Thu 27 Feb 2014

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Vol. 30, No. 12,845

www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Amalgamation not a mistake, says Jonathan

By Our Reporters RESIDENT Goodluck P Jonathan yesterday said that the amalgamation of Southern and Northern Protectorates to form a single

• Pays tributes to Nigeria’s heroes, declares nation still in infancy • Explains necessity of national confab, vows to check terrorism country called Nigeria was not a mistake.

According to Jonathan in a nationwide broadcast last

night, as Nigeria marks its centenary, there is hope, al-

though the nation is in the throes of many challenges.

The President’s speech reads: “I extend warm greetings and felicitations to all Nigerians as we celebrate our nation’s centenary; a significant milestone CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Sanusi loses bid to resume as CBN gov • Court orders him to put president on notice • To hear suit March 12 From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja USPENDED Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi yesterday lost his bid to return to office.

The Federal High Court , Abuja Division, yesterday rejected a request made by Sanusi to be restored to his position as the governor of the apex bank.

Ruling on the ex-partemotion brought before him by Sanusi, Justice Gabriel Kolawole declined on the ground that it would be unfair to grant such an application without hearing the other parties.

Sanusi had filed the application on February 24, 2014, praying the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from preventing him in any manner whatsoever from performing the functions of the governor of the CBN and enjoying in full, the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office.

He prayed the court to expe-

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First Female Permanent Secretary, Franchesca Emmanuel (left); Alhaji Ahmed Joda; Chief Philip Asiodu; Founder, Centre for Values In Leadership (CVL), Prof. Pat Utomi and former Deputy Governor, Delta State, John Edozie, during the eighth Leader Without Title Sector Leadership Tribute Series in Honour of Chief Asiodu at 80 and Alhaji Joda at 84 in Lagos... on Tuesday.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Death toll in Yobe school attack hits 59 From Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna), Muyiwa Adeyemi (Ado-Ekiti), Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Karls Tsokar, Kanayo Umeh (Abuja), Yetunde Ebosele, Bertram Nwannekanma (Lagos), Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri) and Tunji Omofoye (Osogbo) MORE heart-rending disA closure came yesterday that the death toll in Tuesday’s attack at Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, had risen to 59.

In the same vein, prominent Nigerians and organisations, including Senate President David Mark, the All Progres-

• Mark, APC, PDP, NBA, others condemn massacre • Arewa elders fault government over terror • Senate panel wants army chief relocated to Maiduguri sives Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, his Ekiti State counterpart, Kayode Fayemi,

the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA),

the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), among others, have condemned the insurgents’ dastardly act.

But the Chairman of the Par-

ent-Teacher Association of the college, Buni Yadi, Alhaji Mohammed Kati Machina, yesterday described as “incorrect and misleading” the total number of students killed .

He said based on the records of PTA and students’ register, the death toll remained at 29 and not 59 as claimed by some sources His words: “We have an au-

• Reps alter 71 sections of 1999 Constitution - Page 10 • Champions League: Schalke 04 (1), Real Madrid (6); Galatasaray (1), Chelsea (1)

thentic report from the hospital and what we gathered is that only 29 students were killed. 21 students were killed by gunshots while eight were burnt. 11 were injured and three were admitted at the specialist hospital in Damaturu.

“Some of the injured students have been taken away by their parents. Out of the 10 dead bodies that were brought to Damaturu, two were burnt beyond recognition.”

The PTA chairman called on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

2 Thursday, February 27, 2014

Mark, APC, PDP, NBA, others condemn Yobe massacre CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the Federal Government to provide security around all schools in the country especially Yobe and Borno States.

He extended his condolences to the families that lost their children and wards in the attacks.

In a related development, Arewa elders yesterday said that the Federal Government was not doing enough to rid the North and the country at large of insecurity following the latest murder of students in Yobe State.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Defence yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the Chief of

Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, to relocate his office to the 7th Division of Nigeria Army in Maiduguri to tackle rising activities of insurgents.

And for the nation’s security agencies to effectively overcome the current security challenges, regimental pride must be relegated even as they share information and intelligence with each other, according to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jubril.

According to the authorities of Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, more bodies of the slain students were yesterday retrieved from nearby bushes.

A mortuary attendant, Jibrin Isa, said yesterday that after depositing 29 bodies on Tuesday morning, another 30 bodies were also brought in yesterday for identification of the slain students.

Isa added: “As of this morning (yesterday), we received and deposited a total of 59 bodies.

This will enable the parents and family relations to properly identify the bodies before they could be released for bur-

ial.”

Mark lamented that the insurgents have no justification to kill students who neither offended them nor committed any crime against them.

He said: “Even in war situations, children and women are always spared.

“This open declaration of war on everybody, especially defenceless students, cannot be justified. This is inhuman, it is animalistic and barbaric. It is unthinkable that this is happening in Nigeria.”

Mark sympathised with the government and people of Yobe State, especially the families of the bereaved, saying that the terror is not just national but an international threat that calls for bravery on the part of everyone to confront.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said the attacks, which were extremely gory even by the scorched-earth tactics of the terrorists, plumb the depth of horror. ‘’What a sad day for Nigeria and indeed for all humanity when innocent school children were used as soft targets by a group of cowardly terrorists who have shed their toga of humanity on the altar of a meaningless ideology. ‘’We condole with the families of the victims as well as the government and people of Yobe State over this abominable crime. We urge the state and Federal Government to work together to ensure that schools in the state are adequately protected,’’ it said.

The APC called on President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately visit the state to offer succour to the families of the victims and the state government, saying that is the least the Federal Government can do to help soothe the pains of those involved.

The PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, yesterday described the attack and

killing of the harmless students as “monstrous and extremely shocking.”

Metuh said: “The PDP bleeds inside as we mourn the slaughtering of these promising young ones. Our hearts go out to the parents and families of these innocent students. We share in their anguish, their pain and their despair and we earnestly pray that those behind this act must not escape judgment for spilling the blood of the innocent. No man commits such wickedness and gets away with it,” the statement said.

Aregbesola, in a statement by the Director of Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, said the killing of the students was unconscionable as such dastardly act could only be perpetrated by people who have lost sanity and lack human feelings.

The governor said he was alarmed by the inhumane and brazen manner in which the Boko Haram now unleash violence on all cadres of people in the society.

Fayemi in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, described the mass slaughter of innocent students as ungodly, barbaric, brutal, animalistic and inhuman.

He urged the authorities concerned to investigate the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of soldiers from the community few hours before the gunmen struck.

The old students association, while condemning the attack, called for the immediate closure of all the eight federal unity colleges in the three states under emergency rule: Borno, Yobe and Adamawa as well as every other school that lies in harm’s way.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Abuja, the President-General of the association, Kabiru Nuhu-Koko, also called for the transfer of the students in the affected unity colleges to other federal unity colleges in the country to continue with their studies.

Chairman, Board of Trustees of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Kalu, noted that by attacking a unity school, the insurgents have succeeded in attacking the unity of Nigeria.

He called on all the politicians in Nigeria, irrespective of their political parties, to come together and give Nigerians reason to hope that the security challenges in the country can be tackled.

The ASCSN Secretary-General, Alade Lawal, urged the Federal Government to probe the report by a foreign media that security operatives posted to keep surveillance on the school were withdrawn shortly before the sect attacked the school.

Also, the Ikeja NBA Chapter Chairman, Monday Ubani, said the attack has proven that the emergency declaration and the security arrangements put in place by the Federal Government is a ‘sham’, adding that “Nigerians are not seeing any evidence on ground” to prove that the Boko Haram menace will soon be a thing of the past.

The JNI Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, in a statement said “the barbaric and heinous attack is utterly condemnable in its totality, considering the fact that just few days ago, Bama, Izge, Malari, all in Borno State, witnessed similar attacks by the terrorists.”

However, he explained that “we expect the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibility of protecting lives and property of Nigerians, especially in the NorthEast and stop the diatribe”, saying that “human lives are sacred and must be treated so.”

In a statement, former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki condemned the attack, urging that conscientious effort should be made to put an immediate halt to the mindless killings in the North-East. The Leaders of the Coalition and President of Civil Rights Con-

gress (CRC), Malam Shehu Sani, in a statement said “the gruesome killing of innocent children is bestial callous, barbaric, indefensible, abhorable, unjustifiable, ungodly and illogical.”

At a meeting between the committee and Chief of Army Staff on the 2014 budget in the Senate yesterday, the committee declared that the order became necessary following Tuesday’s killings.

It said that it was alarmed by the apparent upsurge in the activities of the insurgents.

And the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, in a statement said the insurgents have crossed the border of decency by killing over 43 students in Yobe State.

Ndoma-Egba, who personally signed the statement, noted that the killings showed that the sect planned to plunge the country into a “bleak and blank future.”

He added: “It is obvious that we are now dealing with a bunch of animals to whom human life is now totally meaningless and worthless because when you attack students, you are attacking the foundation of the country’s future.

“So, this attack, to me, is to plunge the nation into a bleak and blank future. There would be need for us to modify our security strategy to include hot pursuit.

“This is permissible in international law if your neighbour is not taking concrete steps to halt these insurgents as it’s now clear that they hit us from outside the country and go back there to hide.”

The committee promised to make a tour of the affected states when the Senate resumes plenary.

The NANS Chairman in Yobe State, Dauda Mohammed Gombe, condemned the wanton killings and urged that the perpetrators should not only be brought to book, but the parents and guardians of slain students be also compensated.

Jonathan explains necessity of national confab, vows to check terrorism CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 in our journey to nationhood.

“One hundred years ago, on the 1st of January 1914, the British Colonial authorities amalgamated the Southern and Northern Protectorates, giving birth to the single geopolitical entity called Nigeria which has become our home, our hope, and our heritage.

“I have often expressed the conviction that our amalgamation was not a mistake.

While our union may have been inspired by considerations external to our people; I have no doubt that we are destined by God Almighty to live together as one big nation, united in diversity.

“I consider myself specially privileged to lead our country into its second century of existence. And as I speak with you today, I feel the full weight of our hundred-year history. But what I feel most is not frustration, it is not disillusionment. What I feel is great pride and great hope for a country that is bound to overcome the transient pains of the moment and eventually take its rightful place among the greatest nations

on earth.

“Like every country of the world, we have had our troubles. And we still do. We have fought a civil war. We have seen civil authorities overthrown by the military. We have suffered sectarian violence. And as I speak, a part of our country is still suffering from the brutal assault of terrorists and insurgents.

“While the occasion of our centenary undoubtedly calls for celebration, it is also a moment to pause and reflect on our journey of the past one hundred years, to take stock of our past and consider the best way forward for our nation.

“Even as we celebrate our centenary, we must realise that in the context of history, our nation is still in its infancy.

“We are a nation of the future, not of the past and while we may have travelled for a century, we are not yet at our destination of greatness.

“The amalgamation of 1914 was only the first step in our national journey. Unification was followed by independence and democracy which have unleashed the enor-

mous potential of our people and laid the foundation for our nation’s greatness.

“In challenging times, it is easy to become pessimistic and cynical. But hope, when grounded in realism, enables and inspires progress. Therefore, as we celebrate our first century of nationhood and enter a second, we must not lose sight of all that we have achieved since 1914 in terms of nation-building, development and progress.

“Today, we salute once again the great heroes of our nation – Herbert Macaulay, Ernest Ikoli, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alvan Ikoku, Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Dr. Michael Okpara, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Malam Aminu Kano, Mokwugo Okoye and Chief Michael Imoudu, among others.

“We must be inspired by our past to overcome the obstacles we face in the present and honour our forebears by realising the promise of a Nigeria that is not only independent but also truly unified, prosperous and admired the

world over.

“The history of Nigeria since independence is the story of a struggle to fulfill our great promise. The discovery of oil in our country in the late 1950s offered new hope of prosperity but we have not always been able to reap the benefits in a fair and equitable way.

“The situation was not helped by political instability and the frequent suspension of democracy by military coups. During the civil war, the very existence of our country was cast into doubt but through it all, the promise of a Nigeria that is united, free and strong remained in our people’s hearts.

“Thanks to the efforts of our statesmen and women, and millions of ordinary Nigerians, the union endured and flourished. I would like to specifically commend members of the Armed Forces for their contributions and sacrifices to keep Nigeria one.

“Gen. Yakubu Gowon had the wisdom and grace to declare that the civil war had seen “no victor, no vanquished” and welCONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Taraba: One state, two govts

Contrasting posters of Governor Danbaba Suntai and Acting Governor Garba Umar on the Yola side of the city gate to Jalingo, Taraba State… Friday, January 31, 2014.

By Ehichioya Ezomon (Group Political Editor, who was in Taraba) HERE are two posters any keen observer will not fail to notice on the approaches from the Yola end to the city gate that welcomes visitors to the once sleepy, but modernising Jalingo, the capital city of Taraba State.

The artworks, one for Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai and the other for Acting Governor Garba Umar are particularly striking because of the contrast in size and display.

Their erection seems to defy the practice in Nigeria’s political environment (and, perhaps, elsewhere) where the posters of the President, Governor or council Chairman are larger/bigger than those of their deputies, especially when they are erected near each other.

Perhaps, the instant case mirrors the recent happenings in the Taraba polity (as illustrated by the photographs on this page), in which, in the reversed order of protocol described above, Umar’s poster, the first to encounter, is imposing and his photograph, life-sized.

Tucked behind this giant billboard is a small poster with a bust photograph of a smiling Governor Suntai.

It could not be ascertained which of the posters was erected first, but if events eliciting their erection are considered on their face value, that of Acting Governor Umar should have been planted first.

Reason: The message on Umar’s poster reads: ‘His Excellency Alhaji Garba Umar, Acting Governor Taraba State,’ with an accompanying public relations memo, ‘Come And Discover Taraba State... Nature’s Gift To The

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• How ethnicity, religion, external influence colour struggle for power Nation.’

Recall that Umar, a former employee of the United Trading Company (UTC), where he retired as Executive Director (Operations) (and hence he is popularly addressed as ‘UTC’), was appointed deputy governor in early October 2012.

Barely three weeks later, Governor Suntai was involved in a plane crash at the Yola International Airport, Yola, in neighbouring Adamawa State, and the House of Assembly quickly made Umar the acting governor of Taraba State.

Suntai only returned to the country in August 2013, almost a year after the plane crash, and his homecoming is captured in the message on his poster in focus.

It reads: ‘You Have Kept Faith, Welcome Our Dear Governor, Pharm Danbaba Suntai, Executive Governor Taraba State.’

So, which of the posters was erected first, not withstanding the messages they bear?

Yet, whether by commission or omission, the implication of placing the governor’s smaller poster behind the imposing one of the deputy governor is explicit: Those who erected the Umar poster wanted to reflect the situation on ground in Taraba.

Though Governor Suntai is back home, he is not in power. The person in power, and also in government is Acting Governor Umar, as indicated by these posters, and many others in thousands displayed across the state, particularly in Jalingo.

The power play between Governor Suntai and Acting Governor Umar has resulted in “two governments” operating in Taraba, which prides itself as ‘Nature’s Gift to the Nation’. But this occurrence, which may not have been envisaged by the makers of the Nigerian Constitution, has been exploited to the extent that the “former” deputy governor is now the de facto governor.

When Suntai came from his medical treatment abroad last August, he dissolved his 13-man cabinet and appointed a new Secretary to the State Government (Mr. Gebon T. Kataps). But Umar challenged the governor’s action, ordering the affected commissioners to retain their offices.

Two governors, two executive councils HE power play between Governor Suntai and Acting Governor Umar has resulted in “two governments” operating in Taraba, which prides itself as ‘Nature’s Gift to the Nation’.

But this occurrence, which may not have been envisaged by the makers of the Nigerian Constitution, has been exploited to the extent that the “former” deputy governor is now the de facto governor.

When Suntai came from his medical treatment abroad last August, he dissolved his 13man cabinet and appointed a new Secretary to the State Government (Mr. Gebon T. Kataps).

But Umar challenged the governor’s action, ordering the affected commissioners to retain their offices. However, according to a respondent, “due to their loyalty to the governor, and perhaps, in order not to be caught in the crossfire, most of the commissioners tendered their resignation.”

Ostensibly to prevent vacuum in government, Acting Governor Umar filled the vacancies, and also appointed his Secretary to the State Government (Mr. Garvey Yaweh).

“So, currently in Taraba State, there are two parallel state executive councils, one headed

by Governor Suntai and the other by Acting Governor Umar,” said the respondent.

Below is a semblance of the composition of the two Excos: Suntai’s Team • SSG—Gebon T. Kataps • Chief of Staff—Aminu Jika • Chief Press Secretary—Hassan Mijinyawa • S.A (Media & Publicity)—Sylvanus Y. Giwa Past Commissioners, the sacked Head of Service (Augustine Banzine), some of the Council Chairmen and the state PDP Elders, headed by its Chairman, Mr. Bala Kona, are also in Governor Suntai’s camp.

Umar’s Team • SSG—Garvey Yaweh • Chief of Staff—Ahmed Yusuf • Chief Press Secretary—Kefas Sule • Present Commissioners • Some Council Chairmen

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PHOTO: EHICHIOYA EZOMON. Analysing this state of affairs, another source likened it to a parliamentary system of government, “where you have the government in power and an opposition ‘shadow cabinet.’”

“In the Taraba situation, the Umar administration is in power while the Suntai government is in opposition,” the source said.

“Therefore, on balance of power, Alhaji Umar is in charge, controlling the finances of the state and executing the programmes of the government.”

Indeed, the acting governor controls the levers of influence in all facets of the polity, “even determining what goes to Governor Suntai in terms of settling his emoluments, medical bills and the upkeep of his office and family,” the source added.

In line with this newfound power, Umar recently signed into law the 2014 budget hurriedly passed by his pro-majority dominated House of Assembly. It was the second budget treated under his watch as acting governor.

Role of the House of Assembly HE problem in Taraba political scene today is partly attributable to members of the House of Assembly, who are divided into proSuntai and Umar’s camps.

In fact, a member of the Assembly, representing Wukari II Constituency, Daniel Ishaya Gani, admitted that “the House members are at the forefront and they are at the centre of the crisis that is happening in Taraba State.”

Fielding questions from The Guardian in Jalingo, Gani, a pro-Suntai lawmaker and the chairman of the House Committee on Information, Culture and Tourism, said the members had no power to mandate the acting governor to continue in that capacity after Governor Suntai had returned to the country and transmitted a letter to the Assembly, to enable him resume duties.

He blamed members for their failure to follow constitutional provisions, which instruct the House to set up a medical panel to ascertain alleged incapacitation of Governor Suntai to return to power.

Gani asked: “Has the House followed that instruction? It is the House that generated the problem that is lingering within the executive arm of government today.

“Some people cunningly and unknowingly said that they have made a press release,

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

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How ethnicity, religion, external The problem in Taraba political scene today is partly attributable to members of the House of Assembly, who are divided into pro-Suntai and Umar’s camps. In their scheming, all means possible are employed to achieve their objective, which, an aide described as ‘preventing Governor Danbaba Suntai from returning to power, perhaps until the expiration of his tenure of office in 2015.’ First, the members would not tolerate the letter they doubted was personally written by Governor Suntai, whom they claimed was not fit to resume office, insisting that he should go back for medical treatment abroad. Also, the members, coming from end of the year break to pass the 2014 budget, suspended plenary till March — all in an attempt to stall the return of Suntai to power.

Governor Danbaba Suntai at a religious observance at the Deeper Life Bible Church, Jalingo… Sunday, February 2, 2014.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 mandating the deputy governor to continue acting even when the governor is very much on ground.

“That is the genesis and the centre of the problem of Taraba State.”

Investigations also reveal that Governor Suntai, who shunned all opposition, and appointed Umar as deputy governor, was coming under increasing pressure to “find a way of curbing the influence of the deputy within and outside the government.”

According to a source, the peddlers of such fears were those on the governor’s camp eying the 2015 governorship seat.

“Although the governor did not take them serious, the deputy governor’s group did not leave anything to chance, as it was afraid that Suntai would ultimately give Alhaji Umar the Danladi treatment,” the source said.

Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi was the deputy governor impeached by the House of Assembly on the alleged instigation by Governor Suntai, who eventually appointed Umar as a replacement.

In order to pre-empt the same thing happening to Umar, his minders reportedly advised him to work on members of the Assembly “in case of the unexpected.”

As the source claimed, “were such an impeachment to be ‘induced’ in the House today, members would defeat it because the deputy governor has infiltrated their rank.”

