Thu 12 Dec 2013

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Vol. 30, No. 12,768

N150

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Confab panel splits as Asemota submits minority report

By Martins Oloja and Felix Kuye ITING the need to give President Goodluck Jonathan the best advice, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Solomon Asemota, has produced a minority report on the activities of the panel, in which his position on some of the terms of reference are in sharp disagreement with the reported recommendations in the majority report.

In the minority report, Asemota, who was a member of the Constituent Assembly that produced the 1989 Constitution that was never passed into law, essentially disagreed with the position of the majority report with regard to the use of referendum, selection of delegates and the very essence of the dialogue.

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Govt, ASUU okay deal to end strike Jonathan

Obasanjo

Obasanjo writes Jonathan ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has written a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, warning that the nation is fast losing its moorings and drifting into chaos and uncertainty.

In the letter entitled “Before it is too late,” Obasanjo identified five key areas where Jonathan needs to be assessed . These are leadership of the ruling party; headship of the Federal Government; Commander-in-Chief of the military; Chief Security Officer of the nation; and the political leadership of the country. His verdict: Jonathan has failed on

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FEC okays N40.2b for National Assembly expansion - Page XV

• Alleges nation adrift, corruption stinks around him • Warns against president’s alleged re-election bid • Condemns him for backing non-PDP candidates • Declares confab fraught with danger of chaos all points.

The letter reads: “I am constrained to make this an open letter to you for a number of reasons. One, the current situation and consequent possible outcome dictate that I should, before the door closes on reason and promotion of

national interest, alert you to the danger that may be lurking in the corner. Two, none of the four or more letters that I have written to you in the past two years or so has elicited an acknowledgement nor any response. Three, people close to you, if not yourself, have been

asking, what does Obasanjo want? Four, I could sense a semblance between the situation that we are gradually getting into and the situation we fell into as a nation during the Abacha era. Five, everything must be done to guard, proCONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Letter provocative, mischievous, says Presidency From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja HE Presidency last night T reacted to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter, describing it as highly provocative and mischievous.

The Presidency, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, acknowlCONTINUED ON PAGE 3

• Military promotes 141 officers, 102 now Generals - Page XV • APGA undecided on Jonathan, picks Obi as National Leader - Page 8 • Court voids N’Assembly’s take-over of Rivers legislature - Page 8

• Agreement captures deposit of N200b in CBN, non-victimisation • Fagge, others to hold NEC’s meeting From Kanayo Umeh, Abuja MEMORANDUM of UnderA standing (MoU) for the resolution of the dispute that made university teachers to embark on a five-month strike was signed between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday.

The memorandum was signed in the presence of officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), five vice chancellors, including those of the Universities of Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Kano, as well as the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and a former Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Though details of the agreement were not made available to reporters, ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, disclosed that the deal captured the main areas of the union’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

Govt, ASUU agreement captures deposit of N200b in CBN, non-victimisation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 demands, including the deposit of the N200 billion in a dedicated account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the non-victimisation clause.

Signing the document at a press briefing in Abuja, Nyesom Wike described the occasion as “historic” and the happiest day in his tenure as the Supervising Minister of Education.

He said: “All contending issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, we are partners in progress and there is no victor no vanquished.

“ASUU has been on strike for over five months on the account of their resolve to bring about new life to all public universities.

“Following the President’s intervention, he held a marathon meeting on December 4, 2013 with the leadership of ASUU and Labour members where residual issues were resolved. Nigerians from all walks of life expressed optimism that the strike would soon be called off. But unfortunately, due to ASUU’s insistence that the Federal Government must take practical steps to show

good faith and commitment to the implementation of the agreement, as a responsible and responsive government, we have a duty to restore normalcy to our university system so that our children can resume classes and pursue their educational careers.

Consequently, the vice chancellors of federal universities were directed by the prochancellors to immediately reopen the universities for academic activities while the minor discrepancies are sorted out.”

Wike said government would continue to do all it could to ensure the development of the educational sector.

He noted: “Let me emphasise that we appreciate ASUU’s patriotic role and commitment

towards ensuring that our universities are well-funded, resourced and run like their counterparts in other parts of the world.”

Responding, the ASUU President assured that the union would consult with its National Executive Council (NEC) with a view to calling off the strike soon.

Fagge noted that the agitation was only to ensure that up-to-date facilities were put in place in the universities so that they could compete with others across the world.

He acknowledged the intervention by the President which made it possible for the signing of the memorandum.

“If what we had agreed with the President in that 13-hour meeting had been judicious-

ly implemented and our members are convinced that it was going to be implemented, we wouldn’t have wasted time because we also have a lot of respect for the office of the President and that of the Vice President.

“Since the signing of the 2009 agreement, we have been pursuing government to get that agreement implemented, we only succeeded in getting a portion of that agreement implemented by government and here we are, we have lost about four years.

But I think it is never too late to turn a new page and make sure we do what is right with our universities.”

He thanked all stakeholders and well-meaning Nigerians for their role and understanding during the protracted strike.

Confab panel splits as Asemota submits minority report CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Asemota noted that with respect to the legal frame-work, Term of Reference No.5 that also bother on the use of referendum, it has been suggested to the Advisory Committee by experts that except for situations as may arise in section 8 (1b) and 8 (3b) of the 1999 Constitution, referendum defined as “action taken by people in order to make a decision about a particular subject rather than voting for a person” cannot be used without further amendment to the Constitution.

“I find it difficult to accept this view point; rather it is my view that referendum can be used without amending the Constitution.

Sovereignty, I submit, belongs to the people under Section 14 (2) of the Constitution and it will be wrong to suggest that the people’s decisions cannot be sought in a referendum except permitted under the Constitution. This suggests that sovereignty belongs to the Constitution and not the people. On whether in the draft bill, it should be stated that decisions of the conference shall be subjected to referendum, some members have suggested that the question of referendum should be left for the conference to decide and thus the law should be silent on it. I find it difficult to align myself with this view because several meanings could be read as to why this aspect was omitted and this will not be helpful to the Conference.

“One is opposed to universal adult suffrage proposed by the Majority Report notwithstanding the fact that the proposed conference is intended to produce a democratic constitution. The fact remains that the committee did not articulate who should nominate the delegates and with the challenges which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) currently has, it would be unsafe to saddle that body with a nebulous function of electing members to the National Conference.

The question of referendum is easy in that Nigerians as a whole, as registered voters, would be called upon to answer a Yes or No question in order to approve a new Constitution. In any case, if the National Assembly refuses to pass the Bill into law, or decides to tinker with the conclusion of the committee,

then it behoves the peoples of Nigeria to demand that they must have the final say.”

Asemota said he associates himself with the position of the panel members that recommended construction of the conference structure on senatorial basis, but with modifications.

“Where there are, for example, more than 15 ethnic nationalities in a state, it is suggested that representatives of the more than 15 ethnic nationalities in places such as Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Kaduna, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and Taraba states would meet to select the maximum approved for the Senatorial District, and those selected will have the additional duty to protect the interest of those who could not make it to the Conference. The President may be asked to consider these nationalities while considering his nominations to the conference, especially because while some ethnic nationalities will have as many as 45 members in the conference, some 42 other ethnic nationalities will not be represented in some of the states mentioned in this paragraph. The more logical thing to do is to reduce the number of the big three to accommodate some of these nationalities.”

The minority report author recommends that President Jonathan should send a Bill to the National Assembly convening the National Conference. He said a draft Bill that provides for a referendum and other matters is included in his report for the consideration of the President. According to Asemota, the attached draft, in addition, gives the President the power to appoint members on the recommendation of ethnic associations in the country.

On why he recommended selection of delegates, Asemota said: “In most nationalities of Nigeria, selection processes are conducted to choose rulers and representatives and in any case elections in present day Nigeria are fraught with corruption.

Members of the same family know themselves, so too members of the larger family (Ethnic Nationalities). Selection by the listed ethnic organizations in the Draft Bill is preferred. As a result, the best of ethnic nationalities representatives are most likely to

emerge.

“Originally, I had demanded that all ethnic nationalities must be represented. Unfortunately for reasons of colonialism and neo-colonialism, Indirect Rule principles of assimilation and the effects of the tripod mentality, the inclusion of ethnicity as part of the requirements for enumeration was dropped in the last National Census in 2006. For the unity of Nigeria and the fact that human beings are more important than geographical locations, in addition to the fact that our Constitution provides for indigenes and non- indigenes, one has agreed on Senatorial districts as the basis for the selection of delegates. Ethnic nationalities at the Senatorial district levels should take into consideration ethnic diversity, professions, gender, youth and the physical challenges spread across the zones or region by way of consultations.

One believes that this is one of the processes of inclusion in the politics of the nation as opposed to assimilation and exclusion. It is important that in the next census, ethnicity and religion should be included.”

According to Asemota, “the suggestion that the national conference is simply part of the process of consultations to aid the Presidency and the National Assembly in the discharge of their functions with respect to the amendment of the Constitution is untenable.

The proposed national conference has a specific purpose, namely, to discuss and agree on the terms and conditions to be embodied in a New Constitution as the basis on which the diverse ethnic nationalities and peoples in Nigeria can live together in peace, security, progress, and unity as one country under a common central government. This is the primal purpose of the proposed national conference, the crux or pivot of its agenda, and to which everything else is ancillary.”

Insisting that the planned dialogue is primarily to produce a new constitution for the country, the minority report gives the title of its proposed bill as “A Bill for an Act to make provisions for Convening a National Conference of the Peoples of Nigeria for the Purpose of Discussing and Adopting a new Constitution to be Submitted for Consideration and Approval by the People of Nigeria at a Referendum

and Matters Incidental Thereto.”

Asemota said: “The long title thus provides a clear enough description of the character of the conference proposed. This is reaffirmed by a declaration in a preamble that the proposed conference is a conference of the nationalities and ethnic groups comprised in this nation so as to give them the opportunity to exercise their inherent right to determine democratically for themselves the constitution by which they wish to be governed in one united Nigeria The preamble further declares that the need for the conference arises from the fact that the constitution under which the country is governed came into existence as a result of a Decree enacted by the Federal Military Government.

“The Bill spells out the machinery and process for the selection or election of delegates, quorum at the conference, conduct of proceedings, method of taking decisions, oath by delegates, appointment of conference secretary and other support staff, laying before the National Assembly of draft constitution passed by the conference, publication and presentation of the draft to the public, and the process for holding a referendum for the approval of the constitution by the entire mass of the people, which is to bestow legally binding force upon it.”

He argued that “a referendum of the people to approve the constitution is the most fundamental aspect of the whole process. It is no doubt a novel process in the country but that is what is legitimately due to the Nigerian people an opportunity, for the first time since the creation of the Nigerian state in 1914, to adopt, through referendum, a constitution by and for themselves in exercise of the constituent power inherent in them as a sovereign people, not just to make an input in the amendment of an imposed Constitution.”

According to Asemota, the Committee’s decision to the effect that a constitution adopted at the National Conference shall not be subject to any change or amendment by the National Assembly or the presidency (section 21 (1)), and that the constitution, so CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

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Thursday, December 12, 2013 NEWS

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Presidency deplores Obasanjo’s letter

Obasanjo alleges nation adrift, corruption stinks around president

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edged that it had indeed received the letter from Obasanjo.

Abati said: “We however find it highly unbecoming, mischievous and provocative that a letter written by a former Head of State and respected elder statesman to President Jonathan has been deliberately leaked to the mass media in a deplorable effort to impugn the integrity of the President and denigrate his commitment to giving Nigeria the best possible leadership.

“While many patriotic, objective and well-meaning Nigerians have already condemned the leaked letter as self-serving, hypocritical, malicious, indecent, and very disrespectful of the highest office in the land, President Jonathan has directed that none of his aides or any government official should join issues with Chief Obasanjo over it.”

He said the President himself would, at the appropriate time, offer a full personal response to the charges made against him and his administration by the former leader.

Confab panel splits CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 adopted, shall become law and be binding on all persons and authorities immediately it is approved at a Referendum (Section 22 (8)), do not make the conference a sovereign body, in the strict sense of the term, inasmuch as the finality of its decisions and legally binding force of the approval of its decisions by the Referendum derive from a law enacted by the sovereign legislative authorities under the country’s existing legal order.

“But refusal by the National Assembly or the Presidency to enact into law, the provisions in sections 21 (1) and 22 (8) of the Bill, or to abide by them after their enactment into law will provide an opportunity to test the ability of the Nigerian people, in spite of the impediments, to assert and demonstrate their power and supremacy as the repository of the country’s sovereignty and the source of the sovereign power exercised by the legislative and executive organs of government.”

To Asemota, Nigerian unity is not only negotiable but must indeed be re-negotiated for it to stand or survive the test of time. “The reality over the years remains that in spite of the best efforts of all our leaders past or present, Nigerian unity is not guaranteed. It is simply, at best, an aspiration and not yet an achievement.

Hence, the statement that Nigerian unity is ‘not negotiable’ is simply a historical fallacy.

“Many Nigerians are losing the dream of a united Nigeria because of the obstinate resistance of a few to any idea of reform or restructure of the country. This indeed is dangerous to Nigeria’s survival as one nation. However, history teaches us that those who make reforms impossible make revolution inevitable.

Many Nigerians love their country, but forced to choose, they would choose their liberty/freedom.”

tect and defend our fledgling democracy, nourish it and prevent bloodshed. Six, we must move away from advertently or inadvertently dividing the country along weak seams of North-South and Christian-Moslem.

Seven, nothing should be done to allow the country to degenerate into economic dormancy, stagnation or retrogression.

Eight, some of our international friends and development partners are genuinely worried about signs and signals that are coming out of Nigeria. Nine, Nigeria should be in a position to take advantage of the present favourable international interest to invest in Africa – an opportunity that will not be open for too long. Ten, I am concerned about your legacy and your climb-down which you alone can best be the manager of, whenever you so decide.

Mr. President, you have on a number of occasions acknowledged the role God enabled me to play in your ascension to power. You put me third after God and your parents among those that have impacted most on your life. I have always retorted that God only put you where you are and those that could be regarded as having played a role were only instruments of God to achieve God’s purpose in your life. For me, I believe that politically, it was in the best interest of Nigeria that you, a Nigerian from minority group in the South could rise to the highest pinnacle of political leadership. If Obasanjo could get there, Yar’Adua could get there and Jonathan can get there, any Nigerian can. It is now not a matter of the turn of any section or geographical area but the best interest of Nigeria and all Nigerians. It has been proved that no group – ethnic, linguistic, religious or geographical location – has monopoly of materials for leadership of our country. And no group solely by itself can crown any of its members the Nigerian CEO. It is good for Nigeria. I have also always told you that God has graciously been kind, generous, merciful and compassionate to me and He has done more than I could have ever hoped for. I want nothing from you personally except that you should run the affairs of Nigeria not only to make Nigeria good, but to make Nigeria great for which I have always pleaded with you and I will always do so. And it is yet to be done for most Nigerians to see.

For five capacities in which you find yourself, you must hold yourself, most significantly responsible for what happens or fails to happen in Nigeria and in any case most others will hold you responsible and God who put you there will surely hold you responsible and accountable. I have had opportunity, in recent times, to interact closely with you and I have come to the conclusion painfully or happily that if you can shun yourself to a great extent of personal and political interests and dwell more on the national interest and also draw the line between advice from selfish and self-centred aides and advice from those who in

Obasanjo the interest of the nation may not tell you what you will want to hear, it will be well.

The five positions which you share with nobody except with God and which place great and grave responsibility on you are leadership of the ruling party, headship of the Federal Government or national government, Commander-in-Chief of the Military, Chief Security Officer of the nation, and the political leader of the country. Those positions go with being the President of our country and while depending on your disposition you can delegate or devolve responsibility, but the buck must stop on your table whether you like it or not.

Let me start with the leadership of the ruling party. Many of us were puzzled over what was going on in the party.

Most party members blamed the National Chairman. I understand that some in the presidency tried to create the impression that some of us were to blame. The situation became clear only when the National Chairman spoke out that he never did anything or acted in any way without the approval or concurrence of the Party Leader and that where the Party Leader disapproved, he made correction or amendment, that we realised most actions were those of the Chairman but the motivation and direction were those of the Leader. It would be unfair to continue to level full blame on the Chairman for all that goes wrong with the Party.

The Chairman is playing the tune dictated by the Paymaster. But the Paymaster is acting for a definitive purpose for which deceit and deception seem to be the major ingredients. Up till two months ago, Mr. President, you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in 2015. I quickly pointed out to you that the signs and the measures on the ground do not tally with your statement.

You said the same to one other person who shared his observation with me. And only a fool would believe that statement you made to me judging by what is going on. I must say that it is not ingenious.

You may wish to pursue a more credible and more honourable path. Although you have not formally informed

me one way or the other, it will be necessary to refresh your memory of what transpired in 2011. I had gone to Benue State for the marriage of one of my staff, Vitalis Ortese, in the State. Governor Suswam was my hospitable host. He told me that you had accepted a one-term presidency to allow for ease of getting support across the board in the North.

I decided to cross-check with you. You did not hesitate to confirm to me that you are a strong believer in a one-term of six years for the President and that by the time you have used the unexpired time of your predecessor and the four years of your first term, you would have almost used up to six years and you would not need any more term or time.

Later, I heard from other sources including sources close to you that you made the same commitment elsewhere, hence, my inclusion of it in my address at the finale of your campaign in 2011 as follows: “…PDP should be praised for being the only party that enshrines federal character, zoning and rotation in its constitution and practises it.

PDP has brought stability and substantial predictability to the polity and to the system. I do not know who will be President of Nigeria after Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. That is in the hand of God. But with PDP policy and practice, I can reasonably guess from where, in term of section of the country, the successor to President Jonathan will come. And no internal democracy or competition will thereby be destroyed. The recent resort to sentiments and emotions of religion and regionalism is self-serving, unpatriotic and mischievous, to say the least.

It is also preying on dangerous emotive issues that can ignite uncontrollable passion and can destabilise if not destroy our country. This is being oblivious of the sacrifices others have made in the past for unity, stability and democracy in Nigeria in giving up their lives, shedding their blood, and in going to prison.

I personally have done two out of those three sacrifices and I am ready to do the third if it will serve the best interest of Nigerian dream. Let me appeal to those who have embarked on this dangerous

road to reflect and desist from taking us on a perishable journey. With common identity as Nigerians, there is more that binds us than separates us. I am a Nigerian, born a Yoruba man, and I am proud of both identities as they are for me complementary. Our duties, responsibilities and obligations to our country as citizens and, indeed, as leaders must go side by side with our rights and demands. There must be certain values and virtues that must go concomitantly with our dream.

Thomas Paine said ‘my country is the world,’ for me, my country I hold dear.

On two occasions, I have had opportunity to work for my successors to the government of Nigeria. On both occasions, I never took the easy and destabilising route of ethnic, regional or religious consideration rather I took the enduring route of national, uniting and stabilising route.

I worked for both President Shagari and President Yar’Adua to succeed me not just because they are Moslems, Northerners or Hausa-Fulani, but because they could strengthen the unity, stability and democracy in Nigeria. We incurred the displeasure of ethnic chauvinists for doing what was right for the country. That is in the nature of burden of leadership. A leader must lead, no matter whose ox is gored.

In the present circumstance, let me reiterate what I have said on a number of occasions. Electing Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in his own right and on his own merit, as the President of Nigeria will enhance and strengthen our unity, stability and democracy. And it will lead us towards the achievement of our Nigerian dream.

There is press report that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has already taken a unique and unprecedented step of declaring that he would only want to be a one-term president. If so, whether we know it or not, that is a sacrifice and it is statesmanly. Rather than vilify him and pull him down, we, as a party, should applaud and commend him and Nigerians should reward and venerate him. He has taken the first good step.

“Let us encourage him to take more good steps by voting him in with landslide victory as the fourth elected president of Nigeria on the basis of our common Nigerian identity and for the purpose of actualising Nigerian dream…”

When you won the election, one of the issues you very early pursued was that of one term of six years. That convinced me that you meant what you told me before my speech at the campaign. Mr. President, whatever may be your intention or plan, I cannot comment much on the constitutional aspect of your second term or what some people call third term. That is for both legal and judicial attention. But if constitutionally you are on a strong ticket if you so decide, it will be fatally morally flawed. As a leader, two things you must cherish and hold dear among others are trust and honour both of which are important ingredients of character. I will want to see anyone in the office of the Presidency of Nigeria as a man

or woman who can be trusted, a person of honour in his words and character. I will respect you for upholding these attributes and for dignifying that office. Chinua Achebe said, “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.” It is a lesson for all leaders including you and me. However, Mr. President, let me hope that as you claimed that you have not told anybody that you are contesting and that what we see and hear is a rumbling of overzealous aides, you will remain a leader that can be believed and trusted without unduly passing the buck or engaging in game of denials.

Maybe you also need to know that many party members feel disappointed in the double game you were alleged to play in support of party gubernatorial candidates in some states where you surreptitiously supported nonPDP candidates against PDP candidates in exchange for promise or act of those nonPDP Governors supporting you for your election in the past or for the one that you are yet to formally declare. It happened in Lagos in 2011 when Bola Tinubu was nocturnally brought to Abuja to strike a deal for support for your personal election at great price materially and in the fortune of PDP gubernatorial candidate. As Chairman of BOT, I spoke to you at that time. It happened in Ondo State where there was in addition evidence of cover-up and nonprosecution of security report against the non-PDP candidate and his collaborators for the purpose of extracting personal electoral advantage for you. In fact, I have raised with you the story of those in other states in the South-West where some disgruntled PDP members were going around to recruit people into the Labour Party for you, because, for electoral purpose at the national level, Labour Party will have no candidate but you. It also happened in Edo State and those who know the detail never stopped talking about it. And you know it. Ditto in Anambra State with the fiasco coming from undue interference. If you as leader of the party cannot be seen to be loyal to the PDP in support of the candidates of the party and the interests of such party candidates have to be sacrificed on the altar of your personal and political interest, then good luck to the party and I will also say as I have had occasions to say in the past, good luck to Goodluck. If on the altar of the party you go for broke, the party may be broken beyond repairs. And when in a dispute between two sides, they both stubbornly decide to fight to the last drop of blood, no one knows whose blood would be the last to drop. In such a situation, Nigeria as a nation may also be adversely affected, not just the PDP. I wish to see no more bloodshed occasioned by politics in Nigeria. Please, Mr. President, be mindful of that. You were exemplary in words when during the campaign and the 2011 elections, you said, “My election is not worth spilling the blood of any Nigerian.” From you, it should not be if it has to be, let CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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Obasanjo warns against Jonathan’s alleged re-election bid CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 peace, security, harmony, good governance, development and progress be for Nigeria. That is also your responsibility and mandate. You can do it and I plead that you do it. We all have to be mindful of not securing pyrrhic victory on the ashes of great values, attributes and issues that matter as it would amount to hollow victory without honour and integrity.

Whatever may be the feud in PDP and no matter what you or your aides may feel, you as the Party Leader, have the responsibility to find solution, resolve and fix it. Your legacy is involved. If PDP as a ruling party collapses, it will be the first time in an independent Nigeria that a ruling political party would collapse not as a result of a military coup. It is food for thought. At the prompting of governors on both sides of the divide, and on encouragement from you, I spent two nights to intervene in the dispute of the PDP governors. I kept you fully briefed at every stage. I deliberately chose Banquet Hall at the Villa to ensure transparency. Your aides studied all the recordings of the two nights. But I told you at the end of the exercise that I observed five reactions among the governors that required your immediate attention as you are the only one from the vantage point of your five positions that could deal effectively with the five reactions which were bitterness, anger, mistrust, fear and deep suspicion. I could only hope that you made efforts to deal with these unpleasant reactions. The feud leading to the factionalisation of the party made me to invite some select elders of the party to mediate again. Since I was engaged in assignment outside the country, I was not able to join the three members of the elders group that presented the report of our mediation to you. I was briefed that you agreed to work on the report. It would appear that for now, the ball is in your court as the leader of the party. I can only wish you every success in your handling of the issue. But time is not your friend or that of the party in this respect. With leadership come not just power and authority to do and to undo, but also responsibility and accountability to do and to undo rightly, well and justly.

Time and opportunity are treasure that must be appreciated and shared to enhance their value and utilitarianism.

It is instructive that after half a dozen African Presidents have spoken to me to help you with unifying the Party based on your request to them and I came in company of Senator Ahmadu Ali to discuss the whole issue with you again, strangely, you denied ever requesting or authorising any president to talk to me. I was not surprised because I am used to such a situation of denial coming from you. Of course, I was not deterred. I have done and I will continue to do and say what is first, in the best interest of Nigeria and second, what is in the best interest of the party. I stand for the aims, objectives, mission and vision of the founding fathers of the party, to use it as a wholesome instrument of unity, good governance, development, prosperity and progress of Nigeria and all Nigerians. I have contributed to this goal in the past and no one who has been raised to position on the platform of the party should shy away from further contribution to avoid division and destruction of the party on any altar whatsoever.

Debates and dialogues are necessary to promote the interest and work for the progress of any human institution or organisation. In such a situation, agreements and disagreements will occur but in the final analysis, leadership will pursue the course of action that benefits the majority and serves the purpose of the organisation, not the purpose of an individual or a minority. In that process, unity is sustained and everybody becomes a winner. The so-called crisis in the PDP can be turned to an opportunity of unity, mutual understanding and respect with the party emerging with enhanced strength and victory. It will be a win-win for all members of the party and for the country. By that, PDP would have proved that it could have internal disagreement and emerge stronger.

The calamity of failure can still be avoided.

Please, move away from fringes or the extremes and move to the centre and carry all along.

Time is running out.

I will only state that as far as your responsibility as Chief Security Officer of the nation is concerned for Nigerians, a lot more needs to be done to enhance the feeling of security amongst them. Whether one talks of the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta, the underlying causes of which have not been adequately addressed, if addressed at all, kidnapping, piracy, abductions and armed robberies which rather than abate are on the increase and Boko Haram which requires carrot - and - stick

Obasanjo approach to lay its ghost to rest, the general security situation cannot be described as comforting. Knowing the genesis of Boko Haram and the reasons for escalation of violence from that sector with the widespread and ramification of the menace of Boko Haram within and outside the Nigerian borders, conventional military actions based on standard phases of military operations alone will not permanently and effectively deal with the issue of Boko Haram. There are many strands or layers of causes that require different solutions, approaches or antidotes. Drug, indoctrination, fundamentalism, gun trafficking, hate culture, human trafficking, money laundering, religion, poverty, unemployment, poor education, revenge and international terrorism are among factors that have effect on Boko Haram. One single prescription cannot cure all these ailments that combine in Boko Haram. Should we pursue war against violence without understanding the root causes of the violence and applying solutions to deal with all underlying factors – root, stem and branches? Nigeria is bleeding and the haemorrhage must be stopped. I am convinced that you can initiate measures that will bring all hands on deck to deal effectively with this great menace.

Mr. President, the most important qualification for your present position is your being a Nigerian. Whatever else you may be besides being a Nigerian is only secondary for this purpose. And if majority of Nigerians who voted had not cast their votes for you, you could not have been there. For you to allow yourself to be ‘possessed,’ so to say, to the exclusion of most of the rest of Nigerians as an ‘Ijaw man’ is a mistake that should never have been allowed to happen. Yes, you have to be born in one part of Nigeria to be a Nigerian if not naturalised but the Nigeria President must be above ethnic factionalism. And those who prop you up as of, and for ‘Ijaw nation’ are not your friends genuinely, not friends of Nigeria nor friends of ‘Ijaw nation’, they tout about. To allow or tacitly encourage people of ‘Ijaw nation’ to throw insults on other Nigerians from other parts of the country and threaten fire and brimstone to protect your interest as an Ijaw man is myopic and your not openly quieting them is even more unfortunate. You know that I have expressed my views and feelings to you on this issue in the past but I have come to realise that many others feel the way I have earlier expressed to you.

It is not the best way of making friendship among all sections of Nigeria. You don’t have

shared and wholesome society without inclusive political, economic and social sustainable development and good governance. Also declaring that one section of the country voted for you as if you got no votes from other sections can only be an unnecessary talk, to put it mildly. After all and at the end of the day, democracy is a game of number. Even, if you would not need people’s vote across the country again, your political party will.

Allegation of keeping over 1000 people on political watch list rather than criminal or security watch list and training snipers and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for political purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his own killers, if it is true, it cannot augur well for the initiator, the government and the people of Nigeria. Here again, there is the lesson of history to learn from for anybody who cares to learn from history. Mr. President would always remember that he was elected to maintain security for all Nigerians and protect them. And no one should prepare to kill or maim Nigerians for personal or political ambition or interest of anyone. The Yoruba adage says, “The man with whose head coconut is broken may not live to savour the taste of the succulent fruit. Those who advise you to go hard on those who oppose you are your worst enemies.

Democratic politics admits and is permissive of supporters and opponents. When the consequences come, those who have wrongly advised you will not be there to help carry the can. Egypt must teach some lesson.

Presidential assistance for a murderer to evade justice and presidential delegation to welcome him home can only be in bad taste generally but particularly to the family of his victim. Assisting criminals to evade justice cannot be part of the job of the presidency. Or, as it is viewed in some quarters, is he being recruited to do for you what he had done for Abacha in the past? Hopefully, he should have learned his lesson. Let us continue to watch.

As Head of Government, the buck of the performance and non-performance stops on your table and let nobody tell you anything to the contrary. Most of our friends and development partners are worried and they see what we pretend to cover up. They are worried about issue of security internally and on our coastal waters including heavy oil theft, alias bunkering and piracy. They are worried about corruption and what we are doing or not doing about it. Corruption... and injustice is fertile breeding ground for terrorism and

political instability. And if you are not ready to name, shame, prosecute and stoutly fight against corruption, whatever you do will be hollow. It will be a laughing matter. They are worried about how we play our role in our region and indeed in the world. In a way, I share some of their concerns because there are notable areas we can do more or do better than we are doing. Some of our development partners were politically frustrated to withdraw from Olokola LNG project, which happily was not yet the same with Brass. I initiated them both. They were viable and would have taken us close to Qatar as LNG producing country. Please do not frustrate Brass LNG and in the interest of what is best for Nigerian economy, bring back OK LNG into active implementation. If they have not completely moved out, they are disinvesting. Nigeria which is the Saudi of Africa in oil and gas terms is being overtaken by Angola only because necessary decisions are not made timely and appropriately, Mr. President let me again plead with you to be decisive on the oil and gas sector so that Nigeria may not lag behind. Oil with gas is being discovered all over Africa. Now technology is producing oil from shale elsewhere. We should make hay while the sun shines. I hope we can still save OK and Brass LNG projects. Three things are imperative in the oil and gas sector – stop oil stealing, encourage investment especially by the IOC’s and improve the present poor management of the industry. On the economy generally, it suffices to say that we could do better than we are doing. The signs are there and the expectations are high. The most dangerous ticking bomb is youth unemployment particularly in the face of unbridled corruption and obscene rulers’ opulence.

Let me repeat that as far as the issue of corruption, security and oil stealing is concerned, it is only apt to say that when the guard becomes the thief, nothing is safe, secure nor protected in the house. We must all remember that corruption, inequity and injustice breed poverty, unemployment, conflict, violence and wittingly or unwittingly create terrorists because the opulence of the governor can only lead to the leanness of the governed. But God never sleeps. He is watching, waiting and bidding His time to dispense justice.

The serious and strong allegation of nonremitting of about $7 billion from NNPC to Central Bank occurring from export of some 300,000 barrels per day, amounting to $900 million a month, to be refined and with refined products of only $400 million returned and Atlantic Oil leading about 130,000 barrels sold by Shell and managed on behalf of NPDC with no sale proceeds paid into NPDC account is incredible. The allegation was buttressed by the letter of Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria to you on nonremittance to Central Bank. This allegation will not fly away by non-action, cover-up, denial or bribing possible investigators.

Please deal with this allegation transparently and let the truth be known.

The dramatis personae in this allegation and who they are working for will one day be public-knowledge. Those who know are watching if the National Assembly will not be accomplice in the heinous crime and naked grand corruption. May God grant you the grace for at least one effective corrective action against high corruption which seems to stink all around you in your government.

The international community knows us as we are and maybe more than we claim to know ourselves. And a good friend will tell you the truth no matter how bitter. Denials and coverup of what is obvious, true and factual can detract from honour, dignity and respect.

Truth and transparency dignify and earn respect. And life without passion for something can only achieve little. I was taken aback when an African Development Bank Director informed me that the water project for Port Harcourt, originally initiated by the Federal Government to be financed by the bank, is being put in the cooler by the Federal Government since the Amaechi-Jonathan faceoff. Amaechi, whether he likes it or not, will cease to be governor over Rivers State which Port Harcourt is part by the end of May 2015 but residents of Port Harcourt will continue to need improvement of their water supply.

President Jonathan should rise above such pettiness and unpresidential act, if it is coming from him. But if not, and it is the action of overzealous officials reading the situation, he should give appropriate instruction for the project to be pursued. And if there are other

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

NEWS Thursday, December 12, 2013

Obasanjo decries Jonathan’s backing of non-PDP candidates CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 projects anywhere suffering the same coolness as a result of similar situation, let national interest supersede personal or political feud and the machinations of satanic officials.

Mr. President, let me plead with you for a few things that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. Don’t always consider critics on national issues as enemies. Some of them may be as patriotic and nationalistic as you and I who had been in government. Some of them have as much passion for Nigeria as we have. I saw that among Nigerians living abroad, hence, I initiated Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, NIDO. You must also differentiate between malevolent, mischievous and objective criticism. Analyses, criticisms and commentaries on government actions and policies are sinew of democracy.

Please, Mr. President be very wary of assistants, aides and collaborators who look for enemies for you. I have seen them with you and some were around me when I was in your position. I knew how not to allow them create enemies for me. If you allow them, everybody except them will be your enemy. They are more dangerous than identified adversaries.

May God save leaders from sycophants. They know what they want to hear and they feed you with it essentially for their own selfish interest. As far as you and Nigeria are concerned, they are wreckers. Where were they when God used others to achieve God’s will in your life? They posses you now for their interest. No interest should be higher or more important than Nigerian interest to you. You have already made history and please do nothing to mar history. I supported you as I supported Yar’Adua. For me, there is neither North-South divide nor Christian-Muslim divide but one Nigeria.

Let me put it, that talks, loose and serious, abound about possible abuse and misuse of the military and the legitimate security apparatus for unwholesome personal and political interest to the detriment of the honour, dignity, oath and professionalism of these honourable and patriotic forces. Let me urge the authorities not to embark on such destructive path for an important element of our national makeup. The roles of the military and the security agencies should be held sacrosanct in the best interest of the nation. Again, let not history repeat itself here.

I believe that with what Nigeria has gone through in the past, the worst should have already happened. It must be your responsibility as the captain of the ship to prevent the ship from going aground or from a shipwreck.

For anybody close to you saying that if the worst happens, he or she would not be involved is an ideal and loose talk. If we leave God to do His will and we don’t rely only on our own efforts, plans and wisdom, God will always do His best. And the power of money and belief in it is satanically tempting. As I go around Nigeria and the world, I always come across Nigerians who are first class citizens of the world and who are doing well where they are and who are passionate to do well for Nigeria. My hope for our country lies in these people. They abound and I hope that all of us will realize that they are the jewels of Nigeria wherever they may be and not those who arrogate to themselves eternal for ephemeral.

Also to my embarrassment at times, I learned more about what is going on in the public and private sector of Nigeria from our development partners, international institutions and those transacting business in Nigeria most times I was abroad. On returning home to verify these stories, I found some of them not only to be true but more horrifying than they were presented abroad. Other countries look up to Nigeria for regional leadership. Failure on the part of Nigeria will create a schism that will be bad for the region.

Knowing what happens around you most of which you know of and condone or deny, this letter will provoke cacophony from hired and unhired attackers but I will maintain my serenity because by this letter, I have done my duty to you as I have always done, to your government, to the Party, PDP, and to our country, Nigeria. If I stuck out my neck and God used me and others as instrument to work hard for you to reach where you are today in what I considered the best political interest of Nigeria, tagging me as your enemy or the enemy of your administration by you, your kin or your aides can only be regarded as ridiculous to extreme. If I see any danger to your life, I will point it out to you or ward it off as I have done in the past. But I will not sup-

President Jonathan port what I believe is not in the best interest of Nigeria no matter who is putting it forward or who is behind it. Mr. President, I have passed the stage of being flattered, intimidated, threatened, frightened, induced or bought. I am never afraid to agree or disagree but it will always be on principles, and if on politics, in the national interest. After my prison experience in the close proximity of and sharing facilities with an asylum in Yola, there is nothing worse for anyone alive and well. And that was for a military dictator to perpetuate himself in power. Death is the end of all human beings and may it come when God wills it to come. The harassment of my relations and friends and innuendo that are coming from the Government security apparatus on whether they belong to new PDP or supporters of defected Governors and which are possibly authorised or are the work of overzealous aides and those reading your lips to act in your interest will be counterproductive. It is abuse of security apparatus. Such abuse took place last in the time of Abacha. Lies and untruths about me emanating from the Presidency is too absurd to contemplate. Saying that I recommend a wanted criminal by UK and USA authorities to you or your aides to supplant legitimately elected PDP leader in South-West is not only unwise and crude but also disingenuous.

Nobody in his or her right senses will believe such a story and surely nobody in Ogun State or South-West zone will believe such nonsense.

It is a clear indication of how unscrupulous and unethical the presidency can go to pursue your personal and political interest. Nothing else matters. What a pity. Nothing at this stage of my life would prevent me from standing for whatever I consider to be in the best interest of Nigeria- all Nigeria, Africa and the world in that order. I believe strongly that a united and strong PDP at all costs is in the best interest of Nigeria. In these respects, if our interests and views coincide, together we will march.

Putting a certified unashamed criminal wanted abroad to face justice and who has greatly contributed to corruption within the judiciary on a high profile of politics as you and your aides have done with the man you enthrone as PDP Zonal leader in the South West is the height of disservice to this country politically and height of insult to the people of South West in general and members of PDP in that zone in particular. For me, my politics goes with principles and morality, not to say one would be my zonal leader. It destroys what PDP stands for from its inception. By the government not acting positively and promptly in the case of Kashamu wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking and money laundering crimes, it is only confirming the persistent reports of com-

plicity or involvement of high level political benefit. Whichever way, it is a very dangerous development for Nigeria. Sooner than later, drug barons will be in control of large real estates, banks and other seemingly legitimate businesses; in elections, they will buy candidates, parties and eventually buy power or be in power themselves. It may be instructive if I quote fairly extensively from Lansana Gberie’s recent paper titled, ‘State Officials and Their involvement in Drug Trafficking in West Africa.’ ‘The controversial and puzzling case of Buruji Kashamu, a powerful figure in the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) suggests that a successful and wealthy politician’s association with drug trafficking is hardly disabling. Kashamu was indicted by a grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois in 1998 for conspiracy to import and distribute heroin to the United States. The indictment named him under his own name as well as two supposed aliases ‘Alaji’ and Kasmal. His whereabouts were unknown at the time, however, and his co-accused were tried and convicted. Later that year, he was found living comfortably in England, and on receipt of an extradition request from the US, the UK authorities arrested Kashamu. After a very protracted proceeding lasting until 2003, however, an English Judge refused to extradite Kashamu on grounds of uncertainty about his true identity. Kashamu triumphantly returned to Nigeria and soon after became a key political figure. He is now believed to be very close to President Goodluck Jonathan, because of his ability to mobilize votes in key states in Western Nigeria. The U.S. government reviewed Kashamu’s case, with the famous Judge Richard Posner presiding. Posner concluded that while Kashamu’s identity remains murky, there is little doubt that the figure now exercising authority in Nigeria’s PDP is the same as Kashamu, the ‘Alaji’ who was indicted for conspiracy to smuggle illicit drugs into the United States. Despite this, the Nigerian government has persistently ignored calls by civil society groups to investigate Kashamu and extradite him to the US. On 2 July 2013, the Federal Court in Lagos determined that Kashamu should be extradited to the U.S. Kashamu immediately appealed against this decision, yet in November 2013, a new panel of Judges constituted by the President of the Court of Appeal unanimously held that his appeal lacked merit, and that Kashamu should be extradited. His extradition to the United States will certainly set an important precedent… unless of course, he uses his political skills and contacts to continue avoiding it.’

God is never a supporter of evil and will sure-

ly save PDP and Nigeria from the hands of destroyers. If everything fails and the Party cannot be retrieved from the hands of criminals and commercial jobbers and discredited touts, men and women of honour, principles, morality and integrity must stop aside to rethink.

Let me also appeal to and urged defected, dissatisfied, disgruntled and in any way displeased PDP governors, legislators, party officials and party members to respond positively if the President seriously takes the initiative to find mutually agreeable solution to the current problems for which he alone has the key and the initiative. I have heard it said particularly within the presidency circle that the disaffected governors and members of PDP are my children. I begin to wonder if, from top to bottom, any PDP member in elective office today is not directly or indirectly a beneficiary and so to say, my political child. Anyone who may claim otherwise will be like a river that has forgotten its source. But like a good father, all I seek is peaceful and amicable solution that will re-unite the family for victory and progress of the family and the nation and nothing else.

In a democracy, leaders are elected to lighten the burden of the people, give them freedom, choice and equity and ensure good governance and not to deceive them, burden them, oppress them, render them hopeless and helpless. Nothing should be done to undermine the tenets, and values of democratic principles and practice. Tyranny in all its manifestations may be appealing to a leader in trying times of political feud or disagreement.

Democracy must, however, prevail and be held as sacrosanct. Today, you are the President of Nigeria, I acknowledge you and respect you as such.

The act of an individual has a way of rubbing off on the generality. May it never be the wish of majority of Nigerians that Goodluck Jonathan, by his acts of omission or commission, would be the first and the last Nigerian President ever to come from Ijaw tribe. The ideas and the possibility must give all of us food for thought. That was never what I worked for and that would never be what I will work for. But legacy is made of such or the opposite.

My last piece of advice, Mr. President is that you should learn the lesson of history and please do not take Nigeria and Nigerians for granted. Move away from culture of denials, cover-ups and proxies and deal honestly, sincerely and transparently with Nigerians to regain their trust and confidence. Nigerians are no fools, they can see, they can hear, they can talk among themselves, they can think, they can compare and they can act in the interest of their country and in their own selfinterest. They keenly watch all actions and deeds that are associated with you if they cannot believe your words. I know you have the power to save PDP and the country. I beg you to have the courage and the will with patriotism to use the power for the good of the country. Please uphold some form of national core values. I will appeal to all Nigerians particularly all members of PDP to respect and dignify the Office of the President. We must all know that individuals will come and go but the Office will remain.

Once again, time is of the essence. Investors are already retreating from Nigeria adopting ‘wait and see attitude’ and knowing what we are deficient of, it will take time to reverse the trend and we may miss some golden opportunities.

Finally, your later-day conversation into National Conference is fraught with danger of disunity, confusion and chaos if not well handled. I believe in debate and dialogue but it must be purposeful, directed and managed well without ulterior motives. The ovation has not died out yet and there is always life after a decent descent.

Accept, Dear Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.

