mimiko, Ondo State The Maternal Pulse (MPF) is an initiative of Kemi Mimiko’s to curb the spread of cancer in Ondo State. The MPF has conducted cancer screening for over 1,000 women across the state while Mrs. Mimiko foots the bill for the treatment of indigent patients diagnosed with the disease among those who have participated in the free screening exercise. Through her pet project, the MPF, Mimiko has promoted maternal care and welfare of women and responded promptly to the needs of the people while continuously urging women to be more committed to their health and their families since early detection of breast cancer facilitates successful treatment of the disease. She has been bridging the gap between the government and the people, in the area of maternal health.

Omolewa Ahmed

Bisi Fayemi, Ekiti State Fayemi has always been concerned about two things: Breaking the cycle of poverty and ignorance. Her foundation, Ekiti Development Foundation (EDF) has been at the forefront of women empowerment in the state. She initiated the Forum of Spouses of Ekiti State Officials (FOSESO), which serves as a platform for training and equipping the wives of government officials in the State like executive members, legislatures, local government chairmen, permanent secretaries etc. A lot of the work has been done in Ekiti State to provide a wholistic framework that ensures that women have a whole range of services and to also prevent women from violence. Olufunso Amosu of Ogun State Amosu’s pet project, “Going Green” advocacy campaign is being addressed under the aegis of “UPLIFTing the Environment.” This campaign is one of several initiatives of the UPLIFT Development Foundation of Olufunso Amosun. The project aims at creating awareness for a green agenda, which will ultimately impact on the people’s consciousness and curb the ongoing environmental degradation. The idea is to also achieve comprehensive green education in primary and secondary schools; raise awareness in government, industry and the academia on the need for a green revolution; and raise funding to be used to design and deploy bigger youth-inclined projects. Under the premise that youths are vibrant, adaptable and mobile, she has made them the cornerstone of her project via the newly created Green Empowerment for the Youth (GEFTY). Plans are on to hold Green Youth conferences, establish Green Clubs in schools and the organisation of Green Essay competitions. Amosun has been empowering many women through vocational training. She has been generating support and empowering Ogun women even from her private purse and raising support for women, which is not always about giving cash, but empowerment in physical terms. Widows and the aged form an integral part of the programmes for vulnerable women. Florence Ajumobi, Oyo State Ajumobi has been promoting the health of Oyo State women, widows and the aged. Through her pet project, EDUCATE A RURAL CHILD, they have been going from one community to the next providing textbooks, writing materials and uniforms. The vision of the project is to enhance the children of the rural areas through the power of words and adequate infrastructural educational She has been reaching out to children in their various villages, from one local government to another. The First Lady leads the campaign with professionals as resource to encourage parents allow the rural child more time on his/her study. She recently launched the ACCESS TO BASIC CARE (ABC) project, which provides the highest quality and most effective healthcare service, as well as expanding the presence of healthcare delivery in the rural areas of the state and providing innovative and community-based healthcare service to the people of the state. It has facilities for service such as basic healthcare, immunisation programmes, family planning and ante-natal, treatment of sexually transmitted infections, breast and cervical screening, ultrasound, ECG, minor surgeries and diagnostic services among others. The philosophy of the ABC Clinic is centered on underscoring the need for private partnership with government in the onerous task of providing healthcare services for the people. Due to the importance of good health to the general well-being of the people and its critical importance in the development of any society, a people can only jettison healthcare at their peril. Obioma Liyel-Imoke of Cross Rivers State Through her Partnership Opportunities for Women Empowerment Realisation (POWER) Mothers Against Child Abandonment

Obioma Liyel Imoke

Bisi Fayemi

Kemi Mimiko

(MACA), Destiny Child Centre, and Giving Life Options to Widows (GLOW), all charity foundations, the First Lady of Cross Rivers State, Barrister (Mrs.) Obioma–Liyel Imoke, has been impacting on many lives positively in the state. Obioma is concerned about the wellbeing of the young, elderly, physically challenged, weak and strong, widows, the less privileged, pregnant teenage girls that have been rejected and thrown out of their homes as well as street children labelled witches and wizards and those given out as house-maids, as indicated by her programmes. An amiable person, who lives her life with great humility and selflessness, her kindness to people knows no bounds. She has a reassuring laughter that makes all around her feel specially loved. In the five years that POWER has been running, women lives have been positively affected. Scores of women across the state have their businesses enhanced through the micro credit facility POWER is facilitating. The success story of the micro-credit scheme resonated across the country and earned her awards twice from the Central Bank of Nigeria as Best First Lady in Micro-credit and Agriculture. Currently, Obioma’s POWER is implementing two livelihood support projects, which are: Project AWAKE and Giving Life Options to Widows (GLOW). AWAKE is an agricultural women empowerment project designed to promote sustainable economic development in communities through a gender focused intervention strategy. The goal is to reduce poverty and hunger in communities in Cross Rivers State. Obioma explains: “The vision of project AWAKE is to promote sustainable economic development in our communities through a gender focused intervention strategy. It is schemed to run for an initial period of three years i.e. from 2012 to 2015 with the coverage of 18 local governments of the state. A total of at least 400 women cooperatives of 10 members each in cloisters of communities around the state are benefiting from the project and has resulted in the creation of over 4,000 agro-businesswomen of two Cooperatives per ward. “Project AWAKE invited 1,000 women cooperative groups engaged in agriculture to attend cooperative validation exercise in October/November 2012. At this gathering, AWAKE sought to confirm which groups were properly registered, types of enterprises, names and contact details of group members. Arising from this exercise, 415 Cooperative groups were validated. “Project AWAKE, in collaboration with Micro Finance and Enterprise Development Agency, (MEDA) carried out a capacity building exercise for project beneficiaries across the 18 local government areas of Cross Rivers State. The exercise trained members of 2,011 selected women cooperatives on life skills and enterprise Development. The capacity building exercise was embarked upon to empower them to effectively utilise and derive optimum returns from the agricultural loans which will be provided to them through project AWAKE. The training curriculum covered such areas as Business ideas, Business skills communicate with customers and Business partners.” In the same vein, GLOW aims at improving the quality of life of widows in Cross Rivers State. The purpose of the project is to create and enhance sustainable livelihood options for 1,980 from the 18 LGAs of Cross Rivers State through Micro Finance and Enterprise Development. Her words: “There is a group of women I did not really hear much about. And these are the windows. During our last campaigns I sat with the widows to find out what they really needed. I decided to put something together for them especially in areas where they are being maltreated or where they are having rough time. We started an initiative, which we call Giving Life Options to Widows (GLOW). “This set of women, who are disadvantaged just by the fact that their husbands died are being ostracised or stigmatised and they are unable to access funds and facilities the way other women do. We want to make a conscious effort to get these things to them so that they can live without feeling that their lives ended when their husbands died.” Through her Mothers Against Child abandonment (MACA), two homes, which are the Refuge Girls, where pregnant young girls are kept and taught life skills to enable them live independently forever when they leave, have been set up. Omolewa Ahmed of Kwara State SHE may not be doling out cash like others to the societal derelicts; she may not wield enough profile to use the media to her advantage and may shun social functions like those at the monastery, but one thing no one can take from her is the covert overtures to the widows, the aged and the impoverished. Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, the wife of Abdulfatah Ahmed the Governor of Kwara State has since the assumption of office of her husband some two years ago, proved to the doubting Thomases that she has what it takes to positively affect people’s lives without any budgetary provisions. The most potent technique being explored by this woman with great passion for women and children in needs is the establishment of her pet project christened, Life Empowered Anchors Hope (LEAH). LEAH, a foundation jointly propelled by the first lady and corporate organisations with similar visions, have within the year under review transformed the lives of over 50,000 women, youths and children especially the orphans in the state. According to Mrs Funke Oludipe, Chief Press Secretary, Office of the Wife of the Kwara State Governor in a chat with The Guardian in Ilorin, “this scheme, LEAH Women Empowerment Scheme is aimed at the economic empowerment of the women being the fulcrum upon which the family rests. Under this scheme, over 3,000 women have benefitted from various trading tools such as grinding machines, deep freezers, hair dressing equipments, generating sets and even start up capitals ranging between N20,000 to N50,000. Besides, market women and associations got interest free loans ranging from N250, 000 to N1million. This

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

NEWSFEATURE

Housing Estates, Bastardised, Mutilated

Festac Town, 22 Road

State Of Our Estates, Master Plans Gone Awry What architects want to see at the end of days and nights of professional input, planning what an housing estate should look like, in many cases and lately, has turned wasted effort. Not with the way some estates have been mutilated and distorted, leaving much to be desired. What used to be environmentally refreshing human habitats have become so congested in terms of both population, illegal structures and poor infrastructure. This is the case with the well-structured Festac town, the village that hosted the participants of the 1977 World Festival of Arts and Culture among others nationwide. The Guardian went round to see what is on ground in some cities. By Gbenga Salau

Festac Town AJORITY of the roads are not well attended to. Illegal structures have sprung up in different sections of the town demarcated into roads and closes. The playing grounds, which were meant for recreational activities have all been turned into residential or commercial buildings. The planning that made the town a serene environment has given way to a rowdy environ, as a result of the illegal structures. These structures are used mostly as shops though there have been places where a residential building had been pulled down to give way to commercial buildings. It was also observed that most of the commercial buildings were owned by multinationals added to the beauty of the estate and complemented the original plan. It is the illegal structures built within and around closes that tend to distort the landscape of the estate. Although Festac Town was conceived and still owned by the Federal Government, the management is in the midst of controversy as the Federal, State and Local Governments want to share some responsibility in the management. These three arms of government from findings charge the residents and the owners of the building one form of tax or levies. The Local Government recently even introduced a toll fee for all articulated vehicles entering the town. A resident commenting said that practically all the roads in Festac are bad. “Worse is the fact that the Local Government is never tired of cos-

metic reconstruction that is fill the holes with sand or cement and then wait for the rain to wash it out. It is a very, very sad state that we are in” In the past years, though the federal government has been accused of not maintaining the facilities within the estate, the state and local government who charge the residents and those who may need to make use of the estate one form of tax or levies often are not willing to improve the infrastructures when it does, it makes it look like it is doing the residents a favour as a result of federal government negligence. The estate, which was originally known as Festival Town is a residential estate designed to house the participants arts festival of 1977. The residential buildings were constructed to cater for the 45,000 visitors who came for the cultural festival and those who served as administrative and support staff during the event. The way the estate was created, it was meant to be an independent town with all facilities necessary to serve the occupants. This is why Police and Fire stations, health centres, public restrooms, and postal facilities and telecommunication services were provided at inception. The Federal Government, after the celebration allocated the housing and landed properties to Nigerians through a ballot system. Apart from losing its highbrow status over the years, the town was always in the news in the early nineties as the home for internet fraudsters popularly called 419. Iponri Estate: A few of the roads are tarred. Those tarred are developing potholes out of age and neglect. Although some of the attached structures had sprung up across the length and breadth of the estate, they are structures erected by those providing essential services to residents of the community. The majority of these structures are shops where daily needs are sold or essential services like laundry, carpentry among others are provided. It was however observed that majority of the structures sprang up, because in the planning of the estate; there was no room for a shopping mall where all those operating a shop could operate from. The technical shops scattered around the estate were also because there was no central point for such services. Also, most of the blocks of flats had surrounding well kept though not for all the drainages within the estate. The Chairman of the Iponri Housing Estate

Residents’ Association (IHERA), Mr. Moses Kayode Ojo, said that the managers of the estate had left it to rot as a result of lackadaisical attitude. He noted that the managers are only interested in personal gains and not to adequately supervise the maintenance of the estate. “When Lateef Jakande was there as governor, he knew what the people wanted, that was why he built estates across the state. Shelter is very important. And that opportunity provided by Jakande that time is commendable. And anybody who got allocated that time will continue to pray for him. It is an estate that subsequent governments after Jakande should pay attention to in terms of maintenance so that the legacy would be there. But unfortunately, subsequent governments had not taken meaures to maintain the estate. “Sometimes ago, there was a misunderstanding. The LABC built the houses, which is the normal thing. The LBIC provided the loan to those who occupied the house and LBIC ensured that the loan was paid back. After all the loans had been paid, I think there should be government’s parastatal that should take over the management of the estate. Presently, the manager of the estate is LBIC, and it is not maintaining anything within the estate, they are rather looking for personal, selfish interest. The estate to be candid, when we moved in 1983, you could see the beauty of the estate. But now the estates are in shambles.” According to him, he often feels disappointed when he takes a look at the present state of the estate though the nonchalant attitude of the residence had contributed to the decay. “If you give Nigerians one inch, they will take three or four inches. When we moved into the estate, the instruction was that each occupant is to take care of its flat and not the surrounding. In developed countries, outside your flat, you cannot put a nail outside the wall of your building. But see what people are doing now, building kiosks, containers around the flats. In most places, residents could not move around freely because kiosks and containers had been

built around the flats blocking movement. The beauty of the estate is no more there. And the LBIC which claimed to be the manager of the estate should be able to manage the estate.” A resident who pleaded anonymity said that it is ironical that in spite of the annual supervision fees paid by the occupants to LBIC, the agency has not shown it uses the money for what it is meant for. Jakande Housing Estate, Ilasan It is probably the last estate on the card of the Jakande Estate. The estate was still under construction when Jakande’s tenure was abruptly brought to an end. This is reflected in the condition of the estate when the evicted Maroko residents were relocated to the estate years after. A visit round the Ilasan Estate showed an environment that lacks government’s presence in terms of provision of basic infrastructures. All the drainages were filled to brim and spilling over to the roads, which were also flooded, with green and black scum floating on the surface. Many, who lived on the ground floor, had negative stories to tell as water flowed into their houses unhindered. The high flood in recent years, they claimed was because government, through one of his agencies, caged the estate after it sand-filled the surrounding of the estate. Looking at some of the structures erected in the estate, it is no doubt; they were not in the original plan. But the people said government should be held responsible for whatever degradation the estate has gone through in terms of erection of structures that had defaced the estate. They maintained that all the structures were emergency structures put up by those who were allocated non-existing flats by government but needed a roof over their heads. The roads are not tarred and efforts to make the road, at least a bit motorable through sand-filling, made the environment dirtier and marshy, especially during rainy season. Really, this is not an estate in the real sense of the word.

In most places, residents could not move around freely because kiosks and containers had been built around the flats blocking movement. The beauty of the estate is no more there; and the LBIC, which claim to be the manager of the estate should be able to manage the estate

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

NEWSFEATURE

FESTAC: Tales Of An Estate’s Lost Glory Tracking Mr. Samuel Fortune Ebie, the first General Manager of Federal Housing Authority Having been at the helm of affairs in Festac town in the 80s, what is your assessment of (FHA), and who could be referred to as the ‘nursing mother’ of Festac town, easily Nigeria’s the degenerated state of the estate now? largest residential estate, in the early days of its occupation in the 80s, was not as difficult as ET’S get it straight; I can never come back, envisaged. Ebie is an elder, deservedly so, but quite articulate during the chat. He still runs his having been pioneer manager and MD, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), to look estate management firm, Fortune Ebie and Company, now relocated to Festac town from for anything ambitious. I have no ambition Lagos Island. A moving encyclopaedia of the town’s history, Ebie tells FABIAN ODUM of what here. used to be the epitome of residential housing; the compromising nature and high-handedness Between the time I was general manager and of supervising authorities that essentially derailed the beauty of the masterplan that is Festac. now, 30 years approximately have elapsed and this is very important. Remember that Excerpts. planning is dynamic. Whatever master plan I would have had that time, must have changed. But it should rather change for the better, not for the worse. It is true that throughout all our estate, I mean, the whole of our estates in Nigeria, starting from Lagos to Kaduna (Malali) and all the rest of them to Kano, Delta, the Textile Mill estate, Edo state, the Oregbeni, Ogborikoko in Delta state, Ugbowo Estate, Festac, Isolo, Jakande Estate, even the Marwa estate, things have changed. I will come to Festac. What is responsible for this? It is a multifaceted reason. When you go to the private estate like the Victoria Garden City, everything is still in order. Before things degenerated, there was the Okupe Estate in Ikorodu. In those days, until relatively recently, everything was in order. Those days, people didn’t even want to live in Victoria Island because it was being reclaimed. We had first class estates like Palmgrove, Okupe and Mandillas estates; refuse was evacuated regularly and there were sanitation exercises. To show you the extent of what I am illustrating, in the early days, along Alaka, Western Avenue, Surulere, where the two stadiums are now, there used to be gardening competition for flowers, ornamental plants, etc. Can you believe it? And this was a low-income estate, where people were paying 16 shillings and six pence per room. There was gardening competition. That Akerele extension, Super Cinema, including Alhaji Masa, Surulere also had garden competition. Everything was clean. The competition was publicised and held once a year. There were prizes for first, second and third positions. The people, then, were proud to have won. Go there now. These things have happened in the past. And the same trend ran throughout the federation. What happened? Everybody is guilty; the authorities in charge, individuals, government and we, obstinate, uncontrollable Nigerians. Let’s start with the government and authorities in charge of the place. When you make a rule in housing administration, or any rule, Ebie you must enforce it, even if your wife or mother is the culprit. When I was running this place with my team, when you put up a kiosk in the morning, we’ll demolish it in the afternoon. When you put it up in the afternoon, we’ll demolish it in the evening. And you go overnight and put it, the next morning, we’ll demolish it. That is the only way to run the place. So when you do that, Nigerians will know that you are serious and will act to the last to enforce the rules. When I was there, people travelled all the way to my hometown in Agbor, to go and beg my mother that she should beg question that it was a heathen man doing this. her son not to do this and that. I will like to say that I demolished it. They came the minister that as a Christian, I had demolMy mother would always tell them that ished many Christian churches. He said, well, and said how could I do this to them and I was though she gave birth to me but has no conthat he is directing me to allow them build a Christian. I said I did it because the bible said trol over me. She said, she could not wade in the mosque. I told him that that would told us to ‘Give unto Caesar what belongs to as far as work is concerned, but if it was a famamount to changing the master plan. He inCaesar and unto God what belongs to God.’ I ily matter, and then she would listen. When sisted and said he has given me a directive. am the Caesar here and you gave me the benethey tried to give her some money, she said I went back to my office and wrote him a letfit of planning this City, take God’s issue to God. her son does not collect bribe and advised ter of about two or three pages, stating how Later on, my Muslim brothers went to a them not to waste their time. You see what I the interview went, the questions he asked shopping centre and started building a am driving at. me, how I answered him and the instruction mosque. I demolished it, immediately. They Let me give another example. First of all, I he gave that I should allow the people build a said I didn’t serve them notice. I asked who am a Christian. As we were developing this mosque in an area not designated for one. I gave them the permission since I was the Sole place, the Christian organisation tried to put asked him to please confirm his oral instrucup some churches. At that time, we had desig- Authority. tion and write it down to enable me effect the They reported me to the then minister, who nated places for churches; it was well instruction. The minister never replied the is late now. The then Minister of Housing and planned. We wanted only a few; at least, in letter. And the mosque was never built, the Urban Development– I don’t want to mention each community, we should have three or same with the Christian Church. From then his name here– summoned me to his office. I four churches. on, I became his enemy and there was nothwent to his office, where he told me that I have Then the Pentecostal movement was new ing I did in that estate that was right, until he done it again. He said I demolished a mosque, then, this was in the 70s and 80s. The Pentewas moved to another ministry. and I answered in the affirmative. He asked costal churches very often came to build Those who administer estates must be churches here, and I demolished them. My fa- why? I answered that they had no planning ‘stone-hearted.’ You must have to suffer and permission and that place was not designated ther was an Anglican priest, so it was not a survive. Once they know you are doing the for a mosque, or for a religious purpose. I told

Enforcement Remains The Big Issue In Managing Estates; Managers Must Be Strong Willed

right thing, they would keep clear of you. You must have support from the authority you are working with, unlike that minister. If I had succumbed, the estate would have been worse than what it is now. The authority backing you, must be ready to stand by you. I am not saying that when people are right, you should go and demolish their property. But anybody who contravenes, you take due action. When we removed the signboards of those people who erred those days, you know where we put it? So that my boys won’t go back and put it after they must have been given money, we threw them into the lagoon. We had a boat. We carried all the things and dumped them into the lagoon. So there is no way you can retrieve them. The regulations are there. In FESTAC, you cannot even really repaint your flat without permission. The rules and regulations were about 12 pages and were very detailed. As you sign the agreement, you are issued with one. It is said that Festac had central control of several services like sewage, etc It is not only that the areas where the sewage lines were meant to merge, and for the storm water, like here now (a shopping mall super structure), it is not just a parking space, underground that is where everything flows through. In fact, there are some areas in Festac, where the pipes are so big that it can swallow a human being. They converted the place and blocked. So the central sewage system could not function again. Down to Satellite town, Navy road, about eight to 10 kilometres down, is the central sewage system. But all is blocked now. Why I am giving you this background is that you are asking whether it is redeemable. Of course, it is redeemable. The water supply system is gone. Everything put underground. To make matters worse, the people do not want to pay ground rent, or any service charge. How can you run an estate where people are not ready to pay service charge, they are not ready to pay for anything, and they say government should do everything. In VGC and all the private estates, every single kobo is recorded for its maintenance. When you are not ready to pay, how can you enjoy anything? It is like talking of the dividends of democracy, when you have not invested in democracy, how are you going to enjoy the dividend. If you have not bought shares from a bank, how do you get dividend from that bank. So both the residents, outsiders, governments and owners of the estate are all guilty of the collapse of Festac. Seeing the sad tales of Festac and other estates, is there any hope of redemption, like Festac? Let me give an example of the former glory, in 76/77, when NEPA goes off, within thirty seconds, the whole of Festac is automatically lit. We have powerful generators stationed all round. Don’t ask me what happened to them? After I left, unspecified people carted them away to their villages, nobody could question them. First, to restore it to the formal glory, we have to bring back all those generators. To restore it, all the town planning contraventions carried out, the open spaces converted to certain centres, plazas, shopping malls, residential; you are going to demolish all those houses. So you will demolish the whole of the houses in First Avenue on the right, to the end. You will go to all the open spaces that have been developed. So, in restoring to its former glory you are going to bring back all those open spaces. How many billions will you require? We have our own waterworks, not at Iju, which supplies us water. As the pipes were laid, people started tapping into it. We created a mini-water works here in Festac Town on 22 Road, which is dead. There is no water there. So we have to restore that, restore the sewage system, we have to restore all the underground telephone lines. We have to restore the water drainage. You can move around the different communities without getting to the major road because there were feeder roads but almost all the feeders have been blocked. There were cycle tracks; they are now full of shanties. The fences have been broken into pieces and shops created there. How are you going to restore this? Even attempt to close down the CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

THE GUArDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

NEWSFEATUrE From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja

EDErAL Housing Estate, Lugbe, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was conceived and built by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing under the then government’s National Housing Programme of 1994/96. The residential estate of over 4,000 housing units, which was originally meant for low/middle income earners, was later handed over to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) following the suspension of the National Housing Programme and the FHA completed the remaining part of the project. The development of the estate which is located at about 10 minutes drive from the Abuja City Centre was in response to the growing demand for affordable housing accommodation by civil servants and other working class groups. At conception, the Estate was estimated to accommodate about 32,000 population but the number has drastically increased following the demolition of illegal structures in Abuja by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) thereby exerting pressure on the few available infrastructure. However, unlike other Federal Housing Estates, most of the internal road networks in Lugbe are still earth road while the most of the few tarred roads in the estate are in a very deplorable condition. In 2011, FHA rehabilitated few roads within the estate but till date; over 70 per cent of the roads are in poor condition. There is no provision for playground or general car park in the estate. Till date, the only source of water to the resident of FHA Lugbe is borehole and well provided by some of the landlords. Most residents depends on water vendors popularly known as “Mai ruwa” for their daily water need as the estate, despite its proximity to the City Centre, is not connected to the central water supply in the FCT. These challenges notwithstanding, hardly can any civil servant who just depends on his/her monthly salary afford the rent, let alone purchase of an apartment in the estate which has now been hijacked by a certain class. Presently, to rent a single bedroom flat, one have to cough out about N450,000; N700,000 for 2-bedroom and between N800,000-N850,000 for 3-bedroom flat depending on the standard of the house. One of the residents of the Estate, Mr. Edwin Asagwara who expressed worry over the rising cost of accommodation within the Estate told The Guardian that a 3-bedroom flat which used to go for between N120,000 and N150,000 now goes for N800-N850,000 and wondered how this can be sustained. Modifications A common sight in the estate today is the modification of the original design of the houses after they were sold to individuals. Initially, all the houses have the same design and colour but today, individual owners have changed their houses, in this case, to a better architectural design and aesthetics of their choice. A landlord in the Estate, Mr. Donald Anyamkpa said the

Lugbe Housing Estate

Modified Beyond Low-Income Earners change in the original designs of the houses was mostly due to bad structural design and poor construction work done by the contractor. He said, “ Nobody would like to spend extra money rebuilding a house after purchase but the 3-bedroom houses, for in-

Tales Of Lost Glory CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29 shops, if you want to do enforcement, it must be 24 hours; it is not a matter of one day or chairman of a local government or minister, the moment you are away, the contraveners will start contravening, you are creating avenue for mismanagement of money. What are you going to restore, when all the residential areas have been converted to churches and mosques. Are you going to demolish all the churches and mosques? So that the Pentecostals will rain ‘hell fire’ on you in Jesus’ name and of course, the Imams and Alfas will also pray. The street lights are all gone. We used to sweep the streets with our own machines. It is kind of unbelievable, am not telling fairytales, it happened. There were no portholes because late in the evening or at midnight, we patched them. So, what are you going to restore, when the common park in the blocks of flats are recess pool. To restore, the mentality of the average resident must change. And remember that those who won these houses have sold them, so many of the people here have no stake. Discipline is maintained in the villages because everybody has a stake in the village. In the village, you know the history of your community, the taboos, you are not expected to urinate in a place, you will not. Here, people do not even know the history of this place; the tenants do not care. Before, at 6pm, all markets in Festac town close down and I succeeded in convincing the market women that they must go home and attend to their husband and children. So, 6pm voluntarily they closed down. Try it now, they will tell you stories of lamentation. Thus, if you want to restore it, good luck to you, but do not call me to come because I know I am an old man and I do not want to die prematurely. It is not easy provided there is the political will. Those who are selected to handle the restoration must be men of integrity, who are willing to work and ready to offend people. Then the funds must be available. Is it possible to replicate festac in today’s economy? Yes of course. Gen Gowon and his group of dedicated army officers did. They were the ones who planned for it. This ex-

periment of Festac was to be repeated almost every five or seven years. By now, there would be houses all over, across the federation. I remembered that each state has a mini Festac. Go to Kaduna, Auchi, the idea was every seven years; you replicate this so that Nigerians would have houses. The cost, when we finished, acquisition of land, compensation, road, water, electricity, sewage, water drainage and remember, all these were underground, and some of the houses were pure marble. There is no house that the floor was not tiled. The cost was so much that we made a representation to the commissioner then, my commissioner was Wing Commander Mufutau Muhammed of the Air Force, a very intelligent young man. And I said to him, nobody can pay for this house because of infrastructure, everything underground, and he said, what do we do? I said you have to advise the Head of State that the cost of land acquisition, compensation and all infrastructures must be written off and the winners of the ballots should only pay for the superstructure, that is the building itself. He said what are you talking about and I said that is the only way. The owner would then take the building itself and amortise it at three per cent interest, over a period of 30 years because the houses were graded to different sizes of flats and duplexes. Then the military ruler, Gen. Obasanjo having read the whole thing, to our greatest surprise, approved it. So owners of the houses in Festac did not pay for the infrastructure and that is how it should be. And that is what we refer to as intervention fund. The government intervened and that is how it is done all over the world. They keep repeating that there is no intervention fund for housing, no subsidy for housing. In America, there is intervention fund for housing, subsidy for housing. Even when the capital market collapsed government pumped billions into it. In Nigeria, there are 15 interventions, agriculture, banks, remember when they nearly collapsed, in aviation, government gave subsidy for industry, why is it that when it comes to

stance, were poorly designed; there is no door connecting the sitting room with the bedrooms, if you are in the sitting room and rain starts, you have to swim through the ensuing flood in the court yard before entering your room. Also, the houses are not strong, despite the fact that the houses are all bungalows; and at a time some of the buildings started collapsing.

Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa Tales Of Woes, Disappointment By Paul Adunwoke

Or residents Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa in Ejigbo area of the state, Fof the living with roads that are horrible has become routine as most roads within and leading into the estate are competing for the best gaping potholes. It is more hectic for the residents to move in and out of the estate during rainy season as the potholes get covered by water that cannot be easily discerned by drivers. One of the residents, Davide Olariwaju, said bad roads and epileptic power supply are major problems residents of the estate are daily grappling with. “The road is a big problem to us; we have been facing this problem for a long time now. Several attempts to get government’s attention had not yielded positive responses. Sometimes for one or two weeks, there would be no electricity supply from PHCN but at the end of the month, crazy bills are brought for the residents to pay. Another resident, Idris Babatunde, said that he leaves his vehicle at home when going to work to prevent more damages to the vehicles. A commercial driver in the estate, Emmanuel Akande, also said that the road is a big problem to all who ply the route. It was also observed that refuse are carelessly dumped within the estate, even with signed posts informing resident not to turn some other places to refuse dump. Abandoned vehicles also litter the estate, sometimes blocking free flow of vehicular movement. President, Landlords Association, Oke-Afa, Isolo, and President General, Lagos State United Low Cost Housing Estate Landlords Association, Alhaji Abiodun Olasanji Taiwo complained about the state of the roads, disclosing that he had gone to alert the Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council about the plight of the residents. “The road is a major problem here and I have been to Ejigbo Local Council to lodge complaints but the council said it is within the jurisdiction of the Lagos State Government. But the council levies residents and the revenue got here is more than enough to rehabilitate this road. I declared that it would be morally wrong to keep collecting revenue if they cannot rehabili-

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

NEWSFEATURE

Ibara Housing Estate After 37 years, Estate Now Negleted, Residents To Be ReloBy Gbenga Akinfenwa

HE provision of adequate, affordable, high standard and quality housing that meets the social, economic and political aspirations of the citizenry should meet the wellbeing of the people. And housing is considered a major factor impacting on the health, safety, socio-economic and political life of the occupants and development of any state. This is what gave birth to the Ibara Housing Estate Abeokuta, Ogun State in line with the Town Planning Ordinance Law Cap 95 of the Federation of Nigeria, established in 1928, set up to address intractable housing problem and ensure sustainable housing in Nigeria. Consequently, the National Housing Policy of 1991 charged various tiers of government and their housing corporations with the responsibilities of facilitating the design and construction of new housing units for low income group, improving upon existing housing conditions, reducing the production cost of housing units, encouraging the manufacture and use of local building materials, among others. This Estate, owned by Ogun State government, was built in anticipation of the creation of the state in 1976 to accommodate the Civil/Public servants transfer at the then emerging Ogun State capital as staff quarters in Abeokuta. It was expected to be maintained and managed by the state Housing Corporation. As at the time, it was used as staff quarters, and the corporation handles the routine maintenance of the estate. Since its establishment, there have been changes in the management of the estate till present moment, from the corporation statutorily established for the purpose to the Department of Public Buildings of the ministry of Works and Housing and the Bureau of Governmental Service, Office of the Head of Service. There was also a brief period of involvement of private estate management consultants in the management of the estate. The Guardian gathered that the idea could not be sustained as a result of political and policy changes. Due to change of policies by government, the control of the estate now resides with the Bureau of Governmental Services, Office of the Head of Service. Since the control and maintenance was taken over by this office, it was observed that different strategies were adopted by government to keep the estate in a healthy and safe condition but at present there is a huge difference in the original quality standard and environmental condition of the buildings, compared to when it built 37 years ago. Despite the important roles of housing in the socio-economic development of the state and the life of the people of the estate, majority of the houses are in deplorable condition and state of disrepair, due to long period of poor maintenance. The buildings, when compared with existing private housing estates across the state, are lacking in basic infrastructural facilities and services. A survey of the estate reveals that most of the buildings have distorted timber frames, cabinets, facial boards and roof-carcass, roof leakages, broken louvre blades, faulty and rusty lou-

vre carriers, wall cracks, flaking of paints, growth on walls arising from precipitation due to effects of moisture penetration and sunlight, damages in sanitary pipes in and around the buildings, partially collapsed soak-away-pit and malfunctioning sanitary wares, among others. The Guardian learnt that the control of the estate especially on the allocation of quarters and receipt of rents, where payments are realised mostly through direct deductions from the monthly salary sources of the tenants, who are either in the public services of the Federal, state or Local governments, is on revenue collection because the office does not have the expertise to carryout maintenance. In the absence of any definite and effective strategy put in place by government, an occupier kind of maintenance by tenants has been predominantly adopted. Rather than upgrading the estate and other existing ones across the state, the Housing Corporation recently took step to embark on the construction of new housing estates; this to many, is a wrong step considering the state of disrepair of

some of the existing ones in the state. In a reaction, the state Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Daniel Adejobi said government has not abandoned the estate. He stated that in terms of maintenance, it has different plans to develop it not for workers alone but for everyone. He added that government is planning to build more structures against the old ones built several decades ago. “The value of the land now is greater than the old structure that is on ground, which means the structures are making the land to be under utilised, which prompted government’s decision to partner with private developers,” he said. He noted that the original occupants of the estate have been moved to Laderin Workers’ estate, adding that the remaining workers would soon be relocated to the estate. He added that government is interested in building adequate infrastructure and social amenities to all its estates across the state, which is fully occupied. He added that the estate is part of the urban renewal effort of the present administration in the state.

Illegal Structure Is Greatest Problem Of Festac— Ogunlusi By Gbenga Salau

ESTAC over the years has lost the touch of a serene environment, with virtually all the facilities in decay. The President, Festival Town Residents Association, Mr. Jola Ogunlusi, said that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing are suppose to maintain the infrastructure within the estate but since FHA moved to Abuja, the structures have been neglected. Ogunlusi says if there is any development at all in Festac, in the last three years or four, it is by the local government; the FHA has done nothing. “Yes, it should collect Ground Rent, but they will tell you that they are not getting enough. That is their fault, because the papers that they are supposed to distribute, what is called, demand notices for Ground Rent, in the past 10 years, it is not being issued to the residents. So, if people are not paying, it is because FHA is not doing things right. The FHA says we should also pay Service Charge; how do we pay for services not rendered. There must be complimentary efforts that will make people to pay. “Right now, in Festac, the roads are bad. The money coming into the local government purse, which has been doing the road is very small. And we should not make a mistake; the old Amuwo Odofin Local Government is divided into two, Oriade and the present Amuwo Odofin. “So any money people see in the newspaper given to Amuwo Odofin is shared into two,

between the two local councils, so there is not enough money to really put the infrastructures in order as people will expect. “Besides that, infrastructure like the sewage system, there is no local government in any part of this country that can take care of our sewage system. The World Habitat came and cost the rehabilitation will gulp 12 billion naira, none of the local governments can do that. It needs the intervention of the federal government. And we have written series of letters to the federal government and even the presidency, asking that the government should help the estate through ecological fund to rehabilitate the sewage system. “We are just trying to see that water is available now. There is an American company in partnership with FHA that is now trying to rehabilitate the water system. For the past 12 years, there is no water in Festac and that could lead to epidemic, so a little work is being done on that. “The roads in Festac are so bad. Why we are able to do little things in Festac is that since the present local government administration came in, it attended to some of the roads. FHA has done nothing in the last twenty years.” If the state collects one form of tax or levy from the residents, Ogunlusi said the state was interested in collecting Land Use Charge but the residents went to court kicking against it. “The reason is that Land Use Charge and Ground Rent is the same thing. All other parts in Lagos, anybody pays both Land Use

Charge and Ground Rent. In Festac, we were asked to pay Ground Rent and Land Use Charge. Apart from the fact that FHA has not ceded Ground Rent to the Lagos State Government. And Lagos State said if we pay Land Use Charge, we should not pay Ground Rent and tenement rate, we are saying that we cannot be caught in the cobweb of the two of them because FHA is still demanding Ground Rent. If you have anything to do with FHA today, they will first of all demand evidences of payment of Ground rent. In order to straighten things, we took the FHA and the Lagos State Government to court to tell us which of the two we should pay. And if they are merging it together, we are ready to pay. “The minister came here about four weeks ago and set up two committees. One on physical development of Festac because a lot of things are wrong in Festac; we have so many kiosks, we have over 4000. It has to be addressed because they are sitting on infrastructures like cable, water pipes and sewage system. The other committee is the harmonisation of the payment and the Lagos State and the FHA are involved to that so that we can harmonise the Ground rent and the Land Use Charge. If they agree that we pay once, it is now their responsibility to divide. So on that, we can pull out of court. But at the moment, we are in Appeal Court against the ruling of the Federal High Court on our case against Lagos State and by that nobody here should pay Land Use Charge for the time being, and any attempt by the Lagos

State to collect the Land Use Charge will be against court decision.” Asked if the illegal structures is a product of the neglect by FHA, Ogunlusi maintained that the illegal structures is one of the things that has created the greatest problem in the estate. “Festac was a very beautiful town up till 1986 but when we discovered that FHA was selling open space and parks to people and giving such spaces to people to build kiosks, we went to court in 1993 and by 2005, the case was decided, which asked FHA to demolish some of these infrastructures that are illegal on open space, parks and gardens, they have not done so. But now, the Physical and Development Control Committee, which was set up as a result of the minister’s visit wants to address that. And a lot of these had made Festac very rough. In fact, they are threatening life in Festac because some of them are erected in places where they should not be, sitting on underground infrastructures. For instance, our electricity was underground, but as a result of these kiosks and illegal structures, we are now running wires over head in some places. “When there is a crisis in electricity and there is a kiosk already built on the point that the rectification would be made, the PHCN would not like to break the kiosk, so they have to run the wire overhead, which should not be. So these are the dangers. In fact, in 2004, as part of the exercise, we removed 2886 containers and that is why Festac is still wearing an average look. In sum, these structures are making life difficult.”