“So, it was just a coincidence that what happened to Governor Suntai — the plane crash in Yola — had to happen,” the source said.

“That was how the House jumped at it to make Deputy Governor Umar acting governor because he had ‘wetted’ the ground for members to protect his interest.”

The House members, who have allegedly been compromised financially, are also said to be acting under the influence of religion.

For instance, majority of the 15 members, who reportedly signed the release, mandating Umar to continue as acting governor, “are Muslims who see it as an obligation to protect the interest of their fellow Muslim, and the interest of the Muslim community at large,” said a source.

However, the source was quick to add that were Christians to be in the majority in the House of Assembly, “they would also have protected the interest of Governor Suntai, a fellow Christian.”

Save for the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Tanko Makarfi, none of the proUmar lawmakers could be reached for comments on the legislature’s role in the Taraba political imbroglio.

Virtually all of them were out of the state —

and out of the country, as investigation indicated — as they had embarked on another recess after the Yuletide break.

Yet, the Deputy Speaker, who was contacted by the Speaker, Josiah Sabo Kente, about 20 minutes earlier, to speak to The Guardian, was reportedly asleep when we arrived at his home in Jalingo on Saturday, February 1.

One of his security aides, who pre-occupied himself with two handsets for close to 20 minutes without giving a hoot to our queries, reluctantly went inside to inform his boss that we were still waiting.

On return, the aide merely said, “he’s sleeping.” On whether we should call back later, he said no, as, according to him, the Deputy Speaker “will sleep for up to seven hours.”

That would have put our return journey at 10pm, as we were there by 3.00pm.

Repeated calls to the Speaker, Mr. Kente, to relay our experiences, were not answered, or returned.

Meanwhile, in the scheming by the state lawmakers, all means possible are employed to achieve their objective, which, an aide described as “preventing Governor Danbaba Suntai from returning to power, perhaps until the expiration of his tenure of office in 2015.”

Consequently, the members, coming from end of the year break to pass the 2014 budget, which the acting governor had signed into law, had suspended plenary till March.

The passage of the budget has further strengthened Umar’s hand to oil the wheel of the state machineries, such as payments to the government workforce, and contractors carrying out various projects around the state.

It also enables him to consolidate his position in the face of obvious pressures from home and Abuja to relinquish the position he claims he’s holding in trust for Governor Suntai.

The colour of external influences VERY local political issue, at all times, has an external push. In the Taraba variant, external forces are said to be dictating the pace, and the major push is coming from the religious angle.

Thus, those lining up behind Governor Suntai and Acting Governor Umar allegedly have such religious inclination, no matter their pedigree and unit of dispassionate disposition to the crisis in the state.

Among external forces said to be backing Suntai to return to power are former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Y. Danjuma; former Governor Jolly Nyame, and Mr. Damian Dodo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and one of the lawyers to President Goodluck Jonathan.

A source noted that, “these three important

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PHOTOS: EHICHIOYA EZOMON. sons of Taraba are taking care of the executive, legislative and legal arms of government,” as they relate to the issue of Suntai returning to and retaining power till 2015.

Interpreted, it means that Danjuma is taking up the matter at the Presidency, Nyame at the National Assembly and Dodo at the Judiciary.

Various sources in the state recall the sudden emergence of Suntai as the governorship candidate of the PDP for the 2007 elections, when he did not participate in the primaries.

The sources credited this deft political move to Gen. Danjuma, “who does not want a Muslim to rule Taraba.”

Indeed, in the running for the governorship, the PDP inexplicably disqualified Alhaji Danladi Baido, who led in the primaries to pick the candidate to fly its flag at the election.

The party did not also choose any of the three aspirants that came behind Baido, since, as one of the sources noted, “they were all Muslims.”

The argument that Danjuma may have been swayed by moral principle, and not religion, to want the re-instatement of Suntai to his office, does not sway those who think he is backing the governor because both are Christians.

They listed Danjuma’s reported refusal, recently, to honour an invitation the acting governor extended to him, to attend the commissioning of a medical centre built by the Taraba State government in Takum, Danjuma’s hometown.

Instead, Danjuma, according to a source, upbraided Alhaji Umar for claiming credit for a project that was initiated by Governor Suntai.

The source said: “What about the recent flying of Governor Suntai by Gen. Danjuma to Abuja, to see President Jonathan, so that the governor will resume duties even when he’s not physically fit to do so?

“Is it because the General is a man of principles or that he’s trying to help a fellow Christian to perpetuate their rule in Taraba State?

“We know why he wants Suntai back to office by all means. They are both Christians.”

Both Senator Nyame and Mr. Dodo are lumped in the same closet, with Nyame being accused of suddenly enlisting to be a cheerleader for Suntai, whom he had fallen out with politically for years.

Nyame recently brought some press crew to interview the governor, “in order to show that he (Suntai) is well enough to resume duties.”

But that “propaganda stuff,” as critics labeled it, “backfired, as Governor Suntai himself told the whole world that he would not be able to resume office yet,” a respondent said, a glint in his eyes.

However, those in the governor’s camp have

decried the interview, which has been a rave on the YouTube, “as doctored to advance the interest of those (a possible reference to Acting Governor Umar) who do not want to hand over power to the rightful owner.”

(For sure, the acting governor’s camp has been gloating over Governor Suntai’s selfassessment of his ‘unfitness’ to resume office.)

The Suntai supporters claimed that the interview was not shown in full, thus cutting out aspects where the governor said he was ready to pick up from where he left off.

“Those who paid for the airing of the ‘doctored’ tape knew what they were doing: to portray Danbaba Danfulani Suntai as not fit to resume his duties as the Executive Governor of Taraba State,” one of the governor’s backers said.

The source stopped short of captioning the crisis in the Taraba government as religious, but made reference to “influential Muslims” in the North” as supporting Acting Governor Umar to “remain in power.”

Without mentioning names, the source said many of the Muslim governors in the North “are in solidarity with Alhaji Umar because they want to make Taraba, the only Christian state in the Northeast of the country, a Muslim State.”

“This is why they told him not to return power to Governor Suntai, warning him of the implications of doing so,” the source said.

Presidency, PDP’s intervention NVESTIGATIONS show that the Presidency has been most circumspect in the crisis between Governor Suntai and his deputy, Garba Umar.

It is not that the parties to the issue had not made attempts to enlist the support of Abuja, but President Goodluck Jonathan, the acknowledged leader of the party, has reportedly left the matter to the national secretariat of the party.

“However, the president is in support of amicable settlement of the matter either through moral suasion or by legal means, as the issue is before the court already,” a Presidency source told The Guardian in Abuja.

Still, it was gathered that the president had on several occasions addressed Umar as “deputy governor” even while Umar has assumed the appellation “acting governor,” as bestowed on him by the Taraba State House of Assembly since 2012.

For instance, on Tuesday, January 28, President Jonathan was in Yola, Adamawa State, to commission the Nigerian Air Force secondary school built by Air Marshall Alexander Badeh, an Adamawa indigene, who was recently promoted as Chief of Defence Staff.

In the observance of protocol, the president addressed Umar as the “Deputy Governor of

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influence colour struggle for power CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Taraba State.”

As a respondent noted, “President Jonathan is a man of constitutionalism, a constitutionalist, and as such, he will not do or say anything that’s unconstitutional.”

“In the Taraba political crisis, he recognises that there’s a subsisting Executive Governor, and so, he addresses Umar as the deputy governor, which he is, not minding the so-called mandate given to him by the Taraba Assembly to act as ‘acting governor,’” the source said.

The leadership of the PDP is also “treading softly” in the matter. While it asked Umar to continue in the capacity of acting governor, it, nonetheless, requested him to consult with and take orders from Governor Suntai.

This counsel was handed down through Senator Hope Uzodinma, who led a fact-finding team to Taraba in the heat of the return of Governor Suntai from his medical treatment abroad.

But Umar appears to have ignored this advice, “as all his actions have been unilateral, to the surprise of the governor, whose dissolution of the state executive council Umar even challenged with a counter order,” a source in the Taraba PDP said.

Remarkably, the local chapter of the party, like the Taraba government, is divided along pro-Suntai-Umar camps.

“So, we are helpless in this crisis in the state,” the party source said.

State of Suntai’s health HE Taraba State House of Assembly did the unprecedented in the history of Nigerian politics when it asked elevated Deputy Governor Umar to continue in the position of acting governor while substantive Governor Suntai was in the state.

The House predicated its action on the “state of health” of Suntai, who was flown overseas for medical treatment following his plane crash, only for his return to the country late last year to generate further controversy and confusion over his fitness to resume duties.

While abroad for treatment, the main and social media treated the Nigerian public to a series of salacious stories about the governor being brain-dead, and could not move any of his limbs, speak or recognise anybody, including members of his immediate family.

At a time, reports indicated that he was dead, and that his family members and aides were only covering up the incident so as to continue to hold on to power in Taraba State.

Such reports invoked memories of the later days of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who was receiving treatment overseas, but was reported to have died without his family members and aides disclosing the same to Nigerians.

Rather, the man was ruling by proxy — through the said family members and aides, who wielded their influence to prevent then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan from being made acting president.

But with so much pressure from Nigerians, the National Assembly invoked the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ to elevate Dr. Jonathan to the position of acting president.

A few months later, it was discovered that, indeed, Yar’Adua’s immediate family members, led by his wife, Turai, and his aides took Nigerians for a ride by hiding the medical situation of the president, who ultimately died from complications from kidney failure.

Yar’Adua was eventually smuggled into the country in the dead of the night, and “nobody”, including Acting President Jonathan, saw him until his aides announced his death.

Although the current case of Governor Suntai resembles that of Yar’Adua, it was only for a time, as subsequent reports from those who visited him punctured the speculations that he was brain-dead and incapable of exercising his mental faculties.

Besides, the governor had returned to the country — even as that caused another stir, as he was seen being helped off and into the aircraft that brought him from abroad and the one that flew him to Jalingo, respectively.

But the condition has changed, as Governor Suntai now goes out, according to reports, to inspect projects, including his fish farms, par-

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ticularly in the state capital, Jalingo, and regularly goes to (different) churches to worship on Sundays.

Actually, on Sunday, February 2, the governor and his aides worshipped at the state headquarters of the Deeper Life Bible Church in Jalingo, an event, which The Guardian witnessed, as shown by the exclusive photographs published on these pages.

The governor, who arrived at 9.15am, dressed in a checked white shirt and blue-black suit, was only briefly assisted to alight the vehicle, a Range Rover.

Surrounded by aides, he walked, unaided, into the church where he exchanged pleasantries with the officiating ministers and waved to the congregation.

Though he did not participate in the series of sustained prayers and songs of praises to the Almighty, involving intermittent standing up, he was fully engaged in the church service, including the rendition of a hymnal song, ‘Stand up, stand up for Jesus.’

At 10.50am, the governor, given a microphone to make some remarks, requested, in a low but audible tone, for prayers, and continuous prayers for him.

In that regard, members of the congregation stretched their hands towards the governor, and prayed for him, especially for God to remove what had been delaying his quick recovery and healing.

At 11.02am, Governor Suntai, along with his retinue of aides, left the church the way he came: felicitating with the officiating ministers and waving to the congregation.

Sidelining of Suntai in government NE man is profiting from the hiatus of Governor Suntai returning to power in Taraba State, and that’s Alhaji Umar.

After being made acting governor, he quickly embarked on consolidating his position.

Among the actions he had taken that reportedly rankled the Suntai’s camp and observers are: • Presenting/assenting to the 2013 and 2014 budgets.

• Getting the House of Assembly to increase the monthly security vote from N80 million to N200 million.

• Marking, with media blitzes, his first 100 days in office as acting governor.

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• Dismantling structures of government: Engineered change of leadership of the Assembly; sacked Commissioners and Special Advisers; dissolved boards and agencies.

• Appointing new Commissioners and Secretary to the State Government, in disregard of a court order.

Meanwhile, Umar has denied sideling Governor Suntai in government. Rather, he said there’s only one government, which is the Suntai administration.

Mr. Kefas Sule, the Chief Press Secretary to the acting governor, answering The Guardian’s questions on behalf of his boss on Friday, January 31, in Jalingo, said, “the government is still Danbaba Suntai’s administration, no doubt about that.”

On the claim that Governor Suntai was being sidelined in government, Kefas said: “I want to say that you would notice that you have not heard complaints from the (Suntai) family that they are being neglected; that the medical bills of His Excellency, the Executive Governor, had not been settled, or that their upkeep had not been taken care of. No, you will never hear that.”

But many people in the governor’s camp would readily pour ice on such a declaration.

To them, the gesture is an “inducement” of the governor’s family members, including the governor’s wife, Hajia Hauwa Suntai.

Some sources alleged that an unspecified amount in millions is allocated to the governor’s wife and a male relation of the governor every month “for their upkeep.”

“With such an inducement of the governor’s family members, who, ordinarily, would not get a similar treatment under the governor, do you still wonder why the issue of returning Governor Danbaba Suntai to power is becoming complicated by the day,” one of the sources asked in an interview.

But things appear to be turning the other way of recent, as a reported event at the Yola Airport indicates.

It was gathered that the acting governor and the governor’s wife crossed paths at the airport, as the former was going out and the latter coming in.

Amid uncomplimentary remarks, the governor’s wife reportedly “shouted at the acting governor, asking him to return power to her husband.”

Will Umar return power to Suntai?

OLLOWING his steady recovering, optimism is high in Danbaba Suntai’s camp that he would soon regain his seat as executive governor.

As Assembly member Gani said: “I am assuring you that it won’t be long; he is going back to his office.”

He said from interactions he has had with the governor, “the man is getting well day by day; he is stronger and he is giving instructions here and there.”

Gani added: “Last week, we were there with him (and), he vividly said he wants to be going into office every day at least to spend one or two hours.”

“If this man (Suntai) is getting acclimatised with his environment, recovering from all the injuries he has sustained, who am I to say he is not going back to his office (soon).”

Undoubtedly on account of his convalescing, and as a result of the usual political pressures from his camp, the governor, as the Constitution demands, wrote a letter to the House of Assembly, intimating it of his return from his medical trip, and his desire to resume duties as Taraba’s Chief Executive.

But members of the Assembly would not tolerate the letter they doubted was personally written by Governor Suntai, whom they claimed was not fit to resume office, insisting that he should go back for medical treatment abroad.

They, nonetheless, set up a committee to investigate the “authenticity” of the letter — the outcome of which they had not published before they suspended plenary for recess till March.

If the lawmakers are foot-dragging in the matter, what about the actions of Acting Governor Umar, who says he’s loyal to and holding fort for Governor Suntai, and yet setting conditions for handing over power to the governor?

The conditions are that: Governor Suntai should invite Umar to render account of his stewardship since 2012; and the governor must get the consent of the House of Assembly to come back to power.

Nevertheless, Kefas said those clamouring for Acting Governor Umar to hand over power want to be governing the state by proxy, recalling the days of the late President Yar’Adua when his wife and aides were actually those in power.

Insisting that the acting governor was exercising power on behalf of Suntai, Kefas said: “What we don’t want is a group hijacking the machinery of government, and that is what is happening.

“Luckily for us, there’s an antecedent in this country. We all knew what happened in the final days of (the late President) Yar’Adua’s administration.

“So, exactly the same scenario is being reenacted in Taraba State. You don’t want the deputy to have access to his principal and you said you want him to hand over power, to whom? That’s the question?

“So, for people to expect that he (Umar) will hand over to another person other than His Excellency, Governor Danbaba Suntai, that’s what we are saying is not possible.”

These pre-conditions set by Acting Governor Umar, in his avowal to return power to the Governor Suntai, have given more ammunition to those opposed to his alleged “usurpation” of the governor’s seat.

As one of his critics argued: “Who will query the deputy governor, or which law will he be breaking, if he simply walks up to Governor Danbaba Suntai and hand over power he (Umar) illegally procured?

“His holding on to power, and erecting preconditions for relinquishing the same indicate clearly that Garba Umar engineered the House of Assembly to give him the mandate to act as acting governor.

“Now, he wants to make this position substantive, either by impeaching Governor Suntai or putting the man under house arrest.”

Umar has denied these allegations, and continues to refer to the governor as “my boss,” to whom he pledges an endless “loyalty”.

“I want to say that His Excellency (Umar) has consistently said this: that His Excellency, Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, remains

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How Umar became deputy governor Not satisfied with the position of the members, Governor Suntai instituted litigation against the members at the High Court, urging the court to make a declaration that the letter he transmitted to the Speaker of the Assembly was “Absolute, mandatorily obeisant, immutable and cannot be debated or contradicted by any means whatsoever.”

Suntai also sought a declaration of an order of perpetual injunction, restraining both the Speaker and the members from “debating, interfering with, doing anything in connection with or in relation to the letter transmitted by the plaintiff to the Speaker pursuant to section 190(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

From Charles Akpeji, Jalingo UT for the impeachment of Deputy B Governor Sani Abubakar Danladi early 2013, the political impasse in Taraba State today between Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai and Deputy Governor Garba Usman might have been avoided.

On the alleged prompting of Governor Suntai, Alhaji Danladi was impeached by the House of Assembly, thus paving the way for the governor to appoint Alhaji Umar as replacement.

In truth, the decision of Suntai to reappoint Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi as his running mate for the second time in the 2011 general elections was reportedly opposed by many Tarabans, who felt that he had over-stayed his welcome in government.

Their reason was based on the manner he went about using his position Suntai to trample on the rights of the people, Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar especially those from his Karim- Danladi and facilities sited therein are Lamido community. not open to free use by members of the The people’s expectations, however, public.” came to play on September 3, 2012, Wondering why Danladi should not be when an impeachment notice, signed thrown into the unemployed market, by 19 of the 24-member State House of the lawmakers frowned at his sudden Assembly, was served on him. wealth, noting that, “Being the Deputy He was accused of offences ranging Governor of Taraba State, you used your from using his office, as deputy gover- office to acquire a large expense of land nor, to oppress the people, and divert- in Jalingo on which you built Yagai ing the Millennium Development Academy, an institution, which is worth Goals (MDGs) projects meant for the a billion naira, which your total emolupublic, to his private establishment. ment, as Deputy Governor, cannot justify.”

The impeachment notice Bent on relieving him of his appointN the impeachment notice, cap- ment, the Assembly found Danladi tioned, ‘Noticed of Allegations of Gross blameworthy for demonstrating “a clear Misconduct leveled Against the Deputy lack of capacity and or a refusal to propGovernor of Taraba State,’ the Assembly erly discharge the functions of your members accused Danladi of using his office.” office to influence the sitting of an “And in so doing, you have created disafMDGs ICT centre at the Yagai Academy fection, disharmony, favoritism and in 2010. undue interference in the running of the The deputy governor was also alleged government and this is a contravention to have sunk an MDGs motorised bore- of the oaths of office you took and hole in the premises of the Academy. amounts to a gross misconduct,” they “The solar lights in Yagai Academy,” said. observed the members, “was also Although some people accused the diverted from the state’s street light Assembly members of playing the script programme.” of Governor Danbaba Suntai, the general They stated that, “Yagai Academy is a view then was that the people, especially profit-making private initiative by the those from Danladi’s Karim-Lamido

Umar community, were fed up with his incessant interference in the affairs of the local government council.

Reports emanated from his council reportedly heralded the move that finally threw Danladi out of office.

Indeed, part of the impeachment noticed against him reads: “That instead of working in harmony with your stakeholders in your local government and the state, you have resorted to acts of incitement of the populace against the stakeholders with all the attendant negative consequences.”

Notwithstanding the drums rolled out to celebrate his impeachment, the former deputy governor did not hesitate to seek redress in court.

The Guardian gathered that the case, presently at the Supreme Court, would soon be given a final judgment.

Danladi

retired as Executive Director (Operations) in UTC. But then, he was not known in the politics of the state, as he had been based in Jos, Plateau State but later relocated to Gombe State, as a result of the incessant religious crises Jos. According to sources, different persons, including the Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, reportedly discouraged Governor Suntai from appointing Umar as his deputy.

But soon after, the tidings that heralded the impeachment of Danladi and the enthronement of Umar were cut short following the ill-fated plane crash that occurred a few kilometres to the Yola International Airport on the October 25, 2012.

The plane, which was piloted by Governor Suntai, had on board three of his security personnel: Chief Detail (CD), Chief Security Officer (CSO) and the governor’s Aid de Camp (ADC).