I crave your indulgence to share the contents of this letter, in the first instance, with General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who, on a number of occasions in recent times, have shared with me their agonizing thoughts, concerns and expressions on most of the issues I have raised in this letter concerning the situation and future of our country. I also crave your indulgence to share the contents with General Yakubu Danjuma and Dr. Alex Ekwueme, whose concerns for and commitments to the good of Nigeria have been known to be strong. The limit of sharing of the contents may be extended as time goes on.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 NEWS | 7

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

‘African countries breaching trade pacts From Itunu Ajayi, Abuja GAINST the high expectations of African countries at Bali 9th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they were, however, left disappointed even as the Africa Trade Network, (ATN) accused African trade ministers of compromising their stands in earlier agreements.

A statement issued by the Africa Trade Network said there is hardly anything of substance in the just adopted Bali package that addressed Africa’s developmental imperatives.

The statement added that the agreed text on trade facilitation is what African countries need to address, especially the fundamental and peculiar challenges that they face in moving goods and services across national borders.

“The text imposes obligations on all countries to adopt customs procedures which are standard in the advanced industrial countries, and which most of the big emerging economies have already voluntarily adopted, and which are commensurate with the stage of economic development,” ATN said.

It said African countries on the other hand, have to undertake massive legislative, policy and infrastructural changes to live up to these standards. It, however, said the prior understanding to provide commensurate policy, technical, institutional and financial space and support for African countries to meet these changes was not adequately

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addressed in the text. If anything, the even weaker commitments agreed at the start of the Bali meeting were diluted even further – e.g. references to financial support was removed from the text.

Furthermore, the new binding rules adopted take away even the means by which African countries can mobilise their own resources to meet these new changes.

Above all, rather than simplify

customs procedures, the text introduces new processes which stand to give foreign corporations undue influence in the customs of African countries and diminish the role of domestic customs operators, further undermining African agenda of boosting intra-African trade and regional integration.

Addressing the issue on agriculture and food security, the statement said the compro-

mise deal, that is the peace clause, will protect the existing food security programmes of those countries that can already afford it.

Poorer African countries that have the need to, but have not yet mobilised the finances to start these programmes, are restrained. Other issues that affect agriculture in Africa such as subsidies and dumping were said to have been effectively sidelined.

It would be recalled that in the trade deal clinched in Bali by the 159 members of the WTO, members approved a deal to liberalise the international trade norms. This is the first ever-successful deal reached by the WTO since it was set up in 1995.

The new deal called “Bali Package” also allows developing countries like India to continue offering subsidies for their food procurement pro-

President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Segun Aina; Managing Director/CEO, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Jibril Aku; Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, Achievers University, Owo, Bode Ayorinde and Chairman, Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, during their conferment with honourary doctorate degrees in Business Administration by the university in Owo, Ondo State ... yesterday.

Oshiomhole presents N159b budget for 2014 From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin-City DO State Governor, E Adams Oshiomhole yesterday presented a budget proposal of N159. 213 billion for the 2014 financial year, to the state House of Assembly for approval which he tagged “Budget of Renewed Hope.”

If approved as presented, the budget would be N5.088 billion higher than the 2013 budget, which stood at N154, 125 billion.

He told the house that he hoped the budget would open up the state economy for rapid socio-economic made up of N85, 595 billion or (53.76 per cent) Capital Expenditure and N73. 617 billion (46.24) Recurrent Expenditure.

He said the budget would be funded from expected N115.589 billion as revenue made up of N65.331 billion as statutory receipts; N25.095 billion from Internally Generated Revenue, N4.899 billion from Aids and Grants; N8.246 billion from VAT, N6.423 billion from Excess Crude Account and N5.595 billion from Capital Receipts.

While explaining the performance of the 2013 budget proposal of N154, 125, 498, 265 billion, the governor regretted that revenue performance was affected by the reduction in the Personal Income Tax leading to a big drop in our Internally Generated Revenue to the tune of N500 million monthly.

Atuche seeks dismissal of N4.2 billion theft charge

By Bertram Nwannekanma FORMER Managing Director of defunct Bank PHB, Francis Atuche, yesterday asked an Ikeja High Court, Lagos to dismiss the N4.2 billion theft charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The dismissal request was contained in an application filed before Justice Adeniyi

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Onigbanjo by Atuche’s counsel, Abubakar Shamsudeen.

The embattled bank chief was charged alongside a former director of Bank PHB, Funmi Ademosun, for allegedly stealing N4.2 billion belonging to Caverton Helicopters Ltd in September 2007.

The application seeking to dismiss the charge was predicated on a recent decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Di-

vision, on November 21, which dismissed a theft charge preferred against a former Managing Director of defunct Finbank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu and some others at the Lagos High Court for lack of jurisdiction.

In the case, the appellate court held that the Lagos High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the charge because it emanated

from capital market transactions.

The court stated in a unanimous decision that a state high court cannot entertain charges, which are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal high court.

Shamsudeen, who based his argument on the appellate decision in the application dated December 6, contended that Atuche’s case was

I’m a militant in political struggles, Tukur declares From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja ATIONAL Chairman of N Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur said yesterday that his political struggles since he became party chairman two years ago had turned him into a political militant.

He said being militant has pre-disposed him to withstand pressures from adversaries, who according to him, preferred to turn him into a lame duck as chairman of PDP, adding that he would continue to be militant in the fight for justice, equity and equal right among members of PDP at all times.

The PDP chairman made this known in Abuja during a ceremony organised yesterday by All Niger Delta Peoples Congress to give merit Awards to some persons at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja.

Tukur said his militant disposition was inspired by his long association with the

youths from Niger Delta, most especially those among them who he said were un-relenting in fighting for Justice and recognition in Nigeria, using all legitimate means.

He said, “Yes, in Niger Delta there are militants. I am a militant too because the youths believe in equity and justice, and many of them used all legitimate means to get the attention of the government to the sufferings by the people.

“I am also a militant because I engage in political struggles to make our country better. I am a militant for Justice, fair play, equity and human rights. As the chairman of PDP, I will not give up in fighting for what is right and good for Nigeria to be better and for the youths to triumph in their struggles for survival.”

Tukur extolled the virtues of leaders of the south-south youths as he commended

their efforts in ensuring better life for the people in the zone as well as their preparedness to stand by the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to carry on with his Transformation Agenda.

He urged them to always be broad minded in their approach to issues, as he call on the Nigerians youths in general to begin to operate on the world stage in order to be ranked as world players in all endeavours.

The PDP Chairman who praised members of the Niger Delta Peoples Congress for encouraging outstanding performances among the public and private servants in Nigeria asked the members to emulate the virtues of the late President of South Africa, Mr. Nelson Mandela in their considerations.

He said Mandela was noted for the struggles to liberate his race from oppression un-

der the defunct apartheid regime in South-Africa.

According to Tukur, Nigeria has the potentials to produce great leaders like Mandela, given the huge human resources with which the country was endowed, adding that the scope of achieving that lies essentially with the Nigerian youths.

Tukur, who was special guest of Honour at the occasion, which attracted eminent dignitaries from the south-south zones of the federating and other parts of Nigeria, was conferred with an Award; Foremost Friend of Niger Delta.

The Chief Organiser of the Ceremony, Mr. Joejim Alaboso while presenting the award said the PDP chairman was considered for an award of Foremost Friend of the Niger Delta, given the fatherly roles he has been playing in moulding the youths from the zone for greater challenges as Nigerians. ,

similar to Nwosu’s.

According to him, the accused persons anchored the fulcrum of the charge on alleged unauthorised sales of shares belonging to Caverton Helicopters.

But the EFCC Counsel, Mr. Kayode Otufale, in preliminary objection, argued that

the application should be struck out for being abuse of court processes.

Otufale said that the Court of Appeal’s decision in Nwosu’s case was inapplicable to Atuche’s case.

Further hearing on the matter has been adjourned till December 16.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

8 NEWS Thursday, December 12, 2013

APGA undecided on Jonathan for 2015

From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja

• Picks Obi to succeed Odumegwu-Ojukwu as national leader

HE All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) yesterday cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on its recruitment of ad-hock staff for the conduct of future elections in the country, warning that political parties and politicians have effected a lot of influence in the process of how the Commission engages ad-hoc staff in elections.

The party maintained that with what it witnessed at the last Anambra governorship election, it has become very pertinent for INEC to have a second look at the process of recruiting ad-hoc staff for elections, noting that doing so will help the Commission conduct 2015 general elections that will be devoid of corrupt practices and generally accepted in the country.

Addressing the media after its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting yesterday in Abuja, APGA National Chairman, chief Victor Umeh, announced the decision of the NWC to appoint Anambra State Governor Peter Obi as its national leader and chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) with effect from January 2015 in appreciation of his efforts and contributions in keeping the party alive.

APGA, however, noted that it was yet to take a decision on whether to adopt President or not for the 2015 election, insisting that doing so would mean jumping the gun as it maintained that the 2015 presidential election is still too far for the party to make a pronouncement on who it would support.

Praising the efforts of Obi in

ensuring that an APGA governor will succeed him on March 17, 2014 when his tenure will end, the party also commended INEC for its efforts and planning in the conduct of the justended Anambra governorship election, as well as President Goodluck Jonathan for ensuring that security was adequately provided through out the period of the election.

On comments credited to Obi that APGA will endorse Jonathan for the 2015 presidential election, Umeh noted that

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the party was impressed with the performance of the President so far, as it will continue to supports his efforts to transform the country, noting that it was not yet time for APGA to make a pronouncement on whether it will back him for the next election or not.

“I have continuously warned the INEC Chairman, Prof.

Attahiru Jega, in our various meetings with INEC that he should be wary of the use of adhoc staff; I have warned that his

continuous use of these ad-hoc staff may cause a big havoc for INEC on election days. This has become necessary as we move into the 2015 elections because of the sabotage of the conduct of the ad-hoc staff in IdemiliNorth Local Council Area during the Anambra election, which resulted in the conduct of supplementary poll in the council area”.

“Just as we have dedicated the victory in Anambra to the evergreen memory of our iconic national leader and chairman

of the Board of Trustee, Dim Chukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu, we praise the chairman of our great party, Chief Umeh and as well as Governor Obi for their extra-ordinary vigour in the prosecution of the party’s campaign and the election. The National Working Committee noted the great contributions of Governor Obi towards keeping the party alive in the past 11 years of his membership of our great party and particularly, for ensuring that an APGA governor succeeds him on March 17, 2014, a promise he made and faithfully kept.

LMOST a year after the A death of Republic of Venezuela President, Hugo Chavez, African leaders, including Nigeria’s, have been urged to imbibe his inclination for people-oriented governance.

From John Akubo, Dutse OME protocol officers SGovernor, attached to Jigawa State Sule Lamido, are reported to be having sleepless nights for fear of losing their jobs over the missing passport of the governor.

Sources in Government House disclosed that the passport could not be found during the process of securing visa for a trip to the United Kingdom.

Also, sources close to Lamido indicated that he had planned to travel to England on Sunday night. However, he had to cancel the trip when the passport was discovered to be missing.

It would be recalled that in 2009, a thief was caught in the bedroom of the governor, who was later identified as an officer of the State Security Service (SSS) attached to the Government House.

The suspect was detained and later sacked.

This has been the background for the apprehension among the protocol officers who are directly connected with the missing passport.

Rival asks Olofa to stop parading himself as monarch From Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin OUNSEL to one of the conC testing ruling houses to the stool of Olofa of Offa, Offa

Military officers carrying the coffin of former South African President and the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, Nelson Mandela, in Pretoria... yesterday.

PHOTOS: AFP

Venezuelan envoy urges Nigerian, other leaders to emulate Chavez From Lillian Chukwu, Abuja

Lamido may sack protocol officers over missing passport

In an interactive session with the media yesterday in Abuja, Charge d’ Affairs at the Venezuelan Embassy in Nigeria, Miguelangel Vecchia, said it was significant to commemorate the late President’s symbolic “handing over the motherland to all Venezuelans”.

Chavez was the President of

Venezuela under the United Socialist Party from 1999 until his death in 2013 at the age of 58 years.

Vecchia narrated how on “December 8, 2012, Chavez addressed the nation for the last time.

“He informed Venezuelans about his terrible misfortune, the cancer surgery he under-

went in 2011 was not successful, that his tumor had not disappeared completely, therefore, he needed to travel to Cuba in order to receive specialised medical treatment,” the envoy recounted.

As stated by the constitution of Venezuela, Chavez requested from the National Assembly, the necessary

licence to leave the country and the authorisation was “unanimously” approved till his demise.

Vecchia said the excellent bilateral relation his country enjoys with Nigeria is moistened, especially because both countries share membership of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Local Council Area, Toyin Oladipo, has urged the incumbent Olofa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi, to stop parading himself as Olofa, citing pending Supreme Court case on the development.

The two ruling houses, Olugbense and Anilelerin, are simultaneously laying claims to the stool. While Gbadamosi is from Anilelerin, Adegboyega Keji represents the Olugbense.

Oladipo, counsel to Gbadamosi, on Monday December 9, wrote a letter on behalf of other members of the legal team to Chief Rafiu Lawal-Rabana (SAN), who is the counsel to Gbadamosi, to stop his client from any further act that could make him parade himself as the Olofa of Offa.

Court voids N’Assembly’s take-over of Rivers Legislature

Senator hails Aziza’s election as UPU leader

From Lemmy Ughegbe (Abuja) and Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcourt)

HAIRMAN of Senate C Committee on Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has described

HE Federal High Court, Abuja Division, yesterday barred the National Assembly from performing the functions of the Rivers States House Assembly, declaring that there were no factual premises to show that the state Legislature could not perform its constitutional role.

Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed made the declaration while ruling on a suit filed by two lawyers, Tamunotemi Asobari and John Kpakol.

He also held that by the provisions of Section 11(4) and (5) of the Constitution, the National Assembly could not assume the lawmaking function of the Rivers State House of Assembly when the were no facts that the said House was incapable, for any reason, of carrying out its functions.

He agreed with the plaintiffs that after the July 9, 2013, brawl in the state Assembly, the

T

House reconvened under the former Speaker and passed the 2013 budget for the state.

Consequently, he declared the resolution passed by the Senate to investigate the situation between Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the Commissioner of Police in Rivers state unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void.

The judge held: “By the provisions of Section 215 (2) and (3) of the constitution as amended the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants do not have powers to direct the 5th defendant (Speaker, House of Representatives) to redeploy the Rivers State Commissioner of Police or any officer under the Command of the Nigeria Police.”

“The court has not been shown the provision that empowers the National Assembly to redeploy the police; redeployment is mainly the duty of the executive”.

And reacting to the ruling, some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly,

including the Deputy Speaker, Leyii Kwanee, have described the nullification of the power of the Federal High Court as welcome development.

Kwanee said: “We were informed by our team of lawyers in Abuja that the court has given judgment reversing the decision of the National Assembly to take over our responsibility as enshrined by the constitution. While we consider this a welcome development because Rivers constituents have suffered as a result of this inactivity, we do hope we get back to job very soon.”

On his part, the House Committee Chairman on Judiciary, Golden Chioma, stated that the Rivers State House of Assembly would abide by the court ruling.

He explained that the state lawmakers would visit the police to intimate them about the judgment preparatory to the reopening of the Assembly complex.

He, therefore, appealed to the police for maximum co-opera-

tion and the protection of lives and property to enable them do their job.

Chioma assured that the House is ever prepared to serve Rivers people, pledging that the activities of the House would be communicated to the members of the public.

He said: “With the leave of the Speaker, I want to say that the Rivers State House of Assembly is a law abiding organ of government and will abide by the court judgment. The court in its wisdom has decided to give back our legislative functions, which were taken away by virtue of Section 11 sub 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, but now the court has given the decision, which we must abide by and we will abide by it because we are elected to do the functions as enshrined.

“So we want to plead with the society and the police that what we need is their maximum cooperation. We need security of lives and property to enable the 31 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to perform their

functions and we will be asking fervently that all our constituents and all law-abiding citizens should await further directions because our sittings would be held in public where everybody will have opportunity of watching us.

“There won’t be any smokescreen whatever. All the ugly incidents that happened in the past remain in the past.

We are here to say that we are ready to serve Rivers people and we will make sure that our activities are communicated to you as the need arises”.

The lawmakers present at the briefing included Kwanee, Wanjoku, Chikere A. Barikor, Innocent B, Legborsi Nwidadah, Senibo Andrew A. Miller, Hon. Josiah John Olu, Gift Wokocha, Lucky Odili, Aye A. Pepple, Nname Robinson Ewor, Chigbo Eligue and Irene Inimgba.

Others include Golden Ngozi Chioma, Benibo Anabraba, Victoria Wobo Nyeche and Felicia Barizasi Tane.

the election of General Patrick Aziza as the president-general of Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) as a most welcome and positive development for the Urhobo nation in Delta State and the country.

He noted that Aziza’s towering figure and worthy antecedents as one of the country’s foremost leaders would surely be brought to bear in piloting the affairs of the UPU, adding he was confident the retired Army General would, through the new office, reposition the Urhobo nation to greater effect in the socio- economic and political development of the country.

Okowa, whose message of felicitation was signed by his Media Aide, Jonathan Onwuka, yesterday noted that the Urhobo nation was privileged to have a leader in the calibre of Aziza heading the apex socio-cultural group of the people.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

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PHOTONEWS

Chief Executive Officer, Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), Modupe Ladipo (left); Board member, EFInA, Animo Emuwa and Manager, Savings, Women’s World Banking, Jennifer McDonald, during the Women’s Financial Inclusion Forum in Lagos.

United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Thomas Greenfield (left); presents a gift to Bola Tinubu after a visit to the Freedom House, Lagos

Brand Manager, Moet-Hennessy-Champagne, Ann Ogunsulire (left); Exhibition Photographer, Lakin Ogunbanwo; and Executive Chairman, Lagos Internal Revenue Services, Tunde Fowler, during the opening Night of MUSE Ogunbanwo Solo Exhibition at Didi Museum, Victoria Island.

PHOTO: CHARLES OKOLO

Chief Executive Officer, Anabel Group of Companies/Convener, Nigeria Leadership Summit, Nicholas Okoye (right); Chairperson, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Director, Intels Limited, Ejike I. Onyia and former Executive Director, Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategies Studies, Kuru, Uma Eleazu, at the Day Two of the Second Nigeria Leadership Summit 2013 ‘Let’s Get To Work’ in Lagos.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Director, Centre for Democracy and Socio-Economic Rights, Popoola Ajayi (left); Chairman, Civil Society Network Against Corruption, Olanrewaju Suraju and Ayodele Akele at the briefing on Akele Reinstatement Campaign Organisation in Lagos.

PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

Marketing Manager (Personal Care), Ahmed Shah (left); Senior Brand Manager (Dettol), Bunmi Adeniba; Brand Manager (Dettol), Tolulope Olaoye and Trade Marketing Manager, Ikechi Nwankwo, all of Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Limited at the trade launch of the new Dettol Re-energize Soap in Lagos.

John Ayoh, Information Technology Director, Central Bank of Nigeria (left); David Isiavwe, President, Information Security Society of Africa, Nigeria (ISSAN); Tawanda Gumbo, Transitional CEO, Akintola Williams Deloitte; Ademola Aladekomo, CEO/MD Chams Plc; Anthony Olukoju, Partner Risk Advisory, Akintola Williams Deloitte; Tope Aladenusi, Partner Risk Advisory, Akintola Williams Deloitte, and Taiwo Longe, Deputy Director, Information Security Management, Central Bank of Nigeria, during the Deloitte chief information security officer roundtable in Lagos.

Environmental and Safety Officer, Advanced Engineering Consultant, Adenike Oginni (left); Dr. Mike Dibor of Hope Worldwide Nigeria; Deputy Director, Safeguard, LAMATA, Prof. Olukayode Taiwo; Project Manager CCECC, Hua Junjia; Logistic Officer CCECC, Segun Bolade; and Traffic Management Officer, Advanced Engineering Consultant, Mrs Odumosun during a seminar on HIV/AIDS workshop for workers on Ikorodu extension.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 11

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WorldReport Ukraine police stand down after protest grows KRAINIAN police yesterU day pulled back as protesters claimed victory after

Anti-Government protesters defend their barricades in front of anti-riot police on Independence Square in Kiev, yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

Court reinstates ban on gay sex in India major blow to gay rights A was recorded yesterday, as India’s top court has upheld a law, which criminalises gay sex.

The Supreme Court ruling reverses a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court order, which had decriminalised homosexual acts.

The court said it was up to parliament to legislate on the issue.

According to Section 377, a

153-year-old colonial law, a same-sex relationship is an “unnatural offence” and punishable by a 10-year jail term.

Several political, social and religious groups had petitioned the Supreme Court to have the law reinstated in the wake of the 2009 court ruling.

Correspondents say although the law has rarely - if ever been used to prosecute anyone for consensual sex, it has

often been used by the police to harass homosexuals.

Also, in deeply conservative India, homosexuality is a taboo and many people still regard same-sex relationships as illegitimate.

“It is up to parliament to legislate on this issue,” Justice GS Singhvi, the head of the twojudge Supreme Court bench, said in yesterday’s ruling, which came on his last day before retiring.

Uproar halts Muslim Brotherhood leaders’ trial in Egypt N Egyptian judge yesterA day halted the trial of leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood after they shouted slogans and refused to cooperate with the court.

Judge Mustafa Salama said the case of the Brotherhood’s General Guide Mohamed Badie and fellow defendants, who are charged with inciting the killing of protesters, would be transferred to the Cairo appeals court.

Badie earlier led his co-accused in chants against the army-backed government, shouting “Down, down with

military rule” from the cage where defendants are held in Egypt.

They were arrested in a crackdown on the Islamist group after the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July following mass protests against his rule.

It was the second time their trial had been halted. In October, a separate panel of judges withdrew from the case after a hearing which the defendants did not attend.

The charge against Badie, his deputy Khairat al-Shater, and senior Brotherhood mem-

bers Saad Katatni and Mohamed El-Beltagi relates to an anti-Brotherhood protest near the group’s Cairo headquarters on June 30 in which nine people were killed and 91 wounded.

Security forces have piled pressure on the Brotherhood, banned by a court in September, as authorities press ahead with a planned transition expected to yield presidential and parliamentary elections next year. The next step is a referendum on a new constitution, expected in midJanuary.

Pope Francis is Time’s Person of the Year versations of our time: about OPE Francis, who has church since succeeding wealth and poverty, fairness P grabbed headlines for be- Pope Benedict earlier this and justice, transparency, friending a rabbi, sneaking year, was selected this year’s out to help the homeless, and hanging out with kids, is Time’s Person of the Year.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church edged out nine other finalists, including National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and gay marriage advocate Edith Windsor, for the honor.

Obama was Time’s 2012 Person of the Year. But the pope, who the magazine said has changed the tone of the

POY recipient, given to someone who has the “most impact on our lives, for better or worse.”

“Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly — young and old, faithful and cynical — as has Pope Francis,” Time managing editor Nancy Gibbs wrote.

“In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very center of the central con-

modernity, globalization, the role of women, the nature of marriage, the temptations of power.

“He is embracing complexity and acknowledging the risk that a church obsessed with its own rights and righteousness could inflict more wounds than it heals,” Gibbs continued.

Francis was chosen, she added, “for pulling the papacy out of the palace and

“The legislature must consider deleting this provision (Section 377) from law as per the recommendations of the attorney general,” he added.

India’s Law Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters the government would respect the ruling but did not say whether there were plans to amend the law. According to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), new legislation is unlikely soon - general elections are due next year.

Gay rights activists have described yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling as “disappointing” and said they will approach the court to review its decision.

“Such a decision was totally unexpected from the top court. It is a black day,” Arvind Narrain, a lawyer for the Alternative Law Forum gay rights group, told reporters.

“We are very angry about this regressive decision of the court,” he said.

“This decision is a body-blow to people’s rights to equality, privacy and dignity,” G Ananthapadmanabhan of Amnesty International India said in a statement.

into the streets, for committing the world’s largest church to confronting its deepest needs, and for balancing judgment with mercy.”

The Vatican issued a statement on Francis’ selection.

“The Holy Father is not looking to become famous or to receive honors,” a Vatican spokesman said. “But if the choice of Person of Year helps spread the message of the gospel — a message of God’s love for everyone — he will certainly be happy about that.”

an overnight face-off in which authorities removed barricades and tents and scuffled with demonstrators occupying Kiev’s main square.

Squadrons of police in helmets and bearing metal shields converged at about 1 a.m. on Independence Square, but thousands of protesters put up fierce resistance for hours, shoving back at police lines to keep them away from key sites.

The Ukrainian chief of police issued a statement insisting there would be no attempt to break up the demonstrations. Protesters have been gathering around the clock to demand the resignation of the government in a crisis that threatens the leadership of President Viktor Yanukovych.

“I want to calm everyone down — there will be no dispersal,” Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko said on the ministry’s website. “No one is encroaching on the rights of citizens to peaceful protest.”

Three police buses that had been parked outside the building all night drove away to cheers and shouts of “shame!” from several thousand protesters who remained on the square.

Another group of police that had been stationed outside the Kiev city hall building, which has been occupied by protesters for weeks, also departed.

“This is a great victory,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a top opposition leader, shouted from the stage at

Independence Square.

Throughout the standoff the police appeared to be under orders to refrain from excessive force, unlike the violent beatings of protesters in recent weeks. Several demonstrators and police were injured, but police helped injured activists up from the ground and moved them away.

The protests began in late November when Yanukovych backed away from a pact that would deepen the former Soviet republic’s economic ties with the 28-nation European Union — a pact that surveys showed was supported by nearly half the country’s people.

But police violence has become one of the main catalysts for the growing protest movement and the government has appeared to back off from heavy-handed police tactics.

Many of the protesters, wearing orange construction hats to protect themselves from police truncheons, locked arms and simultaneously jumped up and down to stay warm in freezing temperatures that plunged to 12 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 11 Celsius).

Scuffles broke out between police and opposition lawmakers, one of whom lay down on the snow trying to block a vehicle from advancing on the camp. An Orthodox priest sang prayers, and a popular Ukrainian rock song with the lyrics “I will not give up without a fight” blared from loudspeakers over the square. Pop singer Ruslana sang the national anthem and cheered protesters from the stage.

French deployment in CAR ‘necessary’ RESIDENT Francois P Hollande has defended France’s military intervention in the Central African Republic - after two French soldiers were killed in the capital Bangui.

Speaking in Bangui, he said last week’s deployment of 1,600 troops had been necessary to “avoid carnage”.

The two French soldiers were killed in combat near Bangui airport.

The CAR has been in chaos since rebel leader, Michel Djotodia ousted President Francois Bozize in March.

Fuelled by ethnic rivalries, the conflict has also now become sectarian in nature as he installed himself as the first Muslim leader in the Christian-majority country sparking months of bloody clashes between rival Muslim and Christian fighters.

On Tuesday, President Hollande said the French military involvement was “necessary if one wants to avoid carnage” in the impov-

erished African nation.

“It was time to act. In Bangui itself, nearly 400 people were killed. There was no time to procrastinate,” he added, in a reference to the past week’s bloodshed.

The two French soldiers paratroopers - were killed on Monday night in a clash with identified gunmen.

They are the first French deaths since France deployed its troops in a United Nationsbacked operation.

Claude Bartolone, speaker of France’s National Assembly, told reporters that the soldiers “were injured and very quickly taken to the surgical unit, but unfortunately they could not be saved”.

French troops - along with African peacekeepers launched an operation on Monday to forcibly disarm militiamen as well as predominantly Muslim fighters who claimed to be part of the new national army.

Tensions remain high in the country and more violence is feared, our correspondent adds.

12 | Thursday, December 12, 2013 www.ngrguardiannews.com

By Godfrey Okpugie Deputy Lagos City Editor ESIRE to make quick profit from the usual D end-of-year bustling business in Lagos has overwhelmed the consciousness of fire outbreak that often wrecks havoc in most markets in the mega city.

Last month, there was conflagration in Great Nigeria Insurance House in Lagos Island, which made many traders in the place to suffer monumental losses estimated to be in billions of Naira.

The Guardian gathered from some of the affected traders that they hadn’t insurance cover for their shops and stalls.

In December last year, a massive explosion ripped through a warehouse full of fireworks sparking a fire that threatened adjacent blocks and sending a plume of thick smoke high into the sky. This occurred around 9am in the Jankara area of Lagos Island, in a narrow street containing closely constructed tall buildings holding shops and housing people sometimes a dozen to a room. The explosion echoed miles away and shook windows and ceilings.

A visit to many markets in Lagos metropolis on Monday and Tuesday revealed brisk business activities going in an unusually overpopulated markets in the city in December of every year because of large influx of traders from within and outside the country who

come to procure stocks for sales in their localities in the Yuletide season.

The bloated population often increases demand for buses and taxis, which results in a sharp rise in transport fares in virtually all the routes in the city.

At Idumota area of the downtown Isale Eko, a notable place for the trading of assorted fabrics, a horde of people were seen scouting for clothes to buy for the approaching end-of-year festivities even amid surging pedestrians struggling with busses, taxis and cart pushers for available spaces in the narrow Ereko, Dosunmu, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Idumagbo and all the adjoining Streets.

The shops and stalls in the closely built highrise houses on the streets were clogged and stocked with bundles of newly imported textile materials and other Yuletide fast selling goods some of which were elaborately displayed in fronts of the shops to attract buyers.

Also noticed were varied brands of electricity generators positioned by individuals in front and besides their shops and stalls. They were making cacophony of sounds and emitting eye irritant fumes.

It was observed that some of the generator owners kept reservoir of petrol in jerry cans in their shops for refilling their gens to keep them running endlessly. Some traders were seen refilling their generators without bothering to put off the engines.

A lady merchant who sells lace and other

expensive fabrics in one of the large shops in Ereko Street, Mrs. Lola Atiku, said they always pray and rely on God for protection against fire disaster in the over crowded markets.

According to her, there is no law and authority in the markets to stop traders from operating generators and virtually every one in the place is compelled by lack of regular electricity supply from the national grid to acquire generator to light up the dark shops for buyers to see the goods on the shelves.

She confirmed that many of the traders have no insurance cover against fire disaster.

Mrs. Atiku, who said she has only fire extinguishers to fight fire in her multi-million naira shop told The Guardian that she would have loved to insure her shop against fire but that she does not know how to get genuine insurance company that would truly indemnifies her in the event of fire disaster.

Another fabric merchant in the market, Mr. Disu Ojikutu, also confirmed that most of them do not know how to get insurance cover against fire. He said Nigerian Insurance firms are not reliable, as they only know how to collect premium from clients but look for legal loopholes to avoid paying compensation when disaster strikes.

But Mr. Ejike Mark, a importer and distributor of assorted fabrics said the traders would welcome collective insurance cover against fire disaster, whereby traders in a building or several buildings in the same street would join together

December business gathers momentum in Lagos markets amid imminent fire disaster

Ereko Street, Lagos Island on Tuesday

PHOTO: GODFREY OKPUGIE

to acquire insurance cover for their shops. The premium could be contributed by every member in the group every month or quarterly.

While blaming the government for not doing anything to secure the areas against fire, he disclosed that the goods in all the markets in the vicinity were worth billions of naira.

“With so much merchandise, money and livelihoods at stake, a caring government ought to see the need to provide water and anti-fire gadgets, like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and sprinklers in this place, especially after there had been repeated fire outbreaks in the markets,” he said.

Lack of insurance protection and neglect of government had made traders in Lagos to suffer so many losses in fire disasters.

For Example, owners of more than 150 shops that were razed down at the Trinity Spare Parts Market in Ajegunle area of Lagos, this year had been unable to recover from the losses suffered.

Some of the victims – Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuka and his cousin, Mr. Chisom Chukwuka, 19 and 17 years respectively and former president of the traders association in the market, Mr. Jerome Odinigwe – were injured during the inferno.

In yet another fire disaster in which goods worth millions of naira were razed down in a section of Owode-onirin Iron/metal dealers market, Ikorodu Road, Lagos, the National Chairman of the Iron/Metal Dealers Association, Alhaji Sanni Altesebutu said no trader received compensation as there wasn’t any such plan and therefore appealed to the government to bail them out Traders who sustained losses at the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) Market situated off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, in Ikeja, Lagos, that was gutted by fire hadn’t insurance cover to make good the millions of naira worth of goods that were burnt in the market.

The fire, which was caused by somebody who was cooking close to a generating set at the shopping plaza, destroyed 86 shops and the goods in them.

In March, about 300 shops were razed to the ground and millions of naira went up in flames at Ketu market during an inferno. The victims lost everything. One of them, Fatai Ayinla, stood speechless in front of his burnt shop, unable to save anything and unsure he could start all over again.

Victims of the fire at the Tejuosho Market, Yaba, Lagos lost their goods to the fire. Their sources of livelihood were lost and their futures irreparably damaged.

The list is endless.

However, the Controller General of Federal Fire Service, Mr. Olusegun Okebiorun, who disclosed some months ago that the country loses about N50 billion annually to fire disaster, said the government would soon introduce laws to check fire disasters in the country.

“The Federal Fire Service has prescribed laws to curb the incessant fire disasters in public and private buildings, as well as markets in the country, to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and property,” the fire Controller General said, adding that “in fact, a bill had already been sent to the National Assembly to regulate how to prevent fire incidents in public places, factories, markets and private living homes.

“When the laws are in force, public, private and market owners must comply with certain fire service regulations and be certified by the body, before they could be allowed to commence their buildings in order to prevent avoidable fire incidents in future,”

Lagos commences revitalization of infrastructure in Mushin, others

By Tunde Alao OTED as one of the notorious areas in Lagos State, espeN cially, with the preponderance of violent activities by the street urchins, otherwise known as “Area Boys”, Mushin is now wearing a new look, courtesy of the improved provision of infrastructure by the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. About 16 rehabilitated roads were formally commissioned in the area last week.

Speaking at the official handing over of the roads, Governor Babatunde Fashola listed Akanro/Ishola, Akinyemi Crescent, Badejo Kalesanwo, Olaninbi/Ojekunle Ronke and Ajana Streets.

Others include Sadiku, Paul Okuntola, Apesin, Eniola, Oyewuwo, Folarin, Kelani, and others.

According to Fashola, the ongoing dualisation of Daleko/Isolo/Mushin road is another project that would impact positively in the lives of the people after completion.

He said: “Mushin has historical importance as far as Western Region, even in Nigeria. We need to trace the history of the old western region, its infrastructure, economic and social developments and then we would see the reason why we need to do more to revitalize the existing infrastructure and provide new ones.

“Mushin which comprised the present Ilupeju industrial estate was the economic power base of the old western

region.”

The Governor was of the view that apart from the popular Ladipo Auto Spare parts’ Market, other markets in the community would soon get similar prominence after the completion of the ongoing road projects.

He disclosed that over 200 road projects have been listed for either reconstruction or rehabilitation in the metropolis.

Fashola, while expressing his delight on the completion of Ishaga-LUTH road, said the road that was once derogatorily referred to as ‘River LUTH,’ where flooding was a common feature “The contractors that handled the road did a good job,” he affirmed.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013 | 13

Lagos Water Commission:

Fashola’s nominee goofs at screening • House suspends confirmation

By Wole Oyebade N spite of the quality of personalities that Governor Raji Ilatory Fashola has picked to constitute the Lagos State Water ReguCommission, his choice of Mr. Taiwo Adesanya Sebioba as Chairman of the Board did not meet with the approval members of the House of Assembly.

The reason was due to the poor show Sebioba put forward on the floor, when the nominees appeared at the Assembly screening on Monday.

Sebioba, who hails from Ikorodu, was not only unconvincing in his remarks, he also showed a poor knowledge of Lagos Water Sector law and statutory responsibility of the commission he was nominated to head.

To test his knowledge of public water-related issues in the state, the lawmakers inquired from him his plan to ensure availability of portable water for all Lagosians; regulation and control of public water, especially sachet water and environmental challenge that the byproducts – empty sachets and plastics – pose to waste management in the state.

Other questions were to elicit his awareness of the functions the Water Sector Law assigned to the board.

Sebioba, a Chartered Accountant by profession and a 981 graduate of Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, started brightly by saying public utility, one of which is water, is important to the society and core responsibility of the government, though should not be exclusive to the government.

He said: “It is therefore important to have the private sector come into service creation, but with avenues for them to recoup their investment in the sector.”

He, however, made the lawmakers uncomfortable when he said: “The law is very specific: it insists on regular availability of water to the people, while investors are able to recoup their investment.”

The remark indeed drew attention to his mastery of the tasks before the water commission. But more questions on his role, as head of the board and its regulations further confirmed the lawmakers’ doubts.

Sebioba said: “In providing leadership for the board, we will set objectives according to the act of the commission...We will work with NAFDAC in regulating the issue of pure water and its sachet, especially because the nylon cannot be recycled.”

This remark made the interest of lawmakers in him to flag.

Sebioba was apparently ignorant about the fact that one of the major waste management projects that the Lagos State government has embarked upon was recycling water nylon plastics at Olusosun dumpsite.

Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji said: “You seem to know the Water Sector Law better than the House that passed

A bad spot on the service lane at Iyana Itire Bus stop, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. it. More so, since when have you been informed that the Governor nominated you as Chairman of the commission?”

“Since June,” Sebioba, having hesitated a while, answered.

“You may take a bow,” Ikuforiji said.

Sebioba was nominated to head a board that would have the likes of the immediate Past Chairman of Institute of Chartered Accountant, Adedoyin Owolabi; Professor of Environmental Law, Olanrewaju Fagbohun and Oil and Gas expert, Samuel

PHOTO: GODFREY OKPUGIE

Onofowokan as members.

Moving for confirmation, several of the lawmakers who expressed deep reservations on the choice of Sebioba turned down their confirmation.

Ikuforiji ruled that the matter be scheduled for a private parliamentary, where Sebioba may just be confirmed as the best candidate for the job.

LAGOS ASSEMBLY DIARY

Nelson Mandela’s South Africa: A lesson for Nigerian leaders

By Wole Oyebade State House of Assembly on Monday LuteAGOS joined the rest of the world in paying tribto Dr Nelson Mandela, who they described as a lesson to Nigerian, and African leaders at large.

Their tributes, more like a mirror to assess Nigerian leaders, recounted lasting legacies of “the greatest son of Africa” and the status of his South Africa in the comity of nations.

Meanwhile, the Assembly has welcome a proposal by the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), to conduct free Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) counseling and testing for members and staff of the Assembly.

The campaign is part of the state government’s efforts to reduce burden of HIV/AIDS in Lagos.

Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who

opened the flood gate of tributes at the close of plenary on Monday, said though Mandela’s demise was a celebration of a foremost icon, his life and times, however, calls for a sober reflections “for us Nigeria and African leaders as a whole.”

Ikuforiji said Mandela lived with a strength that was unconquerable and the best example of what an African should be.

He added: “It is not his death per se but the lesson we as a people have learnt from Mandela. What has Africa, particularly, leaders on the continent gained from his life and how much of these have we put into practice? After 27 years in prison, he came out with a forgiving spirit to rally the nation together and today, the South Africa that we (Nigeria) forth for its independence is leading us and leading us by the nose.

“That particular night that he passed on, the satellite television station (DSTV) that broke

the news is a South African company. The first phone call I made to a friend on Mandela’s death, the GSM (MTN) is a South African company. Even my colleagues here and members of staff, our shopping is incomplete if we have not visited the South African’s super store called Shoprite.”

The speaker said, while he was proud that Mandela was a son of the continent, he also felt sad that many of those who had the opportunity to be exemplary leaders like Mandela have failed the continent.

“We have failed ourselves. I can only pray that a good proportion of our leaders would actually learn from these great man,” he said.

Chief Whip of the House, Dr Rasak Balogun, commiserated with Mandela’s family, as he reiterated that all Nigerians have one thing or the other to learn from Mandela.

Balogun said: “We are all leaders in our spheres of life. It is not people that rule this

country alone that should take a cue from the deceased. How many of us here can tell our leaders the truth? Rather, we continue to massage their ego even when they are doing the wrong thing and just cannot do the right thing for the people.

“It is important to emulate the great one so that we all can continue to do the right thing for our people and better the course of humanity,” he said.

Lawmaker representing Apapa II Constituency, Olumuyiwa Jimoh, in his tribute, observed that, in his spirit of comradeship, Mandela wrote his autobiography to popularize other anti-apartheid fighters that would have gone unsung.

Ipoola Omisore said his act of putting the nation first and incorruptible spirit stood him out, adding that it was not too late for Nigerian leaders to emulate Mandela towards a greater Nigeria.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

TheMetroSection ‘Why I decided to be a taxi driver’ • Female taxi driver decries activities of Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) in FCT

Temitope From John Okeke, Abuja

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, when she had written applications to O Temitope, a graduate of Economics from several places but all to no avail.

Expam University, Benin Republic, “what a The single lady, who hails from Ogun State, man can do, a woman can do it even better”. maintained that she couldn’t wait for her parHence, she took a bold step to join other men who are doing taxi business in the Federal Cap- ents to be sending money for her upkeep after ital Territory (FCT), Abuja, what ordinarily is be- her graduation.

She said: “I’m driving a taxi because I don’t lieved to be men’s turf. want to die of hunger. It is very hard to get a To her, it is better to be a taxi driver than to die of hunger. She decided to do this after her job in Nigeria these days. When I finished my

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NYSC, I wrote several applications, I did aptitude tests but all to no avail and I could not be sleeping and waking at home without doing anything. I could not be asking my mother to be sending me money for food rather, I should be sending her money because I am a graduate.”

She continued: “So I thought of what to do.

Since my brother’s car was with me. I decided to go to the Driving School and after I finished, I started driving the car myself.”

“I went to the Taxi Union to make enquiries about all the things I had to do before I could start the business. They told me I should pay for a form, fill it, collect an Identity Card (ID) and pay N5, 000 registration. That was how I started.”

Asked if there were other women in the business, she said: “There are two women in Wuse Market and they load at Banex and NAICON junctions but I have not met them. I know of one that normally comes to this area and she told me that she was a police officer. She uses Honda Bullet.”

Tokpe also said that her course had been of help to her in running her taxi business.

“Economics has been helping me nbecause it helps me not to be extravagant and I economize my fuel as well. Economics has helped me in a way that it is somehow difficult for me to give somebody a lift. I have to collect some money from you even it is N50. It is money,” she said.

“I use to make N8, 000 everyday and use N3, 000 to fuel my tank,” she added.

Lamenting the challenges in the transport business, she decried the activities of the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) in Abuja, who she claimed, have always been a cog in the wheel of her progress.

“VIO is my problem in this business. They are worse than agberos.”

Recalling her nasty experience with them, she said: “The first time they collected this vehicle, it was one married woman who cried and said: “Oga, you should leave this woman, you should be ashamed of yourself, for a woman to be doing taxi it is not ordinary. It is not as if she is happy.”

The man made sure that he took my vehicle to Mabushi and deflated all the four tyres. I cried but he would not budge, until they collected what they wanted before they released the vehicle, accusing me of driving a Kabu, Kabu (illegal taxi). “ While faulting the activities of VIO officials in the FCT, she urged the Federal Government to call them to order.

Their work is to check Drivers’ Licence, vehicle particulars and number plates, not to arrest taxi drivers and order them to bring N50, 000 and N20, 000 for illegal parking and carrying of passengers. How do they want us to survive?

Advising other young women, she said: “Young ladies should not wait for their parents to send them money when there are other things they could do to cater for themselves.