THE GuARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

HEALTH Practical Psychology

Dealing with Spousal Violence (3) By Passy Amaraegbu

ESIST the temptation of rushing into showing off positive attitudes. First reconcile with your partner. In a practical way, call him or her for a meeting; verbalize your realization, apologize for all the past misconducts and seek for forgiveness. Give your partner sometime and space to respond. Normally, for those partners who have suffered deeply and for a long period, they may doubt the move and motive of reconciliation. Others may be mute or reject any attempt for such reconciliation. Patience, care and authenticity of motive are the virtues needed to win the offended partner. Wisdom declares that it is a very difficult task to win a deeply offended friend. Yet, you must win your partner back cost what it may and all of us have the ability to do so. If reconciliation between two of you fail, solicit the help of someone your partner or both of you respects. Such people include, marriage sponsors, ministers of God, mentors, former classmates, old time friends, bosses or counselors. We encourage you to persist, in obtaining gen-

uine reconciliation and it will work. Reconciliation should be combined with resolution. After dealing with past hurts and pains, the couple will take some important decisions such as – We shalln’t go back to use violence (verbal and/or physical) to solve our marital problems; we shall remind each other of this decision anytime we are tempted to go back; Any defaulter to this rule will pay such a penalty; we will always resort to reconciliation to solve our marital problems; only death can dissolve our marriage. We shall honour and accept the good advice of our counselors. As we can see, the reconciliation process can be deep and elaborate and has incorporated other principles like taking a vow and going for counseling. Let us elaborate a little more on these two other principles. It is positively significant that couples engage in the habit of verbalising or repeating their love and marriage vow to each other. This is the principle of affirmation.

• Dr. Amaraegbu, a clinical psychologist; lives in Lagos. drpassy@yahoo.com

Health And Your Mind

Mind And The Kingdom Of Heaven (13) By Babatunde Ayo-Vaughan

OTHING absolutely is wrong with the name God. What seems to be the tragedy in the name perhaps for all this long period is the mystery and the unfathomable essence that is attached to the name which makes many to believe that rituals of worship must be identified and established to approach Him. In this belief many different people through their cultures, traditions, ideas and inclinations have been left at liberty to concoct anything and call it their own approach to the worship of a mysterious God. You must never dare to query the meaning of their worship. You may touch a sensitive raw nerve. That may from the basis of hatred and animosity in the name of God. We have a lot of them around today, making the world to look like a new tower of babel. When you seriously raise a concern they tell you that we are in a free world where you are at liberty to choose or create your own mode of worship. You begin to wonder what they intend to achieve with these diverse ways of worship when you notice that rather than the world being the better for what they call their worship of God in their different

ways, the world actually seems to be heading towards what God Almighty Himself does not want to happen to mankind — PERDITION, hence his statement through Prophet Hosea in the bible that ‘my people perish because of lack of knowledge’. The old testament of the bible was there as at the time of Prophet Hosea when God lamented through him that ‘my people perish because of lack of knowledge. What this means was that it was not as if knowledge was not among those people at that time. But unfortunately, they seemed to have cultivated a mindset that made them to be blind to the truth of the knowledge it offers. That is exactly what is happening in the world today. Apparently knowledge is there, but there are different mindsets today that make people to be blind to it. We may begin to reverse this trend, if we recognise that indeed we need the rule of intelligence to help us out. We might just begin by giving God an intelligence based new name.

• Ayo-Vaughan, a psychologist, lives in Lagos babatund_2@yahoo.com

Spirituality And Health Recent studies around the world reveal that paHROuGHOuT the ages, man has been in- tients under medical care who have some reliterested in healing; and treatment for ail- gious faith or who believe in God, tend to get ments have varied from the offering of better quicker than those who do not. Many are sacrifice to idols, incantations and the pouring consciously choosing to move away from using of libation to tribal gods, to herbal remedies chemically based drugs to herbal supplements and the best of modern medicine and surgery. and other natural remedies. There is a greater Pharmaceutical drugs and food supplements, awareness of moderation in eating and temperhygiene, exercise and diet, have all been rec- ance in drinking. Governments have banned ommended to either procure or assist in heal- smoking in public places, and introduced levies ing mankind. These material aids and and fines to serve as inhibitors of their sale. treatments are, by their own admission, lim- Churches, and other institutions based on spiriited in application by dosage, cost, weight, tuality, are witnessing more genuine, and perpregnancy, age, and in the traditional cases, manent healings attributed to prayer, while the whims and caprices of a particular god. To some are relying only on God as a matter of this degree they differ significantly, even radi- course, as their first line of defense against ill health. cally, from healing based on spirituality. The feeling of sickness and ill health is akin to Spirituality has been defined in any number of bondage. It consumes the thought of the suf- ways, but the spirituality that heals is that which ferer, and the thoughts of their loved ones; and is based on God, or the Supreme Being. It requires everything possible is usually employed in a gaining a clearer and deeper understanding of bid to be free of a malaise. Society has a high re- Him as Spirit, and accepting that man is spiritual, gard for those in the medical and pharmaceu- because he is created in the image and likeness of tical professions, who are occupied with the Spirit, God. The task is to be willing to accept the endeavor of alleviating suffering due to poor reality of spirituality, when materiality seems to health. Governments commit considerable fi- be ever present, and uttering the final word on nancial resources to the pursuit of good health. health, and the academia sets high standards The advances in science, medicine, religion, refor would be doctors, in order to ensure that search and the individual experience of a growthe best intellects are selected for the study of ing number of individuals, are all beginning to medicine. Yet, more and more, spirituality is demand a shift in thought, as they point to the now being seriously considered as having a di- fact which can no longer be overlooked, which is, rect and beneficial effect, not only on the men- that spirituality has a definite, good and protal health of a patient, but also on physical found effect on the health of man. health. By Fabian Odum HANA based Sweden-Ghana Medical Centre will partner many institutions to enable it ing.” deliver high quality cancer care ogy facility. The West Africa Health expo to residents of West Africa. This involves radiotherapy The centre would be looking to using a Linear accelerator, med- and conference is the biggest annual meeting and exhibiconsolidate this drive at the ical oncology with an outpation of medical equipment, 2013 West Africa Health expo, tient chemotherapy suite and therapies, and health delivery where experts, policy makers diagnostic services. modules aimed at resolving representing various countries “It is our hope that SGMC in the West African sub-region would help many Nigerians and some of West Africa’s health would be attending various West Africans access high qual- challenges. workshops and meetings on ity cancer treatments, especially SGMC aim at developing a health. now that the disease becoming centre of excellence for various cancer care modalities. In a statement, the centre said rampant in the region,” Mr. it hopes to take these collabora- Solomon Sobade, Executive Di- Quality of care is guaranteed with availability of experitions further by embarking on rector, Global Resources and continuous sharing of knowlProjects, organisers of WAH 2013 enced Ghanaian and international medical staff from edge and training of personnel said. in the area of oncology at SGMC He said, “SGMC would be show- well-endowed international institutions. and other Oncology Specialist casing is to deliver state of the The Medical Centre is a joint Centre nominated by SGMC. art cancer treatment to resiIt has so far completed the first dents of the West African sub-re- Ghanaian-Swedish venture of the planned three phases gion, in combination with high with Elekta and Swedfund as dedicated to a high-level oncol- efficiency and competitive pric- part owners.

By Moji Solanke

WAH 2013: Sweden-Ghana Medical Centre Care For Cancer Patient

Child Survival:Between Breastfeeding And First 1000 Days cent within the first month. This means more than one-third of all deaths to chilF ‘The State of the world’s mothers 2013’ report is the age of five are deaths to baanything to go by, then these are not the best of dren under first month of life. bies in their times to be a child. But what is killing them? Experts say it is The report, themed: ‘Surviving the first day’ indiof factors roll into one. But most siglot a cates that Nigeria is one of the most dangerous is the role play by nutrition in the nificant countries to be born. first 1,000 days — beginning from the first In its Birth Day Risk Index assessment, the death day of pregnancy and second birthday of burden on the first day, in our country, is 14 per the child. 1,000 live births — a figure higher than the sub-SaEvidence abounds that poor nutrition haran average (12 per 1,000). Each year, nearly 90, during the 1,000 days can result in severe 000 (89, 700) mothers lose their babies the same and irreversible damage to a child’s body day they give birth. It is the 12th highest burden in and brain. These days are considered ‘winthe world. when the right nutriIn fact, 12 per cent of all under-five deaths in Nige- dow of opportunity’ tion should be optimal, to lifelong impact ria take place on the day a child is born and 34 per

By Wole Oyebade

on the child’s future and could help in breaking the vicious poverty cycle of the household to which the child belongs. And the right nutrition for a newborn is breastfeeding. Nutritionists around the world are unanimous that breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months, is the most effective way to ensure child health and survival. The World Health Organisation (WHO) submits that if every newborn child is breastfed within 30 minutes of birth, “given only breast milk without water or any drink (including herbal drink)” for the first six months of life, and breastfeeding continued till the child is two years, about 220,000 child lives would be save every year. Chief Nutritionist, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Abimbola Ajayi noted that breast milk alone contains all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones and antioxidants an infant needs to thrive. The human milk, therefore, protects babies from diarrohea and acute respiratory infections, stimulates their immune systems and response to vaccination, and, according to some studies, confers cognitive benefits as well. Continued breastfeeding to two years, accompanied by appropriate complementary feeding, maintains good nutritional status and continues to help prevent diarrohea. According to Ajayi: “The prompt introduction of the child to breastfeeding or breast milk is a significant action that ensures the intake of colostrum which gives the child the immediate and life’s first protection against diseases, germs and illnesses.” Colostrum is the thick yellowish milk that comes out of the mother’s breast immediately at birth and it has been considered as ‘baby’s first immunisation’. Colostrum boosts the child’s defence mechanism,

known as the immune system. Ajayi added that mothers must be aware that their baby’s stomach at birth and until three months of age is very small. “It can only take a portion of fluid (about 30ml) per time. “As such, adding water or any other drink to the content of the child’s meal simply displaces the actual food and compromises the child’s growth and development. “Introducing any other thing, water or the likes, also serves as an avenue of introducing germs, bacteria and infection to the child till the physiology of the child is mature or developed enough to handle these intruders.” Evidences abound that initiating breast milk/Breastfeeding within the first 30 minutes of life of a newborn and continuing thereafter with exclusive breastfeeding is the most effective and least costly lifesaver the world has ever seen. The good news for mothers is that their exclusively breastfed infants are 14 times more likely to survive than non-breastfed infants. In the light of this importance, Special Adviser to Lagos State governor on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina advocated collective support for nursing mothers to breastfeed and save the children. According to her, it is no longer the exclusive responsibility of mothers, though not least important, to ensure babies are well breastfed. While mothers give the milk, the community must encourage them to do more. She said the period when mothers are within the community is the time the support system should be strong. The key to best breastfeeding practices is continued day-to-day support for the breastfeeding mother within her home and community.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

INTERVIEW LAKOJU: The Difference Between APC And PDP Is A Matter Of Style Dr Tunde Lakoju was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003 on the platform of then All Peoples Party (APP). He served as commissioner for agriculture in Edo State under the Action Congress government of Adams Oshiomhole before joining the PDP. He is currently the Commissioner representing Edo in the National Population Commission (NPC). He spoke with ALEMMA-OZIORUVA ALIU in Benin City. ow has it been since you left the then ACN for PDP? I THINK it has been wonderful. Like they say, if you don’t marry two wives, you cannot know exactly which one is better. And unfortunately, women in Nigeria are not allowed to marry two husbands the same way, they would have known which one is better. I have tasted both and I can say that the issue is style and as far as the PDP is concerned. What I found is that they are much more open even though a lot of people believe, like I used to believe, that it is a one man show, that it is a party of godfathers, but on the contrary what I found is quite different. I had the opportunity to articulate my own feelings and people listen and so far, I have had no course to regret my departure from the ACN, now APC. So it has been wonderful. I have an appointment that I think with the special grace of God I will be able to serve my country properly. That is the population commission and if things go well, our anxiety is to give Nigeria a demographic data, which will be very useful for planning in every department. What will you say about the ASUU federal government impasse? Incidentally, for 15 years I was part and parcel of ASUU. I was in ABU (Ahmadu Bello University); I was very active in ASUU. I also participated in this negotiation with the government and the agreement that was reached over time. Actually, if you see the condition of the universities, in fact the condition of education generally, you will be very sorry for the country. It is not President Jonathan that has created these problems; it has been there regime after regime. It is the military interference with our political life that has created this destruction. Because apparently, education was not one of their priorities and so education was brought to its knees and that is where it has been till today. Pre-primary education in Nigeria is unplanned. Housewives will open their garage and say they are running nursery schools. No curriculum, no supervision, no structure, nothing. Primary education today is in chaos, especially in the public primary education. And that is actually the building block of education generally. If you do not have a stable primary education, it is very problematic, and government after government has not been able to address these issues. If you go to the secondary school it is very chaotic because again, what is the content of the curriculum at that level, who are the teachers teaching at these levels, both primary and secondary; who are the teachers, what are their trainings, what are the qualities of teachers that are there, what is the number even? There are schools you go to today, secondary schools, you find the principal being the only government teacher, maybe with one other teacher, the rest are employed by the community and they are very few and they are so badly underpaid. You can imagine where a graduate is paid N5000, or N6000 naira a month by communities to teach in a secondary school. What do you expect from those teachers? When you see governments beautifying a school for instance, the question is, who is teaching there and what is the content of the curriculum that is been taught there. Now these problems have been left unanswered for so long and the problem did not start today. So, I don’t think we are talking about President Jonathan and ASUU. No. It is the Nigerian system, right from when the first gun was fired in 1966 to date. If you come to the universities, it is very appalling what is happening, if you go to polytechnics the same thing, go to colleges of education you have the same problem. The issue is, at what point are we going to correct these whole things. If you ask for instance, when was the last curriculum conference held in Nigeria, the curriculum of an education system ought to be dynamic and pre-cautions must be set at intervals before you sit down and review because the knowledge in the world is not static. If you don’t review your curriculum constantly, how do you capture the emerging knowledge of the world? How are you going to prepare your children or products to be competitive in the global set-

Jonathan Will Prove Critics Wrong ting? At the university level, what are the researches going on, how are they funded, what is the quality of support in terms of teaching materials, laboratories, workshops to back up the academic program of the institutions? How comfortable are the students in the hostel, in the lecture theatre and recreational theatre they have? So, I think there is a need for ASUU itself, because it is an intellectual organisation, to be able to intellectually analyse the critical realities of Nigeria. I know it is not possible for government to do everything, but government itself should be able to critically see and feel what is going on. There are representatives of government in the universities who can carry out their investigation, they can also inform government properly so that ASUU will be able to say that this is our list of demands, these are the ones we think can be met now; government will say okay, we have seen your demands, we have seen the realities on ground, these are what we can meet now. At some meeting point truce will be reached in the interest of the system, because today the entire calendar of the school system has been badly bastardised. Our children don’t know how many years they are going to stay in school anymore, parents don’t even know how many years their wards are going to stay in school anymore. So there is so much confusion in the system. So I believe at this point ASUU and FG should come to the round table as they are doing and come up to a realistic position and let government really tell ASUU that this is what we can do

in reality. For me, it is becoming unhealthy that this thing will carry on for so long, because this agreement has been so long. So I think they should be decisive about how we address them. The lecturers are not wrong with what they are asking for, I don’t think everything they are asking for is their own welfare, it is how the system is sustained, how we have can quality education. Is it not a shame that if we call the best 1000 universities in the world, not even one university in Nigeria is mentioned, not even the University of Ibadan is mentioned, where small countries in Africa have their institutions coming into that kind of rankings. I think it is a very serious matter that needs to be addressed passionately. What will you say about the newly registered APC? In human life, it is only lazy thinkers that think some things are impossible. Giving the realities we have on ground, if you do a critical analysis of APC, who is APC. APC is ACN, because the CPC, which is part and parcel of this organisation has only one state it is controlling. That is Nassarawa State. Only Rochcas Okorocha from Imo State is part of this new establishment, not the entire APGA. So essentially, APC that we are talking about is ACN. That is why in their logo, the broom is there. It is not an accident that literally everything in ACN is what has been taken into the aligning structure. It is also not an accident that the leader of ACN is also the leader of APC. Actually, we are talking about APC and the

We need a viable opposition and for me that has not come. If you look at the character and dramatis personae in APC today, they were all in PDP, people who left PDP. Ideologically they are hard-core conservatives. For me to have a viable opposition in Nigeria that vitality has to be defined in ideological terms. PDP is unapologetically a conservative party and if you know the principle of conservatism, it is not a bad thing. In America we have the Republicans, in Britain we have the Conservative Party and across the globe we have that and it emphasises the private sector as the driving force of any arrangement that you have. That is actually the plank on which conservatism rest. Quality and competition is entrenched.

party is still very seriously a regional organization. PDP is a national organisation, whatever defects they think PDP may have and to say APC will take power from PDP is a wild dream. I don’t think it is going to happen. Not in a hurry. We need a viable opposition and for me that has not come. If you look at the character and dramatis personae in APC today, they were all in PDP, people who left PDP. Ideologically they are hard-core conservatives. For me to have a viable opposition in Nigeria that vitality has to be defined in ideological terms. PDP is unapologetically a conservative party and if you know the principle of conservatism, it is not a bad thing. In America we have the Republicans, in Britain we have the Conservative Party and across the globe we have that and it emphasises the private sector as the driving force of any arrangement that you have. That is actually the plank on which conservatism rest. Quality and competition is entrenched. If you ask yourself the ideology of the APC today, is it left, is it centrist, is it right, no, you can’t say because it is an Amalgam. It is a salad and because it is a salad you can decide what you want to eat. You can pick out the eggs in the salad or cucumber or onions, depending on what you want to eat, it is not yet properly incubated. May be as they go on we will see how they manage. But there are some key characters who are key players there that nothing can change, because they are conservatives. They are capitalist or pseudo-capitalist. What I see in the merger again, is a liberal party, which will take from both sides. That is for me the real opposition we are expecting. All the noise I see in APC, for me will not go too far. And like it is happening, the target APC is having now is to take power from PDP. I think that is a wrong way to go. The question to ask if you are a serious opposition is, what is the condition of Nigerian people today, what do you plan to do for them and how do you intend to do it that is different from what PDP is doing? I can’t see anything they are saying now that is different. Slogan; yes but in reality, the way to measure it is to go to a state controlled by ACN and go to the state controlled by PDP. If you are giving us Lagos as a shining example of APC success, we will give Akwa-Ibom as a shining success. Look at the two, what is the thing that is making people feel Lagos is wonderful and Akwa Ibom is wonderful. It’s the projects and development that are going on there. Has Lagos State sat down to say what direction is PDP going with the Nigerian education, we are going the opposite direction, or we want to move with global trends and we want to cue into the global trend and come out with a curriculum of education that is different from what the PDP states are practicing? There is nothing different. So for me between PDP and the So-called APC today I can’t see any difference, the issue is the ideology. I mean APC has not convinced me that they have anything different from what PDP is doing and therefore if they say they are going to take power, on what basis are they going to take power. I hope it is not going to be on the basis of rigging, I hope it is not going to be on the basis of violence. Look at Lagos, there was local government elections, even the ones that PDP won, they were taken over, they got 57 over 57. It is the tribunal that is trying to take at least one or two out. In all the ACN states, it is same thing. If you say that is what is happening in PDP, what are you doing that is different? For me APC has not yet address the issue and they have not showed me that they are prepared to take power and I cannot see them taking power. They may probably retain the states they hold and if they are not careful lose one or two or three to PDP with the way things are going. I cannot see the way they will infiltrate any of the PDP states now. There have been complaints about President Jonathan’s performance, what will you say on this and 2015? Quite frankly, not because I am in PDP, people mistake quiet people for fools and this is the mistake that people have made in history and in the end, they judge very hastily. I believe very strongly that by the end of 2014, 80 per cent of Nigerians will start clapping for Jonathan, because if he wants to build a good road, he spends quality time in designing that road. If you spend quality time in designing the road the implementation will be very easy.

TheGuardian

THE GuArdiAn,Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Junior Guardian Sofunix Shines At 2013 WASSCE Ofunix international College has Sin recorded another academic milestone the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), as the students came out in flying colours at the recently released 2013 WASSCE. Apart from 100 per cent success in English and Mathematics, none of the students recorded less than seven subjects at either distinction or credit level. The current performance is another improvement on 2012 WASSCE. Last year, the school also had an excellent result in the national Examination Council (nECO). The fast growing school with boarding facilities held a combined (College and nursery and Primary school) 2013 valedictory Service and Graduation Ceremony on July 27, 2013. Addressing the graduating students and pupils, the Proprietor/Chairman, Mr Sola Oni urged them to sustain the schools’ high academic standard. Oni, who described education as priceless asset, commended the parents for the confidence reposed in the school. He, however, appealed to them to put in place all necessary things the students will need to enhance smooth running of the schools. in her paper titled; ‘The place of private schools in the Nigeria’s quest for educational growth and development’, the guest lecturer, dr. Comfort Amire of Crayford university, Ogun State traced the development of education in nigeria from the colonial era to the present day. Amire noted that education in the past was “holistic as it aims at assisting a child to bring out the best in them. They were developed morally, physically, domestically, spiritually and intellectually and the fear of God was imparted”. Explaining the rationale for the intervention of private sector in nigeria’s educational system, the university don indentified the following challenges militating against the smooth running of government schools as poor infrastructure, increase in population, strike, poor funding pattern, insecurity, time wastage, po-

Cross section of the graduating students at the occasion

litical instability, unstable academic calendar, low level of technology, bureaucracy, admission bottlenecks to higher institutions and poor motivation for teachers at all levels among others. Amire posited that the “future of our children depends so much on the type and quality of education we give them now”.

The high point of the ceremony was the launching of the schools’ maiden edition of the year book, a compendium which chronicles information on all the students and pupils as well as the schools’ staff among others.

— Gbenga Akinfenwa

nE obvious reason why you would want to learn a foreign O language such as french is to be able to communicate with the people who speak it. This includes those people you meet

asuquodennis@yahoo.com Tel. 08030964502

deo-Lively Graduates Students Emmanuel Awonuga, who was the Guest Speaker at the 12th anniversary, graduation and prize-giving ceremony of deo-Lively Stones Schools. He urged the graduating students to cultivate the habit of always putting in their best in everything they do so as to excel. Parents, friends and well-wishers graced the event, which held at the school’s premises in Ejigbo, Lagos. They were captivated and enthralled by the students, who treated them to interesting presentations such as dancing, drama, choreography and recitation among others.

The french Language And you when you travel and those in your community as well. And your ability to speak the language of a people will always enhance both ease of communication and friendliness whenever you visit the country or community. interestingly, learning french language offers you juicier opportunities in the labour market both within and outside the shores of this country, and in this lesson, you’ll learn a lot about your prospect as a french speaker. Teaching readily comes to mind. Most language lovers become teachers in order to share this love with others. french language teachers are well respected in both private and government owned schools in the country. This is because they are regarded as hotcakes and their salaries are usually very attractive and juicy too. french speakers are usually in high demand in international organisations such as the UNO, The International Red Cross and Hate Watch. Today, it is almost impossible for non-speakers of french language to have employment in these organisations since french is one of the working languages there. So if you dream of working in any of these international organisations, you’ll need to learn french. The publishing industry is also there for anyone who has an excellent grasp of two or more internationally accepted languages, particularly grammar and spelling. Another area is the foreign Service, which is the branch of a federal government that offers diplomatic services to other countries. foreign Service employees are also staff the country’s embassies and consulates around the world, and therefore need employees who speak foreign languages such as french. And if you are the type that love traveling, working in the traveling or tourism industry might be just the thing for you. remember with french language, you’ll always have unlimited options. See you next week.

Pupils of Rghtville School, Surulere with the Proprietress, Dame Chinwe Anyas Gabriel on excursion to Disney World, Orlando, USA this summer

vErybOdy desires the best but this cannot be accomplished E except individuals imbibe sound moral values, which are the building blocks of a successful life. This was the view of Mr.

SAy iT in frEnCH! by Asuquo dennis

The graduating students were charged to be hard working, focused and God-fearing in all their endeavours. Since life is not a bed of roses, they were told to be patient and persevering. Chairman of the school, Mr. Samson Otegbola, in his speech, congratulated the graduating students, imploring them to be visionary because life is a stepping-stone and achieving one’s aims and goals is a gradual process. He also implored parents to take strict and proper measures towards guiding their children and assisting them to realise their dreams and ambition, as they are the pillars of support behind the success of these children.

—Toyosi Ajayi and Eniola Ekundayo

COMPILED BY KIKELOLA OYEBOLA

THE GUARDIAN,Sunday, August 18, 2013

Junior Guardian SATOIF’s Graduation, Prize Giving Ceremony T was celebration galore at SATOIF Montessori IasSchool, Ileri Oluwa Estate, Ota, Ogun State recently, the school rolled out its drums to mark the first graduation and prize giving ceremony. The event, which witnessed a large turn-out of parents, guests and well-wishers from neighbouring schools, despite the heavy downpour, was a memorable one based on the achievements of the school within the short period it was established. The pupils entertained guests with choreography, poem recitation and musical performance among others to make the ceremony more lively and interesting. Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Toyin Adamolekun said within a year of the school’s establishment, it has surmounted many challenges, which basically have to do with children backgrounds, and effort to re-mould them. She noted that her passion for young people to achieve their dreams prompted the establishment of the school. “Most of the parents don’t know what their children want at the tender age. Therefore, it is very difficult for such parents to know how to tutor them. Instead, they just throw the children into the society where they learn anything that goes that can affect their future. “Our plan is to educate them academically, socially and morally so that they too can become useful to the society,” she said. Adamolekun advised government at all levels to put in more money into education and carry parents along in their various policies for meaningful achievement to be made in the sector.

—Gbenga Akinfenwa SATOIF’s pupils entertain the guests during the event

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Miss Damilola and Master Emmanuel Onayemi during their graduation ceremony at Zodiac Nursery & Primary School, Egbe...recently

Grandmates School Urges Graduands To Keep Morals And Standards students for their commitment and hard work towards their completion of their secondary educaondary School, Ago Okota, Lagos, tion in the school. She charged were treated to an elaborate send-off them to remember the wonderful ceremony with the school manageexperiences they shared in the ment charging the graduands to en- school and always strive for excelsure that the morals and academic lence in their various academic standards imbibed during their stay pursuits. in school are not compromised. Said she: “The world outside secSpeaking at the valedictory and ondary school is a big one with a graduation ceremony held recently lot of freedom. There will be no at the school premises, the school’s teacher to guide you. So, be wise as Director, Mr. Adepoju, described the a serpent and gentle as a dove. Do 2013 set as an excellent one. He everything in moderation. Hold urged the graduating students to your head high and be confident. take charge of their destiny by going Choose your friends carefully and forth to excel in their various fields have a focus that will guide your fuof endeavour. ture. Don’t allow anyone to distract “You have been well trained and you. Don’t ruin your future by inequipped, be conscious of what you dulging in social vices. Above all redo and the kind of friends you keep member your God in your youth, and always consolidate on the foun- serve and honour him with your dation that you have been brought body, spirit, soul time and talent.” up with.” Awards and gifts were presented Principal of the school, Mrs. to the graduating students and Toluwase Ijeoma congratulated the pupils in lower classes.

MIDST prayers, encouragement A and thanksgiving, the 2013 graduating students of Grandmates Sec-

Cross section of the graduands at the event

ThE GUArDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

CAMPUS African Students Create Anti-Malaria Soap OCTAr Dembele and Gerard Niyondiko have won the Global Science Venture (GSVC) competition for creating an anti-malaria repellent soap. Burkina Faso native Dembele and Burundi native Niyondiko created Faso Soap from different herbs, including karate citronella. Dembele and Niyondiko have not only helped Africa with their creation, they’ve also made history. They are also the first non-Americans to win the GSVC, which challenges students across the world to create their own business plans for social ventures. The grand prize is $25,000. In many countries of tropical Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death for the population. It represents 30-40 percent of hospital admissions and up to 40 percent of public health expenditure. The soap, based on Shea butter and enriched with essential oils of lemongrass will to protect its users from malaria. According to Niyondiko, the soap will initially be available in African countries hit hardest by malaria. “The soap will be available first here, and then given to NGO.”

One of the students receiving her admission certificate from UWC National Committee chairman, Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie

By ‘Fisayo Soyombo rSTWhIlE journalist with The Guardian, Nduka Otiono, has been appointed Assistant Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, becoming the first appointee at the university’s newfound Institute of African Studies. Nduka, a multiple winner of academic and literary awards, joins the university’s 4,358-member academic staff overseeing the study interests of 27,771 students. his appointment is yet to be officially announced but authorities of the university would not pass up an opportunity to break the news. “We at the Institute of African Studies and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Public Affairs are delighted that Dr. Nduka Otiono will be Assistant Professor at Carleton University commencing July 1, 2014,” Director of Carleton’s Institute of African Studies, Prof. Blair rutherford, said. rutherford expressed confidence that the holder of the prestigious two-year Canadian government-sponsored Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, will bolster the institute with his vast wealth of knowledge and experience in the fields of African literature, journalism, arts and culture, as well as his passion for exciting and teaching students, colleagues and broader publics about the histories, complexities, and politics shaping these domains in Africa and beyond. “Otiono’s ability to straddle these diverse fields makes him uniquely positioned to complement the Africanist strengths in both faculties to which Carleton’s Institute of African Studies belong. his expertise in African literature, oral culture and what he suggestively calls ‘street stories’ complement the range of Africanist expertise we have in the arts and social sciences — notably the prestigious insights provided by Prof. Pius Adesanmi. his interdisciplinary research focuses on ‘street stories’ or popular urban narratives in postcolonial Africa, and how they travel across multiple cultural formations including oral literature, the news media, film, popular music, and social media.

Two African students, Moctar Dembele (left) and Gerard Niyondiko have created an Anti-Malaria Soap. Thier product, named Faso soap, is a low-cost, mosquito repellant solution.

15 Nigerians Get United World Colleges Scholarships By Anote Ajeluorou lThOUGh just a handful of Nigerians, including boardroom guru, Mr. hakeem Bello-Osagie, first attended it in the 1970s, today, many young Nigerians are now taking advantage of United World Colleges, which

Otiono Appointed First IAS Professor At Canadian

offers the famous advanced level International Baccalaureate (IB). United World Colleges’ campuses are situated in 13 countries around the globe. This year, 15 young and bright Nigerians have gained admission to the various campuses of UWC, with some on full and others on partial scholarships. It was an emotional moment for some of the parents, whose wards secured scholarships valued at several millions of Naira, at the award ceremony held last week in Ikoyi, lagos. In his remarks to the new set of students admitted to UWC, National Committee chairman, Bello-Osagie, relived some fond memories of his recent visit to his old school, Atlantic College, located in Wales after leaving it 40 years ago. he told them: “You will be going to a very great school and you’ll meet students from all over the world. But in spite of our differences, we share a certain commonality. You will learn tolerance about people who are different from you. You are going as ambassadors of Nigeria.

You should be modest in the way you behave; be confident without being overbearing and showy.” Chairperson of the National Selection Committee, Prof. Isabella Okabgue, outlined the admission process as a rigorous exercise that involved intellectual, mental and physical tests, which produced 15 students from the 100 that applied. She explained that the committee did not offer admission to students but it only selects the best candidates and advises UWC to admit them, stating: “no nominated candidate from Nigeria had been rejected so far. UWC is a lifechanging experience; after attending UWC, you come back a more matured and better person.” Executive Secretary of the National Committee, Mrs. Yvonne Ebbi, commended its chairman, Bello-Osagie, for making the unique opportunity he enjoyed decades ago available to young Nigerians, as his contribution to national development. She urged the students to also exhibit such magnanimity in their pursuits so as to make Nigeria a better place for all.

Varsity Council, host Communities Confer On MOUA’s Development From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia NEW step has been taken by the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUA) in Abia State to co-opt its two host communities of Umuahia South and Ikwuano lGAs in its bid to nurture the institution into a world-class university. This is following meetings of the new MOUA governing council members led by the ProChancellor, Prof. Anya O. Anya, held separately last Thursday with the two traditional rulers at Olokoro for Umuahia South and Ariam for Ikwuano, to explore the collaboration of the communities. Top on the university demands from the host communities were granting the university access to the lands previously acquired for MOUA’s development by government. While the meeting was held at the Olokoro palace of Eze Obioma Patrick Offor, the chairman of Umuahia South traditional rulers council, that of Ikwuano was held at the Ariam palace of Eze Joseph Obaji. Anya, in company of the ViceChancellor, Prof hilary Edeoga and other principal officers, described a university as an agent of growth and pleaded with the host communities to give MOUA the collaboration needed to build it into an international status.

While the Umuahia South rulers pledged to sustain their support and collaboration, the Ikwuano group specifically demanded for the MOUA land Survey report, saying it would help them determine the right owners of the land acquired for the university with respect to paying compensation. In this regard, Anya promised to take up the issue of survey report with the state governor, Dr. Theodore Orji, in whom he

said all lands in the state are statutorily invested. Both communities demanded employment for their people, contract awards and admissions among others. The VC responded that these were already being effected, but remarked that in view of the federal ownership of the university, other sections of the country ought to benefit from the university. Specifically, he said many citizens of the host communities

had been employed, including giving full employment to over 200 that had served as casuals for 17 years, just as many that met admission requirements were admitted into the university. On award of contracts, he said it was being done on merit, but lamented that some indigenes who were awarded contracts abandoned them after collecting mobilization fees.

Otiono

WISECrACKS To see what is right and not do it is a lack of courage. Confucius The biggest tragedy in America is not the great waste of natural resources – though this is tragic; the biggest tragedy is the waste of human resources, because the average person goes to his grave with his music still in him. Oliver Wendell Holmes Once you surrender to your vision, success begins to chase you. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari The first part of success is “Get-to-it-iveness”; the second part of success is “Stick-to-it-iveness.” Orison Swett Marden

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Eze Joseph Obaji (middle) is flanked by MOUA Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Anya O. Anya (fourth left); VC, Prof. Hilary Edeoga (third right) and other traditional rulers after the courtesy call of university management to Ariam in Ikwuano, Abia State.