The accident, which occurred a week The appointment OLLOWING Danladi’s impeach- after the confirmation of Umar as ment, many names, including deputy governor, saw Governor Suntai those of Hassan Bappa and Ali Sani out of office for medical attention to Kona mentioned as possible replace- Germany and United States of America for about one year. ment.

The genesis of the upheaval between However, Governor Suntai, as usual, shocked Tarabans by appointing as Suntai and Umar erupted when Suntai his new deputy, Alhaji Umar, who was flown back to the state on August 25, 2013, and majority members of the House of Assembly refused to honour the letter the governor transmitted to the House, to enable him Is the Governor grooming somebody that resume office.

Hassan Mijinyawa is the Chief will take over from him in 2015?

Rather than allowing him to Well, I wouldn’t know.

Press Secretary (CPS) to ascend his position of responBut it appears the Deputy Governor is putsibility, the members insisted Governor Danbaba Danfulani ting structures in place to contest the goverthat the governor was not yet norship.

Suntai. His responses to quesfit to function. They advised I think the best person to answer that queshim to go back to the U.S for tions fielded are credited to the tion is the Chairman of the party (in the further treatment. state). As the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, reports Charles Akpeji.

Governor, anything you ask me relating to the Governor, I am competent to say S the Governor Suntai physically okay to (answer) that. resume office?

But anything political should be geared Well, His Excellency, Executive Governor towards those manning the political stations Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, is recuperatin the state. ing and he is very okay, and we hope that So, as at now, from your own perspective, very soon, he will assume duties. there is no crisis between the Governor and How soon will that be? the Deputy Governor?

I can’t categorically tell you because I am Mijinyawa You see, when you talk about crisis, what not a medical personnel; he has his perkind of crisis? sonal physician whom I feel is in a better Number one, I want you to know that That they are not seeing, eye to eye. position to specify that.

We have gathered that since he arrived in this is a political dispensation; obviously, When there is need for them to see eye to people are entitled to their own opinions. eye, they will see eye to eye. But for now, as I the country, Governor Suntai has never But the most important thing is that we told you, we have litigation in court, and invited the Acting Governor to render accounts, and also that he has not allowed have laid-down procedures that are being therefore, we have to wait until after that followed. before we go into details of it, whether to see Garba to visit him. What is the true posiAnd finally, I think that whatever any eye to eye or not. tion: has the Governor invited him or he other person would say, we have to wait There were reports recently that the House of has not allowed him to see him? because there’s a litigation in court, and Assembly members or the Deputy Governor You see, the issue of the Governor inviting him, that’s when the Governor wants until that one is settled, people can now himself wanted to put the Governor under say much comments about the whole house arrest. Did you hear anything like to invite him. It’s not for somebody to thing. that? determine for the Governor when to The Deputy Governor is in a better position invite His Excellency Garba Umar to come Can you compare the relationship between the Governor and the Acting to answer that (question). and see him. That’s number one.

Governor before and after the incident So, you didn’t hear anything like that?

Number two, the issue of allowing him That’s what I am saying: you are talking (Garba) to see him (Suntai), it’s all one gov- that happened to the Governor?

You see, this is all part of the politics that about the Deputy Governor. ernment. Any time he wants to see the I am telling you. People are entitled to You see, the allegation is coming from the Governor, the gates are very open.

If it’s one government, why is that what is have their own opinions about the whole Governor’s side - that they (Deputy Governor) want to put the Governor under house in the public domain is that Garba is pre- thing. But the best that I know, the relationship is there; that’s what I can tell arrest... venting the Governor from taking over? you.

Well, I don’t want to comment on that.

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‘Gates open to Umar to meet Suntai any time’

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Umar’s hold to power ESPITE the ongoing feud between GOVRNOR Suntai and Acting Governor Umar, the latter continues to tell the world that he is 100 percent loyal to his boss.

But many people have faulted this claim, as he is allegedly “working tirelessly round the clock” to facilitate the impeachment of the governor.

His continuous sacking of Suntai core loyalists from office, as well as dismantling of the governor’s political structures are identified by some Tarabans as parts of the major plans by Umar to become substantive governor of Taraba State.

In this connection, he had been accused of suddenly increasing the monthly security vote from N80 million to N200 million.

This, according to his critics, was to facilitate his dream of ostracising the elected governor.

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Taraba and its divided government tending groups in Taraba, religion is the main issue,” said a source.

The Christians buttress this point by referring to the governorship elections held in the state since its establishment in 1991.

Christian candidates had won these elections: Nyame (1992), Nyame (1999), Nyame (2003), Suntai (2007), Suntai (2011).

On the other hand, the Muslims claim grassroots superiority, pointing to council and National and State Assembly elections, which returned victories to majority of Muslim candidates.

This is the situation in Taraba State, as both camps sharpen their resolves in the build-up to the 2015 elections.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 his boss, and that he remains loyal to his boss,” Mr. Kefas said.

But a group of former Taraba Commissioners, obviously devoted to Governor Suntai, and led

by Rebo Usman, doubts the genuineness of such loyalty, questioning, “who is Garba Umar really fooling with these his ‘loyalty’ propaganda?”

This remark is contained in a memo titled, ‘Former Taraba Commissioners’ Letter To President,’ which the group wrote recently to President Jonathan, detailing, among others, how the acting governor held a security meeting in which plans were perfected on how to put the governor under house arrest. They want the president to call Umar to order.

Again, the acting governor has denied such a plot.

Both sides claim no ‘crisis’ ITH the apparent schism in the polity, Governor Suntai and Acting Governor Umar’s camps have refuted reports of “crisis” in the Taraba seat of government.

They painted a rosy relationship between the two camps, even as comments from aides indicate that, as the cliché goes, all is not well, and that the state of politics in Taraba may never be the same again.

To Umar’s CPS, Mr. Kefas, the issue at stake is only “disagreement” and “disagreement happens in our own families, with our own kids, with our spouses; they happen within the community, even within the larger society, but I think it’s normal that it’s happening in Taraba State.”

He described the relationship between the governor and acting governor as “very wonderful, very cordial,” stressing, “I’m sure you have heard a lot of things in the media; well, I want to tell you that those things are not emanating from His Excellency, Governor Danbaba Suntai nor from his family. There is a very cordial relationship existing between the two.”

Kefas iterated that, “His Excellency (Umar) has consistently said this: that His Excellency, Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai remains his boss, and that he remains loyal to his boss.”

“We have consistently maintained that this is one and the same government; there are no two governments in Taraba.

“There is only one government and the government is the Danbaba Suntai administration, which started in 2007.

“If it’s the Danbaba Suntai administration, the acting governor is not saying that I cannot hand over because he knows that this is his boss, his beloved boss for that matter, who had called him and said, ‘let’s run this administration together.’”

Also commenting on the “disagreement” in the state, Mr. Hassan Mijinyawa, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Suntai (whose responses to questions by The Guardian are credited to the governor), queried: “When you talk about crisis, what kind of crisis?”

Reminded that both the governor and deputy were not seeing, eye-to-eye, Mijinyawa said: “When there is need for them to see eyeto-eye, they will see eye-to-eye.”

According to him, Suntai inviting the acting governor depended on “when the governor wants to invite him,” adding, “it’s not for somebody to determine for the governor when to invite His Excellency Garba Umar to come and see him.”

Besides, Mijinyawa said the issue of allowing Umar to see Suntai was out of the question, as “it’s all one government. Any time he wants to see the governor, the gates are very open.”

He, however, noted a cause of action in court, which needed dispensing with before talks about Governor Suntai meeting Acting Governor Umar “eye-to-eye.”

His words: “I think that whatever any other person would say, we have to wait because there’s a litigation in court; until after that before we go into details of it, whether to see, eye-to-eye or not.”

Curiously, aides/relations of Governor Suntai and Acting Governor Umar try, as much as possible, shield their principals from visitors, and particularly members of the press.

For instance, The Guardian was scheduled twice to interview or at least meet and take photographs of Governor Suntai at his abode in the Government House, Jalingo.

The ultimate battle for Umar LTHOUGH he hasn’t lost sight of and appetite for the substantive governor’s seat in the remaining months of the current administration, there are strong indications that Acting Governor Umar is gunning for the 2015 governorship of Taraba State.

“This is his ultimate goal, whether he’s made the substantive governor or not before 2015,” said a PDP source.

In truth, evidence of this ambition is seen in thousands of posters around the state, extolling Umar’s achievements as acting governor, and the qualities that put in a good word for him to such a high office.

The posters, predominant in the state capital, Jalingo, are pasted on billboards, electric poles, walls and concrete pavements and iron railings at the numerous intersections/crossroads/roundabouts across the state.

They have photographs of President Jonathan, Acting Governor Umar and the persons/organisations that display them.

The placards bear such messages as, ‘Deservation 2015’ (with full-size picture of Umar); ‘Transformation Agenda 2015’ (with inscription: Goodluck for Nigeria, UTC for Taraba); ‘Tested & Trusted’ (UTCIAH for Jonathan/Umar); ‘Taraba State Youth Support Goodluck 2015’.

So far, it appears smooth sailing for the acting governor — standing as the sole aspirant on the platform of the PDP in the state.

There’s no challenge yet from the camp of Governor Suntai although several names are being bandied in hushed tones.

Thus, aspirants, eyeing seats at the National or State House of Assembly, are attaching their posters to the Jonathan/Umar campaigns, which are reportedly fully mobilised for the contests ahead.

Umar’s ambition is in tandem with the aspiration of the Muslim community in Taraba State, whose desire is to have one of its faith members at the helm of affairs of the state in 2015.

Except that on this score, the Muslims have two options: Acting Governor Umar should have the choice of first refusal; then, any other Muslim aspirant(s) can emerge.

Specifically on the second option, they want all the political parties to present Muslim aspirants from whichever senatorial district the governorship is zoned to.

This is where the game becomes trickier for Umar, as he is from Taraba North, which has produced three-time governor, Rev. Nyame for a record 10 years in office.

If Umar were to seek the governorship and won it in 2015, with a possible second term in 2019 ending in 2023, Taraba North would cumulatively have ruled the state for 18 years.

Taraba Central currently has Governor Suntai, whose two terms of four years each will end in 2015.

Moreover, there is a strong sentiment in today’s Taraba Christian community against an Umar administration in 2015.

Christians, and many dispassionate residents “see Umar’s clinging to the post of acting governor — when his benefactor, Governor Danbaba Suntai is around — as a betrayal and usurpation of the power of the governor,” a source said.

Accordingly, the sentiment in the Christian community is that, “if the ruling PDP fields Alhaji Umar for the 2015 governorship, they will vote en masse against him.”

“Let me assure you that this may affect President Goodluck Jonathan’s election in Taraba if he supports Umar for the governorship,” the source added.

Therefore, Umar (and any other aspirant, for that matter) has to contend with tribal, religious and moral sentiments to realise his pos-

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And twice, on Saturday, February 1 and Sunday, February 2, respectively, the meeting was aborted on, at best, flimsy excuses right there in the visitors’ room of the two-floor residence.

The Governor’s CPS, Mr. Mijinyawa, who was the go-between on the two occasions, had to apologise profusely over the cancelled meeting with the governor.

Similarly, all assurances, given in advance that Acting Governor Umar would be available for interview, came to naught on the fourth day of the visit to the state.

Umar’s CPS, Mr. Kefas, showed up on Friday, January 31, bearing an unreserved apology from “His Excellency on his inability to meet you personally” for the planned interview.

A source, which claims knowledge of what’s happening in both camps, deduced why aides/relations were shielding the public/press from meeting the feuding personalities.

It said: “For obvious reasons, the handlers of Danbaba Suntai are trying to protect the governor from public scrutiny due to his ill-health, which has become a subject of controversy and confusion.

“Even though the governor has showed up in public, especially in churches, on many occasions, they don’t want the people to know the true state of he his health, which was compounded by a recent interview he granted that’s playing on YouTube.”

As for Garba Umar, the source said: “He carries a moral burden of retaining the position of acting governor even when the actual governor is on ground. So, it’s better for him to avoid coming in contact with a very critical press.

“Therefore, what he does most often is to send aides, with apologies, to represent him. That way, he steers clear of those who may want to wrong-foot him, to say something that would be detrimental to his interest, politically.”

(2007 till date).

But in the run-up to the 2015 elections, the people of the southern zone are kicking — that it is their turn to produce the governor.

“So, the singsong is power shift to Taraba South,” said a source.

However, the North and Central zones would not hear anything of it, contending that there is no zoning of the governorship to any senatorial district of the state.

According to the source, barring any sentiments, both sides have a legitimate claim to the governorship, which politicians should be able to resolve.

In spite of this, there is the issue of religion in the affairs of the state.

Since the creation of Taraba, no Muslim has been elected as governor. To worsen the situation, the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2007 elections produced four Muslims in the first to the fourth positions.

In the usual manipulative politics of the ruling party, the leading contestant, Alhaji Danladi Baido, was disqualified, and none of the remaining contestants was picked.

Rather, two months later, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, a Christian, who did not participate in the primaries, was presented for the election, which he won, and was re-elected in 2011.

But the Muslims in the state are not relenting, as they see a window of opportunity, “brought by providence,” in the elevation of Deputy Governor Umar to acting governor in the wake of the plane crash that rendered Governor Suntai indisposed for over one year.

“So, the Muslims are fighting on several fronts,” a source said. “One, they want Umar to be made the substantive governor or he remains acting governor till the 2015 elections. Two, he should be fielded as the PDP candidate in the next elections.”

Another arm of their agitation is that, if the governorship were to come from the Southern zone, the PDP and other parties must field Muslims as candidates.

It is difficult to determine the ratio of Christian-Muslim and animist population of the state even as the 2006 census figures put Taraba at 2,300,736 and a population density of 27 people per square kilometre.

In the absence of current and credible figures, members of each of the faiths, particularly Muslims and Christians, advance their interest by claiming to be in the majority.

To political watchers, it takes a combination of factors, such as finance, popularity, the platform, and tribal and religious sentiments to win an election in Nigerian. “But to the con-

Tribe, religion mirror struggle for 2015 ONSTITUTIONALLY, there are three senatorial zones in every state, but the traditional setting of Taraba State has compressed this to “two zones” of Northern and Central zones on one side, and the Southern zone on the other.

The people of the Muri Emirate, who have tentacles in the Central and Northern zones, “see themselves as one in terms of voting in an election,” a respondent said in Jalingo.

As a result, they have dominated the politics of Taraba since the aborted Third Republic and inception of the current administration, producing the governors in the state: Rev. Jolly Nyame (January 1992-November 1993) and (May 1999-May 2007) and Mr. Danbaba Suntai

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Mr. Kefas Sule, the Chief Press Secretary to the acting governor, debunked the claim that Suntai was being sidelined in government. ‘I want to say that you would notice that you have not heard complaints from the (Suntai) family that they are being neglected; that the medical bills of His Excellency, the Executive Governor, had not been settled, or that their upkeep had not been taken care of. No, you will never hear that,’ he said. But many people in the governor’s camp would readily pour ice on such a declaration. To them, the gesture is ‘inducement’ of the governor’s family members, including the governor’s wife, Hajia Hauwa Suntai.

Thursday, February 27, 2014 NEWS 9

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

News Sambo, others extol Balat’s virtues at burial

Bank boss backs forensic audit of CBN, NNPC accounts

From Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna S the remains of former A Works and Housing Minister, Senator Isaiah Balat, were

By Marcel Mbamalu

buried yesterday, the Vice President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, members of the National Assembly and Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State extolled the virtues of the deceased believed to be the most important political figure in Southern Kaduna.

Besides, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), which spoke on behalf of the people of Southern Kaduna said the Federal Government should acknowledge the good fortunes that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got in Kaduna State by honouring Balat through bringing in at least a federal institution to Southern Kaduna , as well as improving the security situation there.

Mark, Daniel mourn Ondo Speaker From Bridget Chiedu Onochie (Abuja) and Charles Coffie Gyamfi (Abeokuta) RESIDENT of the Senate, P David Mark, has sent a message of condolence to the government and people of Ondo State over the death of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Samuel Adesina.

Adesina was reported to have died from a protracted battle with cancer.

Mark in a condolence message to the Governor Segun Mimiko and members of the House of Assembly, described Adesina’s death as a painful loss, not only to the people of Ondo State but to the nation particularly the legislature.

Also, former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, in his message of condolence in Abeokuta yesterday, described the late Speaker as a genuine democrat and a progressive

Osun picks delegates for confab From Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo SUN State government O has announced the nomination of former Chief of General Staff and an elder statesman, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, to represent it at the forthcoming national conference.

Others whose names were sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Ayim, are former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Prof.

Mojeed Alabi, former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Femi Akande, former Commissioner for Justice, Chief Gbadegesin Adedeji, Director General, Development Agenda for Western Nigerian Commission, Mr. Dipo Famakinwa and Mrs. Bola Ogunrinade.

A statement issued by the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, acting on the directive of Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the names forwarded have received wide acceptance of the people of the state.

HAIRMAN of Stanbic C IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside, yesterday joined other

Vice-President, Namadi Sambo; Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, Nigeria Centenary Charities Trust (NCCT), Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Chairman, Board of Trustees, NCCT, General Yakubu Gowon and First Lady, Akwa Ibom State, Ekaette Unoma Apabio, during the Nigeria Centenary Charity Ball in Lagos.

PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

Activists seek digital metering system at oil, gas extraction sites From Wole Oyebade (Lagos) and Joke Falaju (Abuja) O forestall wastage in the oil T and gas sector, right activists yesterday called for digital metering system at the extraction sites in the country.

The metering system is part of a “Publish What You Pump” initiative proposed to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.

The activists, under the aegis of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), in conjunction with the Green Alliance Nigeria (GAN), the Host Communities Network of Nigeria (HOCON) and Students Environmental Assembly Nigeria (SEAN), said the initiative would shatter the myths and

misconceptions on measuring the volume of oil and gas produced on a daily basis in Nigeria.

Speaking at an event, tagged “Final push for the PIB” in Abuja yesterday, Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, said the continued resistance of the oil companies to metering oil and gas at wellheads and flow-stations and “the acquiescing of the regulatory agencies point to complicity and collusion between the oil majors and powerful government officials who benefit from the oil theft.”

He observed that during a recent Joint Senate Committee hearing on the PIB, the oil companies advocated metering of crude oil at the point-ofsale, while the group

proposed the real-time digital metering at the point of production from the oil wellheads, flow-stations and export terminals.

The rationale, according to Ojo, is that the system would remove “the shame of a nation whose oil production is unknown or defined only by the volume sold at the export terminals (2.4mbpd) and not the volume pumped at the sites of production.”

He said: “It is on this premise that we again reiterate our ‘Publish What You Pump’ initiative which will shatter the myths and misconceptions that it is technologically impossible to ascertain the volume of oil and gas produced on a daily basis in Nigeria.

“This initiative, if taken seri-

ously, will help to reduce the level of waste, enhance national revenue that is needed for infrastructure and social amenities provision. It will drastically reduce or eliminate oil theft among others,” he said.

On the theme of the event, Ojo said the activists collectively felt it was time to again press home their demands on the passage of the PIB, which has gained popularity not only among the national civil society groups, but most critically among communities across the Niger Delta and other oilbearing communities that have for decades borne the weight of degradation, dislocated livelihoods and the blame for what they are not responsible.

Groups urge recovery of N119b paid to ghost workers

By Chijioke Nelson OME civil society oganisations, under the Stop Impunity Nigeria (SIN) campaign initiative, have called on the Federal Government to make public the identities of the accounting officers and others responsible for the payment and subsequent loss of N118.9 billion to ghost workers.

The group also called for the prosecution and recovery of the said sum, which was discovered on the implementation of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in 2013, while the scheme should be extended to the remaining 321 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,

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• Prosecution of payers had in mid-2013, declared that N118.9 billion was saved on discovery of 46, 639 ghost workers through the IPPIS scheme in the implemented MDAs. SIN, through the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), had recently evoked the Freedom of Information Act to access the details of the accounting officers and others who presided over the N118.9 billion loss from the minister, which she allegedly declined.

The group, in a suit, approached the Federal High Court, Abuja to get the details of the MDAs’ accounts and officers who presided over the loss to the treasury.

But the Ministry of Finance, in a letter signed by its Assistant Director in the Legal Serv-

ices Division, O. A. Omosa, only released the list of MDAs with the ghost workers, as received from the Accountant-General of the Federation, excluding the accounting officer responsible.