They should go into prostitution. For me, that is the last thing I will do as a woman.”

Family, Edo police differ over slain suspected robber

Briefs

From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City HE family of a suspected armed robber identified as Michael Imaikop, who was allegedly killed by the police along with four others two weeks ago, yesterday engaged in a war of words with the Edo State Police Command over the authenticity of the claim that the deceased was a suspected robber.

While the family insisted that the deceased was a farmer and not an armed robber and that he was a victim of extra-judicial killing, the Edo State Police Commissioner, Folusho Adebanjo, denied the claim by both the family and an online report that the deceased and others were farmers.

The children and other family members of the deceased took their protest to the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),

Emotor Isoko Association marks anniversary

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protested in Benin City Monday, appealing to the police to release the body of their brother, just as they insisted that the deceased was a responsible father and not a criminal.

But Adebanjo insisted shortly after showing the video recording that, “this claim and speculation in the social media is a calculated attempt by some persons to Adebanjo mislead the people of Edo State House of Assembly com- State and put the police in bad light. plex and major streets of “There has been incessant Benin City, demanding juscases of armed robbery on tice.

But the Police Commissioner the Benin-Oluku bypass and as a result of this, some operlater played a video where one of the suspects, who iden- atives of the command were deployed to check the ugly tified himself as Sanda from trend.

Kebbi State, confessed that they were robbers, who came Fortunately, on November to rob along the Auchi Benin 24, 2013, the Command operbypass before he gave up the atives, while on patrol, encountered this group of ghost. armed robbers numbering The family of the late about 10 barricading the Imaikop led by his younger road. brother, Ime Imaikop, “Upon sighting the police,

the hoodlums opened fire, thereby prompting an exchange of gun fire.”

“In the process, four of the hoodlums were gunned down while the fifth suspect who sustained bullet injuries was arrested. During the interrogation the suspect confessed being a member of the robbery gang and narrated how he was initiated into the group.”

“He also gave a detailed account of the robbery operation on the fateful day before he gave up the ghost while being taken to the hospital for treatment. The confession of the fifth person was made in the full glare of the public, including journalists.”

“The Command wishes to reiterate that due to the observance of the rule of law, protection of human rights is a priority under the present leadership of the force high command,” he stated.

N Isoko socio-cultural organisation, Emotor Isoko DevelopA ment Association, will mark its fifth anniversary on Saturday, December 14 at Summit Hotel & Suites, 1-4, Taiwo Close, off Akowonjo Road, MicCom Bus Stop, Egbeda, Lagos at noon. The organisers will also use the anniversary event to launch its pet project, Inauguration of Back to School to aid educational needs of some indigent students of Isoko origin.

In a statement by the association’s President and General Secretary, Patrick Obaro U. and Okolor Oreva Ben respectively, Founder, Biographies Development Centre, Dr. Prosper Ahworegba, will be guest speaker. He will speak on the topic, ‘Education: A Veritable Tool for Community Development’. He will be supported by the association’s patron, Chief Solomon Okp-

Afigh Iwaad Ekid cultural festival begins HE 18th edition of Afigh Iwaad Ekid Cultural festival/carnival T holds from December 15 to December 21, 2013 in the oil rich city of Eket, Akwa Ibom State.

The festival officially endorsed by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture & National Orientation, will showcase various cultural events of Eket people. The carnival would be undertaken with major innovations, styles and splendor in partnership with the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Culture and Tourism for purposes of effective national planning.

The event’s Media/Publicity Committee Spokesman, Mr. Joe Etukudo, said the week - long event would attract personalities from all walks of life, particularly in Eket Federal Constituency and Nigeria as a whole.

THE GUARDIANwww.ngrguardiannews.com

FAAN bans farming within airport vicinity in Jos From Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos HE Yakubu Gowon Airport Security Committee in conjunction with the Special Task Force (STF) in Plateau State has banned all forms of farming, particularly grain crops within and around the airport vicinity.

A statement on Monday by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and signed by the Corporate Communications, Mr. Alfred Itua, on behalf of Airport Security Committee of the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos, said that the decision was reached after an appraisal of the security challenges and the airport operational safety threat due to grain crops farming.

The statement added that as a result, the airport security committee has warned that henceforth, any farming at the airport environment was prohibited, stressing that offenders were would be prosecuted The airport is about 45 minutes from the town and is located at Heipang village in Barkin Ladi Local Council of the state.

But a farmer, Mr. Chindusu Musa, who has a large rice farm, said they were all going to comply with the directive.

He, however, alleged that some of the workers at the airport were the owners of farms within the airport premises.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013 METRO

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Foundation puts smiles on widows’ faces

By Odita Sunday T was a public show of love for widows in Lagos recently as Smile Initiative Foundation, a non-governmental organization, showered them with cash gifts and Christmas hampers ahead of the Yuletide season.

The widows were also equipped with skills on how to make soaps, women’s headgear among others.

The founder of the Initiative, Mrs. Affi Ibanga, a shipping magnate based in Lagos, championed the event, which took place at Apapa.

Cash gifts, Christmas hampers, foods and other gifts were doled out to the widows who were elated by the gesture of the Smile Initiative founder.

According to Mrs. Ibanga, the initiative was borne out of her passion to assist the less privileged people in the country.

Her words: “Smile Initiative and Empowerment Foundation was set up because of my passion of putting smiles on peoples’ faces. I believe strongly that one feels better when he smiles. In our organization, we bring together the less -privileged, we counsel them, empower them and encourage them to see life challenges as a stepping stone rather than a discouragement. In our organization, we have enough smiles to go round.”

“We ensure that we bring up innovative projects annually to bring people together and empower them. It gives me joy to see that someone is making it in life. A common issue like a Generator fume claiming the lives of an entire family while they are asleep bothers us and that is why we are creating awareness. I decided to come up with this

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A cross-section of widows at the event project having lived in the United States of America for 20years, and I discovered that there is no home in that country which does not have a smoke detector.”

“We don’t want a repeat of such incident, we are taking the campaign across the 36 states of the federation.

We are partnering with the Ministry of Women Affairs to ensure that there is no house in this country without a smoke detector,” she said.

The event at Apapa was tagged: “Make a mark and put a smile on someone’s

PHOTO: ODITA SUNDAY

face.”

According to her: “ We want to add value to businesses of petty traders.

Today, apart from the gifts, we are training them on how to tie head tie for women, soap and bead making. These days, some rich people pay as much as N50,000 to tie their Gele, so if we train the widows and give them a little fund to kick-off, they would do well.”

One of the widows, Mrs. Ndubuisi Albert, thanked the foundation for its show of love to widows.”

She said: “I feel great this afternoon for what has happened here. I will join the money to my trade and improve my business with it.”

Another widow, Mrs. Eno Udoh lauded the organization for remembering them during Christmas. Her words: “I feel so happy for what God is using this sister to do in my life. May Almighty God continue to strengthen her, bless her entire family and uplift her in Jesus Name.”

Widows seek payment of Ejigbo air crash victims’ salaries

By Ajibola Amzat WENTY-ONE years after, widT ows of some of the victims of the Ejigbo air mishap, which involved 157 military officers and nine other passengers, are yet to receive one-third of their husbands’ salaries as stipulated by the military law.

The manufacturer of Herclues C-130 aircraft is equally yet to pay the insurance claim as required by the international aviation law regarding air mishap.

The deceased’s wives under the aegis of C-130 Widows made this disclosure in Lagos on Sunday during the 21st Anniversary service held in honour of the soldiers who died in the illfated plane.

Students of the Senior Course 15 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, Kaduna died on September 26, 1992 after their aircraft crashed in the swamp at Ejigbo, a suburb of Lagos. The list of casualties included 104

Army officers, 17 Naval officers, 17 Air Force officers, eight foreign officers, 11 Nigerian Air Force crew and nine others.

Speaking at the event, the army group representative, Mrs. Riskat Mukoro, widow of Major V.U. Mukoro, reminded the government of their obligation to the family of the affected soldiers. “By law, the wives of these fallen heroes are entitled to one third of their husbands’ salaries till death since their husbands died in active service.”

She said in spite of the “inhuman” clause in the law which stipulates that the wives of these officers should not remarry in order to benefit from the salary payment, a condition to which majority of the women have adhered till date, the military has neither paid any of the wives even one month salary nor paid the insurance claims due to them.

“The wives of these officers who were in their 20’s when their husbands died, kept this

bond, nevertheless, the leadership of this country failed the helpless women,” she said.

“We have made representation at the 1999/2000 Oputa panel where we got the assurance of the government that we would get our dues, till date we are still

“We are therefore using this opportunity to call on the government to assist us get all that is due to us.”

The group’s lawyer, Kabir Akingbolu, said there is a plan to take the case to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

“We need to ask simple questions of what are the rights of widows in a democratic government? What are the rights of air crash victims? We heard that about $150, 000 is due to them as insurance claim.”

Lord Rumens’s son battles trustees over father’s estate

By Bertram Nwannekanma NE of the children of the O late business mogul, Chief Olatunji Ajisomo Alabi, popularly known as Lord Rumens, Babatunde Alabi, has engaged Investment and Trust Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Bank of Industry (BOI) in a legal battle over an alleged improper administration of his father’s estate.

Already, Babatunde has initiated a legal suit in a Lagos High Court against the company, which is the official trustee of his father’s estate, for allegedly mismanaging his estate and rendering some of his siblings

Helen Aikpokpo for burial tomorrow

Babatunde dies at 74

UNERAL rites for Mrs. Helen Iroghama Aikpokpo, a devout Christian and loving mother, begin today with a service of songs at No. 54, Etete Road, Etete GRA, Benin City, Edo State at 4.00p.m.

A statement by Enahoro Aikpokpo, on behalf of the family, says she will be buried tomorrow at Avbiosi, Iuleha, Owan West Local Council, after a funeral service at Central Baptist Church, Ring Road, at 10.00a.m.

There will be social outing on Saturday at 1.00p.m. at George Idah Primary School, Ihama Road, GRA. Benin City. 10.00a.m.

A thanksgiving service holds on Sunday at Central Baptist Church at 10.00a.m.

Aikpokpo

HE death has occurred of Elder Isaac Ebun-Oluwa Alao Babatunde of Imala Town, Ogun State at the age of 74.

He was a devout and committed Christian, a community leader and a loving father.

Burial arrangement will be announced by the family.

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waiting,” said Mrs. Mukoro.

The group leaders representing the wives of Air Force officers, Mrs. Ann Ekpong, said they have not even heard anything from the manufacturer of Hercules C-130 with which the accident occurred.

homeless and impoverished.

Named as co-defendants in the suit are the company’s Managing Director, Tony Phido; Trust Secretary, Simon Odomkwe; Legal Adviser, Adenrele Kehinde and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Maman Tsafe.

In his statement of claims made available to The Guardian, Babatunde alleged that the company entrusted with his father’s estate has dissipated the estate through fraud, negligent, bad judgment and carelessness.

He also averred that the com-

making moves to evict him from one of his father’s property that he moved into recently.

He added that the defendants had issued threats to evict him from the property located in Ikoyi through extra- judicial means, including use of police and thugs.

Babatunde is asking the court to, among other things, restrain the defendant from carrying out the threat to evict him from his father’s property.

He stated that a petition has been lodged against the police to restrain the defendant from using its officers to carry out the illegal threat.

Realm of Glory holds Christmas carnival Dec, 21 EALM of Glory Int’l will on Saturday, December 21, hold its R Children’s Christmas Carnival at the church premises, along Ogbogoro Road, off Iwofe Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State at

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10.00a.m. It will feature Fun in the castle; In the Grotto with Father Christmas; Sing along with Mr. Clown among others.

Triumphant Baptist Church holds Messiah’s Banquet RIUMPHANT Baptist Church (Holy Ghost Compound) T Akowonjo will on Sunday, December 15, hold this year’s Messiah’s Banquet at the Ben Auto Events Cenre, Santos Layout at

Babatunde

Ebahor, 50, for brial

10.00am. The theme is “Celebrating the Indescribable Gift”. The Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church FESTAC, Rev. Victor Akerele is the guest speaker.Host is Rev. Sunday Oladejo.

Kinsmen to honour Theodore Orji

RS. Esther Onoriotakpo M Ebahor, who died on August 25, 2013 at the age of 50, will be buried on Saturday, December14, in her home town, Uzere, Isoko South Local Council, Delta State, after a funeral service at Divine Apostolic Christ Mission Inc. in Uzere.

She is survived by children: Okeoghene, Onakome, Obaro, an in-law, Mr. Ikechuku Ojogu and his wife, Uwomano Ojogu as well as other relations.

pany, through negligence, has lost some of his father’s companies, including Carrara Marble and choice propery in Victoria Island, Apapa and Yaba.

Babatunde alleged that the defendants also fraudulently increased their administrative fee to 50 per cent against the terms of the trust deed.

He stated that the trustees had failed to give account of his father’s estate, 15 years after his death.

Babatunde further averred that the company, in connivance with some police officers from IGP Monitoring Unit Kam Salem, Obalende, were

From Gordi Udeajah - Umuahia HE Umuahia Ibeku kinsmen of the Abia State governor, Dr. Theodore Orji, have foreclosed the conferment of future awards on him after Saturday, December 14, when they will confer on him the award of Grand Patron of Ibeku Egwu Asaa Development Association at grand civic reception to be held at Ibeku High School Umuahia.

The Chairman of the Publicity and Protocol Subcommittee of the Civic reception Central Planning Committee. Chidiebere Nwoke , told The Guardian the " Grand Patron Award, which is the highest ever to be conferred on any son or daughter of Ibeku , is geared to extol Governor T. A. Orji for the laudable legacy projects he has executed in Ibeku Land and Abia State in general".

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Ebahor

TheGuardian

16 | Thursday, December 12, 2013

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Conscience Nurtured by Truth

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

Editorial CBN and the N5,000 note ENTRAL Bank Deputy Governor Tunde Lemo disclosed the other day that the N5,000 note would be in circulation within two months. The apex bank in September 2012 announced imperiously that there was a programme styled Project Cure, which was designed to restructure the naira currency by minting N5, N10 and N20 coins, redesigning the N50 note and introducing the N5,000 note. The plan met with overwhelming public disapproval and was not implemented. Just one year later, Lemo has explained that the programme was stopped “due to low level of understanding of its benefits among Nigerians, but we now plan to educate the people about the importance of the note to our economy before we eventually launch it.”

It is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians for the CBN to superciliously arrogate to itself superior knowledge of an issue that the generality of the people had debated (CBN top shots were not left out) and soundly rejected. Nonetheless, it is not clear if the promised superior education programme has begun in order to ascertain whether the unknown benefits are finally acceptable to the Nigerian people. Therefore, any N5,000 note promotion campaign should not be stage-managed but made open and Nigerians are keen to know the expected benefits.

In the interim, there is hardly any compelling change in the economic space that warrants revisiting Project Cure since it was shelved in late 2012. The announced time schedule for the circulation of the N5,000 note before or in the third week of January 2014 at the latest is, therefore, both an indication of a pre-determined outcome of the education campaign that has yet to take place and a calculated attempt to ride roughshod over the people even when their stiff opposition to the project is not in doubt. Before the CBN takes any rash step, it is recommended that any plan to launch the N5,000 note by next month again be dropped. In this regard, it cannot be over-emphasised that, under democratic governance, political appointees and top bureaucrats cannot and should not play the dictating overlord: those who are uncomfortable with the expressed preferences of the people as in the instant case should resign by giving the shortest period of notice that is applicable.

Apparently in anticipation of outwitting Nigerians, the CBN is hell-bent to foist Project Cure on the system. It is annoying that even after it was forced to give up its plan, the CBN did not lick its wounds and thereafter begin to print the lower and more circulated notes required for change and facilitation of transactions. As a result, the lower denomination polymer naira notes are currently in short supply and change has become harder and harder to come by. The excuse proffered by the CBN about two months ago that newly printed lower denomination notes were not in circulation owing to lack of demand for them by banks is clearly false.

There is demand for the notes in the marketplace. The CBN disclosed in late November that the apex bank would start printing the lower naira units in paper notes in 2014. Even in the face of scarce change, the CBN has not deemed fit to immediately switch on the Mint. Until that unspecified time in 2014 the worsening scarcity of small change, in addition to subjecting the people to avoidable inconvenience, will push up the prices of certain categories of goods and services.

In line with the absolute poverty level standing at over 70 per cent, the vast majority of Nigerians who spend an average of N320 per day have no need for the N5,000 note of CBN’s obsession because they are well served by the naira denomination units that are currently in circulation. The CBN therefore should act posthaste and provide adequate supply of the accepted denominations at all times.

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LETTERS

Passage of a true African elder statesman When death of the great including Presidents Barack rocked by security and economiSdomIR:iconfighter, and South-African free- Obama and Bill Clinton of cal challenges that are still threatDr. Nelson Mandela United States of America. ening her survival, can half of filtered into the social media on Thursday, December 5, 2013, it was received with mixed feelings. The whole world felt a sense of great loss of a true African Statesman and a role model who stood for freedom and equality even at his own peril.

Retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu and ally of the late first black South African President said “he transcended race and class in his personal actions, through his warmth and through his willingness to listen and to empathize with others.

Since the passage of this illustrious son of Africa and a world leader, encomiums have been pouring in torrents from other world leaders and celebrities

There are lessons to be drawn and learnt from the world leaders’ reactions that have been trailing the passage of this unique role model in the good virtues of patience, long suffering and forgiveness. Even Nigerian children adore him.

One of them said “Nigeria needs a man like him. My mum always talks about him. I wish Nigeria could have men like him” (Blessing Adepoju,12 years old).

Also Emmanuel Obi, a 17 year-old boy remarked “I hope people would emulate his courage. He was the greatest President South Africa ever had. He fought for what he believed in and paid the price….”

At a time when Nigeria is being

these tributes paid on Nelson Mandela be said of our Nigerian leaders (past and present) when their respective times come to answer the call to the great beyond? What can their immediate constituencies say about them at their passages? Nigeria’s political landscape is filled with selfserving politicians with very few elder statesmen. We hope our leaders will learn some vital lessons on Dr. Mandela’s death with resolve to bring good governance to the people of Nigeria Peradventure, Nigerians may miss them and their good works at their passage Gbemiga Olakunle, General Secretary, National Prayer Movement.

Madiba in the eye of a Zikist IR: When Nelson Mandela S27years was released after serving in prison, one of his first ports of call, was to visit Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in Nigeria, just like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana did at the Eastern House of Assembly, Enugu, Nigeria, when Zik was Premier of Eastern Region, after Ghana won their independence.

That visit by Nelson Mandela underscores a profound recognition that the spirit behind the struggle for freedom, equal rights and justice as was championed by Pan-Africanist movement led by the Great Zik of Africa cannot be diminished by a life-time incarceration, needless to mention a mere 27 years

in prison.

In the rightful steps of African tradition, a son is mandated to achieve more than the father and in the true spirit of this tradition, Nelson Mandela did, and did exceptionally well.

Having achieved freedom for his nation of South-Africa, he went on to crystallize a common nationality to all the people of South-Africa regardless of race, creed, colour, tongues and all other sectional considerations within South-African nation and finally emerged on the world stage as a true world vanguard of all noble mission.

Nelson Mandela’s beacon of unquenchable light still radiates strong rays of hope to those

who still struggle with burdens of human rights abuse, poverty and diseases.

I strongly counsel that the death of the world sage NELSON MANDELA, should appeal to the conscience of all African leaders, particularly the rebel and militia leaders in various African countries to embrace noble means of conflict resolution than picking arms and killing fellow brothers and sisters, enthroning poverty, diseases, rape, homelessness, causing chaos of all sort on a senseless mission.

Live on Nelson Mandela.

Udo Udeogaranya, Coordinator, Zikist Movement, Lagos.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Opinion Risk factor of CBN Governor

By Rufus Akinyooye F all the 10 or so paragraphs contained in Mr. O Abiola Phillips write-up in The Guardian of June 4, 2013, only three sentences in the second paragraph support his assertion that the CBN Governor has not been a failure and they were even followed quickly by a caveat in the same paragraph giving all the credits to the predecessor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. The last sentence of the write-up was most damaging as it recommends against appointing a successor who has a profile similar to that of the current CBN Governor.

To my mind the CBN Governor shows more disdain for free enterprise than to the President or anyone else for that matter. In fairness to him though he made this clear in the first major speech he delivered at the convocation ceremony of Bayero University, Kano on February 26, 2010 titled “The Nigerian banking industry – what went wrong and the way forward”. According to him in the paper, the original title he had wanted to give it was “Transformative Disruption: Relocating the Nigerian Banking crisis from the Economic to the social” and he was talking as a student of Social Theory (whatever that was). On page 11of this 17 page paper he stated: “As a country we have pursued international trade policies that have destroyed our productive base. Wrong tariffs, a naïve belief in free-market platitudes and a willingness to succumb too easily to the wishes of western powers have led us to a state in which we operate a dysfunctional economy, one capable of delivering rapid GDP without improving the quality of life of the majority”. He never concealed his socialistic tendencies even in his appearance.

He found a willing partner in the person of Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua when he said on page 3 of the same paper that “Fortunately, the President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua understood from the first day that this was an ideological choice we had to make. We could side with the rich and powerful, and say the banks had failed. Or we could side with the poor and save the banks but go after the criminals.

And we chose the latter. And the battle was joined.” He further stated that “We have come this far with the support of a president who has time and again shown his willingness to back us in the struggle. The real chal-

lenge is to extend it to other spheres of society even while we pursue it to a logical conclusion”.

According to newspaper reports, the late President declared himself an avowed socialist in his university days. His death apparently truncated a grand plan to wipe off the bourgeois banking system and replace it with the one the CBN Governor had in mind. Even the CBN the current Governor took over was not spared of this disdain as he stated in page 2 of the same paper “As credit levels rose and stock prices inflated, the CBN failed to halt this vicious circle and foresee the consequences. The CBN did not highlight or failed to communicate the problem to fiscal authorities and the market in general. The sad story in all this is that we now have evidence that junior officers in the CBN did document their concerns to CBN top management at that time, but no action was taken. We also have evidence that the NDIC documented its concerns but its efforts to get the CBN leadership to act quickly were rebuffed. Also during this period, the CBN’s macro prudential management did not sufficiently address the impact of these oil-related inflows, and with fiscal policy being pro cyclical, this exacerbated the crisis”.

I want to agree with Mr. Phillips that the CBN Governor has ironically become a risk factor in the banking industry. His fear is the beginning of wisdom for the 24 banks existing in Nigeria today apparently at his mercy. He is even supporting private auditors who are claiming that their clients were being overcharged. No CBN administration has been this hostile to the banking industry like the current one, sometimes one is tempted to call it Banco Haram, and it is that bad. Shareholders have virtually been pushed aside with the elected Boards of their banks demonized. The banking halls are now filled with temporary contract workers who are gravely dissatisfied with their condition of service. The outsourcing arrangement under which they were hired is now being called “casualization” and if newspapers’ reports are anything to go by Labour unions and human rights activists are already gearing up for a fight that could compel banks to make them permanent; and there, the banking industry would be back to square one. The first

rule in the banking industry is staff welfare because they handle money in all its definitions, you risk a lot if you starve them in the name of profit and this may be why the society is witnessing more attacks on banks today.

I disagree with this writer however on the profile of who should be the next CBN Governor. To my mind the next Governor should come from the banking industry within or outside Nigeria . This is because no one can effectively supervise an industry he does not know. Carpenters cannot supervise tailors and vice-versa. The problem with the Nigerian banking industry today is that the operators (commercial banks) and the supervisors (CBN, NDIC) have been disoriented if not traumatized within the past four years of the present administration, one wonders if their sense of judgment would not have been gravely impaired. The CBN seems to have lost focus right from the time of Professor Charles Soludo up to the present moment; it has continued to be a oneman show even though one is more ostentatious than the other.

We have had enough of these glassy-eyed economists using the CBN as testing ground for their weather-beaten theories. All the Ivy League ones in the United States have not been able to balance that country’s budget for decades. If the choice must still come from that fold however, he/she must be a professional banker or a Chartered Accountant with proven track records. This is because only these two professions can understand the banking industry since it is their turf and they are subjected to the ethics of their professions no matter how highly placed they are in the society and are always conscious of their integrity. I was in the Management cadre of the industry as a career banker for 27 years working with them at the operator (banks) and supervisory (CBN, NDIC) levels; I know what I am talking about.

The next CBN Governor should not be a socialist or a religious fundamentalist with a hidden agenda or a chip on the shoulder ready to settle scores with old enemies. He should know that banking and capital market operations are not gambling but the free enterprise method of creating wealth legitimately. In all free enterprise systems Margin Loans and capital markets are considered as sine qua non to economic development. They propel investment and

have been the source of success for many of the world’s richest people, who if they are not trading in stocks are busy buying up weak companies, cleaning them up and selling them on the trading floors of capital markets (Venture Capital) a la Mitt Romney the last U.S. Republican presidential candidate. All areas of the economy of a free enterprise nation like Nigeria are expected to be tied to their capital markets where their equities can be legally traded.

The next CBN Governor should also know that a company has the right to buy back its own shares (shares buy-back) below or above par so as to either reduce the supply in the market with a hope of driving up the price or to prevent a real or suspected hostile take-over. It is not a crime; rather it is a legitimate capital market operation to ensure the survival of its corporate members and, is the only capital market operation that allows insider trading. A company that repurchases its shares can either retire such shares or keep it in its Treasury Stocks account available for re-issuance.

The Nigerian banking industry needs to move forward and this is why I beg to disagree with the new saying making the rounds that a society needs strong institutions and not strong men. It is the head of an institution that could make it strong or weak just like the head of any species. A weak leader would not allow strong men to survive; they usually prefer women in positions because women are easier to dominate.

At the CBN, we need a strong and friendly Governor that is well versed in banking, finance, and accountancy. He could surround himself with experts in other areas involving human resources management and the rest, including economists pending the removal of banks’ supervision from the duties of CBN. Supervision of commercial banks should be by professional bankers and/or Chartered Accountants.

• Dr. Akinyooye lives in Ibadan.

To Junaid Mohammed and Shariyalanders

By Chinweizu 2015: There’ll be bloodshed, if Jonathan runs, warns Junaid Mohammed http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/2015-therell-bloodshed-jonathanruns-warns-junaidmohammed/ Our Reporter December 1, 2013 —————————— ‘Supporters of SNC asking for civil war’—Junaid Mohammed http://www.punchng.com/news/supporters-of-snc-asking-for-civil-war/ (Accessed December 6th, 2013) ERE is my three-point rejoinder to Junaid Mohammed and his H threats: 1] The issue isn’t whether or not President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GEJ, runs in 2015 (that is his personal affair and his constitutional right) or whether or not there will be bloodshed if he does; the issue is whether there should be any further elections under the fraudulent 1999 Constitution. That “constitution” is a self-interested creation of Northern generals, for the parochial interest of Shariyaland. Many genuine Nigerians hold that any future elections must be under a new constitution created by a transparent democratic process and approved by the people through a referendum. That is what the two-decades-long Sovereign National Conference, SNC, campaign has been about, and it is what will be decided through the ongoing National Dialogue/Conference process. In any case, there is already bloodshed—Boko Haram bloodshed, bloodshed by rampaging Fulani cattle herdsmen—all sponsored by the bigwigs on whose behalf Junaid is speaking and making these threats.

——————————————2] But even more importantly: What is Junaid’s locus standi for discussing Nigerian elections or any other Nigerian issue? After all, he is just a fake Nigerian, a foreigner, an alien. As a citizen of a Shariya state, he isn’t a Nigerian anymore. Ditto for Buhari and Yakassai and Lawal Kaita and those chieftains of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, who hail from Shariya states.

Juniad and his gangsters should realize that their home states, by adopting shariya as their constitution in 2000, repudiated the 1999 Constitution and by that act committed de jure secession from Nigeria. Accordingly, citizens of these shariya states, a.k.a Shariyaland, have as little locus standi to discuss Nigerian affairs or

contest elections in Nigeria as do citizens of Mongolia or Azerbaijan or Cyprus or the moon. They should stop disturbing us with their opinions and threats. They made themselves foreigners. And threats from them are tantamount to threats from a foreign country—i.e. an act of aggression on Nigeria by Shariyaland.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, OBJ, did Nigerians a great disservice by not formally accepting their secession and openly declaring Nigeria freed of them in 2000. But nothing stops GEJ from doing so today. It should be made clear to them and the whole world that the Shariya states (Shariyaland) have seceded from Nigeria and that their secession is wholeheartedly accepted. But if they insist on forcing themselves back into and upon Nigeria, then that’s an act of aggression and should be repulsed by total war on Shariyaland. In that case, Nigerians must fight a just war of self-defence against Shariyaland aggression.

Frankly, Junaid Mohammed, Muhammadu Buhari, Lawal Kaita, Tanko Yakassai and their ACF gangsters have abused our hospitality for the past 14 years. Orkar excised them from Nigeria for just one day in 1990. They butchered their way back! But then they voluntarily excised themselves in 2000. But they have been carrying on as if they were still genuine Nigerians. It is more than time to tell them to shut up and go away and leave us Nigerians in peace to give ourselves a constitution of our own making. They and their 1999 Constitution are no longer part of Nigeria.

All their National Assembly legislators are illegitimate, so too their members in any Nigerian institution or organization: Soldiers, ambassadors, state governors, state legislators, local government councillors, judges, board members, civil servants—from permanent secretaries down to janitors and messengers; so too their members on the Advisory Committee on the National Dialogue/Conference. Shariyalanders in any of these positions are illegitimate and should be dismissed. Their salaries and allocations should be stopped immediately and they should be given 48 hours to pack up and leave Nigerian territory and return to their homes in their country, Shariyaland. Abuse of hospitality by aliens in a foreign state has its limits! And all Nigerians still in Shariyaland should immediately leave that foreign territory and return to their home states in Nigeria.

————————————3] On the SNC demand as asking for Civil War. It should be noted from the foregoing that war between Shariyaland and Nigeria is not civil war, but a war between two neigh-

bouring countries. And it began in 2005 when Shariyaland’s emirs recruited Boko Haram to make war on Nigeria. That is to say Boko Haram is Shariyaland’s war of aggression on Nigeria. In order to appreciate this fact, it is helpful to ask: Is Boko Haram a sectarian insurgency or a war of reconquest? The conventional view of Boko Haram is that it is a sectarian insurgency. Another view, based on wider historical evidence, is that it is not an insurgency but a war of reconquest waged on Nigeria by a section of Nigeria, Shariyaland, that seceded and now wants to reimpose itself on Nigeria. I shall examine this perspective and then explore its implications for how Nigeria might fight to win this war.

In summary, this view is that a section of Nigeria, Arewa (Sokoto Caliphate) that ruled Nigeria from 1960 to 1999, lost power in 1999, and seceded in 2000, and became a separate country, Shariyaland, and began a war to reconquer Nigeria, using Boko Haram as its military instrument starting in 2005. Part of Nigeria’s difficulty in fighting this war is that Shariyaland has a pervasive fifth column within the Nigerian government and political parties. This fifth column consists of Shariyaland citizens who are holding positions in Nigerian government and political parties, all the way from the Vice Presidency to party leaders in both the ruling PDP and the opposition APC. It includes the governors and NASS legislators from Shariyaland; it includes Shariyaland personnel in the security forces, in the media, the economy, etc.

Can you imagine Britain winning the war against Germany if it had in its cabinet, parliament, armed forces, media, banks, civil service, and every institution of British life, a huge fifth column of Germans loyal to Hitler and organized to assist Hitler? Or can you imagine Abraham Lincoln winning the US civil war if his Vice President was a Confederate politician, his cabinet included Confederate men, the Congress still included Confederate legislators, and the Union Army was full of Confederate generals and soldiers? So, that is the fundamental anomaly that Nigeria must speedily rectify if it is to respond correctly to this war of aggression by Shariyaland. Nigerians must stop confusing and deceiving themselves and come to a correct understanding of what’s going on. And they must then make a conscious decision to wage a war of resistance to this aggression from their Shariyaland neighbour. Unless they do, they will be conquered and recolonized by the Caliphate’s Shariyaland and enslaved. When the situation is seen in this new light, the question now is this: Is President Jonathan ready to lead Nigerians in an open and declared war of liberation from the Caliphate? A designated war of resistance to this ongoing Shariyaland aggression?

18

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Opinion Lessons of Mandela’s leadership style

By Afe Babalola ELSON Mandela the celebrated leader and N statesman Africa has produced is gone. He has been a man after my heart in many ways and I have followed his rich history from being a village boy to when he became a lawyer and how he became the leader of the struggle against the pernicious apartheid, a brutally enforced system that discriminated against “nonwhites” and separated the races in schools, buses, housing and even public toilets and beaches.

Leaders all over the world including President Jonathan, Barack Obama, David Cameron, Ban Ki Moon have paid glowing tributes to the greatest of the greats. What most, if not all have not done is to address the critical issue of lessons to be learned from the Leadership style of the uncommon Africa Leader.

In his treatise of 1926, Lord Lugard said “In character and temperament, the typical African of this race-type is a happy, thriftless, excitable person.

Lacking in self control, discipline and foresight. Naturally courageous, and naturally courteous and po-

lite, full of personal vanity, with little sense of veracity. His thoughts are concentrated on the events and feelings of the moment, and he suffers little from the apprehension for the future, or grief for the past… He lacks the power of organization, and is conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men or business. He loves the display of power, but fails to realize its responsibility…

When Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964, an unperturbed and unruffled Mandela delivered a powerful speech that became the corner stone of the manifesto of the anti-apartheid movement, to wit: “During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society. It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”.

When he came out of prison, he did what African leaders would not do by voluntarily relinquishing power not because he was no longer strong or able, but largely because he was a selfless, humane and humanistic human

being.

He successfully and firmly resisted every attempt to pressurize him to continue in office at the expiration of his first term in office, preferring instead to become an elder statesman and etch his name in letters of gold and serve humanity in other areas. He did not tread the path of ignominious exit like most African leaders.

He was not a member of the infamous club of sit-tight leaders, a phenomenon which has become the fad in Africa thereby demonstrating in clear terms, that the despicable practice of turning governance in Africa into a personal fiefdom through the manipulation of constitutions and political processes is no longer fashionable.

By the way he handled power, particularly his acclaimed acknowledgement of giving younger people like Thabo Mbeki a shot at governance instead of himself fighting tooth and nail to have a second term, stands Mandela out as a shining exception to the Lugardian postulation.

The Mandela style of leadership teaches us

that we need committed, patriotic, selfless and disciplined leaders who have self control and have only one goal: that of benefitting the people they governed. Mandela served his people. He never benefitted from the state. Rather, he gave his all in the service of his people. Like Jesus Christ, he even offered his most precious possession, his life, in the pursuit of the good of the majority. That was the peak of selflessness and service to humanity.

African leaders should not only borrow a leaf from the Mandela persona, they should always have it at the back of their mind the moment they cannot render the service their people desire and deserve, they should bow out of power instead of being avaricious and stealing people’s patrimony.

Like Mandela, they should use their talents, time, money and goodwill for the good of all. That is why the world is jubilantly celebrating the exit of the Madiba.

• Aare Babalola, OFR, is founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti.

Power facilities vandalism: An invigorated monster

By Sunny Igboanugo T is difficult not to notice the polished air in Ambassador IPower.

Godknows Igali, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Princely, urbane, debonair, cool and calculated. Of course, as a seasoned diplomat, it is not an acceptable part of his trade for one to lose his cool at any point, no matter the humongous nature of the problem at hand. It is perhaps as a result that it is difficult, almost impossible to capture the deep pain his voice betrays each time he speaks about one of the most significant and enduring problems in the power sector for a long time now – vandalism.

But on each occasions in the recent past, when he had had to speak about the issue in public, a practised study of his countenance would always unveil this unsavoury emotion. It is almost microscopic, but there – covered with the veneer of cultured language and good mannerism.

As the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power and the official number two official, it has become his lot to introduce his principal, the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo at some of the public events involving the top echelon of the ministry. While so doing, he never fails to use the opportunity to chip in some words or raise issues that reflect the impetus and drift in the power sector in recent times, one of which is the debilitating effect of vandalism.

On October 22 at Karu, a suburb of Abuja, during the commissioning of the $6.6 million World Bank assisted 2x60MVA, 132/33kV Transmission Sub-Station, while bemoaning the phenomenon, he spoke of how critical the trend has become, as perpetrators appear to have changed gear and upped the ante in their desperate bid to undermine the power reform programme of the Federal Government.

“How could someone go under water and blast gas pipelines channelling gas to turbines built to generate electricity? Recently these unscrupulous elements went under water and blew up these pipelines with dynamites; at six points under water. These are some of the problems we have been battling, but which we are not letting out to the public. Can these acts be explained or justified by any stretch of argument? Are these people who perpetrate these acts not some of the worst enemies of the country? Is this not the most classic case of cutting your nose to spite your face? These people must be fished out and dealt with. They are not just ordinary people, because it takes a lot to carry out that level of activity.

“President Goodluck Jonathan has been doing a lot to fulfil his promise of giving uninterrupted power to Nigerians. The evidence of the success is already everywhere. But there are people who are determined to ensure that these efforts do not succeed. We must stop these people because they are dangerous to the society,” he said.

The Minister expressed no less worry. In fact, he gave a more damning but graphic description of the degeneration of the ugly situation. He narrated a particular situation in which vandals cannibalised a transformer, to steal an item worth less than N10,000 and in the process plunged millions of electricity users into darkness for days. At the end of the day, by the time repairs were carried out, the cost ran into hundreds of millions of Naira. Such huge amount of damage for a paltry

benefit, the minister believed was neither explicable by any stretch or argument nor acceptable by any standard.

The minister who was emphatic that Nigerians owed the President a world of gratitude for making power a cardinal programme of his transformation agenda and driving the process of achieving a regime of uninterrupted electricity supply for the entire country with a single-minded determination, argued that the least they could do to express such gratitude was to protect every installation and facility provided within their vicinity.

The message was the same on Friday, November 8, at Ayede, Ibadan, Oyo State, during the commissioning of a similar project where the two most important personalities in the power ministry again launched the campaign of eradicating vandalism within the power sector.

While introducing the minister, Igali had this to say: “Let Nigerians be assured that this country has entered a time in our history that nobody can take our hands back in power supply.

Nigeria will no longer be dark. Our private sector has shown its energy in other sectors. There were days when you go to the bank, queue up and collect a teller, then you go to your house and sleep and keep somebody there to find out whether it is your turn, but today you go to the bank if you have to and within few seconds you are through; today, from your mobile phone you can conclude all transactions. It was not angels from heaven that came to do it, it was Nigerians. It is the same thing with telecommunications. Today you can pick up your mobile phone and call anywhere in the world. It was not angels from heaven that did it, it was Nigerians. Now Mr. President, with courage has said we can do it as well in the power sector and started this process of transformation, this process of change and this process of innovation and challenged the private sector to come and make this huge investment. The only thing we can do is to support this whole idea and the courageous steps of the President to transform this country. We must ensure that these facilities are safe and that we stop these saboteurs by exposing them.”

Amplifying the message of his second in command that there

There is no doubt that the President has shown clear vision and determination. There is no doubt that he has kept his eyes on the ball. The result has translated to the success of one of the most historic transformation events any country could carry out. At first many people had argued that it was not possible. The international community in sheer amazement of this feat tagged it ‘simultaneous sequentiality.’ Therefore, every Nigerian who loves this country ought to see where the President is going and support him. This we can do by ensuring that we do not destroy facilities, we do not look the other way when we see them being destroyed. The more we preserve these projects, the more we say thank you to Mr. President and the more the nation forges ahead

was no going back in achieving total success of set goals in the power sector, Nebo reminded Nigerians about past doubts over the possibility of a successful privatisation of the power sector and how they have effectively been dispelled and banished to history forever by the huge success the exercise eventually became.

Again, he gave the credit to the President, saying without his focus and determination, the naysayers would have carried the day. “There is no doubt that the President has shown clear vision and determination. There is no doubt that he has kept his eyes on the ball. The result has translated to the success of one of the most historic transformation events any country could carry out. At first many people had argued that it was not possible. The international community in sheer amazement of this feat tagged it ‘simultaneous sequentiality.’ Therefore, every Nigerian who loves this country ought to see where the President is going and support him. This we can do by ensuring that we do not destroy facilities, we do not look the other way when we see them being destroyed. The more we preserve these projects, the more we say thank you to Mr. President and the more the nation forges ahead,” he said.

Now from the foregoing, it is not difficult to underscore the fact that the phenomenon of vandalism has taken a new and dangerous dimension with far-reaching undertone. If perpetrators could dive into the deep sea to blow up pipelines, which could only be achieved with rare expertise, then the story has changed.

Of course explanations for this are quite varied. Those who suspect that it is political believe that the current issues in the power sector are going to be key in determining the tenor of 2015 politics. That the President once promised Nigerians that if giving them constant electricity would create the most popular President of Nigeria, he would carry that trophy because he would be the first to do it and the fact that he has almost braced the tape, especially by pulling off the privatisation magic, must have jolted those who fear the implication of this success into playing their trump cards to stop it.

Others who suspect economic motives, say it is the handiwork of the demons Nebo promised the nation he was going to exorcise from the sector. The argument here is how could generator importers, for instance, who had thought that the privatisation exercise was a huge joke that would collapse like a pack of cards, like similar past ambitious projects, give up so easily with the prospect of constant electricity staring them in the face and their warehouses still fully stocked? Fight they must.

But whatever is playing out, the larger picture is that Nigerians are like the grass that stand to suffer in this seeming proverbial battle of two elephants. Whichever way, they stand to gain in quantum leaps if the dream of constant power supply in the country is achieved and would be the losers; the ones wincing from the sharp pains of mosquito bites at night; the parents that would keep awake because their children could not sleep due to heat; the relations that will wail because generator fumes have wiped off their family members if it fails.

That they become whistleblowers and armour bearers against these vandals is not too much to ask of them.

This is the new message.

• Igboanugo wrote in from Abuja.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013 19

Politics Nelson Mandela: A Tribute

By Chief Emeka Anyaoku N the gallery of world statesmen of the twenIexceptional tieth century, Nelson Mandela occupies an position. His name will be forever linked with the struggle of the South African people to end apartheid, the coping stone of the racism and the injustices to which they had been subjected for so long. However, this is not the heart of the matter. What sets Mandela apart in world history is the charity with which he led the struggle against apartheid and at the rendez-vous of victory, successfully barred the way to any form of recrimination or racial vainglory on the part of the victorious majority. It was the end to which every step in his long and eventful journey had been directed.

I will leave it to his countrymen and comrades who were by his side in the heat and dust of the struggle, to tell the world of the unique qualities of leadership he brought to bear; and confine myself to only what I saw of him as we worked together to achieve a negotiated end to apartheid especially in the wake of his release from prison in February 1990.

At the beginning of 1986, I visited South Africa with the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (EPG) appointed by Commonwealth leaders to bring about negotiations between the apartheid regime and the opposing political parties. Mandela was still in prison at Pollsmoor, and it was there that we met him.

In July 1990, four months after Mandela had finally been released from prison, I assumed office as Commonwealth Secretary-General.