Every week, LIFE CAMPUS reports on events in students’ communities across the country. You can contribute by sending stories, gossips, reports on events and your pictures for Campus Faces to us at: templer2k2@yahoo.com or guardianlife2005@yahoo.com

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

IBRUCENTRE

‘CAN Has Never Had It So Good’ In reaction to some of the comments, on this page, made by the founder and spiritual head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, two Sundays ago, Elder Sunday Oibe, Director, Research, Planning and Strategy of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was at Rutam House, Corporate office of The Guardian newspaper to straighten some of the facts. In a chat with OMIKO AWA, the church leader sheds more light on the activities of CAN and its headship. HAT is the relationship between the Catholic W Church and CAN like? It’s healthy, there are no crises. Catholic is one of the strongest five-legged arms of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and just like the case of a husband and his wife, there might be some grey areas they want to sort out, but it does not mean they are fighting. Catholic is one of the five arms of CAN and they have been working like a family. What’s your view on some religious leaders that say CAN is not doing enough, in terms of protecting Christians and being proactive with some government decisions? When you say religious leaders, there are so many religious bodies in this country, but if the religious leaders were speaking from the Christians point of view, I would say their views are not true, because the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is always in the fore burner, to take issues that affect the ordinary Nigerian to the government. And anybody that says CAN is not doing enough as it is today, should examine himself/herself because it’s either the person is living in the moon or is not part of this country. Going to the specific, our attention has been drawn to a publication in The Guardian by one Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, the founder and spiritual head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church. The said Primate tried to accuse CAN leadership of non-performerance, but went ahead to shoot himself on the leg, by saying that in the time past, CAN was performing. The same man, who accused the headship of CAN of not doing well, also said he does not reckon with CAN as a body; so, I began to wonder why he is meddling in the affairs of a group, he does not belong to, how would he be able to say something about the group. The problem we have in this country, especially among Christians, is that many people are disguising themselves as Christians while they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Ayodele does not belong to Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), Evangelical Churches of West Africa (ECWA) or Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN); so, which body does he belong to? In CAN, we scrutinise because it is not everybody that we admit as member. If you don’t believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, if you do not believe in Jesus Christ or the tenets of the Bible you cannot be part of CAN. So, how can a man that does not belong to CAN know if the body is doing well or not? CAN has had five successive presidents and it is on record that they all did well within their God-given ability. But the current leader, in the person of Pastor Ayo Joseph Oritsejafor, came at a challenging time in the history of this country, when the issue of insurgency, particularly in the North was so enormous. Pastor Oritsejafor, unlike other leaders, relate with the people to know what is happening around them and the churches in the North have never had it this good under his leadership. When the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, they looked for Moses to cry to God and he took their complaints to God. So, the church has always been looking for a man, who will listen to them, who they will cry to and who will take their plight to the authority, everyday as I talk to you, it is either a church is burnt or a Christian is killed in the North. Two weeks ago, about 16 Christians were hand cuffed and burnt to death by members of the Boko Haram religious sect and these are some of the things, Pastor Oritsejafor is fighting against. He has personally challenged the issue of under-aged marriage and has promised to lead a protest to the National Assembly and the seat of power in Abuja, if National Assembly passes it into law. He is also not relenting on the issue of gay-marriage. Remember, he is the only Church leader that appeared before the United Nations Congress and told the American government about its double standard and hypocrisy in the Boko Haram issue. How can one rise up to say that a person that has played such important roles is not doing well. Primate Ayodele also said that Papa Oritsejafor should not have sought for a reelection because he did not do well in his first tenure. This is a man, who contested for an election and won. During his first tenure and at the end, there was another election and 11 people out of the 12 voted for him and at the second round of the election 80 out of 84 people

Oibe

• Oritsejafor Rehabilitates Widows, Children, Flood Victims With His Personal Money • Challenges Anybody That Has Given Him Money To Make It Public • Warns Nigerians Against False Prophets • Says No To Girl Child, Gay Marriage voted for him. In fact, the person contesting against him voted for him. Can a man like that not be said to be doing well? I must not fail to tell you that Primate Ayodele has an agenda. First of all, he wants to put fears into the political class because he knows 2015 election is by the corner that was the reason he said President Jonathan would lose a very close member of his family. He wants to get the attention of politicians, by making them to believe that he has been giving prophesies and all of them have been coming to fulfillment, and with that they will patronise him; but my Bible tells me that in time past God spoke to us through our fathers and the prophets, but in this last days, he has chosen to speak to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. If he is a prophet, when did he become a Christian? Ayodele just wants to cash in on the desperate nature of the Nigerian politician and I stand as the servant of the Most High God to tell Jonathan that no member of his family will die. I also call on Nigerian politicians never to give room to the likes of Primate Ayodele, because they are hungry and looking for food. If he is in doubt of this, let him challenge me to a debate. When did he give his life to Christ, when did he become a Christian? That he bears Elijah does not make him a Christian or a Primate. We know the criteria for making someone a Primate. Papa Oritsejafor is using his personal money to rehabilitate the widows whose husbands were killed in the North by Boko Haram sect, as well as children whose parents went with the crisis; nobody before now has done this. When there was flooding in Kebbi, Bauchi, Yobe, Plateau, Maiduguri and other places in the north and many Nigerians — Christians, Muslims and animists — were affected, Pastor Oritsejafor took materials to them; he is not from the north and he did that and up till now he is still doing it, yet someone is saying the man is doing nothing. If we do not clarify things, Nigerians will believe that this falsehood is real. I must say CAN has never had it so good until now, under the leadership of Pastor Oritsejafor; he is an excellent man, he is doing a good job for the church and nation. Some of the issues the Primate raised bothered on high school fees charged by mission schools and youth unemployment This goes to show that the man is not a stu-

dent of history. When the early missionaries came and established churches and schools, they were getting subventions from overseas, which made it easy for them to award scholarship and as well made education free. But you will agree with me that getting quality education is expensive, but if you really know what the church is doing, you will know that it is the failure of government that is making the church to provide alternatives to rescue the people from the woods. If not for the church and mission schools, there would have been no education, because when the government took our schools they destroyed them; you could even see that our political leaders don’t allow their children to school here, they send them to other parts of the world, and instead of him to praise the church for providing an alternative, Primate Ayodele is somewhere running them down. To me, he has not come in reality with the truth because those of us who went to school in my time attended public schools, but today, I would not allow my child to attend public school because I want the best for him and as such I either send him to a private school or mission school. I would have expected Ayodele to take the heat on the government that have failed to do what it is expected to do instead of castigating the church. And talking about youth employment, honestly, all the five arms of CAN are in one way or the other doing something to empower the youth. Let me begin with the chairman of CAN, who on every December 26, empowers the youth. He has been doing this before he became the chairman of CAN. I know the Catholic secretariat of Nigeria has a laudable project in areas of hospital, agriculture, Internet and others for the youths to acquire skills and be employed. If you go to the Methodist, Anglican, ECWA and others, it is same situation because each group is working to empower the youth. I tell you there is a huge army of youth that is not employed, but there is a limit to what the church can do. It is the responsibility of government to provide job, security and the enabling environment for the people to invest in, but since government is not doing that I want to ask him, as a person; what he has done to empower or educate the youth? I think in terms of education, this country must be grateful to God, the church and Christianity as a whole. I must also let him

know that it is the initiative of the present leadership of CAN to establish a Jubilee Leadership Centre that would provide huge employment for the youth. Apart from this, Pastor Oritsejafor is reaching out to the youth in the north in terms of education and skill acquisition. He knows that Christians in the region are backward and as such wants to use education and training to bridge the gap between the south and the north; he is not selective in his award of scholarship as it cuts across youths from all religions in the country. What is the Jubilee project all about? It is a muliti-purpose building that has 50 bedrooms for lodgers in Abuja. It also has halls that could be used for different programmes. Aside from generating revenue and providing job for the youth, its use will not be limited to Christians alone. The jubilee project will serve as a memorial of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary. Some people are of the opinion that Pastor Oritsejafor was given a jet by the president as a way to buy him over This is laughable because Papa Oritsejafor has challenged any politician or public officeholder, who has given him a dime to come forward and say it. The jet was given to him by some Christians, who had expected him to hold a programme in their church, of which Pastor Oritsejafor could not meet up with because he could not connect his flight from Malaysia to Nigeria. This became an issue and so some people he had impacted met and gave him a jet. President Jonathan was at the presentation ceremony, I was also there; in fact, the gift was a surprise package for Papa Oritsejafor. I sincerely tell you that the president of this country did not contribute a dime or did any state governor or public officeholder contribute any kobo to buy that jet, it was a gift from those he had impacted on since his over 40 years in the vineyard. Since he made that comment has anybody come forward? No! Saying the jet was a gift from the President is a lie from the pit of hell, it is not true. Are there no ways that CAN can curtail prophets and their predictions? CAN does not have the instrument to deal with him because he is not a member. The only thing we can do, is to say ‘God please save this man’, because if he a man of God he will not run down other people. He said CAN is not speaking out on girl child and gay-marriage, everybody knows that on daily basis, CAN has been using the newspapers and other media to confront government on these issues; but he still went ahead to say CAN is not speaking, what a contradiction! But before now he has been prophesying and they have all come to pass What has he been prophesying? The plane crashes, Boko Haraminsurgency and the flood to mention, a few and people believed him The insurgencies in the north have been there for long. I am from the north and we have been seeing it for long. We had the Maitasine and others and this is so because there is an orchestrated plans to squeeze and keep Christianity out of this country. Let him tell me exactly what is going to happen tomorrow, then I will know he is a prophet; besides he can’t do that because that power lies with God. Does God not speak well of Nigeria? Why is it that everything, he said was negative, could he not prophesy that Nigeria would flourish? But he said if the people do the right thing, Nigeria would flourish That is not a prophecy, he added if, which is a probability. Of course, if President Jonathan provides the enabling environment and people can get job the country will be better, that is a conditional statement; it is not a prophesy because it is what everybody has been talking about and working to achieve, so what is prophetical about it. When he said if, it means he is also in doubt of himself. However, the Bible had earlier warned us that in the evil days that there would be different kind of people that would call themselves prophets and would tell us different things. Where are you from? I am from Benue State, the north central of this country; I have been in CAN as far back as 1987 and have seen it all with all the leaders of the church. And to tell you, the truth, even the past leaders and the present church leaders are praising God for giving CAN a leader in the person of Papa Oritsejafor. You should have known that Papa Oritsejafor never asked for an election, people went to him to come and liberate Christians and that is exactly what he is doing. He did not campaign or lobbied for the office. I must tell you, but for him, the church in Nigeria would have been put under lock and key; he never allowed that because he listened to God for instructions and directions. He is a man that has passion for this country, and love for the people — Christians, Muslims and animists.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

IBRUCENTRE

Sunday School The New Man (4) Memory verse: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” Acts 10:38. Bible passages: Mark 16:15-18, Acts 2:41-47. Introduction Last week, we learnt that the new man is easily identified by his sanctified and Holy Spirit controlled life. We will consider the New Man’s DNA today. Like Father like Son The Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, who rose again for our justification, is our perfect role model in ministry, Acts

... With Pastor Enoch Adeboye 2:22. He went about preaching, teaching, healing and delivering the oppressed, Acts 10:38. He was outstandingly known for signs and wonders, for God was with Him, Mk. 1:14-15, 21-22, 23-24, and 40-45. This should be the hallmark of the New Man; Mk. 16:15-18. The new man as a carrier of the Holy Spirit is empowered to be a true witness of the Lord Jesus Christ at home and abroad, Acts 1:8. He has the same DNA of the Master and is programmed to ‘GO’ with full assurance of His presence at all times, Mt. 28:18-20. Proof-producing ministry The book of Acts of the Apostles is indeed a record of proof producers, who walked the straight, narrow path physically and spiritually with the Master. Their lives remain the benchmark for the New Man and set the standards for contemporary be-

lievers. This is God’s expectation of the New Man, Acts 2:14-37, 38-41, 42-47. He must be a vessel unto honour with anointing to heal, Acts 3:1-9, in power-evangelism, Acts 4:7-14, to promptly discern and judge iniquity and keep the purity of the body of Christ, Acts 5:1-11, in signs and wonders, Acts 5:12, Acts 6:8, to bear abiding fruits, Jn. 15:16, Acts 14:1. In the missionary trips, churches were planted by the New Man everywhere, even in homes, Acts 18:1-11, 24-28, Acts 19:1-7, Rm. 16:1-5. Conclusion The New Man must always exhibit the characteristics of the Master. Be connected to the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood and DNA will flow through your veins and will show forth in every area of your life in the mighty name of Jesus.

Trusting God vided an alternative ram in Isaac’s stead. Abraham showed his magnanimity in his relation“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a ship with his nephew, Lot. Genesis 13: 5-9, “now place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land out, not knowing where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8 could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that N our age, there is a strong tendency for one who is not well grounded in God to always seek they were not able to stay together. And quarfor personal gratification at the expense of oth- relling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perers. This often leads to vices such as cheating, backbiting, and greed. But those, who indulge in izzites were also living in the land at that time. Abraham, though he is the older family memthese forget that every sin that is not forgiven ber and would have the right to the best land, must be accounted for. But how can we leave happily without serving as impediments to oth- allowed Lot have his choice to avoid strife. Lot ers? We find a ready answer in the life and times was greedy. He chose the whole plain of Jordan, which was well watered, like the garden of the of Abraham, widely regarded as the father of faith. Adherents of Christianity and Islam alike, Lord, and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of readily find a rallying point in the man, Abraham. He was a hero, an extraordinary man worth Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. emulating. What are those things that made him a close friend of the Almighty such that God (GN.13:10-12) Lot was attracted by the well-wablessed and honoured him? Why is it that thou- tered land, but ignored the moral character of sands of years after his demise, his name still re- the inhabitants. On the other hand, Abraham mains a strong reference in man’s relationship was a man of strong faith – he believed in the Lord. with God? Abraham, descended by10 generaThere is a strong disparity between Abraham tions from Noah, was born between 2000 and 1850 BC, in southern Mesopotamia, near the Eu- and his nephew, Lot. While Abraham walked by faith, Lot walked by sight. Abraham was generphrates River. He was a man of obedience and strong passion for God. This was evident in his re- ous and magnanimous while Lot was greedy and worldly. Abraham looked up to God to prolationship with the divine. The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country to the land that I vide always for his needs while Lot represented will show you, and I will make you a great nation vain men who decided to depend on the tem… by you all families of the earth shall be bless,” porary wealth of the world. As we learnt later, Genesis12: 2-3. So Abram departed, as the Lord had Lot paid dearly for his decision to settle by the plain in Sodom. He lost his wife and all his maspoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of terial possession while Abraham was blessed beyond his wildest imagination. The moral in Haran. Whenever God called upon him, Abrathis narrative is that we can trust God to take ham was quick to respond. In Genesis 22:1-5, we see God again testing Abra- care of our needs. Like Abraham, we must learn ham’s faith: “Take now your son, your only son to be magnanimous in our dealings with othIsaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mo- ers. riah; and offer him there a burnt offering on one Very Rev. Msgr. Osu, Director, Social Communicaof the mountains of which I shall tell you...” Once tions, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos. again, Abraham obeyed, though the Lord proBy Gabriel Osu

Guest Speaker and Bishop on the Niger, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Ken Okeke (rtd) (right) and Captain Ejiofor Clement, during the first session of the second synod of the Diocese of Evo at St. Simon’s Anglican Church, Okporo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State … recently.

Osun, Osogbo And Generational Curses (4) By Gabriel Agbo HERE are still other divine T curses for those that involve in idolatry practices like worshiping of the mermaid spirit called Osun Osogbo. We had only mentioned one, which is divine death sentence in the previous part of this article. There are several others, though, we can only comment briefly on some of them here: Miscarriages, infertility, short life, sickness idolatry and worship of demons will always bring about the above calamities to man. This is quite contrary to the belief of the worshipers of Osun, who believe that the mermaid gives children, good health, protection and prosperity. Yes, they are being deceived and manipulated by the master of deception himself — Satan. How could a demon give you children? Can Satan create? He, himself, is a created being and thus, does not possess the power to make another life. Also, he or his demons cannot protect, give good health or prosper anybody. All their pretenses are fake, dubious and manipulative. He pretends to give you money, but inflicts you with sickness, short life or take away one of your loved children or wives. He pretends to heal you or solve your problem, but will later

inflict you with more terrible ones. Jesus knew him very well and that was why He rejected his offer to give Him the world and all its glory. He rather described Satan as the enemy, who comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. Now, back to what God is saying, “do not worship the gods of these other nations or serve them in any way, and never follow their evil examples. Instead, you must utterly conquer them and break down their shameful idols. You must serve only the Lord your God… I will send my terror upon all the people whose lands you invade...,” Exodus 23:24-27. Did you read that? Now, the implication of the above promises is that if you disobey God and worship demons, idols, mermaids, etc, the reverse will automatically be the case. Now, what do we do with demons, spirits and idols like the mermaid at Osogbo? We must stop their activities and influence, and also totally banish them from our lives and cities. Are these possible? Yes! Very possible! Through powerful persistent, strategic prayers, especially in the midnight, we can do it. Then, through aggressive preaching of the gospel in these places. After all, the spread of the gospel to Osogbo in the 19th and 20th centuries greatly reduced the influence of Osun. Let all Christians from Osogbo, Osun State and the entire West-

ern Nigeria rise to the occasion. It took this kind of confrontation with the demonic supernatural beings for the gospel crusaders to Christianise the former Roman Empire from AD 100 to 400. Like Osun of Osogbo, the highly revered and dreaded principality — Diana of Ephesus; the great multiple-breasted Greek goddess had influence over the entire empire and made Ephesus the then occult capital of the world. People like Paul did great work to destroy this demonic influence. Then, one day John walked into the very temple of Diana, herself, he prayed ‘O God... at whose name every idol takes flight and every demon and every unclean power: now let the demon that is here in this temple take flight in thy name.’ Record has it that after this prayer, the altar of Diana split into many pieces! Then the other half of the temple also crashed to the ground. The assembled Ephesians began to cry, ‘There is, but one God, the God of John... We are converted, now that we have seen thy marvelous works!’ The members of secret societies, magicians, sorcerers, idol worshipers were converted. Rev. Agbo is the author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer. gabrielagbo@yahoo.com

Understanding God’s Word By S.K Abiara OD’S words have been preG served in the Scripture. (1 Kings 12:22; 1 Chronicles 17:3; Luke 3:2; Exodus 20:1). God’s words are dependable (Isaiah 31:2), firmly fixed in heaven (Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8) and backed up by divine oath (Jer.1:12; Psalm 110:4; Eze 12:25, Eze 12:28). God’s word has power to fulfill His will. It will not return to him ‘empty’ (Isaiah 55:11). Jesus spoke the word of God, (Luke 24:19). He also taught with authority (Mark 1:22, Matthew 1:27), exercising power over the sea, disease, demons and death (Matthew 8:8, 13). The word that Christ gives to his disciples cleansed and freed them (Jn 8:31; Jn 12:48; Jn 15:3; Jn 17:14). The church preaches the word of faith (Romans 10:8-9, 17), which is variously described as the word of salvation, the word of grace, the word of reconciliation, the word of the gospel, the word of righteousness, and the

word of life. Other names for the word of God in the Bible are; Book of the law (Neh. 8:3); Law of the Lord (Ps. 1:2); Scriptures (John 5:39); Holy Scriptures (Rom. 1:2); Words of God (Heb.4:12); Word (James 1:21:23); Word of life (Phil. 2:16); and Book (Rev. 22:19). The Word of God is described as the Old Testament Law. “Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, ‘These people honor me with their lips … you reject God’s laws in order to hold on to your own traditions,” Mark. 7:7-9. The Word of God is His revealed plan and complete revelation. “God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles ... for this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory,” Col. 1:25-27. It is the message of Christ and the gospel of Christian. “After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with bold-

ness,” Acts 4:31. The Word of God is characterise as been pure, restraining, perfect, sure, truthful, enduring, effectual, sanctifying, harmonious, inspiring, living and active. The Psalmist compares the Word of God to a lamp. “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path,” Ps. 119:105. The kind of Word God gave Prophet Jeremiah for the people of Israel were like fire and hammer. “Therefore, this is what the Lord God Almighty says: “Because the people are talking like this, I will give you messages that will burn them up as if they were kindling wood”… “Does not my word burn like fire?” asks the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes rock to pieces? Jer.5:14; Jer. 23:29. Prophet Abiara, General Evangelist, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) skabiaraofciem@yahoo.co.uk

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

IBRUCENTRE

Nigeria Claims To Be Religious But We Are Faraway From God, Says Okeke Rev. Success Marian Okeke, founder of Lord’s World Ambassador Church, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, shares her experience in ministration and other issues with PAUL ADUNWOKE. HAT is Church of God in Christ (COGIC) all about? W Established in 1897, the church is historically African/American Pentecostal Church. It has branches in nearly 60 countries around the world with over five million members as at 2007. It is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States and the second largest African-American. Why are you affiliated to COGIC out of all the churches? In 1988, I had a dream where I was going for evangelism and suddenly I heard a voice that repeatedly directed me to go and win souls for Church of God in Christ, and on waking up, I decided to obey the instruction; hence the affiliation. Mission of COGIC It is to win souls, spread the gospel across the globe and teach people the right way to live. Currently, we have 250 churches in Nigeria under my supervision and they are all doing well. Can you speak on the newly ordained pastors? They were about 62 in number, 18 came from the East, 24 from Lagos and 20 from other parts of the country. The church’s corporate social responsibility to the community I have trained over 3000 widows and less privileged in different skills. No doubt that would enable them to fend for themselves and contribute to the society. Apart from this, I have some less privileged people living with me, besides those staying in our church. Fending for such people gives me joy. Managing the church and the home-front My first ministry is my home; that is my children. I am blessed with five kids and they are doing fine. The church is also doing fine. I am called to gather pastors and minister the word of God. When it comes to the church and my family, I would say everything has its own time. I map out time to meet with pastors, my family and to train the less privileged and widows; I don’t joke with my schedules. Experience in ministration My ministry started while I was a kid. I like gathering people together. In my tender years, I was a member of the Cherubim and Seraphim sect. And some members, who had noticed the gift of prophesy in me, began to approach me to fellowship with them, which I did. Then, I would fast for three to 21 days. I was among the foremost members of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in my town. I later left the sect for the Presbyterian Church before joining Faith Alive Bible Church, from where I received a message to open my own church. The assertion that Nigerian pastors are more of prayer contractors than prophets. What is your take on that? The saying is true because many pastors go to people’s homes to prophesy, so they may be given some money. That is not what God has called us to do; a prophet is supposed to be in his ministry while people come to see him. Challenges facing the Church There are a lot fake ministries parading themselves as real, for this reason, people, who are ignorant, move from one church to the other. But it doesn’t take God much time to turn things around, you might be in a ministry for 100 years; but one day God will turn things around. What is your view on government asking churches to pay tax?

I understand churches are not supposed to pay tax. I have paid mine, but I keep asking if it is the taxes from pastors that would repair our roads, provide jobs for the youth or help the needy in the society. Insecurity in the country It is because we do not know God. Nigeria claims to be religious, but the truth is, we are faraway from God. And it is only God that can give us peace. The major cause of Nigeria’s insecurity is poverty and until this is settled, we may continue to experience insecurity. Boko Haram members collect money from their sponsors to carry out their dastard acts, which boil down to poverty. Advice to women Every woman should know that her first place in life is the home and should be submissive to the husband, no matter the situation. The husband is the breadwinner because God gave the woman as a gift to the man. Women need to love their husbands, bearing in mind that they are mirror to their children.

Okeke

Why Evil Forces Succeed (4) each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.” He later confessed in Job 3:25 that “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” This is why you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men must never be afraid of anything. Evil will prevail against were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and you, when the enemy knows that you are already afraid. that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, ‘the Rather than operating in fear, the Bible says in Proverb 3:5 Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not that you should “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean sought the Lord’s favour. So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” Also, in 1 Samuel 15:24, the Bible says “Then Saul said to not on your own understanding”. To succeed in life you require boldness, courage and godly wisdom. Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command… I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them.” Saul feared losing Are you walking in godly wisdom or operating in fear? In Psalm 27:1-6, the Bible says, “The Lord is my light and my salvathe people. The fear of men of God is the fear of losing their tion whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of members if they keep hammering on holiness. Once, as a man of God, you operate in that fear; you will never become whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to what God wants you to be. As a matter of fact, such a person devour my flesh... one thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, is a failure from that moment. to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” In Psalm 49:13-14, the Bible says “This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their say- You have nothing to fear, except fear itself. As long as you have Jesus, your fear over your children, what to eat, fruit of ings. Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will the womb, marriage, money, indeed all your fear are over feed on them.” In most cases, evil succeeds when the leader and it shall be well with you. becomes afraid of their followers, for instance Saul. The thing you fear most will eventually happen to you. This was the case of Job, In Job 1:4-5, the Bible says that “His sons used to Pastor Seyi Ogunorunyinka, General Overseer The Promisedland Restoration Ministries, Surulere, Lagos. take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite pastorseyiogunorunyinka@gmail.com their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for E all have different levels of fears, but the greatest fear of W a man of God is the fear of his followers not approving of him. In 1 Samuel 13:11-12, the Bible records “What have you

Springs Of Wisdom By PASTOR W.F KUMUYI

Reversing Curses ROPHECY is prediction or foretelling of future events. It can be P either positive or negative. It is positive if what is foretold is favourable, and negative, if it is not. A negative prophecy, whether in spoken form, or through dreams, or in the form of a curse pronounced by an adversary, has a potential to bring negative consequences on the target audience. In such a case, it is said that such a person is under a curse. Either way, a negative prophecy can be reversed through the knowledge of the scriptures and the exercise of absolute faith in God’s power and mercy. A few examples of negative prophecies in the scriptures will suffice here. One of the clearest instances was when David made negative pronouncements against King Saul. Before then, Saul had sought to kill David, pursuing him all over the land. One day, while in pursuit of David, Saul decided to take a nap, but did not realise that he was quite close to David’s hideout. While Saul and his men slept, David and one of his aides came to their camp, and when prompted to kill Saul, he refused, declaring: “As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.” That curse was fulfilled when Saul went to battle against the Philistines, and was killed there. David’s negative prediction against Saul went unchallenged because the king was sleeping, and did not hear it. When people are ignorant of a curse against them, it does not necessarily obviate its effect. It has to be reversed, or it will be fulfilled. The fact that Saul was a king and obviously had immense political power did not prevent David’s negative pronouncement from coming to pass in his life. Likewise, the fact that one is a highly placed person in the society cannot prevent a curse or a negative pronouncement from being fulfilled. The point of all this is that you should not be presumptuous about curses or negative predictions. There may also be times when God may reveal some negative future occurrences concerning you, through dreams or revelation to your wife or child or a total stranger, just as He did to Joseph but his father, Jacob, did not pay heed. It is advisable not to ignore such predictions. You should rather pray and cancel it right away. At some other time, say, while you are driving a car, you might develop a negative feeling or foreboding of an impending danger. When that happens, you must not remain nonchalant, but promptly pray and cancel any imminent disaster. Another instance of a curse in the Bible can be found in the book of Jeremiah, where a man called Hananiah had given a false prophecy in which he, purportedly speaking the mind of God, predicted good times for the people of Israel. But taking exception to the lies told in His name, God, through Prophet Jeremiah, placed a curse on Hananiah. “Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.” Not long after, “Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.” Hananiah was clearly presumptuous. He knew he was lying in his prophecy, and instead of swallowing his pride and pleading with Jeremiah to help him pray to the Lord for forgiveness and reversal of the curse, he ignored it, and died miserably. You should learn from Hananiah’s foolhardiness and death not to ignore any negative pronouncement, prediction or curse anytime you hear it, but to pray and cancel it. Even if it is coming from someone who is not godly or saintly as Jeremiah, you will still need to deal with it before it begins to work in your life. Like Hananiah, a negative prophecy came to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon through Daniel the prophet, concerning the end of his kingdom, but he ignored it. “And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay”, Daniel warned while interpreting the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Giving interpretation of yet another of his dreams, he earnestly urged the king to “break off thy sins by righteousness, and thy iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.” But Nebuchadnezzar did not take heed to this counsel. Eventually, calamity came upon him as predicted. How could a man be so foolish when Daniel was so close to him? How you need to be wise to break the yoke and to pray yourself out of any curse while there is still hope. Nebuchadnezzar’s attitude contrasts sharply with that of the king of Nineveh. A negative prophecy came from Jonah the prophet of God that in 40 days God would destroy the city, except the people repented of their sins. Their king responded promptly, and showed personal contrition. “He arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” Then, he issued a royal decree proclaiming fasting and repentance throughout his kingdom. That singular act of not neglecting negative prophecy but doing something about it saved him and his people from what would have been certain destruction. In fact, what happened in Nineveh goes to confirm God’s promise through his prophet, Jeremiah that, “at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent, of the evil that I thought to do unto them.” This means then that any curse, or negative prophecy or pronouncement can be reversed if only you can repent and pray seriREFERENCES: 1 Samuel 26: 1-12; 30: 1-6; Jeremiah 28:1-17; Daniel 2: 149; 4:1-37; Jonah 3:1-10 and Jeremiah 18:7 & 8. All scriptures are taken from Kings James Version.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

IBRUCENTRE

Corruption Has Impoverished Living Waters Nigerians — Chukwuma By Pastor Lazarus Muoka

Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, spoke to ISAAC TAIWO on the second session of the 15th Synod of the church, held recently, at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Asata, Enugu, Anambra State. Synod E thank God for making this year’s synod possible. It held at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, Asata, Enugu. The church has been a cathedral since the Diocese was inaugurated in 1970. The Synod was very overwhelming, encouraging and successful. The Synod theme The theme, Overcoming The Challenges Of The Time was based on the fact that there was need to sensitise believers, today, to be ready for challenges like the believers of old. Christianity, today, appears to be the one of butter and bread, and people no longer talk about the ‘Cross’ anymore because emphasis is, now, laid on ‘prosperity.’ Believers in the early church with reference to the Church in Smyrna were confronted with challenges; so, we should not think everything would just be smooth. Challenges strengthen Christians, made them focused by forcing them on their knees. Secret of leadership The leader, himself, has to create the atmosphere of love through spirituality and prayer. Also, accountability goes a long way to commanding love and respect for leadership. Loving the people, not lording it over them, is the spirit of a true shepherd. Identifying with every member of the church, both big and small, in their predicament invariably would attract their love and respect for leadership, which God has helped me to do. It is, however, lamentable that these qualities are missing in our public service today, as many of our leaders have only come to sap the people instead of serving them. By the grace of God, we have come to Enugu to serve the people and also to give our best to mobilise them to work hard and move the Diocese forward. We are not here to extort them, but rather to explore opportunities to raise more money for them to finance various projects in the church. These had made them to have confidence in my leadership. In addition, the way the leader, himself, lives his life matters a lot. The leader as a true shepherd is expected to uphold and demonstrate the life of holiness in the congregation; not to mess up himself, but respect himself and understand that he has come to lead the people to Christ by being a shining example with the way he lives. This is my 16th year in the Diocese, after I have spent eight years in Bauchi. By the help of the Lord, I have tried not to be a burden unto them nor a kind of taskmaster. Growth of the Diocese We have experienced tremendous growth by giving birth to many Dioceses. Many, who had left the Anglican Church have come back and this has increased our number. We have also expanded in terms of infrastructures, established schools, employed more teachers and also establish special hospital with a diagnostic centre that provides affordable healthcare for the people. The Church wants to be in the forefront, not only in the area of giving proper diagnosis, but also in the area of healthcare. You will remember that the missionaries, who brought Christianity to us, came with education and healthcare services. We opened Micro Finance Bank to empower both the women and the youth, while agro-forest industry has taken off to teach the people on how to grow food. We organised men fellowship for our men to cater for their families, spiritually and in other areas. We also visit prisons to reform the in-mates. While the Bishop’s wife keeps on mobilising the women, who have been very supportive in education and rural evangelism, our clergy are being exposed to new technology.

We Are More Than Conquerors (1)

“As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter; nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us,” Rom. 8: 36- 37. S we, Christians, continue in our journey to heaven, it is A necessary we keep our eyes on our Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is because the devil like a roaring lion walks about seek-

Bishop Chukwuma Courage in service This virtue creates confidence in your members that you are not a kind of person that can be bought. It abhors favoritism. The effect goes beyond the four corners of the church to the nation; it also effect changes. Like the prophets of old, men of God should be bold to say, ‘Thus saith the Lord’ to our leaders to salvage our nation from destruction. As long as church leaders do not have skeleton in their cupboards, they should be bold enough to tell our leaders the truth and not deceive them by telling them what they want to hear. Coping with different roles As the Bishop of Enugu Diocese; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Chairman, Enugu State Pilgrims Welfare Board (PWB) as well as Pro-chancellor, Renaissance University, I allot time to each responsibility. God, who gave me the responsibilities, helps me to cope with them. You have read that God gave one talent to someone, two to another and to another He gave five, according to the ability He has given to each of them. In addition to that, I believe in delegation of duties, I do not carry everything on my head. Return of schools to missions Government after co-operating with us initially, started playing games in this area by withdrawing some of the schools they had handed over on the lame excuse that it was a wrong handing over. The government entered into agreement with church leaders in the 70s, when they were taking over schools that, even, if they take the schools, the property remains the church property. The Anglican Church is, now, asking the government to play equal game with all churches on the ground that as they have released schools to the Catholic Church and gazzetted same, they should do same to us, so that, we can rediscover the lost quality in education. We believe government will cooperate. The government should not set churches against one another through their unhealthy policies.

ing how to hinder us from getting there. All the persecutions, blasphemies, blackmailing and accusations the devil and his human agents are levelling against the church and children of God in this end-time, are ways to derail us from getting there. We need not fear their accusations and persecutions or allow them to disturb the revival and evangelism going on across the states and nations; for God has been with us and will continue to be on our side. Therefore, be strong and fear not, regardless of how many or how mighty they may be. God has chosen us and there is nothing we can do about it or could any other person change the status. It is not our fault that we have been chosen to “be royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that we may show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light,”1Pt 2:9. We are the chosen generation, separated to worship the only true God, and abstain from the abominations that are in the world. We are called to salvation, out of darkness, out of idolatry, superstition and ungodliness, into His marvellous light and mercy. Who then can afford to be against us? It is dangerous to be against those whom God has chosen Rom.8: 31 says, “what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” What conclusion shall, we, therefore, draw from the above premises? The assertion is that God has called us to His holiness, and to love Him, which is the principle of holiness. So, we may be persecuted, accused, despised and, even, be derided; but as God has called us to cause grassroots revival all over the world, revive the apostolic Christian experiences among the body of Christ and revive the heaven consciousness among believers, we are to endure persecution and, even, rejoice when we are blackmailed, for all things work together for good to them that love him. If God be for us, who can be against us! No accusation or craftiness can prevail against this infinite God, who has power over all things. Therefore, we are very sure, we are more than conquerors. Even their accusations and charges work together for our good, as it helps to spread more of the gospel of Christ.

We may be persecuted, accused, despised and, even, be derided; but as God has called us to cause grassroots revival all over the world, revive the apostolic Christian experiences among the body of Christ and revive the heaven consciousness among believers, we are to endure persecution

Hold Your Peace By Patrick Esho “The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace,” Exodus 14:14. HIS was the message God gave Moses to the children of IsT rael when they were confronted with the imminent attack of Pharaoh and his soldiers at the banks of the Red Sea, Exodus 14:9-12. But before He gave them this message, He had told them what the outcome of the battle would be. Moses said to the children of Israel in Exodus 14:13: “Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today, for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more.” When God is fighting for us, we must hold our peace. Holding our peace is the only fight God wants us to fight. Holding our peace means resisting the spirit of fear from the devil. James 4:7, says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” When we submit ourselves to God, He will take over our battles, He will help us to fight against the devil and also give us the courage to resist him. Submitting to God mean to obey Him and surrendering everything to Him including our battles. We may think that the battle is just starting, but Jesus says that the battle is over even before it starts. If we do not believe that the battle is over before it starts, then we would not be able to hold our peace when the battle starts.

To further confirm that the battle is over, He said to us; be of good cheers, even, when the battle seems to be raging. There are two main battles going on. The first is the battle of the Lord against Satan, to obtain victory for us. The second is the battle by us against Satan to hold our peace, Exodus 14:14. To hold our peace, we must believe that the battle is the Lord’s and that it is finished as Jesus said in John 19:30. If we fail in the battle to hold our peace, we will also fail in the battle to overcome the enemy because we would hinder ourselves from taking the victory, which God has obtained for us against Satan. Jesus obtained victory for us on the cross when he defeated Satan, but some have lost the battle of holding their peace, so, they are still in the bondage of fear. Fear is the forerunner of error. It makes us to panic into doing what we should not do. King Saul panicked out of fear of the imminent attack of the Philistines and disobeyed the command given to him by Prophet Samuel, to wait for seven days for him to come and perform the sacrifice, 1 Sam 13:11-12. What is the greatest threat to our peace? The greatest threat to our peace is fear. The devil uses fear to intimidate us into submission to him. He uses the weapon of fear to brow beat us against the will of God for us. The word of God says that the enemy is like a roaring lion. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego re-

sisted King Nebudchadnezzer in faith. Their faith in God was their shield and the lions and the fire could not harm them. Beloved, no matter the storm, we should hold our peace because that storm will be over. There arose a great storm in the sea, Mark 4:37 and Jesus was sleeping peacefully because He knew that the storm could not harm Him. But His disciples were afraid of the storm and they went and woke Him up saying, “Master carest thou not that we perish, Mark 4:38. Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm, Mark 4:39. Then in verse 40 He said to them: “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Jesus did not care about the storm, He cared about His peace and, so, He commanded His peace to prevail over the storm. Storms are intended to cause us to lose our peace. When we lose our peace our vision will become blurred. When our vision is blurred, we would not be able to achieve our mission. When our mission fails, we would not achieve God’s purpose for our lives. Patrick Esho, Senior/Presiding Pastor, Rabboni Ministry International rabboni.ministry@ymail.com

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

IBRUCENTRE By Ernest Onuoha “And he opened the book and found the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, Lk 4v1719.” OME Bible commentators call this passage Sserves the manifesto of Jesus’ ministry. A manifesto as a guide of one’s policy. Therefore, Jesus’ manifesto was to control all that He has come to do. With this in view, He is not to be distracted but to be focused in order to affect positively those He has come to minister unto. From the passage, we need to think deeply about two lessons derivable from it. One, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, said: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.’ This means that every believer, every child of God and, more importantly, every minister of religion should crave for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. The spirit empowers, sanctifies and leads to every truth. It is always present with the believer, unlike in the Old Testament that it comes and goes. When the Spirit of God is upon His people, they will do exploit for Him. Therefore, the believer is called upon to be filled

From The Rector Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor

The Manifesto Of Jesus’ Ministry with this Spirit of God. It is an essential requirement without which, one cannot go far in his spiritual experience. The Holy writ beckons on every believer to be filled with the Spirit of God, Eph. 5:18, Lk 1:15. We recall with joy what the Holy Spirit did in the New Testament Church through persons who yielded to His activities. Worthy of note is that of Apostle Peter and his sermon on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2v14ff. When Peter stood up to preach, no doubt, the crowd saw God given power and purpose. He became a magnet for others and that day, 3000 people joined the Church. Two, Jesus said: ‘He anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor, to release the captives, give sight to the blind, set at liberty

them that are bruised…’ For a ministry to thrive, it requires unction, anointing. In I Sam. 16:13, Samuel anointed David. There was pouring of oil upon the person’s head, which is an outward sign of an inward grace. When it is present, it causes revolution in ones ministry in the aspect of his preaching, teaching, healing, deliverance and counseling. It is at this level that those who are held by sin are set free, those who have been blinded by the things of the world will recover not only their physical sight, but also their spiritual sight, and the broken hearted will receive the undiluted word of God. Jesus’ ministry was dotted with lots of healing and deliverance sessions. These could be seen in Mark 1:40-44, 2:1-12, 3:1-6, 5:1-20, 5:21-end and others.

Notice, when a ministry is without anointing, it loses the fire and the fervour of God. Anointing makes the difference and breaks every yoke. Those who are anointed have a stamp of authority from the throne of grace. We should crave for anointing; through it God will release His power as we live and serve Him. It is important to caution ourselves that sin dries anointing. Sin, whether secret or open, hinders the anointing of God. It behooves us, therefore, to ensure that God’s anointing in our lives remains new every day. Ven. Ernest Onuoha, Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State. www.ibrucentre.org.