The Lead Director of CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, lamented that since 2013 when the discovery was made, no credible step has been taken to recover the money and unravel the mystery behind the perpetrators.

“Government’s refusal to take steps to recover the money is an endorsement of corruption, a manifestation of impunity, which encourages intending looters to seek to perfect their crime,” he said.

In a statement, SIN “notes that the accounting officers - being the Permanent Secretary of a

ministry or the head of an extra-ministerial department of these MDAs, as at the time these ghost workers drew the salaries and perks of office, were, according to the financial regulations, in full control and responsible for human, material and financial resources, which are critical inputs in the management of the organisation.

“They were responsible for safeguarding public funds and the regularity and propriety of expenditure under their control. The N118.9 billion did not disappear into thin air. Some Federal Government officials inserted the ghosts into the payroll, the approving authorities approved of same, whilst others collected and shared the money over time. The culprits are identifiable, traceable and the long arms of the law can still reach them.”

voices to call for forensic audit of the accounts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and answers to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) queries regarding the 2012 accounts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The FRC report, which allegedly indicted the CBN of ‘fraud’ and ‘misrepresentation,’ is believed to be the basis upon which President Goodluck Jonathan suspended the CBN governor Lamido Sanusi on February 20, 2014 following which Sanusi went to court to challenge his suspension and prevent law enforcement agents from harassing him.

Sanusi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) alleged that his suspension, based on the FRC June 7, 2013 investigative report, was orchestrated to silence his September 25, 2013 letter alleging non-remittance, by NNPC, of $49.8 billion oil fund (which was later reconciled to some $10.8 billion) and, recently, $20 billion kerosene subsidy.

Peterside, in a statement made available to The Guardian yesterday, broke the seeming silence of operators in the financial services sector when he said the NNPC must be subjected to proper forensic audit and the CBN made to provide satisfactory answers to FRC queries.

“If the CBN provides satisfactory answers, then they (FRC) must be made to tender a public apology to CBN and it’s Board and “heads must roll” in FRC, and the governor should be recalled from suspension. That he said publicly that he would not go back is irrelevant. If NNPC fails it’s forensic audit, then all relevant heads around there must also roll.

That is my position in private and in public,” he said.

Peterside, who said he felt “liberated” to make this comment because the President has named a nominee to replace Sanusi at the end of his tenure, added that “people can no longer say Atedo is saying this because he wants to be CBN Governor. I speak because I want my country to improve. I don’t know if anything is true or false. What I do know is that, in a presidential system, various aides and pressure groups try and pull the President towards the direction that they believe is best. Is that not why they even have lobbyists in Washington DC? “One does not have to jump on the rooftops and sound populist every time in order to be branded ‘patriotic’. Some times, the true patriots are those who apply pressure where it matters most - and some times on some issues, that might be in private.”

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

10 | Thursday, February 27, 2014 NEWS

Reps alter 71 sections of 1999 Constitution

Jonathan pays tributes to Nigeria’s heroes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 comed “the dawn of national reconciliation.”

“It was in this spirit that Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo collected the instruments of surrender at the end of the war and later became the first military ruler in our country to hand over power voluntarily to a democratic government. “ While the Second Republic did not last, his fine example was later followed by Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar who paved the way for our current democratic dispensation which has lasted longer than the previous three put together.

“As we celebrate our centenary, I believe that it is vital that we focus our thoughts on the vast potential of a unified and progressive Nigeria; and build on the relative stability of the Fourth Republic to achieve accelerated national socio-economic development.

“I also believe that the future greatness of our country is assured by the favourable tail winds of a resilient population, ecological diversity, rich natural resources and a national consciousness that rises above our differences.

“We are a unique country. We have been brought together in a union like no other by providence. Our nation has evolved from three regions to thirty six states and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“We have transited from the parliamentary to a presidential system of government.

We have moved our capital from the coastal city of Lagos to Abuja, at the centre of our country.

“Today, Abuja stands as a monument to our national aspiration for greater unity; it symbolises our dream of a modern nation unhinged from primordial cleavages and designed as a melting pot of our diversity.

“If, in our first century, we could build a new capital city, we can surely build a newer, stronger, more united and prosperous Nigeria in the next century that will be an authentic African success story.

“The whole world awaits this African success story. With our sheer size, population, history, resilience, human and natural resources and economic potential, Nigeria is divinely ordained to lead the African Renaissance.

“That is why I am confident that in the next 100 years,

Court orders trial of Ehindero HE Court of Appeal, Abuja T Division, has ordered a former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, back to the High Court to face criminal trial.

Ehindero, alongside erstwhile Commissioner of Police in charge of Budget, John Obaniyi, were earlier arraigned before an Abuja High Court over alleged complicity in the misappropriation of about N557 million belonging to the Nigeria Police.

They pleaded not guilty to the six-count criminal charge that was preferred against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) and consequently admitted to bail.

those who will celebrate Nigeria’s second centenary will do so as a united, prosperous and politically stable nation which is truly the pride and glory of Africa and the entire black race.

“The key to the fulfilment of that vision is our continued unity as a nation. Perhaps one of the most amazing stories of our political evolution in the last hundred years is that an ordinary child of ordinary parentage from a minority group has risen to occupy the highest office in our country.

“As we march into the next hundred years, it is my hope that mine will no longer be an extra-ordinary story but an accepted reality of our democracy that every Nigerian child can pursue his or her dreams no matter how tall; that every Nigerian child can aspire to any position in our country and will not be judged by the language that he speaks or by how he worships God; not by gender nor by class; but by his abilities and the power of his dreams.

“I am proud and privileged to have been elected leader of Nigeria and I consider it my solemn responsibility to act in the best interest of the nation at all times.

“Dear compatriots, in line with the thoughts of that great son of our continent, Nelson Mandela, let us not judge ourselves, and let not the world judge us by how many times we have stumbled, but by how strongly we have risen every single time that we have faltered.

“Even as we remain resolute in our conviction that our union is non-negotiable, we must never be afraid to embrace dialogue and strengthen the basis of this most cherished union. A strong nation is not that which shies

Jonathan away from those difficult questions of its existence, but that which confronts such questions, and together provides answers to them in a way that guarantees fairness, justice and equity for all stakeholders.

“My call for the national conference in this first year of our second century is to provide the platform to confront our challenges. I am confident that we shall rise from this conference with renewed courage and confidence to march through the next century and beyond, to overcome all obstacles on the path to the fulfilment of our globally acknowledged potential for greatness.

“I have referred to national leaders who did so much to build our nation in the past hundred years but nationbuilding is not just a matter for great leaders and elite alone.

“All Nigerians must be involved in this national endeavour. From the threads of our regional, ethnic and reli-

gious diversities we must continuously weave a vibrant collage of values that strengthen the Nigerian spirit.

“The coming national conference should not be about a few, privileged persons dictating the terms of debate but an opportunity for all Nigerians to take part in a comprehensive dialogue to further strengthen our union.

“I am hopeful that the conference will not result in parochial bargaining between competing regions, ethnic, religious and other interest groups but in an objective dialogue about the way forward for our nation and how to ensure a more harmonious balance among our three tiers of government.

“My dear compatriots, as we celebrate our centenary, the security situation in some of our North-Eastern States, sadly remains a major concern for us. Just yesterday, young students, full of hopes and dreams for a great future were callously murdered as they slept in their college dormitories in Yobe State. I am deeply saddened by their deaths and that of other Nigerians at the hands of terrorists. Our hearts go out to their parents and relatives, colleagues and school authorities.

“We will continue to do everything possible to permanently eradicate the scourge of terrorism and insurgency from our country.

We recognise that the root cause of militancy, terrorism and insurgency is not the strength of extremist ideas but corrupted values and ignorance.

“That is why our counter-terrorism strategy is not just about enforcing law and order as we have equipped our

security forces to do. It also involves expanding economic opportunities, social inclusion, education and other measures that will help restore normalcy not just in the short term, but permanently.

“I want to reassure Nigerians that terrorism, strife and insecurity in any part of Nigeria are abhorrent and unacceptable to us. I urge leaders throughout Nigeria to ensure that ethnicity and religion are not allowed to become political issues.

“I hope and pray that one hundred years from now, Nigerians will look back on another century of achievements during which our union was strengthened, our independence was enhanced, our democracy was entrenched and our example was followed by leaders of other nations whose ambition is to emulate the success of Nigeria; a country that met its difficulties head-on and fulfilled its promise.

“Finally, Dear Compatriots, as we enter a second century in the life of our nation, let us rededicate ourselves to doing more to empower the youths of our country. Our common heritage and future prosperity are best protected and guaranteed by them. We must commit our full energies and resources to empowering them to achieve our collective vision of greatness in this second century of our nationhood.

“That is the task before our country; that is the cause I have chosen to champion and I believe we will triumph.

“I wish all Nigerians happy Centenary celebrations.

“Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Court orders Sanusi to put president on notice in suit CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ditiously grant his interlocutory application, and maintained that any delay might cause irreparable damage to him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN governor.

But Justice Kolawole in refusing the application said he was of the view that the court had not only the judicial powers to declare the suspension unlawful but to order that the plaintiff be returned to perform his duties as the governor of the CBN. He said that the court could also, even where the tenure had lapsed, order the defendants to pay the plaintiff’s remunerations and allowances on the basis that his suspension carried with it the stoppage of these.

According to the trial judge, it is unsafe, judicially speaking, to embark on far-reaching interim orders which have all the attributes of a mandatory injunction without giving the defendant a hearing.

Pondering on the reliefs sought, the trial judge said he felt hesitant and constrained to grant the plaintiff’s motion ex-parte.

The judge said that another issue he would like to raise when defendants had been duly served with the originating summons and motion on notice was whether in the

light of the constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the Federal High Court still has the jurisdiction to entertain issues dealing with employment, notwithstanding the questions the plaintiff had set down for determination in his originating summons.

In the light of the views expressed and the analysis, the court refused the plaintiff’s exparte motion and directed that it be served on the defendants.

The judge further ordered the plaintiff to effect service of the originating summons on the defendants together with the motion on notice. The court then adjourned the matter to March 12, 2014.

Sanusi’s application was supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit and two exhibits attached and marked Exhibit AA1 and AA2.

Exhibit AA1 was a copy of a letter dated June 2009, titled “Appointment as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.”

By Exhibit AA1, the plaintiff was advised on his office as the governor of CBN acknowledging that as the leader of the apex bank, he was governed by the Central Bank Act No. 7 of 2007 and other terms of service applicable in the apex bank.

Exhibit AA2 was a letter dated February 19, 2014 and addressed to the plaintiff by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), titled suspension from office advising the plaintiff on

his suspension from office.

The exhibit is pursuant to the relief being sought before the court.

In the suit filed by his lawyer led by Chief Kola Awodein (SAN), Sanusi told the court that his interlocutory application was necessary because of the issues raised in the suit and that delay might cause irreparable damage to him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN governor.

He urged the court to exercise its discretion in his favour by granting the interlocutory injunction, saying that the President’s continuing unlawful interference with the management of the apex bank, unless arrested, posed a grave danger for the nation’s economy and justified the court granting his application which would result in maintaining status quo ante bellum, that is, for his return to his office as the governor of the CBN. In the affidavit deposed to in support of his application, Sanusi said in the course of his duties as the CBN governor, he discovered certain discrepancies in respect of amounts repatriated to the Federation Account from the proceed of crude oil sales between January 2012 and July 2013 and that he expressed concern in respect of the said discrepancies and had cause to inform the National Assembly of the said discrepan-

cies because they affected the revenue of the federation and the national economy.

He further stated that the action of President Goodluck Jonathan in purporting to suspend him from office was aimed at punishing him for these disclosures.

He also stated that he was challenging the President’s power to suspend him from office, noting that the President did not approach nor obtain the support of the Senate based on his discussions with several senators, including Senator Bukola Saraki.

He said: “I have been informed, and I verily believe the information given to me

by Senator Bukola Saraki to be true and correct that the Senate did not give the President any support for my purported suspension and removal from office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

Sanusi further stated that the action of the president in suspending him from office was contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN governor and that his purported suspension amounted to unlawful interference in the administration of the apex bank and therefore is illegal, null and void.

He urged the court, in the interest of justice, to grant his reliefs.

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From Adamu Abuhand Terhemba Daka, Abuja HE House of Representatives special adhoc committee on the review of the 1999 constitution has declared that political preparations for the 2015 general elections in the country would not affect the conclusion and presentation of its work on the amendment process.

In fact, it has altered 71 sections of the constitution, it disclosed yesterday.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the 51-member Committee, Emeka Ihedioha, while presenting a scorecard, pledged that the panel would fastrack the harmonization of its assignment with its Senate counterpart before the commencement of full scale campaign for the 2015 elections in the country.

Other controversial issues recommended for inclusion in the constitution and voted for by the House, are the removal of immunity for President, Governors in criminal cases and autonomy for Local Governments among several important items.

He stressed that the review process of the constitution which began in 2012, has been a success and is pro-people, as all Nigerians, including market women, artisans and all sectors of the country were involved.

“Ours was a transparent

Court strikes out N130m fraud charge against Ojikutu

By Bertram Nwannekanma T was reprieve yesterday for the former deputy governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, as a Federal High Court in Lagos, struck out a N130 million fraud charge against her.

Ojikutu was facing a threecount charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud and stealing preferred against her by the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police.

However, when the case came up for mention yesterday, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Effiong Asuquo, told the court that the prosecution was withdrawing the charges. Consequently, he made an oral application for the charge to be withdrawn, and the trial Justice Mohammed Yunusa, in a short ruling, struck out the charge.

The former deputy governor was alleged to have conspired on or before September 2011 with one Sampson Ojikutu, said to be at large, to fraudulently obtain the sum of N130 million from one Cajetan Okekearu.

It was further alleged that the money was obtained under the pretence that the accused possessed a plot of land to sell at Lekki Phase 1, Victoria Island, Lagos. The complainant was said to have later discovered that their claim of ownership was false, since there was an already existing title to the land.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 1(a) (iii) and 8 (a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, Cap A6, Laws of the Federation, 2004, as well as the provisions of Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C38, Vol. 10, Laws of the Federation, 2010.

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, February 27, 2014 |

PHOTONEWS

Executive Director/CEO of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo (left) and Director of Mission, USAID/Nigeria, Michael Harvey, during the signing of MoU supporting the expansion of non-oil exports at NEPC head office in Abuja.

Managing Director, M-net Africa, Biola Alabi (left); Regional Director, M-net West Africa, Wangi Mba Uzoukwu and General Manager, Marketing and Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, during the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award nominees brunch in Lagos.

Member 50th anniversary committee, Sir Mike Lawani (left); Church Secretary, Mrs. Modupe Kolawole; pupils of Atunda-Olu School for Physically and Mentally Challenged Children – Blessing Oyeniyi, Emmanuel Sowemimo, Taiwo Alabi, and Vice Principal of the school, Mrs. Yemi Benjamin, during a visit to the school as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, Lagos.

PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF

Manager, IFRS Advisory, SIAO, Obakpolor Anderson (left); Executive Director, BankOne, Emeka Emetarom; Head, IFRS, SIAO, David Raggay and Managing Partner, Meritview Professional Services, Wale Sanya during the seminar on meeting the requirement of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos.

PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU

Vice Principal, Academics, Coker Secondary School, Orile-Iganmu, Adekunle Adeniyi (sitting, left); Group Legal Counsel, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Adikamkwu Samuel; MD/CEO, UBA Foundation, Ijeoma Aso; Principal, Coker Senior Secondary School, Mrs. Omowo Omobosede; Principal, Coker Junior Secondary School, Mrs. Esther Babatunde; and Vice Principal, Administration, Coker Secondary School, Ikwegberurhie Orode, during the UBA Read Africa Session at Coker Secondary School, Orile-Iganmu, Lagos.

Business Development Director, Hand Held Products, Daesung Ra (left); Director of Hand Held Products, Emmanouil Revmatas and Managing Director, Brovo Kim, all of Samsung Electronics West Africa, at the Samsung Galaxy S5 Global Unpacked Event in Barcelona.

Executive Director, Commercial, Promasidor Nigeria, Kachi Onubogu (left) discussing “Connecting Africa through Data on Social Media” during the Social Media Week Hub-Workshop in Lagos. With him are the MD/CEO of NOIPolls, Oge Modie and Director of Research at NOIPolls, Dr. Bell Ihua.

Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Dominga Odebunmi (left); Area Vice President, 3M Middle East Africa, Irfan Malik; General Manager, 3M Nigeria, Gregory Peter and Managing Director, 3M Africa, Walid Feghali, during a courtesy visit to the Safety Commission’s office in Lagos.

PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

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Thursday, February 27, 2014 www.ngrguardiannews.com

Nigerian driver’s licence applicants in dilemma

By Godfrey Okpugie Deputy Lagos City Editor EW unified driver’s license applicants in Lagos who download application form to generate payer’s ID for the vehicle document via www.nigeriadriverslicense.org have expressed surprise at the irrelevant foreign information on the website and the remittance of $16.98 for a service tagged, ‘Arkansas Pre-filled Form,’ through the location to an obscure non-governmental body before the form can be obtained.

All applicants for the new driver’s license are required to remit $16.98 through foreign credit cards to generate payer’s ID from the site before proceeding with the processing of the driver’s license application form.

Despite the fact that virtually every page on the site carries the statement: “Drivers-License.org is a privately owned website that is not owned by any government agency,” and the information featured on it mainly concerns the United States of America, yet applicants are being directed to the place to download a non-relevant Payer’s ID at a mandatory payment of $16.98.

Even a flier obtained by The Guardian from the Headquarters of the Lagos State Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA), Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, tiltled: Process Flow of New Unified Drivers’ License (UDL) also stated, among others, that all successful fresh applicants from accredited driving schools must fill a driver’s license application form/LASG P1 form and go through data capture after which they would proceed to FRSC officer to retrieve their (applicants’) details via driver’s license application form completed at MVAA to generate Payer’s ID, which is purchased at $16.98 through the private organisation whose sponsors are unknown.

It is only after payment in made in dollar that the potential drivers can make official payment of N6.350 at any of the designated banks using the Payer’s ID that was purchased

• United States information on website • Mandatory payment for payer ID in Dollar

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with the dollar. Unless the MVAA confirms payment before the applicant is scheduled for biometrics. After all these, the applicant is required to appear for physical photo capture and biometrics at FRSC office before a temporary driver’s license would be issued.

The collection of permanent driver’s license by the applicant, according to the MVAA publication, is expected to take place after 60 days from MVAA. The MVAA flier also requires those renewing their driver’s license to visit the same www.nigeriadriverslicense.org to obtain Payer’s ID with the mandatory $16.98 or go to any MVAA Driver’s License station to pay for the Payer’s ID before getting a clearance to pay N6,350 at any of the designated banks to proceed with the processing of their application for the driver’s license.

When The Guardian visited the site, the location did not feature the necessary information about the owner’s details like: ‘Home’ ‘Contact us,’ ‘About us’ links.

The location only has links to: *RENEW DRIVING LICENSE *DRIVER LICENSE FORM *NEW DRIVERS LICENSE *VEHI-

CLE INSPECTION *DRIVERS LINCENSE STATUS *DRIVERS LICENSE POINTS *STOLEN DRIVERS LICENSE and *DMV FORMS. A click on any of the links above would bring a page featuring information about the United States driver’s license procurement like: *Renew Oregon License *Free DMV Practice Tests *Drivers License Renewal *Texas Renew License, etc.

If, for example, you click on ‘Driver License Renewal’ link on this page, a new page containing another portal, ‘DMV GUIDE: GENERATE YOUR DRIVER”S LICENSE GUIDE;’ will come up.

In this location are links on contact us, states, etc.

Here, a click on ‘Contact us’ would not reveal the address of the organization or the email address but only a blank form in which they directed any one wishing to contact them to fill and submit online. No visible email address is provided.

And when you click on the ‘States’ link, the names of American 51 States would appear.

Even the form provided in the web-

site for the generation of the Payer’s ID, which is offered at a cost of $16.98 does not contain much information about an applicant, as it only made provision for the supply of name, address, city, state (which has no provision for Nigerian states, as all the states in the menu are all in United States), credit card number, expiring date, etc.