In May of the same year, during Mandela’s visit to Nigeria, we had begun to plan on how to work together to ensure the success of the negotiations between the South African Government and all other political parties. Over that period, a warm friendship developed between us leading to his writing the Foreword both to my Memoirs and to my biography.

He had been incarcerated for 23 years, but the years of incarceration appeared to have left no mark on his spirit that I could detect. A number of other things also struck me about him: his personality was both warm and magnetic; he exuded a natural and effortless authority; and although already well into his sixties, he remained ramrod straight in spite of his unusual height. Here, I concluded, was one of nature’s true aristocrats. I knew and felt that we were in the presence of a special being, and so when later I came to write about him, I recalled William Hazlitt’s essay on ‘Mind and Motive’ where he paid tribute to those “who walked by faith and hope,” who “live in the midst of arrows and of death” but on whom the world has no hold.

The apartheid regime’s Minister for Prisons, Kobie Coetsee, had requested that he and his officials be present at our meeting with the inmate Nelson Mandela. It was left to the two EPG Co-Chairmen and myself first to ascertain Mandela’s reaction to the request. I still remember the magisterial confidence with which he told us: “Let him and his team be at our discussions because there is nothing I will say to you that I have not told them”.

We briefed Mandela on the discussions at the Nassau Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that had led to the appointment of the EPG and its mandate. He listened attentively, and expressed wholehearted support for the mission. However, in the same breath, he stressed that while he personally supported the objectives, he could not speak for the ANC. Only the leadership in Lusaka could speak on behalf of the party, and he hoped we would go there to seek the party view. This epitomised Mandela’s unique humility and modesty. The world might regard him as the embodiment and conscience of the struggle but he insistently saw himself at that moment and always, as no more than an individual within the party, deferring to the party leadership at every turn.

In July 1990, four months after Mandela had finally been released from prison, I assumed office as Commonwealth Secretary-General. In May of the same year, during Mandela’s visit to Nigeria, we had begun to plan on how to work together to ensure the success of the negotiations between the South African Government and all other political parties. Over that period, a warm friendship developed between us leading to his writing the Foreword both to my Memoirs and to my biography.

It was in that May that we agreed that my very first official dinner in my first week in office in

Anyaoku, his wife Bunmi, daughter Adiba and Ayo Ighodalo (in-law) during their visit to Mandela

London, would be one in his honour to provide him with an opportunity to engage with major business companies with interests in South Africa. My wife and I hosted the dinner on 5 July 1990 at the headquarters of the Royal Commonwealth Society. Nelson, and his former wife, Winnie attended, together with the representatives of 42 major companies operating in South Africa.

On another one of his visits to London, at the end of a lunch I hosted for him in my residence, Mandela made the following remarks, which again epitomised the special person he was. In a reminiscent vein, he spoke about the divisions within South African society that the Second World War had brought about, and the contrasting positions between his father’s generation and his own. The older generation was ambivalent as to which side to support. In their view, there was nothing to commend the white South African Government which was supporting Britain with the Prime Minister General Smuts in the in the forefront of the war effort.

They could not overlook the fact that they had taken Britain’s side in the Anglo-Boer war only to have their hopes of a better deal betrayed.

Mandela observed that his own generation took a different position. As they viewed the situa- Anyaoku tion, the stakes involved in the Second World War were much greater than any local griev- European Union and the Organisation for ances, however protracted, and for this reason, African Unity (OAU), in effect the entire they worked and prayed for a British victory. International community, sent observers to The higher good, not the parochial advantage: contain and help end the violence.

If the violence had been allowed to subvert the that was what always guided Mandela.

In December 1991, the long expected and negotiations, it would have been the end of hoped for negotiations between the everything that Nelson Mandela and his generGovernment and the political parties were ation had worked for. To be sure, the struggle finally launched at Kempton Park in would have resumed, but in those circumJohannesburg within the framework of the stances it would have been practically impossiConvention for a Democratic South Africa ble to keep it within the old, established moral (CODESA). I sent a small but high powered perimeters: non-racialism and minimum viogroup of senior Commonwealth Statesmen to lence. These were values that the ANC leaderthe inauguration, not only to show support for ship had worked so hard to inculcate into black the process, but also to underscore the impor- South Africans over the years, values that had tance that the Commonwealth attached to the been overwhelmingly accepted. The South success of the negotiations. However, just as the Africa that might have emerged from such a talks were beginning to make progress, a wave renewed struggle would be one reared on dust of violence broke out in many parts of the coun- and ashes and Mandela did not care to think of try, including a massacre of no less than six sup- such a society. In this affirmation the real Mandela stood out. It remains an unforgettable porters of the ANC at Boipatong.

Following discussions with Mandela in Dakar, image in my mind and, I am sure, in the minds Senegal where he had been invited to an OAU of many others who were present at the Union summit meeting, I hurried back to South Africa Buildings amphitheatre in Pretoria on May 10, to negotiate with the State President F W de 1994 to witness Nelson Mandela take the oath of Klerk and the leaders of the opposition political office as the first democratically elected parties, for international observers to be sent to President of South Africa. I still remember the the country.

As a consequence, the tears of joy that rolled down the faces of so Commonwealth, the United Nations, the many at that wonderful occasion.

At the end of apartheid there were voices within the country that wanted some of the egregious racist criminals, in the days of apartheid, to be tried and punished. They may not have put their demands in terms of Nuremberg, but that was clearly the spirit of what they were asking for. The decision to replace a Nurembergstyle process with a Truth and Reconciliation process was a dramatic exemplification of the best of a national leader, allowing his head to see further than his heart when confronted with an intractable moral problem. The world has been several shades saner and safer for that rare example of statesmanship.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, another South African, Olive Schreiner said that “the problem which this century will have to solve is the accomplishment of this interaction of distinct human varieties on the largest and most beneficent lines, making for the development of humanity as a whole” Olive Schreiner saw a special role for South Africa in contributing to bring about this “interaction of distinct human varieties” and concluded that on the power of South Africans “to solve it regally and heroically depends our greatness.”

In Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, South Africa finally found the man who gave the lead to the people of South Africa in all their “human varieties” to resolve the intractable challenge of apartheid regally and heroically.

Nelson Mandela was a rare human being. What an honour and privilege it is to have been associated with him.

Hamba Kale, Madiba. Go well, and may your succession never end.

• Chief Anyaoku, a former Commonwealth Secretary-General

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

20 POLITICS Thursday, December 12, 2013

Mandela: The people’s lawyer

By Femi Falana ELSON Rolihlahla Mandela N became a lawyer in 1951. He had his pupilage at the law firm of Wikin, Sideisky & Eidelman in Johannesburg. Upon the completion of his pupilage, he could not persuade himself to work in any law firm owned by white lawyers.

He was particularly outraged by the fact that they were charging their poor Africans higher fees than rich white clients. Although legal practice in South Africa was totally dominated by white lawyers at the material time Mandela took the risk of setting up his own law firm.

As soon as he had set up the law firm he invited his comrade and colleague, Oliver Tambo to team up with him. Tambo who was then working in a firm owned by white lawyers did not hesitate to accept Mandela’s offer. Both of them formed a partnership and their firm was known as “Mandela and Tambo”. Their office which was located at the Central District of Johannesburg was always beseeched by Africans who were victims of oppression and exploitation of the apartheid regime. Of their legal practice Oliver Tambo recalled at the time of his death that “we had risen to professional status in our community, but every case in court, every visit to the prisons to interview clients, reminded us of the humiliation and suffering burning into our people”.

In his book, Long Walk To Freedom, Mandela stated that he and Olive Tambo were a perfect match. For him, it was a combination of his “mere emotional reactions to issues” and Oliver Tambo’s “even tempered objectivity”. Although they were not the only African lawyers but theirs was the first firm of black lawyers in South Africa. They were extremely busy in legal practice and in politics.

The opening of the law firm coincided with the election of Mr. Mandela as the President of the Transvaal ANC. Shortly, thereafter he was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act. The implication of the ban was that he could neither hold any post in the ANC nor attend any political meeting. He was restricted to the Central District of Johannesburg.

However, Mandela defied the ban and attended the historic adoption and public presentation of the Freedom Charter of the People in 1955. The apartheid regime arrested 156 people including the ANC President, Chief Albert Luthuli and Mandela. They were charged with high treason and conspiracy to overthrow the government and replace it with a communist state.

The trial lasted till 1961. They were convicted but the sentence was suspended.

Embarrassed that Mandela was taking advantage of his practice to mobilise people against unjust laws and discriminatory practices, the apartheid regime tried to frustrate them. The white lawyers were equally determined to remove Mandela from the legal profession.

Thus, following his conviction under the Suppression of Communism Act, the Transvaal Law Society requested the Supreme Court to strike his name from the roll of South African lawyers. But the petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court on the ground that Mr. Mandela had not violated any rule of professional ethics by defending his fellow Africans.

In 1961, Mandela established the

Mandela Umkhonto we Siswe (“Spear the Nation”), the revolutionary wing of the ANC and became its commander-in-chief. A year later he was smuggled out of South Africa to attend and address the conference of African nationalist leaders at Addis Ababa Ethiopia. After the conference Mandela travelled to Algeria where he trained as a guerilla fighter. He was also in London to meet with ANC members in exile including Tambo and some British parliamentarians. On his return to South Africa Mandela was promptly arrested with the leaders of the Umkhonto we Siswe.

They were charged with over 200 counts of sabotage, preparing for guerilla warfare, preparing an invasion of South Africa, conspira-

cy, treasonable felony, treason etc.

Like Fidel Castro, who defended himself when he was tried for treason by the Batista regime in Cuba in 1956, Mandela decided to conduct his own defence. Since he considered the case as a trial of the aspirations of the African people he turned it into the trial of the apartheid regime. The accused persons were all convicted.

In his memorable allocotus, Mandela justified his defiance and contempt for injustice when he said “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons

live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Although he was in prison for 27 years his spirit was never broken.

He and his imprisoned comrades rejected the demand of the apartheid regime to renounce violence for their freedom. They insisted on freedom for the entire oppressed people of South Africa.

The principled commitment of Mandela and his comrades to the total liberation of South Africa motivated the ANC to continue the struggle against the forces of apartheid and imperialism. At long last the battle was won on 11th February, 1990 when Mandela and

other political prisoners regained their freedom. On May 10, 1994 he became the first black President of South Africa following the resounding victory of the ANC in the first general election in the country.

Unlike most African lawyers Mandela did not go into legal practice to make money or gain access to political power. He was solely motivated by the desire to provide legal services to the poor and marginalized people of South Africa.

Unlike African human rights lawyers who ape western lawyers by celebrating political and civil right Mandela insisted on the primacy of socio-economic rights and popular democracy.

As a lawyer, who genuinely believed in the rule of law and human rights his Administration never detained any person without trial. He also did not use the machinery of the State to intimidate or terrorise his political opponents. The South African judiciary was re-organised and reformed to serve the interests of all and sundry. Under him, the post apartheid Constitution became a role model for the economically disadvantaged people in Africa.

There is dichotomy between political, civil, social, economic and cultural rights.

At his inauguration as President of South Africa Mandela said inter alia “we pledge to liberate our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination”.

The great leader could not achieve the objective as was busy with the task of reconciling torturers and their victims while poverty continued to torture the majority of blacks! The best way to immortalise the Madiba is for the ANC to take up the challenge of liberating the deprived people of South Africa from the bondage of poverty.

• Falana (SAN), former president West Africa Bar Association.

S’African businesses in Nigeria indifferent as world honours Mandela From Oghogho Obayuwana, Foreign Affairs Editor S world leaders gathered on A Tuesday at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg to honour the late legend, Nelson Mandela, it was observed in Nigeria that South African establishments in the country failed to erect garlands in honour of Madiba.

Apart from the South African High Commission situated in the Central Business District (CBD) in Abuja, which opened a condolence register in honour of the anti apartheid first black president of the Rainbow nation, south Africa’s major business outfits who take in tremendous profits from the Nigerian market were a bit off the rail.

The Abuja corporate headquarters of Telecommunications giant MTN in Maitama as well as that of MultiChoice also in another section of the Highbrow district, it was business as usual. There was not even a photograph of the late Mandela on display nor any commemorative attraction. By their indifference, the South African corporations seems to have confirmed the pervasive perception that the principal driving motive in Nigeria is profit recoup.

In contrast, major hotels such as the Transcorp Hilton and government establishments opened condolence registers and even memorable events to honour the late

Mandela. In the Seventies and the eighties many Nigerian civil servants had salary deductions as sacrifices in support of the anti apartheid struggle. Students were mobilized in thousands to keep the flame of decolonization of Azania burning.

Among the South African outfits in.

Nigeria are Eskom Nigeria, South African Airways, Stanbic Merchant Bank Nig, M-Net and Umgeni Water, Defresh Products Nigeria Ltd., South Africa-Nigeria Communications and Systems Ltd., Grinaker - LTA Construction Ltd, Protea Hotels, Critical Rescue international, Global Outdoor Semces, Oracle Airtime Sales and retail giants Shoprite.

But the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria Mr Lulu Louis Mnguni used a dinner organized for his departing deputy Godfrey Mulaudzi to extol the virtues of the late Nelson Mandela maintaining that African political elites can learn from the sense of Mission of Mandela.

The diplomats who gathered at the dinner put together by the Abuja based development economist Odilim Enwegbara paid glowing tributes to the former South African president.

Enwegbara said “For me Madiba came, saw, and conquered and for that reason he is right now in heaven. I believe that his footprints remain the great challenge for generations of African leaders present

and future will have to live and emulate. It is not going to be easy, but the fact that someone like them did it shows that they too can do it if only the should stop seeing leadership as a means of accumulating personal wealth” The departing diplomat is largely credited with being instrumental to resolving the yellow card saga that nearly brought down the flourishing Nigeria-South Africa relations last year.

Economic analysts say Nigerians are paying more than any part of the world as far as the GSM billing system is concerned. However, the operators argued that the $285 million rights fee paid was too high and the only way they could remain in business was to charge what they are reaping off from subscribers even though by the end of their first year in the country they made about $270 million profit.

MTN for instance, with operations in about 22 countries across the globe including Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia, announced recently that it has crossed the 200 million mark, putting its subscribers at 201.5 million.

The Nigerian arm of the firm, according to the Nigerian

Communications Commission (NCC), presently controls the largest percentage of the market and this, attested to by the group’s financial statement, has 55.2 million subscribers moving up by 9.6 million from September 2012, when it had 45.6 million users in the country.

And Nigeria has since topped the group subscriber base with 55.2 million; Iran has 42 million; South Africa has 25 million; Ghana has 12.6 million; Cameroon has 7.6 million and Syria has 5.5 million subscribers presently. In the same vein, Shoprite, has sold Moët & Chandon champagne in this market more than it has done in South Africa and two other African markets put together.

Looking at the impact of these multinationals on the Nigerian, After the Mandela farewell fever, perhaps it would be time to ask the South Africa firms how they manage the expatriate quota system and what type of employment they are giving to Nigerians.

Agency reports including the BBC as well as satellite TV beamed images of a grand memorial service for the departed Mandela with many world leaders including America’s Barrack Obama and Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan in attendance. The memorial service has been described as “one of the biggest gatherings of international dignitaries in recent years”

Thursday, December 12, 2013 21

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Focus Poor service delivery: Leprous thumb of telecoms sector

By Adeyemi Adepetun T is not a new phenomenon. Some have taken it in their strides, while others grumble in hushed tones with equanimity.

The monster has refused to die, despite assurances from both the regulator and operators to tame it.

Poor telecommunications services as exemplified by dropped calls, uncompleted calls, undelivered SMS, intrusion of unsolicited adverts and promotions through text messages, have continued to assail the psyche of Nigerians without let.

Indeed, Nigeria’s telecommunications growth has been phenomenon in the last 12 years, to the extent that it has attracted over $25 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which had been confirmed by President Goodluck Jonathan, who also affirmed that the sector grew yearly by 30 per cent.

Today, assessed sound regulations and noninterference by the government, according to analysts, have helped the sector and indeed Nigeria to be the fastest growing mobile market in Africa. The country grew from a meagre 400,000 telephone lines in 2000, which the Johnson hitherto moribund Nigeria According to the former President of the Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) strug- Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria gled to maintain to about 120 million sub- (ATCON), Titi Omo-Ettu, the telecoms services scribers as at September 2013. Nigeria, accord- had been poor of late. ing to the World Bank, has about 160 million Omo-Ettu, an engineer, suggested that NCC people. conducted a technical study to find out what The telecommunications operators includ- was wrong and use the report as roadmap to ing MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel and solving the problem.

Etisalat, which collectively claimed to have In an interview with The Guardian, the covered 64 per cent of Nigeria. Despite the President of the Institute of Software challenges operators faced in the country, Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) Chris Uwaje, Nigeria still lead other African countries in blamed the situation on saturation of a limited terms of mobile subscription. national telecoms mission based on “Quick Fix” Nigeria currently has close to 120 million vision. active telephone users ahead of Egypt, South Uwaje said that Nigeria had wasted so much Africa and Algeria, which have 98.5 million value investment on national ICT infrastrucsubscribers: 67.9 million and 36.9 million ture - From NITEL to-date, which means that the respectively. country had invested so much in big- conThe country’s teledensity grew by 2500 per sumer-ICT facilities that does not accrue to procent between 2003 and 2013, while its sub- ductive ICT knowledge development. scriber base grew by over 3000 per cent with- According to him, the nation’s network infrain the same period. structure with its channel architecture as origiApart from the various Foreign Direct nally deployed 10 years ago, could not continue Investment (FDIs) the sector attracted in the to deliver quality service within the context of last 12 years, the sector has paid over N160 bil- new technology trends and requirements. lion in taxes to government coffers.

He said that network congestion and low qualMTN, which currently has about 55 million ity of service were limited latency and redunsubscribers, had at a stakeholders’ forum in dancy capacity (sub-channel) - space inadequaLagos, recently, said it had invested over N1 cy. trillion in the country’s telecoms sector over “The data and content currently riding on the the last one decade. network is too heavy for the design architecReports showed that MTN invested $1.4 bil- ture and above all - they may not be in conformlion on network upgrades in 2012 with Etisalat ity with lean data mobility standard. There are investing $194 million in network expansion more software issues to be reconciled on the through the building of about 1, 000 base sta- network than the capacities at the physical laytions by the end December 2012 in addition to ers,” Uwaje explained. the 3,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) it President of the National Association of already has.

Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Deolu On the other hand, Airtel Nigeria invested Ogunbanjo said that the issue of poor service $600 million on its network since taking over quality needed quick and urgent intervention the GSM license originally held by Zain. from the regulator, stressing that the situation Globacom also signed a $6 million contract kept deteriorating daily. with Ceragon in March 2012.

Another telecoms expert and the Chief But despite over $2.24 billion (N347 billion) Executive Officer, Back-Up Networks Limited, investment ploughed into network expan- Monday Ogbe said that Nigeria might be losing sion projects by telecommunications opera- about N730 billion to poor telecoms services tors, Nigerians are yet to feel the impact in yearly. terms of improvements in network quality Ogbe argued that everybody suffered as a and service delivery. result of poor QoS including the consumer, the And to some extent, the number porting phe- service providers and the economy as a whole. nomenon, which attracted a lot of frenzy at Corroborating these claims, the NCC itself has the time of launch in April, seems not to elicit recognised the continuous fall in GSM service any change in subscribers’ opinion though, quality in the country. going by feelers from the operators them- NCC recently said that it received 50,000 comselves. plaints from subscribers daily over poor servicHowever, beyond the statistics rolled out, es, reiterating its determination to sanction there appears to be a ground swell of discon- service providers who failed to meet the quality tent among subscribers who complain daily of service Key Performance Indicators. over poor service delivery.

Speaking at the Fourth Quarter meeting of the An embittered Lagos based Accountant, Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) in Shola George, who is a subscriber to all the Abuja, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of GSM networks lamented that while NCC had NCC, Maryam Bayi, said that about 50,000 combeen largely successful in selling communica- plaints were received daily from the commistion licenses to would be operators and exist- sion’s automated call centres, adding that the ing ones, it had not met with equal success in complaints ranged from poor quality of servregulating these firms and quality of net- ice, drop calls to unsolicited text messages sent works being rolled out in Nigeria. by operators.

George said that that had subjected the Bayi noted that the commission had in a meetindustry to a number of speculations, bad and ing with the operators warned them to stop poorly designed networks and equipment dispatching unsolicited SMS, warning that flooding the market with the attendant poor operators would be sanctioned for failure to quality of services from all the operators, leav- comply with the directive. ing the subscribers to the mercies of operaStill at the event, NCC’s Executive tors, which according to him, only goal was Commissioner in charge of Stakeholder profit, profit and more profit.

Management, Okechukwu Itanyi, called on the

I

Juwah providers to address the persistent issues of poor quality of service and drop calls or face sanction.

He said: “NCC has put in place KPIs to evaluate their services. We have told operators that if they don’t meet these KPIs, they will be penalised. We have done it before. We are going to do it again, if operators fail to meet our KPIs. Today, there is a paradigm shift from mere service provision to ensuring that consumer satisfaction ranks highest in our priorities in the provision of ICT goods and services.”

Furthermore, the fundamental issues of limited capacities attributed to for the fall in quality of services, according to an MTN subscriber and a telecoms engineer based in Lagos, Chukuwemeka Arinze was brought about by the rate at which operators churned out promos on the networks. He described the situation as very worrisome, stressing that this had brought huge strain on the limited capacities of the operators.

Minister of Communications and Technology, Omobola Johnson, attested to this fact also.

She said that the promotions carried out by the operators affected the quality of service provided because when they embarked on promos, the number of subscribers on the networks increases and there’s pressure on the network.

The minister, who admitted that GSM service delivery had been poor in recent times, said that because of the growth of the sector, operators had been facing demand challenge.

Besides, Chairman, Association of Licenced Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Gbenga Adebayo, while confirming that appreciable sums of money that has gone into network expansion since 2012, added that the problems the industry faced were in two dimensions, man-made and natural causes.

Adebayo said that most operators were not prepared for some challenges, including the spate of bomb attacks on installation infrastructure and floods which destroyed equipment and comprehensively slowed down expansion projects, thereby contributing to poor quality of service.

“We also have issue of governments and their agencies shutting down base stations for one levy or the other. Poor power supply, vandalism among others have all contributed to poor quality of service,” he pointed out.

The NCC had said that it would impose fresh sanctions on telecoms operators, if poor quality of service persists. Some 15 months back, MTN, Airtel, Etisalat and Globacom fell under the hammer of the regulator who slammed a collective N1.17 billion fine for poor services.

The commission has also informed of its plan to raise KPI standards for telecoms operators come January 2014.

The NCC Executive Vice

Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah, who stated this at the Telecoms Executive and Regulator’s Forum organised by the ATCON said that the move became necessary in order to maintain high standards of service quality across networks.

Juwah said that the commission had to agree with telecoms operators to lower the initial KPI standard in 2012, following complaints by the operators that the standards were too high for them to meet, as a result of the harsh telecoms operating environment in the country.

“After the 2012 fine on all GSM operators for not meeting the set standards of our KPI, we had an understanding with the telecoms operators to lower the standards and that is the reason why telecoms operators have been passing our KPI standards since last year. In January, we will revert to the original KPI the commission is known for, and we will strictly adhere to it, because we have given the operators enough time to address the issue of poor service quality in the industry,” Juwah said.

However, the ISPON president, service providers should be compelled to deploy newchannel network architectural model that are not only iPV6 compliant, but with improved latency and redundancy sub-system.

Uwaje also said that there should be standards to data and content architecture and design that are allowed to ride on the network.

Also an Abuja based telecoms expert, Banji Ogunrinde suggested that to improve quality of services in the country, operators should upgrade and optimise all existing base stations, saying that if this is done, it will stem call set up failures due to rise in traffic volumes.

Ogunrinde said that there was need to install additional base stations across the country, building of additional switching centres across the country and increase capacity to handle more traffic.

According to him, if a particular base station was to be taken “offline” (either for schedule maintenance, repairs, upgrades among others), all neighbouring base stations should have their communication power level increased.

He also said that that would increase their coverage area, thereby reducing congestion and dropped calls.

The telecoms expert also suggested that operators should invest heavily in network development and have a proper radio planning. This, he said would ensure increased network resilience, improved bandwidth utilisation and alleviation of capacity bottleneck.

He urged operators to continue to give back to the society to enhance social security.

“Because no amount of security personnel can deter hoodlums from attacking base station sites. Also, if government can create more jobs for its citizens, poverty level would be reduced and a lot of boys and girls will be taken off streets. Hence we would have a secured environment,” he stated.

Ogunrinde said that the government should address incessant power failures, saying that that would stop the over-dependence on generators for power supply.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

22 Thursday, December 12, 2013

Business Osun debunks report over loan portfolio

By Femi Adekoya gainst reports that the Osun state government’s fiscal responsibility is threatened, the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Wale Bolorunduro, has denied such reports saying that the state government is yet to take any multilateral loan (external debt) since it came to power.

According to Bolorunduro, there was a misinterpretation of a report on state’s borrowing, as published by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC).

He noted that against insinuations raised in a newspaper report, (not The Guardian), the state had published its financial statement for the year 2012 to prevent presumptions on the state’s financial status.

He said: “It is true Osun raised N30 billion and N11.4 billion from the capital market through issuance of bond and sukuk in 2012 and 2013 respectively. These are deliberate transparent approaches to raise funds from capital market. It is however scandalous to read that the state took N17.8billion from Infrastructure Bank.

“In the same vein, it is important to stress that the external debt being mentioned is part of the liabilities the current government inherited from the PDP administration. For avoidance of doubts, the current administration has not taken any multilateral loan (external debt) since it came to power.

He added: “Reference can be made to the full report of the Debt Management Office (DMO), which was recently circularised to all the states in the country. The report indicates states’ average solvency (a ratio of total debt to total revenue) to be 42.34 per cent, while Osun’s figure is 14.68 per cent.”

A

Nigeria’s crude oil production down by 104.4bpd in November

By Roseline Okere IGERIA has witnessed a decrease in crude oil production from 1,925 million barrels per day (bpd) it recorded in October to 1,821 million bpd in November this year, representing 104.4 bpd decrease in the country’s production for the period under review.

This was contained in December monthly report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released yesterday.

Besides, OPEC reduced crude production in November to the lowest level in more than two years as output dropped below the organization’s 30 million barrel-a-day ceiling for a third month.

Output from Saudi Arabia fell to a five-month low of 9.63 million barrels a day last month from 9.71 million in October, according to OPEC’s monthly report. Production also dropped in Libya, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Kuwait, while supplies climbed in Iraq, Iran, and Angola.

According to OPEC, it pumped 29.63 million barrels last month compared with 29.83 million in October.

The report kept unchanged forecasts that point to a smaller share of the world oil market for OPEC in 2014 due to increasing supply from the United States, in the midst of a shale energy boom, and other non-OPEC countries.

OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs) and non-conventional oils are expected to increase by 0.24 mbpd in 2013 to average 5.80 mbpd. In 2014, OPEC

N

NGLs are forecast to grow by 0.15 mbpd over the current year to average 5.95 mbpd.

Africa’s oil supply is predicted to average 2.41 mbpd in 2013, an increase of 0.11 mbpd from the previous year, remaining unchanged from the last MOMR. South Sudan and Sudan’s oil supply is forecast to increase by 0.11 mbpd in 2013 to average 0.23 mbpd, unchanged from the previous month.

Supply forecasts for the other countries in the region remained more or less steady

from the previous monthly reports.

It stated: “During the first three quarters of this year, Africa’s supply increased by 80 tbpd compared with the same period in 2012. On a quarterly basis, supply in 2013 is seen to stand at 2.30 mbpd, 2.42 mbpd, 2.45 mbpd and 2.49 mbpd, respectively”.

Developing country (DC) total oil supply is estimated to decline by 30 tbpd in 2013 compared with the previous year to average 12.09 mbpd, the lowest level since 2007;

this represents a downward revision of 55tbpd from the previous reports.

The downward revision came from Latin America, Other Asia and Middle East supply, while projections for Africa production remained steady.

The Middle East is expected to have the highest decline in supply among the DCs with a drop of 0.12 mbpd, followed by other Asia at 90 tbpd in 2013, from the previous year.

It noted: “Africa is currently expected to be the region

with the highest supply growth among DC regions at 0.11 mbpd, followed by Latin America at 70 tbpd.

“The DC supply forecast experienced various downward revisions, mainly due to delays as well as technical and political factors. DC production is expected to experience a minor increase in the fourth quarter from the third, supported by expected growth from Africa. During the first three quarters of 2013, DC production averaged 12.09 mbpd”.

Director-General, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, Mrs. Ify Anazonwu-Akerele (left); Guest Speaker, Mrs. Jean Chiazor Anishere; and Managing Director, Richardson Oil & Gas Limited, Akin Osuntoki, at a three-day training workshop on Understanding Cabotage and Local Content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry (Upstream), in Lagos, on Tuesday.

NAICOM decries low insurance cover for agribusinesses HE National Insurance T Commission (NAICOM) on Tuesday described as unacceptable the unwillingness of insurance companies to provide insurance cover for agricultural business in the country.

NAICOM’s Director, Authorisation and Policy, Leonard Akah, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He attributed the low penetration of insurance companies into the agriculture sector to the misconception that only the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) had the authority to provide cover for the sector.

Akah said insurance companies were at liberty to provide insurance cover for all aspects of agriculture, including crops cultivation, livestock farming, agricultural machinery, and farm buildings as long as the farm was not government-funded. ``There is this misconcep-

tion which the Nigerian insurance companies have presently. And that misconception is that everything about agriculture insurance can only be handled by the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC). ``So, that is their belief, that is their thinking. They feel NAIC have the monopoly, but truly speaking that is not the true position. ``NAICOM at a point issued a press release, trying to clarify the true position of the law, that is to say to the industry, look you have an opportunity. ``That there are some aspects of agric insurance you can write apart from the ones written by NAIC, because the statutory one from NAIC is actually a no go area. ``The reason is simple.

Government will eventually fund part of the premium and this will not be possible if the insurance is being done by private insurance since NAIC is government owned;

so it is easier for them to do that. ``And there is also another peculiarity with the NAIC act.

That peculiarity is that, if there is a serious claim, and the claim amount is more than 100 per cent of the premium, government will pay the balance. All that, you cannot get under the conventional arrangement. ``So we had to explain all that. And following that, we started seeing private insurance coming to apply for approval to write some agric product. As i speak, about two companies have gotten our approval to write on agric products’’.

Akah said one the reasons for the low participation of insurance companies in the agriculture sector was the inadequate number of existing agriculture insurance specialists in the industry.

He spoke of the need for the training of more insurance experts to take advantage of the abundant opportunities in agriculture insurance.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 BUSINESS 23

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Governor proposes N103.8b appropriation bill to Ekiti lawmakers From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Head, South West Bureau, Ado Ekiti) KITI State Governor, Dr. E Kayode Fayemi on Tuesday, presented a budget estimate of N103.882 billion before the state’s House of Assembly for the 2014 fiscal year, with the capital expenditure taking the lion share of 51.8 per cent.

He said that that would enable him complete all the projects going on in various communities in the state.

The appropriation bill tagged, “Budget of Stability and Growth”, a N50.106 billion was apportioned as recurrent expenditure, representing 48.2 per cent, while a sum of N52.776 billion, representing 51.8 per cent was earmarked for capital expenditure.

Fayemi, who described the budget as participatory, disclosed that it was a product of the town hall meetings he had with all the residents of the 131 communities in the state, which he concluded recently.

The governor said that the people’s demanded during the interactions, were factored into the financial analysis in line with his vision to entrench good

governance in the state.

He said: “The implementations of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Budget estimates were encouraging. In 2011, we recorded 73 per cent performance, while that of 2012 was 89 per cent. But the current 2013 in operation stands at 64 per cent and this is due to shortfall in the revenues into the State from the Federal allocation.”

He said that the budget would be financed via “statutory federal allocations to the state, Value Added Tax, external grants, loans and bonds, ecological funds and other sundry sources.”

Fayemi, who lamented the lean financial status of the state, tasked the statutory government offices saddled with the responsibility of generating money to step efforts to generate more revenues to the state to carry out developmental projects that would meet the yearnings of the people.

Disclosing that more resources were needed to bring the needed infrastructural and socio-economic development to the people, Fayemi said, “more funds are needed to deliver on our promises to our people.”

Earlier, the Speaker of the

Assembly, Adewale Omirin, assured that the House would ensure that the executive arm adhere strictly to the implementation of the

By Femi Adekoya O position itself as the T key player in the national sugar master plan, Dangote Sugar refinery has unveiled plans to embrace a proactive integrated sugar production model that would aid its investment and value to shareholders.

Besides, the firm noted that it hoped to commence production in Savannah Sugar, one of its subsidiaries soon, with plans to increase its sugar refineries to five across the country within the shortest possible period.

Also, the firm announced the appointment of a new group managing director for the refinery to aid its production plan.

The new boss of the refinery, Graham Clark replaces the former managing director of the company, Abdullahi Sule.

Clark brings deep industry experience spanning some thirty years in the African Sugar Industry, including sixteen years in Illovo Sugar Ltd - Africa’s biggest sugar producer, with operations in six African Countries.

He has served on the Illovo Board since 1997 and as managing director since 2009.

Addressing journalists in Lagos, yesterday, Clark said that his responsibilities would see him focusing on growing new markets for higher volumes, a more improved bottom line, increased market share and value creation for all stakeholders.

He explained that remodeling of the integrated

sugar production would see the company enhancing its value-chain process, as by-products would be extracted from sugar cane that would now be used for production.

“Unlike before where we import raw sugar for refining, the economic model of the sugar plantation is profitable when examined from the value-chain process. We will change the whole process and seek partnerships with communities and state governments in order to aid land acquisition for sugar plantation,” he added.

He added that the company was actively pursuing a backward integration master plan with a target of producing a total of 1.5 million tonnes of sugar per annum locally from its subsidiaries.

He explained that the company would continue to strengthen output, sales and distribution through large distribution network, even as it planned an additional investment for new factories.

He added that Dangote Sugar had embarked on expansion of the plant as part of measures to enhance the integrated sugar cane farming and sugar milling through increased plant capacity from 50, 000 tonnes per annum to 200, 000 tonnes.

On opportunities in the export market, Clark said that the company would harness the opportunities in the regional markets after satisfying the demands in the domestic market.

address, with energy, the challenges of creating jobs, reducing poverty, building infrastructure and expanding the economy.

“It must also be set out on financial framework that is sound and sustainable,” Omirin advised.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank, Dr Alex Otti(right); Executive Director, Risk Management and Control, Diamond Bank, Caroline Anyanwu; Head IT Services, Diamond Bank, Abioye Koko; and Chief Operating Officer, Digital Encode Limited, Obadare Peter Adewale during the Diamond Bank Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Certification press briefing in Lagos.

PHOTO; SUNDAY AKINLOLU

Honeywell stakes N10b on new plant, to increase milling capacity

By Femi Adekoya

Dangote Sugar to remodel production process, appoints new GMD

Budget for the wellbeing of Ekiti people.

“The 2014 budget must reflect the collective determination of government to

O increase its milling T capacity and cater for growing demand, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, has committed about N10 billion to a new milling plant, as it unveils plans to increase its production capacity in Ogun state.

According to a statement, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Honeywell Flour Mills, Babatunde Odunayo, said that the project, which gulped around N10 billion, was built to meet the quality standard for which the company was renowned.

Odunayo stated that investment in expanding the flour-

mills was proof of the company’s commitment to ensure that it consistently produces and delivers top quality flour and a range of flour based products for the satisfaction of its valued customers.

He added that the mills’ automated warehouse which had a capacity to hold about 100,000 bags of 50kg flour was the only one of its kind in the African region, saying: “The flour mills currently operate on installed capacity of 2,610 metric tonnes per day. It also has a wheat storage capacity of about 42,500 metric tonnes with a monthly usage of about 40,000 metric tonnes. The state-of-art facility has upgraded our production

capacity by 63 per cent.”

He stated that the new equipment, which was supplied and installed by Bulher AG of Switzerland, would guarantee operational efficiency and consistent production of top quality products.

He further disclosed plans by the company to build a 66hectare Flour-gate Estate in Ogun State which would house new factories for the production flour and pasta, adding that the project was part of the company’s expansion strategy.

He said that proof of the company’s commitment was reflected in the award of NIS 9001:2000, the first to be

awarded to a flour mill in Nigeria as well as the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) for product quality from Standards Organisation of Nigeria.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Buhler AG, Switzerland, Calvin Grieder said that the company was proud to be associated with Honeywell Flour Mills Plc. He said that consumers of Honeywell products should be proud of the new equipment installed, as “it takes courage to invest in state-ofthe-art facility such as this, because it is not for quick returns on investment but for quality.”

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Appointments Local content implementation in oil sector generates 52,000 jobs From Collins Olayinka, Abuja HE implementation of local T content policy has generated about 52,000 new jobs, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Ernest Nwapa has said.

The NCDMB boss who stated this while receiving the Nigerian Risk Award for the Board’s successful implementation of the Nigerian Content Act in Lagos recently, hinted that the implementation of the Act is impacting positively on the local economy, attracting over $5bn investment in four years, creating over 52, 000 jobs and generally transforming the way oil and gas business is done in Nigeria.

The award, which was the first edition, was conferred on the Board at a ceremony attended by major players in the oil and gas, insurance, banking and allied sectors of the economy.

The Nigerian Risk Award, which is modelled after the UK version was organised by Conrad Clerk, an international Risk Management company.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive of Conrad Clark, Joe-Hakeem Adenusi explained that the Board was selected as the top-perform-

• NCDMB bags Nigerian risk award ing organisation in oil and gas Industry from a survey it conducted on a cross section of industry stakeholders.

He added that the implementation of the Act in 2010 by the federal government was one giant step that had transformed and empower local participation in the oil and gas sector.

The NCDMB under the leadership of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has deployed a strong implementation regime in collaboration with stakeholders to promote investment in assets, facilities and infrastructure, domiciliation of work scope, training and employment of Nigerians and use of local resources for industry operations.

The award was received on behalf of the minister who is also the chairman of the Board’s Governing Council by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Ernest Nwapa who described the award as a significant milestone, which demonstrates the impact of the Act’s implementation on linkage sectors.

He thanked Conrad Clark for the honour and indicated that the NCDMB was frequently nominated for variety of awards, but special care is always taken to ensure that the

Board only accepts awards that can be genuinely linked to the work it does.

His words: “In this case, it is easy to see why the Board deserved nomination for the Risk Management Award considering the increased market

N the spirit of the commemIRights oration of the 2013 Human Day, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola offered employment to three persons, including two physically challenged persons as traffic wardens in the state.

The physically challenged persons, Anthony Edewor and Salisu Adamu were until Tuesday, voluntarily controlling traffic in Marina axis of the state without pay.

Another voluntary traffic warden, Salisu Audu who directs traffic at the National Stadium Surulere axis was also rewarded with an opportunity to earn salary for their efforts as well as other benefits.

Fashola made the offer at the official launching of the Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute and Graduation Ceremony of 3, 311 officers of LASTMA and KAI held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

Announcing the offer, Fashola said: “They have been directing traffic in Lagos with-

‘

out reward for years but their story will change from today.”

“As we focus on the story of Anthony Edewor, it showed that many of us see things that needed urgent attention but we didn’t respond. And someone said that it isn’t only Anthony that directs traffic in Marina, there is Salisu Adamu who also directs traffic on that axis.

“Of course, someone remembered that there was another person who also directs traffic at the National stadium junction, Surulere. And that person is Salisu Audu.

“Today, we are engaging them with rewards. We will keep them at the posts where they have served faithfully.

“And they will continue to do what they have done for years.

We believe that they have done all these because of the passion they have for the job. The Head of Service will issue them their letter of employment and their monthly remuneration.”

Fashola who also announced that LASTMA and KAI officers have been absorbed into the

They have been directing traffic in Lagos without reward for years but their story will change from today. As we focus on the story of Anthony Edewor, it showed that many of us see things that needed urgent attention but we didn’t respond. And someone said that it isn’t only Anthony that directs traffic in Marina, there is Salisu Adamu who also directs traffic on that axis.

posed a risk to the government that signing of the Bill will hurt the smooth operations of the industry and derail the national economy.

“When the minister was appointed in 2010, she was confronted by the position of key stakeholders of the Oil and gas industry but had to weigh in on the national

development imperatives of the Nigerian Content Law,” he submitted.

The Executive Secretary further explained that the signing of the Nigerian Content Bill into law by President Goodluck Jonathan was a calculated risk to promote overriding national interest.

Director General, National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Onyeka Onwenu, explaining a point to the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi when she visited the CBN Governor in his office recently

Fashola employs two physically challenged persons as traffic wardens

By Kamal Tayo Oropo

share of Nigeria insurance companies occasioned by implementation of the Act which has increased Local underwriting capacity by over two hundred percent in the past three years.”

He recalled with fond memory the resistance put up by multinational operators and service companies that it

state civil service as full fledged staff of the state government.

He said that officers of KAI and LASTMA will be absorbed in a new cadre known as the Law Enforcement Cadre under the State Public Service Act, as part of government’s effort to reform officers of both agencies.

Fashola however warned that with the new development, officers who flout civil service rules would be dealt with, while those who serve selflessly will earn rewards.

He said: “An officer, who loses his temper in the public space, will have a second chance. An officer, who brutalises the citizens, will not have the second chance. It is going to require a lot of patience, restraint, maturity and passion to do the work and live up to the brand that we now put forward.

“What does this reform means? It means in all the thirty offices where you work in difficult condition are now the subject of remake.

“We are already rebuilding.

We are already refurnishing.

We are also re-equipping all the offices. I am told that the first four offices are ready and another batch of four will be ready.

“Instead of being ad-hoc staff, you are now full-fledged public servants of the state. Your work will entitle you all the benefits that the permanent staff members enjoy including pension rights. It will entitle to pension rights under our contributory pension scheme.”

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APPOINTMENTS Thursday, December 12, 2013

Ahmed, Saraki task govt on unemployment

By Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin WARA State Governor K Abdulfatah Ahmed and Senator Bukola Saraki have called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on youth unem-

ployment in the country.

Besides, they vowed that in the next four weeks, they would provide no less than 5000 jobs to unemployed youth in the state.

The duo spoke in Ilorin, at aone day technical youth sum-

Firm re-strategises, appoints new directors O further enhance its T capacity expansion, strengthen operational excellence and position itself to maximise the immense opportunities in the West African market, Nigeria Machine Tools Limited (NMTL) has commenced a series of strategic restructuring to such end.

According to a statement from the company, the transformation which is consistent with the firm’s strategy of quality, excellence and service would see the company scale up its business activities in the sub-region to meet growing demand and also expand its customer engagement plat-

forms to ensure excellent service delivery always for all customers are part of the new direction for the company.

The company, which is one of the leading integrated manufacturing company in subSaharan Africa with a modern production facility hopes to drive its growth with the restructuring process.

Based on this move, company’s Board of Directors approved two key appointments: Didi Ndiomu takes over from Brig. General S. L. Teidi (Rtd.) as chairman of the Board, while Norbert Chukwumah has been appointed the company’s new managing director.

mit for unemployed youths in the state. The theme of the summit is “youth unemployment in Kwara State: The way forward,” and it was organised by the Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) Constituency Office.