‘No Anglican Can Declare Himself Bishop’ Rt. Rev. Innocent U. Ordu is the Anglican Bishop of Evo Diocese, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. On August 3, the church held its first session of the second synod, tagged: The Word of God: A Great Treasure. He spoke with CHRIS IREKAMBA on the significance of the synod and other issues. Synod 2013 HE Synod is our yearly diocesan meeting of church leaders to deliberate on issues concerning doctrine, administration and the general wellbeing of the congregation. So, once a year, the bishop, clergy and all the elected or appointed leaders of the church meet at a chosen venue called the synod, to review our work and take stock of what we have done in the past 12 months. We assess the reports and commend or correct, where necessary. This is the first session of the second synod of our diocese. Every synod runs for three years, and each one operates in sessions. First year, is first session, second, is second session, while third year, is third session and then the Synod is over. Our diocese is a relatively young one, inaugurated in July 2009; so, we had the first session in 2010, the second in 2011 and the third session of the first synod in 2012. This is 2013 and having completed our first synod, which lasted for three years as the tradition demands, we are beginning a new synod year that will

Youths In Nigeria Face A Lot Of Challenges

would yield interest for them. This is to make them fend for themselves instead of going about either defiling themselves or begging. The other major event was the gathering of our youths. We ministered, prayed and encouraged them to be part of what the church is doing at their various levels of the parishes. We also gave out elapse in 2015. trophies to the kids, who won Uniqueness of this year’s the Diocesan Bible Quiz Comsynod petition. It marks the beginning of a Last year 2012, we started a new Synod. Secondly, comprogramme for the youth. You pared to other years, we will agree with me that youths recorded tremendous attenin Nigeria face a lot of chaldance of the clergy and leadlenges. Many of them are at ership of the church at all home with no job in sight. levels. The commitment and When the basic necessities of discussions at the plenary seslife are not available to the sions were quite commendyouth, the tendency to go into able. We invited some crime becomes high. So, we felt speakers including Rt. Rev. as a church, we can make life Ken Okeke, a retired Bishop better for them; and by this, we from the Diocese on the Niger; organised a seminar, last year, the Rector of Ibru Centre, Agto motivate and practically embarha-Otor, Ven. Ernest Onpower them. We challenged uoha; Ven. Ndubuisi Obi, a them to do something proVenerable from the Diocese ductive to help themselves and on the Niger and former Adtheir communities. We felt viser to the President on Niger proper counseling would help Delta Matters; and former Ordu to bring a good number of managing director of the them out of that state. Though, Niger Delta Development soned, mature in the word of preaching of it. it was an outstanding success, Empowerment of widows and God and, as Paul told Timothy, Commission (NDDC), Chief the church organised it in conyouths to be committed in the study Timi Alaibe. We also, through the Council junction with Focused Learnof the word. In other words, Choice of the theme ing and Support Limited, a Our Diocese is young, so, we every child of God, every of Knights, used the occasion United Kingdom-based outfit. of the thanksgiving service to leader of the church must be expect, in the years to come, to This year, we want to practihave very strong and commit- conversant, versatile and empower some widows in the cally engage some of them on ted Christians that will make deeply rooted in the word of Diocese. We were not just out Information and Communicaheaven. In our choice of the God. So, the synod was calling to give them money and food, tion Technology (ICT) and theme, we desired that by the on people to return to the but to encourage them to in- through it, train them on comend of the synod, every leader word of God, study the word, vest the money into some puters and other gadgets that of the church should be sea- and of course, the effective meaningful business that would enable them fend for themselves. The synod and your birthday The synod coincided with my birthday. I became 52 on August 3 and it was not deliberate elected Moderator of the alarming proportions in the luted word of God and shun to have the synod on my birthSynod, Rev. Okeke Ndu and the country and urged Nigerians materialism, lamenting that day. For me, birthday is an ocSynod Clerk, Rev. Chika to give information that some preachers have gone to ac- casion to thank God for life; Nwankwo, the communiqué would help security agencies quire magical powers to draw God is the giver and sustainer described same-sex marriage to clamp down on offenders. attention to covenant innocent of life. It is also an opportunity to thank God, first to be part of as an end-time evil, which is Tougher actions, it added, and unsuspecting worshipers the human race, and secondly, condemned by the Bible, the should be put in place to help to their churches and advised to contribute in one small way Koran and African traditional arrest the situation. those involved to desist from it or the other to the developpractices, calling Federal Gov- Speaking on the recent im- and avoid the wrath of God. ment of the society. ernment to maintain its stand proved electricity supply noThe communiqué also drew How did you become the against it in spite of the ill-ad- ticed across the country, the the attention of Federal and Bishop of Evo Diocese? vised support for the western Synod called Government to State Governments to the deteGod promotes, He elevates or world. make situation permanent as riorating condition of some of chooses, whom to use. In In the same vein, the Synod stable power supply will lead the infrastructural facilities pro- church, we don’t campaign for kicked against the ‘baby facto improved socio-economic vided by the church, urging any office; we emphasise on ditory’ phenomenon described life of Nigerians. governments to be alive to its vine call. So, whatever office we as forced prostitution as well The communique called on duties of maintaining them and occupy, we believe God must as child/human organ traffick- churches to live up to its pur- uplifting the living standard of have called us to it. But again, ing, which it said, had assumed pose by preaching the undi- the people. God uses people to bring oth-

Church Commends N’Assembly On Same-sex Marriage By Bisi Alabi Williams HE East Synod of the PresT byterian Church of Nigeria has commended National Assembly for enacting law against same-sex marriage in Nigeria. In a communiqué issued at the end of its 26th Synod Meeting held at Isiama Parish, Elu Ohafia, Abia State, with the theme Living By Faith, the Church lauded members of the National Assembly for coming up with a law that meets the cultural belief of Nigerians. Jointly signed by the newly

ers to prominent positions. No Anglican can declare himself bishop, the moment you do that, you are no longer part of the system. One can only become a bishop if there is a vacancy in a diocese. The House of Bishops sit to decide who is qualified and they do it prayerfully and by election. When the Diocese of Evo was created in 2009, the House of Bishops considered that a Bishop must preside over it. They met and prayerfully elected us. That was how we found ourselves here and we are grateful to God, who used them to bring us to where we are today. On the show of shame exhibited by the Rivers State House of Assembly Like every other Nigerian, I too, saw what happened that day on television. Thank God it was recorded, if not someone would have denied it. So, as it is, that drama, that shame, has drawn the attention of the entire nation and the international community to the issues of Rivers State. And I have a deep sense of regret about what happened in the sense that those are the kind of pictures we see in public places, where there are touts and irresponsible persons. That behaviour betrayed the character of those we were told got elected as honourable members. And from the look of this, there must be something members of the House on one side and the state government on the other side must be contending for. They may not be courageous enough to tell us everything, but I know that for these issues to degenerate to such a level of public show, each party must be feeling deeply hurt or wounded by the action of the other. Our position is that they need to meet and find permanent solutions because if they continue like this, there may be no Rivers State to govern tomorrow. There is need for peace, more so, as elections are drawing near. We are the ones directly affected by this whole thing and we are not comfortable and can only appeal that they forgive each other, reconcile their differences and let the state move forward.

TheGuardian

42 Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Business Liquidity Mop-up:

Much Ado About Banks’ N1.2trn Public Sector Funds By Marcel Mbamalu The decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee to increase Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for public sector deposits, from 12 to 50 percent, is generating animated debate in the financial services sector. As announced, that policy automatically debited banks to the tune of N1.2 trillion for the Month of July in a clear accentuation of the apex bank’s two-year-long liquidity mop-up that has shot interest rates to the rooftops. This is because the move immediately sent banks panicking, causing feverish hike in interbank rates with obvious implication on general cost of borrowing. While, some banks, according to the Executive Director of the Society for Analytical Economics Nigeria, Dr. Godwin Owoh, may have had privileged information, the action took the majority by surprise. “If you are a lender to government, you have advantage of getting privileged information about its plans. And you can take advantage of the information to get a marketing edge,” said Owoh. “For example, “ he continued, “if one or two banks, by their relationship with the regulator, knew about this policy two months back, they could increase marketing to mop up funds ahead the implementation. That would give them an edge; there are people who are ready to pay for such information. Do you also know that some public officers could use such information to bargain with bankers to gain personal benefits?” The sudden paucity of easy deposits from government funds, as a matter of fact, pushed banks, which hitherto had depended on such funds to finance big-ticket government projects to look more “inwards,” thus forcing an instant 74 percent increase on the rate at which they borrowed among themselves. It would seem that 1.2 trillion makes a very hard mathematics for the banks, but information coming from the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate of the CBN, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, indicates that, as at June 13, 2013, the three tiers of government had N2.384 trillion in the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), with 90 per cent of it lodged in zero-interestbearing Current Accounts. Good business, one might say! Barau, while defending the apex bank’s action, identified a paradox of high government deposit and high government borrowing in the same banks, a situation he described as “one of the causes of malfunctions in the Nigerian financial system.” The Deputy Governor noted that mopping up the liquidity, at 14 per cent, would cost N301.33 billion which is more than the annual budgets of most states. “Clearly, governments are over-borrowing, are wasteful in the management of public resources and are undermining the competitiveness of the DMBs,” Barau was quoted as saying. “ This corporate welfare, transfers or subsidy is clearly wasteful and costly. In addition, it undermines and corrupts the public sector and makes public resources to generate inefficient outputs and ineffective outcomes. Improving the market and the state demands the correction of the causes of distortions. “An increase in CRR on government deposits will also “incentivise” the DMBs to seek for deposits from the private sector and, to lend to the private sector. After all, the DMBs and other organised private sector players canvass for a market driven economy. A dependence on Government Deposits breeds complacency among DMBs. This policy is thus compatible with a market-driven economic model. The policy therefore, helps DMBs to rethink their business models, which have lulled them into complacent rent seeking behaviours.” Nigerian banks have always come under intense criticism for what many describe as crass unprofessionalism and poor culture of credit financing that have crept into the system and reared their ugly heads in the last 25 years, according to Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, a lawyer and veteran banker. He said the new policy should not have rattled

CBN’s Governor, Sanusi

• Knocks, Praise For Action •LCCI Makes Case For Capital Market • Unegbu Decries Loss Of Professionalism banks if they had remained professional in operations. According to him, the CBN has been “spoon-feeding” the deposit money banks to laziness, inadvertently helping them to chase government Treasury Bills with public sector funds at the expense of real credit to the economy. Interestingly, a few multinational and local banks with continental orientation are unscathed by the 50 percent mop-up of public sector deposits for the very reason that the focused on private sector deposits — which is the heart of core banking. Most of the international banks subscribe to extra-territorial compliance guidelines, as home governments subject them to additional regulatory guidelines, especially when it comes to hobnobbing with public officials in an environment considered corrupt, according to Owoh, an economic analyst. “There could be existing policies that compel foreign banks to limit the amount of money they take from government; (so) they may not be affected as much as local banks,” he concluded. It would, therefore, appear that the worst hit are banks, which, according to Unegbu, “shot themselves in the foot by failing to seriously go after retail deposits.” “They did not know that banking is more than public sector deposits and treasury investments. They have shot themselves in the foot. The CBN did the right thing as banker to

the government. “When the banks get fixed deposits from the public sector, they invest them in treasury bills. Now that some of the cheap money is gone, banks will invest with private sector deposits. Now they have to do an investment analysis: ‘If I invest in treasury bills, will it pay me; what is the next best alternative’? However, stakeholders believe that the new policy could affect the stock market in negative ways. Unegbu, who now plays big in stocks, said the squeeze would affect the capital market “because there will be scarcity of funds.” He thinks that, when banks are pressured to pursue new but credible alternatives, they would offer better interests on deposits in a way that could discourage investments in stocks. ESIDES, Unegbu, a former president of B the Chartered institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Managing Director of the defunct Citizens Bank, decried loss of professionalism in banking business a situation he blamed on lax regulation, poor ethics and faulty process of personnel recruitment/promotion that brought amateur bankers to leadership positions, even in some key positions at the apex bank. “Professionalism has been declining seriously in the last 25 years. Bankers are no

longer professional; they are rent collectors; if here is anything at all, they answer professional bankers in name, not in practice,” Unegbu told The Guardian in a telephone interview, which he granted from his far-away country home in Abia State. He, therefore, urged banks to work in conjunction with the CIBN and the Chambers of Commerce to ensure a return of professionalism in banking ethics and operations. “The banks should now start thinking of retraining its personal and work with the CIBN. They should liaise with the various chambers of commerce to see how they can do better business. They should develop a good relationship with the CIBN and the Chambers of Commerce.” Canvassing the return of COT-free banking, the veteran banker condemned what he refereed to as “a lot of hidden charges and things that are not transparent,” in the banking system. As the fulcrum of the national economy, the banking sector is expected to drive growth and development by providing credit to not only government but also to the private sector, where the bulk of economic activities happen. But banks’ reluctance to provide this credit finance — often as a result of poor credit information and cheaper alternatives provided by government treasury bills, among others — remains the snag. Consequently, Nigeria appears to be one of the few countries where “small people” will have to save money to do business: The financing, usually offered to clients who have been awarded tenders and local purchase orders (LPOs) to supply goods and services is virtually non-existent at the middle and lower rungs of the societal ladder.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 43

THe GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

BUSINeSSCOVeR percent of public funds deposit this will likely reduce significantly. Banks will then need to quit armchair banking and run after private funds. Does this policy have any negative implication, especially for small and mediumscale enterprises? With less liquidity, banks will become more rational in lending and only the best credit proposal will be supported. It will definitely have impact on the SMes as borrowings become more competiFifty percent of banks’ public sector detive. posits (amounting to some N1.2 trillion) Do you think that banks, which evidently will now remain with the CBN as part of the cess liquidity of banks. The seeming relucrely mainly on public sector funds, can sidered more secured. new Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR). stand the pressure of maintaining this tance to lend to the real sector was caused by These government borrowings have largely What impact would this rule have on the large government borrowing which are conbeen through the CBN. With CBN receiving 50 Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) with economy, as lending rates are already high, CBN; is the move likely going to curb the with banks treating credit finance with problem of public sector marketing at some sort of levity? the expense of real banking? believe there are two basic reasons for The new CRR policy will affect the banks the new policy. The first is to arrest the that have greater dependency on public running inflation that will likely get institutions for their deposits. With the worse as we approach the election year. sanitisation of the banking industry by Some states are having their elections early the present CBN administration, we have next year and elections will continue until very strong banks now, which will defi2015. nitely be able to withstand the pressure. Usually, during such period, politicians What you will experience is increased move government money to banks, which competition by banks for the market segthey eventually borrow for elections thus ment usually ignored which, traditionincreasing the liquidity in the economy ally, is the target market for Microfinance with consequent implication for inflation. institutions, the small and medium enSecondly, government has been borrowterprises. I believe this will also increase ing from the banks at market rates while the capacity of the SMes to bargain: “If we the deposits in the bank are largely governwill deposit our monies with you, will ment money. Indirectly, we have been you extend credit to us?” transferring public funds to a select private There is this impression that liquidity in sector through financial intermediation the economy (put at over 60 percent) is and this, in many cases, forms the backalready very high… ground of the large fraud and scams Yes, banks may not be comfortable with through public funds. the policy; and it is expected. The reason The lending rates may not be affected sigis that, it will have impact on their credit nificantly. The deposit of 50 percent of govbusiness and, by extension, their profit. ernment money with CBN will also reduce However, banks that accept the chalthe reckless lending associated with the exlenge will stabilise in a short time. Are you saying that the new rule is foolproof; nothing wrong with it? What you will experience is inThis was expected before now. It is a creased competition by banks for monetary measure, which is not static. In the future, this can change or even be the market segment usually igmade stronger. nored which, traditionally, is the It all depends on how the economy responds to the policy and CBN has made it target market for Microfinance inclear. However, one would have expected stitutions, the small and medium that the CBN would come out with enterprises. I believe this will also stronger policy on public borrowing to complement this policy. Uncontrolled increase the capacity of the SMEs public borrowing is the real culprit. As to bargain: “If we will deposit our long as budget deficit remains the order of the day, the problem will persist. monies with you, will you extend Do you think this policy measure won’t affect Federal Government’s economic credit to us?” Akintola growth plans since these so-called idle funds that are being mopped up could be borrowed locally to finance development projects? Not in anyway; rather, it will reduce the CONTINUED FROM PAGE 42 “I do recognise that there is a demately affect profit margins. The im- policy that has left the Monetary cost of government borrowing and minPolicy Rate (MPR), which determand, and perhaps a need, for pact is not just on the real sector, but Only recently, a senior media imise fraudulent use of government mines banks’ cost of borrowing further reduction (in Cash Repractitioner, who would not want the broad spectrum of investors in money to secure private borrowings. from the apex bank, at 12 per cent. serve Ratio and Statutory Liquidthe economy. We are, therefore, his name mentioned, told the What opportunities does the move porThis, no doubt, has serious impliity Ratio),” he told, India’s likely to see interest rates moving to story of how his plumber secured tend for retail banking, for instance? cations on he “downstream” cost premier annual banking sumnew thresholds of between 25 and a N1 million LPO from a Nigerian The opportunities for retail banking are of borrowing. mit, the FIBAC. 30 percent. If other charges are company but had to approach huge. From the last available research on Specifically, the cash reserve reCash Reserve Requirement in him to personally lend him N300, added, the cost of fund could be in banking, only 30 percent of Nigerians are quirement for banks, which also India is pegged at a low of four excess of 30 percent. 000 to help him execute the projhas a heavy impact on liquidity percent, while the SLR (which in- banked. “However, this development ect. If banks develop appropriate products, and interest rates, has remained cludes securities like governwould be good news to depositors, an issue in focus, especially in ment bonds) stands at 23 the 70 percent unbanked could be as interest rates on deposits would R. Muda Yusuf, the Directoremerging markets like Nigeria percent, down from 25 percent trend upwards. The scramble for brought into the industry. Then there General of the Lagos Chamand India. in 2010. funds by banks would push up dewill be sufficient liquidity for financial inber of commerce and Industries Incidentally, both countries have Yet, Indian banks continue to termediation. Our monetary policies will (LCCI), in an email exchange at the posit rates, which would mean bettwo things in common now: mount pressure on the apex also become more effective. weekend, said the recent review of ter returns for those placing funds First, their central bank governors bank, the RBI, to further reduce with the banks and other financial Cash deposits attract interest rates. Is Cash Reserve Requirements on are on the verge of running out the CRR. CBN going to pay interest on funds depublic sector deposits would have institutions. their tenure; second is that CRR Describing CRR as “dead “There is however the worry that posited by banks in compliance with the profound effects on the money money”, Chairman of the SBI, this development may adversely af- and general liquidity manageCRR? market as well as the stock marfect the stock market. Typically, the ment issues in both countries re- Pratip Chaudhuri, who described It costs banks money to attract these ket. gains of the money market are often main subjects of public discourse. CRR as “dead money,” had earlier funds and they incur administrative Listing key areas of impact as inIn India for example, Central said that if RBI could not reduce costs managing it. The CBN should rethe loss of stock market. As returns terest rates, price stability and this requirement further, at least ward the banks with reasonable interests on investment in the money market Bank Governor, D. Subbarao, is stock market, among others, ready to demit on September 4, banks should be paid interest on on it. I believe this is the practice. Yusuf said the new policy provides improve, negative investor sentiafter a five-year tenure; and new this deposit. ments may be created in the stock “a scenario that would profit What is your take on the obvious loss of Although the RBI brought market leading to a migration to the governor, Raghuram Rajan, will some (economic) players and peprofessionalism in banking operations assume office the next day. But down short-term lending rates money market, especially by shortnalise others.” and how can this policy on CRR help in the outgoing central banker had by 125 bps since March 2012, term investors. This may have a “The policy action represents a correcting this anomaly? had issues with Indian banks over there was only a 30 bps reducdampening effect on stock prices. further tightening of liquidity in The new policy should be seen strictly what they consider as his very tion in banks’ lending rates, as Generally a tight liquidity situathe economy in furtherance of the from the perspective of managing the tight monetary policies. they have to attract deposits by CBN objectives of promoting price tion often enhances the stability of economy rather than addressing unproSubbarao, who had disagreed paying high interest rates. Naira exchange rate and moderastability. We would see a further fessional practices in banks. with bankers’ call to further trim Both the CRR and SLR have been tion of inflation. This is another posincrease in interest rates, which There are other measures that the CBN the cash reserve ratio or pay interretained at low level, but the RBI, sible gain of the new monetary means an added pressure on the use in monitoring the activities of the est on deposits, and cut Statutory since last month, increased the policy regime.” operating cost of investors in the banks. Liquidity Ratio (SLR), on Tuesday, call money rates by 300 bps to economy. However, this policy is expected to resaid “perhaps” there is a need to 10.25 percent to prop up rupee eT, the CBN is being criticised for “High interest rates will ultiduce the recklessness of lending due to reduce the rates. availability. its ‘long years’ of tight monetary surplus liquidity in the banking system.

In response to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s withdrawal of N1.2 trillion of public sector deposits from banks as part of the new Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR), Mr. AKINYEMI AKINTOLA, Executive Director, Community Development Foundation (CDF), in an email exchange with DANIEL ANAZIA, explained the economic impact of the new policy.

AKINTOLA: 50% CRR Will Check Fraudulent Use Of Govt Money To Secure Private Borrowings

‘Professionalism Has Declined In Banking Sector, Says Unegbu

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

BUSINESSCOVER What does the sterilisation of 50 per cent public sector fund held by the banks mean to you? N principle, when you are mopping up public sector funds, you are targeting about five basic fundamentals. The first is to reduce volatility in lending. This is rooted in the understanding that public sector fund is usually classified as quantum hot money, because the timing of its withdrawal could be sporadic. You cannot estimate the time it will be available. They come easily and go in the same manner. Such deposits are highly volatile. If you rely on them for lending, you will be making a mistake. To reduce the volatility, you have to discourage deposit money banks (DMBs) from using it; you need to stop them from relying on the funds. This is most crucial now that elections are coming, with government in a hurry to deliver. Another fundamental of such policy is to encourage sustainable lending. You have to be sure that the bulk of money available to banks comes from normal operation, outside the public sector. When you do that, you are motivating another fundamental, which is growing the private sector. Yet, another reason has something to do with reducing secrecy in banking. Public sector funds are shrouded in underhand dealings between heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and banks’ chief executives officers (CEOs). It has huge implications for transparency and war against corruption. Also, there is also the need to reduce the volume of local debt. Why should MDAs store money in banks when several outstanding contractual obligations have not been meant? Anybody who considers the principles listed will agree that allowing banks to play with public sector funds is counter-productive. However, the global best practice is to maintain a minimum of 70:30 ratios, especially when the economy is pro-wealth optimisation. In that case, you sterilise 70 per cent and allow the banks to hold 30 per cent.

‘Cash Reserve Policy Will Fuel Corruption, Public Sector Marketing’ Like many of its recent policies, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recent sterilisation of public sector funds held by commercials banks hit the financial system like storm, stimulating diverse opinions. Amid growing voices on what should be the right direction to take, Dr. Godwin Owoh, Executive Director of the Society for Analytical Economics, Nigeria (SEAN), shares his concerns with GEOFF IYATSE. He said the percentage cap placed on the fund is as defective as the policy is useful, just as he agreed that banks should be discouraged from relying on the fund for day-to-day financial intermediation. Excepts: You mean the CBN shouldn’t have released more than 30 per cent to the banks? Yes, it shouldn’t, considering the level of corruption in the country. The 50 per cent is too high; it is not based on basic quantitative analysis. The preliminary check we did suggests that what is required is 70:30. The danger is this: if bank A used to generate N50 billion, what it needs, now, is to do everything possible to get N100 billion or more to bridge the gap and still retain N50 billion from the public sector. Do you mean there will be more public sector marketing going forward? Yes. Besides, incentives to corrupt the bank are even higher now because competition for public sector is stiffer. The understanding is that since a bank can only hold 50 per cent of the deposits it pulls, it needs to give more incentives to heads of MDAs to secure accounts of the organisations they

oversee. It appears the more ideal decision should have been to put a sealing on the specific amount of public sector fund a bank can hold, instead of putting it in percentage terms… That would be beautiful. Our position is that they should do liquidity optimisation analysis. After that, you find the medium level and, then, take a high and low point, after which you establish a range that will determine what a bank can hold. You could say: if a bank’s shareholders fund is within certain range, this is the maximum amount of public sector fund it can retain. It should not be in percentage but a figure that could depend on certain variables. You could choose asset, capitalisation or any other variable. You could even say the lower the capital base, the higher public sector fund a bank can hold or the other

way round. The choice should depend on the policy direction the authority wants to pursue. It could also depend on the interpretation of volatility of the fund, relative to what the bank does. If the policy position is to help small banks, you could say banks with lower capital base should have higher benchmark. But when you consider the risk factor (that is, the higher the capital base the safer the government money kept with you), you may give higher threshold to big banks. The percentage term is a major flaw because it will increase incentives for corruption; increased volatility in the system and cause serious disintermediation. The reason is that the little resources that should be used to encourage private businesses will be diverted to servicing government agencies and officials. Why, in your opininon did the regulator opt for this model despite the flaws? I have always said that no single institution is all-knowing. If you want to take a decision that has impact beyond your household, you should throw it open so that others can make inputs. The major challenge is that this policy is not tested in the public domain before it was adopted. Hence, it is tempting to be simplistic, by putting just percentage. Why 50 per cent; why not 10 or 60 per cent? The best global example is ratio 70:30; and it is recommended for economies where corruption is high and public sector’s dominance is strong. There is this argument that the decision is too rash and that it has huge implications for the economy, as it cripples banks’ lending capacity. Do you agree with that? I don’t agree with that because public sector funds are not available for lending because they are highly volatile. It is the kind of money you don’t know when it will go. We should know that the government is also the regulator; you cannot uphold normal banking ethics when dealing with such funds. This is because the government has the muscle to change policies and laws of the financial structure without consulting anybody. So, the money government puts in the banks do not have the same market quality like the one the private sector deposit. The government has power and extra-banking influence to outsmart banks and, even, the regulator. That is why the public sector deposit is highly volatile and dangerous to lend. You also agree that public sector marketing is the driving force of the banks in recent years; there are cases where individuals are promoted on the basis of how many accounts they are able to pull from MDAs. Does it mean bank managers lack adequate knowledge of the risk factor in public sector funds? ECAUSE of the high level of corruption in the system, there is total disintermediation so that the transmission effects of certain policies do not work. That is why I believe this policy will not achieve whatever targets the CBN sets. The transmission mechanism itself is totally flawed. In financial system, you should be able to

CONTINUED ON PAGE 45

Owoh

If the policy position is to help small banks, you could say banks with lower capital base should have higher benchmark. But when you consider the risk factor (that is, the higher the capital base the safer the government money kept with you), you may give higher threshold to big banks. Percentage term is a major flaw because it will increase incentives for corruption; increased volatility in the system and cause serious disintermediation. The reason is that the little resources that should be used to encourage private businesses will be diverted to servicing government agencies and officials

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

BUSINESS

Aviation: Kano Remains Big Market In Spite Of Insecurity the security situation will be done in order to reposition them. I will like to recall here the viewpoints of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on the occasion on of unveiling of the terminal at MAKIA, where he used the occasion to dispel insinuations about the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, in not being interested in developing the Kano hub, when he asked those gathered at the event, “Why build a terminal if you don’t want the airlines to come?” He also used the occasion to restate his strong support for the minister saying it stemmed from her healthy dissatisfaction with the aviation status quo. He

also mentioned that the Agric cargo terminal that has been proposed for Kano, when completed would go a long way in rejuvenating the economic development of the region. And of course, at the Kano State government house, the governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso intimated the Minister of Aviation and her entourage that; “We were worried (about development in the aviation sector) before you came.” He expressed his delight at the prospect of Turkish and Emirates Airlines that will resume operations in Kano and other airlines that have signified interest in Kano route saying the state government will commit the sum of 28.4 million to the baggage claim area of the airport terminal. I will like to allay the fears of Kano indigenes that there is no grand conspiracy anywhere to undermine aviation business in Kano State or Northern Nigeria, but rather efforts aimed at developing aviation in Kano and northern Nigeria in particular into multi-sector business cutting across agriculture, tourism and cargo for effective multiplier effect befitting a city with a heritage of commerce like Kano’s. So the clear role for all of us is to impress foreign investors by supporting the campaign against terrorism. In the end the benefit is ours. Let me say that when we are confronted by a challenge, it is not a time to bicker, but an opportunity to join hands to find solution. Kano is an important part of Nigeria and it will do no particular good for anyone to whip up a sentiment of an indigene or create sectionalism in a unified society. We are already reaping the fruit of reform in the aviation sector. For instance, Ethiopia Airlines, a member of star Alliance that includes several international carriers has concluded arrangement to commence international flight operations to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, following the upgrade of the airport to an international airport. This month, the first international flight will land in that airport. MAKIA has been in the lead decades ago and where we have that conducive environment I believe it will not take forever for MAKIA to come back, because there are already investors waiting in the wing to catch in on the opportunity that remodeled airport now offer. And with the current concerted efforts of the federal government in that direction I believe it will not be too long.

Managing Director / CEO, Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Mr. Abimbola Olayinka (left); Executive Director, Business Development, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri; and Chairman, Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Chief Francis Babatunde Adefarati, at the presentation of “Facts Behind the Figures” of the company to the NSE community in Lagos…on Tuesday.

Dati is the Coordinating General Manager, Communication and Information, Aviation parastatals.

By Yakubu Dati HE tragic incident that occurred on the T night of Monday July 29, at Sabon Gari in Kano, when about 20 revelers were killed at a relaxation spot in the city, which was widely reported in the global media is one of tragic incidents that often shape opinions on economic interests in Nigeria and not what individuals say. Another case in point occurred during the following week, when the United States Embassy in Nigeria put on hold the planned opening of its Kano consular office, citing insecurity in the northern part of the country.

This was stated by Rhonda Ferguson-Augustus when during the press briefing, she noted that the uncertainty in the north was responsible for shelving the idea, adding that America wants to be sure of the safety of the people that would be going there. The latter is the driving point for the decisions of foreign interests to come or not to come to Nigeria. But FAAN as an organ of government is established for the Nigerian people and can only try to safeguard its staff and facilities, with no choice but to continue business even in the most volatile environments, except if the threat becomes targeted at aviation agencies and even at that, a review of

... New CRR Lacks Sound Liquidity Analytical Judgement, Says Owoh CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44 anticipate the way the economic agents react when you take certain decisions. But in Nigeria, it does not happen that way. We have seen that ratio 50:50 will not work because the banks will adopt more aggressive public sector marketing. Marketers will get more incentives while the banks will be more involved in political commitments (elections are coming); and I foresee some banks bankrolling elections of some individuals. As they do that, public fund will be deposited in exchange. Many believe much of the money in circulation is not under the control of the financial system. Will you say based, on this that, the action could reduce the volume of money in circulation? The policy is born out of contradictory assumptions; hence, it can’t reduce the money in circulation. It is contradictory of the cashless policy. Many high net-worth businessmen in Lagos, for instance, no longer keep money in banks because they don’t want anybody to restrict their access. Beyond that, the immediate effect of the policy will increase in interest rates. The banks will respond by restraining lending. When you do that, interest rates will naturally go up, reducing ability to borrow. Essentially, since the CBN does not put a time frame on the pronouncement, it will introduce another dimension of uncertainty. It would have been better if it specified, clearly, how long the policy would last. How would that have made any difference? It would help the market to interpret it better. They have also failed to acknowledge the subsisting contractual agreements between the banks and MDAs on funds that have already been deposited. What is the possibility that the policy will not be reversed tomorrow? It should have come with clear timeline so that economic agents will know the circle of adjustment required.

By not putting timeline, does it not look like a policy that has come to stay? It is also an indication that it could be withdrawn tomorrow. It could mean that it will be reversed the next moment. In business, you need clarity; you don’t have to take the economy by surprise. Investors will not come if they don’t know, to some level, what you will do the next minute. If an employer and employee cannot estimate how long they will retain their relationship, there will be problem. People want to know what you intend to achieve with the policy and how long it will take to achieve that. The banks seemed to have been specially positioned to capture MDAs in the past years; does this imply that Nigerian banks cannot survive without the public sector? HE reason they pursue public sector funds is simple: it is very cheap. It comes without much cost because people with little profit orientation are involved. The money is an allocation, which has nothing to do with any economic production. Also, it carries little or no managerial task because nobody is asking for any return. Most importantly, it is the only form of deposit that benefits one or two individuals personally and directly. The underhand motive is the primary reason the money is kept, not that those who deposit it need any return. Because of the fusion of bankers and politicians, it is easier to manipulate public sector fund than in the case of private sector deposit. These are the reasons everybody is running after the funds. They are also the reasons they are filler in an economy where banks depend on them. Can you recall an instance in recent history when public sector funds harmed the country’s economy? It is even here now because the government is the high-

est debtors to the banks. They give money and also dictate how it is used. Most of the housing estates built by state governments are funded by banks. And the underlining incentive is ‘we will give you our account.’ Meanwhile, more than 50 per cent of the estate businesses are going into bad loans because people are not buying them. The power projects are done by friends of government who relied on bank loans. We also know that not much success has been recorded by the projects. They get the loans cheap on the promise that they will release accounts. Hence, the government is crowding out the private sector. Banks want to lend to government instead of the private sector because they seem to believe government’s ‘businesses’ are more reliable. Also, if you are a lender to government, you have advantage of getting privileged information about its plans. And you can take advantage of the information to get a marketing edge. For example, if one or two banks, by their relationship with the regulator, knew about this policy two months back, they could increase marketing to mop up funds ahead the implementation. That would give them an edge; there are people who are ready to pay for such information. Do you also know that some public officers could use such information to bargain with bankers to gain personal benefits? Do you agree there has not been professional banking in the country in the past two or three decades? I agree with that; but the more dangerous trend is the politicisation of the sector. Every bank is now linked to one state government or the other. Some have strong link with some governors or top government officials. This is too bad for an economy that wants to build the private sector. Will the policy have any major impact on foreign banks operating in Nigeria? Most of the international banks subscribe to extra-territorial compliance guidelines. Their home countries subject them to additional regulatory guidelines, especially when it comes to hobnobbing with government officials in an environment considered corrupt. There could be existing policies that compel foreign banks to limit the amount of money they take from government. They may not be affected as much as local banks.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

BUSINESS

ICAN Calls For New LawTo Protect Local Auditors By Gbenga Salau RESIDENT of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed, has called on the National Assembly to promulgate a law to ensure that local and small auditing firms operating in the country get priority in contract award. Mohammed, who said this in Lagos, when he paid a courtesy visit to Baker Tilly Nigeria, an accounting firm, argued that it is important Nigeria toes the line of countries like India and South Africa where legislations to give priority to local auditing firms in the auditing of organisations, especially multinationals and quoted companies, exist. He was responding to a request by Solomon Adeleke, a partner at Baker Tilly Nigeria, that the Institute should make concerted efforts to encourage auditing firms outside the big four. In his response, the ICAN boss said: “It is not fair for the Institute not to give you the support you require and that would be done in a way that you have some kind of statutory recognition which other economies are doing. In South Africa, they have a strong administration, which recognises that local firms must be given some priority. This is an issue that the council should pinpoint. That support must be given and would be given a priority under my administration.” Adeleke, in his welcome remarks, had said that

of local origin to pair with international firms which will aid them to gain expertise and defend the interest of Nigeria in the audit of the firm. We believed that not doing that is shortchanging Nigeria. And you discovered that many chartered accountants now who cannot find themselves in any of the big four are being shortchanged and they cannot develop their practices to any reasonable level. “Then, the benefit of transfer of knowledge

the big four dominate the Nigeria audit market, as they audit all the multinationals and the listed companies in Nigeria. He noted that in the late seventies, companies were compelled to take on indigenous auditors, which brought the idea of joint auditing in the country. “What happens in other countries, India and South Africa is that there are laws that make it compulsory for such big multinational companies to have auditors who are

they could get when their joint auditorship is lost and we believed that in some cases the interest of Nigeria may not be well served by not having joint auditor. So we believed that it would help Nigeria if the legislators can look into this because it is a means to empower Nigerians.” Adeleke maintained that like there is a clamour for the promotion of local content in the oil and gas sector, there should be promotion of local content in the audit market.”

LG Unveils New Repair Service For Women By Omiko Awa N response to the growing demand for a speILGcialised repair service for its female customers, Electronics, a global consumer electronic manufacturer, has launched a women-friendly customer service programme known as ‘LG Pink Service’ in Nigeria. The initiative, which is an extension of the LG’s Care and Delight campaign, allow female customers, as against male, to be served by women technicians at their homes. Speaking on the initiative, Managing Director, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. Deog Jun Kim, said: “As a leading global brand, we strongly believe we have a role in solving customer service issues as well as forging new trajectories that will lead to a new frontier.” To ensure that a high level of customer-service is maintained, the company has selected technicians with the highest skill to operate in the programme. Explaining the benefits of the programme, Managing Director, Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mohammed Fouani said: “The initiatives allows the company to meet its customers’ expectations, a reason for developing the care and delight services as an extension to the differentiated customer-oriented services.” The female-friendly home service programme involves the dispatching of highly qualified female technician and consultant to female customers to repairs their electronics and home appliances. General Manager, LG Service Centre for West Africa operations, Mr. Weolwoo Choi said: “The service is the most recent innovation in the country and gives its customers the benefit of accessing the company’s customer care service.” Operational in other parts of the world, especially in the Middle East and the United States of America, ladies in this service come in vehicle equipped with all spare parts and tools necessary to conduct maintenance rapidly and efficiently in the cutomers’ homes.