Mr. Sunday Akinusi, an applicant, who, in fact, pointed out the abnormal private website and obscurity of the organisation and sponsors to The Guardian, said a lot of money is realized from applicants who are mandated to pay $16.98 to the owners of the website to obtain a worthless Payer’s ID. “Why did the government not make the payment for Payer’s ID direct into the treasury? To whose account is the money remitted since it is not paid into the government coffer? What value does the Payer’s ID adds, or what is the significance of it to the entire system of acquiring the driver’s license? $16.98 from only 200,000 applicants, for example, amounts to $3,396,000.

At the end of the day, you will discover that a colossal sum of money has been secretly and fraudulently siphoned from thousands or millions of applicants by the owners of the website for doing just nothing,” Akinusi fumed.

A concerned citizen, Mr. Jude Iyodo, a lawyer, who said he was not even aware of the ugly development at the time he applied for the driver’s license, appealed to the government to investigate the matter, identify those behind the deal and establish how much had been realised from it.

The Guardian’s consistent efforts to get MVAA to speak on the grave issue did not yield positive result. A text message sent more than a week ago to Mr. Ajetumobi, the head of the MVAA was responded to with a call to The Guardian saying that he would get the officer in charge of the driver’s license to call The Guardian and speak on the issue but this was not done even till the time of going to the press a week later.

Makoko gets world attention with floating school on the sprawling water community, dubbed the Venice of Africa, another cheery news is also coming out of Makoko, which is home to about 150,000 people living in rickety shanties HILDREN of Makoko, a waterfront slum in perched on stilts above the lagoon.

Lagos, might have the world’s most futurThe chairman of the Global Alliance for istic school, as the famous Makoko FloatImproved Nutrition (GAIN), Jay Naidoo, has ing School has been shortlisted for the Design expressed his group’s desire to work on the of the Year 2014 award by London’s Design improvement of nutrition for women and chilMuseum. dren in the slum settlement.

The Floating School is a minimalist, open-air Naidoo, a South African activist and a minister structure that combines the adaptive insights during the tenure of late Nelson Mandela, beratof the local community with the best princied growing poverty in the country, saying Nigeples of sustainable development. The threerians have no reasons to be poor with the abunstorey, A-frame building floats on recycled plas- dance of natural and human resources it has. He tic barrels and maintains stability, even in also urged Nigerians to fight for their rights, heavy winds, due to its low centre of gravity. adding that the fight for good governance and The first level of the school, built by local car- decent livelihoods is a continuous struggle that penters using wood, bamboo and other ecomust be pursued. friendly materials, is a multiple use playSpeaking during a visit to Makoko/Iwaya waterground that transforms into a community front communities, a sprawling group of slums space when class is out. The second and third with very limited government presence in Lagos, levels contain enclosed classroom and workhe said: “If we can only make sure that people shop space for over 100 students, who comare organised, elect proper leaders, hold the mute to and from school by canoe. leaders accountable to deliver what they have Architect Kunle Adeyemi and his Amsterdam- promised such as the right to quality education, based firm, NLÉ, designed the school as an health, water, sanitation and housing, the couninnovative, cheap and highly adaptable try will be a better place.” approach to Makoko’s evolving social and enviHe was accompanied by the Country Director ronmental needs. of GAIN in Nigeria, Mr. Larry Umunna and forThe structure is partially self-sustaining with mer Executive Director of Environment Rights inbuilt solar panels on the roof and a rain har- Action (ERA) and director of the Health of Mothvesting system that operates the toilets.

While the inventive school puts the spotlight CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 The floating school

By Tope Templer Olaiya, Assistant Lagos City Editor

C

THe GUARdIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, February 27, 2014 13

RIGHT OF REPLY

Nutrition support for Makoko kids

Return of Koro: A rejoinder

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 er earth Foundation (HOMeF), Nnimmo Bassey.

The tour was part of GAIN’s plans to reach out to underserved communities in Nigeria in line with its vision to end malnutrition for mothers and children.

According to Save the Children, an international agency, one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday with malnutrition being one of the major factors. A July 2013 report by the Federal Ministry of Health indicated that 41 per cent of Nigerian children under age five suffer stunted growth as a result of malnutrition.

The survey was coordinated in all states of the country with the north ranking as high as 80 per cent of the child population with growing poverty and inequality.

Addressing leaders of the communities on the purpose of the visit, Naidoo said: “We are not only interested in the housing and environmental problems but also the health of the children and mothers. We are looking at how the community organises itself, its plans and priorities and what we can do to support them.”

Residents and leaders of the five communities –Migbewhe, Adugbo, Apollo, OkoAgbon and Sogunro — received the visitors excitedly and expressed their grievances over alleged neglect by government. They recounted their losses during the demolition of the communities by the Lagos State government two years ago and asked government to deliver on their promises.

One of the chiefs, Francis Agoyon, said the residents are not stubborn and notorious as alleged by government. Agoyon said residents of the communities are predominantly fishermen whose mainstay is the water.

“We are water-born. We are fishermen.

How can we leave the water? Our forefathers have been here since the 18th century. We cannot leave here because this is our heritage and where we earn our means of livelihood,” he said.

Another chief, Sadiq yusuff, who appreci-

By Musiliu Obanikoro the piece written by Mr. Tope Templer Olaiya on the Greater Lagos section of The Guardian Newspaper of ThursIdayReAd February 20, 2014 on page 14 titled: “Return of ‘Koro’”

Country Manager of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN),Larry Umunna; South African activist and Global Chair of GAIN, Jay Naidoo; Nnimmo Bassey and community leaders during a recent trip to Makoko. tant things, like sand-filling the ocean, but ated the civil society organisations and there are many problems here. We need NGOs for their continued support to the community, said the government spends water; we need scholarship for our children. billions of Naira every year on unimpor-

Lagos HOMS’ keys formally released to mortgage board

By Tunde Alao RePARATORy to the formal take off of P the Lagos HOMS housing scheme, the Ministry of Housing, on Tuesday, officially performed the handing over of keys of the estates to the Lagos Mortgage Board (LMB), the body in charge of dispensing the houses to winners in the scheme.

The symbolic handing over ceremony that took place at the Honourable Olaitan Mustapha and Alhaja Adetoun Mustapha Housing estates, Ojokoro, in Agege local government, was said to be a display of the demonstration of the transparency of the scheme by Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration.

Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Bosun

Jeje, accompanied by the Special Adviser to Governor Fashola on Housing, Mr. Jimoh Ajao, while presenting the keys to the Secretary of the Lagos Mortgage Board, Mr. Bayowa Foresthye, said balloting on the 200 units of the first batch of the scheme would take place at the Blue Roof LTV8 premises on March 4, 2014.

According to him, balloting exercise is to convince the public of the transparency of the project. “We have been hearing rumours that the houses have been shared, they have been allocated and that they have been sold.

But the truth of the matter is that nothing of such has happened. Balloting exercise would be conducted publicly, and winners of the homes would be announced publicly,” Jeje said.

LAGOS ASSEMBLY DIARY

Why N’Assembly must probe kerosene subsidy scam, missing funds

By Wole Oyebade O restore public confidence in governT ment, Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) has urged its Federal counterpart, National Assembly, to ensure that the mystery surrounding kerosene subsidy scam and alleged missing funds is not left unraveled.

The House said though the matter provides yet another begging opportunity to make a statement on corruption, the probe would be more in defense of average Nigerians that had been receiving the bashes of corruption perpetuated often by a few.

Meanwhile, the House is to resume from its four-week recess on Monday, March 3, 2014.

Spokesperson of the House, Segun Olulade said it was embarrassing that the subsidy funds in question neither received approval of the National Assembly nor disbursed to subsidise kerosene for most Nigerians that depend on the product.

An earlier probe by the National Assembly uncovered that between 2012 and 2013, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) claimed to have spent N1tn to subsidise kerosene, which was never available to Nigerians at the subsidised rate of N50 per litre.

• House resumes plenary March 3 Olulade, who is also the Chairman, LSHA House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, said it was unthinkable that the country had continued to import kerosene for distribution to end-users.

He said: “The present administration has shown lack of respect for Nigerians. The government at the centre has continued to exploit Nigerians, squandering the nation’s resources.

“Revenues earned by this country from sale of crude oil have been diverted into private hands and most subsidy channeled through independent marketers were siphoned by cabals in government and oil marketers. No one has been punished till date and that show President Jonathan’s government’s insincerity to fighting corruption.”

Olulade, representing epe II Constituency, recalled that the same government had failed to apologise to Nigerians after the huge fraud on petroleum products were uncovered and neither were the perpetrators punished for inflicting pains on the citizenry.

According to him, these acts are unexpected from a government to its people. It’s an act of wickedness designed to continue to punish and abuse Nigerians for no sin committed.

He, however, said the National Assembly must come to the rescue, by intensifying efforts to

ensure that allegations of non-remittance of petroleum product revenues to the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) is fully investigated and culprits brought to book.

Olulade’s counterpart, representing eti-Osa II Constituency, Gbolahan yishawu, added that it must be established if law permits NNPC, to subsidise kerosene and role of the Ministry of Finance in the process.

He said: “Anything that has to do with money is of great concern to us.

Part of our mission in LSHA is judicious expenditure of state revenue. At the national level, the kind of money we hear of is staggering, $12b, $13b and now $20b.”

He asked: “do you know what $10b is? That is about N1.6trillion and $1b is N160b, which is the exact amount the entire members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was asking for and led to the closure of universities in Nigeria for almost six months. “you are now telling us you used the money to subsidise kerosene and petrol? even those of us that use gas, when you have functions, you use kerosene, which they said has been subsidised to N50 but how much do we buy it? We buy it for as much as N120 to N150 per litre.”

and decided it is important to set certain records straight compared to how they were painted in the piece.

I am particularly worried that as much as Mr. Olaiya attempted to sound balanced on his analysis of the implications of my appointment as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the partisan politics in Lagos State, he largely represents my person as a promoter of election violence and I am compelled to reject such representation.

First, it didn’t come as a shock to me that my appointment is causing uneasiness in some quarters, especially when it is seen as a political calculation to strengthen the opposition to the way and manner the affairs of Lagos State are being managed. For those with the mindset to conceive a larger picture, my appointment offers Lagos State an opportunity to command the representation it deserves in the National executive Cabinet. It was based on excellent and impressive performance in my previous engagements in the service of my fatherland.

There are indications that I have utilized such opportunities in the past to raise the profile of Lagos State to a new level in relation to excellence of ideas, and the pursuit of greater good of Nigeria. My interest at all times- and this appointment offers another opportunity, is to work with willing and positive Lagosians and Nigerians to better the lots of my people.

Secondly, it was abhorrent to read from the piece a reecho of the ritualization of our political culture by a supposed All Progressive Congress (APC) stalwart, that I swore to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu at the Holy ‘Kaaba’ in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that I will ‘not go anywhere’- referring to my defection to the PdP as a Senator. For the records, I do not engage in such kind of repugnant activity. My political poise is based on sound ideology and my leanings shift when the walls become slippery.

The piece again reechoed another supposed APC chieftain labeling my campaigns as ‘always violent’. He cited the 2007 Oregun incidence when my campaign train was attacked by the opposition to draw credibility to this argument. The one sided nature of the report did little justice to my person. For the record, my campaign train did not attack itself on that fateful day. It was a well-orchestrated plan by the party in power in Lagos State that was struggling to hang on to power, to discredit my campaign organization. That is obvious from the continuing use of the same incident to malign me today.

I am a family man with strong family values. I have been married for 35 unbroken years and managed a family I am proud to say, is a successful one. I have raised children amongst who are successful graduates in different human endeavours and who are already contributing positively to their fatherland. These values are arguably not that of a man that can be described as violent. I doubt if these individuals labeling me as violent can parade such credentials in their personal lives.

The same elements are perhaps hyping a pretentious Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FeRMA) recruitments allegedly aimed at training certain youths for election purposes in 2015 by my party, the Peoples’ democratic Party (PdP). Since FeRMA had strongly disclaimed such activities under its guise, it is better to waive it aside as the restless antics of an unsecured group and individuals. The Lagos State Government controls enough security apparatuses to stem any suspicious act of violence as it is being brewed within its jurisdiction, if it fails in its responsibility, it should not lay the blame on the doorstep of the Federal Government or the PdP in the bid to score political points.

I would like to conclude this response by offering a little advice to the writer of the piece that necessitated my response. The hallmark of the fourth estate of the realm is the production of balanced reporting that adds significant values to the lives of the readers. your respected role is to provide a mirror for leaders and followers to view and review themselves without adding blemishes that are controversially painted by your pen. In this particular piece, you have consciously or unconsciously did that to my person.

What I seek are positive suggestions and advices as well as your prayers on the roles that fortune bestows on me to serve Nigeria.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

14 | Thursday, February 27, 2014

WorldReport KI-moon wants Uganda to repeal anti-gay law ITH possibility of fueling prejudice and encourage harassW ment as well as violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-

Pope Francis with a boy dressed as a pope as he arrives for his general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican…yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

Anxiety in Ukraine as Putin puts Russian troops on standby RESIDENT Vladimir Putin P put Russian combat troops on high alert for a drill yesterday, the Kremlin’s most powerful gesture yet after days of sabre rattling since its ally Viktor Yanukovich was toppled as president of Ukraine.

Thousands of ethnic Russians, who form the majority in Ukraine’s Crimea region, demonstrated for independence for the peninsula that hosts part of Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet.

They scuffled with rival demonstrators, mainly from the Tatar minority, who support the new authorities in Kiev.

With the political turmoil hammering Ukraine’s econo-

my, the hryvnia currency tumbled 4 per cent, with ripples spreading to Russia where the rouble fell to fiveyear lows and bank shares took a hit.

Ukraine’s central bank, which has been rapidly burning its hard currency reserves to protect the hryvnia, said it has abandoned a managed exchange rate policy in favor of a flexible currency, a senior official told CNBC TV. Moscow also denounced what it described as the rise of “nationalist and neo-fascist sentiment” in the country’s mainly Ukrainian-speaking western areas, where it said Russian speakers were being deprived of rights. It has

repeatedly expressed concern for the safety of Russian citizens in Ukraine.

“In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at yesterday,” Interfax news agency quoted Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu as saying.

Since Yanukovich’s downfall on Saturday, all eyes have been on Putin, who ordered an invasion of neighboring Georgia in 2008 to protect two self-declared independent regions with many ethnic Russians, which he then recognized as independent states.

Any military action in Ukraine, a country of 46 million people that has close ties with European powers and the United States, would be far more serious - arguably the closest the West and Russia have come to outright confrontation since the Cold War. Ukraine’s new leadership plans to name its new cabinet on Wednesday, paving the way for urgent International Monetary Fund talks to stave off financial meltdown now that Russia is all but certain to cut a $15 billion financial lifeline it offered Yanukovich as the prize for turning his back on ties with the European Union in November.

Egypt sentences 26 to death on Suez Canal plot charges OR forming a “terror Fshipping group” plotting to target passing through the Suez Canal, an Egyptian court sentenced 26 people to death, judicial sources said.

All of the defendants were tried in their absence, a prosecutor said, as the court handed down the death sentences a day after the military-installed authorities named a new prime minister who vowed to fight “terrorism” and lure back foreign investors and holidaymakers.

The Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea and is a key trade route between Europe and Asia, accounts for a huge chunk of Egyptian foreign exchange earnings and government income.

The canal separates the rest of Egypt from the lawless Sinai Peninsula where the longstanding hostility to authority of Bedouin tribes has created fertile ground for Islamist militant groups.

The convictions all relate to

offences allegedly committed between 2004 and 2009, before the Arab Spring uprising ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, a court source said.

The defendants were convicted of “founding and leading a terror group that aimed to attack people’s freedom, damage national unity and (attack) the Suez Canal,” the source said.

They were also found guilty of possessing firearms and explosives, manufacturing rockets and carrying out surveillance of security force buildings in preparation for attacks.

The court referred the death sentences to the mufti, a top Muslim cleric who under Egyptian law must approve all executions and has until March 19 to give his decision.

The defendants have the right to appeal.

A former state-sector construction boss and member of Mubarak’s now disbanded National Democratic Party, Ibrahim Mahlab was named interim prime minister on

Tuesday.

He vowed to fight “terrorism” and bring back tourists as he began work on forming a new cabinet following the surprise resignation of prime minister Hazem alBeblawi on Monday.

“This will create the conditions for investment and the return of tourism,” said

Mahlab, who served as housing minister in Beblawi’s government.

Since the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July, militants based in the Sinai have stepped up their attacks on security personnel, killing scores and severely denting tourism and investment.

moon has called on Uganda to repeal a law imposing harsh penalties for homosexuality, Ban also conveyed his concerns to Uganda’s U.N. envoy on Monday, just hours after Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni signed the law in the face of protests from rights groups and criticism from Western donors.

“The Secretary-General urges the Government to protect all persons from violence and discrimination, and hopes that the law can be revised or repealed at the earliest opportunity,” Ban’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky said on Tuesday.

“He offers the support of the United Nations for constructive dialogue to achieve change on this matter,” he said. “Everyone is entitled to enjoy the same basic rights and live a life of worth and dignity without discrimination.”

Ban agreed with an assessment by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that imposing life sentences for homosexuality and same-sex marriage “could fuel prejudice as well as encourage harassment and violence.”

Homosexuality is taboo in almost all African countries and illegal in 37 - including Uganda, where rights groups say gay people have long risked jail. Fear of violence, imprisonment and loss of jobs means few gays in Africa come out.

Five illegal miners found dead in abandoned South African shaft illegal miners have been found dead in an abandoned Fday,IVE shaft near Johannesburg, emergency services said yesterhighlighting the dangers of scavenging for bullion beneath Africa’s financial center.

Two illegal migrants from Zimbabwe died earlier this month in another disused gold mine on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Emergency services spokesman, Robert Mulaudzi said the five bodies were brought to surface on Tuesday night and were confirmed dead at the scene. The bodies were recovered in an old shaft in Roodepoort, just west of Johannesburg.

“We can’t confirm the cause of death yet, it could have been a number of things,” said Mulaudzi.

Driven by desperation and poverty in a country with an unemployment rate of around 25 percent, illegal miners chance their luck in the labyrinth of some of the world’s oldest and deepest gold mines, often armed with little more than a torch and pick-axe.

Tunisia rescues 100 migrants off Jerba UNISIAN naval forces rescued nearly 100 African migrants T off the coast after their vessel got into trouble on route from Libya to Europe, Tunisia’s defense ministry said.

The boat was taking on water near the Tunisian island of Jerba when it was intercepted, the ministry said. All 98 migrants onboard were rescued. It was not immediately clear which countries they came from.

African migrants frequently try to reach Europe from Libya’s coast, and the southern Italian island of Lampedusa is just 113 km (70 miles) from the coastline of North African neighbor Tunisia.

In October, more than 300 people drowned or were feared dead after a boat packed with migrants sank off Lampedusa, one of the worst disasters in Europe’s struggle to cope with heavy immigration.

Libya’s weak security forces, ill-equipped and still in training, are often unable to stop smugglers who have profited from the country’s chaos since the fall of leader Muammar Gaddafi nearly three years ago.

ICC leads calls for DR Congo to arrest Sudan’s Bashir HE International Criminal T Court yesterday led calls for the government of Democratic Republic of Congo to arrest visiting Sudanese President, Omar Bashir, who is wanted on charges of genocide in Darfur.

The Hague-based ICC said Kinshasa must meet its obligations to arrest Bashir “immediately” and hand him over to the tribunal, a call echoed by international and local rights groups.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo should not shield President Omar al-Bashir

from international justice,” Amnesty International said on its Twitter feed.

Bashir, 70, who in March 2009 became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC, is in Kinshasa for a summit of regional African leaders.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Bashir on 10 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

However, he has freely travelled to several African countries who have refused to

arrest him, with many on the continent accusing the ICC of singling out Africans for prosecution.

The ICC said it “reminds the Democratic Republic of the Congo of... its obligations to execute the pending decisions concerning the arrest and surrender of Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir to the court.”

Almost 90 groups in the DR Congo also signed a petition calling on the government, which has ratified the treaty setting up the ICC, to arrest Bashir.

“The DRC must clearly

demonstrate that it is on the side of justice and the victims, and not on the side of the suspects,” said Descartes Mpongo, of the Collective of Christian Human Rights Activists in the eastern SouthKivu province.

The groups also said they were seriously considering pressing charges against Bashir in the DRC to “obtain a national arrest warrant against him”.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International also urged the country to step in and arrest the Sudanese leader.

Thursday, February 27, 2014 POLITICS

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

15

Politics Women strategise ahead of 2015 elections From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja VER the years, the issue of women’s parO ticipation in politics has dominated public discourse not only in Nigeria, but also Africa and world in general.