They said, “it is time federal government declared state of emergency on youth unemployment in the country, just as we have declared a state of emergency on power and security. Until we continue to find a lasting solution to this problem, it cannot he immediate, but we can start a process that will give the youth hope.”

Said Governor Ahmed: “As the largest component of our population and the inheritors of the future, youths are our most vital resource. We must nurture, support, and prime

them for productive engagement through appropriate training and tangible opportunities.

Therefore, this technical workshop’s theme-Youth Unemployment in Kwara State: The Way Forward- is a poignant reminder of the challenges facing youths and a clarion call for urgent action.

“As a youth-focused administration, we have implemented several interventions to get more youths into employment and into business since 2011.

“For us in Kwara State, the solution to this social challenge is two-pronged. First, we are creating a new crop of youth entrepreneurs through capacity building and access to affordable micro-credit

funds on the platform of cooperatives. Not only is the informal sector a major driver of the economy, its multiplier effects include facilitating youth job creators and the emergence of change agents.

“Second, in line with Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s vision for agro-led prosperity in Kwara State, we are assertively promoting youth involvement in agribusiness through targeted training, access to funding and mentorship.

“I therefore call on Nigerian youths to take up entrepreneurship by leveraging the spaces created by government in the informal sector and in agribusiness.

To own a successful business is as lucrative as it is liberating.

It frees you from the dangers of placing your ladder on someone else’s wall, thus making you the architect of your prosperity. You are also invited to take advantage of our skill reform, such as the master trainers’ scheme and skill acquisition centers, to gain vital skills.

“Through these skill reforms, we are standardising the cost and quality of service in the trades and creating opportunities for apprentices to become self-sufficient. Our new International Vocational Centre, Ajasse-Ipo will also play a pivotal role in this regard by establishing Kwara State as the hub for vocational skills.

Therein lie the ultimate solutions to the menace of youth unemployment.”

Lagos PSSDC receives change agent award HE Lagos State Public T Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) Magodo, has received the ‘Outstanding Change Agent’ award in Learning and Development.

The award, by the Conference of Capacity Building Institutions in Nigeria organisers of the IFTDO African Regional Conference, was in recognition of the gamechanging efforts of the Centre in its core area of business.

Speaking at the award cere-

mony during the 2nd African Regional Conference in Abuja, the Director-General of PSSDC, Mrs. Olubunmi Fabamwo expressed pleasure that the reforms being undertaken to re-engineer the centre as well as reposition it for relevance and service excellence as a learning and development destination of choice in Nigeria and beyond was being recognised by critical stakeholders in the capacity building community.

Power Product Coordinator, Honda Manufacturing Nigeria Limited, Kozai T (left); Sales Coordinator, Kuwahara A.; and Executive Coordinator, Fujisawa I, who represented the Managing Director at the launch of some of its products in Ota, Ogun state on Tuesday.

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Galaxy Backbone Nigeria partners Microsoft on job creation opportunities

By Adeyemi Adepetun ALAxy Backbone Plc. in colG laboration with devices and services giant, Microsoft Nigeria is set to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians through the Employable Skills Development Internship Program (ESDIP) of the Government Wide Messaging and Collaboration (GWMC) project based on the Microsoft platform.

The ESDIP Initiative is a project targeted at providing capability development programs and training in the federal public sector for the already deployed GWMC platform, while also enhancing adoption and usage of the platform.

Galaxy backbone is a government agency charged with the responsibility of providing a common information and communications technology platform for Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

By this, Galaxy Backbone will enhance modernization in government via the increased adoption of the already deployed government wide messaging platform, elevate the security stature of government data, by ensuring all sensitive government communication move from public mail infrastructure to the secured and award winning 1-gov.net platform (United Nations Public Service Awards for 2013 “Promoting Whole-ofGovernment Approaches in the Information Age” Category) and help drive skill

development and contribute to employability/job creation in the country.

Chief Executive Officer, Galaxy backbone, Gerald Ilukwe said, “the GWMC is about efficiency, cost-savings, increased productivity and the effective delivery of public services to the citizenry by modernising the way public officials communicate within government.

For Galaxy, there is a linkage with the Employable Skills Development Internship Program (ESDIP), which is a capacity building initiative that seeks to enhance the employability of participants in the marketplace. The essence is to empower public officials and the interns to be more effective and efficient in their endeavors.”

In view of the strategic nature of the project, Microsoft will lend its support in certain key areas including “Change Management” – with a view to build capacity, drive benefits management and encourage early and rapid adoption of the solution by end users.

The organisation will also partner with the Integral Assets Limited (a capabilities consulting firm) on recruitment of Interns, delivery of train the trainer sessions for Interns – WP8 &MS Outlook, on-site activation of devices and training of government officials, making GWMC the foundation to the e-government journey towards Gov3.0, amongst others.

Speaking on the partnership, Chief Technology Officer,

Microsoft Nigeria, Olayinka Oni, explained, “the objective of the programme is to train interns to develop transferable and employable skills that will facilitate their placement in organisations. At the same time, leverage the interns to support the GWMC programme through the distribution of devices and training of recipients in the use of the devices.”

Through the programme, Microsoft will distribute over 500 windowsphones in support of the GWMC programme, while Integral Assets Limited will recruit and train the interns on behalf of Microsoft that would be responsible for the distribution of these phones to their respective recipients.

Group seeks Akele’s reinstatement

By Bolanle Banji-Idowu group under the aegis of A Akele Reinstatement Campaign Organisation

(ARCO) has called for the immediate recall of a labour leader formerly on the employment of Lagos State Government, Ayodele Akele.

At a news conference heralding the celebration of the life and times of late Lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the group insisted that reinstating Akele would be an icing on the cake for the celebration.

The group under the leadership of Olarenwaju Suraju observed, ‘’it was a great irony

that this incorruptible labour leader has been subjected to great deprivation as a result of the sack carried out under the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Several appeals had been made in the past for the reinstatement without success.”

It continued: “Following the intervention of the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu agreed to recall Akele to his post, which was not fulfilled.

This issue was taken up by the late Gani Fawehinmi and shortly before the death of Chief Fawehinmi; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu paid Chief Fawehinmi a visit and prom-

ised that he would cause the reinstatement of Ayodele Akele.

This solemn promise to the deceased human rights icon and foremost legal mind has not been fulfilled but rather treated with disdain.

“It is 12 years now since Comrade Akele was sacked for leading the Nigerian workers to demand more humane conditions of service.”

To this end, the group called on workers’ unions in the state and the country to defend workers’ rights of association and unionisation, which was the basis of friction between the Lagos State government and activists like Akele.

IBFCAgusto launches credit training scheme

By Toyin Olasinde BFCAgusto Training Ilearning Limited has launched the eversion of its fundamentals of credit training programme which is aimed at ensuring that banks staff especially those with credit responsibilities, are equipped with appropriate tools to execute their functions.

Speaking at the event, Managing Director, IBFCAgusto Training Limited, Titilayo Olujobi, said, “the Nigerian banking crisis of 2009 exposed the knowledge gaps that existed in the banking sector as many members of staff did not have the requisite training and experience to take optimal credit

decisions.”

She noted that banks must tap into the training scheme to ensure banks reduced the reoccurrence of non-performing loans in the credit portfolios of several banks in the country.

According to her e-learning process was a cost effective approach to training, which is being adopted by institutions worldwide and often complements instructor-led methods.

Building on the experience garnered over two decades in facilitating credit programs, Olujobi said IBFCAgusto has converted one of its flagship courses, into a highly interactive, self paced e-learning course with case studies and self assessments.

Poise’s boss receives award for innovation N recognition of her innovaIthetive educational initiatives, Chief Executive Officer of Poise’ Graduate Finishing School (PGFS), a subsidiary of Poise Nigeria Limited, Personality and Business Image Consultants, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, has been awarded the prestigious BusinessDay 40 under 40 award.

The award, which celebrated 40 leaders who are under the age of 40 for their outstanding performances in business and innovative contributions to national development was hosted by BusinessDay Media Ltd, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment (FMITI) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), in Lagos recently.

Dare who was nominated for her vision to raise a generation

of work ready and internationally sought graduates, was selected for her exceptional work in equipping thousands of graduates with employability skills.

“It is a great blessing for me to be recognised and honoured for doing something that I am passionate about. Grooming our graduates is not just a job for me; it comes from the core of my being.

“Today’s workplace requires that our young people possess essential soft skills among which are the ability to think analytically and work strategically, articulate ideas effectively both in written and spoken forms, work under pressure, solve problems creatively, possess good ICT skills and so on.

And these are the trainings we prioritise at PGFS and in our seminars,” Dare stated.

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ScienceGuardian Satellite unveils coldest place on earth

This image shows the location of record low temperature measurements for Antarctica. The red dots show where the record satellite-measured surface temperatures and the earlier record low air temperature occurred. Shades of gray are a compilation of the lowest MODIS-sensor land surface temperature readings made by NASA’s Aqua satellite during 2003-2013, with darker grays representing the coldest areas. Landsat 8 thermal images acquired in July and August of 2013 provided more detail on the coldest areas (purple squares). Elevation of the Antarctic surface is shown in green lines, and a blue lines provide an outline of the Antarctic continent, its islands, and the edge of its floating ice sheet. (Credit: Ted Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center) CIENTISTS recently recordStures ed the lowest temperaon Earth at a desolate and remote ice plateau in East Antarctica, trumping a record set in 1983 and uncovering a new puzzle about the ice-covered continent.

Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and his team found temperatures from −92 to −94 degrees Celsius (−134 to −137 degrees Fahrenheit) in a 1,000-kilometer long swath on the highest section of the East Antarctic ice divide.

The measurements were made between 2003 and 2013 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on board NASA’s Aqua satellite and during the 2013 Southern Hemisphere winter by Landsat 8, a new satellite launched early this year by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“I’ve never been in conditions that cold and I hope I never am,” Scambos said. “I am told that every breath is painful and you have to be extremely careful not to freeze part of your throat or lungs when inhaling.”

The record temperatures are several degrees colder than the previous record of −89.2 degrees Celsius (−128.6 degrees Fahrenheit) measured on July 21, 1983 at the Vostok Research Station in

East Antarctica. They are far colder than the lowest recorded temperature in the United States, measured at −62 degrees Celsius (−79.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Alaska, in northern Asia at -68 degrees Celsius (−90.4 degrees Fahrenheit), or even at the summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet at -75 degrees Celsius (−103 degrees Fahrenheit).

Scambos said the record temperatures were found in several 5 by 10 kilometer (3 by 6 mile) pockets where the topography forms small hollows of a few meters deep (2 to 4 meters, or 6 to 13 feet).

These hollows are present just off the ice ridge that runs between Dome Argus and Dome Fuji — the ice dome summits of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Antarctic bases sit on each of the sites and are generally not occupied during Antarctic winters.

Under clear winter skies in these areas, cold air forms near the snow surface.

Because the cold air is denser than the air above it, it begins to move downhill. The air collects in the nearby hollows and chills still further, if conditions are favorable.

“The record-breaking conditions seem to happen when a wind pattern or an atmospheric pressure gradient tries to move the air back uphill, pushing against the air that was sliding down,” Scambos

said.

“This allows the air in the low hollows to remain there longer and cool even further under the clear, extremely dry sky conditions,” Scambos said. “When the cold air lingers in these pockets it reaches ultra-low temperatures.”

“Any gardener knows that clear skies and dry air in spring or winter lead to the coldest temperatures at night,” Scambos said. “The thing is, here in the United States and most of Canada, we don’t get a night that lasts three or four or six months long for things to really chill down under extended clear sky conditions.”

Scambos and his team spotted the record low temperatures while working on a related study on unusual cracks on East Antarctica’s ice surface that he suspects are several hundred years old.

“The cracks are probably thermal cracks — the temperature gets so low in winter that the upper layer of the snow actually shrinks to the point that the surface cracks in order to accommodate the cold and the reduction in volume,” Scambos said. “That led us to wonder what the temperature range was. So, we started hunting for the coldest places using data from three satellite sensors.”

More than 30 years of data from the Advanced Very High

Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the NOAA Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) series gave Scambos a good perspective on what the pattern of low temperatures looked like across Antarctica.

“Landsat 8 is still a new sensor, but preliminary work shows its ability to map the cold pockets in detail,” Scambos said. “It’s showing how even small hummocks stick up through the cold air.”

Scambos suspected they would find one area that got extremely cold. Instead they found a large strip at high altitude where several spots regularly reach record low temperatures.

Furthermore, dozens of these extremely cold areas reached about the same minimum temperatures of −92 to −94 degrees Celsius (−134 to −137 degrees Fahrenheit) on most years.

“This is like saying that on the coldest day of the year a whole strip of land from International Falls, Minnesota to Duluth, Minnesota to Great Falls, Montana reached the exact same temperature, and more than once,” Scambos said.

“And that’s a little odd.”

The scientists suspect that a layer in the atmosphere above the ice plateau reaches a certain minimum temperature and is preventing the ice plateau’s surface from getting any colder.

ASTRONOMY With J.K. Obatala

Stars, planets, clusters herald dry season (2) that Europe- the smallest of

OW, let’s back up a bit and N discuss some of these Jupiter’s four big moons—is a objects in greater detail- dynamic and integrated sysbeginning with Jupiter, which I’ve already mentioned. It has a number of distinguishing characteristics that lend themselves to the uses I am proposing.

Jupiter stands out in many ways. At 11 Earth diameters, it is the largest object in the solar system, excluding the Sun. It also has the most moons, the latest count being 67. With a pair of small binoculars, you can actually see the gas giant’s four biggest satellites. They appear as points of light.

Viewing aids- such as binoculars or a telescope- are nice to have. But as I indicated previously, in my serial on “Visual Astronomy,” there is no need to fret if you don’t.

Space probes and powerful earth-based telescopes make the farthest reaches of the universe as near as your computer screen.

Never was this more evident, than in the case of Jupiter. Navigate to NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day” (APOD) archives, for instance, and you’ll see exactly what I mean: The December 6, 2011 entry contains footage of the giant planet rotating! You can actually see it turning.

Despite its massive size, Jupiter is the solar system’s fastest rotating planet- a Jovian day being less than 10 hours. Its rapid spin has created weather phenomena, which makes Jupiter visually distinct among the outer planets.

Depending on one’s aesthetic judgment, this rotating sphere of mainly hydrogen and helium, with its banded and coloured cloud patterns and oval storm systems, ranks among the most visually appealing of the Sun’s major satellites.

Another distinction, is that Jupiter‘s moon Europa offers the second most promising possibility- after Mars- for finding evidence of present or past life beyond Earth.

Buried beneath 200 or so km of ice is an ocean, which, many astronomers and exobiologists believe, could contain living organisms.

This belief got a boost recently, with the discovery

Depending on one’s aesthetic judgment, this rotating sphere of mainly hydrogen and helium, with its banded and coloured cloud patterns and oval storm systems, ranks among the most visually appealing of the Sun’s major satellites.

tem, involving exchanges of chemicals between its ocean and the surface.

“We now have evidence,” reported Mike Brown, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology, “that Europa’s ocean is not isolated- that the ocean and the surface talk to each other and exchange chemicals. That means… energy might be going into the ocean, which is important in terms of the possibilities for life there”. (EarthSky, March 6, 2013).

The constellation Orion is important, not only because it contains so many scientifically interesting and aesthetically appealing objects but also because it is very useful.

Through its role as a navigational aid to living organisms, Orion has greatly influenced Earth’s biology and demography.

The three diagonally aligned Belt stars, in particular, are especially useful to sky-watchers as pointer stars.

A “pointer,” is any celestial object, or group of objects, that can be used to find other entities in the sky. Extending one’s line of sight from the Belt stars to the southeast, for instance, leads to Sirius.

In truth, Sirius would be rather easy to locate, even without a pointer. It’s the brightest star visible from planet Earth, after the Sun. Situated in the constellation Canis Major, which shares a border with Orion, Sirius is also one of the closest stars to us- roughly seven light years, as the cosmic crow flies.

Now, to ordinary mortals, like you and me, Sirius is a blue- or, at the very least, bluish-white- object. But the experts in these matters insist that it’s white. I won’t argue with them, scientifically. But as far as I’m concerned, if an animal has feathers, a comb and crows early in the morning, it’s a cock. So if Sirius looks white to you, it’s white. If it looks blue, it’s blue.

Interestingly though, the colour of Sirius is not a new controversy. According to Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan, in Astronomy Today, the star appeared red 2000 years ago! This puzzles astronomers, because stars evolve too slowly (by human timescales) to change colours over such a short period.

But Sirius has other claims to fame. One is that its companion star, Sirius B, is the first confirmed white dwarf.

Its role as a cosmic time-keeper, for various African cultures- about which I’ve written extensively—is another.

TO BE CONTINUED.

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34 | Thursday, December 12, 2013

Why HIV is a common cause of kidney failure IV can infect transplanted H kidneys in HIV-positive • Radioimmunotherapy shows promise for possible HIV cure recipients even in the absence of detectable virus in the blood, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

The study’s investigators also developed a simple urine test to diagnose such infections.

Meanwhile, researchers have used radioimmunotherapy (RIT) to destroy remaining human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected cells in the blood samples of patients treated with antiretroviral therapy, offering the promise of a strategy for curing HIV infection. Results of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

HIV is a common cause of kidney failure, and because of this, approximately 900 HIVinfected patients start dialysis each year in the United States.

Kidney transplantation has recently become a therapeutic option for these patients, and the survival rate of HIV-infected transplant recipients with undetectable HIV in the blood is similar to that of non-HIVinfected transplant recipients.

For unknown reasons, however, organ rejection is more common in HIV-infected transplant recipients.

To investigate this issue, Guillaume Canaud, MD, PhD (Necker Hospital, in Paris, France) and his colleagues assessed all 19 of HIV-positive patients in their center who received kidney transplants between June 1, 2006, and October 31, 2011. Genetic analyses demonstrated that HIV

infection occurred in 68% of the HIV-positive recipients’ new organs even in the absence of any detectable HIV in their blood.

Biopsy experiments revealed two different forms of infection. In the first case, podocyte cells - which constitute the barrier through which blood is filtered in the kidneys - are the main target of HIV, and infection is associated with certain clinical signs of kidney dysfunction. In the second case, HIV infects tubular cells within the kidney, with fewer clinical manifestations.

The researchers also developed a new and simple urine test to detect HIV infection in the kidneys, which could be a promising non-invasive method for diagnosing problems in HIV-positive transplant recipients.

“This study is going to change the way of thinking of nephrologists and will certainly modify the approach of kidney transplantation in HIV patients, giving new hope to patients,” said Dr. Canaud.

According to an accompanying editorial by Peter Stock, MD (University of California, San Francisco), the noninvasive urine test that detects early HIV1 infection will help clinicians identify donor and recipient factors associated with recurrent HIV kidney disease. “It is less clear what intervention may control the reinfection, although identification of donor and/or recipient factors associated with early reinfection may provide some clues,” he wrote.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has trans-

formed the outlook for patients infected with HIV by suppressing the replication of the virus in the body.

However, despite the success of HAART in effectively reducing the burden of HIV, scientists believe reservoirs of latently infected cells persist in the body, preventing the possibility of a permanent cure.

“In an HIV patient on HAART, drugs suppress viral replication, which means they keep the number of viral particles in a patient’s bloodstream very low.

However, HAART cannot kill the HIV-infected cells,” said the study’s lead author, Ekaterina Dadachova, Ph.D., professor of radiology, microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y. “Any strategy for curing HIV infection must include a method to eliminate viralinfected cells.”

In her study, Dr. Dadachova and a team of researchers

administered RIT to blood samples from 15 HIV patients treated with HAART at the Einstein-Montefiore

Center for AIDS Research.

RIT, which has historically been employed to treat cancer, uses monoclonal antibodies cloned cells that are recruited by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens.

Antigens are foreign objects like bacteria and viruses that stimulate an immune response in the body. The antibody, designed to recognize and bind to a specific cell antigen, is paired with a radioactive isotope. When injected into the patient’s bloodstream, the laboratory-developed antibody travels to the target cell where the radiation is then delivered.

“In RIT, the antibodies bind to the infected cells and kill them by

radiation,” Dr. Dadachova said.

“When HAART and RIT are used together, they kill the virus and the infected cells, respectively.”

For the study, Dr. Dadachova’s team paired the monoclonal antibody (mAb2556) designed to target a protein expressed on the surface of HIV-infected cells with the radionuclide Bismuth-213.

The researchers found that RIT was able to kill HIV-infected lymphocytes previously treated with HAART, reducing the HIV infection in the blood samples to undetectable levels.

“The elimination of HIVinfected cells with RIT was profound and specific,” Dr. Dadachova said. “The radionuclide we used delivered radiation only to HIV-infected cells without damaging nearby cells.”

Historical events linked to changes in Earth’s temperature • Ozone treaty, wars, Great Depression influenced global warming rate, scientists find HE ozone hole over T Antarctica reached its largest extent in 2006 before starting to shrink. The international treaty intended to reduce the ozone hole has had a cooling effect on Earth’s climate, a study finds.

The Great Depression, World Wars I and II and an international treaty restricting ozone-depleting chemicals each had measurable effects on global temperatures, scientists report recently in Nature Geoscience.

This finding represents one of the first times scientists have linked specific economic and political events to observed changes in how fast global temperatures are ris-

ing.

The researchers wrote: “The warming of the climate system is unequivocal as evidenced by an increase in global temperatures by 0.8 °C over the past century. However, the attribution of the observed warming to human activities remains less clear, particularly because of the apparent slowdown in warming since the late 1990s. Here we analyse radiative forcing and temperature time series with state-ofthe-art statistical methods to address this question without climate model simulations.

“We show that long-term trends in total radiative forcing and temperatures have largely been determined by

atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and modulated by other radiative factors.

We identify a pronounced increase in the growth rates of both temperatures and radiative forcing around 1960, which marks the onset of sustained global warming.

“Our analyses also reveal a contribution of human interventions to two periods when global warming slowed down.

Our statistical analysis suggests that the reduction in the emissions of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol, as well as a reduction in methane emissions, contributed to the lower rate of warming since the 1990s.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 35

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NaturalHealth You are what your father eats carries a memory of the father’s environment and possibly even of his diet and lifestyle choices.

“Our research suggests that fathers need to think about what they put in their mouths, what they smoke and what they drink and remember they are caretakers of generations to come,” said Kimmins.

“If all goes as we hope, our next step will be to work with collaborators at a fertility clinic so that we can start assessing the links in men between diet, being overweight and how this information relates to the health of their children.”

An important factor that cannot, however, be overlooked in the campaign for health food is economic factor, especially for blacks around the world.

Results of a recent study shed new light on factors underlying well-known and well-documented health disparities across racial and ethnic groups.

According to lead researcher and Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing assistant professor Kelly M. Bower, PhD, MSN/MPH, RN, and colleagues from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, findings suggest

Vegetables

that, when compared with other neighborhoods and without regard to income, predominantly black neighborhoods have the most limited access to supermarkets and to the healthier foods such markets sell.

The study explored food store availability in over 65,000 rural and urban census tracts across the country, comparing the numbers of supermarkets with more than 50 employees, grocery stores, and convenience stores in communities with varied economic and racial compositions.

The researchers found that the more impoverished a neighborhood, the fewer the number of independent or chain supermarkets and the less access to fresh fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, high-fiber foods, and other healthy meal and snack options.

The same finding holds true for all predominantly black neighborhoods — whatever the economic status — when compared with predominantly white or Hispanic communities.

The researchers noted that education about positive food

choices, while important, is likely of limited help when people lack access to supermarkets and other sources of healthy foods.

Local interventions based on knowledge of the local food environment are most likely to be successful. They note that there are local initiatives around the country currently working to promote access to health food options but that they need to be evaluated so we can better understand their successes and challenges.

Food access initiatives include mobile grocery stores, ordering foods from supermarkets online for delivery with food stamps, and tax incentives for supermarkets to locate in low-income minority communities.

“Race, ethnicity, income, and geography all play a role in access to quality foods and the opportunity to make healthy choices,” Bower says. “To address health disparities, we need to understand and alter the factors that contribute to them. The availability of highquality, healthy food could be one of those factors that is within our power to alter.”

Mothers get all the attention. But a study led by McGill researcher Sarah Kimmins suggests that the father’s diet before conception may play an equally important role in the health of their offspring. It also raises concerns about the long-term effects of current Western diets and of food insecurity.

HE research focused on vitaT min B9, also called folate, which is found in a range of green leafy vegetables, cereals, fruit and meats. It is well known that in order to prevent miscarriages and birth defects mothers need to get adequate amounts of folate in their diet. But the way that a father’s diet can influence the health and development of their offspring has received almost no attention.

Now research from the Kimmins group shows for the first time that the father’s folate levels may be just as important to the development and health of their offspring as are those of the mother.

Indeed, the study suggests that fathers should pay as much attention to their lifestyle and diet before they set out to conceive a child as mothers do.

“Despite the fact that folic acid is now added to a variety of foods, fathers who are eating high-fat, fast food diets or who are obese may not be able to use or metabolize folate in the same way as those with adequate levels of the vitamin,” says Kimmins.

“People who live in the Canadian North or in other parts of the world where there is food insecurity may also be particularly at risk for folate deficiency.

And we now know that this information will be passed on from the father to the embryo with consequences that may be quite serious.”

The researchers arrived at this conclusion by working with mice, and comparing the offspring of fathers with insufficient folate in their diets with the offspring of fathers whose diets contained sufficient levels of the vitamin.

They found that paternal folate deficiency was associated with an increase in birth defects of various kinds in the offspring, compared to the offspring of mice whose fathers were fed a diet with sufficient folate.

“We were very surprised to see that there was an almost 30 per cent increase in birth defects in the litters sired by fathers whose levels of folates were insufficient,” said Dr. Romain Lambrot, of McGill’s Dept. of Animal Science, one of the researchers who worked on the study. “We saw some pretty severe skeletal abnormalities that included both cranio-facial and spinal deformities.”

The research from the Kimmins’ group shows that there are regions of the sperm epigenome that are sensitive to life experience and particularly to diet. And that this information is in turn transferred to a so-called epigenomic map that influences development and may also influence metabolism and disease in the offspring in the long-term.

(The epigenome is like a switch, which is affected by environmental cues, and is involved in many diseases including cancer and diabetes.

The epigenome influences the way that genes are turned on or off, and hence how heritable information gets passed along).

Although it has been known for some time that there is a massive erasure and re-establishment that takes place in the epigenome as the sperm develops, this study now shows that along with the developmental map, the sperm also

Fruits

How tea aids weight loss, improve bone health, mood, by studies HAT moment in the mornT ing when tea drinkers take their first warm sip can be amazing. And now, 12 new articles from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that tea may indeed be a magical elixir, as it was shown to promote weight loss, prevent chronic illnesses and improve mood.

Whether iced or hot, on any given day, over 158 million people in the US drink tea, according to the Tea Association of the United States of America (USA). And our British counterparts consume 165 million cups daily.

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world,

according to the Tea Association, beaten only by water. Though there have been a multitude of studies about antioxidants in tea and the resulting human health effects, these recent studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) shed light on just how helpful tea is for our health.

Experts from the US Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Glasgow - among others - contributed to the AJCN body of evidence.

Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, compendium editor for the issue,

says: “The scientists who contributed their original research and insights are among the best in the world, and together, this body of research has significantly advanced the science of tea and human health.”

Tea and weight loss Along with promoting weight loss, studies found that drinking tea reduces cancer and cardiovascular risks and it also provides psychological benefits.

Researchers who looked at polyphenols - natural compounds in tea - found that they, along with the caffeine content, increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation, which

resulted in weight loss and helped maintain a healthy body weight.

One study shows that subjects who consumed green tea and caffeine lost an average of 2.9 pounds over 12 weeks, all while maintaining their normal diet.

Other studies show that regular tea drinkers have lower body mass indexes (BMIs) and waist-to-hip ratios, along with less body fat, compared with non-tea drinkers.

Additionally, another review showed that the increase in calories burned as a result of drinking tea equates to around 100 calories during a 24-hour period.

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36 | SCIENCE & HEALTH Thursday, December 12, 2013

‘Deadly’ AIDS drug use mars Nigeria’s participation at African conference

Chukwu

By Chukwuma Muanya coalition of Civil Society A Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria led by the Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPLWHAN) and Treatment Action Movement (TAM) yesterday disrupted the presentation of the Director of the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme (NASCP) of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Dr. Evelyn Ngige, at the ongoing International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) Cape Town, South Africa.

The coalition is protesting the alleged death of a colleague who they addressed simply as Gloria from Delta State after using a locally produced Anti Retroviral (ARV) drug procured by the FMoH through the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) fund. They also alleged that most of their colleagues were suffering adverse drug reactions after using the drugs.

The CSOs led by Ibrahim Umoru of NEPLWHAN and Mayowa Joel of TAM demanded among other things immediate withdrawal of the drugs from all the free national AIDS treatment programme sites; investigation of how the drug was procured in the first place from a non World Health Organisation (WHO) pre qualified company; biomedical analysis of the drugs to ascertain its toxicity and efficacy.

The group claimed that they had written to NASCP and the Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, to complain about the drug, which they allege had been introduced since 2012 but did not get any favourable response and therefore decided to take the matter to ICASA. It took the intervention of the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS, Michel Sidibe, who promised the coalition a one on one meeting later in the day, by 6pm, with

Idoko

Umoru all the stakeholders for them to calm down.

The group, however, threatened to continue to disrupt any presentation at the conference by the FMoH, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) or any government agency at the conference until the issue is addressed.

The Coalition who enjoyed the support of other group of persons living with the virus from other parts of Africa exonerated NACA of any wrong doing but indicted NASCP. They also blamed the Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, and Chairman House of Representative Committee on Health, Dr. Joseph Haruna Kigbu, who were at the meeting for neglect of their oversight functions. The coalition had earlier on Sunday disrupted the presentation of the Director General of NACA, Prof.

John Idoko.

Also, activists yesterday at ICASA from different parts of Africa led by aidshealth.org AHF South Africa demanded that China should give $1 billion to the Global Funds for AIDS TB and Malaria to help improve access to treatment and care for persons living with the virus.

Umoru said: “Sometime last year we found in treatment sites in Nigeria a drug from one company (name withheld). They were delivered to treatment sites and these drugs were been dispensed to PLWHAs. In our assumption we said sin this drug was coming from the federal government supply line we thought everything was alright to the point that in January this year, the makers of this drugs donated 150 packs to the Lagos State Network were I was the coordinator.

“I received this drug on behalf of members. We said these drugs because we are not doctors and pharmacists we cannot just give it to ourselves. So we donated this drug to General Hospital Marina

The CSOs demanded among other things immediate withdrawal of the drugs from all the free national AIDS treatment programme sites; investigation of how the drug was procured in the first place from a non World Health Organisation (WHO) pre qualified company; biomedical analysis of the drugs to ascertain its toxicity and efficacy

• Advocates take protest to ICASA • Govt orders withdrawal of products • N’ASS to probe case • Activists want China to give $1b to Global where we receive treatment. I donated it on February 14, I have pictures to show. Then a long the line we keep getting complains from our peers that these drugs is giving them some funny feelings. A lot of them are reacting badly to it. When it became too bad, TAM did some small findings and found that the packaging of these drugs were bad, a part from the taste our peers were complaining and other negative things. But because we did not have any scientific backing we could not just reject it. But we found for a drug to come out off a pharmaceutical company with the label turned upside down and looking at the literature, a mechanic, a stark illiterate will not do. We now started asking questions and we found out that the FMoH bought these drugs with the MDG fund.

“Initially we were trying to take it up with NACA but in our finding we found this company had approached NACA that is coordinating the Global Fund programme and NACA refused to patronize them because we heard that it was because of some issue bordering around WHO prequalification. We found in

Sidibe

our investigation that this drug does not have WHO prequalification. Then we now asked questions. We tried to engage with the Ministry and nobody wanted to meet with us. We sent letters, we sent mails, some of us even had meetings with them with our executive officers and they promised they will get back to us next week that they need to invite us to sit down and discuss.

“Believe me as I speak with you up till now nobody has contacted us. They gave us on week, that one week has not materialized. People are complaining about this drug only for us to loose one of our dear members on December 1, 2013. A wonderful activist, advocate both on TB and HIV died in Delta State because of complications of her complain about this drug.

“We felt enough is enough.

We were touched, we were pinched. So we made instances, tried to engage with the government but nobody was responding to us.

We now said okay we would take it to ICASA. That is why we have decided to come to ICASA here to cry to the world.

Our people cannot keep dying. Painfully our Minister

was supposed to be at a session where they were talking about ‘End of AIDS: Myth or Reality?’ Is that how we want to end AIDS? A lot of us have been very strong voice on local production of ARVs. For God’s sake we are not advocating the local production of quick death.

“The most painful thing we got from this picketing is for Dr. Ngige to say she has not been able to see us, that it is only mails. I feel really touched. We are happy the UNAIDS man has appealed to us that he wants to meet us this evening. We pray that comes true.

“We are asking only three things from government.

One, we want to be convinced that of the WHO prequalification status of this company.

Secondly, government should make available the due diligence process that led to the selection of this company.

Thirdly, we want an independent analysis of the bio-effective content of these drugs.

“If we get these three, we will continue taking the drugs. I am happy that at the World AIDS Day the national body had given directives that PLWHAs should refuse these drugs at centres where they are given. I went to the clinic last Monday to be dispensed this drug, which the Global Fund had refused. How did this drug find its way to Global Fund centres? These are questions that we need answers.

“Every representation of the government of Nigeria we see here to present anything, we are going to picket.”

Idoko said: “About three weeks ago I got a call from NEPLWHAN especially Ibrahim and Oba to say that there were some drugs that were procured by FMoH using MDG funds by (name withheld) and that the drug looks substandard, the packaging and everything and that they were coming to address the press in Abuja. They sent the mail round and I advised

them that they should make a report to the Minister of Health, to the Chairman Senate Committee on Health and possibly to MDG that it can be looked at from that angle.

“They came to do the press conference which I am aware.

After the press conference I have been traveling but I have been watching my mails and there are flurry of mails that one of their members died from possibly reaction from the drugs that they were coming here, ICASA, to do a demonstration. So I wrote to them that I was in touch with the Chairman Senate Committee that I had advised that after the conference he will summon all the parties involved that is the FMoH, MDG, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), NACA, NASCP so that we can look at the issue and forestall any such incident in the future. As I told you, I am here with them we have been discussing it and they have also decided that at their own level they are going to take appropriate actions to investigate the matter.

“But yesterday (Sunday) there was a session on key populations that I was co-chairing with Justice Cameroon when they entered and began demonstration. It was very well handled.

Justice Cameroon accepted that they needed to vent their anger. I on my own promised them because they asked me that they want the drugs withdrawn. As I speak I know that in all the Global Fund sites we have asked for those drugs to be withdrawn. But I can assure you that as I go back in all the centres that those drugs are withdrawn.

“I believe that this is something that we care going to have a national discussion on so that we do not get substandard drugs into our system.”

How did the drug get to the treatment sites in the first place? Idoko said: “I don’t know, this is a FMoH issue. So

Believe me as I speak with you up till now nobody has contacted us. They gave us on week, that one week has not materialized.

People are complaining about this drug only for us to loose one of our dear members on December 1, 2013. A wonderful activist, advocate both on TB and HIV died in Delta State because of complications of her complain about this drug

Thursday, December 12, 2013 SCIENCE & HEALTH 37

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Grassroots movements key to ending world’s toilet problem, says UNICEF

By Chukwuma Muanya and Itunu Ajayi

• Minister attributes cholera epidemic to lack of toilet facilities

OILETS are still out of reach T for more than one-third of the global population, with

to be done.

Chukwu added that reports from the 14 states affected by the cholera and gastroenteritis outbreak indicated that indiscriminate open defecation practice and lack of toilet facilities which contaminated water and food. He enjoined Nigerians to make provision for toilet facilities in their homes as a way of checking the menace of cholera and other diseases associated with dirty environment.

In his remark, the registrar environmental health officers’ registration council Augustine Ebisike decried the dearth in environmental personnel. He said Nigeria as a whole has less than 40 per cent environmental officers, a situation he said had put so much pressure on the council.

WarerAid of Nigeria said about 2.5 billion people around the world has no

devastating consequences to the health and development of children, United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) said on World Toilet Day. However, the key to bridging the gap lies within communities themselves, the organization emphasized.

Since 1990 almost 1.9 billion people gained access to improved sanitation, but in 2011 the total without access was still 36 per cent of the global population, or approximately 2.5 billion people.

Global head of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes, Sanjay Wijesekera said: “Access to toilets remains the unmentionable, shameful secret for even some very prosperous countries.

“But its invisibility doesn’t make it harmless; in fact it is quite the reverse. Lack of access to toilets is quite literally killing children, making adults sick, and slowing progress – day after day after day.”

Toilets are still out of reach for more than one-third of the global population, with devastating consequences to the health and development of children.

According to a press statement from UNICEF signed by the Communication Specialist Media & External Relations UNICEF Nigeria Country Office, Geoffrey Njoku, in Nigeria, over 100 million people do not have access to improved toilet facilities out of which over 45 million defecate in the open. Lack of toilets pose a great danger to public health and general wellbeing as evidenced during the recent cholera outbreak in several parts of the country.

However, the key to bridging the gap lies within communities themselves. Since 1990 almost 1.9 billion people gained access to improved sanitation globally, of which Nigeria accounted for approximately 13 million. In 2011 the total number of people without access stood at approximately 2.5 billion people.

Meanwhile, disappointed about the recent outbreak of cholera in some states of the federation, the minister of health Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu has attributed the epidemic to lack of proper toilet culture among Nigerians.

Noting that the country should not at this century be faced with such challenge, Chukwu asserted that the epidemic if there is a mechanism in place to stop defecation which would prevent contamination of water sources and food that are major causes of cholera in the country.

At an occasion to commemorate the world toilet day in Abuja yesterday, the minister said a lot need to be done in the area of sanitation and advocacy to sensitize the people on the need to mentain proper hygienic culture and ensure proper personal hygiene in order to militate against communicable diseases most of which can be prevented by the people in their respective homes.

The minister who was represented by the permanent secretary Sani Bala said an estimated 2,771 cases and 124 deaths with cases of fatality (Cfr) of 4.5 per cent were reported as at 12th Movember 2013 adding that this figure can be stopped in its entirety only if the people and other stakeholders in the health sector can do what need

access to toilet facilities, out of which Nigeria shares 112 million, this represents 23 per cent of the population. Apart from the hygiene challenge this poses, WaterAid said developing countries’ economies Gross Domestic Product (GDP) such as Nigeria is damaged as a result of lost to illness and deaths caused by dirty water and lack of sanitation while nearly 100,000 children under the age of five die of diarrhea in Nigeria every year as a result of the nation’s poor levels of access to sanitation and water.

As a follow up to the world toilet day, a walk is expected to take place along major streets in Abuja today as a way of creating more awareness on the danger of poor sanitation and lack of toilet facilities.

According to figures released by UNICEF earlier this year, lack of access to safe

water, sanitation and hygiene is a leading cause of deaths from diarrhoea in children under five, amounting to approximately 1,600 children dying each day globally. In Nigeria, about 194,000 children under five years die annually due to diarrhoea and in addition, respiratory infections kill another 240,000.

Recent report from Federal Ministry of Health revealed that 2,771 cases of cholera with 124 deaths have been recorded in many parts of the country so far. All these are largely preventable with improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene.

UNICEF’s has spearheaded a social change movement that that has led more than 25 million people to end the practice of open defecation and now use toilets. The Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) pro-

gramme, encourages communities to take the lead and identify their own measures to end open defecation, and has been achieving results at scale. At the last count, over 50 countries have implemented CATS and many governments have mainstreamed a similar approach into their national policy.

But despite this success, Wijesekera said more still needs to be done, and urgently, by countries, communities and individuals, principally to bring the taboo subject of toilets and open defecation from the shadows, discuss it frankly, and agree on tackling the problem.

The CATS approach works precisely because it depends on people taking their own decisions, and coming up with their own solutions. As more governments and communities apply the method to eliminate open defecation and scale

up access to toilets, many more people stand to benefit, especially from a reduction in WASH related diseases.

As well as its on-going global “No access” campaign at www.unicef.org/toilets4all, UNICEF is promoting major pushes around the world on World Toilet Day, to bring awareness to the dangers of open defecation and the problem of lack of access to improved sanitation.

In India, where in 2011 approximately 65 per cent of the population did not have access to improved sanitation, and over 620 million people defecated in the open, UNICEF India is rolling out Poo2loo, an on-line campaign addressing the issue of open defecation in the country. Individuals can take the pledge for a ‘poo free country’ at www.poo2loo.com; join on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/po o2loo and follow the campaign updates on Twitter at https://twitter.com/poo2loo.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

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Thursday, December 12, 2013 SCIENCE & HEALTH 39

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Six states get $6.2m to fight child mortality

By Marcel Mbamalu HE United Nations and the T Government of Canada have reaffirmed commitment to reducing child mortality in Nigeria and around the world, when the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNH4+, in collaboration with the Canadian Government, donated maternal health commodities and medical equipment worth $6.2 million to the Federal Government.

Essential maternal and newborn medicines and medical equipment were handed over to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for distribution to health facilities benefitting from the Midwives Service Scheme and SURE-P in six focal states of Lagos, Kebbi, Cross Rivers, Kaduna, Adamawa and Ebonyi.

Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Perry J. Calderwood, who delivered a goodwill message at the handover ceremony

recently in Lagos, said his country is committed to reducing maternal and child mortality in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

Recalling events at the 2010 G8 Summit in Canada, during which Prime Minister Harper championed the Muskoka Initiative for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, which leveraged over $7.3 billion in new commitments from G8 and non-G8 partners, Calderwood noted that Canada had committed $1.1 billion of new and additional money to the initiative.

“Our contribution here today is an important part of that support,” the Canadian Commissioner stressed.

The ceremony was attended by the Hon. Minister of Health’s representative, Dr Bose Adeniran, Director, Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr M.J Abdullahi, and Commissioner of Health, Lagos State, Dr. Olajide Idris.

Other dignitaries present

are the Resident Representative, Ms Victoria Akyeampong and the High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Mr. Perry J Calderwood.

He noted that the intervention was a demonstration of government and development partners’ commitment to scale up access to life-saving commodities that are necessary “to accelerate reductions in maternal, neonatal and child mortality and morbidity and improve Nigeria’s health outcomes to enhance the achievement of the health-related MDGs, particularly MDGs 4, 5 and 6.”

Ms Victoria Akyeampong, the UNFPA Resident Representative, said: “Government and Development partners must continue to demonstrate the political will and invest more resources to increase access to maternal health services through evidence-based interventions. This is critical because the lives of our women and young girls depend on it.”

Private school donates equipment to LASUTH

By Wole Oyebade S part of its Corporate A Social Responsibility (CSR) to the society, Taqwa Private Schools has donated Vital Signs Monitor equipment to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

The gesture, which also commemorates Taqwa’s Founders’ Day 2013, was part of the schools’ contributions towards availability of quality care services for the public.

Making the donation to LASUTH management recently, Proprietress of the school, Maryam Alimi observed that with the level of poverty among the citizenry and the dwindling resources available to the government, “it has become obvious that government alone cannot provide all the needed social services, without the support of good-

spirited people and organisations.”