Vice President Namadi Sambo (left) and Minister of Labour and Productivity Chief Emeka Wogu presents National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award to Chairman of Eagle PHOTO: LADIDI LUCY ELUKPO. Food Processing Industry Nig. Ltd, Chief Ugochukwu Okparaeke, during the 13th NPOM held in Abuja.

Stakeholders Seek Support For Health Insurance (LWI) in Lagos, said PPP, in addition to a proactive and deliberate TAKEHOLDERS in the finance, strategy, would help facilitate industrial and oil and gas secwellness promotion and improve tors have called for the develophealth status awareness among ment of health insurance and its the populace. embracement by the corporate The communiqué signed by community. They noted that the Chief Executive Officer, LWI, Mrs. model would make health services Bisi Bright, emphasised the need available to the masses while to make healthcare services availreducing the burden of medical able to the general population, expenditure. especially in view of the burden of They also canvassed the adoption diseases. of the Public Private Partnership “The starting point should (PPP) model in taking healthcare advocacy, awareness and, be thereto the grassroots. after, there should be leadership The stakeholders, in a commuby government and the private niqué at a strategic focus group sector. There is also the need for meeting on promotive healthcare legislation and enforcement. organised by Livewell Initiative

By Geoff Iyatse

“Health insurance should be offered to workers through their employers so they can access medical services. Out-of-pocket expenditures for healthcare should be minimised with community health insurance for the informal sector and for poorer populations who pay for health out of pocket. “Preventive measures should be emphasized in order to avoid loss of health, financial sosts of treatment, and loss of ability to work, which can lead to further impoverishment. “A lack of awareness and understanding of current public health resources including the Community Based Health

Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) exists, which results in wasted resources due to underutilised staff. Health fairs, screening opportunities and other healthcare resources must be made a priority,” the communiqué noted. The participants expressed concern over significant increase in the statistics of maternal mortality rate in the country, calling for a stronger partnership between the government and the private sector. They also canvassed improved collaboration among communities, development partners and non-governmental organisation (NGOs) on the matter.

Nigerian Consumer: 2Q13 Results Mixed Bag, Says RenCap for the year. Revenue run-rates below expectations We forecast 17 percent revenue growth for Nestlé in FY13, and 16 percent for Unilever and Cadbury. Our ESTLÉ Nigeria, Unilever forecast for full-year nominal Nigeria and Cadbury GDP growth in Nigeria is 16 Nigeria have reported 2Q13 percent. results in the past two weeks. Over the past eight years, At this stage, it is difficult to Nestlé has reported revenue discern any clear sector trends, growth 1percent above nomias the results vary widely. nal GDP, on average, while the Strong revenue growth at others have been below. YtD, Unilever in 2Q13 has not trans- Nestlé and Unilever have lated into earnings growth, reported 10 percent revenue while a very significant margin growth, with Cadbury slightly uplift at Cadbury resulted in below at 8 percent; 2Q13 revexceptional earnings growth enue growth at Nestlé and for the quarter. Nestlé’s result Unilever accelerated to 13 peris somewhere in the middle, cent and 20 percent, respecsteady but below our forecasts

Renaissance Capital’s research report titled ‘Nigerian Consumer: 2Q13 results a mixed bag,’ which was released last week is excerpted below:

tively, and slowed to 2 percent at Cadbury. Strong operating-profit growth YtD at Nestlé Nestlé’s gross margin improved from 41.4 percent in 1H12 to 43.0 percent in 1H13. The operating margin improved from 21.5 percent to 23.3 percent, resulting in 19 percent growth in operating profit YtD compared with our FY13 forecast of 17.5 percent. Nestlé has consistently stated that it will improve its gross margin, due to operating efficiencies from new facilities and operating leverage from volume growth. The company has also declared that it will invest this improvement in price and mar-

keting, and as such is not aiming to improve the operating margin. We therefore believe some of this improvement may be invested in 2H13, which could result in a lower operating margin in the period. Margin pressure in 2Q13 at Unilever Unilever’s 1H13 gross and operating margins were fairly stable at 36.6 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively, compared with 36.3 percent and 14.8 percent in 1H12. The operating margin declined in 2Q13 to 13.2 percent, compared with 14.1percent in 2Q12. The decline, surprisingly, was driven by a 31percent increase in adminis-

trative expenses, as opposed to the increase in selling and distribution expenses one might expect in order to achieve the very strong revenue growth reported in 2Q13. That said, 2Q has historically been the weakest quarter for Unilever. In order for our Unilever forecasts to be achieved the revenue growth rate achieved in 2Q will need to be maintained for the remainder of the year and the EBIT margin in 2H13 will need to improve to 17.4 percent compared with 17.1percent in 2H12. Caution on Cadbury’s gross margin Cadbury’s gross margin improved from 30.7percent in

1H12 to 39.6 percent in 1H13. This is the highest gross margin Cadbury has reported, and our concern is that it is partially driven by the cocoa price and is not sustainable. Stanmark Cocoa, a commodity cocoa processing plant, which is now wholly owned by Cadbury, has historically had volatile earnings on the back of the cocoa price. The EBIT margin improved from 5.9 percent in 1H12 to 15.7percent in 1H13, on the back of the gross margin improvement it would appear. We believe an EBIT margin of around 15 percent is achievable in the medium term. However, we believe the company needs to increase its

1THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

BUSINESSAGRO

Wheat Farming: Turning Battlefront To Feed, Food By Fabian Odum

Dr. Oluwasina Gbenga Olabanji, executive director, Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Maiduguri, Borno State, presented the bread and some other pastries made from 100 per cent wheat grown in northern Nigeria to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. He underscored the fact that there are a lot of opportunities open to Nigeria from locally grown wheat, which is yet to be tapped. Olabanji’s disclosed the prospects the institute has made breakthroughs in breeding of adaptable wheat varieties, production of food products from the locally produced wheat and has found the northern Nigeria suitable for cultivation of these varieties of wheat with improved yields. Olabanji also doubles as the team leader of the wheat agricultural transformation agenda in security-challenged state. N the institute, wheat research O The Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI) has the national mandate for the genetic improvement of wheat, millet and barley, and research into the production problems of the popularly grown crops in the north-east zone. For wheat research, we have done a lot of works on the genetic improvement of wheat in Nigeria. As at 1976, the average yield was 1.2 tons per hectare. But, with the launching of the wheat transformation agenda by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, we have been able to develop some improved varieties that can give us an average yield of 5 to 6 tons per hectare. This was achieved through collaboration with CIMMYT in Mexico and ICARDA in Tunisia. These two improved varieties are Norman Borlaug and Reyne 28. These two varieties are to be released in 2014. Nigeria’s untapped potential

We have the potentials to produce bread is also good. It will also reduce our own wheat. We have 600,000 importation of wheat into this country. We hectares of land in this country that is could also use sorghum-wheat flour for suitable for wheat production, out of baking bread. But I think the best nutriwhich only 10 per cent of land this tional value is 100 per cent wheat bread area is utilised for wheat production. and the cassava-wheat bread. But, within this agricultural transfor- What challenges? mation agenda, we have proposed, There are challenges. Some of these chalfor 2013 to 2014, to cultivate 150,000 lenges are the provision of adequate and hectares of land in the wheat-growing quality seeds. Seed is the major constraint areas. These are 10 states in the north- to crop production in Nigeria. But, with the ern parts of the country. emphasis now, through the use of these Similarly, we have rain-fed wheat. value chains, whereby the seed companies And this rain-fed wheat is cultivated are brought on board for seed production, in Nigerian highlands. These highthe national agricultural seeds council is lands are in Mambilla Plateau in also there to certify these seeds. And we in Taraba State, Jos in Plateau State, and the agricultural research institutes are Obudu in Cross River State. These are mandated to produce breeder and foundapotential areas for rain-fed wheat pro- tion seeds. And these will be made availduction. We have about 80,000 able for the seed companies for them to hectares area of land in these areas produce certified seeds for our farmers. that are sutiable for rain-fed wheat Secondly is the poor extension services production. delivery. There is what we call REFILS, Wheat and agricultural transforma- which is part of the research component. It tion agenda has been very weak, that means, the interDr. Olabanji With the wheat ATA, we emphasise action between farmers, researchers and value chain, not just producing the end users have been very weak over the wheat. We have gone into processing years. But with this value chain approach, farmers at the right time. On linkour Nigerian wheat into flour. We we are organising stakeholders’ workshop ages, we have platforms that are also have recipes that are made from whereby all the stakeholders will be going to link up all the stakeholders this wheat flour, like the bread. We brought under a platform where we disin wheat production. The researchers have 100 per cent Nigerian made cuss these challenges and proffer solutions are to generate the improved techbread. Our wheat flour is comparable, so that, in due course, we will be able to nologies for the farmers’ use. if not superior, to imported flour that meet our national target of being self-suffi- After generating these technologies, we are clamouring for in Nigeria. cient in wheat production. we also train farmers and the youth, Meeting national demand locally in Harnessing the various existing infrastruc- and empower them in wheat producwheat ture tion. We train farmers through the Between now and 2015, we should be We need irrigated water, which is to be field farmers’ schools. able to produce half of our demand in provided by the River Basin Development Last year, we trained farmers on crop this country. Our demand for wheat Authorities. That is why they are estabmanagement practices so as to is 3.7 million metric tons, and by 2015, lished. And also, land preparation is their increase their production and prowe should be able to achieve 50 per mandate. We are trying to collaborate with ductivity. The farmers benefitted. cent of this national demand. And them through the stakeholders’ platform, We want to catch these young farmthat will reduce the cost of importa- that the River Basin Development ers as early as possible. That is why we tion by 50 per cent. Presently, N635 Authority will be able to key into the wheat also train the youth on wheat probillion is spent annually on import- agricultural transformation agenda by production, because the present age of ing wheat into Nigeria and this can viding these facilities for our wheat farm- our wheat farmers is 50 to 60 years. be reduced by half in 2015. ers. We need to catch these young farmWe are trying to partner with com- Organising and capacity building ers so that they can replace these old panies that are ready to help us to The other issue is on how to get these farmers. Then there will be continucommercialise these products, like farmers into a corporation. We have started ity of wheat production in the counthe wheat flours; the bakers to come registering our wheat farmers, and they are try. in baking our own wheat flour into already in association so that, for the GES, Then, when we talk of extension, the bread. The cassava-wheat composite input can be made available to these wheat ADPs (Agricultural Development

Programmes) are also there in the platform to disseminate the technologies that have been generated in the research to our farmers. Safeguards Wheat production is not new in Nigeria. About 10 states are the wheat-growing areas. They have the production capacities. The irrigation facilities are available. Before 1987, Nigeria’s national production of wheat was about 70,000 to 100,000 metric tons. By January 1987, the government took a bold step to ban the importation of wheat into this country to promote local production. That time, there was encouragement from government through the provision of inputs at a subsidised rate. And some were even free. And many farmers went into wheat production. And our national production rose within two years from between 70,000 and 100,000 to between 400,000 and 600, 000 MT within two years.

Dumping Of Imported Tomato Products Threaten Local Sector By Fabian Odum

the spate of importation of adulterated InotFtomato sauce and paste into the country is put in check, the livelihood of thousands of people in the value chain would be in jeopardy. For now, stakeholders in the tomato industry expressed the grave concern in a release by Mr. Dan Lekettey, Executive Secretary of the Tomato Producers Association of Nigeria. According to the association, the trend has further been heightened by the challenge of improper categorisation of the different types of tomato content imported to Nigeria. “ The tools and techniques required to properly qualify before certifying these products are currently not being used. Hence, imported tomato sold in Nigeria is more than 50 per cent cheaper than what it is being sold in their countries of origin. “This is a big question that manufacturers and regulatory authorities must answer. For example, a 210g of supposed 100 per cent tomato paste of 285 brix is sold at between 1.1 euro and 1.8 euro in Europe while the same content is sold in Nigeria at N80,” the statement said. Nigeria has turned into a dumping ground for fake and low quality Asian tomato paste. The international standard is 28 per cent brix for canning and between 34-36 per cent brix for drumming. Majority of tomato paste imported however doesn’t exceed 26 per cent brix, resulting in watery paste. Unpatriotic marketers conniving with dubious foreign processors haul in tomato paste treated with

food colour additives to achieve the deep red colour. Raising a regulatory concern, the release said, “Over the years, NAFDAC has placed premium on the scrutiny of drugs to the detriment of food and cosmetics, hence the infiltration of fake and adulterated products in the neglected category.” “Government, in the last 10 years, has stepped up investments in Nigeria’s agricultural value chain with tomato industry benefitting in excess of N20 billion. During the period under review, we have seen a sharp increase in tomato importation in excess of 10 per cent annually. We have seen growing trends of sharp practices by tomato traders and manufacturers from Asia, encouraging low quality tomato importation. We make bold to say here that the challenge of the industry goes beyond tariff reduction.” So far, it is expected that when the big three processing plants (Dangote, Vegefresh and Savannah) commence full production; their aggregate output would fully meet the domestic and export demand. Following the foregoing, the stakeholders recommend that Government should provide the right environment for the key local processing companies to attain the ongoing capacity building by allowing a period of 3 to 4 years suspension before liberalisation. That government should not reduce the current tariff but rather make duty on all imported tomato products 100 per cent Drum tomato can remain at the present 5 per cent until next farming season.

That duty on machinery and raw materials such as tin plates, printed tin plates, glue etc. should be zero. That government should henceforth leave the business of tomato importation of necessary shortfall in demand to local manufactur-

ers and discourage the era of indiscriminate trading and That government should immediately classify the different types of tomato products and embark on national sensitisation of the consumers.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

Birthdays BABANGIDA, Ibrahim Badamasi (rtd), politician, administrator and former Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces was 72 yesterday, Saturday, August 17, 2013. He was born in Minna, Niger State and attended Military Training College and graduated in 1963; Indian Military Academy, 1964; Royal Armoured Centre, England, 1966-67; United States Army Armor School, 1972; Command and Staff College, 1972 and Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, 1979-80. He was Career Military Officer; President of Nigeria, 1985-93. He served as Commanding officer during Nigeria’s Civil war, 1968-70; taught at Nigerian Defense Academy, 1970-72; became lieutenant colonel, 1974; served as regiment commander of Nigerian army, 1973-75; and as Army’s armored corps commander, 1975-81; became director of army staff duties and plans, 1981; promoted to major general, 1983; appointed as Chief of Army Staff by Buhari, 1984; served on the Supreme Military Council, 1984-85; assumed presidency and made himself Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s armed forces, August 27, 1993; instituted various political and economic reforms; drew up plan for the nation’s return to democratic rule; allowed two parties to be established for national elections; declared himself Minister of Defense, 1990.

Babangida

Omole

Ngige

OMOLE, Professor Wale, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife was 71 on Tuesday August 13, 2013. He attended University of Ife, where he received his first and second degrees in Agriculture and was immediately appointed as an assistant lecturer in 1970. He bagged a doctorate degree in Nutritional Biochemistry in 1973 at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, in Canada. He return in 1973, and rose to the position of senior lecturer. In 1980, he was promoted Professor of Animal Science at the age of 38. 11 years later, he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the institution, as the first alumnus to occupy that position. He was Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities; executive board member, Association of African Universities (AUU); executive board member, Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and life member, International As-

sociation of University Presidents (IAUP). He was selected the 1995 Man of the Year for Institutional Management by the American Biographical Institute. He is a consultant and adviser to a number of corporations on “strategy and value creation from intangible assets”. He is a director of The Guardian Newspapers Limited, where he currently serves as the Chairman of the editorial board.

1972 and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery Degree at the University of Nigeria in 1979; Diploma in Hospital management in Preshawar in 1990 and fellow of Pakistan Institute of Hospital services. He was the Medical Officer, National Assembly Clinic, 198083; Physician of the Senate/Federal Government Special Guest House, 1985-93; Consultant in charge of Federal Government Clinic, the Presidency, 1992-93; Consultant and Assistant Director in charge of all Federal Medical Centres/Teaching Hospital, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, 1997-98 and Member, Ministerial Task Force on completion of the University of Nigeria (UNTH), Itukwu-Ozalla, Enugu State, 1996-98. Before his emergence as the Governor of Anambra State, he was the National President of Aka-Ikenga, an Igbo sociocultural organisation.

NGIGE, Senator (Dr) Chris Nwabueze (OON), former Governor of Anambra State and Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District under the banner of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was 61 on Thursday, August 8, 2013. He was born on August 8, 1952 into the family of Chief Pius (Akunnia) and late Mrs. Pricillia Ngige of Alor town in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, he obtained his West African School Certificate (WASC) with distinction in

Compiled by Gbenga Akinfenwa gbengaherkin@yahoo.com

Dr. Mary-Joan Nwaogu (left); Prof. J. Olagunju, chief launcher; and Ijeoma Benita Nwaogu, author of The Lost Girl during public presentation of her book at the SOS Children Village, Isolo.

Cross section of the participants at the recent 73rd Skal World Congress in South Korea.

Event • Christian Overcomer’s Mission Inc. 35, Oluwagbebe St. Ologufe Bus- stop Ilupeju Estate, Shasha, Akowonjo, Lagos starts its 21st Annual National Convention (Overcoming Life Conference) with a week long programme on August 19 – 25, 2013 with the theme: “The Excellent Spirit”. There will be an anointing/thanksgiving service at 8 a.m. Host: Pastor P.O. Adeleye.

Transition

Category Manager Grand Oak Limited, Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji,(left) Ata-Oja of Osogboland, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun and Regional Sales Manager (West), Femi Olayemi during the company’s courtesy visit to the Monarch in Osogbo.

Col. A.J. Amuta participant who was adjudged the 2nd in order of merit National Defence College Course 21, receiving his award from the representative of the President and Commander of the Armed Forces; the Senate President, David Mark in Abuja.

• The funeral ceremony of Chief (Mrs.) Felicia Kehinde Akinwumi, aged 81 years holds on 22nd and 23rd August, 2013 at her hometown Iyin Ekiti with service of songs/wake keep to be coordinated by All Saints Anglican Church at her residence by 6pm. While the funeral and outing service takes place on Friday by 10. am at the same church after which her remains will be interred at the Church Cemetery. Guests will be entertained at the playing ground of St. Michael’s Primary School along Igede Road, Iyin Ekiti immediately

after the interment. She is survived by many children among whom is Honourable Oladipupo Akinwumi a renowned politician and public commentator in the state.

New Era Foundation Holds Annual Leadership Camp O mentor children on the right leaderT ship skills, New Era Foundation has concluded plans to hold its third annual Leadership camp for school children from 18th – 23rd August, at its expansive purposebuilt residential youth development facility, known as New Era Youth Camp, (NEYOCA), Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. The programme titled “Conference ’57 Leadership Camp” with the theme: “The Power of Leadership”, is designed to awaken the leadership potentials in school children from 7 – 17 years and inspire them towards a passion for personal development as Change Agents. The camp will feature exciting experiential activities including, Leadership and Citizenship, ICT, Home Science, Dance, Arts & Crafts, Creative Painting and lots of sports. NEYOCA’s brand new, high quality bicycles will also be available for the first time this year. New Era Foundation’s Executive Director, Yemi Osilaja, explained that the 2013 programme is titled, Conference ’57 Leadership Camp, in order to reflect the pivotal support of the Chairmen of the Local Governments and LCDAs in Lagos state for the program. “We truly appreciate the Chairmen whose support is largely responsible for the remarkable success of the previous editions. They contribute both the finance and participants”, declared Osilaja. “The valuable support of the Chairmen for the program is indicative of their appreciation of the need to also invest in youth leadership development and not only

infrastructure. If we don’t develop our youth into responsible and accountable future leaders, who will maintain the infrastructure we are spending so much money on now?” he added. Conference ’57 is the name of the umbrella body of all the LG and LCDA Chairmen in the state. The programme’s participants consist mainly of unsuccessful participants of the New Era Foundation’s Spelling Bee program, as a reward for their achievements in the program. It is now universally agreed that the singu-

lar missing resource that could enable Nigeria translate her vast natural resources into commensurate economic prosperity, is great leadership. The evolution of the Nigeria of our dreams with a robust and growth oriented economy, efficient and sustainable infrastructure, guaranteed security of lives & property as well as equity and justice, can only be realised when we develop and entrench a culture of competent, responsible, ethical and accountable leadership. Our teeming youth offer an excellent oppor-

tunity to bridge this vital gap, provided they receive the requisite investment in qualitative leadership training now, while they can still be developed positively. The New Era Foundation is a 13 year old social enterprise that was initiated by Senator Oluremi Tinubu whilst she was the First Lady of Lagos state. The foundation is focused on Youth Development and Women Empowerment and is the initiator of the highly successful Spelling Bee program for public schools in Lagos and Ogun states.

Stakeholders Seek Health Insurance Development TAKEHOLDERS In the finance, industrial Sdevelopment and oil and gas sectors have called for the of health insurance and its embracement by the corporate community. They noted that the model would make health services available to the masses while reducing the burden of medical expenditure. They also canvassed the adoption of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in taking healthcare to the grassroots. The stakeholders, in a communiqué at a strategic focus group meeting on promotive healthcare organised by Livewell Initiative (LWI) in Lagos, said PPP, in addition to a proactive and deliberate strategy, would help facilitate wellness promotion and improve health status awareness among the populace. The communiqué signed by Chief Executive

Officer, LWI, Mrs. Bisi Bright, emphasised the need to make healthcare services available to the general population, especially in view of the burden of diseases. “The starting point should be advocacy, awareness and, thereafter, there should be leadership by government and the private sector. There is also the need for legislation and enforcement. “Health insurance should be offered to workers through their employers so they can access medical services. Out-of-pocket expenditures for healthcare should be minimised with community health insurance for the informal sector and for poorer populations who pay for health out of pocket. “Preventive measures should be emphasized in order to avoid loss of health, financial sosts

of treatment, and loss of ability to work, which can lead to further impoverishment. “A lack of awareness and understanding of current public health resources including the Community Based Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) exists, which results in wasted resources due to underutilised staff. Health fairs, screening opportunities and other healthcare resources must be made a priority,” the communiqué noted. The participants expressed concern over significant increase in the statistics of maternal mortality rate in the country, calling for a stronger partnership between the government and the private sector. They also canvassed improved collaboration among communities, development partners and non-governmental organisation (NGOs) on the matter.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

SUNDAYMAGAZINE 49

LAFETE In his new book entitled, Delicate Distress: An Interpreter’s Account of the Nigerian Dilemma, Dr. Amanze Obi, Scholar and frontline Nigerian journalist, asks disturbing questions about Nigeria. He delves into Nigeria’s 2007 general elections, digging up its controversial rubbles. He also raises questions about the politics of number that has tended to widen the gulf between the north and the south of the country, among other issues. ROFESSOR Maurice Iwu, the Chairman P of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) between 2006 and 2010, had a date with history. He was saddled with the onerous responsibility of conducting the very crucial election that would give Nigeria a leap in its quest for an enduring democratic culture. Iwu was certainly not the first Nigerian to be confronted with such national assignment. Some other Nigerians of repute had done the job before him. But there was a significant difference between Iwu’s assignment and those which his predecessors carried out. The difference resided largely in the circumstance under which Iwu worked. Under his leadership of INEC, Nigeria was, for the first time in its history, experiencing eight years of uninterrupted civil rule. That was a landmark in the political history of Nigeria. Having crossed the hurdle, which the civilian governments of the First and Second Republics could not overleap, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, which gave Iwu the assignment, was obviously thumping its chest. It was taking pride in this feat. At some point, the government or its principal, Obasanjo, became somewhat conceited about this. He began to feel that as he was leaving office, he would dictate the direction that Nigeria would go. When therefore Obasanjo talked about the 2007 elections being a matter of life and death, he was simply saying that he needed a special form of reward for taking Nigeria to the democratic height it never attained before. Anything that stood on his way therefore deserved to be crushed. Besides, the same president had wanted to stay in office beyond his constitutionally sanctioned tenure. The plot was aborted. But it sharply polarized the polity before it was buried. The experience left remarkable bruises on the psyche of the president. Having failed in that regard, the next step for him to take was to ensure that the elections went the way he wanted. Given this set-up, Iwu was caught between the overbearing tendencies of the principal who appointed him and the imperative of playing the role of an unbiased umpire. This scenario constituted difficult times for him. But perhaps more daunting for Iwu was the pessimism of Nigerians. Regardless of the precarious situation in which he found himself, Iwu looked poised to weather the storm. Even though he was being buffeted from all corners with criticisms that were, more often than not, uncharitable, the man was still working hard to earn the confidence of Nigerians. He never wavered in his oftrepeated declaration that he would conduct free and fair elections, even if that was going to be the last thing he would do in his life. This declaration was instructive. It showed that Iwu recognized the need to carry out his assignment. Given this scenario, it became easy to appreciate the fact that the problem lay not with Iwu as a person but with Nigerians who do not even believe in their ability to effect a change if they so wished. The rational way to escape blame in the situation would then be to surmise that people who have resigned to situations should not expect miracles to happen. Those who have accepted complacency as a way of life should not complain when smart alecs seize the day.

It was encouraging to know that in a situation where many doubted the possibility of conducting the elections, the man at the centre of the storm was the one giving assurances to the contrary. Even though the circumstances that led to this state of doubt were understandable, Nigerians did not give Iwu and his commission the benefit of doubt. Since Iwu had said that he would conduct free and fair polls, what the people needed to do was to mark his words while monitoring his actions and inactions. The overall objective would have been to ensure that he did not deviate from his promises. Beyond all that, an umpire such as Iwu needed to be saved from the psychological warfare that he was subjected to. The best way to destabilise a man is to label him a fraud. Once that impression sticks, any step taken by him to the con-

trary will hardly count. Iwu’s case was as bad as that. In this matter, the option before Iwu was either to succeed or fail. But Nigerians did not even give him the chance to choose either. It was in this state of doubt that the 2007 elections were held. As it turned out, the outcome was as controversial as the processes that led to it. The furore that was to follow was either moderated or exacerbated by the personality of Iwu. However, all this depended on people’s perception of the then INEC chairman. On the politics of number, Obi argues that if there is any issue which has made the North-South divide legendary, it is the unending argument about which region of the country is more populous than the other. The argument has been with the country since independence. But it was reinforced again in 2006 when a national head-count took place. Between the early part of 2006 when the census exercise was conducted and

Lights, Camera, Africa Festival Returns By Daniel Anazia repertoire to include genres such as animation, will be screening dozens of movies this THE yearly Lights, Camera, Africa Film year, exploring various types of migration Festival is set to hold in Lagos from September 28 to October 1. The event will from and to Africa including Chinonye feature film screenings, workshops and Chukwu’s Alaskaland — the coming-of-age discussions in line with this year’s festival story of a Nigerian raised in Alaska and Mark Gettes’ Fela! In Lagos, a Broadway production theme, Great Migrations. as they connect with the musical icon’s city. Scheduled to hold at the British There is also, Mugabe: Villain or Hero, where Council, Southern Sun Hotel, The Wheatbaker and Freedom Park in Lagos, director, Roy Agyemang examines how perceptions of the controversial figure have the film festival, according to Ugoma Adegoke of Life House, organisers of the evolved, and many more thought-provoking films. festival, “Great Migrations refers to our The four-day long film, art, music and conglobal village, increasingly shrunk by versation fiesta during Nigerian technology. As a result, our ideas, data and people travel further and faster than Independence Day weekend will feature fairs, ever before, re-shaping our worldscape. talks and concerts to intersperse the programming, and showcase other forms of African art These migrations occur in the physical and culture beyond film. and metaphysical spheres. They can This edition is in collaboration with the bring people closer or cause paradigm African Film Festival Inc., New York, and Nadia shifts.” Denton. The festival, which is broadening its

January 2007 when the figures were announced, all that the people achieved was merely to wait for an official pronouncement on the census whose outcome everybody knew would open a fresh can of worms. The fears of many were confirmed when the then chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Samuila Makama, announced the census figures. Nigeria’s population, according to him, stood at 140,003,542. The figures released showed that those living in Northern Nigeria outnumber those in the South by about 11 million. Perhaps these were the only things that sounded new, even if a section of the country did not accept them. Beyond these, every other index about the census followed a familiar trajectory. For instance, the argument about the numerical superiority between Lagos and Kano remained. Just to ensure that the apple cart was not toppled, the census figures merely gave Kano a slight edge over Lagos. While Kano recorded 9,383,682, Lagos was awarded 9,013,534. It is not only the Lagos and the Kano figures that looked contrived, most of the other figures also appeared made up. Consider again the old and familiar debate between the numerical strength of the North and South of the country. From the very beginning, the claim that the North has more population than the South has been disputed. The argument was and has remained that the colonial overlords who were instrumental to the conduct and outcome of the country’s first census preferred to put the figures of the North higher than that of the South for strategic reasons. But the South has continued to argue that land mass is not the same thing as mass population. The South is also worried that it is only in Nigeria that an arid North can boast of more human beings than the rain forest South. Under the present 36 – state structure, the North has 19 while the South has 17. All these point to a certain disparity. The story it tells is that a people with 17 states cannot have a higher population than those with 19 states. Based on this longstanding belief or assumption, government and its agencies are being made to accept the situation as almost axiomatic. It would appear that the whopping 11 million figure which NPC awarded to the North in excess of the Southern population suggests that there are more Northerners than Southerners. But the indices used for the 2006 census may not necessarily suggest that. It may well be that the migrant population in the North helped to swell the figures in its favour. This is especially so since religion and ethnicity were excluded from the census questionnaire. This brings us to one of the issues that made the outcome of the 2006 census suspect. Before the census exercise started, a lot of dust was raised as to why two critical indices – religion and ethnicity – were excluded from the questionnaire. Questions were raised as to why NPC chose to do that. But no meaningful reason or explanation was given. In the absence of that, the move lent itself to all sorts of interpretations. The Igbo who are known to move around more than any other group in Nigeria felt uneasy about it. The move was seen as an attempt to use the Igbo population to swell the figures of other states of the federation where the Igbo are resident. In the same vein, adherents of Christianity and Islam subjected the exclusion of religion from the questionnaire to different interpretations. For Christians particularly, it was an attempt to conceal their real numerical strength especially in South West Nigeria where Islam and Christianity seem to be competing in terms of penetration and reach. Situations such as these create nothing but mutual suspicion and even antagonism. What it suggests is that Nigeria is founded on false grounds and that the authorities must never be trusted when it comes to facts and figures.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

LAFETE

Tambou... Investing In Youth Development By Bisi Alabi Williams RIYE Tambou is a young passionate and gifted writer. He is an activational speaker and trainer in the Motivational Speakers Network. As a young man, he believes that the sky can’t be the limit when there are footprints on the moon. His dream is to see a Nigeria where young people will discover their purpose on earth, develop successful life skills and be given platform to lead in both public and private offices. This dream has propelled his empowerment programme — book advocacy network — for Ikorodu youths: letting them know the significance of reading, growing and achieving academic excellence through his. Tambou says government is not doing enough for Nigerian youths. “Over the years, there haven’t been concrete plans for the development and emergence of a strong and virile youth population,” he says, painfully. According to him, instead of government giving them strong platform to operate, “political elite sees them as cheap enterprise to carry out their nefarious activities, worse still, the are used as thugs during elections, and also, to foment trouble when things do not favour them.” He adds, “they are used to make the situation volatile so that government officers can spend on security votes for themselves.” He says, “the system does not empower young people to be self-employed. If government is to be taken seriously, it must empower youths. I’m aware that government is trying to introduce vocational trainings, but I think it has not been well prioritised. As much as we need to create more jobs for young people, we should also be able to show them that they can also create jobs for themselves and others.”

ing, political, biography, autobiography, scientific, history and textbooks. Their target audience is the children, the youths and students but leaders of tomorrow who need mentorship, nurturing, listening ears, and a learning spirit in order to actualise their dreams in life. “For me, it’s all about selfless service to my father land. This has been my greatest motivation. I just want to help the youths to be useful to themselves, and society at large, no matter how marginal. I am fulfilled. At least, I have been able to put smiles on the faces of so many young children in Ikorodu. This, is my modest contribution to the nation’s growth and I am happy about it.” According to him, the choice of Ikorodu is simply because charity begins at home. Since he lives there, no other place would have sounded better. And the Lagos State Ministry of Education magnanimously granted approval for them to start the work from Ikorodu free of charge. Though, the group has plans to extend the programmes to other areas in Lagos and to other states across the country. He is saddened by the fact that Ikorodu is nothing to write home about. Having spent 13 years there, he says it is one of the least developed areas in Lagos. “Ikorodu is like a forgotten kingdom with a residue of poor infrastructure, power outages, poor drainage system and schools with no libraries to read or conducive halls for assembly lines. Whenever it rains, it is chaos everywhere. The list of woes is endless: Poor hospitals, poorly trained teachers, no good jobs, no good borehole water, high rate of poverty, robbery, lack of sound political awareness and many more,” he says. “Our vision is basically to see people learn to read and write in Ikorodu, and

indeed, in every nook and cranny of the country. Our dream is to build a nation of readers, develop potential readers and mentor the young through strategic growth and readership trainings, conferences, seminars and through one-onone discussions.” Tambou is happy that he has been putting smiles on the faces of so many young children in the country, and this, to him, his modest contribution to the nation’s stability and growth. Currently, many parents, school and organisations have warmly embraced the initiative. Some have contacted his organisation on social network just to say ‘thank you’ for his little contribution to the society. Students from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, India,

Italy and some other countries contact him. They give helpful tips on how to become better readers, excellent students, and successful owners in their society. “I remember how a parent in Ikorodu once walked up to me and told me how their son had taken a new leap at his life and future after coming in contact with the organisation. Now, he is doing very well in his academics. They were shocked that their son who didn’t like reading had developed a liking for reading. He now reads voraciously. They demanded to buy a copy of my book: The World is a School.”