This is as a result of the marginalisation and grossly under-representation of women in those areas of public life where important decisions that affect their lives are taken.

Several obstacles have been identified that generally prevent women from advancing to political spheres. Some of them are sociocultural beliefs, finance, nature of political party formation, biases and stereotypes.

Women in Nigeria have been historically marginalised in all spheres, dating back the pre-colonial time.

For instance, men started voting in elections in Nigeria in 1922, while women voted across the country in an election for the first time in 1979, 77 years after men had started voting.

It is often said that gender equality and women empowerment are not favours done to women but the smart ways to go as they benefit the entire society.

Women’s equal participation in decisionmaking is a demand for simple justice, and also a necessary condition for their interest to be taken into account.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to take part in the government of his/her country.

Nigeria is a signatory to so many International Conventions and Instruments aimed at achieving the goal of equal participation of women in politics and decisionmaking process.

However, there is a growing recognition of the untapped capacity of women and women’s leadership.

Accordingly, the rate of women’s representation in national parliaments globally has grown from 13.1 percent in 1999 to 18.6 percent at the end of 2009.

Still, while the number of women in parliament in Africa is said to have increased from 10.9 percent in 1999 to 17.6 percent in 2009, there has not been significant improvement in women representation in national parliaments since 1999 till date.

Following the 2011 elections, Nigeria has only 32 women in parliament out of 469 members, representing just seven percent.

To ensure increased women participation in the 2015 general elections, Nigerian women recently gathered in Abuja to fashion out modalities for increasing role of women in all political parties, and map out strategies for ensuring grassroots mobilisation in favour of female candidates in 2015 elections and beyond.

Tagged, the ‘Nigerian Women Strategy Conference’, with the theme, ‘Building Bridges of Opportunity: 2015 and Beyond’, the two-day conference was convened by the Office of the Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Mulikat AkandeAdeola.

In his opening address, President Goodluck Jonathan renewed his promise to support women in their bid to occupy more elective offices come 2015.

The president expressed the commitment of his administration to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of promoting gender equality and women empowerment, as well as actualising the 35 percent affirmative action in line with the National Gender Policy.

Represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the president observed that women’s political representation right from the First to the Second Republic had been grossly inadequate, adding that women are the bedrock of any society that seeks to make meaningful progress.

Jonathan noted that the Beijing Conference, which fashioned strategy for

Vice President Namadi Sambo (middle), Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, House Leader, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, at the Women Strategy Conference in Abuja… recently. women participation in governance, created the necessary impetus for women determination to fight for equal opportunity with their male counterparts.

He said: “When you compare the ratio of women to men in terms of population (and) distribution of electives offices across the federation, there is a wide disparity in terms of male/female ratio.

“There are still very few women holding political offices at the federal, states and local government levels. In our emerging democracy, women have to be increasingly represented at both executive and legislative positions.”

Jonathan said that Nigerian women, overtime, had proven their network in terms of political struggle and the fight for the emancipation in the face of daunting challenges.

“It was our women who first led the protest against the British colonial system in Nigeria known as the Aba Women Riot,” the president said.

“We have great women nationalists, who fought alongside their male counterparts in the struggle for the Independence of this country.”

The president said that his administration has encouraged women participation in politics through appointments into political offices, adding that apart from the accomplishment of women in the political spheres, “we have had a significant progress in the women’s rise to the pinnacle of their profession.”

“For the first time, we have a woman as the Chief Justice of the Federation; we have the first Female Pilot in the Nigerian Air Force, women combatant in the Nigerian Military.

“This is a demonstration that women have come of age. They are found in virtually all the areas hitherto seen as exclusive preserve of their male counterparts. We need more political education and enlightenment to encourage women participation in politics.”

President Jonathan said conferences of this nature were necessary to re-awaken Nigerian women’s consciousness to engage the men in the contest for elective offices, adding that women had, indeed, proved their mettle in the country’s leadership.”

In his remarks, Senate President David Mark decried the poor representation of Nigerian women in virtually all political structures in the country.

Mark, who was represented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Helen Esuene, noted that women are important players in the national development but are highly marginalised due to culture and tradition.

Giving a breakdown of women political representation in some regions around the world, Mark said sub-Saharan Africa has 20.2 percent; Asia 17.9 percent; the Pacific 14.9 percent; with Europe having 20.9 percent.

He noted that Nigeria has only seven percent women representation in the parliament and stressed the need to awaken women’s consciousness to enable them engage their male counterparts on the need for more women involvement in the political process.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to dedicate certain constituencies to women in its delineation exercise.

Tambuwal, who expressed the legislators’ determination to ensure gender balance, stated that both men and women have to work together at all levels to achieve gender equality, pledging that the National Assembly would support any legislation that would improve the lot of women in Nigeria.

Earlier, the convener of the conference and the House Leader, Hon Mulikat Akande-Adeola said because of the challenges women faced in politics in Nigeria,

The President said that his administration has encouraged women participation in politics through appointments into political offices, adding that apart from the accomplishment of women in the political spheres, ‘we have had a significant progress in the women’s rise to the pinnacle of their profession. For the first time, we have a woman as the Chief Justice of the Federation; we have the first Female Pilot in the Nigerian Air Force, women combatant in the Nigerian Military.

This is a demonstration that women have come of age... We need more political education and enlightenment to encourage women participation in politics.”

the conference served as an intervention to ensure more electoral victories are secured for them come 2015 and beyond.

She pointed out that the conference was non-partisan and sought to galvanise all politically-aware and conscious women as a formidable building block while engendering the support and involvement of all political leaders.

She acknowledged President Jonathan’s effort at actualising and sustaining the 35 percent women representation in political positions.

In his keynote address, the Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (LSD), Dr. Otive Igbuzor, said Nigeria had remained stagnated in development because it had excluded women’s involvement in governance.

Igbuzor enjoined that in the development of Nigeria, all stakeholders must build opportunities for Nigerian women to make a difference in 2015.

He noted that even though Jonathan administration has increased appointive position to 31 percent, “Nigeria is lagging behind other African countries,” adding that, “Nigeria is not respecting its own National Gender Policy of 35 percent.”

Thus, Igbuzor urged the Federal Government to demonstrate goodwill and commitment by respecting its own policies and ensure that all appointments reflects the gender policy of 35 percent, and also support constitutional amendment for Affirmative Action.

He called on the National Assembly to include 35 percent Affirmative Action in the Constitution, while he implored political parties to give 35 percent of their national executive positions to women.

“Women participation should reflect in all aspects of the society, (as) studies have shown that when women are empowered and participate in issues concerning them, the nation benefits,” Igbuzor said.

The Secretary General, Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Hajiya Saadatu Mahdi, said it was unfortunate that there had been little improvement in spite of efforts by the civil society organisations to empower women.

She said female participation in politics still remained at seven percent, describing the situation as absolute under-representation.

Hajiya Madhi expressed dissatisfaction that none of the chairmen of the five major political parties in the country, invited for the conference, was present except for the Labour Party (LP), which sent a representative.

TheGuardian

16 | Thursday, February 27, 2014

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 Combating the scourge of cancer

LETTER

The jet age parliamentarians

IR: Nigerians should be parade in Milan. The wall of Smentarians very proud of their parlia- the Assembly embraces the if visual repre-

sentation is the mark of excellence. The lawmakers wear the latest designer traHE recent alarm raised by the International Agency for Research on Cancer ditional attires and delicately walk in comfort in finest (IARC), on the upsurge of cancer in Africa is worrisome. As a specialised agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO), such disclosure should not European leather shoes. The and princesses be ignored, especially, against the backdrop of the rising incidence of cancer princes march into the auditorium in Nigeria. The alert should serve as a wake-up call on individuals, private of sophists as if on a fashion

T

foundations, federal and state governments to give attention to a gruelling The legislative arm has health condition that is taking a huge toll on the citizenry.

Not surprisingly, the IARC alarm came just as the world marked the World power in a three-tier sysCancer Day with the theme, “Debunk the Myths”. That occasion provided an tem of government. opportunity for all to raise collective voice towards improving general knowl- Surprise they always win edge about cancer and dismissing all misconceptions about the disease.

There are four myths about cancer including: there is no need to talk about when it comes to fighting for huge salary increase cancer; there are no signs or symptoms; there is nothing a victim can do about cancer and he or she does not have the right to cancer care. These over- and other benefits for arching myths have helped to compound the cancer burden, especially, themselves. The problem among thousands of poor sufferers in Nigeria in particular and Africa as a is that the honourable whole. The time is, therefore, ripe for critical stakeholders to rally round and members have no regard confront the scourge.

Perhaps, it was on that ground that some stakeholders, sometime ago, ral- for the welfare of Nigerians lied to advocate a national cancer prevention and treatment policy, working in sum. Most see the under the aegis of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy National Assembly as a (CECP) Nigeria, the body announced the take-off of “The Big War Against redoubt for redundant Cancer in Nigeria”. honchos, an exotic place The group is worried about the worsening cancer epidemic and the helplessfor influential politicians to ness of many sufferers in the country. hibernate while they retool According to the group, there is need for a Federal Government-driven national policy for comprehensive cancer treatment in the country. To this their career. Ex-governors end, the group is advocating the establishment a cancer centre in each of the especially find the House six geo-political zones, and at least a mobile cancer centre (MCC) in each of the convenient to buy time to 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. That way, it would be easy for the citizenry to avail themselves of easily accessible screening centres mitigate their exploits while for early detection, which experts say is critical to effective treatment of the in office. disease.

There is no doubt that cancer has become a major public health issue in Nigeria. The disease is now rampant to the extent that at least practically every Nigerian knows someone who died of cancer. The situation is such that except something is done to curb the epidemic, more and more Nigerians would fall victim thereby aggravating the poverty scourge. Available global statistics show that over 100,000 Nigerians are diagnosed with cancer every year, out of which 80,000 die.

At the launch of World Cancer Report 2014 recently, the IARC said the global battle against cancer would not be won with treatment alone but by effective preventive measures. It underscored the fact that developing countries are disproportionately affected, with Africa accounting for over 60 per cent of the world’s total cases, worsened by the lack of early detection and access to treatment.

It needs to be stressed that cancer is treatable depending on when it is diagnosed. The disease presents in three stages. If diagnosed at stage one, it could be handled. The problem is that many sufferers ignore the symptoms, or are not aware that they have the disease until it gets to second or third stage when treatment is most difficult or impossible.

There are about 200 different types of cancer which can start on any part of body tissue. While the causes may be complex, carcinogens (cancer causing agents), genetic makeup, age, immune system, smoking, body weight, lifestyle, diet and physical activity, are some factors that may predispose one to cancer.

Cancer symptoms include unexplained changes in the body such as lump, blood in urine, change in usual bowl habit, coughing, breathlessness, chest pain, moles and unexplained weight loss. These symptoms should not be ignored. Though, they could also be caused by other non-cancerous illnesses, it is important for the affected persons to see the doctor to investigate.

Nigerians, therefore, need to be enlightened on possible preventive measures, including regular screening. That, however, presupposes the availability of cancer screening facilities, easily accessible at affordable price. Getting the disease is not a death sentence if diagnosed early. The media, therefore, have a role to play in terms of constant enlightenment. “Cancer can strike anyone, whether rich or poor”, and that there are millions out there who don’t have the facility or money to get the best treatment.

Government must, therefore, ensure that every state has a mammography machine, which costs about N90 million. Private foundations should also help. A greater commitment to combating cancer in Nigeria is an immediate necessity.

National Assembly as a redoubt for redundant honshow with grace. The vast chos, an exotic place for openness inside is hollow. influential politicians to House leaders credibly boast hibernate while they retool about the many bills they have their career. Ex-governors successfully passed into laws. especially find the House Ironically, a critic of the convenient to buy time to Nigerian situation may argue mitigate their exploits while that it is like filling a wastebas- in office. ket with junk legal Some legislators have distinpapers. There is no visible guished themselves. They point to the effects of these showed that the honourable laws on the masses. members could influence Honourable members of the national politics and attract House polish their public per- federal projects to their consona with fine language. They stituencies. The conscienappear on television and talk tious arbiters make judistorm about strengthening cious use of their constituenthe nation’s democracy. When cy allowance. Contrastingly, the warfront gets tight, they captains of oil boom politics escape into their havens in would rather stuff their war Abuja. Nigerians question the chest with fund allocated for cost of pampering the lawmak- their constituency projects ers like an endangered species. in readiness for election batThey are quick to respond that tle. their role is to make laws.

They know their dark route Maybe the unemployed youths back to the hallowed chamshould crowd the gate of the ber.

The Independent National Assembly for instance National Electoral and look for scraps of passed Commission (INEC) has been laws to build their lives. incapable of closing the back The legislative arm has power door. Godfathers use their in a three-tier system of gov- loot from the national treasernment. Surprise they always ury to finance election win when it comes to fighting frauds. Nigerians perpetualfor huge salary increase and ly watch to see if the God that other benefits for themselves. created this endowed nation The problem is that the hon- will abandon it in backwardourable members have no ness. regard for the welfare of •Pius Okaneme, Nigerians in sum. Most see the Umuoji, Anambra State.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

17

Opinion On the road to babel

By Rufus Akinyooye N my write-up in The Guardian of February 15, Ihad2012 titled “The Sovereign National Babel” I asked and I’m still asking: “If the convening of a sovereign national conference is the answer what was the question? Could the question be on the continued corporate existence of Nigeria as one and indivisible entity in the face of security threats posed by Boko Haram , MEND, MASSOB and their likes. If it is I ask: what would be on the agenda of the summit and what would be the fate and status of the communiqué or whatever document representing the outcome? Would participants be elected or selected by who and on what basis; religion, ethnicity, settler/aborigine? Who would be talking to whom and in what capacity?

These are complex questions that advocates may not have given a thought to.”

The advocates are just thinking about the answers to these questions now, almost two years after and things have started falling apart. The question of what should be on the Agenda has not been answered, neither is the fate of whatever document the Conference could end up producing especially now that it is not sovereign.

Whether the participants would be elected or selected is already causing ripples. That INEC would not be involved does not mean the absence of an election process since even a show of hands could be used. The absence of a recognized electoral body would just compound the credibility of whatever process was used in electing delegates. Losers would go to court and obtain perpetual injunctions to delay the entire process. Military governments had no problem on this since they would have chosen the participants, draw the Agenda and would only issue a Decree to back them up. You voice opposition at your own peril.

What about the educational qualification of the participants without which no one can guarantee their understanding of the proceedings or would there be enough interpreters in Hausa, Fulfude, Yoruba, Igbo, Pidgin, English, Ijaw, Kanuri, etc . A participating group could decide to send an uneducated person, if anyone opposes it they would go to court.

The letter of The Patriots to President Goodluck Jonathan in The Guardian of January 14, 2014 represents a good platform for the analysis of the futility of this proposed conference. My salute to our distinguished Professor Ben Nwabueze who signed (and apparently wrote) the letter. He is a living proof that old-age is not a disease but a frame of mind. The wording of the letter, however, leaves a lot to be desired especially the contemptible way the President of this nation was addressed. Primary school essay writing teaches us that when we are writing to a Head of State the word “Your Excellency” must be the salutation and mode of address throughout. Only once in Paragraph 5 was this used in this 19 paragraph letter. All through it was either ‘you’ or this despicable use of ‘Mr. President’ in the second person without the word ‘Sir’. It is like addressing Professor Ben Nwabueze as Mr. Professor. A true patriot should show respect for the leader of his country no matter the age, more so that the President holds a Doctorate degree. He is no longer a ‘Mr.’ he is a Doctor, he worked for it and should be accorded all the honours. Addressing him as ‘The President’ would be more appropriate than ‘Mr. President,’ because this is his title and not his name.

From all indications, what The Patriots want is a Constituent Assembly disguised as a National Conference to draft a new Constitution which would then be subjected to (an orchestrated?) referendum for approval. Apparently, other members of the Advisory Committee saw the hidden agenda there and presented something close to what the President wants. To this The Patriots are crying ‘foul’ and are ready to throw away the Conference baby with the bathwater. Should the type of ‘democratic constitution’ being envisaged by The Patriots be adopted I would bet my last kobo that within a few years of its promulgation Nigerians would be drinking democratic water and eating ‘democratic ewedu and amala.

Lots of baloney Prof. you carried this ‘democratic’ thing too far.

For those who may not know, this value-laden word ‘democracy’ comes from two Greek rootsdemos, the people, and kratis, authority. It was used by early Athenians to mean government by the many, as contrasted with government by the

few (oligarchy) or by one (autocracy) and has been defined in hundreds of ways. To Plato and his friends in the book The Republic democracy is next to anarchy. Bandying this word around as a cure-all for the problems facing any nation is mischievous especially if it is coming from those expected to know better. I challenge The Patriots to show Nigerians where their model of Peoples Constitution is operative anywhere in the world with its accompanying Utopian serenity. Certainly not in the People’s Republic of China; it cannot be the world largest democracy – India either. Britain has no written Constitution, so what we are left with is the USA .

It should interest The Patriots to know that the masses had no hand in the framing of the constitution of the United States America. As a matter of fact the constitution was framed to curb their growing lawlessness post-independence following the Daniel Shay’s rebellion in western Massachusetts in the fall and winter of 1786-1787.

Only wealthy landowners were involved in making the Constitution. Men with no land or chattel properties could not vote even in elections at that time let alone drafting a new constitution.

For this purpose slaves were considered chattel properties at three-fifths of a free person. History shows that the Constitutional Convention that began in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 was made up of the political elite of the former 13 British colonies now independent as the original states. From the Commonwealth of Virginia came General George Washington and James Madison both of who later became presidents. From Pennsylvania came Benjamin Franklin aged 81 at that time, and Gouverneur Morris. These men and their likes drafted the Constitution of the United States still being amended up till today but never replaced with a new one. Getting the Constitution ratified by these original 13 states was hell as they were reluctant to submit any part of their freedom. To get the Legislature of the State of Pennsylvania to ratify took a comical turn in December of 1787 when two opposing legislators were forcibly carried into the legislative chambers to make up for a shortage of two to form the quorum required for ratification. The State of Massachusetts had the Vice-Presidential slot dangled

before it before it ratified. So on and so forth for the horse-trading that eventually got all the states to ratify. Should this constitution be cancelled today, that would be the end of the United States because most of them would prefer going their separate ways and would not consent.

To my mind Items 13, 14, and 15 of The Patriots letter look like a volte-face, an intellectual somersault of some sort. There they were telling us how desirable the outcome of the conference they envisaged would be, but because the others thought that would require an enabling law they are now saying that the type contained in the PAC’s report would need to be backed up by an enabling law too, so back to the drawing board.

This brought out my question of who would be talking to whom and in what capacity.

Since the Nigerian Constitution does not recognize either conference as a conflict resolution process, where would the President be drawing this power from? In what capacity is the President acting even right now. Item 15 strongly advised the President to convene the Conference only (emphasis theirs) on the authority of an enabling law made by the National Assembly. If this advice is coming from a world renowned Constitutional lawyer, then the acts of the President so far are unconstitutional.

Apart from these, in this wake of Boko Haram insurgency and its reported link with Al Qaeda, Nigeria is in a state of siege and putting hundreds of people under one roof could give them a chance to wreak havoc. By the way, would Boko Haram not be invited? They are stakeholders and I think they should be there peacefully to talk to us so that we can see, in Marvin Gaye’s words “what’s going on.” Then the so many unresolved communal issues between the Ogonis and Andonis, the Ijaw and the Itsekris, the Aguleri and Umuleri, the Tiv and Junkun and so on. The Abandoned Properties issue is bound to set the conference ablaze and as a matter of fact the second civil war could start from the venue or have its roots there because there are many flashpoints that ought to be trashed out before allowing these feuding communities to come together.

• Dr. Akinyooye lives in Ibadan .

Was Nigeria’s 1914 amalgamation a mistake?

By Charles Soeze EFORE the advent of the British colonialists (as Dr. Benjamin B Nnamdi Azikiwe first ceremonial president of Nigeria preferred against colonial masters), Nigeria as a socio-political entity was neither in existence nor contemplated; the territories that now make up Nigeria existed in fragments. We have the Benin Empire, the Lower Niger Kingdoms (popularly referred to as the Oil Rivers), the Fulani Empire of Zodge (later referred to as Sokoto), and the Kanem-Borno Empire. In addition, there were the Oduduwa Empire of the Yoruba, and the Aro-Chukwu Empire of the Ibo. Another was the Aboh Empire that sprang from the Benin Empire.