She said: “It is in realisation of this that Taqwa Private Schools decided to donate this life-saving equipment (Vital Signs Monitor) to LASUTH for use in her Intensive Care Unit (ICU).”

Chairman, Taqwa Schools’ Governing Board, Lere Alimi, urged other public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies to lend their helping hands towards the course of providing quality healthcare delivery to the citizenry.

Alimi noted that the school has been undertaking various projects to ensure that Nigerians get the best of treatment always.

Taqwa Private Schools, located at 7-11 Taqwa Crescent, Ifako, Agege, is a group of schools delivering very qualitative education with high

moral values at Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Primary and High school levels. “Just like we provide a very quality education at Taqwa, we believe LASUTH also provides high quality health care and that is why we have chosen here for this donation,” Alimi said.

Chairman LASUTH Board, Dr Olatunde Williams applauded Taqwa Schools, as he appealed to like-minds to emulate Taqwa schools.

Assistant Director, Nursing Services at the tertiary hospital, Modupe Sode, observed that donated equipment has multiple functions especially for critically-ill patients in monitoring vital parameters such as blood pressure, pulse, temperature and other vital signs in life-threatening situations like childbirth complications, head injury, burns and others.

Austrian clinic partners The Bridge on IVF services

By Paul Adunwoke leading in vitro fertilizaA tions (IVF) clinic in Europe, Zech Clinic, Austria, will be partnering with The Bridge Clinic in Lagos, to provide best IVF services for Nigerians.

The clinics will work on a unified electronic platform developed by the Zech group called Dynamed.

Prof. Herbert Zech, from the Zech Clinic Austria, said he discovered that Bridge Clinic was committed, then he decided to partner with them in order to improve IVF service standard most needed and to conduct more research.

Zech, who spoke at the launch of Bridge Clinic’s IVF laboratory in Lagos, noted that Zech Clinic is one of the most renowned IVF clinics in Europe, with over 25 years’ experience, and over 25, 000 babies born through the Zech Clinic.

In his words: “My father was the pioneer of IVF in Europe. It is now a second generation and we want to improve more in our research and at the same time we want to have the research with countries like Nigeria, because this is only possible place to implement quality standard,” he said.

Zech added: “We run clinics in six different countries across Europe, which include Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein and Germany.

We also do cutting edge research into new techniques to improve pregnancy rates. A young woman with the transfer of one blastocyst has a 70 per cent chance of conception in our clinics. It is our intention to bring these high standards to Nigeria.

“Bridge Clinic, has technology standards as we do and that is the basic idea behind the partnership, to have implementation for quality

control. We play a vital role in capacity building among the staff of Bridge Clinic and all we are doing is to improve pregnancy rate in Nigeria,” he said.

According to Dr. Richardson Ajayi, of Bridge Clinic, the new laboratory, would position the clinic to provide the best overall care for couples that are infected with infertility, adding that it needs to improve more on its technologies.

He said: “We believe that it is our professional responsibility to provide our patients with the best care, and practicing in Nigeria does not absolve us from that responsibility. The issue is not about cost, but it is just about need, people should not be distracted about money, they should come here and share their problems; why they are not getting pregnancy with us; we provide them quality services people can afford.

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Journal lists gains of investing in women’s health

By Chukwuma Muanya foremost medical journal, A The Lancet, has published the economic and social returns of investing in women’s and children’s health.

The paper is titled “Advancing social and economic development by investing in women’s and children’s health: a new global investment framework.”

The publication draws on the work of the Study Group for the Global Investment Framework for Women’s Children’s Health, coordinated by The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Investment Framework estimates that increasing health expenditure by just US$ 5 per person per year up to 2035 in 74 high-burden countries could yield up to nine times that value in economic and social benefits. These returns include greater gross domestic product (GDP) growth through improved productivity, and prevention of the deaths of 147 million children, 32 million stillbirths, and five million women by 2035. These gains could be achieved by an additional investment of US$ 30 billion per year, equivalent to a two per cent increase above current spending.

The Investment Framework enables a more targeted and strategic approach to support-

Neimeth tackles worms with Pyrantrin choco N its efforts to tackle worms INeimeth in the human body, International Pharmaceuticals Plc has launched a deworming agent, Pyrantrin Choco, a chocolate flavoured variant of Pyrantrin.

The agent, which is a product of local research, is targeted at commonly occurring intestinal worms/roundworms, hookworms, pinworms, threadworms and so on.

Corporate Communications Manager, Chinenye Okoronkwo, in a statement, observed that the product acts by effecting instant neuromuscular blockage of the worms, which induces paralysis and consequent excretion of the worms through peristalsis.

“With this, the drug obviates the possibilities of worm migration/excitation, which is characteristic of some other deworming agents. This way, negative consequences, (e.g. worms coming out through the mouth or nose and so on) are averted.

“Pyrantrin choco is packaged in consumer attractive ecofriendly packs, which add immense value to the global fight for the preservation of our environment through eco-friendly practices,” the statement read in part.

Worms infestation is a global problem and research has shown that it exceeds the world’s population. It is generally fuelled by poverty, and other socio-economic exigencies, poor sanitary and waste disposal conditions on the part of the sufferers.

The spread can be controlled through treatment with drugs, sanitation or hygiene and health education.

• Long-term oral contraceptive use doubles glaucoma risk • New guidelines for screening, treatment of cervical cancer ing women’s and children’s health based on national needs and priorities by: providing guidance on how to optimize resource allocation to maximize social and economic returns; demonstrating the affordability and high rates of return of increased, targeted health investments; sharpening country investment strategies to improve context-specific decision making over the next two decades.

Also, the WHO has launched new guidelines for the screening and treatment of cervical cancer.

For the first time WHO is issuing recommendations, based on the available evidence, on the use of a screen and treat approach using visual inspection with acetic acid

(VIA) for screening and treatment with cryotherapy, or when feasible HPV testing followed by treatment.

A new study has found that women who take oral contraceptives for longer than three years increase their risk of glaucoma by more than two times.

Glaucoma is an eye condition in which drainage tubes become blocked, leading to increased fluid pressure, which can damage optic nerves and nerve fibers from the retina; it can eventually lead to blindness.

Scientists are urging gynecologists and ophthalmologists to warn their patients of the risk and to screen for the condition.

The researchers used data

from 2005 to 2008 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

This included 3,406 female participants aged 40 years or older from across the United States who completed the survey’s vision and reproductive health questionnaire and underwent eye examinations.

It found women who had used oral contraceptives, no matter which kind, for longer than three years were 2.05 times more likely to also report that they had been diagnosed with glaucoma.

The scientists were unable to establish a causative relationship.

Lead researcher, Dr. Shan Lin, said: “This study should be an impetus for future research to prove the cause and effect of

oral contraceptives and glaucoma,”. “At this point, women who have taken oral contraceptives for three or more years should be screened for glaucoma and followed closely by an ophthalmologist, especially if they have any other existing risk factors.”

Meanwhile, the Investment Framework was developed by a group of partners, and coordinated by WHO, the Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health and the University of Washington.

It was developed at the request of the iERG, as one of the key pillars of the on-going accountability agenda for women’s and children’s health.

The Investment Framework was a key part of the analysis, which was launched in London on December 3, 2013 by the Commission of Investment in Health, to mark the 20th anniversary of the

launch of “Investing in Health”, the World Bank’s annual World Development Report.

According to the Framework, additional investments of US$ 5 per person per year in 74 countries, with 95 per cent of the global maternal and child mortality burden, would yield high rates of return, producing up to nine times the economic and social benefit by 2035.

Continuing historical trends of coverage increases is not sufficient. Accelerated investments are needed to bring health benefits to the majority of women and children.

Compared with current trends, our accelerated investment scenario estimates that a total of five million maternal deaths, 147 million child deaths, and 32 million stillbirths can be prevented in 2013–35 in 74 high-burden countries.

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‘Our politicians have not recognise health issues as their problem’ Mike Egboh is National Programme Manager, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems Phase II (PATHS2), funded by United Kingdom’s Department For International Development (DFID). In this interview with WOLE OYEBADE, he explains PATHS2’s findings in some states and the imperative of stakeholders’ dialogue to better health system. Excerpts.

T the twilight of its six-year A programme, has PATHS2 achieved its objectives in the focal states?

There is this popular saying that the end justifies the means. As we inch towards the end of the project, we are beginning to realize the results achieved. Initially, it was very hectic because of the transition from an earlier project into this, meeting the clients for the first time and trying to understand what they had done with former contractor.

It was a big challenge because there were several partners, especially in a country where the health sector has not been functional. You know we have a lot of bureaucracies in getting things done. It was a major challenge. But because of our resolve and being able to put our group together, developing some clever strategies for reaching the government, the people, health professionals and other key stakeholders. I would say, from where we stand today, the project is over achieving its’ results.

Specifics in the States I always tell people that you cannot be called victor unless you’ve overcome some challenges or oppositions. We can describe PATHS2 as a victorious project that has overcome all the teething problems and other challenges.

Teething problems like the partnership function; partnership been able to work with States, Federal Government, and it’s being able to coordinate activities with other donors and projects. Those were the initial challenges.

When we took over this project like five years ago, a State like Jigawa did not have a lot of human resources. Today, they are stepping up their human resource base; an increase from 40 doctors to over 160 right now. We have facilities that have been refurbished, which were earlier not there in communities of Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu and Lagos States. Service providers, that is health workers, are trained and retrained to make sure there are Skilled Birth Attendants, and have pregnant women deliver in recognized health facilities.

We have particularly worked very closely with the three governors in the north to ensure that they are supportive. The late Kaduna State governor was very supportive; his wife is the head of the Emergency Transport Scheme. At the Federal level, we have been able to develop a National Strategic Health Development Plan with the Federal Ministry of Health. At the states, we have also worked to develop specific plans. They are so developed

such that when donors come into the country, they can buy into the plans because they are working.

Experience on the field It varies from one state to another. For instance, in Enugu, South Eastern part of Nigeria, they have a District Head System that does not follow local government system.

We have been able to mobilize both the locals and their government to have a dialogue on health, and as a result, the local government was able to release money because they realized that the communities are becoming empowered; they know their rights and are beginning to demand for it. The state government had to put in money to improve human resources and buying of drugs courtesy of our engagement.

We have similar situation in Jigawa State, where they also have District Head System.

What we did was to carry out some mobilization to get the services down to hard-toreach-areas, because they were hitherto concentrated in the urban area. As a result of what we did, the State governor in Jigawa has established a College of Nursing and Midwifery; a state of the art institution in a well thought out plan.

We also have the Emergency Transport Scheme being implemented in the northern states, to address one of the three delays of maternal mortality (Delay in decision making, delay in transportation and service delay at the facility). In terms of transport, which is why many people die in the process of waiting till the last minute before they are rushed to a facility. What we have done is to ensure that the Road Transport Workers are able to take a pregnant woman from a village to appropriate centre without having to pay.

These drivers have been selected; trained on how to drive pregnant woman, which is quite different from driving normal passengers; trained to recognize some of the danger signs and when to stop or raise alarm. We had to also put in some fringe benefits for drivers selected for that purpose. That has happened in Kaduna, Jigawa and in Kano States. In Lagos, we have the Insurance Scheme running in communities, because most of the Lagos local areas already have medical officers.

Sustainability of these interventions This programme will end next year but there is hope of an extension of a minimum of six months in all the six states.

DFID is working on a different bid that will be coming out, designating who works in these states, including PATHS2. In terms of sustainability, we recognized that and we have started engaging the communities in dialogue.

We’ve done a lot of advocacy trainings for them.

In Fulani settlements for instance, the question is how do we ensure they own the intervention programmes.

Because I always say ownership must precede sustainability. If the people do not own it, they cannot sustain it.

What we are working on is to ensure that the people own it, using what they respect. The Emirs and District Heads were made to understand that they all have a role to play, to have the programmes integrated and sustainable. We are not a different ministry, rather supporting the government min-

Egboh istry to do what they have to do.

PATHS2 is DFID/UK sponsored programme for transforming the health system in Nigeria.

For how long would Nigeria have to depend on foreign donors to improve its health system?

I think we have to take things step-by-step. We have to realize where we are today, where we are going and have mental picture of what our health system will become in the next 10 years. Once we see that, then we can begin to work towards it. You’ll buy the interest of these stakeholders – donors, private sectors – get them involved, because you cannot just work such programme by yourself, rather you need other partners.

It is not that the government cannot take up the challenge, but the question is usually the attitude of government, its officials and all those in power and authority. There is budget announcement at the beginning of every year and it is big.

If we apply that money judiciously, we will get result. But often we don’t. When you release budget, the first question people ask is what is in it for me? Primary Health Care budget, what is in it for them!

So, instead of buying this chair N10, you will pay N50. Instead of getting the right persons that will do the work, you’d bring the people you know – your relations, relations’ relation and so on.

For me, in terms of funding, until we sign the National Health Bill into law, which will put two per cent of total Federal fund into health, we would continue to have problem. The issue is that some of the hospital facilities are dead and not functioning; they are weak, some of them outdated and we are not replacing

them. A politician or someone just comes in and the next thing he says is ‘we are going to build an air ambulance.’

They are not talking about what the common person needs like the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC), where the poor people access.

Donor is supposed to catalyze change. The major problem we have is that we already have this ill-will attitude, no accountability. I would give you job, and no one would ask questions. If it takes two years, then so be it. But hospitality industry is not like that. What is that thing we need to do?

How do we start to change them because corruption is too much ingrain. The politician are not seeing health as their problem. The health sector is not lucrative and so, that is why you have the National Health Bill still outstanding.

There is no reason why health workers should be at loggerhead.

Where do you see the health system in the next 10 years and how do you think Nigeria will get there?

In the next 10 or 20 years, we should have a country where everybody, irrespective of age, gender and socio-economic status have equal access to quality healthcare services.

That is the vision. Right now it does not exist. How do we get there? Nigeria today is debating dialogue on the country.

We need to dialogue on health too, where we will ask ourselves, ‘is this the type of health services that we want?’

If it is not the type, how do we change it? Before you change it, you want to understand what are the contributory factors to poor health indices in Nigeria, state-by-state and region-by-region.

Is the National Council on Health (NCH) not already sad-

dled with this responsibility?

NCH is a collection of bureaucrats. It annually brings permanent secretaries in health ministries, commissioners of health and the minister together. But the commissioners are temporary staff, political appointees. So, some of them attends council today, by the next meeting, it is someone else. Hence, there is no continuity. The permanent secretaries, the more permanent in the group, are not health professionals. The Directors of Primary healthcare and others, are people that would only dance to the tune of the permanent secretary. So, the council need to be reversed. Right now, you have 10 to 15 delegates coming from each state. How do you make decision with those kinds of delegates all crowded in a hall that often does not contain them? For me, the NCH is supposed to do that but it is a council and they make decision on some issues and all that. But really, the Federal Ministry of Health need to be in the driver’s seat and have good scorecard to review progress. But it is not like that.

To get to the vision earlier stated, you need to start dialogue. All partners – public, private, not for profit organisations – all need to sit-down to talk about health. We did something like that when we were starting our project, though on a small scale. We were able to map out what the issues are with health and people identified the track they wanted to work on. I think we need to start that dialogue on the local level. Let the people say what they want. The communities have the right to ask. If you bring community person, religious, political and so on, and let

It is not that the government cannot take up the challenge, but the question is usually the attitude of government, its officials and all those in power and authority. There is budget announcement at the beginning of every year and it is big. If we apply that money judiciously, we will get result. But often we don’t. When you release budget, the first question people ask is what is in it for me? Primary Health Care budget, what is in it for them!

them discuss what the health system should be, then we will be in the right direction. We must ab initio map out the issues, challenges, why we don’t get budget release after its announcement, why are we where we are today? Yes, things are improving – they just launched the Primary Health Sector initiative, there is SUREP, they are saving one million lives – but these are all reactionary to situations.

People bring in programmes like Roll Back Malaria that government does not really have a voice to influence.

We need to move from been reactionary to being responsive. Borno and Yobe have very peculiar health challenges right now, which cannot be the same thing as Delta State.

So, if you pick a programme from Delta and try to implement it in Yobe, you are wasting time. We have to look at every state and region according to their peculiarities and look at priority areas for each state.

Health is not just saying we want six specialists hospitals, or state-of-the-art facilities. If they are all prepared and there is no state-of-the-art personnel, whose attitude have changed, what happens to the facilities? There are first things first. We cannot say one cap fits all. Community engagement is important and stakeholders analysis must be there too. The little money release, where are they going?

These are things we must ask.

Even though there is a National Strategic Health Development Plan, ministry make policies, but don’t implement. But we have some departments that wants to implement and so, a state is implementing, the Federal Government is implementing in the same Local Government Area, yet they are not talking to each other.

There is what is called the Ghana Health System that manages everything that needs to be done; then, the ministry is very small. In Nigeria, it is the opposite; the ministry is extra-extra-large.

What we need to do is to develop a programme out of that NSHDP.

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FAO warns of high food prices in 2014

By Chukwuma Muanya with agency reports S Nigerians make preparaA tions for the Yuletide celebrations, they should brace

• Global hunger down, but millions still chronically hungry • 842 million people undernourished in 2011-13 • Developing nations make progress but more efforts needed to reach MDG target

up for possible hike in food prices in the coming year.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is now warning a food shortage and high food prices in the country come next year.

FAO has cited failed rainfall, high prices of farm inputs, uncertified seeds and the lethal maize disease as some of the main challenges facing the agriculture sector.

This came as the government, FAO and other development partners embarked on an assessment of the food security situation in high and medium potential areas of the country.

FAO Geographical Information Systems (GIS) officer, Joseph Matere, in a statement said that 24 counties would be covered in the assessment.

According to Matere, the exercise would target crops, fisheries and livestock sector and the smart phone technology would be used to collect and relay data from the field.

“FAO is supporting the government in the annual assessment and we shall use smart phone system which is efficient, real time, gives readily available data and helps put in mitigation measures,” he said.

The GIS officer noted that at the end of the assessment exercise, the nine teams spread across the country would come up with the national cereal, milk and fish balance sheets.

“The exercise is meant to review the country’s food situation now and in the next six months and we are calling on other development partners to assist in such kind of projects,” he said.

The officers were speaking during the launch of the assessment exercise, which is also supported by The Millennium water alliance and the German Agro-action.

Meanwhile, according to a report released by the UN food agencies, some 842 million people, or roughly one in

eight, suffered from chronic hunger in 2011-13, not getting enough food to lead active and healthy lives The number is down from 868 million reported for the 2010-12 period, according to the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI 2013), published every year by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The vast majority of hungry people live in developing regions, while 15.7 million live in developed countries.

Continued economic growth in developing countries has improved incomes and access to food. Recent pick-up in agricultural productivity growth, supported by increased public investment and renewed interest of private investors in agriculture, has improved food availability.

In addition, in some countries, remittances from migrants are playing a role in

Aliyu bemoans inadequate medical doctors From John Ogiji, Minna IGER state governor Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu has decried the inadequate number of medical practitioners in the country and called for immediate action to be taken to increase the number in the interest of the average Nigerian.

The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in its latest statistics announced that Nigeria has 70,000 medical practitioners, out of which 30, 000 are in the Diaspora.

The NMA in the statistic also revealed that 27,000 doctors are practicing in both the private and public sector of health care

N

delivery.

Receiving officials of the NMA, Niger State chapter, led by its Chairman Dr Umar Isa, Aliyu said all efforts must be made to encourage more Nigerians to study medicine, which would in the long run lead to an improvement in health care delivery services in both urban and rural areas of the country.

The Governor said the state government has set up a committee to see to the possibility of sponsoring more indigenes of the state to study medicine within and outside the country, adding that not less than 100 indigenes of the state would be sponsored for medical training abroad next year.

To bridge the wide gap of patients-to-doctor ratio in the state, Aliyu said the administration would explore the possibility of recruiting doctors from abroad but “only those that that can communicate in English will be engaged to work in the state.”

On the forthcoming National conference of the association, Aliyu promised to support the organisation by providing accommodation, transport and some other logistics for delegates.

He commended the NMA for collaborating with his administration to improve health care delivery service in the state.

Codix launches SelexOn, to diagnose cardio-metabolic diseases

By Olawunmi Ojo O reduce the incidences of T death through non-communicable diseases in the country, Codix Pharma Limited, a pharmaceutical company with bias for cardiometabolic care has launched SelexOn, an innovative point of care testing device.

The new product is a testing device useful in the diagnosis of certain cancers, cardiac and thyroid diseases.

Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director, Codix Pharma, Mr. Samson Ogunjimi said the burden of non-communicable diseases was enormous and was capable of causing great socioeconomic harm within all countries, particularly developing nations, if unattended.

Ogunjimi listed the four main non-communicable diseases to include cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes, stating that they kill three in five people worldwide.

He explained that Codix resolve to fight and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases on the nation was the reason it has embarked on many projects including the most recent technical part-

nership agreement with Lagos State Ministry of Health to develop Cardio-metabolic Care (diabetes, hypertension & heart disease) management program in 57 Primary Health Centres across the state, six of which have already been flagged off by the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola.

In his keynote address, ‘HBa1c and Cardio Metabolic Care: The Way Forward,’ Consultant Endocrinologist, Newham University Hospital Barts Health NHS Trust London, Dr. Adeniyi Sonibare stressed the need for proper monitoring of HbA1c in cardio metabolic care.

He pointed out, through research and many case presentations, how just 1 per cent reduction in HbA1c level could lead to 21 per cent reduction in diabetes related deaths, 14 per cent reduction in myocardial infarction, 37 per cent reduction in Microvascular complications and 43 per cent reduction in amputations, hence the need for proper monitoring of HbA1c values in all diabetic patients.

He also explained how 10 per cent loss in weight can lead to 50 per cent reduction in fasting glucose, 10 per cent reduc-

tion in total cholesterol and 30 per cent reduction in diabetes-related deaths.

A major highpoint of the launch was the donation of Selexon point of care device for the diagnosis of Cardiac, Cancer and Thyroid diseases to three major health institutions - LASUTH, UCH and LUTH. The Selexon machine donated to LASUTH was received by the Chief Medical Director of the teaching hospital, Prof.

Wale Oke. That for UCH was received by the Head of Pathology Department, Dr. Abbiyesuku.

Earlier on, a representative of the department from, Dr. Modupe Kuti made a presentation on the user experience of the new product, commending the ease of use and maintenance of the machine.

He noted that the point of care test, Selexon will go a long way in improving noncommunicable disease management in Nigeria.

The launch was attended by many stakeholders in medicine including Professors and Consultants of Cardiology, Endocrinology and Pathology, and Chief Medical Directors of major government and private hospitals across the country.

reducing poverty, leading to better diets and progress in food security. They can also contribute to boosting productive investments by smallholder farmers Despite the progress made worldwide, marked differences in hunger reduction persist. Sub-Saharan Africa has made only modest progress in recent years and remains the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with one in four people (24.8 per cent) estimated to be hungry.

No recent progress is observed in Western Asia, while Southern Asia and Northern Africa witnessed slow progress. More substantial reductions in both the number of hungry and prevalence of undernourishment have occurred in most countries of East Asia, Southeastern Asia, and in Latin America.

Since 1990-92, the total number of undernourished in developing countries has fallen by 17 percent from 995.5 million to 826.6 million.

While uneven, the report stresses that developing regions as a whole have made significant progress towards reaching the target of halving the proportion of hungry people by 2015. This target was agreed internationally as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If the average annual decline since 1990 continues to 2015, the prevalence of undernourishment will reach a level close to the MDG hunger target.

A more ambitious target set at the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS), to halve the number of hungry people by 2015, remains out of reach at global level, even though 22 countries had already met it by the end of 2012.

FAO, IFAD and WFP urged countries “to make considerable and immediate additional efforts” to meet the MDG and WFS targets.

“With a final push in the next couple of years, we can still reach the MDG target,” wrote the heads of FAO, IFAD and WFP, José Graziano da Silva, Kanayo F. Nwanze and Ertharin Cousin in their foreword to the report. They called for nutrition-sensitive interventions in agriculture and food systems as a whole, as well as in public health and education, especially for women.

“Policies aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and increasing food availability, especially when smallholders are targeted, can achieve hunger reduction even where poverty is widespread. When they are combined with social protection and other measures that increase the incomes of poor families, they can have an even more positive effect and spur rural development, by creating vibrant markets and employment opportunities, resulting in equitable economic growth,” the agency heads said.

The report underlines that economic growth is key for progress in hunger reduction.

But growth may not lead to more and better jobs and incomes for all, unless policies specifically target the poor, especially those in rural areas.

“In poor countries, hunger and poverty reduction will only be achieved with growth that is not only sustained, but also broadly shared,” the report noted.

Obesity – Prevention and Management 2 N continuation of our disIandcuss on the management prevention of obesity, I will like to give a working definition of obesity which I believe will make it easier to manage this condition.

Obesity is a visual sign of an internal system that has gone awry as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle. In other words, it is a symptom of an underlying disease; the symptom is the excessive weight gain.

What is this disease? It is a disease known as ACID! Individuals that are obese and even medical practitioners have failed to manage this condition correctly and prevent it because they have been dealing with the symptoms. They have failed because they were not focusing on the underlying cause.

Last week Thursday, we looked at various causes of acid build up in the body as the cause of obesity.

Dehydration, which is simply, lack of drinking sufficient water daily, is the most important cause of acidity in the body. Other less important causes of obesity that we should consider include confusing the thirst sensation for hunger.

The brain is one of those important organs in the body that never stops working for a second, even when you are asleep. There are two major sources of energy to the brain: The first is from glucose which is gotten from the food that we eat, either directly as glucose in the circulation or from those stored as Adenosine Triphosphate ATP. For urgent needs of the brain, breaking down the glucose stores may be too slow and so there is another source, which is similar to the hydroelectric energy from a dam. In the membranes of the cells of the brain there are pumps that pump water into the cells.

As these pumps rotate driving in water into the cells they generate energy that is immediately available to the brain for its functions.

What we have here is that the ‘raw materials’ for production of energy, for the use of the brain cells in carrying out their sophisticated functions, are glucose and water. These two play significant roles in the development of obesity. In a state of dehydration and because of the sluggishness of the circulation, the brain generates the sensation for thirst and hunger at the same time.

In a majority of human

beings, the sensation for hunger may overshadow the sensation for thirst and the individual responds by eating food instead of drinking water, to supply the immediate needs of the brain. For some people, the problem is their inability to differentiate between the two sensations and chose to eat whenever these sensations come.

More often than not, people who are obese live a sedentary lifestyle; they do not exercise their muscles sufficiently to use up excess energy. It is said that the brain is 1/50th the weight of the body, it is made up of nine trillion cells and 20 per cent of the circulation goes through the brain. The brain utilizes this amount of the glucose and other nutrients in the circulation.

What this means is that the remaining 80 per cent of the nutrients will not be used up because of their lifestyle; there is not sufficient exercise or muscular movements to consume all the nutrients. At the end of the day the excess get stored as glucose, protein and fats.

Another cause of obesity is the deception caused by sweeteners in relation to the function of insulin. Insulin is an hormone that is produced by the pancreas in response to increased levels of glucose in the blood circulation. The function of the insulin is to move the glucose from the circulation into the muscles of the body for use or storage.

One of the stimuli for insulin release from the pancreas is the sweetness of the glucose-containing food on the taste buds of the tongue. As the brain receives this signal, it prepares the pancreas for insulin release. In response to the high level of glucose in the blood after digestion, the pancreas releases insulin, which moves the glucose from the blood into the muscles for immediate use or storage.

Insulin release is stopped when all the glucose above the normal blood level has been moved out of the blood, maintaining the normal blood glucose level.

There are certain beverages, known as diet sodas produced with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame which is 180 times sweeter than sugar but does not contain any appreciable number of calories. We shall continue from here next week.

God bless.

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Education

Fashola

Lagos State University

Obafunwa

Hard choices for LASU, as contending forces dig in

By Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi HE Lagos State government should take a hard look at the Lagos State University (LASU), sack all its academic and non-academic staff, send the entire students to other Universities across the country through some arrangement and shut it down for as long as it takes, to carry out a major reorganization in order to put it on the right track again.

This option, favoured by a renowned academic who is familiar with LASU’s history, but does not want his name in print, “will be the only way to dismantle the cabal now holding the university by the jugular, address the rot occasioned as a result, and give the state government the chance to overhaul the entire infrastructure, determine which courses to be offered and then set conditions for the new employees on its own terms.”

This will be extreme. But the obviously exasperated academic, and other fans of the institution, have been wondering when LASU will ever be free of crises. For much of the past three months, the three major unions – the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria have been on strike, with only NASU backing away on December 5. Although, the fourth – the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), also has its own set of demands, it has been relatively quiet.

As the story goes, all the seven substantive vice chancellors since LASU’s inception in 1983 – Professors Afolabi Olumide, Jadesola Akande (late), Enitan Bababunmi, Fatiu Akesode (late), Abisogun Leigh and Abdul Lateef Hussain have tasted the wrath of the unions. Professor Peter Okebukola, who acted as vice chancellor in 1996, felt the heat too. And now, the incumbent, Professor Oladapo Obafunwa, is having his own baptism of fire.

Some observers are of the opinion that the Professor of Pathology with a soft voice “is too gentle” and does not have the required aggression to deal with the hawks in the University. But the unions have since discovered that the unassuming forensic pathologist, who has been in the saddle for two years, is certainly not a pushover.

For instance, the University authority had to use a secondary school as venue for its final year Law students to write their final examination in order for them not to miss the Law School recently, when the unions threatened to disrupt the examination on the main campus. Several policemen from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) had to be drafted to stay with the students as a deterrent.

The unions have gone on strike for good, bad and illogical reasons. In truth, for the sake of checks and balances, the unions have been effec-

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tive in tackling tyranny. They have gained some grounds only because they fought hard, but critics have also insisted that more often than not, their reasons for going on strike have not been so much for the attainment of LASU’s goals, but for the welfare of their members. The students have had to bear much of the brunt, losing valuable time and several academic opportunities each time a strike lingered.

Yet, LASU is still light years away from its goals.

The required sense of urgency is, curiously, not yet appreciated by the contending forces. Sadly, the institution still faces fundamental challenges. It gets only N395 million as subvention per month from the state government, whereas, it spends, on the average, over N400 million on monthly salaries. The university, in fact, expended N445million on salaries alone in October and had to look for over N40 million from its internal revenue sources to augment the shortfall.

It has also been expending about N5.5million on diesel monthly to power its generators. This used to cost N30 million per month until recently, when the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) switched its main lines to other sources.

The University has approximately 2,500 staff members, two thirds or 1800 of which are nonacademic staff. Some staff members are said to be redundant, but the unions would have none of the management’s plan to “rightsize.”

Some academic programmes, like Economics, are said to have too many academics with too few students to cater for. The attempt to phase out some courses and reduce excess load in terms of staff is also being resisted

by ASUU. As at November 2011, nine programmes, including Law were denied accreditation. There was an improvement the following year, with Banking and Finance, Business Administration, and Law getting interim accreditation, while six programmes under the Faculty of Education, Chemical and Polymer Engineering, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Economics, Political Science and Sociology got full accreditation. However, Accounting, a popular course, was denied. But for the current crisis in the tertiary sub sector, this year’s accreditation report would have revealed further progress or otherwise.

The population of students is also a major concern. LASU is believed to have over 60, 000 students, which the National Universities Commission (NUC) has declared “too many.”

Some of the students in both the main and external campuses do not have the right qualifi-

cations and had been brought in through the back door by corrupt officials. It has been a herculean task for the university management to clear the mess.

All the unions have tabled several demands.

Some of ASUU’s demands include: abolition of No Vacancy, No Promotion Policy for academic staff; Staff found promotable but not promoted should be promoted; provision of befitting and conducive environment; restoration of uninterrupted Internet services, accrued Earned Allowances; regularization of the appointment of staff on temporary appointment; re-absorption of those recently disengaged and one single term for the Vice Chancellor.

Highlights of SSANU’s demands include: Downward review of tuition fees; promotion of staff; implementation of the 2009 FG/SSANU agreement; full payment of accrued Earned Allowances; abolition of “No Vacancy, No Promotion” policy; 65 years retirement age for SSANU members; reversal of termination of appointment of some staff and eradication of examination before promotion policy, among others.

A senior management official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak, faulted some of the demands.

He observed that while it was legitimate for workers to desire promotion, this could only be done when there is an opening in the position being sought.

He said: “The reason why we have the “No Vacancy, No Promotion” policy is that there are simply no vacancies in many of the positions they (union members) are aspiring for. For instance, if we have, say, an Assistant Faculty Officer, who wants to be promoted to the position of Faculty Officer, there is nothing wrong with that. But where we still have a sitting Faculty Officer, what do we do?

If we elevate that Assistant Faculty Officer to the level of Faculty Officer, are we going to have two Faculty Officers for the same Faculty? No! This is what we are trying to tell them (SSANU).”

On the demand that staff members on temporary appointment be given permanent employment, the official stated that this “may not be possible.” He stated: “We have since discovered that many people were taken in through the back door and the state government has been asking questions. We cannot take a staff we do not need and that is the point. The subvention LASU receives from the state government cannot pay all salaries of staff at the moment and we have had to augment what we get. We are grateful that the Lagos State government has been directly undertaking the provision of infrastructure; like the construction of a new Senate Building, Twin Lecture Halls; repair of internal roads and drainage system.

“For your information, the Vice Chancellor is also feeling the heat. He has reduced his office’s monthly imprest by more than 66 per cent. The same measure has been taken in respect of all other departments. We are cutting costs because of the financial situation and this is what we want the unions to understand.” The official regretted that SSANU reported the

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Why varsities must get funds outside tuition fees, by Alcock

By Gbenga Salau HE University of T Buckingham, United Kingdom (UK) recently hosted its Alumni in Nigeria in Lagos, where the institution’s delegation not only interacted with the ex-students on the new developments in their former University but also got suggestions on how to move the institution forward.

On hand to brief the alumni was the Deputy ViceChancellor of the University, Professor Alistair Alcock, who led the delegation, and a senior lecturer in the Buckingham Law School and Co-Director of the university’ Centre for Extractive Energy Sector, Hephibah Egede.

The chairman of the event, Mr. Tony Idigbe (SAN) said that over the years the university had become respected for its innovative programmes, one of which was the introduction of a two-year Law degree programme. He described the university as “creative, growing,” and constantly coming up with “great ideas” for the future.

The Co-Director of the Centre for Extractive Energy Sector, Hephzibah Egede, spoke on how the Alumni could support the institution’s activities besides giving an insight on the new centre created by the university.

In a chat, she said that the re-union was to showcase the centre recently established by the University. According to her, the centre would engage in research and consulting work, focusing on the extractive energy.

Still on the centre, which was launched in October 16, she said, “Nigeria is an oil producing country and also involved in other aspects of extractive energy. We wanted to showcase it to our alumni and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). One of the things we are hoping is that the Nigeria legal profession will be involved in what the centre would look like in the future.

“Since we have a strong alumni here, we want them to be actively involved in some of the activities of the centre.

Two of the things we are looking at are the alumni supporting students who need research grants and then, their participating in conferences of the centre.”

Alcock, said: “We want to keep in touch with them (Alumni). It is also to sell the university’s programmes to potential students in Nigeria and Ghana in order for them to come over to do some courses in the extractive areas.”

He said that while the university would love to give scholarships to students, it has limited opportunities, as it does not have a huge endowment fund to support giving scholarships.

Commenting on how it has been able to sustain its innovative tradition, which was highlighted by the chairman of the re-union, Idigbe, Alcock disclosed that the university was always looking at fields where it could develop new things and make positive contributions.

“In the medical field, we have tried to reduce the time required to four and half years and we are trying to revise the ways medicine is being taught. The extractive industry is another specialisation not many universities are looking up to.”

Speaking on funding of universities, he noted that government does not generally fund universities. The students have to fund themselves, he said. He further disclosed that what the government does “is to provide avenues for loan schemes for the students to fund themselves.”

He continued: “The higher the percentage of students you have going to the universities, the harder it becomes to fund them all by government. And that is what is happening in the United Kingdom, (UK). When I went to the university, less than 10 percent of my age went to the university, now, in the UK, 30 to 40 percent of any age group

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Buckingham, Professor Alistair Alcock(left) and Co-Director, University of Buckingham Centre for Extractive Energy Sector, Hephibah Egede, at the re-union held in Lagos recently

Firm introduces ‘thermometer’ exam for pupils

By Ujunwa Atueyi O devise means of tackT ling entrance examination challenges confronting the Nigerian child, MindSmith Incorporation, an education-consulting firm, has officially launched a ‘simulating programme’ tagged thermometer examination.

According to the firm’s Executive Director, Mr. Dimgba Peter, the initiative would assess the academic temperature of pupils and ascertain the degree of their academic strength or weakness as the case may be.

The project, which he said borne out of parents’ desire and poor performance of pupils in public examination, has been packaged to help bring back the flavour of external examinations and restore confidence among pupils.

He said: “As an educational

consulting firm we discovered that sometimes, failure in examination is not as a result of poor knowledge in subject. Rather, it is as a result of emotional imbalance and pressure emanating form the term: ‘entrance examination.’

“But with this project which tests pupils’ ability in Mathematics, English, Science and General knowledge on quarterly basis, the children are exposed on how to overcome such challenge.

“After each examination, which covers the school curriculum both locally and internationally, the marked scripts by our team of experts are sent to parents.

This enables parents to evaluate their children’s performances; ascertain their academic temperature and know the areas to improve.

Then, on the part of the pupils, they become conver-

sant with examination tactics that works for them and allows that child gain confidence in handling both internal and external examinations.”

One of the parents, whose child had participated severally in the examination, Mrs. Egbichi Akinsanya, told The Guardian that the initiative would improve pupils’ performance in public examinations “because when you engage them in useful examinations periodically, they will go back after receiving their script with the help of parents and work on their weaknesses”.

She added: “When my child participated at first, it was a bit difficult. But during the second phase, he was courageous, more relaxed. And his writing an examination that is not prepared or conducted by the school, enables me to know if truly, he understands what is being taught in school.

goes to the university and government finds it very difficult justifying spending an enormous amount of money on half of the population it got from tax levied on the other half of the population.

“And this is a problem most countries are getting into.

So, the government has to have a choice of funding universities very well but have a small number of population

going to them or they have a large population and find a way for students to fund themselves.”

For him, universities in Nigeria must also find avenues to generate huge funds outside of government.

His words: “One of them is the research contract from government and the private sector. Universities could also go out to get international

students and many universities are finding it difficult to keep going in the UK without international students.

Universities, which have long summer break, could use their facilities for conferences and other activities to generate some income. But universities must find ways to generate income outside students fees and government funding.”

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Crawford varsity holds fifth convocation next week

By Ujunwa Atueyi ANAGEMENT of Crawford University, a faith-based institution in Igbesa, Ogun State, has concluded arrangements graduate a total of 288 students at its fifth convocation ceremony holding next week.

The institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Samson Ayanlaja, who made the announcement at a briefing recently, said: “Our graduands are unique breeds who for the four years of their stay, were exposed not only to the nitty-gritty of their various disciplines and courses of study, but also to God’s eternal word week after week, to transform their lives and make them responsible citizens from

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whose psyche every element of corruption had been deleted. Observation has revealed that lack of religious training brought everyone in this country to where we are today. Else, how can it be explained that someone would have a large heart to siphon money meant for pensioners while they die in penury.”

The ceremony will feature, among others, the investiture of Rev. Emmanuel Adebayo Adeniran, as the new Chancellor of the institution; while the convocation lecture titled: “Higher Education and the Nigerian 20-2020 Dream,” will be delivered by the former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile

Group partners foreign varsities on students’ admission

By Dele Fanimo RESH vista appears to be on the horizon for Nigerian students wishing to acquire international educational exposure, as a nascent bodystudy Group- raises the stakes through partnership.

This partnership with foreign university, according to the group’s Regional Manager, Nigeria office, Mrs Yetunde Pereira, became necessary as a way of providing academic pathways to create superior outcomes for students She said the scheme considered the future needs of students and professions, noting that the next decade would

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witness an estimated seven million students studying outside their country of birth.

Pereira said: “For entry into most foreign universities, international students require a bridging programme to enable them meet either the academic or language requirements for direct entry. Study Group, working with partner institutions is here to help them realize their dream.”

She said it is important to build special needs of students into school curricula, adding that the group collaborates with educational institutions to engage with international students in over 130

Girls dominate LearnAfrica, NECO excellence awards

By Mary Ogar emerging Nigeria’s FtheOR Overall Best Candidate in 2013 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO), 16-year-old Olayinka Funmilayo Tope, a former student of Charis International College, Abeokuta, Ogun state, was the cynosure of all eyes at the LearnAfrica/NECO Excellence Awards ceremony, which took place in Lagos recently.

Olayinka, now a medical student at the University of Ibadan, was trailed by another female candidate and former student of Aatan Baptist Comprehensive High school, Oyo, Kofoworola Olasunmo Oluwaseun, who emerged second.

Ibekwe Chieloka Daniel, formerly a student of the University Demonstration Secondary School, Benin-City,

Edo State, and currently a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate at the University of Benin, clinched the third position.

For her feat, Olayinka was recognized and rewarded with N100, 000, a laptop and a plaque. Oluwaseun and Ibekwe received N80, 000 and N60, 000 respectively, in addition to plaques.

Overall, about 113 students, 93 schools and 37 teachers were rewarded with cash prizes, plaques and textbooks.

Besides, a 17-year-old former female student of the Federal Science and Technical College, Ijebu-Mushin Odukoya Oluwabusayo, who is currently studying Mathematics Education at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) IleIfe, clinched the ‘New Concept Prize for the Best Grades in Mathematics.’

She was rewarded with N50, 000, a laptop and a certificate.

Significantly, another 16-

year old female, Helen Harb, formerly of Roemichs International School, Ilorin, Kwara state, and who has already secured admission at a university in the United Kingdom, won the ‘New Concept Prize for the Best Grades in English Language,’ to complete girls’ dominance of this year’s awards. She went home with N50,000, a laptop and certificate.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman, LearnAfrica Foundation, Mr. Emeka Iwerebon said the company was thrilled to be part of the process of rewarding excellence and ensuring that all stakeholders saddled with the task of fashioning a great future for the country were given their pride of place in the society.

He said: “LearnAfrica aligns itself with the wisdom, vision and the timeless words of Michelangelo. We truly

believe that there is a seed of greatness in every child, in every boy and in every girl. But it takes one with remarkable skills to dig deep and bring the greatness to the fore, in the shape and form that everyone can touch, feel and readily identify with.”

While working in collaboration with NECO, he maintained that LearnAfrica Foundation had no input or influence in the selection of the awardees, stressing that NECO alone furnished the foundation with the list of the successful candidates.

On the newly introduced, New Concept Prize for the Best Grades in Mathematics and English Language, he explained that the ‘New Concept English’ and ‘New Concept Mathematics’ textbooks, published by LearnAfrica Plc are the latest and the most up-to-date on both subjects, at the junior and senior secondary school levels.

Hard choices for LASU, as contending forces dig in CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49 University authority to the Iba Council of Obas “which is not necessary.”