Tembou, right, at one of his organisation’s book presentation in Ikorodu ORN on February 26, 1986, he attended Irepodun Primary School, Ketu, Lagos. He later went to Comprehensive High School, Agidi, also in Ketu, Lagos, where he schooled for a brief period. blu-ray titles with their smartphone or According to him, “VDE is one of Europe’s In 1999, Tambou lost his father. Thereafter, By Omiko Awa tablet PC from anywhere within the range of largest technical scientific associations, HE Ikeja City Mall, Lagos was recently he transferred to Government College, which ensures that varied electric, eleclighted up, with the introduction of LG Wi-Fi. Bomadi, Delta State. In a related development, the company tronics and consumer goods undergo vigElectronics Cinema 3D Smart TVs. Coming After his junior secondary education in also unveiled its 6-Motion Direct Drive (DD) orous safety and credibility test before it is with functions that enable contents to be Bomadi, he moved to Ayakoromo Grammar washing machines, which allows the drum release into the market.” School, Burutu, where he completed his sen- shared in six different ways from diverse What is LG Electronics doing to sustain ior secondary programme in 2004. He came devices to the TV screen and vice-versa, the to tailor each load from a combination of six back to Lagos in 2005 with a dream to make a TVs offer an easier updated magic remote unique motions: rolling, stepping, swinging, its status as the global leader in consumer scrubbing, filtration and tumbling unlike electronics and home appliances in the for a simplified user experience. difference. the one motion tumbling available in most country? Aimed at revitalising waning family time, Currently a student of Economics at the front-load washers. “As technological innovation gathers the TVs have minimalist cinema screen University of Lagos, he founded Edgewise Equipped with innovative Inverter Direct pace, consumer expectations of appliances designs, which come with a zero narrow Readership Network (ERNng), which is grow. Increasingly, consumers are more bezel that provide greater sense of immer- Drive (IDD) motor, which make them more designed to empower pupils, students, efficient, durable and quieter, the washing willing to pay for products that will guaryouths and all sundry on the significance of sion during viewing. Speaking at the product launch, General machines have raised the bar the laundering antee safety, reliability and durability,” he reading, growing, improving, discovering business. said. “We are more than committed to and achieving academic excellence and their Manager, Home Entertainment Division, Peter Adegor, Product Marketing Manager, offering nothing but the best to our LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Mr. lives purpose in September 2, 2011. Home Appliance division, LG Electronics numerous consumers across the world that As a book advocacy, as well as a mentoring Steve Ryu, said: “the new smart TVs are West Africa Operations, said, “owing to its we see as our partner in progress and we and reading promotion organisation seeking designed with consumers’ savvy needs, will however not rest on our oars but will to equip people through strategic readership resulting in smart sharing of content and uniqueness, the product recently got the continue to make quality home appliances smart control of home entertainment sys- Verband Deutsher Rlektrotechniker (VDE) training, conference, seminar, resources, certification.” available to our teeming consumers.” tem.These TVs have features, which will workshop, partnership and technology. The organisation, which strives on service enable users to mirror or better still transand a team spirit platform, aims to motivate fer content from smart devices to TV via a young people to read under his ‘catch them multitude of connectivity options, including Wi-Di (Wireless Display), Miracast, Tag young’ programme. on and 2nd Display, making it superior to “I chose this part because in this world, if competition. one reads enough books one has a fighting With this technology, TV programmes can chance. Or better, one’s chances of survival increase with each book read. Do you know be recorded and saved onto the TV’s builtthat young people learn from everything they in 4GB memory for a latter watch. It also do? They are naturally curious; they want to allows users to record programmes on a TV channel while watching a different chanexplore and discover. If their exploration brings pleasure or success, they will want to nel with its 2-tunner function; or rewind a learn more,” he remarks. “During their early programme in the middle of recording. Another remarkable feature is that they years, young people form attitudes about can be scheduled to record programmes, learning that lasts a lifetime.” even, when they are not switched on. He continues, “young people, who receive the right support and encouragement during According to the Managing Director, these years, will be creative, adventurous and Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mohamed Fouani, “the TVs have in-built Miracast, learners throughout their lives while the young ones who do not receive this form of which makes it possible for users to enjoy easy and fast connection from smartsupport and interaction are likely to have a much different attitude about learning later phones and tablets without wires. This also allows for easy transfer and sharing of digiin life. tal content right on the TV screen.” Through the art of reading, young would The TVs also come with two other avanthave knowledge, which is the bedrock of garde features — Wi-Di and 2nd Display. Wigrowth and development. Also, the network distributes free readable Di enables easy and fast connection between TV and laptop PCs without requirbooks to students and to their schools’ nd libraries. The books are mostly inspirational, ing a network or messy cables, while 2 spiritual, motivational, educational, market- Display, users can watch TV programmes or Adegor

LG Enters Nigerian Market With Smart Tv, Washing Machine T

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THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

POLITICS

ANAMBRA 2013: Still A Contest Of Raw Cash And Brawn From Leo Sobechi

en masse to a new political platform, if Soludo puts the party back on a familiar track. In emerges as APGA flag bearer at the end of the 2011, INEC rejected all the candidates nomiday. And espying that Obi and Umeh are worknated by the National Secretariat and acEAR of losing, desperation, lack of capacity ing at a common script, a third force has apcepted the candidates nominated by the and personal confidence: these are probapeared within APGA. This group working in State Secretariat, which was later affirmed bly the underlying causes for the state of afconcert with the member of House of Represen- by the Supreme Court. However, the only fairs in most of the ‘viable political parties’ in tatives, Emeka Nwogbo, wants to deliver a sursaving grace this time is that it pertains to Anambra State, as aspirants chase the goverprise punch, by delivering Nwogbo at the the Governorship. But given the ploy by norship tickets for the November 16 poll. As primaries and call Obi and Umeh’s bluff. A the NWC to settle for the Senator representthe combatants jostle for prime position on source within the new group intimated The ing Anambra South in the Senate, Dr. Andy the party platform, the major consideration Guardian that the alleged ‘donation’ of N2 bilUba, the confusion would provide it the boils down to how much money is at the dislion by the former CBN Governor to APGA was needed opportunity do it again as it did in posal of aspirants. seen as an attempt to buy the party’s structure the case of Soludo in 2010. Some of the aspiA veteran governorship aspirant, Mr. and its ticket ahead of the governorship prirants like chief Ugochukwu Okeke and Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo, told The Guardian mary. “One other reason we decided to work Tony Nwoye, saw nothing wrong with conthat the implication of what is happening in Anambra State is that clean people may never out another plan is the experience of Imo State, sensus, but they argue that such arrangewhere Rochas Okorocha used APGA platform to ment should not be adopted without the near the governorship again, pointing out become governor and abandoned it half way; input of the aspirants. that when millionaires engage in a stiff comso we want to guard against the final destrucIn fact Okeke, told reporters in Awka that petition to serve the people, the best brains stand technically excluded. He contended that tion of APGA,” he explained. Based on the many the first approach to consensus should be a mock election among the aspirants, where the race has become a contest of means, pride meetings being held in Enugu and Abuja, it would not be surprising if a greater percentage they should be made to vote for themand not ideas. selves and any other aspirant. Okeke said: It is therefore easy to understand why most of of APGA faithful moves over to the United Progressives Party (UPP), which has zoned the gov- “We have seen various attempts to exclude the money bags do not want to face the peoernorship to Anambra North Senatorial zone. aspirants by way of high cost of nominaple, but insist on employing underhand tacFor PDP, the confusion inspired by the chairtion forms. But if consensus should work, tics to win at all means in an unfair contest. manship tussle and INEC position, as well as aspirants must have their input. This probThe rat race is more defined within the Peothe selection of the three-man ward delegates, lem of avoiding primary election does not ple’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling, but mending All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). For APGA, Governor Peter Obi has shown that he has become a master of intrigue and political craftsmanship. While he promises Anambra North Senatorial district that he would support them to mount the saddle as his successor, the Governor sings a different song in Abuja, saying that he was interested in a successor that could ride the storms of Anambra development by exceeding his achievements on the millennium development goals targets. It has become common knowledge that Governor Obi is on one page with those plotting the candidacy of former Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo. The refrain among commentators here is, ‘who is Soludo listening to, has he not learnt his lessons?’ Sources say that Obi wants to ensure that Soludo does not climb the governorship, pointing out that he (Obi) wants to remain the only close ally to President Goodluck Jonathan for his political ascendance. Those who make the claim say that it was the same ploy Obi Umeh used to destroy Professor Dora Akunyili, after Obi promising Abuja that he would deliver her to the Senate. Most indigenes of Anambra State say they have learnt not to trust Governor Peter Obi, saying that they began to adopt the position when Obi told a gathering that he trusts only two people in the world namely – Peter and Obi. “Is that not the utterance of a man you should not trust either?” said an APGA stalwart who claimed that the governor is just playing games with Anambra North. The Source added: “I do not think he means to hand over to the North, because he is not interested in spending his money to support any candidate. Again, if he is serious about supporting a person from the North Senatorial zone, why did he give money to more than five people to purchase the nomination forms.” It is quite hard, locating who Obi is really supporting, because while some accuse him of working against Soludo surreptitiously, others claim that he wants to reduce the chances of the aspirants from the North, Soludo Uba so that Soludo could have an easy win at the primary election. The Governor is also accused of throwing spanners in the works against the efforts of stakeholders to adopt a consensus candidate. But even among the four ‘champions’ from Anambra North Senatorial Zone, including Dr. Chike Obidigbo, Paul Odenigbo, Oseloka Obaze and Willy Obiano, it is not easy to say who has Governor Obi’s backing. The SSG, Obaze, decided to resign his appointment last Wednesday when it dawned on him that the screening was impromptu and so he could not wait for the final nod of the Governor. Sources said that Obaze was taken aback like many others by the belated appearance of Obiano, an Executive Director at Fielity Bank Plc. It is also alleged that Obi had a hand in the appearance of former Transport Minister, John Emeka and Lagos lawyer, Francis Idigo. The scheme according to insiders is that any of these latest entrants would be asked to run as running mate to Soludo. It is against this revelation that prominent leaders from Anambra North met and resolved that they would move Uba Ngige

augur well for the party and whoever emerges through a covert method.” He said the scramble for delegates was an attempt to predict the outcome of the primary election, pointing out that aspirants should be made to reconcile themselves to a given method. Okeke’s explanations do not water down the rash of condemnations and criticisms against last Monday’s ward congresses of the party in the state. While urging the party’s NWC to fix a fresh date for a repeat, some of the governorship aspirants blamed INEC for its public statement denying Emeakayi recognition on the very morning of the ward congress. They contended that it was based on that deliberate confusion that the Oguebego faction held a separate exercise. One of the aspirants, Jerry Ugokwe, wondered aloud why his people should wait since morning without materials being sent for the congress. A member of Tony Nwoye campaign organisation, Dr. Tony Akachukwu introduced a new dimension to the worrying spectacle. He said that the whole episode seemed stage managed to undermine the process, stressing that there was no activity in so many local councils including Nnewi North, Ekwusigo, Anambra West, Anambra East, among others. He described the whole exercise as utterly embarrassing and negates PDP’s efforts at rebuilding the party in Anambra State. “The party remains factionalised because while Oguebego group went this way, Emeakayi group was found on the other side, with INEC insisting that it would acknowledge whatever Emeakayi did,” he agonised. After collecting N11 million each from fifteen aspirants and PDP NWC rejoicing that it can now pay its wages and bills, would the interest of the party in the 2013 Anambra Governorship be served? Does this vindicate the claim that the ticket had been given before the forms were announced? Following the rumble and grumbling in PDP, indications emerged that the leadership of Labour Party (LP) has succumbed to intense pressure to shift its gubernatorial primary election, so as to accommodate aspirants short-changed from other platforms and their members. The party had earlier fixed August 19, 2013, to select its flag-bearer. But discreet checks by The Guardian revealed that following pressures on the party leadership, both at Abuja and Awka, the governorship primary may be moved to August 28, “to accommodate the interest of other aspirants who want to contest the governorship on LP platform.” A source within the Abuja headquarters of the party confided that “certain overtures and demands have been made for the party to shift the governorship primaries to a date later than August 19,” adding that the shift would also disabuse the minds of “critical stakeholders” that the ticket has been sold to a particular aspirant. He indicated that not less than five aspirants, some of who purchased expression of interest forms, may likely join the race for the LP ticket, pointing out that the pressure on the party to extend the date for the primary is also to help reorganise the party for the governorship election. In his reaction, State chairman of LP, Mr. Sam Osi Oraegbunam, denied that the plan to shift the date of the primaries was just to accommodate disgruntled aspirants from the PDP, explaining that, “when the change of date comes, it would be in the interest of better organisation and logistic provision.” Oraegbunam, who spoke to The Guardian on the phone, added that LP was mindful of the challenges of unrestrained admission of all manner of contenders, saying also that it is erroneous to give the impression that attempts were being made to receive aspirants that could displace the foremost aspirant, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah. “Sometimes democracy makes an organisation look stupid, but as a political party we listen to all shades of opinion and at the end of the day, the majority would have its way. So what is happening is that we want to allow everybody a say in how the party is run; it is the owners of the party, the people that have the final decision,” he declared. He stressed that though the party has no problem with Ubah’s aspiration, it does not want to foreclose the ticket to only him, pointing out that the present pressures on the party was “a test of LP’s resilience and internal democratic credentials.”

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

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POLITICS From Leo Sobechi T is a tangle that began long ago. The dress reIcisely hearsal was conducted five months ago, preon March 16, 2013. But not much care or concern was shown by all concerned to tame the muddle. And so, as the governorship election turns the corner, the question as to who is the rightful chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State has become the major bone of contention, side by side with who flies the party’s flag in the coming poll. In the midst of the chaotic jumble, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised the stakes higher by becoming a sparring partner with PDP. While some watchers of the political peekaboo playing out in the state seem entertained, indigenes express pain at the unfolding scenario, even as some actors reap from the infamy. After all, in Anambra politics money, not blood is spilled! Before Now ALL that was known about PDP in the state was its situation as a wounded and defeated lion. Following its serial defeats by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) at successive governorship polls in 2003 (2006) and 2010, the party lay in near comatose, licking its wounds. The feeble attempts to show its presence were seen in the musical chair of the party’s leadership in the state. For instance, in 2010 a cousin of the former national publicity secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh, Emma Nweze, was elected chairman. Before Nweze, the court had ruled that Benji Udeozorled executive, which by then ran a parallel regime with Emeakayi, was the authentic state executive. The leadership gained fresh momentum shortly after Andy Uba was removed from office. Not only was the Tony Nwoye-led state executive removed, a peace and reconciliation committee led by Professor Jerry Gana was set up. Though the team completed its assignment, the congress planned by Nwoye and Senator Annie Okonkwo, who was angling for the 2010 governorship, was aborted via a court order obtained by Prince Ken Emeakayi. Even as that, the Bright Nnebedum structure loyal to Andy Uba held its own congress under the chairmanship of the then Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Honourable Anayo Nnebe. It was against this logjam that the party set up the Chuma Nwofor-led congress committee in a bid to clear the mess. This also brought about another crisis, because midway to the one month given to the committee to carry out its assignment, the Nwobodo Congress Monitoring Committee intervened. Nwofor, who petitioned the NWC was sacked, to give way for a fresh congress. While the plan was afoot, the national leadership of the party felt the crisis had gone beyond resolution and restored the Uchenna Emordi-led executive. But while Emordi began the peace and reconciliation singsong, the Nicholas Ukachukwu group pushed forward Mr. Ifeatu Obi-Okoye as the authentic state executive, insisting on the denunciation of the Emordi group. Obi-Okoye went to court. But despite the favourable judgment from the court, the PDP NWC rebuffed the order, and instead recognised Emordi, who was loyal to the self-acclaimed godfather of Anambra politics, Chris Uba. Undeterred, the Ifeatu Obi-Okoye faction, with backing from Ukachukwu fought against Emordi’s restoration, arguing that, “NWC’s action is totally unacceptable.” They maintained that the Emordi-led executive was sacked in 2006 by both NWC and NEC of PDP for offences bordering on fraud and anti-party activities. They also alleged that Emordi and co were even expelled from the party after which they were said to have decamped from PDP and joined Democratic People’s Party (DPP) in 2007, of which Emordi was made chairman. The Obi-Okoye camp declared that Emordi’s Executive was nullified by the order of an Ogidi High court on December 21, 2005 adding that an Ekwuluobia High Court also gave a favourable judgment in 2008, which declared its (Obi-Okoye’s) executive as the authentic PDP executive in Anambra, pending the state congress. Finally Obi-Okoye and his team urged the PDP NWC “to work with Professor Jerry Gana’s report and conduct free and transparent congress in Anambra, or, in the alternative, recognise the Obi Okoye-led executive pending congress as contained in the court judgment.” But the NWC stuck to Emordi! This brief recapitulation of events in the life of Anambra PDP is intended to show that the current disagreement over the authentic leadership of the party did not started today. However, what makes the present fracas intriguing is the interference of INEC. INEC holds

Tukur

Who Is Anambra PDP Chairman? that the tenure of Emeakayi effectively ended on March 17, 2012, when the PDP conducted state congress in the state to elect a substantive chairman. In a letter addressed to the national chairman of PDP with reference number INEC/EPM/PDP/24/1/209 and dated August 11, 2013; INEC said it monitored the State Congress of the party in 2010, which brought about chief Emma Nweze and expressed surprise as to how Emeakayi became chairman. Signed by Mr. U.F. Usman, for the Secretary, INEC’s letter read: “Further to your letter of July 31, 2013, and that of the acting national secretary of the PDP, Dr. Charles Aderemi Akintoye, of August 6, 2013, and the meeting between some members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party and the commission on the above subject matter, the commission caused detailed review of relevant facts of the subject matter to be made. “The commission found that whereas it monitored the state congress of the party in 2010 in which Nweze emerged as the state chairman of the party, it has no record of how Emeakayi suddenly became the chairman of the party in the state. In March 2012, the PDP conducted another congress in Anambra State, where Ejike Oguebego, was elected as the state chairman of the party. Both the PDP and the commission continued to accord recognition to Oguebego as state chairman of the party in Anambra State, until the commission received the letter of the acting national chairman on July 31, 2013.” INEC therefore expressed dismay at what it called the “deliberate concealment of the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court delivered on July 5, 2012.” The commission noted that, “in suit no. FCT/HC/CV/2012 between Emma Mbamalu versus PDP, by which the court declared the ward, local government and state congresses held in March 2012 in the state where Oguebego emerged as state chairman of the PDP, as null and void, and ordered the PDP to conduct another congresses in Anambra State,” the commission was not a party in the suit. It therefore stated that the revelation of the existence of the judgment by

the PDP only on July 31, 2013 “has imposed serious constraints on both the commission and the party.” Continuing, INEC disclosed that having considered the two ex-parte orders issued in favour of Emeakayi in suit no. FHC/AWK/CS/309/2012: Ken Emeakayi vs. INEC and six others, the certified copy of the consent judgment of the High Court of the state of March 21, 2012, in suit no A/171/2011: Hon. Uche Ogbonna and two others vs PDP and four others in which the court entered consent judgment in favour of Emeakayi, but which court specifically stated that it is not binding on the PDP and its national officers; it also considered the judgment of the same FCT High Court and ex-parte order of the Federal High Court Port Harcourt made on August 6, 2013, in suit no FHC/PH/CS/213/2013, between Ejike Ogwuebego and two others vs. PDP and INEC in which the commission was restrained from accepting, dealing with, recognising or doing anything with Emeakayi as the PDP chairman in the state, pending the hearing of the motion on notice, which is adjourned to August 20. INEC said it was based on the consideration of all that it resolved as follows: “That the commission not being a party to the suit in the High Court of the FCT, which nullified the congress at which Oguebego was elected was not bound by the judgment; that the commission did not monitor the process that brought in Emeakayi as the state chairman of the PDP; that of the Federal High Court, which ordered a return to status quo; and the recent order of the Federal High Court Port Harcourt, which restrained the commission from recognising or dealing with Emeakayi as the chairman of the PDP in Anambra State; the Commission has resolved that it will not withdraw its letter with reference No. INEC/EPM/PDP/24/1/153 of July 26, 2013 by which the commission recognised Oguebego as the chairman of the PDP in the state and shall be bound by the recent order of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt.” INEC: Nexus to confusion? PERHAPS, the path to resolving the PDP chairmanship tussle in Anambra lies through understanding the position of INEC in the whole

matter. Many people have asked why the commission should take unbecoming interest in the internal affairs of a political party, even to the extent of telling the party who should be its officers. Could INEC under Professor Attahiru Jega, be accused of becoming a meddlesome interloper? The recent judgment delivered by Justice G. O. Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja; on the delisting of some political parties, on Monday July 29, 2013; could provide the backcloth to deconstruct INEC’s mission. Ruling on suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/800/2012 between Fresh Democratic Party, (FDP); Reverend Christopher Okotie; Adefala Binufu and INEC, AGF (Attorney General of the Federation) and the Inspector General of Police; Justice Kolawole stated: “In conclusion, my decision is that the National Assembly has the constitutional powers to pass the Electoral Act 2010 as amended in 2011, and its section 78 (7) (i) alone is valid and constitutional. Its section 78(7)(ii) is the product of legislative arbitrariness and has no foundation in any of the provisions that relate to the formation of political parties and of their continued existence as such. The said Section 78(7)(i) of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended; is for all intents and purposes inconsistent with the general provisions of the Constitution in relation to the formation and continued operation of political parties as I have analysed in the context of Section 222 (a)(f); 223 (1) and (2) and Section 224- 227 of Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. It is to that extent of its inconsistency, pursuant to Section 1(3) of the 1999 Constitution declared invalid and unconstitutional. It is hereby mauled down and shall cease forthwith to be part of the extant provision in the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.” INEC under Jega has expressed the intention to appeal against that judgment. The question that arises is what injury has Jega or INEC suffered that it wants to spend taxpayers’ money to pursue an appeal? Legal authorities including extant judgment by the Supreme Court hold that “a party to proceedings cannot appeal a decision arrived there-at, which does not wrongfully deprive him of an entitlement or something which he had a right to demand. Unless there is such a grievance, he cannot appeal against a judgment, which has not affected him since the whole exercise may turn out to be academic. “Prof. Jega, being an academic should note that conduct of elections, especially governorship is not an academic exercise,” a source warned. The aspect of the whole drama that would redound to the benefit of PDP is that the Electoral Act 2010 says that it is the national headquarters of the party that would submit list of candidates for an election ranging from the National Assembly through the governorship up to the presidency. First sign of trouble THE initial sign that all was not well with Anambra PDP leadership came on March 16, 2013 at the Nike Lake Resort Hotel, during the Town Hall meeting organised by the NWC for the Southeast leaders caucus. Though Prince Emeakayi was not in attendance, his supporters arrived at the venue and displayed banners welcoming the national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur to Southeast. However, when the loyalists of Ejike Oguebego turned up, the sight of the banners displeased them. Not only were the banners removed, political thugs said to be loyal to Chris Uba, were alleged to have beaten Emeakayi’s supporters to stupor. In an interaction with reporters, Oguebego said he was the authentic state chairman of the party, stressing the fact that, that he was the one allowed into the arena showed where the party stood in the disagreement. Despite his claim, Mr. Benji Udeozor, a member of the Southeast Zonal Working Committee, condemned the resort to violence as a clear example of political rascality. Many PDP stalwarts in the state believe that the trouble within Anambra chapter could be traced to Olisa Metuh and certain moneybags that insist on calling the shots in the party. It is alleged that it was out of the fear of possible control by one man that Emeakayi fell out with Senator Andy Uba, for whom he worked as director of campaigns during the 2010 governorship election. And believing that he may not have his way under an Emeakayi leadership, Senator Uba, as the chairman of Senate Committee on INEC is alleged to have thrown his weight behind Oguebego, thus sustaining the political peekaboo in Anambra State. Endless intrigues!

TheGuardian

Sunday, August 18, 2013 53

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Opinion The First ‘419’ President S time marches on, it becomes clearer just how tragic the presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo really was. In a speech last week, he dismissed Nigerian leaders who were not good enough. Everyone but he. And then he dismissed Nigerians for not finding him to have been exceptional. If Nigerians were yet to find a leader worthy of commendation after 53 years of independence, he declared, “Then we are jinxed and cursed; we should all go to hell.” No, Chief, I humbly disagree. Only dishonest and unpatriotic leaders qualify for perdition. Obasanjo was wielding his weapons in front of a captive crowd at the University of Ibadan. He cited as very bad boys such people as Atiku Abubakar, who served as Vice-president in his administration; Salisu Buhari, a certificateforging former Speaker of the House of Representatives recently appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan into the Governing Council of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and former governors Bola Tinubu, Deprieye Alamieyeseigha, James Ibori and Lucky Igbinedion. “Abacha, my predecessor got $750m. Through our lawyer in Switzerland we recovered $1.25bn and the lawyer still said there is probably still another $1bn to be recovered…” Actually, Abacha was not Obasanjo’s predecessor, except perhaps in duplicity. In between them, in temporal terms, there was one Abdusallam Abubakar. But Obasanjo, The Hypocrite, has no commitment to facts or to History. Not once, during his imperious History lesson last week, did he refer to the bad seeds he sowed or the waters he poisoned or the children he starved. But his are the shark-infested waters in which we now sink, and for as long as he tries to write the history of Nigeria to suit his bloated ego, we must never tire of reminding the world of the true story. Here are just 10 elements: • Obasanjo, The Hypocrite, benefitted the most from the elections of 2003 and 2007, which local and international observers com-

plained were rigged. • Obasanjo was his own Minister of Petroleum Resources throughout his tenure, without accountability, and it was during that watch that the dirty practices now being unveiled by various probe panels started. • In the famous case of Works Minister Tony Anenih, The Hypocrite complained he had budgeted N300 billion for roads during his first term, but he never asked “Mr. Fix-It” about the money. • Obasanjo saw no contradiction in using the Petroleum Trust Development Fund as his own ATM. • Obasanjo brags about recovering up to $2.5 billion from Abacha alone; he never says anything about how the money disappeared. • Obasanjo has not said one word about the injustice of Anambra’s horrendous Okija Shrine or the report of the federal high-level panel that he suppressed. • Obasanjo says nothing about the assassinations during his tenure that included the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ige. • Obasanjo says nothing about the Haliburton scandal, for which various reports have indicted him, or about his so-called “anti-corruption” agencies, which only targeted his enemies. • Obasanjo’s economic reform, NEEDS, died within months of being launched, and he never mentioned it again. •Obasanjo spent between $10 and $16 billion under the ruse of an electricity scheme; some of those he paid allegedly did not even clear a patch of land. All of this is despite his arriving in office in 1999 swearing he would be different. At his inauguration, he told Nigerians: “You have been asked many times in the past to make sacrifices and to be patient. I am also going to ask you to make sacrifices, and to exercise patience. The difference will be that in the past sacrifices were made and patience exercised with little or no results. This time, however, the results of your sacrifice and patience will be clear and manifest for all to see…I will give the forthright, purposeful, committed, honest and transparent leader-

ship that the situation demands…” Never has more sordid falsehood been uttered. When the 2003 rigging was completed, he returned to the microphone at his inauguration and said, “I have repeatedly called for moral rectitude, and I will continue to repeat the message. I simply refuse to accept the cynical view that Nigerians prefer chaos to order. I cannot endorse the view that Nigerians are innately corrupt…We all have a stake in Enterprise Nigeria and each of us stands a better chance in getting optimum dividends if, instead of asking “What’s in it for me”, we ask “what’s in it for Nigeria…” But Obasanjo, The Hypocrite, saw nothing wrong with establishing Transcorp and using it to enrich himself. He saw no contradiction in his cabinet approving moneymaking schemes for him. Later, somebody asked General Victor Malu, a former Chief of Army Staff, to assess Obasanjo’s government. “In few words, it is the worst government that I have seen in this country,” the General replied. “And I am 58 years old. I have never seen a government that is so reckless in everything. It disrespects the wishes of the people, disobeys the rules or the constitution, disobeys court judgments, including the Supreme Court. I don’t think it has happened before.” How insufferable was Obasanjo? In a speech at the 11th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on June 1, 2005, he lamented that “past administrations fostered a culture of corruption and mistrust and thus encouraged undeserved stereotyped information and inaccurate judgments about (Nigerians) as a people and nation.” His government, he swore, would remain committed to creating “a culture of integrity, dignity, confidence and trust.” But that was the very same day that his government approved seven new private universities from 145 applications. One of them: Obasanjo’s Bells University. Obasanjo boisterously invokes such names as James Ibori, Tinubu and Igbinedion, but conveniently forgets that in 2006, he ignored a report he had commissioned and refused to prosecute 15 indicted governors, including those three. The Hypocrite similarly forgets that his domes-

sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

tic aide used the presidential jet to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars, for which he was convicted in the United States. Every objective evaluation demonstrates that Obasanjo is responsible for the kleptocracy that runs Nigeria today. What is even worse is that as a parting menace, he committed the greatest treason of all: handcuffing his country to a spineless, incompetent and compromised cabal he knew would asphyxiate it. And he turns around to blame it. Still, The Hypocrite is right on one account: the Nigerian tragedy is also about followership. “If we talk about good leadership you should also talk about good followers,” he said. Nigerians are atrocious followers. We are cowards and sycophants who would rather feed mud to our children than fight for the right to food. At the event, for instance, Vice-chancellor, Isaac Adewole shamelessly swallowed the baloney Obasanjo had just spilled all over Nigeria’s oldest university, and then questioned the nation’s political prospects in 2015. Equally stunning, not one student was reported to have walked out, slamming doors in disgust. Obasanjo is Nigeria’s first 419 leader, and he knows it. But he is counting on the Nigerian people, especially the youth, remaining too distracted or too scared to rise to their feet and say, emphatically and in unison: “NO,” “ENOUGH” and “NONSENSE!” It is time. Our mumu don do!

That War On Corruption By Tunji Lardner “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War HIS phony war on corruption is a big lie. The ‘war’ against corruption is itself corrupt and we all know this. No amount of collective national grandstanding, faux moral outrage, and mendacious presidential speeches is going to change the course of this war anytime soon. Given the present battlefield reports, Nigeria is heading for a comprehensive and annihilative defeat, and should best begin to prepare its terms of surrender to the victor. However what do you do when you are both the victor and the vanquished? The influential Chinese WarriorPhilosopher Sun Tzu says ‘If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.’ However, do we know ourselves enough to recognize that the enemy that we engage is really the singular and collective refraction of ourselves reflected in our everyday transactional exchanges? The enduring war propaganda is that we are fighting an enemy external to ourselves, a venal, marauding plague of locusts devouring everything and in its wake laying bare and wasted all things good, decent, honest, productive and life affirming. We have come to believe this disingenuous trope that this invidious enemy that has insinuated itself into every conversation, every interaction and every transaction is some alien external force that affronts the singular and universal good that is in the pious heart of all Nigerians. In response, we have chosen to alternatively throw up our hands in despair and helplessness, some even believing that corruption is genetic and shout for help from some eternal army or direct our rage at ‘them or they,’ that rag-tag army of enforcers of the law, the so called defenders of justice, with the most common target in this broken down and dysfunctional chain of command being your much despised police office. So it was with almost unbecoming glee that a secretly taped video of a Lagos traffic police office extorting a bribe from a Lagos motorist became a cause celebre among the Facebook crowd. For the digitally uninitiated, a motorist used his camera to secretly film police sergeant trying to extort a N25, 000 bribe and then uploaded the video on the internet. In the week it took for the video to be a talking point, the sergeant was hauled before an orderly room trial, publicly berated by his superiors and then theatrically dismissed from the noble Nigeria Police Force. In this so-called war against corruption the capture, public

humiliation and punishment of one lowly foot soldier amounts to exactly what? It is really a surprise that distinguished members of the Nigerian Police Force extort bribes; or from a random sampling, that Honourable members of our esteemed National and State Assembles also extort bribes? This sanctimonious outrage flies in the face of the reality of a country whose former Heads of States were publicly indicted for collecting bribes from Halliburton, an American company over a large gas project. In real unvarnished terms, this perfidy amounts to treason and a direct breach of our constitution, their respective oaths of office and our own national pledge of loyalty to the Nigerian state. And our ‘war against corruption’ certainly does not alter the course of any one of the ‘hundred battles,’ not to mention the war itself. To get a better understanding of this war, one has to step away from the specious theatrics of play fighting and take a sober and long view of the entire theatre of war to come to the reasoned understanding that we have over the last century created a system that encourages and rewards corrupt practices and behaviour, even as it actively discourages honesty, probity and integrity in our personal as well as public lives. And even though we might occasionally chafe at the ruinous cost of corruption to our collective humanity as Nigerians, we all seem reluctant to fully engage this ubiquitous enemy, perhaps for two reasons. The first is that this enemy is familiar, almost as the word suggests, ‘like family.’ How does one fight one of your own? The other reason is that that this enemy seems to be much too large for ‘you’ as person to tackle, so you wisely cower in retreat and hope that this leviathan would just simply disappear, or hope that some brave soul will fight this enemy for you. Clearly this state of denial has run its course in Nigeria, and we can no longer pretend that this problem will simply be wished away. Increasingly, we are now suffering the true costs of institutionalized and systemic corruption over the last one hundred years. You can draw a straight causal linkage between corruption and the over 70% of Nigerians who are poor. The true opportunity costs to Nigeria is a broken state with frightened, disempowered, amoral and cynical people who have lost the will to fight, even in the face of their own slow and steady decline into destitution. Sun Tzu again reminds us that he “who wishes to fight must first count the cost.” In this instance, we must count the cost of collectively refusing to fight. To fight and fight well requires that the Generals, the soldiers and the people of the realm must all be united by a collective

ironclad will to defend and protect the common wealth and the national sovereignty. But what constitutes this ironclad will? In conversations about the lack of motivation of Nigeria’s rulers to seek the common good of the people, there is always the throw away remark of the government and the political elite lacking the political will to govern properly and do right by the people. In addition to the political will, we can add the organizational will and the public will as the tripod that can guarantee success in this war. The political will simply refers to the commitment, courage and vision of the political elite to do the right things to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of people. It is clear that this administration lacks the political will to fight corruption. President Jonathan’s administration is simply following the cynical and sociopathic script of governing Nigeria written by previous regimes, each modifying the plans to suit their respective ethnic chauvinism. It will be hard if not impossible for Kleptocrats to suddenly have a road to Damascus conversion. Now, even if such an epiphany was to occur, the organizational will or lack thereof embedded in the various law enforcement agencies is not presently sufficient to drive the systemic change that is necessary in all organs of state to make any meaningful and lasting change. So we have now and again the episodic attempts by a few brave souls to rattle the judicial sector, the police and the civil service, but the system quickly reorganizes itself like a virulent disease that constantly develops immunity to the prevailing medication. The organizational will necessary to change the face of governance in Nigeria is predicated in the first instance on the political will. You can’t effect one without the other. The public will is where the cowering and confused publics reside. Lacking a true sense of National identity as citizens, Nigerians have no real and abiding allegiance to Nigeria. Riven by ethnic and hidebound allegiances, Nigerians have lost the moral courage to speak truth to power, and the ability to self-organize for a grander and truly national agenda for the progress and development of a great nation. We blame the various ‘Nigerian factors’ as the reason why we have lost the public will to fight the good fight. Without the public will collectively fighting for a fair, just and humane Nigeria, we have almost certainly lost the war. Even so, there is still one sliver of hope here. What about our own personal will? Do you personally have the will to fight corruption? Is there a hidden army that can fight corruption? If so, sound the battle cry and heed the words of Sun Tzu: ‘he will win whose army is animated by the spirit throughout all its ranks.’ Comments can be sent to: me.tlardner@gmail.com

TheGuardian

54 | Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Opinion Akande v Jonathan

Respect The Truth, Your Age And Nigeria By Reuben Abati E have noted with dismay the continuation of efforts by leaders of the opposition to promote themselves and their party through the irresponsible denigration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the exalted Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The interim national chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande sank to a new low in this regard yesterday when he rudely and falsely described President Jonathan as a “kindergarten” leader who treats national issues with levity. Chief Bisi Akande has every right to embark on a flight of fancy about the APC beating the PDP in the 2015 general elections, but he does no justice to his age and status when he resorts to propagating falsehood, wilfully insulting the President of his country, impugning his integrity and desecrating the very office which his party wishes to take over in 2015 by fair or foul means. We urge Chief Akande and his fellow-travellers to remember that there are laws against libel and defamation of character in this country even if there are no legal impediments to indecorous, hypocritical and unpatriotic vituperations. It is certainly rude, ill-mannered, uncharitable and hypocritical for Chief Akande to

falsely and cavalierly allege that a President who toils tirelessly every day of the week, evolving and implementing workable solutions to Nigeria’s problems, is handling national issues with levity. Also, nothing else but gross ignorance and lack of consideration could have led Chief Akande to refer to a President who, having served as deputy governor, governor, vice president and president, has far more experience of governance at the highest level than him and his preferred “candidates”, as a kindergarten leader. By his very unguarded and intemperate outburst yesterday, Chief Akande exhibited not only an unbecoming lack of respect for the person and office of the President of his country, but also a complete disregard for the patriotic feelings of the millions of Nigerians who voted for President Jonathan and who continue to appreciate his sincere efforts to positively transform the nation. It is very sad and unfortunate that unbridled ambition for the office they constantly impugn and denigrate has blinded Chief Akande and his ilk to the visible accomplishments of the Jonathan Presidency. Certainly, nothing else but a manic and unscrupulous quest for power could have led them to make such accusations against a President who, who amongst other significant achievements, has been praised for

his handling of the insurgency in some parts of Northern Nigeria where he has used a combination of diplomacy and targeted military force to contain the security threat. Nothing else but the relentless pursuit of narrow personal and sectional interests could lead them to make such claims about a President under whose leadership Nigeria’s economy has been promoted from a low income economy to a middle income economy by the World Bank and whose leadership has seen the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria increase at an annual rate of over 6 per cent since he took office. Finally, though President Jonathan has not indicated whether or not he is interested in a second term, Chief Akande, who has taken stock of his party and seen that they have no electable presidential material is already trying to be clever by half by claiming the President is statute-barred from contesting in 2015 saying it will amount to a “third term”. If this is the winning strategy of the APC, Chief Akande has every reason to panic because the issue of eligibility for election into the office of the President has been settled by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended which provides as follows; 137. (1) A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if (b) he has been elected to such office at any

two previous elections; President Goodluck Jonathan has been elected into office on only ONE previous occasion and is therefore not statutebarred from running. It is clear that the APC is seeking to bait the Presidency to respond to it to achieve two purposes. The first purpose is to get their name into the press and gain name recognition for their party. How pathetic. The second and more important reason is to divert the attention of the public from the festering feud between Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu over the overriding ambition of the two men which is threatening to tear the new contraption which is mistakenly referred to by the gullible as a party. To the discerning, it is only a matter of time before ambition sinks the APC boat. It is only 2013 and already the big masquerades in the party are using undemocratic words like “must”, “nobody can stop” and other military terms in discussing their presidential ticket. Our advice to the APC is this: treat your party like a democratic association and don’t mistake it for the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) that someone used to force his way to power. Abati is Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity)

Of Cry Babies And Kindergarten President By Sunday Akin Dare HE statement issued by Reuben Abati, the official spokesperson for the presidency on August 11, 2013 criticizing the interim chairman of the APC for describing the Jonathan government as a “kindergarten presidency”, is paltry, whining and falls in the category of world class political tantrums. In a most predictable fashion, the rabid nature of the reaction confirms the truth that Nigeria is being run by little minds and irritants. This kind of rascally mindset displayed by the minders of the Presidency continues to contribute greatly to the unraveling of a government spinning out of control. Those of us opportune to have read the statement from the presidency now realize the office of the spokesman has shifted from being the mouthpiece of serious governance to that of the National Crybaby. Their statutory task, that of serious governance, they did not address at all. They insist on telling us what they should tell themselves. Thus, their eagerness to assume the role of the country’s top complainant is predictable. Instead of

JAW JAW By Didi Onu

trying to minimize opposition criticism by providing the nation with decent governance, their strategy is to complain that the opposition complains too much. The performance of government, upon which the great fate of the nation hangs, is immaterial to them. In fact, the nation and its multitudes be damned as far as they are concerned. Afterall, the same President on live television told Nigerians he does not give a damn about some of the things that affects them. They claim that Chairman Akande disrespected the office of the presidency with his remarks. In truth, Akande was merely exercising his democratic rights to speak about the dire state of this government. Not only was he exercising his democratic rights, he had a moral duty to criticize this government for it is government in ruins, a stumbling, bumbling mash of self-seekers, opportunists and the myopic. What Akande said of them was mild compared to what the average person says of this government on a daily basis. If the office of the presidency is to respond to every

harsh criticism levied at it, that office shall be a busy one. It will have to issue 150 million press statements aimed at almost every Nigerian, including half the members of the very inner circle of this very government. Nigerians are now used to the countless insulting press statements and reactions from the duo of Abati and Okupe. They reacted so vehemently to the Akande statement for two reasons. First, the truth hurts. Second, they are afraid of the APC and seek to intimidate it. However, they might as well stop on the second point. With the fate of the nation at stake, the incompetent will not be able to intimidate into silence the committed. Let us add two other important points. If they want people to honour the office of the presidency, they should practice what they preach. The people who most dishonour that office are those who currently occupy it. The way this entire government goes about its job embarrasses and burdens the nation. There is nothing important that they do right and nothing they somehow accidentally

get right that is important. They are the party and government of partying and flashy public events. When it comes to policies for the people, they grow tired and disappear from view. Thus, why must the people, who are the bosses in a democracy, respect the elected public servant when it is clear that the person they elected does not respect them? Wisdom says that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. In this instance, what the presidency feels is fair treatment of the public, the public has every right to say it is also fair treatment for the presidency. Let the hired criers cry on. The average people are in their humble homes crying. Those who cause their suffering might as well join in. When the government starts implementing people oriented policies and tackle the problems that confront us as a nation, then we will rejoice and the criticism will cease. Also, they need to understand the function of government. Those now in charge of running government don’t even understand their role and proper limits.