However, there was no systematic contact between one empire and the other. There were isolated trade contacts among the people of the Lower Niger Kingdom and the Benin Kingdom. Different names were used for the territories now incorporated in Nigeria and the whole area was referred to as the Hausa Territories, the Niger Empire, the Niger Sudan and the Niger Coast Protectorates. In January 1894, Miss Flora Shaw, a journalist with the Times newspaper on colonial affairs, wrote an article and suggested the name ‘Nigeria’ for all the territories around the River Niger. In 1902, Miss Flora Shaw was married to Sir Frederick Lord Lugard who was at that time the High Commissioner for the protectorate of Northern Nigeria, who was also destined to become the Governor General of Nigeria. In other words, the naming of a nation was a woman’s suggestion to her husband who was in a position of authority to implement it.

The Nigerian state, created in 1914, as an act of British colonialism, by the amalgamation of two existing British colonial states, the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria and the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria was 100 years old on the 1st day of January 2014. Many Nigerians have aired their views on the amalgamation that is now 100 years. A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Professor Tam David-West, stated without mincing words that the country exists along ethnic and religious divides, insisting that there was nothing to celebrate be-

cause the amalgamation was a mistake. This is because from 1914 till date, Nigeria cannot showcase any tangible achievements. The amalgamation in 1914 was by treaty, which in international law, expires after 100 years and invariably marks the end of the country as it ceases to be legal entity.

Before 1906, the territory was administered as three separate units; the Lagos Protectorate, the Southern Protectorate and the Northern Protectorate. In 1906, the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria was merged with the Lagos Protectorate and brought under one administration but the Northern Protectorate was administered separately. The circumstances that forced the British Government to amalgamate the Northern Protectorate with the Southern Protectorate in January 1, 1914 were motivated neither by political exigencies nor by a closer cultural understanding among the diverse elements of conglomeration that was later to be called Nigeria. The primary interest of the British administration was economic. However, the burden of financing Northern Nigeria seemed to have been revisited, if not successfully, at least bitterly, by the southerners. The expenditure of the British taxpayers’ money in financing a colonial territory was a contradiction of the British Colonial policy, enunciated sixty years before by Earl Grey, which stipulated that “the surest test for the soundness of measures for improvement at an uncivilized people is that they should be self-supporting”.

In addition, the Northern Protectorate was not only landlocked, but hounded by territories that fell under the influence of other European times.

It was quite true that E. D. Morel in what he described as the “unauthorised scheme for amalgamation” proposed breaking the country into four provinces namely the Central State with Zungeru as the headquarters, the Northern State with Kano as the headquarters, the Western State with Oshogbo as the headquarters, and the Eastern State with Calabar as the headquarters. The Central State was to be bound on Southwest by the River Niger, on the South-Southeast by the Benue River, and was to include the Tiv areas, up to the southern portion of Zaria Emirate, the Provinces of Bauchi, Niger, Yola, Muri, and Nasarawa.

The Western Provincial state with its capital at Oshogbo was to

include Ilorin and Kabba Provinces, the Mid-Western Nigeria, and the whole of Yoruba territories west of the Niger. The Eastern Province with headquarters in Calabar was to include all the territories south of the River Benue and East of the River Niger, but excluding the Cameroons under German occupation. The Northern Province was to include all the Emirates with Islamic civilisation. One important advantage in Morel’s scheme was the isolation and the homogenisation of the Muslim emirates where at least Islamic civilisation would have been left intact.

If the association was achieved, there would have been two major consequences. There would have been clear separation of the Muslims from the non-Muslims of the North especially the Tiv. This would have averted frequent conflicts between the Tiv and the Northern Nigerian Government, conflict that helped prepare the ground for the 1966 military coup. Another is that the Yorubas who are now lumped up with other Muslims in the North would have been able to join other Yorubas of the Western Region of Nigeria. Incidentally, these two points which were un-cleared in 1911 remained to plague Nigerian politics. Morel’s intention was to provide for the division of the country into province in line with the natural geographic boundaries and existing political conditions, involving a few changes. Morel’s scheme seemed to have contracted the Lugard’s proposals, because Lugard wanted the North intact, and the separation of the North and the South carried to other spheres like the introduction of the Provincial Court Ordinance. Morel on the other hand saw the end to these separatist tendencies as the only panacea for the division and antagonism between the North and the South. Lugard rejected Morel’s proposals because he had been critical of colonial policy as the editor of the African Mail. Lugard also rejected the advice of his lieutenant governor for the Northern Province. Temple advocated breaking the country into seven provinces, three in the North and four in the South. There were other issues on which Lord Lugard erred and invoked upon himself the criticism of his opponents.

• Charles Ikedikwa Soeze is a retired Director (Administration)/Head, Academic and Physical Planning (A&PP) at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State.

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Opinion The drive for national food safety

By Martins Ikhilae RDINARILY at the mention of National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control O (NAFDAC), what is etched in one’s memory is an institution charged with the regulation and control of pharmaceutical products in Nigeria. Embedded in this mindset are the imageries of interception and burning of fake and adulterated drugs, shut down of drug markets in Onitsha, Kano, Lagos and elsewhere in the country. One is also conscientised to the frenzy with which NAFDAC confronts these challenges.

The administration and control of drugs might be top in the charge handed over by the Federal Government to NAFDAC, it has an equally enormous responsibility to control and regulate food in Nigeria. The NAFDAC Act (as amended) is unequivocal in absolute terms that its control and regulation of manufacturing, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and consumption of food is total. The high visibility of the agency in the control and administration of drugs across the country is being replicated in the manufacturing, importation, distribution and sales of food also. Dr. Paul B. Orhii, who recently won a second term as director general of the agency is spearheading the drive to achieve this objective. In this context can be situated the novel creation of the Food and Applied Nutrition Directorate of the agency as well as equipping it with seasoned and sophisticated food scientists and nutritionists to confront and deliver on food fortification.

The imperativeness of this stepped up action on food safety in the country becomes clearer after you have internalized this recent gory prognosis of poor global food safety by Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America: “Across the globe, particularly in developing countries, far too many people are consuming more and more unhealthy food.”

And you are likely to get the bang, bang effects of

the above prognosis after you peruse the 2013 food index ranking from Oxfam, the international relief and development organization. The survey, which covers 125 countries of the world, ranked them on the availability, quality and affordability of food and dietary health. It also looked at the percentage of underweight children, food diversity and access to clean water, as well as negative health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. As to be expected, while The Netherlands was ranked first as the country with the most nutritious, plentiful and healthy food in the world, African nations were predominant in the bottom 30 countries with Chad maintaining the rear.

Good food – food rich in vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, iodine, iron, zinc, folic acid – is no doubt meant to help nourish the human body to provide it with energy, good sight, effective and efficient reproductive ability, sustainable mental alertness, dynamic and reliable intelligent quotient, enrich the blood, enhance efficient respiratory and metabolic activities, to mention but a few. The relevance of nutritious food to the human body cannot be underplayed.

Food is therefore, not merely consumed just for the fun of it, rather it is intended to fulfill a multiplicity of very vital functions in the human body system.

Therefore, ‘food safety’ should be a nation’s catchy phrase, and NAFDAC is expected to deliver on this for Nigeria. In July 2011, the Federal Government inaugurated the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) and charged it with the responsibility for food safety and quality control measures as well as management of the process of ensuring food safety from farm to table. We could elongate the charge of the committee by saying it should also be concerned with food security, which is all about a people having access to sufficient, adequate, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

The agency is expected to play a pivotal role in the realization of the above objective. And towards this end, it has therefore, taken it upon itself to be concerned with the preparation and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne diseases.

Doing this efficiently would mean promoting safety between industry and the market, and then between the market and the consumer. Specifically with regards to industry to market practices, food safety considerations must target the origins of food, as well as policies on biotechnology and food and guidelines for the management of governmental import and export inspection and certification systems for foods. And in considering market to consumer practices, the concern has always been that food ought to be safe in the market. The emphasis here is the safe preparation and delivery of food to the consumer. The agency has developed the competencies in all of these areas.

Mention must be made of the elaborate campaign and intensive enforcement operations of the agency, which are aimed at eradicating the use of Potassium Bromate as baking flower/dough enhancer in bakeries across the country owing to its link with cancer disease. Its dogged determination at attaining the nation’s comprehensive salt iodization programme is commendable. Iodine deficiency is traced as the main cause of preventable brain damage and reduced IQ in children worldwide. Similarly it has also been established globally that the absence of iodine in salt/meals is responsible for a neck deforming ailment tagged goiter. Generally, people need an additional source of iodine as it is found in relatively small amounts in the diet. The international drive for universal salt iodization, that is the fortification with iodine of all salt used for human consumption, was recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), as the main strategy for eliminating iodine deficiency.

The adoption of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a systemic preventive approach to food safety and biological, chemical,

and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe, and designs measurements to reduce these risks to a safe level, in NAFDAC operations, is part of its efforts to maximize the fortification of food for human consumption. The HACCP system can be used at all stages of a food chain, from food production and preparation processes including packaging and distribution.

NAFDAC is strenuously working to ensure food products for public consumption have the required nutrients through well tested enrichment processes. Among the food vehicles/ products being maximally enriched with the needed nutrients are sugar, flour, vegetable oil, etc. The agency has keyed into the President Goodluck Jonathan administration‘s Transformation Agenda, especially in the agricultural sector with emphasis on using it to diversify the nation’s economy and to serve as additional foreign exchange earner for Nigeria. In furtherance of this, it has stepped up its commitment to boosting the quality of the nation’s exportable agricultural produce such as cashew nuts, cocoa, cassava, sorghum, melon seed etc. NAFDAC is active in the national campaign to use local cassava flour as substitute to wheat in the baking of bread, cakes, etc.

Hygiene is a critical factor in the efficient and effective fortification of food products. This in turn proffers suitable explanations as to why the agency is compelling fast food companies, restaurants, bakeries etc to embrace good hygienic practices. Heavy sanctions are usually visited on defaulting companies. Ideally fortified nutritious food products help the human body to adequately develop anti-bodies, which in turn help it to successfully wade off attacks. There is no doubt that NAFDAC is promoting a healthy and safe food culture in Nigeria. It is a task that must remain its priority since a healthy nation is indeed a wealthy nation.

• Ikhilae is a Lagos-based public affairs analyst.

Quo Vadis public education in Nigeria? (4)

By Jacob Olupona • Continued from yesterday N contrast, in 2012, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences deliberated on a similar crisis in the United States. In that year, the Academy established the Lincoln Project for Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education. The project was created to advance the national discussion on the importance of public colleges and universities. The Academy recognized that “although they are key engines of economic growth, innovation, and upward mobility, these schools are facing cutbacks in government support, competition from for-profit education providers and foreign universities, and pressure to respond to technological changes.” The conversation included educational leaders as well as “business leaders, philanthropists, learned societies, and ultimately the general public.”

The Academy recognises that through critical intervention, all these stakeholders can “influence educational policy at the state, federal, and institutional levels.”

Nigeria certainly has the equivalent of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in all its professional and academic sectors, from engineering and medicine to arts and sciences. The question is: will we ever take such a bold initiative? If we do, will we have the support of the state? Will our recommendations be taken seriously and implemented? Without belaboring this issue, we must not miss the significance of the American Academy’s example. The project was named after President Lincoln to “commemorate his role in signing the Morrill Act of 1862, which laid the groundwork for the nation’s unparalleled public education system.”i The point I am making here is that memory, visionary leadership, and social transformation matter during periods of great challenges.

God helps those who help themselves Citizens all across our country agree on one issue: the need for the moral rehabilitation of Nigeria. The president’s transformative agenda is invoked as a mantra, but if it is taken seriously, and if it is to move beyond mere rhetoric, this agenda will require hard work, sincerity, political will, and a strong sense of commitment on both the part of the governed and the governors. I do not think that Nigeria is condemned beyond the possibility of redemption, as some of the foreign commentators seem to believe. The country can still be redeemed, but it will be by the power of our own will and our own hands. At the risk of sounding heretical here, I venture to say that although prayer works, and I know this because I am a man of prayer myself, prayer alone is not enough. As the saying goes, heaven helps those who help themselves; or as Muslims say, Inshallah, but tie up your camel; and as the traditionalists say, trust the gods, but make sacrifice. God brought down the walls of Jericho, but Joshua had to prepare for war, march around the city for seven days, and then return to take the city. Similarly, God (or Allah) sent angels to help the Prophet Muhammad win the battle

I

of Badr, but make no mistake, the Prophet Muhammad also made his own battle plans. He waded into the fight himself. The history of religions has proven beyond any doubt that prayer must be matched by action. This may entail getting our hands dirty, as the Americans would say, but not dirty with stolen Naira.

As a young man growing up in this town, I remember the late Premier of the Western Region, S. L. Akintola, who came to campaign for election of 1965. Chief Akintola – himself a master of Yoruba rhetoric, performance, and language – told a story about an ancient Oyo Egungun (masquerade). Many believed in his power to bring about blessings. They trooped out to welcome him and to pray for the good things of life – children, prosperity, and good health. Akintola mentioned that the people of Ile-Oluji prayed precisely for water, electricity, and a hospital. After prayers were made to the Egungun, the masquerade asked them to stretch forth their hands. Akintola instructed the people to do likewise. Aided by his drummers, he dramatized the old story of the Egungun’s performance, bursting into dance himself by announcing, “Gbogbo e, gbogbo e, lowo e lo wa,” which means, “everything you want is in your own hands.” He pointed to their hands, “Your outstretched hands will cast the vote to bring you what we need: water, electricity, and a hospital.”

Similarly, through our own hands and our own efforts we elect into office qualified and unqualified officials. Through our own efforts, we carry the heavy “Ghana-must-go bags” stuffed with money from corrupt politicians who buy our votes. Our own hands must now stop Nigeria’s corruption and build up an educated public.

Conclusion I hope I have demonstrated in this talk the challenges and a few solutions to strengthen Nigeria’s public education system, particularly at the secondary school level. Of course, I have only touched the tip of the iceberg. I intend to begin a national conversation on how best to move forward, believing in our own strengths to shape our destiny and the future of our nation and our children. As the late celebrated sage Nelson Mandela once said, “Investment in our human capital through education is one of our highest priorities … it will equip our youth to become builders of our nation’s health.”ii I will now summarize my concept of public education in the argument I have put forward to this country for serious consideration. Three overlapping ideas of the public education run through this lecture. First, I view public education as an investment to be undertaken by the Nigerian public (federal, state, local governments or communities). The focus here is on the ownership of the educational infrastructure and which entities are or should be involved in funding education. So, the public is being used in this sense as a subject in the educational enterprise, denoting a cluster of stakeholders from which the vision of investing in education emerges. The central question being answered here is: Who should fund or provide for the education of Nigerian youths? My answer is: the Nigerian public in its various forms. The second idea of pub-

lic education focuses more on the object of the investment – i.e. public schools – as opposed to private schools. These schools are public because (a) they are open to all children, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth, and (b) they are non-profit. The third sense in which I use public education here is as a normative or animating principle, in that the goal of education, whether offered through public or private schools, is to benefit the public and not merely to satisfy private interests and aspirations, whatever the latter may be. This third sense is what lies behind my discussion of the curricular content of primary and secondary schools in Nigeria, i.e., that besides the technical expertise that schools provide, they should above all else be committed to the idea of producing citizen-graduates, boys and girls who are public-spirited and civicminded, and who subordinate personal pleasures to the common good.

In light of these distinctions, it is clear that my use of the public in the first sense encompasses private institutions (including religious institutions), since they too are part of the Nigerian society.

The participation of these private institutions, however, should not replace the responsibility of those entities whose very existence lies in representing the public, that is, the government. Second, when private entities participate in the public project of education, we must ask whether they satisfy the criteria of the public in the latter two senses. We must ask ourselves, what kinds of schools are they establishing? What percentage of the children can afford to go to those schools? Are those schools established primarily to satisfy private interests (profit-making, religious interests, ethnic interests, etc.) and parochial ambition? What kinds of values are being taught in these schools? What can the state do to ensure that the private schools are well equipped to serve the interest of all citizens, including indigent students?

Again, we must ask ourselves, “Quo vadis?” “Where are we going in educating – or mis-educating – our young?” Taking education seriously will help to solve some of our national challenges. It will reduce poverty; it will increase literacy; it will create skilled workers – all of which are needed to transform our nation. We desperately need to advance as a nation. We are the alumni of its secondary schools. Many of us come from its old schools. We come from its churches. We come from its mosques. We come from its indigenous culture. We have seen the glory of the old system of education of the 1960s. We have a vital part to play in transforming our nation. We can start first with our schools. Let the battle against illiteracy begin today.

Thank You! God Bless Gboluji Grammar School God Bless Ile Oluji, And God Bless Nigeria • Concluded.

• Professor Jacob Olupona delivered this –full title ‘Quo Vadis public education in Nigeria? Local Challenges and Global Lessons’ as Sixtieth Anniversary Lecture of Gboluji Grammar School, Ile Oluji, Ondo State.

Thursday, February 27, 2014 19

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

TheMetroSection ‘It’s a difficult habit to leave…’

• Smokers react to ban on smoking in public places in Lagos

By Isaac Taiwo

LOT of Lagosians have apA plauded the anti-smoking bill signed into law by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola which prohibits residents of the state from smoking in public places such as libraries, museums, public toilets, schools, hospital, day-care centres, public transportation and restaurants among others.

The law also instructs owners of public places to place signs with the inscription; ‘No Smoking’ or symbols as part of enlightenment for smokers and would-be violators of the law while the owners are also mandated by the law to create areas where people could smoke which should not be closed to the vicinity.

Repeated violation of the law on conviction attracts a fine of N50, 000 or six months imprisonment or both, while non-compliance by owners of public places would attract a fine of N100, 000 or six months imprisonment or other non-custodial punishment that the judge may deem fit.

The law further states that any person who smokes in the presence of a child commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N15, 000 or one month imprisonment term among others.

Given this new law and several anti-smoking campaigns including the harmful side-effects of smoking regularly reeled out by medical practitioners, it is very astonishing that many smokers still find it “very difficult to quit,” according to the common cliché.

Interestingly, some addicted smokers have blamed their act of smoking on bad habit.

Sunday Okechukwu, a driver, attributed his addiction to smoking

A man smoking a stick of cigarette

Cigarette stubs

to nothing but habit.

“There is nothing I actually gain

in smoking other than the fun of it and it has become a habit that I

find difficult to leave.”

“I have also realized that ordinary cigarette affects the heart, while hemp goes to the brain and toughens one. That is why I take hemp because I drive. All the same, taking cigarette or hemp are bad habits that one should not indulge in.”

Enugu Chuwkwu who sells inside Ladipo Market in Mushin Local Council also blamed the act of smoking on habit.

“The government is right and is trying to help us. Smoking does not help anyone. Look at my hand, it is smoking that has made my hands to turn black. It is like when one is thirsty when the urge to smoke comes and an addicted person like me cannot resist the urge. It was when I could no longer resist the urge that I had to come out where you are seeing me now. After satisfying myself I would go back inside. I would be glad to see anything that would take the habit away from me.

I am praying to leave smoking, but I have not been able to overcome the habit,” he said.

Bidemi Oluomo also lamented his inability to leave smoking. “There is nothing we gain from smoking and that is why those of us smoking would not want our children to smoke.”

“The government is right to ban smoking and if I can personally see anything that would stop me from smoking and take away the habit, I would be glad. There was a day my son was asking me why I smoke. Before I could answer, my wife joined, too, and asked me to answer my son.

I only used boldness to shun her but I knew quite well that I was tired of the habit. If I can see a way to leave it I would. Once you have the thirst, you will always yield. I want God to help me leave the habit and I know if I can do without smoking a whole day, I would leave it,” he admits. .

Aladura Church denies rape scandal against leader

By Odita Sunday EMBERS of the Holy Order of Cherubium and Seraphim Movement Church popularly known as Ayo Nio, Idimu sub-headquarters in Lagos State, have refuted a publication on the Internet alleging that their district chairman Special Apostle Timothy Adewoye raped a church member.

Speaking to newsmen on the issue, the spokesperson of the church, Senior Apostle

M

Abimbola Esuola said there was no truth in the publication, which painted their spiritual leader and the Aladura church in bad light.