On the demand by ASUU that the vice chancellor should be entitled to only one term as is the practice in federal universities, the official said: “LASU is not a federal, but state University, governed by its own laws. You cannot impose federal laws on the state government in this matter. What the LASU law says is that, a Vice Chancellor is entitled to a term of four years, renewable once. If ASUU members want that law amended, they should go to the Lagos State House of Assembly to push for an amendment. Look, LASU’s lecturers have been receiving their salaries for doing nothing for the past three months. Ask them.”

However, SSANU’s Chairman, Mr. Oseni Said defended the union’s action, accusing the university management of trying to change the goal post after the match had started. He told The Guardian on Tuesday that the former Governing Council, headed by Mr. Akin KekereEkun had approved a policy that once a staff passed the promotion examination, he or she was qualified for promotion.

“But the current governing council (headed by Mr. Olabode Agusto) is trying to change the policy. We don’t want that.”

On the 65 years retirement age, Said said it was the fallout of the agreement between the union and the Federal Government. “The Lagos State Polytechnic has already approved the policy, so why not LASU?” On why SSANU took their matter to the Iba Council of Obas, Said said the union took the

step in its attempt to find a solution to the crisis. “Yes, we informed the traditional rulers so that they could intervene and help find a solution to the problem. We just wanted it to be clear to everybody that we are not interested in fomenting trouble. We wanted the elders to help resolve our differences with the University authority. That was the reason for our action.

Unfortunately, they have called us and we have been there three times, but the University management did not turn up.”

He continued: “We also wish to emphasise that part of our demands is for the tuition fees to be reduced. It is SSANU’s opinion that the fees, which are now between N210, 000 and N380, 000 are too high for an average student to pay.

LASU will be for the rich only if the fees are not reduced.

Already, many students could not take up their admission slots because of the high fees.

Some of them, who did, dropped out after a semester or two. We are appealing to the state government to review the fees so that the goals for which LASU was established can be achieved.”

On when SSANU will call of its on-going strike, Said said the Lagos State government has set up a committee to look into the issues. “It is our hope that the committee, which has shown some seriousness, will be able to resolve the problems. Once the issues are amicably resolved, we’ll call off the strike.”

When the ASUU chairman, Dr Kunle Idris was contacted for comments last Tuesday, he asked to be called back in the evening due to a pressing need. However, several efforts to reach him the same evening

The Executive Chairman, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Tunde Fowler (middle) with some of the students who participated in the 6th LIRS Secondary School Essay Competition Defense, held at the Good Shepherd Building, Alausa, Lagos, recently.

UNILAG lecturers sign resumption register, ASUU scribe, management keep mum

By Ujunwa Atueyi WISH government good“I luck,” was the response of the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Lagos (Unilag) chapter, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka last Monday, when asked for comments on the federal government’s December 9 deadline for the striking teachers to resume work or be sacked.

He also told The Guardian that the university management should decide whether or not to commence academic activities, but “until then no comment”.

However, the university management also declined comments, maintaining that a circular had been issued on the remaining activities for the 2012/2013 academic session.

The Deputy Registrar of the institution, Toyin Adebule,

who signed the circular, stated: “management is in a meeting and I cannot talk on the issue right now. So, whatever that is on the circular is the university’s position.”

The circular, among others, revealed that completion of registration for old and new students had been on since December 2 and will end on December 15, while examinations in all faculties will take place frpm January 27 to February 8, 2014. The session, it also revealed, will end on February 15, 2014.

Meanwhile a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts, who wouldn’t want his name mentioned, told The Guardian that some lecturers actually reported for duty. He said: “We signed in today. In fact, in my department, my serial number was 61 as at the time I signed in.

Many lecturers followed government directives, in as

much as this is a union matter. It is going to take a gradual process and we are pleading with government to quickly answer ASUU so that activities can take off immediately. If not, full resumption might be delayed.”

He also said ASUU and the university management are afraid of speaking out as they have not concluded each other’s stand. “They are simply scared. You know the university management is also part of ASUU, so they are all being careful. But by the end of their congress today (Monday), maybe they will speak out”.

Some students were also seen on campus, anticipating the beginning of lectures, while others were also sighted returning to the campus with their bags.

One of them, who identified herself as Falodun Tolulope, pleaded with government to

accept ASUU’s demand in the interest of Nigerian students.

A doctorate student of History and Strategic Studies, Mr. Eke Jude said: “we are extremely tired of staying at home.

Government should document the recent agreement they had with ASUU rather than threatening them. The truth of the matter is that government cannot intimidate lecturers with sack threats because most of them are visiting lecturers in foreign universities.

“Our government claimed that they paid 200billion into central bank as agreed with ASUU but the truth is that ASUU members are not aware of that claim. So going by the fact that Nigerian universities are short of lecturers, it will not be good for government to be threatening the few existing ones.”

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Winners emerge in Lagos public speaking, mathematics competition

By Wole Oyebade INNERS have emerged W in the seventh edition of the annual public speaking and mathematics competition for Lagos schools.

Organised by the Deputy Majority leader, Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA), Lola Akande, the contest recognized winners in Senior, Junior Secondary and primary categories.

At the climax of this year’s edition, held in Lagos recently, the winners were present-

ed with trophies, certificates and cash prizes, coupled with gift items for their schools.

In a related development, Akande has urged pupils and teachers in the state to be more dedicated in learning and teaching of mathematics and English language, which she described as “the most crucial foundation in the students’ educational development.”

In the public speaking competition, senior secondary category, Bamidele Tosin of Babs Fafunwa Millennium

Senior Secondary School went home with the first prize and cash gift of N50, 000. First and second runners up, Cole Samuel (Babs Fafunwa) and Enyia Ozioma (Omole Senior Grammar School) received the sum of N25, 000 and N10, 000 respectively.

In the junior category, Elegalam Chinwendu of OkeIra Junior Grammar School won the first prize. First and second runners up were Ohikhuare Honour (Agidingbi Junior Grammar

Firm partners NISLT on science laboratory equipment

By Mary Ogar HE Nigerian Institute of T Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT) is to collaborate with Turner Wright Limited, which supplies laboratory equipment, chemicals/reagents and consumables in Nigeria, to solve the problems associated with laboratory equipment purchase and supply.

Playing host to representatives of the company at the institute’s headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo state recently, the Registrar, Dr. Ighodalo Ijagbone explained that most of the science equipment supplied to the country’s laboratories originated from overseas.

He observed that when the equipment are brought in, some of them become unfit for use, having developed faults due to poor handling.

His said: “Most times, since there is no expert to handle

the equipment, including the non involvement of laboratory technologists in the purchase of the equipment from the onset, they end up not being functional.”

To this extent, Ijagbone advised those saddled with the responsibility of purchasing laboratory equipment to always involve laboratory technologists in the process for professional advice.

He stated that the NISLT has been responsible for ensuring that all science laboratories in public and private sectors in the country function properly to produce verifiable results.

Ijagbone said the institute was also interested in the procurement of physics, chemistry, biology, safety, biotechnology and microscopic equipment.

Group Head, Turner Wright Limited, Mr. Adedamola Aderoju, disclosed the firm was prepared to partner with the NISLT in the areas of Molecular Biology, Genomics,

Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology Research and Development, through the supply of its QIAGEN Products.

He described QIAGEN as “a world leader in the provision of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic and pharmaceutical research.

According to him, partnership with the NISLT would ensure practical solutions to the challenges confronting laboratories in Nigeria. He assured that the partnership would provide an opportunity for brainstorming to achieve excelin the sector. lence On development in science laboratory technology, he said most laboratories in the world are now adopting Computer Aided Solution, hinting that Nigeria should not be an exception.

He said: “the days of manual systems are gone. What is applicable now is equipment with in-built programmes to solve laboratory problems.

School) and Poreye Oladimeji (Ogba Junior Grammar School).

For mathematics category, senior secondary, James Isa of Agidingbi Senior Grammar School was first; Akintayo Seun of Babs Fafunwa emerged first runner up, while the second was Williams Muheebah also of Babs Fafunwa.

In the junior category, mathematics competition, Obiyese Deborah of Oke-Ira Junior Grammar School came first. The runners up were Jonah precious (Omole Junior Grammar School) and Udom Andikan (Agidingbi Junior Grammar School) in that order.

For their diligence to duty

and school management, schools were inspired to do more, as they were rewarded with various items.

A 32-inch-LCD Television and a DVD Home Theatre went to Estate Primary School, Ogba, having won the Mathematics competition for primary schools, through Ubani Tobechukwu.

Ojodo Pry School II, Ojodu, got a water storage tank, as its pupil, Enyia James won in the Public Speaking category.

Other prizes and their awardees were: Band Sets to Ogba Junior Grammar School; Oke-Ira Junior Grammar School and Ogba Junior Grammar School. A submersible and surface

water pumping machines went to Agidingbi Senior Grammar School, Ikeja and a set of Computer to Babs Fafunwa.

Presenting prizes, Akade reiterated the need for improved commitment in the learning of mathematics and English language, as subjects that enable the pupils have in-depth understanding of all other subjects taught in school.

She noted that English, besides being the medium of communication, is also a prerequisite alongside mathematics for promotion from one class to the next, as containd in the state government’s policy on education.

Head Girl, Ifako International Secondary School, Lagos, Funmilayo Bashorun (left), and Head Boy, Israel Ayodele presenting a gift to the Head-teacher of Coker Primary School, Lagos Mrs. Florence Ofoegbu (right) during the school’s Founder’s /Corporate Social Responsibility Day held recently.

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MarketReport EQUITY MARKET SUMMARY

AS AT 11-12-2013

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MARKET INDICATORS

AS AT 11-12-2013

PRIMERA AFRICA

ITMB proposes six kobo dividend for shareholders in 2014

By Helen Oji NFINITY Trust Mortgage Bank Iidend Plc (ITMB) has proposed a divpayout of N0.06 kobo to its shareholders for the 2014 financial year.

The Managing Director of the bank, Obaleye Olabanjo, while addressing stockbrokers during the “Fact Behind the Listing” of ITMB in Lagos yesterday explained that the bank has consistently rewarded shareholders with dividend payout for the past eight years, adding that the bank paid out a dividend of N0.22 kobo in 2012.

He added that the bank would approach the market to float an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in a near future in order to continue to enhance shareholders’ value.

Olabanjo explained that the bank, which was established in 2002 has its shares qualify for Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) investment under the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) investment guideline as a result of its consistent profitability and dividend payout.

He stated that the estimates of the housing shortfall in Nigeria are between 14-16 million units and the World Bank notes that the country needs to produce about 720,000 units annually for the next 20 years to begin to solve the problem.

He stated that Nigeria’s housing deficit presents an enormous potential for housing and housing finance investor.

Olabanjo said that the mortgage sector is undergoing reform with a recapitalization plans on primary mortgage banks for state at N2.5 billion while National to be at N5 billion. These will result into more business opportunities for the surviving primary mortgage bank.

“The bank will continue to dominate the mortgage banking industry by increasing its market share from the current

size and to be a leader in provision of affordable housing to Nigerians.

“The bank is profitably run with very substantial, impactful value addition and great potentials. For eight years running, it has been consistent in increasing returns on investment and paying dividends to the shareholders, while not reneging on its social and corporate responsibilities.

“Our approach is to reinforce our position by growing the Bank significantly across the key metrics, that is; scale, profitability and market share and harnessing inherent opportunities available in the sector.

The Bank has continued to be ahead of our competitors despite the challenging economic environment in Nigeria.” He said.

He added that ITMB plans to be a national mortgage bank in 2014.

The Bank Chief pointed out that ITMB posted better than anticipated full year figures for the financial year end 31st December, 2012.

In 2012, the bank achieved an emphatic growth in profitability compared to the previous year. Its Profit before Taxation (PBT) stood at N565.6 million, while it recorded a profit after taxation (PAT) of N517million. Gross earnings increased from N459.5million in 2011 to N850.5Million, translating to an improvement of 180 per cent year-on-year (y-oy). Earnings per share increased from 6kobo to 15kobo. Its dividend per share rose from 0.57kobo to 2.71kobo, representing year-onyear improvement of 225 per cent and 171 per cent respectively.

On the bank’s achievement, the Managing Director pointed out that the bank had financed a lot of housing project in Abuja and created mortgages on over 3,000 housing units.

CBO Capital raises stake in Union Dicon Salt

By Femi Adekoya HE board of Union Dicon T Salt, led by its Chairman, General T.Y Danjuma formally introduced CBO Capital Partners, to its shareholders as the new core investor in the previously moribund organization.

The decision, which was approved by the shareholders, is expected to raise the firm’s return on investments.

Commenting on the announcement, Danjuma in a statement said: “Because they want to continue with experience, one of the core conditions our core investors gave us was that the other board members would remain, with myself as Chairman, thereby propagating and institutionalizing a culture of excellence in delivery.

Speaking further, he said: “The years ahead are full of promises; as we face the future with hope, I am confident that Union Dicon Salt will realize its ambition through firm and improved service delivery, and also by leveraging on our

exceptional capabilities and foremost position in the industry, considerable goodwill and enduring workforce.

CBO Capital Partners, agreed to acquire 44 million units at the par value, and 240 million units at a placement price of N14 each.

Other aspects of the deal include a management contract for an initial two years.

Thereafter, the deal would be subject to review, and if performance is satisfactory to both parties, the core investors would have the management contract extended.

Managing Director, Union Dicon Salt Plc, Henry Mgbemena added: “This is the culmination of an extended period of engaging with different core investors, and we have chosen to partner with the best option. The board and management will work with our new investors over the next three months, and we expect to start distributions in the next few months. This company is going to be even bigger than it was before.”

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News Extra

S’West lawyers strategise for 2014 NBA presidential election GBE Amofin, an association of E lawyers in the South West, has endorsed Lagos-based • Egbe Amofin endorses Adesina lawyer, Dele Adesina (SAN), to fly its flag in the 2014 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential elections. Adesina is a former General Secretary of the NBA. A new leadership of the Egbe also emerged, replacing the former one under 77-year-old Chief Bandele Aiku SAN, a former Attorney General of the Oyo State; Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, former President of NBA, and former Attorney General of Ondo State, and Mr. Ranti Ajeleti. The Egbe chose a younger generation of leaders led by Chief Ayodele Adebayo, the Chairman of NBA, Abeokuta branch, and Olubunmi Olugbade, chairman, NBA, Ikere Ekiti and former member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, were chosen to lead the group in an interim capacity.

The meeting took place at ObaIle, Akure, Ondo State home of Port Harcourt based lawyer, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN. It was attended by 20 out of the 23 branches of the NBA in the South West. The meeting had unprecedented 200 members including members BOB, AGS, ABD SAN. One of the leaders, Olanipekun set the tone of the meeting by giving a short history of how the Egbe was founded in Ilorin, Kwara State during the 1999 NBA conference in the city. Olanipekun said it was the need to ensure the protection and advancement of Yoruba lawyers within NBA that a discussion started amongst the senior lawyers that attended the meeting. According to him, the lawyers included the late Chief Debo Akande, SAN, the late Chief Adigun Ogunseitan, Chief Idowu Sofola, Chief Aiku, and some others. “It was this meeting and the discussions that led to the founding of Egbe”, he said.

He paid tribute to the past and current leaders, particularly the late Ogunseitan, and the immediate past leader, Aiku for their selfless contributions to the Egbe. He then gave a proverb: “Any tradition or culture that does not involve the younger generation will soon fizzle out”. He commended the courage and work of the branch chairmen to summon the meeting, saying it was long overdue. “I received the requisition of the chairmen calling for a meeting just like any other member. When the leadership did not call the meeting, I also receive the notice of this meeting and I am here as Wole Olanipekun, a true Yoruba son and a member of the Egbe and not as a leader of Egbe. At this stage of my life, the only way I can serve in Egbe is in an advisory capacity”.

Another leader, Chief Bayo Aluko Olokun, SAN, a member of the Body of Benchers, also praised the courage of the chairmen, saying he came to identify with them. He assured the chairmen that they are in the right direction. Also in his own remark, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, said that he offered at the Egbe’s meeting at Abeokuta to host this meeting in other to advance the cause of the Yorubas in the NBA. He said if there is a problem in an association, there must be an avenue for discussion because the association is bigger than any individual.

The Protem Chairman, Chief Adebayo thereafter called for the report of the constitutional drafting committee. The secretary of the committee, Mr.

Olasupo Ojo, former president, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) told the gathering that the committee had almost finished with the drafting and that the draft should have been submitted at the meeting but for an amendment that was just submitted that morning. He then promised that the committee will get the draft constitution ready within two weeks.

Adebayo also called for the report of the screening committee set up at the August 17, 2003 at Abeokuta, Ogun State. The Egbe had set up the committee under the chairmanship of an Abuja based lawyer, Chief Duro Adeyele SAN, to screen candidates that shown interest in contesting for the presidency of the

NBA in 2014. At the meeting, three candidates emerged. They are Dele Adesina SAN, Mrs. Funde Adekoya SAN, and Chief Niyi Akintola SAN. The Adeyele committee was expected to come out with the candidate that will fly the flag of the Egbe.

However, the committee could not conclude its assignment due to the resignation of two members.

A member of the committee, Chief Ajayi Owoseni, who was also a member of the screening committee, narrated to the meeting, the events that led to the resignation of the Adeyele.

He said that one of the members, Alhaji Lekan Yusuf, resigned for undisclosed reasons. This led to a vacuum and the committee promptly

informed Chief Aiku who sent Mrs. Toyin Basorun as a replacement. “One of the contestants objected on the ground that Mrs. Basorun could not be a member because she is a practicing lawyer in the chambers of one of the contestants”, Chief Ajayi said.

He also said further: “The committee felt that the objection was valid and gave Mrs. Basorun the opportunity to excuse herself but she refused. She said that the only person that can remove her was Chief Aiku who nominated her in the first instance. Chief Adeyele then wrote back to Chief Aiku informing him of the situation.

The letter asked for direction in view of the fact that the com-

mittee was set up by the House.

For weeks, we did not receive a reply and Adeyele resigned from the committee.

This led to a debate on the floor of the meeting. Eventually he was asked the stage of the work before Adeyele resigned. Ajayi replied that virtually all branch chairmen had submitted their letter of endorsement of their preferred candidate to the committee. At this point, a motion was moved for the continuance of the work of the committee by the entire house. The motion was upheld.

The chairmen present were then asked to bring up the letters they sent to the committee.

Chief Ajayi was also asked to verify if such letters tally with the one sent to the committee. One by one, the letters were verified.

At the end, 17 branches endorsed Adesina, Lagos branch endorsed

Adekoya, while Ibadan branch endorsed Akintola.

Ijebu-Ode branch did not endorse any candidate while Abeokuta branch recommended the three candidates.

The protem chairman then declared Adesina the endorsed candidate of the Egbe to contest for the NBA presidency in 2014. In his acceptance, Adesina thanked all the members for the confidence reposed in him. He enjoined all Nigerian lawyers to emulate the virtues of another lawyer, Nelson Mandela, who the world is celebrating his demise.

“Mandela was a lawyer who sacrificed all to liberate not only African people but all peoples of the world.

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Thursday, December 12, 2013 CULTURE 75

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Africadey… Celebrating Africa’s contribution to progress of world culture

By Gbenga Salau HE negatives about Africa seem to enjoy more T attention in international media. Some have argued that Africans need not complain but take concrete steps to project itself positively around global. Though Mr. Tunde Dawodu is not a brand expert, he is an arts enthusiast. But over the years, through the Africadey he has been telling the Africa story in a uniquely positive way.

He about replicating the project in Nigeria and during his visit to Nigeria recently, he gave an insight into how the Africadey was created.

Dawodu said Africadey started from a concert that held in Calgary, Canada with late Fela Kuti, as star performer in 1991. From that event, he felt the need to showcase the arts and culture of Africa and Africans in Diaspora. “So in 1992, we started the festival called Africadey. Africadey is a pidgin English that means ‘Africa is alive’.

“The purpose is to show what Africans can offer.

I personally believe that Africans are masters of arts; just like Westerners are seen as masters of science. So, if you look at it from that point of view, you know that Africans have something to offer. Again, there’s the foolish notion of Africa being an uncivilised continent. We like to change that perception because Africa has helped to develop the world in so many ways, and arts is one of them.

“If one wants to look at it from the point of slavery, most of the music assigned to America originated from Africa - jazz, blues. They all have African origin in them. So the idea is to let people know what Africa has contributed to the progress of world culture. We came up with the concept of a festival that will showcase African artistes and over the years, the festival, which started as a two-day event has been expanded to a week.

“It is a multi-disciplinary event, with music, arts, poetry and theatre featuring. All is to tell the story of Africa. And over the years, we have brought so many international artistes to the festival including Lagbaja, Malik, Keita, and Nike Okudaye. The festival has featured some great African artistes to Canadians and Canadians have come to embrace them. The festival is now part of the cultural fabric of Calgary as people are always looking forward to the Africadey every year.”

According to him, it was through that, the organisers then something could be done for Africans at home, though it may not be in the same format as the Africadey festival.

“What we are trying to do now is to package a trade show. We believe that our African arts could be a means of foreign exchange for the continent. It could also be a means of building relationship with other countries around the world. The idea is to bring it back to Nigeria.

“It may not necessarily be a festival per se but more like a music and arts trade show where people can come from Europe and America to see African artistes at home, with the hope that they can see them and be willing to take them out and showcase them outside of the continent. We have featured artistes like Ara, Beautiful Nubia but I know that the arts scene is actually emerging.”

The Africadey boss believes that when people talk the arts in Nigeria as an industry, he often takes a reservation because he sees it more as a community.

“I do not really see an industry per se, I see a community of arts. Nigeria and other parts of Africa, that community concept is very important than the so called industry because arts is about humanity, the way we relate with ourselves and share things in common.”

He revealed that part of the activities that they would be engaging as they visited Nigeria is to see artistes that fit into what they like to present.

“Now, we are trying to shy away from artistes who are more or less copycats of America. We want original music, authentic African music.

When we say authentic music, we are not just saying cultural music; even traditional music and instruments can be modernised. These are what the western people are looking for, something that is unique, different, something they have not seen before. Our aim of coming around is to see artistes who can fit into that mode and then showcase them abroad.

On the specific details of the one-week event of the Africadey, he said that during the week, “we do events on theatre, visual arts, and poetry reading. At the end of the week, which is the main event, we have a show in a park, Prince’s Island Park, which is an island in the middle of the city of Calgary, a very presenting and beautiful spot in Calgary, where everybody can come

Duke to see what Africa has to offer. That is the major part of the event on the weekend.

“Otherwise, we use various venues; as we work with local galleries, museums and schools. The idea is to take arts to the people, so that they could know all the artistes that they may not have the chance to know about.

“Calgary is a very diverse community, most of the communities are well integrated but the problem is once you go to some of these communities, all you see is the European based counterpart. Although you have Africans living in those communities, they are usually silent partners in their communities. When you take it to where they live, it is better acceptable to them, that way; they could have a better feel for it and come to see the major event on the last day.

“We enjoy supported from all the three levels of government, the municipal, provincial and federal because they do understand the importance of building community through arts.

They give financial support. The park is subsidised. They also provide support on every materials used at the venue like chairs. It is because we are supported financially, is why we are able to bring artistes from Nigeria and other African countries as they know the value of what we do.

“They know that tourists will come to Calgary and it is good for their economy. These are parts of what we want to introduce here. I want us to understand that we do have a very good means of bringing tourists to Nigeria rather than us going outside to embrace what is not ours. We want to create a community that is fluid, interact without boundaries of ethnicity.

“Many have come to know Africa through some of the events that we do. Of course, Calgary is the oil capital of Canada, the major oil companies are based in Calgary and they do send some of their staff to Nigeria and Angola.

What we do, before they send them out, we give them the opportunity to have a feel of Africa before they step on Africa. So we do work with corporate organisations in Calgary too. The aim is to create that venue, where people can

co-habit without much friction.

On working with private organisations, he disclosed that when the organisations are brining their staff to Nigeria, “we present Nigerian artistes who can use the arts to inform them about Nigeria. By the time they get here, they get to know about Egungun, Eyo because they have seen a sample of it in Calgary. Also, there is a museum in Calgary called Glenbow Museum, where there is a permanent exhibition of West African arts. At the Glenbow Museum, you will see Gerede Masquerade, Egungun and I am happy to be one of those who set that up. Nike Okudaye actually comes there to showcase her adire and batik clothing. We also work with schools to inform students of Africa and African culture.”

If the organisations in Canada support music more other genre of arts, he said “they embrace different genre of arts, if the message is interesting and positive; they will support it. Of course, music still gets better attention. And most of the organisations here should begin to support other arts. We need to appreciate what we have.

What some young artistes do is to copycat the west. But those in Europe and North America want something unique; they want the beat and drama from Africa because those things are not there in their culture.

“For them to be better appreciated, we should develop them here and package them properly.

Part of what we want to do is to develop artistes even though we do that in Canada. We have some kids now into African arts; one of them is Positive rhyme. He felt that what many young artistes do in North America now in terms of hip-hop is just too negative as they talk about gun, drugs and violence but kids are looking for good mentors.”

Why government should support the art community, he said gave the example of Britain, which took Blues from America, repackaged it and sold it to the world in Rolling stones. “And it brings so much to the British economy. The French people are also collaborating with African artistes based in France. These artistes travel around the world but when they are paid, the money goes to France because that is where

For them to be better appreciated, we should develop them here and package them properly. Part of what we want to do is to develop artistes even though we do that in Canada. We have some kids now into African arts; one of them is Positive rhyme. He felt that what many young artistes do in North America now in terms of hip-hop is just too negative as they talk about gun, drugs and violence but kids are looking for good mentors.

they are based. Why can’t we do that in Nigeria, it is an investment. The government must create the enabling environment through having the necessary infrastructures.”

Speaking on the benefits of the trade show when it kicks off, he said it would afford artistes the opportunity to sell their creativity; agents, managers and record executives, who do not know this kind of music exist here will get to see them and they will know how best to represent these artistes outside Nigeria and Africa. To him, it is a win, win game.

“And if the artistes are based in Nigeria, the proceeds come back here. When this project comes into fusion, we intend to collaborate and cooperate with others because I believe that when we cooperate everybody wins but when we compete, only one person wins.

“When you listen to the news, all about Africa is negative. As an African, I know what Africans can do. So with a project like the arts and music trade show people can visualise Africa from a positive perspective.

“Nigeria has a lot of good musicians but the present crops of musician tend to be hip-hop and R and B. The foreign market is looking for something unique and creative. They want something new from what they are used to. They have listened to Beyonce and others; they want something that will move them. As a Nigerian, sometimes, I feel bad because being involved in world music scene for so long, most of the well known artistes are from Mali, Senegal and South Africa.

“Most of the Nigerians artistes are not known outside except within the Nigeria community in Diaspora. To change that, they have to re-invent what they are doing now. They should use the culture and traditions in their music and package it in a very unique way. People like Lagbaja and Beautiful Nubia are well known in Canada.

Though the market in Nigeria can absorb those kind of music by the hip-hop artistes, if you are looking for world audience, you need to look at what you are playing, using culture, modernising the culture.

“So if any Nigerian musician is looking for a wider audience, they need to think about what they are playing.

“Sometimes you have to go beyond the financial competition. You create yourself and your arts first, with that in place, the financial gain will come. You need to be sustainable so that you do not play for a day or two and people will forget you. But if you create something that can stay for a longer time, the money will eventually come. Fela is a good example.”

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For The Record A global view on financial inclusion: Presented by Dr. Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu Deputy Governor (Financial System Stability) Central Bank of Nigeria at the Operation HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit 2013 (Theme - Global Economic Recovery: How The Poor Can Help Save Capitalism), Atlanta, Georgia, USA on November 14, 2013 1. Introduction HE concept of Financial Inclusion has continued to assume increasing importance across the globe. The main reason for this is the promise which financial inclusion holds in addressing global poverty, income inequality, under development and welfare.

It is believed that when everybody in the world has access to financial services, their joint contributions to the entire development process will create faster and more quantitative impact. This has given rise to what it now being called “aspirational targets”, aimed at providing access of all people in the world to financial services.

Globally, the levels of inclusion vary among regional blocks, gender, age, educational and income brackets. The factors that are responsible for exclusion differ and should be recognized in providing solutions that will address them.

The solutions in each case must be implemented in such a manner that the existing financial system knowledge, infrastructure, and technical skills of implementers can absorb.

This contribution will share some perspectives of financial inclusion beyond the current definitional norm, summarize the trends in financial inclusion across region, gender, income and propose steps to reduce the exclusion gap around the world.

2. Concept of Financial Inclusion: A Global Perspective The traditional idea of financial inclusion is the provision of access to and usage of diverse, convenient, affordable financial services. Accordingly, the subject has been defined by various organizations and authors. The Centre for Financial Inclusion defines Financial Inclusion as a state in which all people who can use them have access to a suite of quality financial services, provided at affordable prices, in a convenient manner, and with dignity for the clients. According to the Consultative Group for Assisting the Poor, financial inclusion means that households and businesses have access and can effectively use appropriate financial services. Such services must be provided responsibly and sustainably, in a well regulated environment. The Reserve Bank of India defines financial Inclusion as the process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and services needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent manner by mainstream Institutional players.

The importance of financial inclusion derives from its impact on livelihood. In Hariharan and Marktanner’s opinion, financial inclusion is a huge prerequisite for economic growth and development based on its ability to enhance capital creation, financial sector savings and intermediation and by implication investment. In the view of Khan (2011), financial inclusion improves the financial status and standard of living of the poor and vulnerable, as it enables them to increase their engagement in economic activities, increase wealth and support employment of household members. The higher disposable income arising from this will generate more savings for financial institutions and hence allocation to deficit areas and sectors. The involvement of differ-

T

Moghalu ent segments of the society in the formal financial sector, a goal of financial inclusion, will support the effectiveness of monetary policy and hence national economic objectives.

According to Subbarao (2009), sustainable and equitable growth cannot occur without financial inclusion, arguing that few economies transit from agrarian to post-industrial modern society without broad based financial inclusion strategies.

A recent CGAP Publication “Financial Inclusion and Stability: What Does Research Show?” asserts that there is macroeconomic evidence to support the fact that well developed financial systems have a strong positive impact on economic growth over long time periods. It stated that countries with higher levels of financial development also experienced swifter reductions in the share of the population living on less than $1 per day in the 1980s and 1990s. The benefits according to the publication work not only through direct use of financial services, but through the indirect positive effects that financial development has on low income population segments, especially through labor markets. For example, empirical stud-

ies have shown that the deregulation of bank branching not only intensify competition and improve bank performance, it can also boost the incomes of the poor, even income distribution by increasing relative wage rates and working hours of unskilled workers. Financial development was thus perceived to be pro-poor not only in the sense that economic growth lifts households above the poverty line, but also in the sense that it narrows income differentials.

There is also evidence pointing to the fact that broad-based access to formal financial services promotes financial stability if access is well managed within the regulatory and supervisory framework, especially in terms of financial integrity and consumer protection. Four factors were stressed by the CGAP namely, financial inclusion, financial consumer protection, financial integrity, and financial stability working in an interrelated manner to support the achievement of financial inclusion objectives.

Providers can only supply financial services if there is demand for them in the first place and generating/sustaining this demand would require substantial investment in entrepreneurship development, creation of

awareness on the role and place of finance in entrepreneurship activity. Equally, the providers of financial services must be made to appreciate that excluded groups present business opportunities and that, what is needed is appropriate cost effective methodologies, products and services that can take economic and business advantage of this opportunity.

4 In future years to come, stakeholders will need to begin to look at financial inclusion in terms of the “optimality” with which individuals currently use financial services and examine whether navigating between service types could create additional efficiencies and economic gains to users. For instance, can those who use financial services use it at cheaper cost and thus make more profit or can the switch over/use additional service types/alternatives. There should be machinery in place to broaden the horizon of users to demand for higher and more complex services and of suppliers to respond to such demand by way of innovations that are less costly, appropriate, simple, and attractive. The key deciding factor for inclusion is the need for small margins which can be compensated for by outreach

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Perspectives from a frontier market to a larger number. This has more potential for increasing inclusion across countries.

Technological advancement and modernization would in the future, facilitate new and innovative products. Current payment, credit, savings, insurance and pension systems and their delivery models would be expected to change in a dynamic world. As suppliers come up with new products, they should note that adoption and usage will depend on the extent to which potential users perceive the utility and benefits of these products.

The definition and concept of financial inclusion should address horizontal dimensions in terms of how many individuals, entrepreneurs (agriculture, processing, services, commerce/trading), residents (rural and urban) are provided access to, and do use financial services and vertical dimension; in terms of size (low, medium, high) and sophistication of financial services (credit, savings, payment, pensions insurance, capital market offerings and other financial instruments). Financial services should target both those that are outright excluded, and at the same time look at the “inclusion ladder” with a view to assisting those already included to climb it. Financial Inclusion should ultimately meet the needs of all people in all places with all products and policies.

3. Trends in Financial Inclusion The trends in financial inclusion across the globe vary across regions, gender and income groups.

Globally, about 50.5% of adults aged 15+ have access to financial services from conventional institutions based on the World Bank 2012 Data Book on Financial Inclusion. While males had an access rate of 54.7%, females had 46.3%. In terms of services patronized by users, savings took the lead with 22.4% usage of the savings accounts, followed by 17.1% for health insurance and 9.0% for loans at a formal financial institution. A major revelation from the report is that mobile payment recorded an even lower percentage of users with only 2.0% using a mobile phone to pay bills, 2.2% to send money and 3.0% to receive money. There is thus a huge gap of unutilized mobile payment potentials to be tapped. The low credit penetration reveals the level of underutilization of the credit window to support individual and enterprise needs and underscores the essential of both creating awareness for users and capacitating providers to develop and roll out appropriate products.

East Asia and Pacific posted the highest inclusion rate of 54.9% with males (57.6%) and females (52.3%).

Regional Analysis of Financial Inclusion Status: Region % of age 15+ with access to formal accounts % of those with secondary school or more % of those in urban areas % of highest quartile (iii, iv, v) Older than 25+ Global 50.5 63.4 58.4 58.3 54.3 East Asia/Pacific 54.9 71.0 70.8 65.6 54.3 Europe/Central Asia 44.9 51.4 50.4 51.1 48.4 Latin America /Caucasian 39.2 46.6 44.1 49.1 43.6 Middle East and North Africa 17.7 23.2 17.9 17.3 20.3 South Asia 33.0 54.2 39.2 41.0 36.6 Sub- Saharan Africa 24.1 36.1 39.7 31.9 27.7 Source: World Bank 2012 Data Bank for Financial Inclusion The major factors that support inclusion in all the regions are level of education, where people reside, their level of income and how old they are.

Individual country characteristics vary within the regional groups but in each case, strategies for financial inclusion should be proposed to strengthen the factors that currently have a positive impact on inclusion.

In many countries participation in the financial market place does not seem to be a major attraction for people still in the primary educational system. In most cases this

category of the population depend on their parents and guardians to decide and manage their finances for them. In some cases, there are laws that forbid this category from owning and operating accounts.

This trend might change if young people started getting awareness of financial matters at younger ages and financial literacy in the school system of countries might lead to more young people integrating into the formal financial system. Urbanization impacts financial inclusion mainly because urban areas have more social amenities, access points, receive more advertisements on financial products and harbor those who can read and take financial decisions (eg those who have secondary and tertiary education). Developing methodologies for reaching remote areas such as through banking agents and use of mobile payment system could go a long way to increase access density and enhance financial inclusion. Proliferation or extension of social amenities and infrastructure on which agent and mobile banking will flourish would also be and added advantage.

Another major factor that supported financial inclusion across the regions was the level of income. Income brings people nearer the financial market place by raising concerns on how to manage their money, keep it safely and use it to earn more (investment). As most poor people do not have any meaningful income, the starting point might be the implementation of social safety programmes to connect them to access points and provide the leverage for education on other financial services.

4. Approaches to Fostering Global Financial Inclusion in the Next Century The concern on financial inclusion is spurring interventions to increase its level in various countries. Debates, seminars and workshop that are based on financial inclusion are a regular occurrence all over the world. This is not only increasing awareness and knowledge but translating into actions by users and suppliers of financial services. In each case, countries have been careful enough to adopt strategies that are suitable for this peculiar circumstances and situations. In East Asia and the Pacific, the revolution in microfinance in countries like the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia and SME finance programmes in China have been strong points that have supported inclusion.

Methodologies for reaching out to difficult-to-reach clients have been developed and implemented over the years. The same trend obtains in South Asian countries particularly India, Nepal, Pakistan, as well as Latin American countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Peru amongst others. Modernization and adoption of efficient payment system holds sway among Europe and Central Asian countries, while in Sub-Saharan Africa a combination of microfinance and mobile payment is accelerating the pace of inclusion. Nigeria, as per the 2012 World Bank Global Findex booklet had a +15 age adults with accounts of a formal financial institution at 29.7%, savings at 23.6%, credit at 72.1%, insurance at 0.4%.

National Inclusion in the country in 2012 based on a survey by a development finance organization, the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFinA) stood at 60.3%, including those in the formal and informal sectors. The country is targeted to increase the inclusion rate to 80% in 2020 with 70% of the figure in the formal sector. It has further broken the national inclusion targets to specific services with 70% of adults to have access to payment, 60% to savings and 40% each to credit, pensions and insurance services in 2020. In the same vein, access points where financial services can be obtained have been

projected to grow in density with branches of deposit money banks to reach 7.6 units per 100,000, microfinance banks to 5.7 units per 100,00, ATM terminals to 203.6 units per 100,000, POS to 850 units per 100,000 and mobile agents to 62 units per 100,000 in the targeted year.

Targets for Financial Inclusion: 2010 2020 Payments 36.4% 70% Savings 24.2% 70% Credit 1.8% 40% Insurance 1.0% 40% Pensions 5.4% 50% Bank Branches 6.8/100,000 adults 7.6/100,000 adults MFB Branches 2.3/100,000 adults 5.7/100,000 adults ATM 11.8/100,000 adults 203.6/100,000 adults POS 13.3/100,000 adults 381.7/100,000 adults Mobile Agents 0/100,000 adults 62.0/100,000 adults Source: Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy The CBN took the lead in championing the course of financial inclusion in Nigeria because of the interconnectedness of inclusion to the achievement of its mandates as shown below: Objectives of CBN How financial inclusion addresses the objectives of CBN Ensure monetary and price stability CBN will be able to influence savings, investment and consumption behavior through interest and exchange rate changes, a direct result of increased participation of Nigerians in the former financial sector Issue legal tender currency in Nigeria Increased penetration of e-payments usage and cash-less efforts will reduce the cost of cash management and the cost of issuing legal tender currency Maintain external reserves to safe guard the international value of the naira Increased access to finance for MSMEs as a result of financial inclusion (Credit made on the back of mobilized savings) will lead to greater productivity, increased non-oil exports and stable subsequent demand for naira Promote a sound financial system in Nigeria Financial inclusion will lead to development of a stable financial system funded by nonvolatile savings which are robust and provide cushion against external shocks Provide economic and financial advice to the federal govt CBN will be able to advise the government as increased participation in formal finance will lead to greater visibility of the performance of the economy Since the Strategy was launched in October, 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria has leveraged heavily on implementation of cash-less initiatives hinged on extensive use of electronic payment system, ATM, POS and agent Networks. The Bank has released the guidelines for the implementation of non-interest banking, tiered KYC requirements and agent banking. An aggressive financial literacy programme encapsulating the adoption of financial literacy curriculum in the Nigerian school system has commenced with the inauguration of the National Financial Literacy Steering Committee Chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, while an MSME development Fund had been launched to enable microfinance oriented institutions borrow and on lend to their clients.

5. Financial Inclusion: What Defines Future Global Interventions Financial Inclusion has assumed center stage in global development initiatives. Emphasis has shifted to a universal aspirational goal of providing services for all people all over the world. Achieving this goal would entail the adoption of appropriate approaches.

1. Sub-regional diagnosis of the factors responsible for exclusion in the world. This is essential because sub-regions have similar characteristics in terms of geography, demography and other conditions and an understanding of this will support the effective inclusive strategies.

2. Sub – regional target setting and planning that is complemented by strategies from which countries can adopt those appropri-

This trend might change if young people started getting awareness of financial matters at younger ages and financial literacy in the school system of countries might lead to more young people integrating into the formal financial system. Urbanization impacts financial inclusion mainly because urban areas have more social amenities, access points, receive more advertisements on financial products and harbor those who can read and take financial decisions (eg those who have secondary and tertiary education).

Developing methodologies for reaching remote areas such as through banking agents and use of mobile payment system could go a long way to increase access density and enhance financial inclusion ate to them. Country target, based on the sub – regional goal could then be defined. 3. It is also important to foster sub – regional discussions and fora on financial inclusion, and global bodies should support this as it will provide a more appropriate platform for ushering peculiar problems of the regions.

6. Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Central Bank of Nigeria is an active member of AFI which was founded in 2008 and now has over 100 member institutions. It is a global network of financial policymakers from developing and emerging economies working together to increase access to appropriate financial services to the poor. It adopts a peer learning approach in sharing experiences amongst its members, its commitments towards increasing financial inclusion are member driven and, uniquely, progress is monitored using measurable milestones and targets.

These were aptly captured in the Maya Declaration where 1each country makes measurable commitments in four broad areas that have proven to increase financial inclusion: An enabling environment to harness new technology that increase access to and lowers the cost of financial services Implement a proportional framework that advances synergies in financial inclusion, integrity and stability Integrate consumer protection and empowerment as a key pillar of financial inclusion Utilize data for informed policy making and tracking results 7. Conclusion The ultimate goal of financial inclusion is financial empowerment, economic engagement, income improvement, and contribution to growth, development and societal welfare. The aspiration that everyone on the planet should be provided with and have access to and usage of financial services is not only legitimate but imperative and compelling. Financial inclusion would require technical innovation and practical action to make it a reality. It will require sacrifice on the part of service providers, governments, regulators and private sector stakeholders to make it a reality. The bilateral and multilateral organizations should also do their part. The glad tiding is that such sacrifice will promote an equitable, more humane, secure and safe society to live in and this justifies the need to pay whatever price it takes to achieve the objective.

78 | Thurday, December 12, 2013

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sports Rooney ‘rejects United contract talks’

World Cup 2014: OSMI to introduce Pidgin commentaries

AYNE Rooney has W rebuffed Manchester United’s latest attempts to open talks on a contract extension, according to reports.

The England star’s current deal is due to expire at the end of next season but the 28-year-old has so far refused to enter dialogue with the club who are hoping to tie him down to a bumper new four-year deal.

Newspaper reports last month claimed Rooney would be offered the same staggering £250,000-a-week package as he currently enjoys, which would be worth an incredible £52million over the course of the contract.

But, according to Goal.com, Rooney is aware of increased interest from rival English clubs as well as top sides on the continent with his agent, Paul Stretford, so far refusing to meet United’s representatives.

‘Wayne is resisting any and all attempts from the club to talk about his contract situation,’ a source told the football website.

‘He knows, more than anything, that with his contract running down and in the form that he is in, he holds all the aces.’

Chelsea made their move for Rooney in the summer and there has been speculation that they would come back in with a new £35million bid in January as Jose Mourinho looks to bolster his misfiring front line.