They should return to school. The response to the Akande statement should not have come from the presidency. Bisi Akande is the leader of an opposition party, a partisan political figure. If they saw fit to reply, the response should have come from the PDP’s over-exercised mouth. Those who run the highest office of our national government do seem like children who dropped and broke a glass then simply cry when someone points out what they have done. Instead of crying, they should clean the mess they made. Until Reuben and the Presidency he fanatically seeks to defend accept they owe Nigerians plenty of performance and explanation, they will continue to languish in immaturity, self-delusion and hence rightly called a kindergarten government. The same right my brother Reuben Abati exercised in telling Akande off is what Akande also exercised in telling the President some bitter truth. Akande has spoken for millions of Nigerians and it is well within his right. Dare is special assistant to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

|55

POLITICS

IZEGBU: Unless We Get Our Political System Right, We Won’t Get The Economy Right’ After over 35 years abroad, working as a urological surgeon in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirate (UAE), Prof Victor Amaechi Izegbu is back in Nigeria, to make his contributions. A trained medical doctor from the University of Benin, he holds a post-graduate degree from the University College, Ibadan and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg, England, with an MBA degree from the Keele University, England. The Delta State native, who left Nigeria as a medical doctor in his 20s, informed that his decision to abandon his lucrative job in the UAE, is to see Nigeria achieve it’s potentials, as a country endowed with human and natural resources. In this interview with CHUKS NWANNE, Izegbu traced Nigeria’s political challenges and his resolve to play a part to get the country on the right track.

people said, ‘are you mad, what’s wrong with you? It’s not for people like you.’ But if people like me do not get involved in politics, then we will never get a better country. We need people who are well educated, bright and young intellectual to engage in politics. People with good ideas on how to make this country better should be in the political system. And unless that happens, we will never get a better country. What informed your decision to move back home? I’ve traveled around the world and seen how countries are. When you go to the States, Europe, every single country you go to, you see the systems working properly; the political system, the social system, healthcare system… everything put in place. Then minute you stepped into this country, it’s just going backwards in time and you keep asking, ‘why can’t we do something about it? Why can’t we get it right?’ That is the main spur. And unless people like me starts getting involved to change the system, it’s not going to happen overnight. And unless we get the political system right, we won’t get the economic system right. A lot of people would wonder why a professional like you will leave a society where things work to Nigeria with it’s societal challenges? If you asked a Scottish man coming to West Africa in 1789, ‘what are you going to look for there? Are you mad?’ It’s the same thing here; you want to make a difference. You want to contribute to the society and make changes. And that’s why people become involved in political and social systems. I don’t want to live my life, feeling comfortable in Europe, while my people are suffering in Nigeria; it’s of no use. The black race as a whole are one; everywhere you go in the world, they tell you, ‘Africa is useless, don’t go there; it’s a waste of time.’ How are we going to get Africa together if we don’ have a cohesive system in place to make not just this country, but also the whole continent better? That’s the spirit. If you are this passionate about Nigeria, why did you move to Europe? Why do English people go to America to study? Why do Italians go to Canada to study? Why do the British go Australia? There’s a free movement of people in the world; you go to learn new things. In pre-historic times, people travel from Mesopotamia to China; the Romans traveled round the world. You learn things from

How was it growing up in Nigeria? WAS born in Ibadan, grew up and went to primary school there. So, I speak Yoruba fluently and I speak Igbo too. Life was very good. Over time, things gradually went down hill. In fact, one of the reasons people like me went abroad was due to the breakdown in the education system. Wanting to specialise in a very unique area of surgery, I felt I wouldn’t be able to get the level of training I wanted in the country. In your opinion, when did things go wrong with Nigeria? I went to London in 1980. Before then, we had several military governments and had problems with the educational system. If you remember the time of ‘Ali must go’ in the 70s, I was just entering the university. So, we’ve always had problems; it was quite obvious that the educational system was going down the hill. When you left for the United Kingdom, what were the major differences from what were obtainable in Nigeria? We had military rule, which was not right because we needed a stable political environment. So, from the political point of view, we didn’t have the right government in place. That contributed to the breakdown of the system. My area of interest is health care. The health care system has not been in the best interest of the citizens. The training I had, as a medical student was good, but could be better. Certainly, at the graduate level, it wasn’t too bad, but at post-graduate level, there was almost nothing in existence by the time I went abroad. Besides the military intervention, what contributed to the collapse of the political system? It dates back to pre-independence and one could partly blame the British government for that. The way the political system was set up at pre-independence was not in the best interest of this country. This led to the crises we had after independence in the old Western region, which led to various coups and subsequently Civil War. So, to be quite precise, I would trace it to before independence and the way the British handed over to a civilian administration in the country. What would you say about the relationship between Nigeria and Britain today? The relationship was never going to be in the best interest of Nigeria. If you look at the problem, we have now between the North and the South; that again predates the independence of this country. The difference between the North and South became more marked when the civilian regime took over after independence. The crises are as a result of the way the British handed over to us. Even after years of civilian rule, do you see changes in Nigeria? I visit Nigeria regularly; I didn’t just disappear. I was aware of the changes; some for the better, some for the worse. We had military rule for quite a long time, then civilian rule in the last 15 years. But most people are disappointed by the current civilian administration. People, who should be involved in politics, are shying away, because of the negative perception of politics. In fact, the minute I said, I’m going to run for office, Izegbu

other clime and you bring it back to your place to improve your people. If you ask me, I would say I moved to Europe to acquire knowledge that would better my people in Nigeria. Moving back to Nigeria comes with a lot of challenges, how ready are you to get involved here? I’m extremely ready; I feel more Nigerian than anyone else. It’s difficult to explain this, but I have the conviction to effect change. If I find myself in leadership, I’m not going there to take a penny out of government. If I have the opportunity, I won’t take a single penny as salary. All I want to do is to leave a legacy, no more, no less! And that’s what happens in the western society. If you go in there primarily to take money out of the system instead of leaving a legacy, who is going to remember you a few years down the line positively? But if you go there, build institutions and people can say, ‘wow, look at this man; see what he has done.’ I lived in Dubai for sometime, if you go there, you will scream; it’s a third world country, but with well developed systems. They are not talking about the head of the country taking money out; he has left legacy for his people. Generations to come will sing his praises; I will prefer that. They have developed the city and the Emirate to such a high standard within a short period because they had vision in what they wanted to achieve. A lot of Nigerians are currently investing in Dubai? I know that because I lived there; I see Nigerians coming in droves to shop, buy homes and to party. They run away from their country to enjoy another man’s facilities, why can’t we create such facilities here? They have a fantastic network of roads, good healthcare system, educational system, which are basic requirements of any society. If you are going to start any governmental system, you need to have a good educational system; that’s number one. You need good health system and good infrastructure. Without infrastructure, you can’t develop a society economically. You can’t run industries with generators; you need normal grid system of electricity at a cheaper rate to set up economic institutions. These are the things that are lacking in the society and the will to do that, is just not there with the current crop of politicians, I’m afraid. You are from Delta North and your people are complaining about marginalisation. What’s your take on that?

We’ve been marginalised for over a decade or so in the political system of Delta State. There had been a little bit of resentment about the fact that the capital was cited in Asaba. When that happened several years back, Asaba wasn’t the most developed part of the state. But you don’t site capitals in the most developed parts of the state; you can have industrial capitals, economic capitals and administrative capitals. I think the vision was to make Asaba an administrative headquarters and allow other cities become economic centres. But that hasn’t quite happened because of the crises in Warri. People ran away from Warri; moved out because of the Niger Delta crises, which is a big shame really. I went to Government College, Ughelli, which is 15 miles from Warri, right in the center of the oil producing area. You could see the potential for Warri then; I went back there a month and half ago and it was quite depressing. All that has to be turned around; we have to take advantage of the fact that it has a seaport and as an oil producing part of the state, to develop, not just the Northern part of Delta State, but also the Central and the Southern Senatorial Districts. You’ve been abroad for a long time, how connected are you with the realities of the country? People will be very shocked; my mentality is more Nigerian than those who have been here all their lives. If anything at all, I have a broader perspective on life because of my exposure. I went abroad to live in my 20s as an adult. I was a doctor here before I left; I knew this country in and out. I was involved in student’s unionism, debates and all sorts of societies and I come back regularly. I know what’s going on. I think it’s unfair to say that because we’ve been abroad, we don’t know what’s happening; we do, we are still very much part of the system. I would defend myself before anybody, who thinks that because I’ve lived abroad, I won’t know what’s happening, I do! I go to Warri, I go to Asaba regularly; I can see the changes in Asaba over time. I sit down with the elder statesmen in Asaba to discuss how to develop our society. I’m extremely proud to be a Deltan and a Nigerian. We have our negative press coverage abroad, there’s no doubt about that; it’s difficult to handle. I think that could be handled better at the federal level than they are doing right now.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

POLITICS

ERUBAMI: APC Registration Will Leave No Excuse For Future Bad Government

Tinubu

Comrade Mashood Erubami is the immediate chair of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and the current executive director of the Centre For Human Rights And Ethics In Development (CHRED) and the President Of the Nigeria Voters Assembly (VOTAS). He gives this insight into the advantages and challenges laying ahead the newly registered party, All Progressives Congress (APC). On advantages of the new party FTER months of anxiety, political intrigues, and negative scheming by the forces against the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ultimate registration of the party by INEC is a welcome development, which represent a direct answer to years of peoples fervent supplication to God to come and liberate them from the bondage to which they have been sentenced in the last 14 years. The legal existence of the APC right now will make it possible for Nigerians to make up their minds about how and who they want to govern them and end their long years of profound hunger, poverty and seemingly endless hopelessness, because there will be no room to procrastinate and find excuses for failure of government in the future due. Why merger The idea of merger among three dominant opposition party became instructive because Nigerians need to be presented with choices from available options, hence there is the need for a new political dynamic, which currently allows APC to come on board to represent the interests of the largely despaired in the society. The APC will offer a robust and constructive opposition, standing up for the poor and failing businesses in the country. The existence of a virile opposition working with a truly Independent Electoral Commission like INEC no doubt will end the era of electoral impunity, help recruit courageous, credible and legitimate leaders who possess the capacity to

run a government that will correct the anomalies in the economy, redefine the state of the Nation, engage the hands of millions of youths through revolutionary transformation of the rural environment, and ultimately entrench hope for welfare and security among the people. The arrival of the APC will open a new window of opportunities for credible people who stand out of politics because of its assumed dirtiness. It will set a new process for recruiting good and courageous leaders who are imbued with the character of integrity. The arrival of APC has now brought a new dawn and another opportunity to begin to reset the agenda for true development of the people and their Nation with the goal of freeing government from the claws of old political hawks that have experimented with the lives of millions of Nigerians for over 14 years. What APC Should Do Towards 2015 In fact, The APC should hit the ground running, it should not wait till 2015 to start acting, it should immediately start to engage in massive membership mobilisation and registration over the coming months, to show how as a party, the citizens of Nigeria can robustly participate in politics in a country whose people are diverse, but capable of understanding that they are all different and as such, promote unity in diversity. APC should bring a fresh approach to politics in Nigeria, allowing people to celebrate their diversity and culture, celebrate their national heritage, while comfortably remaining committed to the country. Some of its guiding principles should include, but not limited to being; a pan-Nigeria political party determined to represent all sections of the country; a compassionate party that is vocal on issues that affect the lives of people and capable of building a Nigeria we can all be proud of and a party committed to the values of constitutionalism, determined to provide a credible alternative to the current political stalemate, through the belief in individuals as agents of change, where religious persuasion should not define political beliefs and where matters of conscience are best left to the individual. Relationship With Other Parties Nobody will be afforded the excuse of claiming political neutrality in the face of the existing choices from two distinctive classes, one for the people and the other for themselves. The choice is either you join the former to liberate the land and its owners from the sway of their torturers or collaborate with the latter to ruin the chances for the people to be free. Therefore, other Progressive Political Parties must never sit on the fence or remain on the fringe; they must seize the initiative to join hands and work together with the APC to change the destinies of millions of Nigerians whose faiths have been dangling for years. The choice left before them is either to join the train of liberation or sink with the ship of backwardness.

Since the emergence of the APC, sceptics are asking a lot of questions whether the party is different from the PDP, or if the personalities in the two parties are different, or if the programs of the party can fill the wide gap of poverty and hunger already created by successive bad government in Nigeria? Can the APC’s programs bring about the primary obligation of government in providing for the welfare and security of Nigerians, given the level of overwhelming insecurity in the country, and solve the problem of the power sector, disequilibrium in the economy and provide jobs for millions of unengaged hands? It is very clear that there is no party in the world that has answers to all the problems of any given country. America, Britain, Canada and France, despite their level of development are still facing the problem of unmet desirability. I am therefore sure that the manifesto of the APC will break the ground against known infidels in politics and set new agenda for qualitative change in the life of the people against what had been from our past experience. The APC is the first Nigerian experiment in political merger; it should not be allowed to fail because some people will not still see any difference, when indeed, the difference can be seen clearly through political lenses. Everybody should therefore rise up to take action now; the time is ripe for us to rise beyond mere agonising and organise ourselves for the future of our children. Where people refuse to make the reasonable choice as presently demanded, they might advertently allow those who are inferior to rule us, leaving no justification for their subsequent lamentations. Nobody can afford to sweep the room from outside any longer. With the APC, Nigerians need to begin to sweep from inside to show the difference clearer and confirm that government can be better run. Above all, the APC must be able to lift the Nation above its recurrent problem of ethnicity Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and others and religion – Islam, Christianity and even paganism. It will unite the country while all the governors who are already tired of the parties they currently belong to should swiftly swerve position and become one with those in the APC for the progress of the nation and development of the individuals. The consequence of that will produce a refurbished two party system with one presenting a better alternative above the other. Options for the people If anybody still runs into the problem of not being comfortable with the two main political parties from among the existing others, the person should pray for the inclusion of the peoples proposed provision for independent candidate in the constitution or join the smaller parties or at best register a new party. However, if any existing registered party or newly proposed political party could not boast of over 500,000 members spread across the nation, they should not join hands in wast-

Buhari ing the little they have as it can go a long way to boosting the votes for a winning party thereby strengthening the formidable platform required to end the culture of impunity in the land. If anybody is just trying to register a new party for electoral contest in 2015, such a person will be wasting his or her time, given the fact that the minds of denied Nigerians are made up to use what exists to determine their fate. If however, the proposed registration is for the post 2015 future, then it is permissible. Towards 2015, What Hope For The People The registration of the APC from the merger proposition of the ACN, ANPP, CPC and Governor Okorocha APGA, provides the rightful answers to the questions of how Nigerians should move towards 2015. The question of how the President will be chosen is out of place if nothing prevented the party from using its appointed temporary Executives who saw the party through the processes of registration without any hiccup. What remains is to internalise the democratic values, which were exhibited by the party members during registration into the party after registration to start it up as a registered political party. It is not the number of political parties that should determine how people are chosen for an office including the office of the president, I think what should be the driving force should be learning from the kind of sorrow and pains that have been suffered by the people, persistent economic hardship, pervasive corruption and rising unemployment. This should be the major factor that should propel Nigerians from casting their votes for any political office holder so as to bring about a new direction for better results in democratic governance. Merit should be the best indicator. Nothing should be better than using merit because of the implication of choosing a leader wrongly again, especially at a time that the long list of distinguished Nigerians calling for revolution are getting dangerously lengthy, notwithstanding that the INEC’s registration of the APC will usher in an era of genuine political contest.

Youth Group Sue For Peace Ahead 2015 From Adamu Abuh, Abuja S the 2015 draws closer, youths from across the country are already regrouping to ensure that there is peace in the land. The youths who have sounded a note of warning to trouble makers in the polity, that it would no longer be business as usual, met recently during a symbolic Ramadan fast at the Abuja Sheraton and Towers Hotel. The youths, brought together by members of the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) were mobilised irrespective of their ethnic and religious leanings from across the country to send drum it into the ears of those keen on playing the ethnic and religious cards to beat

a retreat in the interest of the country. But there is more to the breaking of the Ramadan fast get together than meets the eye. The political undercurrents were there for all to discern. It was clear that the occasion was clearly meant to galvanise the support of youths groups aimed at ensuring the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan. The youths who came in multitudes exemplified the spirit of oneness and tolerance as they broke the Ramadan fast together. Members of the Goodluck Support Group capitalised on the occasion to remind Nigerians that rather than allow themselves to be carried away by the antics of those fanning the embers

of discord, they should be much more preoccupied with a regime that is keen on entrenching good governance, and sustenance of peace and stability in the polity. Though the political adviser to President Jonathan as well as the national coordinator of the GSG, Alhaji Ali Ahmed Gulak said the forum had nothing to do with 2015 polls, he canvased the support of the youth group in ensuring the implementation of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. Urging the youths not to be misguided by divisive forces, he enjoined them to work in concert one another in ensuring the unity of the country. Saying the transformation agenda of the presi-

dent Goodluck Jonathan led administration is yielding good returns, he specifically made mention of on-going effort to restore normalcy in the troubled states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states to underline president Jonathan’s commitment to the unity of the country. Urging the youths to work in concert with the authorities to nip in the bud the nefarious activities of the Boko Haram Islamic sect, he noted: “You must all remember that whenever there is problem, you are the ones at the receiving ends of it. The president is working round the clock to provide job opportunities for you; he wants the best of schools and health facilities for you. You must all strive to live in peace with one another.

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THE GUARDIAN, Sunday August 18, 2013

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How I Gate-crashed Anenih’s 80 Birthday Anniversary – Oshiomhole From Madu Onuorah and Mohammed Abubakar (Abuja) DO STATE governor, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, gave details of how he gate-crashed the 80th birthday anniversary thanksgiving service of the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, in Abuja. Oshiomhole said he had to attend Anenih’s event uninvited because the age is “a milestone and part of the special gift from God.” He added that the celebrant is a senior citizen from Edo State and no one can take away his prominent place in the Nigerian society. Oshiomhole defended the leaders of his newly registered political party, Maj Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, against alleged “derogatory comments about them” by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying the accusations “have no foundation in reality.” He said Buhari and Tinubu are “strong pillars of Nigerian democracy.” The anniversary, celebrated amid pomp at Our Lady Cathedral Catholic Church Area 3, Garki and International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, paraded the who is who among the nation’s political, business and religious elite, including President Jonathan and Obasanjo. Others include the Senate President David Mark; Governors Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Peter Obi (Anambra), Liyel Imoke (Cross River); and former Governors Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo) and Mr. Segun Oni (Ekiti). Others were former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma and wife, Senator Daisy Danjuma; former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani; former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; Cardinal Onaiyekan; Bishop Kukah; Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; Chief Edwin Clark; former Chairmen of the PDP, Col. Ahmadu Ali (Rtd) and Chief Barnabas Gemade; former Governor Andy Uba; and former Speaker of the House of Reps, Alhaji Ghali Na’Abba. But the presence of Oshiomhole at the church service electrified the congregants as he received the loudest ovation when his presence was announced. Politically, there is no love lost between Oshiomhole and Anenih. They had to slug it out, especially in last year’s governorship elections in which both battled to unseat the other and take the lead in defining the political future of Edo State. Oshiomhole won his second term in spite of the concerted efforts of Anenih and other big wigs of the opposition PDP. And following the animosity over the electoral defeat, the Edo State Governor was not invited. Oshiomhole, however, told The Guardian in an exclusive interview in Abuja that he had to attend the birthday service in spite of the fact that he was not invited. According to the Governor, “you may not believe that I was not invited to activities marking the 80th birthday celebration. But I had to find myself gate-crashing of some sort into the church. Of course, being a staunch Catholic myself, I did not find the Catholic environment strange. And so, when I was going there, I had made up my mind that if they decide to drive me back, so be it. “Armed with this, I told my ADC (Aide-de-Camp) to be prepared to bear the shocker that we might encounter because we may come there and the guys would start demanding for my invitation card. And if they don’t find one, they would say sorry, you are not wanted here and we would have quietly gone back. But luckily, when we arrived there, they were not only surprised but also had to start struggling to get the seating arrangement for me. For me, where to sit would not have mattered, as I would have taken my seat at one corner. But all the same, we were able to be part of the congregation that prayed. “Why did I go there to worship with Anenih at the church, despite the fact that I was not invited? I believe that as a leader, you should respect those before you. Armed with this conviction, I was prepared to leave during the church, if I was not wanted. But thank God, that did not happen.” Regretting the kind of politics that “accompanies virtually everything in Nigeria,” the gover-

Defends Tinubu, Buhari On Obasanjo’s Accusations nor stated: “Ideally, if he (Anenih) knows the way my mind works, I believe it is a factor of age and not an award by party. If not because we bring politics into everything, we could have hosted him in Benin, as a leader in his own right. We don’t have to deny him his place in the society.” On Buhari, Oshiomhole noted that in his 20 months of governance, he brought discipline into the national consciousness. Besides, he said, the former Head of State “has shown a strength of character for somebody of his calibre to continue to subject himself to the democratic norms, even after trying to be

President twice. Even though he could not succeed, yet, he has not given up.” On Tinubu, Oshiomhole faulted Obasanjo’s assertion that Tinubu is one of the leaders that have failed the nation. He said: “Far from such statements, Tinubu has displayed great leadership quality. Asiwaju’s leadership capacity was subjected to severe test when he (Obasanjo) illegally and unilaterally withheld the allocations meant for local governments in Lagos State for more than two years. But Tinubu, working with Fashola (as Chief of Staff) were able to weather the storm by converting what should be weakness into serious gains. They did not just sit

down, lamenting, they put on their thinking caps and found a way out of it, exploiting their internally generated revenue to the fullest, and were able to sustain those period of drought until the judicial intention in their favour. Of course, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua restored the allocations. “Therefore, when you talk about leadership, that is it, because they fought and defeated the princes of darkness in Abuja. Therefore, Tinubu has proved that where there is a will and strong conviction, strong leadership trait could be identified.”

The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. David MacRae (right), who is on valedictory tour to Anambra State, with the souvenir presented to him by Governor Peter Obi (left), during a dinner at Government Lodge, Amawbia in his honour.

Kano Guber Aspirants Reject Shekarau From Abba Anwar, Kano N what appears like a final break away from his political influence, the seven gubernatorial aspirants of the deregistered ANPP have turned their back on former governor and former presidential aspirant of the All Nigeria People’s Party’s (ANPP), Ibrahim Shekarau. Few days after the registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Shekarau started loosing ground within the fold of those that indicated interest in the gubernatorial seat in the state on ANPP’s platform. There had been insinuation across the state that Shekarau was no longer in control of people within his political reach. The perception became reality when all the aspirants refused to sponsor party supporters to welcome him on his return from Saudi Arabia, following the performance of the Lesser Hajj. It was reliably gathered that the aspirants

were contacted on how to sponsor party supporters to welcome the former governor. The source told The Guardian that one of the aspirants, a Commissioner during Shekarau’s administration, contributed only N5,000. It was also learnt that four aspirants contributed N500,000 for the purpose. The development was said to have infuriated the former governor, who ordered that the sum be returned to the donors, under the leadership of a prominent Abuja-based politician. It was further alleged that the anointed gubernatorial candidate of the former governor in the 2011 gubernatorial election did not give a dime. That, according to the source, marked the beginning of the end of Shekarau’s backing for the person. The development caused serious damage to relationship between the political boss and his boy.

T source further said that a member representing Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, the Deputy Minority Leader in the House, Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila, shouldered the responsibility of welcoming Shekarau from the trip, singlehandedly. Kawu is also one of the strongest contestants so far for the state gubernatorial contest in the state within the APC rank. Tongues started wagging on what would be the fate of Shekarau in the new APC arrangement. Many were of the view that he would be forced to fold his arms and watch the internal gubernatorial primary election in the new party; an action he could not do when he was governor. It was also alleged that he seriously interfered in primaries, which caused ANPP serious defeat from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 election.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

The World Looks In Awe As Egypt Is On The Cliff By Oghogho Obayuwana Foreign Affairs Editor O army can stop an Idea whose time has come” At the moment, the quote by Victor Hugo, the most famous 19th century French romantic writer seems to be resonating in a different hue in Egypt, one of the world’s largest Islamic countries, where the country’s military is now trying to stop an idea, at least in the physical realm. Even though Hugo’s postulation appears a refinement of some of the Ideas of the 18th century Franco-Swiss philosopher of enlightenment -Jean Jacques Rousseau, who had written gloriously about the “Noble Savage” and whose thoughts influenced the French revolution, neither the army nor the revolution-loving people of the land of the Pharaohs appear to be winning the battle of wits in the real sense of it. Last Wednesday, Egyptian security forces moved in on protesters, demanding the reinstatement of President Mohamed Morsi and by the time the clatter of guns stopped momentarily, about 95 people laid dead. A month long state of emergency has since been imposed in the Arab nation of some 84million people, as violence swept across the land. The interim cabinet, installed by the military to guide Egypt to fresh elections in around six months, also announced a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. in several provinces, including Cairo and Alexandria. As the bubble burst, the world was treated to a spectacle by global TV cables, relaying the sights of tear gas hanging in the air amid frenzied citizens, while burning tires sent plumes of black smoke into the sky. So diplomatic watchers must be asking the emerging leaders in Egypt whether their country’s enduring social structure can survive the increasing polarization brought about by the unending street demands. In the streets around the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in northeast Cairo, where thousands of Morsi supporters have staged a sit-in for the last six weeks, riot police wearing gas masks crouched behind armored vehicles, while several television stations ran footage of what appeared to be pro-Morsi protesters firing automatic rifles at soldiers from behind sandbag barricades. Expectedly, the latest crackdown on demonstrators has drawn global condemnations from the United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki Moon, the brain boxes at the European Union and a splinter of other western leaders, even as violence has reportedly spread beyond Cairo, with Morsi supporters and security forces clashing in the cities of Alexandria, Minya, Assiut, Fayoum and Suez, as well as in Buhayra and Beni Suef provinces. Meanwhile Turkey urged the U.N. Security Council and Arab League to act quickly to stop a “massacre” in Egypt, while Iran warned of the risk of civil war. But who now is the custodian of the philosophers’ idea that has come in Egypt? The citizens who brought down the government of Hosni Mubarrack through people power; the dissatisfied Egyptians, who took to Tahir Square asking for the sack of the democratically elected Islamic Brotherhood mentored government of Morsi; or the beaten democracy loving citizens who have now been dispersed, the old fashioned brutish way? Just when can the line be drawn if it is felt that the people are pushing more than they can legitimately defend, by taking to the streets and trying to force through their positions on every matter and on a “problem” they could have solved with a little patience and through the expression of their suffrage? Dr. Nwangwu Okeimiri, an international relations expert says a wider conflict is in the offing if the festering sore is allowed to continue. And he says the head of the armed forces who deposed Morsi on July 3, following mass protests calling for his resignation is to blame for riding on the side of sentiments “I fear that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will drive Egypt to a dangerous curve until it becomes Syria. I also think that al-Sisi will push Egypt to a civil war so that he escapes the gallows.” On the imposed state of emergency, he said, “I do not know whether this would work. Hosni Mubarak, the U.S.-backed autocratic

“N

Egypt on fire as government forces chase protesters... last week. ruler toppled in a 2011, imposed a state of emergency after Islamists assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981 and used it over the next 30 years to stifle dissent and crack down on the Brotherhood. Lifting the state of emergency had been a key demand of the protesters, who ousted Mubarak, and the military eventually did so last year” Okeimiri also stressed the need for other countries and political actors watching the Cairo turmoil to be conscious of the external influences in the Egyptian crisis. “Now, the West, notably the United States, which gives the Egyptian military $1.3 billion each year, has been alarmed by the recent violence in the strategic Arab ally that has a peace treaty with Israel and controls the vital Suez Canal waterway” Now, Mohamed El-Beltagi, a leader of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement which led the protests, has disclosed that his 17-year-old daughter had been killed in the clashes. Would her loss be in vain as the country now seems to be on the cliff?

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe Insists On Riding A Tired Horse HERE is tension in Zimbabwe, where 89 year T old president Robert Mugabe has won another tenure in the whirlpool of controversy. But in the international politics that is playing out in Mugabe’s confrontation of the piper-paying Western countries, would the latter change their tactic? At last week’s Heroes Day ceremony at the national shrine in Harare, Mugabe reportedly told election losers and those not satisfied with the way his party, the Zanu PF won the polls to “go to hell” the opposition maintained that the elections were rigged with brilliant subtlety and sophistication, but then they have always done just that. Complain! It seems the people, bruised and not wanting to thread the lane of a popular revolt prefer to just tag along. Does that mean they are willing to continue to tolerate the old man? Yes, we agree with Bob that “Zimbabwe would never be a colony again” but the hell that has now opened up in his country would have been made less hotter if he had just groomed a successor in time to continue with the Idea of a third “ Chimuremga” (liberation struggle) Reminiscent of the landslide victories in Nigeria’s political contest, Mugabe said the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was simply hit by ‘Chaminuka lightning’ and would not “rise from the dead.” He then urged Morgan Tsvangirai, who is challenging the July 31 polls through the courts, to stop his “witch hunt”. Sixty-one percent of the votes cast was enough to avoid the run off of 2008. Is the economic isolation of Zimbabwe, through a regime of sanctions still working; is Mugabe’s romance with his old communist world, notably China ever

going to turn around the country for good; or would Harare’s Jacaranda trees and well manicured parks continue to take the diminishing lane? If Zimbabwe must be pulled out of the brink, the world must help the country amicably resolve issues of land ownership and usage. At independence in 1980, the land was distributed in a skewed manner that saw the country’s White population, which is less than one percent occupying 45 percent of the country’s entire landscape. Let all remember that the Lancaster House agreement, which settled for a gradual reclaim on a willing seller-willing buyer basis only succeeded in alienating black Zimbabweans from their ancestral heritage and the Listen-Shield clash of 2001 was only then waiting to happen. But even as the opposition and the local elections observers kicked, was it African solidarity at work when Southern African Development Community (SADC) monitors and the African Union (AU) observer group led by chief Olusegun Obasanjo, declared the disputed election free, fair and credible? Bearing in mind that Western monitors were barred, it left Mugabe who has ruled the former Southern Rhodesia for 33 years, to coast home to another five-year tenure. Besides seeking legal redress, more in terms of mobilisation is needed from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (61), who is the arrowhead of the MDC in the Zimbabwean coalition government. It would be the third time that he ran against Mugabe. Everyone knows that behind the diminishing returns of staying too long in power as his biggest baggage, Mugabe, Africa’s oldest former guerrilla movement hero, hailed as a hero who guided Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 from Britain and White minority rule, stirred the hornet’s nest by his late efforts at wresting land from the White minority grabbers. What is the justifiable course of action? Speaking to the Guardian, seasoned diplomat, former spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry and Nigeria’s erstwhile envoy to the Sudan, ambassador Sulaiman Dahiru, said the situation in Zimbabwe now resembles the story of a bull in China shop. Calling for caution, he said; “let us remember that in the end, it is the Zimbabwean people who should have a say on how the country is governed and it’s future. Care must be taken to ensure that external interests do not continue to encourage sit tight leaders to stay on because the people are being made to believe that a change invariably means installing a foreign stooge at the helm. For now, we are just watching the development in that country.” Mugabe said Zimbabwe would continue pushing for the “democratisation” of the United Nations Security Council. There is already an economic crisis in

Zimbabwe, with a world record hyperinflation hitting the 11.2 million mark at a time and the production capacity of the country is now completely gone. It therefore can fairly be expected that the lack of vibrancy and dynamism of leadership in the ruling party and the political unrest on hand now should provoke a constitutional crisis in the former southern Rhodesia.

Nigeria And The US: Meeting The Security Challenge AKE no mistake! Diplomats on both sides M of the table of Nigeria-United States (US) Bi National Commission (BNC) meeting, which started Thursday in Abuja, have one aim in mind- security. Ordinarily, the US-Nigeria BNC focuses on good governance, transparency, and integrity; energy and investment; Niger Delta and regional security; and agriculture and food security. But the politics of the security cooperation with the US has everything to do with the expected reaction by the US to the latest Boko Haram activities in Nigeria, which coincided with the closure of some missions by the US in the Arab world following intensified “traditional August” terror threats by Al Qaeda and its collaborative terrorist networks across the globe. It has been interpreted that the bombings appeared to be an attempt by the terrorists to stampede America into closing it’s mission in Nigeria as they did elsewhere. Last year January, both sides put out words that the operational capabilities of the Nigerian security services is expected to be enhanced as the BNC machine grinds deeper. It follows therefore, that the US Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Wendy Shermanled delegation of her country’s Regional Security Cooperation Working Group to Nigeria is in fulfillment of the jointly agreed line of action, which is to hold technical subworking group meetings in order to explore what has earlier been referred to as “the development of a Nigerian intelligence fusion capability.” On April 6, 2010, the then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Nigerian Secretary to the Government of the Federation Yayale Ahmed inaugurated the BNC U.S as a strategic dialogue designed to expand mutual cooperation across a broad range of shared interests. The Commission is a collaborative forum to build partnerships for tangible and measurable progress on issues critical to United States and Nigeria’s shared future. After the launch of the first Working Group (May 25-27, 2010), the Niger Delta and Security Cooperation Working Group (September 13-14, 2010) birthed in Washington and even discussed the amnesty program and consequent CONTINUED ON PAGE 59

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS By Kamal Tayo Oropo FTER he had been holed up at the Moscow A Airport for several weeks, waiting for a country to give him asylum, Russia on August 1, formally granted Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower a one-year, temporary asylum. That prompted US President, Barack Obama to cancel his planned meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow ahead of the G20 economic summit in St. Petersburg. The White House said Russia’s decision to “defy the United States and grant Snowden temporary asylum only exacerbated an already troubled relationship.” Indeed, US and Russia relations have in recent times, managed to improve relations beyond the characteristic Cold War and mad race for arm that spanned 1945 to 1991. Precisely on December 25, 1991, President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union resigned, declared his office “extinct,” and handed over the Soviet nuclear missile launching code to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That same evening, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time and the Russian tricolor was raised. The dissolution of the Soviet Union also marked the gradual freeze of the Cold War. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States became the only global superpower. Earlier that year, the Gulf War ended and the victorious Americans went home in peace. In the ensuing decade, the world experienced relative peace. It was Pax Americana all over again. But all that changed on September 11, 2001, when terror struck America. The decade that followed was one bloody period. The US invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban government and put in its place a democratically elected government. On March 20, 2003, the US and her allies invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power. But while the US was preoccupied in Afghanistan and Iraq, Russia was slowly –– and quietly –– expanding her military forces. With the election of Vladimir Putin to a new six-year term as president, his third term, on March 4, 2012, the geopolitical game changed dramatically. Putin put in motion an aggressively assertive agenda. He wants to restore Russia to the superpower she once was. He became more involved in Middle East politics. Last June, Obama and Putin met on sidelines of the G8 meeting in Northern Ireland to discuss issues, particularly the Syrian problem. US officials reportedly declared: “Russia’s failure to respond positively to US claims of chemical weapons use in Syria and its hostile response to Obama’s plan to give military support to rebel groups means the two leaders remain deeply divided.” And divided they are, not just on Syria, but also on a slew of issues, including cyber warfare. However, they agreed to put up a “cold war hotline” to deal with outbreaks of cyber attacks. Obama did not stop at canceling their planned meeting, the US president immediately went on the offensive. Obama appeared on the Jay Leno Tonight Show and said, “There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and Cold War mentality. What I continually say to them and to President Putin is that’s the past.” And during a White House press conference on August 9, Obama said: “I think there’s always been some tension in the US-Russian relationship after the fall of the Soviet Union.” He said that Putin’s return to the Russian presi-

US, Russia On The Path To Cold-War II dency in May 2012 had cast a chill over thawing ties. “There’s been cooperation in some areas. There’s been competition in others. It is true that in my first four years in working with President Medvedev, we made a lot of progress,” he said. “What’s also true is, that when President Putin came back into power, I think we saw more rhetoric on the Russian side that was anti-American, that played into some of the old stereotypes about the Cold War.” But with a stockpile of 8,500 nuclear warheads, would Putin make a move to withdraw from the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) that Medvedev and Obama signed on April 8, 2010 and which took effect on February 5, 2011? Under the terms of the treaty, the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers will be reduced by half. A new inspection and verification system will be established, replacing the SORT (Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty) mechanism. It does not limit the number of operationally inactive stockpiled nuclear warheads that remain in both the Russian and American inventories, according to Wikipedia. The New START limits deployed nuclear warheads to 1,500 per country, though the actual slashing of nuclear arsenals is still ongoing. Yet, Obama’s measure has been adjudged inadequate. The US president continues to face domestic pressures, urging him to pursue a more hawkish line on Russia, with an influential Republican foreign policy voice suggesting that Obama lack sufficient insight over Putin’s intentions. Arizona senator and former White House can-

didate, Mr. John McCain suggested that comments made by Obama following the cancellation of his meeting with the Russian president did not go far enough to address a series of grievances Washington has with Moscow, including the handling of Snowden. Speaking on Fox News last Sunday, McCain said: “The president comparing him to a kid in the back of the classroom, I think, is very indicative of the president’s lack of appreciation of who Vladimir Putin is.” “He’s an old KGB colonel that has no illusions about our relationship, does not care about a relationship with the United States, continues to oppress his people, continues to oppress the media and continues to act in an autocratic and unhelpful fashion.” McCain said that cancelling the meeting – initially slated for September, but cancelled last week after Russia granted asylum to Snowden – was merely “symbolic”. He suggested that the US needed to do more, such as expand the 2012 Magnitsky Act, which seeks to punish Russians implicated in human rights abuses, as well as encourage Georgia’s NATO aspirations and expand missile defence systems in Europe. “We also need very badly to understand that Mr. Putin does not have United States-Russia relationships as a priority,” the senator said, adding that he needed to be treated in a “realistic fashion.” McCain said that by granting asylum to Snowden, Putin had in effect, put his finger in Obama’s eye. Snowden’s disclosures of highly classified

U.S. President Obama (right) and his Russian counterpart, Putin, at a previous meet.