D’banj, Lagbaja, others set for Glo CAF Awards S the countdown to 2013 A Glo – Caf Awards begins, top artistes from different parts of the world have been lined up to light up the Awards night holding in Lagos, Nigeria, on 9th January, 2014.

Prominent on the list is the masked artiste from Nigeria, Lagbaja, who is expected to keep the night alive with his Afro-Calypso genre of music, a product of various influences ranging from traditional Yoruba music to Jazz.

The masked one is expected to enliven the hall with his scintillating dance steps and rhythmic saxophone.

Also billed to perform at the event is singing sensation and Glo Ambassador in Benin Republic, Zeynab who, as usual will thrill the audience with her unique style.

Also, D’ banj, the Nigerian singer, songwriter, harmonica master and a charismatic stage performer with boundless energy. D’Banj is moving from height to greater height everyday and has been glorified as the poster boy of Nigerian Music.

An exciting and interesting night awaits guests at the 2013 Glo CAF Awards.

PTIMA Sports Management O International (OSMI), the 2014 FIFA World Cup terrestrial

We have done it…Didier Drogba celebrates with Wesley Sneijder after Galatasaray sent Juventus out of the Champions League yesterday.

NFF gives Keshi, Technical C’ttee one week to submit World Cup plans

By Gowon Akpodonor

T

HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has given Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi and members of the Technical Committee one week to submit their programmes for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. And contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the Super Eagles will play only one friendly game before heading to Brazil, President of the NFF, Aminu Maigari declared yesterday that series of top-class friendlies have been lined up for the team.

Maigari told The Guardian in a telephone chat yesterday that the board would go the extra mile in providing “the best and long perpetration” for the team to do well in

Brazil.

“I have heard so many people saying that Nigeria is in easy group, but we don’t want to look at it from that angle.

Every team going to the World Cup has the potential of winning, so we have to give the Super Eagles the best of preparation.

“The team will play many friendly games, but that will depend largely on Coach Stephen Keshi and the Technical Committee. I have told them to submit their World Cup plans latest by one week so that we can commence action. The board is waiting for them and I am sure they are working round the clock to meet the deadline,” Maigari said.

The Eagles are drawn in

Group F alongside Argentina, Iran and Bosnia Herzegovina and Maigari feels all the teams have equal chances of making it to the second round.

“We are mindful of the expectations of Nigerians, so we have to double our effort in making sure the Eagles are well prepared for the task ahead. There are no pushover in the World Cup.” It was learnt yesterday that the NFF Technical Committee headed by Chris Green had penciled down some South American teams for friendlies ahead of FIFA friendly window, which will reopen in March 2014. The body is also said to be shopping for more friendly games with some European countries.

Keshi rejoins team today, Amokachi raises alarm over CHAN preparation From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja UPER Eagles Head Coach, Sto resume Stephen Keshi, is expected training today with the 30 home- based players are currently in camp for the 2014 African Nations Championship. He rejoined the team yesterday evening.

His two assistant coaches, Dan Amokachie and goal keeper trainer, Ike Shorunmi have been leading the players to training with the assistance of Togolese Hyoudonou Valerie since the camp opened on Monday.

Assistant Coach, Dan Amokachi, who disclosed this during the weekly media parley with the team yesterday in Abuja said Keshi would join the rest of the squad

Thursday (today) to continue with the training schedule that has been on for the past three days. He hinted that all invited players have settle down for ‘real business’ of fighting for shirts.

The former Super Eagles attacker noted that all players including the three Golden Eaglets stars invited have shown tremendous determination to be part of the final 23-man squad for the tournament scheduled to hold in South Africa in January.

Meanwhile, the assistant coach has tactically warned Nigerians expecting a superlative performance from the team in South Africa not to over estimate the ability of the players, insisting that they are facing certain chal-

lenges preparing the team ahead of the tournament.

Amokachi noted that apart from losing over 80 per cent of the home-based players they have nurtured from inception, the on-going National Youth Games and the Falconets equally camping in Abuja, have truncated their training programmes.

“Normally, we should have been training twice a day but unfortunately, the on-going National Youth Games have occupied everywhere. We are sharing the Goal Project training ground with the Falconets and this has force us to adopt only one training session per day. Hopefully, as from next week, the training would pick fully and we will go into the tactical aspect of it,” he noted.

TV broadcast rights owners for the Nigerian territory, has promised to deliver exceptional value to the viewing and listening audience, with the introduction of match commentaries in Pidgin English.

According to Mr. Rotimi Pedro, CEO, OSMI, this innovation is driven by the need to give the Nigerian audience a unique experience that resonates with them.

He said, “OSMI’s driving philosophy is to make premium sports programmes available to Nigerians on free-to-air television. We don’t believe that Nigerians need to pay, either for cable subscription or at viewing centres, before they watch their darling teams and players play at the World Cup. That’s why we have to put our resources behind our dream.

Nigerians will watch the 2014 World Cup matches free on terrestrial stations.

Drogba’s Gala wins snow battle over Old Lady ESLEY Sneijder beat the W snow to give Galatasaray a 1-0 win over Juventus that put his side and not the Italians into the last 16 of the Champions League.

Resuming their game, which was abandoned due to the conditions on Tuesday, the two looked set for a goalless draw, which would have sent Juve through in the wake of group leaders Real Madrid.

Sneijder changed all that, though, scoring five minutes from the end to bring the Turk Telecom Arena to life and condemn Juve to the Europa League.

It will be a bitter pill to swal-

low for the Old Lady, whose Manager, Antonio Conte, expressed concerns about the pitch as the players went off for half-time, just 14 minutes after ‘kicking off’.

That was after Tuesday’s game bit the dust with 31 minutes on the clock but, even though, snow hung around yesterday, the game started for a second time.

Juve, needing just a point to progress, had the first opportunity in the 41st minute when Fernando Llorente fed Carlos Tevez in the box and his right-footed shot went just wide of the far post.

Arsenal has a stable squad, says Wenger RSENE Wenger believes A his Arsenal side is showing few signs of fatigue as they embark on a run of fixtures, which will test their hopes of progressing both in Europe and in the Barclays Premier League.

Wenger does not want his team to dwell on the frustrations of not being able to hold out for victory over Everton, which would have extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points as Arsenal now head into a run of six match-

es in some 21 days.

The players will have little time to recover when they travel back from Italy directly after the Napoli match before tackling Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

Arsenal then go into a showdown with Chelsea on December 23 as the festive fixtures get into full swing with the small matter of a north London derby against Tottenham in the FA Cup third round on January 4 also on the horizon.

Chelsea blunders must stop, says Ivanovic RANISLAV Ivanovic hopes B Chelsea’s defence can find their mean streak again after gifting goals to the opposition in early December.

Jose Mourinho’s men conceded after 13 seconds in the win over Southampton in their most recent home match, before letting in six goals during the two Premier League matches since that victory.

Ivanovic struggled to explain the uncharacteristic defensive lapses, which mean

Chelsea have already conceded more goals in the Premier League this term than in the whole of Mourinho’s first campaign as the club’s boss, in 2004/05.

“As a defender, you’re always worried when you concede a goal,” Ivanovic said.

“It’s always important to not concede a goal and to keep a clean sheet. This, game by game, gives confidence for defenders and gives the stability for the team.

Thursday, December 12, 2013 SPORT 79

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UEFA Champion League Bayern showed ‘human side’ in Man City defeat, says Muller

Pellegrini delighted despite confusion ANCHESTER City boss, Manuel Pellegrini was delighted with his side’s 3-2 victory at Bayern Munich although it seemed neither he nor his players had been aware that winning by just one more goal would have secured them top spot in Champions League Group D. Both teams had already qualified for the knockout stage before the match, which was their concluding Group D fixture, but leaders Bayern had not yet been confirmed as winners of the section.

Pellegrini declared himself “very happy” after the game, but when asked if he had not been tempted to bring Sergio Aguero, City’s top scorer, off the bench when it was 3-2, he said, “I was tempted if we scored the fourth goal, of course - that is why I sent Aguero to warm up.

“For our team, it is very important to be first in the group, but not the most important thing. It was difficult to score two (more) goals.

We didn’t know if 4-2 would be enough or if we would need 5-2.

“We thought it needed to be 5-2 to be honest.”

M

Reflecting on his side’s effort overall, Pellegrini said, “it was a very important win because we felt we needed revenge for what happened in Manchester (when Bayern recorded a dominant 3-1 victory at City).

“Winning here after being two goals behind is very good.

I’m very happy.”

The starting line-up Pellegrini named for the contest reflected that he had been preparing for it with Saturday’s Barclays Premier League home match against Arsenal also in mind, showing seven changes from the draw at Southampton.

For Bayern, meanwhile, there were just two alterations from their 7-0 win at Werder Bremen, and the way they capitulated - particularly after looking so potent so early on - came as a considerable surprise.

“I hope we can see how difficult it is playing in Europe,” their coach Pep Guardiola said.

“Sometimes things like this can happen and today it happened to us. That’s our message for today - we have to learn our lessons from this.”

Blanc defends selections ARIS St Germain Coach, P Laurent Blanc denied his team selection was to blame after his side suffered their first defeat in this season’s Champions League.

A 2-1 loss away to Benfica prevented PSG from ending Group C unbeaten, though they still finished top of the standings.

The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti were rested with little riding on the game for the French champions.

But Blanc said at his postmatch press conference, “even though I left some star

players in Paris, the starting 11was strong. You only have to look at the number of internationals on the pitch.

“In the first half we did what we had to but in the second, we lacked ambition and Benfica took advantage. We are disappointed but we have to move on to other things.

Don’t forget, we qualified.”

PSG led through Edinson Cavani but defender, Marquinhos admitted a fightback - which came through goals from Rodrigo Lima and Nicolas Gaitan - was inevitable from a Benfica side still fighting for qualification.

Ogun athletes dominate squash mixed doubles at National Youth Games EAM Ogun showed supremacy in squash when the duo of Kehinde Samuel and Seyi Oke defeated their Kwara counterpart to win in mixed doubles.

The basketball players of Team Ogun was second in a fierce contest with the host team (FCT team) the boys, who displayed mastery of the game lost due to the hot weather in the FCT. The duo of Odunayo and Simeon Akinola also finish second in Boys double event of Badminton while Rukayat Jimoh and Aminat Ilori in third position in the same game. Aminat Ilori equally finished third in girls single of badminton.

Another hopeful boy, Abel Shedrack has defeated his counterpart from Kwara 3-2 to qualify for the finals of boy’s single event of squash.

The Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Lanre Tejuoso has said that the athletes performance so far is encouraging and added that this feat is achievable because

T

of their preparation, cohesion and team spirit in camp.

He said that he was so sure that the team would make the state proud now and in the future, as the boys and girls are young and enterprising in nature.

HOMAS Muller feels T Tuesday’s 3-2 Champions League defeat at home against Manchester City showed that the Bayern Munich players are not machines.

The reigning European champions appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory early on as Muller and Mario Gotze gifted Pep Guardiola’s men a two-goal lead, but the Premier League outfit turned the game on its head with goals from David Silva, Aleksandr Kolarov and James Milner.

“I think we showed our human side against City. We were too careless at times. It

was not as if we gave away chance after chance, but we did not look good on any of the goals we conceded,” Muller was quoted as saying on the official UEFA website.

“It is no secret that City are always good for a goal, but we got off to a great start and put them under a lot of pressure. After that, we took our foot off the pedal.

“We need to get that winning mentality into our heads. Maybe it is understandable that we got a bit complacent after so many wins but we are professionals, so that kind of thing is not acceptable.”

Ancelotti hails ‘complete’ Ronaldo RISTIANO Ronaldo was C hailed as the complete forward after he set a Champions

Bayern Munich’s defender, Philipp Lahm (right) and Manchester City’s midfielder, James Milner vie during the UEFA Champions League group D match in Munich, southern Germany on Tuesday.

PHOTO: AFP

League record on Tuesday night.

The Portuguese scored one of Real Madrid’s goals as they won 2-0 at FC Copenhagen, taking his tally for the group stages to nine.

Win, good for United’s confidence, Buttner admits ANCHESTER United M defender, Alex Buttner admits the players do look at their own performances when results go badly but hopes their Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk will provide a springboard to improved domestic results.

The 1-0 win courtesy of Phil Jones’ second-half strike ensured David Moyes’ side topped Group A and avoided a third successive home defeat for the first time since 1962.

United have not won in the Premier League since November 10 when they beat leaders Arsenal at Old Trafford but they head to Villa Park on Sunday looking

to get their season back on track.

“We are the players and if we lose we have to look to ourselves but I think we did well against Shakhtar,” the Dutch left-back said.

“It is hard for everyone when we don’t win at home. That is why we fought for every ball and you could see everyone doing that.

“It was good for the team and after recent games to win is good for confidence. It was a very important win.

“We have been a bit unlucky in the league but we have done well in the Champions League and hopefully we can go on a run in the league and beat Villa in the next game.”

Buttner was deputising for

the injured Patrice Evra against the Ukrainian club but after only 20 minutes of football since the end of October he started to struggle late on and was eventually replaced by Antonio Valencia.

Moyes said Evra’s injury was not too serious so the Frenchman may well come back for the Villa game but Buttner is ready to take his chance should the opportunity arise.

“I had cramp in my calf because I’ve not played for a long time, that was my first game in a month and the last few minutes I was tired,” he added.

“I am okay for the weekend. I don’t know whether Patrice’s injury is bad.

He was even able to miss a penalty and it not matter, with his goal putting him ahead of Hernan Crespo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Filippo Inzaghi and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who all have eight group-stage goals to their name.

Inzaghi was a loyal foot soldier of Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti at AC Milan and and Italian was fulsome in his praise for Ronaldo.

“I think that Inzaghi will not be happy because he has lost this record. He has gone ahead of a very strong player,” Ancelotti said.

“Inzaghi was very strong in the area and Ibrahimovic is powerful and has a fantastic ability to score and assist.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is a complete forward, who can score goals in every way possible.

He’s a bit angry about the penalty, but he scored an important goal and played very well.”

Ronaldo’s late penalty was a real shock, considering how metronomic he normally is in front of goal.

The damage had already been done by that stage, though, with Luka Modric’s first-half curler having set Madrid on their way.

Lagos Junior League is meant to empower youths, says Bayewu

By Olalekan Okusan ROM its modest start four FJunior years ago, the Lagos League has continued to achieve its aim of empowering youths in Lagos State even as the league marked its Annual

General Meeting (AGM) yesterday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

According to its Chairman, Kamal Bayewu, the league was set up with the aim of empowering youths, as well as part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of

Chairman, Ojo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Yinka Durosinmi (left); Chairman, Ajeromi Ifelodun LCDA, Kamal Bayewu, Chairman, Itire-Ikate LCDA, Hakeem Bamgbola and Chairman, Onigbongbo LCDA, Babatunde Oke during the 2nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) Lagos Junior League held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium…yesterday

the local government areas to its natives.

“When we started the league as a limited liability company four years ago, our objective was to take the boys off the street, which also the CSR of the government. Also, we don’t just want to empower these boys, we wanted to ensure that they combine sports with education so that they can understand certain things whenever they are going into any dealings.

Economically, we have empowered these players with four of them being part of the victorious World Cup U-17 winning team. For us, the objectives have been achieved and what we are also trying to do is to ensure that we stabilise the company so that it can stand on its own as a company,” he said.

The Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Council Development Area chairman added, “in terms of profit, we had not broken even but in terms of CSR, we have achieved our

objectives because it has not been entrenched in the local councils that even after the exit of the present administration, the league can be sustained by the councils.”

Bayewu said that efforts are in top gear to attract sponsors to the league, which he said would yield soon, as the feat achieved would entice the corporate bodies to identify with the league.

“The league will not fizzle out as it has been institutionalised into the local council system to be a continuous event in the calendar of all local councils in Lagos State. For now, we are bothered that the sponsors are not coming because we know with time, they will come,” he said.

At the AGM, which was attended by some of the local councils boss led by Bayewu, while the league directors were re-elected to serve for another one-year in the board.

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013

By Egwu Ben Obasi

Continued from yesterday OKO Haram insurgency (or terrorist activiB ties) is like guerrilla warfare which does not present a clear enemy. A suicide bomber can be anybody, targeting anywhere; aiming at somebody, somewhere; and striking anytime. There is no identifiable battlefield. For the past recent years, we have had to contend with their activities in Nigeria. Their activities, now assuming terrorism colouration, have witnessed the bombing of edifices like the UN Building and Force Headquarters (Louis Edet House) all in Abuja, among others in many major cities in the North.

Recently, their attacks have been targeted at churches, as had been recorded in Kaduna and Zaria, for example, which sparked off reprisal attacks with death figure placed at over 100. Lives of our students in their institutions of learning are being wasted by these insurgencies. Has Al-Qaeda network truly extended its tentacle now to Nigeria? Are we now terrorists? We must not be!

In view of the state of insecurity that is now pervasive, the following questions are natural fallout: Where is the love that binds us together as citizens from the same country? Is that our acclaimed oneness still intact? Have provisions in our constitution become so ordinary that inalienability of our rights to life exists only in its pages? Inviolability of our constitution demands that our secularity, as enshrined, allows us to belong to any religion of our choice. No imposition of any religion as a state religion. What do we see now? An attempt by the Boko Haram sect to Islamise us by bombing us to submission. If our constitution is subordinated to African charter, how about the clear provisions of the charter on human and people’s rights to which we are a signatory? How about the UN convention regarding rights to lives?

Nigeria must not exist in isolation. Nigeria must exist for Nigerians! The current anger and hatred in flagrant display must give way to abiding love. These bombs that fly at random must cease. Our uniqueness will make our war to be different from wars in other lands. Our heterogeneity is with a difference.

It should, at best, be our strength. With every

By Chima Ikenganyia N the midst of apparent gloom and the grim I(ASUU) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities strike, I participated in the Irawo Leadership Exchange: An intra-university programme for students from five universities in the country. And it was not a bashing party but a week-long systematic appraisal of the meaning of leadership with respect to our fledgling democracy. Yeah: You got me right, we did not gather to weep over our present – that’s self-evident as sunlight – but to discuss our future despite our not so inspiring past.

Leadership is essentially about service but the Nigerian climate has unfortunately eroded this perception. To be a leader in our context almost equates to an opportunity to milk the public till. How do we re-discover the place of service in this context? These and other questions formed the core of our interactions in the serene ambiance of Irawo University Centre, Ibadan: A private hall of residence affiliated to the University of Ibadan and owned by Educational Co-operation Society, Lagos.

We peered into the true meaning of leadership by first taking a deeper look on who man is. Initially I was not so enthused with the idea: I thought that leadership was a clear cut concept – the “oga at the top” vs. the “follow your leader” crowd. Yet by the time we were halfway through the main thesis of the workshop on the grandeur of man and also his corresponding limitations, I realised that leadership cannot be just “come chop!”

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Nigeria without Nigerians (2)

Ispector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar state reflecting a mini-Nigeria comprising indigenes of other states, political, or ethnoreligious wars will be very difficult to prosecute. No country remains the same after

fighting more than one civil war. Experience of 1966-1970 was dosage enough; anything extra will be excess dosage and can result in staggering deaths. We cannot so hastily for-

‘Tomorrow starts today’: Echoes from Irawo Leadership Exchange What is the ultimate telos (object or aim) of the human being? This is a question that sages have addressed over the ages. For Epicureanism and hedonism it is pleasure.

Karl Marx asserts that its material while David Hume and Hobble says that honours and

power is the telos of man. Yet ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle placed happiness as the ultimate telos of man.

I tend to lean more towards Socrates and Aristotle because if happiness is not a final good then we have no business expecting

The YOUTHSPEAK Column which is published daily is an initiative of THE GUARDIAN, and powered by RISE NETWORKS, Nigeria’s Leading Youth Development Centre, as a substantial advocacy platform available for ALL Nigerian Youth to engage Leadership at all levels, engage Society and contribute to National Discourse on diverse issues especially those that are peculiar to Nigeria. Regarding submission of articles, we welcome writers‘ contributions by way of well crafted, analytical and thought provoking opinion pieces that are concise, topical and non-defamatory! All articles (which are not expected to be more than 2000 words) should be sent to editorial@risenetworks.org To read the online Version of this same article plus past publications and to find out more about Youth Speak, please visit www.risenetworks.org/youthspeak and join the ongoing National Conversations’’.

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E-mail letters@ngrguardiannews.com; www.ngrguardiannews.com Editor: MARTINS OLOJA ABC (ISSN NO 0189-5125) .

Editor: MARTINS OLOJA .

Nigeria must not exist in isolation.

Nigeria must exist for Nigerians! The current anger and hatred in flagrant display must give way to abiding love. These bombs that fly at random must cease. Our uniqueness will make our war to be different from wars in other lands. Our heterogeneity is with a difference. get war experiences of Liberia, Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo DR, Sierra Leone, etc., and other parts of the world.

The untouchables, if any, behind the killing masks must be exposed. Our laws must not be selective. No country survives under two brands of law – one for the poor and weak; another for the rich and mighty. Nigeria is larger than any one of us. Lesser offenders must not be languishing in jail while perpetrators of heinous criminalities, leading to massive death, walk the streets free - hailed and glorified.

If Nigerians must be saved for Nigeria, all relevant security agencies must rise up to the occasion by being on top of the situation before we are all bombed out of Nigeria. If the entire security votes must be deployed in the acquisition and installation of CCTV (closedcircuit television) in all nooks and crannies of the country to secure us by revealing threats, so be it. Nigeria without Nigerians makes it a mere geographical expression. Let the bombings, killings and echoes of war stop. Latest weapons of mass-destruction must not find their market in Nigeria nor be allowed to be tested on our soil. We must not be guineapigs for these weapon manufacturers. Efforts of our founding fathers must not be in vain.

Our laws must be strengthened to save Nigeria and Nigerians. A spillover of what appears to be a problem restricted to the Northern part of the country portends danger of great magnitude for the whole country if not nipped in the bud. The time to halt the escalation is now.

• Concluded.

• Obasi wrote from Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State.

E-mail: egwu.benedict@yahoo.com

leadership to be devoted to the common good. The natural inclination of man to the definitive good now appears as the natural desire to be happy – every man wants to be happy. And this includes the leader and the follower. Happiness cannot bloom when it’s misery and horded. A person cannot be truly happy when he negates the happiness of others. In the end, this is why societies are organised to have someone or a group of people who are entrusted to providing the common good, which makes it easier for individuals to pursue their private good or happiness.

This was the crust of the deliberations of 21 students from the University of Nigeria, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, University of Benin, University of Lagos and University of Ibadan (the Premier University). For once we realised that leadership depends a lot on followership. For our leaders do not fall from the skies but amongst us. And unfortunately, without a proper appreciation of what man is, the desire for good leadership might continue to elude us.

In summary, the Irawo Leadership Exchange for university students is a solutions-driven platform for the agents of change in the society. It’s no coincidence that this type of events hardly makes news. Yet in the midst of doom, we discovered our voices and which in time will resound across our land. For though my generation have been called “leaders of tomorrow” the fact is that our “tomorrow starts today.”

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NGF group meets, funding, FAAC, excess crude accounts top agenda From Karls Tsokar, Abuja S the political environA ment remains uncertain with the defection of some governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) led by Chibuike Amaechi met yesterday night in Abuja.

According to the Director General of the forum, Asishana Okauru, the meeting is scheduled to discuss issues that relate to pending litigations instituted by the forum, other issues that have not been discussed during the political crisis that engulfed the forum since the election of Amaechi to lead the forum.

Another key issue that would be discussed is the possibility of lobbying more governors to join the “new found haven” along with their chosen leader in order to ensure their independence from the Presidency.

According to a source within the Amaechi-led group, more governors are expected to attend the meeting at the Rivers Governor’s lodge.

Mention is also made that issue of funding of the forum and report on Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and Excess Crude Account (ECA) and the general management of the economy form part of the agenda.

Recall that the Rivers State governor along with four of his colleagues from Kano, Adamawa, Sokoto and Kwara states, defected from the PDP for the APC following a series of disagreements with the leadership of the party that are still unresolved.

Plateau security outfit boss denies existence of rival militia group From Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos HE Coordinator of OperaT tion Rainbow, a security outfit recently established by the Plateau State government to complement the efforts of the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis, Air Vice Marshall Bala Danbaba (rtd), has denied the allegation that Governor Jonah Jang was training some militiamen in Israel to be used to attack his opponents.

Danbaba stated this yesterday during a press conference at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Institute, Shere Hills, Lamingo, Jos where 500 members of the outfit are undergoing leadership training.

According to him, the Leadership Institute had already trained 500 men and women of the security outfit.

Danbaba said: “We are not training people to come home and attack anybody in the state. This is not part of our mandate. We are only giving training to people to toughen them and not to attack people unjustifiably. We are giving them unarmed combat-training so that they can defend themselves in the event of attacks.”

He said the organisation has trained 4,000 of its personnel on Neigbourhood Watch to be sent to the 325 wards of the 17 local council areas in the state.

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‘ICC didn’t say security situation in N’East is civil war’ From Nkechi Onyedika and John Okeke, Abuja ITING mischief, the Federal C Government yesterday debunked the allegation that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has classified the turbulent security situation in the North Eastern part of the country as civil war.

Besides, the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has described Boko Haram as a disgrace to Africa, saying that it started with the intention of Islamising Nigeria.

Some newspapers (Not The Guardian) had recently reported that ICC had classified the situation in the North-East zone as civil war.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has read the report in a section of the Nigerian Press purporting that the ICC has classified the situation in the northeastern

• B’Haram, Africa’s shame, Oritsejafor declares states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, which have come under emergency rule, as constituting a state of civil war.”

The ministry noted that a close look at the report entitled Report of Preliminary Examination Activities 2013, released by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC, nowhere was the phrase, “civil war” ever used.

Rather, it clarified that the OTP found that the situation in Nigeria appears to qualify as “Non-International Armed Conflict” (NIAC), which is not the same as civil war from a legal and political point of view.

“It is equally not correct to state that there has been an upsurge in armed confrontation following the declaration of the State of Emergency”, it stated.

The statement also said that rather than an increase in

intensity, attacks by Boko Haram have become sporadic, focusing on soft targets such as schools.

“It is therefore a matter of regret that the relative success of the emergency rule and the noticeable lull in the attacks

by Boko Haram seem to have escaped the attention of the OTP”, it stated.

“As the Federal Government continues its diligent prosecution of the military campaign in the context of its multi-track anti-terrorism strategy, it is gratifying to note the preliminary assessment of the OTP to the effect that there is no reasonable basis to conclude that the alleged killings and other abuses attributed to the Nigerian security forces constitute crimes against humanity”, it stated.

Speaking when he received members of the Hausa-FulaniKanuri and Christian Associa-

tion of Nigeria who paid him a solidarity visit on Tuesday in Abuja, Oritsejafor prayed God to expose members of the sect and their sponsors, adding that they be brought to book to face judgment of not only God and that of man.

The CAN president observed that he was one of the most misunderstood Nigerians just because he does not toll the line that most people would toll on issues, said: “I am blunt in what I say, I call a spade, a spade and this makes people to misunderstand me. My desire is for the peace, unity, growth and development of Nigeria. But the Nigeria we are talking about is a Nigeria where everybody is equal and nobody is oppressed as a result of his faith or where he comes from”.

He urged the civil society and human rights groups to look into the plights of Nigerians who are marginalised and champion their course.

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FEC okays N40.2b for N’Assembly expansion

Police arraign Ekiti lawmaker, others for murder

From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja

From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado Ekiti

N40.2 billion National AsA sembly expansion contract, covering the

MEMBER of the Ekiti A House of Assembly, Boluwade Kehinde and eight others were yesterday arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Ado Ekiti for allegedly killing one Mr. Foluso Ogundare.

Ogundare, a supporter of a governorship aspirant in the state, Opeyemi Bamidele, was killed in Emure-Ekiti on November 3, 2013 during a meeting.

Others accused of complicity in the murder include: Ilesanmi Peter, 26; Adedayo Kayode, 33; Afolabi Ishola, 47; Babalola Olomi, 47; Malomo Alabi, 29; Taidi Yinusa, 30; Ayo Famojuro, 45 and Olawumi Fagborila, 20.

The Chief Magistrate Court presided over by Magistrate Soji Adegboye, ordered that Kehinde and one of the accused persons, Boluwade Kehinde and six others, be remanded in prison custody.

The accused persons, who were arrested shortly after the murder and taken to the Police headquarters in Abuja, were arraigned on a fivecount charge of conspiring to murder and unlawfully caused the death of one Foluso Ogundare and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 319 (1) of the criminal code, cap C16, laws of Ekiti State 2012.

NMA threatens fresh strike From Emeka Anuforo and Itunu Ajayi, Abuja HE Nigerian Medical AssociT ation (NMA), has threatened to embark on strike should the Federal Government fail to meet its demands by December 14, 2013.

In a statement signed by its President, Dr Osahon Enabulele, the NMA said for over five months now, the association has recurrently engaged the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, on issues bothering on some health sector challenges, workplace conditions and the conditions of service of doctors.

He said on September 2, 2013 the association issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address the issues tabled by NMA. However, based on the understanding reached following the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, the NMA decided to extend her ultimatum by four weeks at her emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on September 22, 2013.

President Goodluck Jonathan arriving the Union buildings, venue of the lying in state of the late former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa in Pretoria ... yesterday.

construction of Phase 111 part 111, as well as the upgrading of the two chambers, has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The new projects to be covered by the contract, according to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Bala Mohammed, include library, budget office, printing press, clinic, restaurants, banquet hall, places of worship, plenary hall (auditorium), TV/radio/press facilities, fitness room, administrative offices, technical rooms, meeting rooms and upgrade of the two chambers.

The contract, awarded to Julius Berger Plc, has completion period of 40 months.

Mohammed said the two chambers would have to temporarily vacate the offices they are currently occupying and move into some old ones pending the completion of work.

Military promotes 141 officers From Madu Onuorah, Abuja T is elevation galore in the Icilmilitary as the Army Counapproved the promotion of 27 Brigadier Generals to the rank of Major Generals and 75 Colonels to the rank of Brigadier General.

Also, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) decorated 33 of the 39 Group Captains (Colonels equivalent) who were promoted to the flag rank of Air Commodores (Brigadier Generals equivalent).

Among those promoted to the substantive rank of Major

General are the Director, Defence Information, Brig Gen Chris Olukolade, Defence Adviser, Nigerian Mission to the United Nations, New York, Brig Gen Lincoln Ogunewe, Acting Director, Military Intelligence, Brig Gen Letam Wiwa, Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Military Police, Brig Gen Adamu Abubakar, Commander, Multi National Joint Task Force, Brig Gen Augustine Edokpayi and Director, Army Physical Training, Brig Gen Shehu Yusuf.

Also affected are the Director, Clothing and Stores,

Army Headquarters, Brig Gen Augustine Okoh, Commander, Guards Brigade, Brig Gen Emmanuel Atewe, Commander, 4 Brigade, Brig Gen Patrick Akem, Commander 34 Brigade, Brig Gen Modibbo Alkali, Commander, 23 Brigade Brig Gen Fatai Alli, Commander, 9 Brigade, Brig Gen Adeniyi Oyebade, Commander, 3 Brigade, Brig Gen IIiyasu Abbah and Acting Commander, Nigerian Army Education Corps, Brig Gen Sunday Adebayo.

Those promoted to the substantive rank of Brigadier

General include Ali Nani of Training and Doctrine Command, Acting Commander, 37 Brigade, Okoi Obono, Acting Commander, 21Brigade, Ibrahim Yusuf, Olufunmilola Soleye of Ministry of Defence, and Adamu Jalingo of Department of Civil Military Affairs, Army Headquarters.

Senior NAF officers decorated with their new ranks of Air Commodore include: Deputy Director, Directorate of Public Relations and Information, Dele Alonge; Oluwole Akinsanya, Isiaka Amao, Ayuba Lassa, Christopher Umolu, Abdulganiyu Olabisi,

Danladi Bausa, Christopher Dola, Lazarus Mshelia, Aliyu Pani and Mahmud Madi.

Others include: Charles Ohwo, Mohammed Yakubu, Emmanuel Wonah, Idi Lubo, Akugbe Iyamu, Morgan Idonibo, Dauda Prayero, John Ochomma, Sonny Ohemu, Paul Jemitola, Sambo Usman, Emenike Umeoka, Chinwedu Onyike, Taofiki Oladega, Musa Tanko, Ayodele Dudusola, Nelson Camday, Christopher Egwoba, Abdullahi Kassimu, Iliyasu Yahaya, Olatokunbo Adesanya, Ado Inuwa and Emmanuel Akinbayo.

Why North is opposed to confab, by Nwabueze From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu ONSTITUTIONAL lawyer, C Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN) said yesterday that the fear of losing its political dominance as well as sections of the country that make up the present northern region was responsible for the opposition of the north to the proposed national conference and restructuring.

He, however, stated that for the country to continue to survive, there was need for all Nigerians to support the national conference so as to find ways of renegotiating and restructuring Nigeria for the common good of her people.

Nwabueze said: “There are forces working against the conference but I want to say that this is not strange. The

• Faults president’s planned nomination of delegates north does not want the conference because they want to protect their interest which is political domination and they also don’t want to lose any part of their own. They are very angry that they will be overthrown by the conference; they feel that the conference will end their dominance in politics. But let me say that it is in the interest of the country that the conference holds. We have to renegotiate and restructure the country to enable it survive”.

Addressing reporters in Enugu, Nwabueze also insisted that it was unacceptable for President Goodluck Jonathan to nominate delegates to the proposed na-

tional conference, stressing that the right to do so rest squarely with the ethnic nationalities participating in the exercise.

“That is not our own idea of national conference. It should be a conference of ethnic nationalities and the ethnic nationalities should elect their delegates to the conference. They will go there and sit and discuss. It involves intellectual work and does not involve moving from one place to another.

“It will also require younger person just as I stated earlier to chair the conference. It is not a job of someone at 83 and in bad health condition.

In one of my articles pub-

lished in the newspapers, I said nobody should ever ask me to chair the conference, because it is a job that requires somebody who is acceptable both in the north and south.

I am not acceptable in the north and it will be careless of anybody to appoint me to head the committee. If it happens, I will reject it right away.

The person should be someone with emotional stability, because it is going to be stormy conference and requires a capable chairman with physical energy and emotional ability who may be able to steer the meeting to a successful end”, he added.

Nwabueze, who heads the

“Igbo leaders of Thought”, a group working out Igbo position for the conference, said he would serve in the exercise should he be elected by Ndigbo, adding that he declined to serve in the Presidential advisory committee, following his age and illhealth.

“If eventually our people – Ndigbo said I should be part of it, I will oblige, so long as it does not involve me touring the country.

Stressing that Igbo position would soon be known, he said that the memorandum submitted by Ohanaeze Ndigbo to the Presidential Advisory Committee created the gap on how the Igbo interest could be protected in Nigeria and said that such gap would be filled by the committee.

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Controversy trails Chime’s gifts to Enugu monarchs From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu OVERNOR Sullivan Chime’s car and money gifts to traditional rulers is unsettling Enugu State following allegations that they were meant to curry the royal fathers’ favour ahead of the 2015 general elections.

The traditional rulers’ council had for several years not existed until last week when it was reconstituted by the state government. Apparently to demonstrate government’s magnanimity to it, the governor had released six Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to its principal officers and had gone ahead on Tuesday to invite the monarchs and presidents of town unions in the state to a meeting at the Governor’s Lodge, where it was gathered that monetary gifts were extended to them.

Confirming the development, a traditional ruler who benefited from the largesse but who preferred to be anonymous, said the cash gift, which comes on the heels of distribution of SUVs to principal officers of the Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council by the government, was unprecedented since Chime became governor in 2007.

“Today (Tuesday), the governor gave all the Igwes in Enugu State N100,000 each for Christmas, which he has not done since he became governor. We are not yet convinced about the intention behind this sudden romance.

“Enugu State traditional rulers have been suffering in silence, especially given that we are tasked with helping to maintain law, order, and security without anything from this government to support us since 2007. Fellow Igwes feel it could be a Greek gift, especially coming too late in the day when 2015 election fever is on the rise in the state. But whatever it is, I think it is long deserved, though we will not follow anybody sheepishly in 2015”.

Some civil servants, who learnt about the largesse yes-

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President, Anabel Group/Convener, Nigeria Leadership Summit, Nicholas Okoye (left); former Commonwealth Secretary, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Minister of Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke and Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Evelyn Oputu, at the Final Day of Second Nigeria Leadership Summit 2013” Let’s Get To Work.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Fuel marketers warned against flouting new loading policy

The Guardian wins ‘Culture Promoter’s award

From Collins Olayinka, Abuja

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S Yuletide period beckons A with the usual increase in the consumption of petroleum products, unethical practices in the supply chain are expected to rise among petroleum marketers.

Aware of this, the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has warned its members to adhere strictly to the “First in First out (FIFO)”, a new petroleum products loading policy introduced by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), or face sanction.

IPMAN said yesterday in Abuja via a statement that the policy is aimed at sanitising the loading system of both the PMS, DPK and AGO directing all its zonal chairmen and depot heads to comply to ensure the immediate clearance of outstanding tickets.

DPR offers 31 oil fields for sale From Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau chief FFICIALS of the DepartO ment of Petroleum Resources (DPR) have placed 31 marginal oil fields for sale to Nigerians and indigenous oil companies where they would have a controlling equity of 51 per cent.

The sale of the oil fields would be carried out through bidding process that is expected to take three months, according to the DPR’s Head of Business Assessment and Lease Management, Mr. Gbenga Olufadeju.

Addressing potential investors and oil companies in Kaduna yesterday during the 2013 marginal oil field road show, Olufadeju said the 31 marginal oil fields were recently discovered oil fields across the country, which contain guaranteed oil deposit and included eight oil fields that were sold in 2003 but left to fallow for 10 years.

From Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja UARDIAN Newspapers Limited, publisher of The Guardian titles, on Tuesday won an award for its efforts at promoting the Nigerian culture through print media.

Essentially, the award, which was organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), is in recognition of The Guardian’s remarkable passion and commitment to the dissemination of information on culture and cultural activities in the spirit of national transformation.

In the citation read by the organisers, The Guardian Art Desk, since its establishment less than two years after the establishment of the newspaper, has sought to make positive impact in all facets of national development, with special attention to the arts, culture, creativity and inventiveness in the local and international realm.”

It says: “The Guardian was established in the year 1983 and less than two years into the life of the newspaper, The Guardian Arts Desk was established in April 1985. Its establishment was in line with the vision of its founding fathers to raise the bar in Nigerian

journalism with a pace-setting, intellectually resourceful newspaper of a high literary and cosmopolitan appeal.

“For a paper that sought to make a positive impact in all facets of national development, a special attention to the arts, culture, creativity and inventiveness in the local and international realm, was imperative.”

The Guardian Arts Desk was also recognised for its holistic reportage, analysis, critic and intellectual intervention in the cultural context, as well as the ability to traverse all areas of arts, including literature, theatre, music, media, fine and applied arts and even the administration of culture as a priority factor in Nigerian public administration.

The citation continues: “It is significant to note that The Guardian Arts Desk backed up its reportorial attention to the sector with major advocacy thus bringing about new developments in the Nigerian culture sector in the last three decades.

“Such developments included the establishment of the National Troupe, copyright commission, formation

of the Nigerian cultural policy and promotion of international cultural relations. Indeed, specialised culture journalism is synonymous with The Guardian.

“It is noteworthy that the Arts Desk produced a title Editor of the newspaper in the person of the indefatigable Jahman Anikulapo, who, until his resignation recently, was the Editor of The Guardian on Sunday.

“This is not only a source of pride to arts journalists but to the entire cultural sector. It is also of pride to state that the current crop of art and culture writers in Nigeria, especially at senior editorial levels, are ‘graduates’ of The Guardian Arts Desk”.

The award was received by the Editor, Arts and Media, Mr. Kabir Alabi Garba, on behalf of the newspaper’s management.

The Executive Director/CEO, National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. M.M. Maidugu, said the award, which was part of the 10th NCAC Honours Lecture/Award Series, was initiated to celebrate Nigerians and institutions that have distinguished themselves in contributing to the development of Nigerian arts and culture within their chosen areas of endeavour.

This is pure bribery in an attempt to buy the conscience of the royal fathers ahead of 2015.

There should be a standard and meaningful way of catering for the welfare of both the civil servants and traditional rulers. terday, argued that they were the least paid all over the country and that the governor should rather concentrate on increasing the productivity of the workforce by raising their morale than making overtures on traditional rulers.

An official of the Ministry of Finance said: “This is pure bribery in an attempt to buy the conscience of the royal fathers ahead of 2015. There should be a standard and meaningful way of catering for the welfare of both the civil servants and traditional rulers. It is saddening that we are the least paid nationally, yet the governor is more interested in building a new secretariat complex and spraying money meaninglessly, rather than build the human capital, which should be the engine-room of development in the state.”

But the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Chukwudi Achife, dismissed the allegations of bribery as “figment of imagination”, stressing that the state government could not descend to such level.

He said: “The Traditional Rulers’ Council had not been reconstituted for some time now, but the government in her wisdom decided to reconstitute the council and gave six SUVs to her principal officers. It was purely meant to assist them discharge their official responsibilities. We don’t need to bribe anybody because these rulers are men of integrity and nobody can insult their integrity by offering bribe to them.”

Groups form body to promote freedom of expression in Africa

By Gbenga Salau O promote freedom of expression, representatives of freedom of expression organisations in Africa have formed a regional body to be known as the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX).

This was one of the resolutions reached at a forum held in Accra, Ghana.

The representatives of the freedom of expression organisations in Africa, who are members of the Torontobased global network, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), met to develop a framework for regional networking in Africa. At the meeting, the participants decided to, among other steps, establish a regional network to be

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known as the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) with the headquarters located in any country in subSaharan Africa.

In a statement made available to The Guardian, the body stated that membership rights, benefits, duties and obligations shall be outlined in a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which all members of the network shall subscribe to and endorse, while the vision of the network is an Africa where all people are free to express themselves.

“The mission of the network is to increase the effectiveness of IFEX members in addressing freedom of expression challenges in Africa. Such challenges include laws and policies, traditions, customs, absence of

capacity arising from ignorance, poverty and lack of access to technology and security.

“Also, based on criteria agreed upon at the meeting, it was decided that Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) should serve as the secretariat of the network while a hosting agreement would be developed and agreed upon between the network and its host organisation to define roles and responsibilities, as well as to guide the relationship.

“The strategies to be adopted by the network in addressing the freedom of expression challenges on the continent would include outreach, systematic sharing of information, joint campaigns, capacity enhancement activities, sustainability plans and

The mission of the network is to increase the effectiveness of IFEX members in addressing freedom of expression challenges in Africa.

Such challenges include laws and policies, traditions, customs, absence of capacity arising from ignorance, poverty and lack of access to technology and security. programmes, as well as research and surveys.”

The meeting hosted by the MFWA, with support from IFEX, had six out of the nine African members of IFEX in attendance, while one other organisation participated remotely, via Skype.

The meeting identified specific activities, which it will carry out over the first six

months of its existence, besides agreeing to develop a more elaborate plan of action for activities in the short and longer term.

The participating organisations expressed gratitude to IFEX for its financial support to convene the meeting, to the MFWA for hosting it and Mr. Luckson Chipare for facilitating the process.

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