NSA programmes that revealed a vast US operations to access and monitor communications has caused tensions between the US and a number of foreign partners. Currently residing in Russia, he has since been charged in absentia of violations under the Espionage Act. AS if acting in well-choreographed manner of a new world order, the Peoples Republic of China enters the scene. In March 2013, when Xi Jinping ascended to China’s presidency, his first trip outside China was to visit Putin. At their summit in Kremlin on March 22, they agreed to form a “strategic partnership” to advance their countries’ interests. Xi told the media: ‘China’s friendship with Russia guarantees strategic balance and peace in the world.” But what he presumably meant to say was that the new China-Russia militaryeconomic alliance would be so formidable that it would establish a new world order never seen before. In Xi’s mind, only a China-Russia military-economic alliance could stop the United States’ ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy. And one of Xi’s concerns was the United States’ building of an intercontinental ballistic missile defense system, which could tilt the balance of power towards the US. Recently, precisely between July 8-10, Russian and China conducted a joint naval exercise off the coast of Vladivostok (Russia). It was the largest between the two countries. American strategists view it as an attempt to counter the U.S.’s “pivot to Asia,” which would shift 60 percent of America’s air and naval forces to AsiaPacific by 2020. In anticipation of China becoming a rival naval power in Western Pacific waters by 2020, the Pentagon has put in place a strategy known as Air-Sea Battle. The goal is “to neutralize the ability of enemies to keep U.S. forces at bay with so-called AntiAccess and Area-Denial (A2/AD) defenses.” According to the Air-Sea Battle plan, US forces would launch physical attacks and cyberattacks against the enemy’s “kill-chain” of sensors and weaponry in order to disrupt its command-and-control systems, wreck its launch platforms (including aircraft, ships, and missile sites), and finally defeat the weapons they actually fire. The sooner the kill-chain is broken, the less damage US forces will suffer –– and the more damage they will be able to inflict on the enemy. Besides the possibility of a US/Russia confrontation, experts also worry about a US/China armed confrontation by 2020. With a ChinaRussia military-economic alliance in the works, it won’t be long before they become belligerent toward America. Also recently, evidence emerges that the ghost of Alexander Litvinenko has not fully been laid to rest. The row over whether to hold an inquest or a public inquiry into his death rumbles on. Litvinenko came to Britain in 2000 and obtained asylum. The 43-year-old former officer with the Federal Security Service (FSB), Litvinenko had become a useful, if not entirely reliable, source for journalists interested in the machinations of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But it has since emerged that the Russian spy was being paid by both the British secret service MI6 and the Spanish secret service. Litvinenko’s name made its way into infamy after he took tea with Lugovoi and another Russian contact Dmitri Kovtun at a central London hotel on November 1, 2006. He soon fell ill and died on November 23. His death was attributed to polonium-210. Snowden could therefore be a source of many diplomatic rows ahead.

Nigeria, U.S. Strategise On Security Challenges CONTINUED FROM PAGE 58 improvement in the security situation, maritime security, and economic and social development programs and assistance with regards to the Niger Delta. At the end of that last meeting in Abuja, both countries said the intelligence fusion cooperation has become imperative, realising the importance of information sharing in effectively countering extremist threats. This new work will be coordinated through the US embassy in Abuja, in conjunction with the ministry of foreign affairs and other relevant Nigerian agencies. The countries anticipate that results would be achieved in this regard, “by identifying avenues that would enable them (Nigerian security services) to respond appropriately to internal security challenges and other threats.” It is has also been the expectation that prominent areas of collaboration may include training, intelligence sharing, modernisation of security services, logistics and such other requirements. It appears now that pursuant to the US government’s earlier submission that poor governance and the denial of opportunities for the youth by the Nigerian ruling elite is patently

responsible for insurgency and militancy in Nigeria, Sherman decided to kick start the current meeting, by having a shot at a Northern Nigerian Youth Leadership Conference to discuss key issues facing Nigerian youth and propose recommendations that can build consensus for a brighter future. The issues on hand here include; leadership values, human rights, security concerns, rule of law, accountability, and justice. The conference was also meant to answer questions such as; “what can be done to improve security and “what can be done to increase accountability? According to a State Department statement, the current meeting “will further define challenges of mutual concern to both nations, and outline joint responses for future partnership.” It comes at a time the U.S is reopening her diplomatic missions closed on August 4 over an Al-Qaeda security alert. Washington closed 20 of its missions in the Middle East and Africa, following a security alert. The diplomats and their technical hands would discuss Konduga and other places that recent terrorist blasts have occurred in Nigeria. Konduga is a tiny community on the banks of a river in northeastern Nigeria. Its residents are mostly farmers, who are accustomed to a simple life filled with days that pass like the

one before. That however changed recently, as an insurgency waged by Boko Haram spilled over from the heart of the war, in nearby Maiduguri. Last Sunday morning, gunmen burst into a mosque where 44 people who were praying were killed. A day later, Boko Haram released a new video taunting the leaders of the U.S., France and Israel. Now, how can the fundamentalist ideology of Boko Haram be destroyed so that new recruits become hard to come by? That should be a task at the Abuja meeting. Responding to the Guardian mail poke on the matter, former Permanent Secretary of the ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director General of the BRACED Commission ambassador Joe Keshi said the talks must be able to respond appropriately to the terrorists “intrigues and instincts” in Nigeria. “The way they timed their last bombings for instance, it is obvious that they wanted the US to close her Missions in Nigeria, just as they did in those Arab outposts. Thankfully, my contacts have submitted that this would be looked into. Our security agencies, having made tremendous strides recently cannot afford not to think ahead of the terrorist groups in Nigeria,” He added.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, August 18, 2013

FOREIGNNEWS

PM Suggests Ban Of Muslim Brotherhood GYPTIAN Prime Minister, E Hazem el-Beblawi, has proposed the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and the government is studying the idea, a government spokesman has said. The proposal came after Friday’s security crackdown on anti-coup demonstrators protesting across the country against the army’s removal of President Mohamed Morsi in early July. According to health ministry, 173 people died in violence during the day. Morsi belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood movement and was Egypt’s first democratically elected president. Beblawi made the proposal to the ministry of social affairs, the ministry responsible for licensing non-governmental organisations, government spokesman Sherif Shawky said, according to Reuters news agency. “It is being studied currently,” he added. The Muslim Brotherhood was dissolved by Egypt’s military rulers in 1954, but registered itself as a non-governmental organisation in March in a response to a court case brought by opponents of the group who were contesting its legality. The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, also has a legally registered political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, which was set up in 2011 after the uprising that led to the downfall of veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Meanwhile, Police have reportedly cleared a Cairo mosque of many of the anti-coup protesters trapped inside, following a daylong siege punctuated by gunfire, tear gas volleys and mob attacks. The Fateh mosque in Ramses Square was evacuated yesterday of

coming from.” He said they managed to flee and avoid “thugs” waiting outside. the bulk of protesters who had been trapped inside since violence flared “We found our way between vehicles before the thugs could trap in the square on Friday evening. Those inside had refused to leave us, we ran for fear of being shot. Many of those trapped were being for fear of being attacked by what assaulted by thugs. They said we they described as “thugs” among would all be slaughtered.” the crowds waiting outside. Earlier, speaking to Al Jazeera by However, a still unverified numphone from inside, protester ber of people remained inside, and reports suggested that clerics from Omaima Halawa said there was the Al Azhar religious institution had arrived to mediate between those left inside and the police. Crowds outside the mosque, which were opposed to the anti-coup protesters, had also been largely dispersed after a day of tension and violence. Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Cairo, said, “there have been various reports about what happened. Witnesses said some had been taken by the army beyond the crowds outside, some were taken into military or police custody. The police had said earlier that there were some inside they wanted to investigate for an attack on a building nearby.” The police action to clear the building came after security forces claimed to have come under attack from gunmen hiding in the building’s minarets. Television footage showed security forces firing volley after volley at the building and its minarets. The protesters inside the mosque denied any link to those firing at the police, saying there was no access to the top of the minarets from inside the building. One man, Waleed Attar, was among a group who managed to escape the building as gunfire Egyptian Prime Minister, Hazem el-Beblawi erupted. He told Al Jazeera: “We didn’t know where the bullets were

EGYPT

Scores Die In Philippine Boat Accident had about 20 people aboard — was leaving Cebu for the province of ESCUE crews have found 31 bod- Davao in Mindanao. ies, and are looking for 172 The passenger ferry sank, but not other people, after the ferry they before sending out a distress call were on collided Friday with a heard by Coast Guard officials. cargo ship in waters between The cargo vessel involved in the southern Philippine islands, a crash — along with Navy, Coast Coast Guard official said. Guard and commercial vessels — Lt. Elgen Gregorio, from the was helping in the rescue efforts. Philippine Coast Guard, told CNN At least 44 people were being yesterday morning that more than treated at one hospital in Cebu. The 600 people had been rescued. At incident recalls one of the worst that time, authorities were still maritime disasters in world history looking for survivors. dating to December 20, 1987, also The incident occurred around 9 off the Philippines. p.m. Friday in the Mactan Channel Between 1,700 and more than about 2 miles northwest of Cebu 4,000 people were killed when the City, the capital of Cebu province. ferry Dona Paz collided with the The passenger ship — MV St. tanker MT Victor. The number of Thomas Aquinas — was coming casualties has varied; many claim from nearby Butuan City and the the Dona Paz was extremely overcargo ship — the Sulpicio, which crowded.

PHILIPPINE

TOURIST has been crushed to A death during a gondola ride on the famous Grand Canal in Venice. The German man, 50, was with his wife and three children when the gondola they were in and a “vaporetto”, or water bus, collided. The water bus, which carries the public around the canals of the city, was either docking or leaving the Rialto stop when the collision occurred. A three-year-old girl is being treated for head injuries. She was taken to hospital in nearby Padua. The girl and the rest of her family were thrown into the water by the force of the collision. Venice fire chief of staff,

shed. Reports said at least 95 people were killed in Ramses Square when security forces fired on marchers the worst violence witnessed on Friday. The Fateh mosque was turned into both a morgue and a field hospital for those injured. At least 173 people were killed and 1,330 others were injured nationwide on Friday, according to a government spokesman.

82 Child Soldiers Saved In Congo DR of child soldiers, some of them as young as eight years old, ShaveCORES been rescued from an armed

group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.N. mission in the African nation said. The 82 children, 13 of them girls, were recovered last Sunday from the Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga armed group in the southeastern Katanga province, MONUSCO said Friday in a statement. The armed group had reportedly recruited the children, aged up to 17 years, within the past six months, it

purposes. The recruitment of children, particularly those under 15 years of age, could consaid. Forty of them have been reunited with their parents. The stitute a war crime and those others are being cared for until responsible must be held to they can be returned home, the account.” Child protection agencies in statement said. “We are extremely concerned the province orchestrated the rescues, MONUSCO said. Since by continued reports of active recruitment by Mayi Mayi Bakata the start of the year, 163 chilKatanga and other armed groups dren, including 22 girls, have in eastern DRC,” said MONUSCO been rescued from Mayi Mayi Bakata Katanga by MONUSCO chief Martin Kobler. “Children and child protection workers, face unacceptable risks when the statement said. they are recruited for military

CONGO

Afghanistan Construction Workers Killed In Camp Attack INE building contractors and a policeman have been killed by N insurgents in an attack on a camp in

AFGHANISTAN

Five members of the same family western Afghanistan, officials say. were killed in the Marjah district of a on working were The contractors southern Helmand province when foreign-funded road building projtheir van struck a roadside bomb, ect in Herat province. according to the Associated Press Police say Taliban militants armed with rocket propelled guns and Giovanni Carlesso, said the bus had automatic weapons attacked the camp. apparently not seen the gondola. A separate assault saw five people, The father appeared to have been including women and children, crushed between the two vessels. UNITED KINGDOM killed by a roadside bomb in “I am really sad after what has Helmand province. happened,” said Venice mayor HE Metropolitan Police is Correspondents say road building Giorgio Orsoni. An investigation assessing new information it projects have been attacked in the has been launched. has recently received about the this of incidents violent and past The flat-bottomed gondolas are deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi all painted black and were for cen- kind have increased as Nato preAl Fayed in 1997. in troops combat withdraw to pares turies the main form of transportaScotland Yard says it is ‘scoping’ 2014. tion around Venice’s lagoons. the details and ‘assessing its releThe workers killed in the latest Gondoliers are controlled by a vance and credibility’. attack were building a 52km (32 guild that oversees training and It said it was ‘not a re-investigamile) stretch of road linking two issues limited licences. tion’ into the deaths of the couple In 2011, four Spanish tourists were provinces. Their camp was attacked as they in a Paris car crash on 31 August thrown into the water after their slept in the early hours of yesterday, 1997. gondola was hit by the wake of a An inquest in 2008 found they motorboat. They were quickly res- provincial police spokesman Abdul were unlawfully killed due to the has group No AFP. told Rauf Ahmadi cued. In 2004, a family of Dutch ‘gross negligence’ of their driver. claimed responsibility for the tourists was also thrown into a In a statement, the Metropolitan assault. canal.

Venice Gondola Tourist Crushed ITALY

shooting inside and outside the building. Cracks of automatic gunfire and screaming could be heard in the background as she spoke. Halawa said there were about 700 people inside, including women and children. Anti-coup protesters found refuge in the mosque late on Friday after a “day of rage” protests called by opponents of the country’s military-led leadership turned to blood-

news agency. By the end of 2014, all foreign combat troops are due to have left Afghanistan to be replaced - if approved by the Afghan government — by a smaller force that will only train and advise.

New Diana Information Assessed By Scotland Yard Police said officers from the

Specialist Crime and Operations Command would carry out the assessment. It said the deaths “were thoroughly investigated, and examined” by the inquest held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Scotland Yard added that the assessment did not come under Operation Paget - the police inquiry which investigated allegations that Diana and Dodi were murdered, a theory endorsed by Dodi’s father Mohamed Al Fayed. In December 2006, the Operation Paget report said it had found no evidence that the couple were murdered.

TheGuardian

Sunday, August 18, 2013 |61

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Sports Farah…

His ‘Sweetest’ Moment In Moscow O Farah said his 5,000m victory M was his sweetest yet as he completed a dream ‘double-double’ at the World Championships in Moscow. The Briton, 30, sealed a thrilling gold six days after winning the 10,000m. The double Olympic champion became only the second man after Kenenisa Bekele to win both long-distance crowns at the Olympics and the World Championships. “It was definitely the sweetest, by far,” said Farah, who revealed he overcame a stitch during the race. “I had a stitch from about eight laps to go and I was kind of pushing my stomach in, but then the pace slowed down and I tried to forget about it and come through,” he added. “My legs felt all right, but they were a lot more heavy than the rest of the guys.” Farah broke the European 1500m record last month and was confident he could out-kick his rivals. BBC commentator, Steve Cram said: “That was another incredible performance. His fifth global title - that’s a fistful of gold. That was hard, really, really hard. It’s not getting any easier, but it’s just as sweet and just as brilliant. We are in special times with this special athlete.” Another commentator, Brendan Foster said: “For my

money he is the greatest athlete we’ve ever had in this country. He put himself at the front and he would not let them past. We are enjoying great times in distance running. Now we have a man who’s inspiring the next generation of runners.” On his part, Paula Radcliffe, said: “The other athletes played right into Mo’s hands and that’s a measure of his intimidation factor. Noone went out to really test him and he was getting more and more confident. Once he got into the front there was no chance they were coming past him. He was so calm and I am in awe of the way he dominated that race.” “I thought the race would have gone harder, but it suited me,” he said. “I was confident, from having run a fast 1500m and a couple of other fast races, that if it came down to the end I would be able to come home strong. “You’ve got to respect the other guys, but you just want to be able to keep winning.” Farah and his American training partner Galen Rupp were the only two athletes attempting the double, leaving their fresher rivals with a distinct advantage. But Farah produced a stirring finish to cross the line in 13 minutes and 26.98 seconds, just 0.28 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, with Kenya’s Isaiah Kiplangat Koech taking the bronze. After a typically rapid final lap, timed at 53.51, he dropped to his knees and kissed the blue track before embracing coach Alberto

Great Britain’s Mo Farah celebrates after winning the men’s 5000 metres final at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Photo AFP

achieved so many things. To be able to achieve what he has achieved is just an honour. “I enjoyed tonight and now I’m looking forward to a bit of time off and spending it with the family. I never thought in my career that I’d be able to achieve something like this, anything is possible I guess. He received his gold medal from Sebastian Coe, who won his first Olympic title in the same stadium some years ago. The only thing now missing from Farah’s resume is a world record. Bekele holds both over 5,000m and 10,000m with times of 12:37.35 and 26:17.53 respectively. “I would like to run a decent time, but for me the most important thing is trying to win medals,” he said. “It would be nice to get closer to the record and the great athlete Bekele has both records. It would be nice to get closer to that, but I haven’t tried too much. “I’ve just been concentrating on the World Championships and winning medals for my country. But now it gives me time to think about it and try to prepare for it. That’s very hard in a championship, when you have to cover every move.” Gold medalist Mo Farah of Great Britain poses with his daughter, Rhianna, on the podium during the medal ceremony for the men’s 5000 metres at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Photo AFP Salazar. Victory took Farah’s tally of global gold medals to five, having also won the 5,000m two years ago in Daegu. Farah said: “It’s amazing, only the great Kenenisa Bekele h a s

THE GUARDIAN Sunday, August 18, 2013

SPORTS

Headgear Ban Steers Boxing From June 1st this year, elite male amateur boxers who compete internationally, were prohibited from wearing headgears by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). The new rules unveiled by the world’s governing body for amateur boxing, was in a bid to reduce severe head injuries as research indicated that opponents apply less force if the head is unprotected, hence a reduction in the rate of concussion. With its morbid reputation as one of the bloodiest sports in the world, some feel that the sport has just taken several steps backwards. ENO-ABASI SUNDAY, writes that the claim by the AIBA that the headgear was a let rather than a hindrance to concussion, and sundry catastrophic head injuries, has been criticised by experts, who say that knockouts usually results from serious blows to the chin. In fact, another school of thought is of the opinion that alteration to some boxing rules was making the sport even more dangerous. MERICAN journalist, Abbott Joseph Liebling better known A as A.J. Liebling, who was closely associated with The New Yorker from 1935 until his death, coined the term The Sweet

was charged with manslaughter but was acquitted later of all charges. He gave his entire earnings to Campbell’s family from succeeding bouts. Science, which boxing purists and followers still refer to proIn another ugly incident, South Korea’s superstar, Duk Ko fessional boxing, till today. Kim, earned a world title shot against the famed Ray “Boom What parametres Liebling employed to arrive at such nomen- Boom” Mancini, on November 13, 1982. Kim started wearing clature, in a sport that has left many either brain dead, sufferdown in the latter rounds of the extremely brutal bout, after ing from dementia or sundry debilitating ailments as well as absorbing tremendous blows from the champion in the lightsuffering from instant death, still remains a vague. weight clash. Early in the 14th round, Mancini released a crushAll the same, boxing, a combat sport, which pitches two peo- ing right hand that caused Kim to fly toward the ropes and hit ple against each other in a contest of strength, speed, reflexes, his head on the canvas. He managed to rise but the fight was endurance, and will by throwing punches with gloved hands stopped by referee Richard Greene. Minutes later, he colagainst another, has been around for decades. lapsed into a coma and was ferried to the hospital, where he But its birth hour as a sport, is tied to its acceptance by the died from severe brain trauma four days later. Mancini ancient Greeks as an Olympic game, which was around 688 BC. became withdrawn and blamed himself for Kim’s death. According to a variant of its genealogy, boxing evolved from Kim’s mother committed suicide three months later by drink16th and 18th Century prizefights, which took place largely in ing a bottle of pesticide, while Greene, consumed by guilt, Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid- also committed suicide shortly after the fight. 19th century, again initially in Great Britain and later in the Becky Zerlentes died in 2005 and is believed to be the first United States. woman to die in a sanctioned bout. She was a college teacher. Like in nearly all other sporting disciplines, boxing is divided The preliminary cause of her death was “blunt force trauma to into two broad groups-amateur and professional. While the the head.” former is an Olympic and Commonwealth sport, it is also a Award winning boxer, Zerlentes, 34, was struck by opponent constant in several major international games. In addition to Heather Schmitz and, despite wearing protective headgear, this, it also has its own World Championships. fell unconscious during the amateur bout in Denver The later on the other hand, is a money-spinner though Colorado, United States. Ringside physicians jumped in, but fraught with corruption and threatened by a lack of a central Zerlentes never regained consciousness and died several governing body. Mega fights in this category bring in multihours later. million dollars per bout. For instance, while many young proZerlentes had won a regional Golden Gloves title in 2002 fessional boxers begin their journey to stardom with bouts before taking a break from boxing. She had told her coach that fetch them a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, big that the fight was going to be her last, having guns in the trade like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd May-weather and made up her mind to stop boxing Oscar De La Hoya have pocketed more than $20m for a single because of her age. She did not fight. stop boxing. Death stopped That aside, testaments to the sport’s reputation as one of the her from boxing. most dangerous sports known to mankind are abound and Earlier on in 1947, they ventilate themselves in innumerable chilling, morbid and American Jimmy Doyle, heart-rending ways. A few of these would do. had died of brain Online news site, oddee.com, in its article “Nine of the worst injuries 17 hours after boxing injuries of all times,” chronicles thus: Professionally, being knocked out by Frankie Campbell fought in 40 bouts. He won 33 (26 Kos), Sugar Ray Robinson drew two and lost four. He lost his life in San in a world Francisco, California, on August 25th, 1930 welterin the clash against Max Baer. Baer was knocked down by Campbell in the 2nd round of the bout. And after spectators in the ringside talked about him losing the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds in a row, he became enraged. Part of the reason was that Tillie “Kid” Herman, his former trainer and friend, who switched corners overnight, was taunting and jeering him. In anger, he knocked off Campbell’s brain from his skull and the latter was pronounced dead the next day. Baer

Britain’s Anthony Joshua (left) and Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle trade shots in London

weight title fight. About a year earlier, Doyle had suffered severe concussion in a contest with Artie Levine. The Ring Annual magazine, had in 1953, reported that 22 boxers (the highest number since records were kept), had passed on as a result of injuries they sustained within the year. The above scenario is just a tip of the iceberg of oddities emanating from the squared ropes involving both amateur and professional fighters. As stated earlier, boxing ranks high as a dangerous sport. And although the number of boxers who have lost their lives plying their trade is not accurately captured, the on-line Journal of Combative Sport says at least 450 people worldwide have died of boxing-related injuries in the past 50 years and more than 130 of those recorded in the United States. About 9000 boxing bouts are staged yearly round the globe. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines an amateur as a person who engages in a pursuit especially a sport, on an unpaid basis. It also says an amateur is a person considered inept at a particular activity. In the light of the above, amateur boxers are still learning the ropes. Therefore, it would be expected that they were not thrown into the ring unprotected as their professional counterparts, who have been adequately tested. That perhaps explains, why in 1983, the Journal of the American Medical Association called for a ban on boxing, with its editor, Dr. George Lundberg, describing the sport as an “obscenity” that “should not be sanctioned by any civilised society.” As a direct consequence, the world governing body for amateur boxing, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), moved to protect amateurs by making the use of headgears mandatory in their matches shortly before the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Medical evidences lend credence to the fact that repeated blows to the head, have the capacity to bring about a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Sufferers of this ailment experience memory loss, depression and dementia. Reports have also suggested that repeated, subconcussive hits to the head are dangerous and are also linked to neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, later in life. Added to this, there are increasing evidences that even minor head injuries can be deadly in the long-term. This is supported by works by scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center, US, who maintain that with blows to the head, the blood brain barrier (a ‘gate’ between the brain and bloodstream) opens slightly and allows some proteins to leak into the bloodstream and possibly attack the brain. Viewing through this prism, AIBA’s decision to strip elite male boxers, who compete internationally in Olympic and

THE GUARDIAN Sunday, August 18, 2013

SPORTS

Down A Bloody Path Commonwealth games of protective headgears, in a move aimed at curtailing the number of head injuries in the sport, sounds a bit illogical to many including followers of the sport, who are still in shock about the development. But AIBA is standing its ground, insisting that opponents don’t apply brute force if the head is unprotected as they do when the headgear is worn. As part of the rules amendment, the elite boxers are also to be scored in a pro-style scoring system, which has discarded the latest version of the highly-criticised computer punchcount systems, which came into effect after the Seoul Olympics in 1988. The AIBA says the computer punchcount system makes fighting boring. Henceforth, each elite amateur fight will be scored by five ringside judges with the traditional 10-9 or 10-8 rounds familiar to fans of professional boxing. Still battling to explain the shocking decision, AIBA maintains that headgear has the capacity to obscure peripheral vision of the boxer thereby making it cumbersome to see a blow directed at the side of his head. midland in their men’s The governing body is quick to buttress its claims with rren O’Neill of Ire Da by -6 15 d se las a research, which shows that a lack of headgear actually ight) was outc Olympics. Muideen Akanji (r eliminary bout at the London 2012 reduces the risk of concussion. The rules, however, pr g -k 75 t dleweigh remains unchanged for women and youth because most of them are deemed not to have what it takes to deliver blows weighty enough to cause concussion. Concussion is injury to the brain caused by a hard blow to the head or striking the head against a stationary object. It can occur in all sports, but prevalent in contact sports especially boxing, rugby, football and skiing. When it occurs, it causes the brain to bounce against the rigid bone of the skull and this may cause a tear or twisting of the structures and blood vessels of the brain, which results in a breakdown of the normal flow of messages within the brain. However, the AIBA in a statement released ahead of the June 1, 2013 effective date of the ban said: “All available data indicated that the removal of head-guard in elite men would result in a decreased number of concussions.” In making the announcement, the governing body drew strength from a new research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which found there was “no good evidence that mouth guards and helmets ward off concussion. The researchers, who agreed that even though these Edith Ogoke slugg devices could prove useful in warding off other serious ing it out with an opponent from Az head and facial injuries, they paradoxically endanger erbaijan at the Lo ndon Olympics the boxers lives by encouraging “players to take greater risks.” Chairman of the AIBA medical commission, Charles Butler, reportedly told the Wall Street Journal that although cuts will still be a risk, these would heal, as will bones “but if you can’t recognise your grandchildren, it’s a disaster.” “In 1982, when the American Medical Association moved to ban boxing, everybody panicked and put headgear on the boxers, but nobody ever looked to see what the headgear did,” he stated. Butler added that he had also worked on a research, which formed the basis of the recommendations. The research he said involved 15,000 boxers, half of whom, had competed with headgear and half without. He explained that in the 7,352 rounds that took place with boxers wearing headgear, the rate of concussion was 0.38 per cent, compared with 0.17 per cent per boxer per round in the 7,545 rounds without headgear. The medical commission chief stressed that improveAkanji dodges a blo w from O’Neill in th ments, which gloves have undergone owing to eir London clash advancement in technology also meant a reduction in PHOTO: AP the impact of blows to the head. The use of modern boxing gloves typically results in fewer superficial facial injuries but does not reduce the risk of brain damage for boxers, and may even increase it because of the ability to throw stronger punches to the head without hurting the hands. However, not all experts are taken in by the research figures bandied by AIBA. And some have pointedly criticised the new rule stressing that

Medical evidences lend credence to the fact that repeated blows to the head, have the capacity to bring about a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Sufferers of this ailment experience memory loss, depression and dementia

ts ar in their contes the use of headge in ta re ll wi ts ar rp female counte Youth boxers, like

knockouts often results from hits to the chin. Yet another school of thought is of the belief that a good number of rules change aimed at making the boxing trade safer have only succeeded in making it more dangerous. They are quick to point out that the addition of gloves simply meant that the concussive power of a punch was immensely magnified, as bare fist could barely hit at the same intensity over a prolonged period of time. They are also of the opinion that the standing-8 count rule was barely enough for a dazed or jolted boxer to recover fully, but could only recover enough to suffer further injury from an opponent. A standing eight count, also known as a protection count, is a boxing judgment call made by a referee during a bout. When invoked, the referee stops the action and counts to eight. Typically, a boxer can take three standing eight counts in a round. During that time the referee will determine if the boxer can continue. Former Commonwealth British light heavyweight champion, Peter Oboh is not bowled over by the argument that removing headgear from elite amateur boxers is the way to go as he is highly convinced that a boxer, who is bent on getting a knock out will hit his opponent so hard to achieve his aim. “Professional boxers know how to defend themselves, but the amateurs do not, so let us not expose them to so much danger just yet.” Oboh, who fought in the light heavy, cruiser and heavyweight categories and also won the International light heavy weight belt on November 14, 2003 said, “professional boxers know the impact of blows to the head, so it is not wise to expose amateur boxers to such a regime, where they have to learn the hard way. Only a heavy blow to the chin can earn you a knockout no matter how highly rated a boxer you are.” The boxer-turned cleric who is of the opinion that some of the AIBA’s chieftains subscribed to the rules amendment owing to ignorance, having never practiced as professional boxers before, however, is at home with the idea of resorting to pro-style scoring system “because it is largely free of manipulation.” In the view of immediate past national boxing coach, Samson Aransiola, headgears hamper swift head movement because of their weight, but they remain effective in stemming major head injuries including concussion. “Psychologically, they give amateur boxers some form of confidence even though the head is the main target of any opponent. But even though amateurs would now move their head swiftly, I am of the opinion that they must be given as much protection as possible so that they can stay alive and practice what they are learning,” the former national coach stated. But are some of boxing’s new rules making the sport more dangerous, he responded in the affirmative stressing, that “coaches need to work harder on their wards when it comes to head movement because not many boxers would fail to hit their opponent’s head hard enough to get a knockout. “Headgears were to protect amateurs when the world noticed the negative effects that boxing had on upstarts, so removing it after 30 years leaves a lot to be desired. But I am in tune with the change to pro-style scoring system because any boxer that has won any Olympic medal is looking forward to boxing professionally, so they should start getting used to pro-style scoring at that level. Added to this, it would reasonably reduce corruption in the sport.” Silver medal winner at the pre-Olympics event in 1984 and African Best Boxer of the Year in 1985, Jerry Okorodudu, has every reason to believe that “some of the steps taken by AIBA are actually making boxing more dangerous than it is and is calling on the body to thread with caution. “Being the world body that controls the sport, they have stated their reasons for banning headgear. However, if I were to sit on AIBA’s board, I would never support the idea of banning the use of headgear because it is a protective measure that was arrived at, after due considerations and consultations. So I am fully in support of the use of headgear in amateur boxing. Okorodudu sees himself as a victim of corrupt judges in the sport. That is why he described the reintroduction of pro-style scoring for amateurs as “laughable.” “Professional boxing is different from amateur boxing, so their scoring should be different. When I fought Korean Shin Joon-Sup at the Los Angeles Olympics and it was a split decision of 3-2. Most people including I, blamed the loss largely on the absence of computer scoring system, which means that the judges favour whoever they want to. So having suffered that, I am absolutely not in support of pro-style scoring system for amateurs.”

TheGuardian

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Manchester United’s Dutch striker, Robin van Persie (centre) scores the opening goal during the English Premier League match against Swansea City at Liberty Stadium in Swansea... yesterday. Man United won 4-1

Benteke Double Sinks Arsenal, Liverpool Wins T was miserable first afterILeague noon of the Barclays Premier season for Arsenal boss Arsene, Wenger as Aston Villa came from behind to win at the Emirates Stadium 3-1. The Gunners have not made any major signings yet this summer and the fans were far from happy as two goals from Christian Benteke put the visitors on their way to victory. Arsenal were ahead after only six minutes through Olivier Giroud but Wojciech Szczesny gave away a penalty and, although the keeper saved Benteke’s spot-kick, the Belgian headed in the rebound in the 22nd minute. And 16 minutes after half-time Benteke had another chance from the spot after Laurent

Koscielny fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor, and this time he only needed one chance. It got even worse for Arsenal six minutes later when Koscielny was shown a second yellow card, and Villa made sure five minutes from time as Antonio Luna scored on his debut. New Everton boss, Roberto Martinez had to settle for a point from his first competitive game in charge as the Toffees drew 2-2 with Norwich at Carrow Road. After a goalless first half, Steven Whittaker put Norwich in front in the 51st minute but teenager Ross Barkley drilled in his first goal for Everton 10 minutes later and in the 65th minute the visitors took the

RESULT Liverpool 1 0 Stoke Arsenal 1- 3 Aston Villa Norwich 2- 2 Everton Sunderland 0- 1 Fulham West Brom 0- 1 Southampton West Ham 2- 0 Cardiff Swansea 1- 4 Man Utd

lead through Seamus Coleman. Their lead lasted only six minutes, though, as Ricky van Wolfswinkel grabbed a debut goal for Norwich. There was no dream start to life in the Premier League for Cardiff, who were beaten 2-0 at West Ham. Joe Cole netted on the turn in

the 13th minute and Kevin Nolan made the points safe for the Hammers 14 minutes from time. Liverpool were the first winners of the new season as they saw off Stoke 1-0 in the early game at Anfield. Daniel Sturridge scored the only goal in the 37th minute with a precision shot from the edge of

the area. Stoke goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic was the man of the match as he kept Liverpool at bay with a host of fine saves, and it looked like Potters boss, Mark Hughes would get a point in his first competitive game when the visitors were awarded a late penalty for a handball by Daniel Agger.

Team Nigeria Eyes Third Medal In Moscow, As Championship Ends • Women’s 4x400m Relay Team places 6th In Final By Gowon Akpodonor IGERIA’S hope for a medal in the women’s 4x400m relay could not yield the desired result yesterday, as the team placed 6th in the final. However, star of the moment, Blessing Okagbare is hoping to lead the country to another glorious moment later today, when the 4x100m relay team file out at 15.10 pm in the final. Okagbare raced into the history books on Friday, when she grabbed a bronze medal in the 200m final to become

Nigeria’s first athlete ever to achieve such fate in the IAAF World Championship. She had picked a silver medal in the long jump event last Sunday. In today’s 4x100m relay final, the Sapele-born speed star is expected to compete alongside fellow US-based sprinter, Gloria Asumnu, Stephanie Kalu and Peace Alphonsus Uko. Nigeria did not feature contestants in the men’s relay teams in the Moscow 2013 Championship, as they fail to make the qualification standard. In the final of the women’s

Published by Guardian Newspapers Limited, Rutam House, Isolo, Lagos Tel: 4489600, 2798269, 2798270, 07098147948, 07098147951 Fax: 4489712; Advert Hotline Lagos: 7736351, Abuja: 07098513445 All correspondence to Guardian Newspapers Limited, P.M.B. 1217, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria. (ISSN NO 0189-5125) Editor: E-mail letters@ngrguardiannews.com ABRAHAM OBOMEYOMA OGBODO • A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation •ABC

4x400m relay yesterday, Team Nigeria’s quartet were over shadowed by their superior opponents, finishing in a distant 6th position. While the host country, Russia, won the gold with a world leading record time of 3mins: 02.19 seconds, Team USA was second with a season best time of 3mins: 20.41 seconds. Team Great Britain also ran a season best time of 3mins: 22.61 seconds to win the bronze. The Nigerians returned at 3mins: 27.57 seconds to place 6th. Team Nigeria’s quartet of Omolara Omotosho, Patience George, Bukola Abogunloko and Regina George had posted a season best of 3 min 27 seconds to place second in their heat and qualified for the final on Friday.

PHOTO: AFP

More Eaglets To Go IGERIA’S U17 team will be N further decimated after a decision to throw out more players who are on the borderline of a recent age test. MTNFootball.com reports that officials have recommended that players who are on grade 5 of the recent MRI test be asked to go rather than risk them for the FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. FIFA accept grade 5 for the U17 World Cup, but officials have said players on that grade from the recent MRI scan could well be past that grade by the time of the tournament. There is also the possibility that the MRI machine used in Nigeria may not be as sophisticated as what would eventually be used at UAE. Confused Under 17 officials had divided the players on grade 5 into A and B with those in A with a better chance to scale the age test in Dubai. However, this division was disregarded by medical experts, who said there was no basis for such division. “The final decision to do away with players on grade 5 has thrown the Eaglets into more confusion as it means many more players will now have to be decamped,” a top official told MTNFootball.com “We don’t wish to take unnecessary risks and so this decision. It simply means the coaches have to draft capable replacements for the players to be affected by this.” The FIFA Under 17 World Cup in the UAE will begin on October 17 with the draw to be staged on August 26 in Abu Dhabi.