A female member of the church, one Latifat Balogun had alleged that the church leader came into her matrimonial home and attempted to rape her.

Esuola who described the allegation as “blackmail” against the church leader and the Aladura Church

urged their members worldwide and Nigerians to disregard the report and pray for their spiritual leader. She alleged that four men and a woman were members of the syndicate that blackmailed Apostle Adewoye.

Narrating what transpired, Esuola said: “Our Baba, Adewoye was invited by Latifat in her house for prayer and unknown to baba, she arranged with four other men who pounced on him,

stripped him and threatened to publish his nude photographs on the Internet if he did not pay N10m as ransom.

Out of fear, the Apostle allegedly paid them N2.150million. They had further threatened him with death if he refused to pay more. It was at this stage that the Apostle reported the matter to his congregation.

“When the pressure be-

came unbearable, Baba told his secretary what he was passing through and the secretary mobilised other members of the church and reported the matter at Idimu Police Station,” she said.

Latifat and her husband, Olagunja were arrested and charged to Ejigbo Magistrate’s court.

The duo have been remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri, Lagos.

Journalists mourn colleague in Gombe From Charles Akpeji, Gombe CTIVITIES of the members of the fourth estate of the realm in Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba States were on Tuesday brought to a standstill when the sad news of the demise of one of their colleagues, Mike Ogbu, filtered into town.

Until his demise, Ogbu, was the Gombe State correspondent of Daily Independent Newspaper.

Ogbu had worked with the Adamawa State government-owned media outfit popularly known as the Scope.

Most of the journalists who bared their minds to The Guardian on the sad incident, described Ogbu as a level -headed journalist who derived joy in spreading smiles on the faces of colleagues as well as the public.

A

Confirming the death to journalists, the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Ngozika Ogbu said: “My husband died in the early hours of Tuesday, February 25, at his home town in Enugu State after a protracted illness.”

Also speaking, the Gombe State Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Timothy Choji, said a condolence register had “already been opened at the chapel’s secretariat located in the state capital.

Visibly dejected, Choji made known the readiness of journalists in the state to attend the burial stating that, “We are making relevant arrangement to attend his burial as soon as the date in communicated to us by his family.”

With tears drooling out of her eyes, the Taraba state correspondent of the Daily Independent,

Jenat Audu, felt sad that death has prevented her colleague (Mike Ogbu) from reaping from his hard work.

A staff of the Scope in Adamawa state who spoke to The Guardian on the condition of anonymity said the headquarters of the media organization “has been thrown into mourning.”

He said: “I am not the right person to speak on the death of our former staff, Mike Ogbu, but we have heard the sad news, and as I am talking to you right now, we are all mourning him in the head office.”

“It is very unfortunate that the Mike you and I knew is no more. Such is life; I only hope that both the National Headquarters of the NUJ and his media organization would remember him by assisting his wife and children.”

Briefs Ansar-Ud-Deen marks 53rd Founder’s Day NSAR-UD-DEEN High A School, Falolu, Surulere holds her 53rd Founder’s/Remembrance Day Celebration. As part of the celebration, a Special Juma’at Prayer Service will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014 at Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque, Ajao Road, Surulere, Lagosat 1.00p.m.

Musical concert N ALL-NIGHT musical A concert organized by Passion & Praise, tagged Fruitful Praise holds tomorrow at 9/11, Kudirat Abiola Way, former Oregun Road, opposite Kobis Restaurant, OregunLagos, at 10.00p.m. Funmi Oloyede and Associates will minister.

Church holds programme HE Kingdom of Light MinT istries (KLM) will hold its Business Fellowship service on Saturday, March I, at 7.30a.m. while its thanksgiving service also holds on Sunday, March 2, at the corporate headquarters, 2, Ajoke Kazeem Street, off Subol Bus Stop, Idimu -Ikotun Road, Lagos at 8.00a.m.

Presiding Pastor Samson Makinde and Pastor Monday Ihazah will minister.

Service of songs for Helen Okoye holds today HE death has occurred of T Mrs. Helen Okoye. A service of songs holds today at her former residence, 14, Owoyemi Street, Ojo Road, Ajegunle, Lagos at 4.00p.m.

She will be buried on Saturday, March 8, in her home town Onoli Agwu, Enugu State at 10.00a.m.

Agnes Ogbakpah, 97, for burial tomorrow HE death has occurred of T Mrs. Agnes Ajiyemikpiahan Ogbakpah, at the age of 97.

A statement signed by Chief Johnson Amatseruleghe and the Queen of Mosogar Kingdom, Esther Omene, on behalf of the children said: “A service of songs holds today at her residence, 12, Ofotokun Road, off Macpherson, Sapele, Delta State at 5.00p.m.”

She will be buried tomorrow after a funeral service at First Baptist Church, 31, Palmer Road, Sapele at 10.00a.m.

Entertainment of guests/Inlaws’ greetings continue on Saturday, March 1, at Ethiope Mixed Secondary School, at 10.00a.m.

Ogbakpah

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20 Thursday, February 27, 2014

Opebi Rotary donates drugs to health centre in Lagos

By Isaac Taiwo T was an amazing sight to behold recently as members of Rotary Club of Opebi comprising retired “fathers” who, instead of enjoying their retirement benefits by themselves, chose to share theirs with the less privileged by donating drugs including multivitamins, paracetamol, anti-malaria drugs and others worth N500, 000 to Oregun Primary Health Centre on Kudirat Abiola Way, Lagos.

The President of the Club, Olayiwola Bakare in his address recalled that during his induction at the Airport Hotel, projects that the club would embark upon were announced including donation of drugs.

“We in Rotary Club try as much as possible to make sure we service people who are less privileged in our community and this is the reason we are here today.

I

“We have other projects for our service year, 2013/2014, and I am happy we are fulfilling our promise today to donate drugs and equipment to this health centre in Oregun Local Council.

“We came here several times last year and we saw the Matron and we also went to Onigbongbo at the District Council, Allen Avenue where we were introduced to the Chairman and given the promise that he would be with us today at all cost.”

“We in Opebi Rotary Club appreciate the presence of the Chairman despite his tight schedule and we thank him,” he said.

Responding to the President’s speech, the Executive Chairman, Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Francis Babatunde Oke expressed surprise at the calibre of members of Rotary Club of Opebi who, despite their age,

Chairman, Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Francis Babatunde Oke (right) receiving the drugs from Bakare. Third left is the Chief Nursing Officer, Mrs. Amiola Ogunsina at the event PHOTO: ISAAC TAIWO

still consider it necessary to help the less privileged.

“I am happy this afternoon because I am seeing what I did not expect. In fact, I am elated to see retired fathers donating drugs and particularly happy to be alive to witness this.”

“I am moved to promise that before the end of this year, I will be a member of the Rotary International and will join no other club than the Rotary Club of Opebi such that when we will be donating another thing next year, the one of this year would be a child’s play,” he enthused.

“I would also endeavour to invite the Governor and where he is not able to come, a Commissioner would be with us.”

“My prayer is that God will compensate these our fathers while we young ones are challenged that instead of wasting money on beer, we can also impart on people’s lives,” he said.

The Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Mrs. Amiola Ogunsina expressed appreciation for the drug donation.

“We operate drug revolving fund (DRF) but now that we have free drugs, we will keep these aside and ensure the less privileged benefit from these at no cost.”

“We are surprised at the uncommon members of Rotary Club of Opebi who are visibly elderly and still consider it necessary to help the less privileged and also for finding it necessary to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Government that is also trying by offering free registration and free antenatal delivery,” she said.

Police parade Valentine’s Day robbery suspects

By Odita Sunday HE Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Ayotunde Ogunsakin, yesterday paraded 11 armed robbers and two kidnappers arrested in Port Harcourt.

The suspects were involved in different armed robbery operations. Ogunshakin told newsmen at the state Command Headquarters, Moscow Road, that a gang of armed robbers opened fire on a police patrol team, at about 1.45pm, on Friday, February 14, at Ogbunabali Area, by St. Patrick Hospital. According to the police boss: “A special team on watch on Valentine’s Day saw a bandit of robbers in shooting spree. This prompted the police to immediately engage them in an exchange of gunfire that lasted for about 30 minutes.

The gang was, however, overwhelmed by the superior firepower of our men who

T

The suspects

displayed their resilience in the course of the gun exchange.”

“The gang which was overpowered by the police later escaped from the scene leaving behind a grey-colored Toyota Highlander Jeep, with registration number LSR 825 AP. One Chinoso Ihesinor was arrested while the sum of One Million Naira (N1, 000,000) was recovered from him. ” He added: “In a separate move, another gang of robbers that was led by one Lawal Ibrahim, a notorious robber who was fingered in a robbery incident along Shell Quarters in September, 2013, who was on bail by a court of law, was also arrested along Umokoro, Rivers State.”

Ogunsakin also disclosed that on Monday, February 17, the operatives of the Command, acting on a piece of intelligence, arrested a suspected kidnapper, one

David Francis at Fidelity Bank, along Trans Amadi Road, while trying to withdraw a ransom meant to augment the ransom fee for the release of a victim that was recently kidnapped in Akwa Ibom State.

Francis later led the operatives from the Rivers State Police Command, to the hideout of his accomplice, Edwin Ekpeyong, who was arrested after some resistance by armed men from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS. Ogunshakin pledged that he would continue to make intelligence-led policing the cardinal point of police operation in Rivers State, adding, “I intend to continue with an aggressive onslaught in the state against criminals until the crime situation is brought to near zero level.”

The Commissioner of Police warned suspected criminals to relocate to other states or face the full wrath of the law.

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Thursday, February 27, 2014 21

Business NERC plans dispute resolution body for privatised power sector From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja S part of the conditions A precedent for the declaration of the now postponed Transitional Electricity Market (TEM), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has concluded plans to constitute a Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) soon.

Already, the commission has appointed Professor Mamman Lawan of Bayero University, Kano as the Dispute Resolution Counsellor as part of the process.

The TEM is to be declared after

•BPE sets up committee to probe issues of unpaid PHCN workers •NERC writes President on outstanding electricity bills from military, MDAs all the conditions have been put in place to ensure smooth operations by the private sector aperators.

Head of Public Affairs at NERC, Usman Abba Arabi , said in Abuja on Tuesday that the Dispute Resolution Counsellor was appointed in keeping with the market rules for transitional and medium term stages.

He said: “The assignment of the Dispute Resolution Counsellor is to evolve a sys-

Facebook seeks partnership for affordable Internet access •Whatapp to add free voice call to platform HE Chief Executive Officer T of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has said that he is on the lookout for operator partners to help the Internet.org initiative, of which his organisation is a partner, to extend cheap Internet access to unconnected citizens in developing economies.

Launched in August 2013, Internet.org is an alliance of technological companies, non-profit organisation, and telecommunications operators that together aim to build what Zuckerberg referred to as "an on-ramp to the Internet" by rolling out services that are incredibly basic and free to use.

Zuckerberg, while speaking at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, said Internet.org wants to offer the unconnected free access to just a few strippeddown versions of online services like Facebook, Wikipedia, and local information and weather services. Users that want to browse other content can do so, but they must pay a small fee.

He added that delivering data needs to become cheaper and

more efficient in order to give people free access to the Internet.

"Right now, we don't have the capacity to work with a lot of [operator] partners, but we would like to work with between three and five," Zuckerberg said.

He hoped that Internet.org can help overcome what he sees as the two biggest barriers to Internet uptake— price and a lack of awareness when it comes to the benefits of being online.

Indeed, according to a Deloitte study commissioned

by Facebook, if developing countries had the same level of Internet access as mature markets, together they would contribute an extra $2.2 trillion in GDP, create 140 million new jobs and lift 160 million people out of poverty.

Meanwhile, messaging app, WhatsApp is adding phone calls to its messaging services in a move that could directly target the mobile operator's core business models WhatsApp Chief Executive Officer, Jan Koum said that the voice service will be free and

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

tem of alternative dispute resolution for market participants in the system- and market operator-controlled Nigerian electricity market; thereby providing regulatory and commercial certainty in the fair and speedy resolution of disputes that arise among these Participants.

The engagement of the counsellor cannot come at a better time, as there are a number of disputes that have arisen between operators and the market operator, and system operator. These disputes are mainly to do with load allocation and inconsistencies in invoicing. The counsellor is to work with a Dispute Resolution Panel, soon to be constituted by NERC.”

He recalled that NERC had on February 12, held a meeting with Chief Executive Officers of distribution companies, generation companies, independent power producers and other stakeholders.

Drawing from the meeting, he stressed that consumer issues including rebranding, metering, forum office, need to be taken seriously by DISCOs as a prerequisite for the consideration of any tariff review request.

On load allocation, he stressed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria would meet with Eko DISCO to develop a framework for investment in the network.

He said NERC had written to

the Vice President requesting that a meeting be convened to deal with the lingering PHCN personnel issues.

“In addition, the Bureau of Public Enterprises has set up a taskforce which is currently conducting a verification of staff that have not been paid off (severed).”

On the huge problem of accumulated unpaid electricity bills from the military, ministries, departments and agencies, he said NERC had written to the President Goodluck Jonathan emphasizing the need for a service-wide circular communicating the grave consequences that non-payment will have on the sector.

Statistics from the defunct PHCN indicate that over N100 billion were accumulated as unpaid bills by the military, ministries, departments and agencies of government.

On the review of gas supply constraints, he noted: “Meetings have been held between NERC and thermal generators, the Presidential Task Force on Power - PTFP and gas companies to discuss issues of gas-to-power. An initial meeting was held with the GENCOs to identify where, in the short term, stranded capacity for natural gas could be maximized.

“Also, meeting was also held with the Group Executive Director (Gas & Power) at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation - NNPC on these issues bearing in mind that NERC does not regulate the gas industry. Points noted include the need to draw up a schedule for repairing damaged pipelines.

“NNPC pledged to improve

CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Executive Director, Investments, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Hanspeter Ackerman (left); Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Uche Orji; and Executive Director, Risk Management, Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli, at the press briefing on Nigeria Sovereign Investment Progress Update held in Abuja, yesterday.

‘Implementation of ECOWAS protocols key to sub-regional trade growth’

By Femi Adekoya HE need for a coordinated T and harmonised implementation of ECOWAS protocols on the free movement of goods and people across the region has been identified as a key factor in enhancing bilateral trade between Nigeria and other regions.

Indeed, regional stakeholders in the export sector identified the need to embrace a sealink project that would facilitate trade, particularly dismantling the numerous security outposts and checkpoints along the borders, in order to reduce smuggling activities and promote regional investments in trade.

To this end, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), noted that a private placement of $60 million would be floated on Monday to aid the establishment of shipping company that would drive the sealink project.

The stakeholders, while speaking at the Borderless Conference on “Enabling Growth” in Lagos, yesterday, emphasized the need to identify priorities for stimulating regional trade with emphasis on a coordinated approach to implementation of frameworks.

The stakeholders who cut across the Nigerian ExportImport Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Shippers Council, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and Parliament, USAID, West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), African Development Bank and UEMOA, have a mandate to encourage an export supply response in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and mining.

Delivering a keynote address at the event, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun

Aganga noted that despite the continent’s potential in terms of population growth and rich agricultural and mineral endowments, its contribution to global trade remains poor, just as its intra-regional trade has become stagnated.

Aganga, who was represented by the Managing Director, NEXIM, Roberts Orya, emphasized the need to address key challenges affecting trade growth within the region, citing a collaboration of the public and private sectors in removing such impediments therefore creating a freer and bigger market that would attract investment capital.

According to him, some of the impediments to trade, particularly in the ECOWAS region include tariff ad nontariff barriers and removing such trade barriers largely require the cooperation and strong political will among member countries to bring about the needed redress.

On his part, the United States

Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle added that facilitating trade remains a development imperative for the African region.

According to him, with freer trade comes increased economic growth and prosperity throughout the region, adding that the U.S. was ready to lend its support to the region in attaining its development goals.

He noted that addressing protectionist measures, particularly removing such policies, may have a short-term pain on the region, especially Nigeria, but would eventually produce long term benefits.

Chief Executive Officer, NEPC, Olusegun Awolowo, explained that enhancing regional trade would require efficient transportation system to affect and facilitate sustainable trade flow for stronger economic growth and profitability.

He further said: “NEPC has realised the need for a critical

exercise on increasing the volume of trade through drastic reduction of widening informal trade. There is the need to encourage partners like ECOWAS Commission and other agencies to consider development of infrastructure, regional value chains, the effect of corruption and the value of regional integration when identifying priorities for stimulating intra-African trade.

“In addition, there should be emphasis on development and growth of corridors and regional hubs as useful strategies for stimulating economic activities and inspiring diversification. National and regional industrialization strategy should focus on transforming agricultural products into manufactured goods and the provision of high-technology services at competitive prices to enhance the potential for trade and competitiveness

within the ECOWAS. “The need for a coordinated and harmonized implementation of ECOWAS protocols on the free movement of goods and people across the region by, in particular, dismantling the numerous security outposts and checkpoints along the borders will in our view, facilitate trade, reduce smuggling activities and promote regional investments in trade.”

President, Borderless Alliance, Ziad Hamoui explained that the conference was designed to address critical issues in trade and transport across the region.

“As a leading advocacy platform in West Africa by promoting economic integration and removing the barriers to trade and transport, we would continue to seek sustainable solutions that would leave a positive impact on the business environment in the region”, he added

22

Thursday, February 27, 2014

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Govt fine-tunes shippers council’s new role at ports

By David Ogah ITH the upgrade of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) as Nigeria’s maritime sector economic regulator, sanity may now return to the sector as it is expected to tackle corruption and other sharp practices at the ports.

President Goodluck Jonathan had few days ago okayed the council as the economic regulator for the sector, to end years of clamour by stakeholders, especially Nigerian shippers, for the organisation’s new operational profile Already, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), heads of agencies under the ministries of transport and Finance and some officials from the presidency have been brainstorming, according presidential directive, on how to provide the new regulator a soft landing platform needed for success in its new role The new outfit is expected to approve all charges and fees collectable by service providers, including shipping companies and concessionaires.

Participants at the meeting were asked to evaluate and

W

review proposals from the council on how to successfully carry out its new assignment, even as they applauded the decision to approve its new role.

The meeting is expected to continue next week to consider the work plan and modalities submitted by the council for the extension of the assignment.

Basically, the council is expected to institute effective regulatory regime at the Nigerian Ports in order to enhance efficiency.

Before now, port users have been groaning as a result of arbitrariness of service providers, the action that hitherto made the ports the most expensive business environment in the West African sub-region.

Consumers of services at the port have been rescued a number of times by the Nigerian Shippers Council that have been acting as the industry’s body for alternative conflict resolution.

Concessionaires and shipping companies are inundating the council with complaints of rip-offs, corruption and fraudulent practices.

They accused the concessionaires of arbitrary increase in

BPE sets up committee to probe issues of unpaid PHCN workers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 security of pipelines and also reiterated the need for all parties to look at the underlying considerations of the MYTO in terms of available capacity.

The Importance of shoring up delivery of gas to certain companies so as to ensure grid sta-

bility as well as the need to tie eastern gas to western gas (The East-West Gas project has been set for completion in 2016 by the NNPC) were also discussed.”

He said discussions were being held with the Minister of Power on the gas supply

charges and collection of charges for services not rendered, while the shipping companies have been at the receiving end of allegations of breach of carriage contract, refusal to pay claims and

accept responsibility for damaged goods, unnecessary delay of goods at port in order to collect demurrage and a handful of other allegations.

The NSC has been acting as ombudsman in the shipping

sub-sector as it has been helping to settle disputes amicably among aggrieved parties by convincing erring service providers to make refund when necessary, using persuasive approach.

Indeed, through this role, it saved for the shippers N220million which they could have lost to the service providers in the last two years.

Group Managing Director, UBA Plc, Phillips Oduoza (left); Chief Executive Officer, MainOne Cables, Funke Opeke; and Group Managing Director, ipNX, Ejovi Aror, at a cocktail in honour of late Burian Carew, co-founder of Telnet Nigeria Limited, ipNX and Techinvest in Lagos on Tuesday.

PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU

‘Abuja-Kaduna rail project 72% complete’ From Nkechi Onyedika and Chuka Odittah, Abuja INISTER of Transport, Idris M Umar, has revealed that work on corridor of AbujaKaduna Railway modernisation project has reached 72 per cent completion level.

Umar made this known after

a scheduled inspection of projects under the railway modernisation projects from Idu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja to Kaduna State.

He said that the inter state rail transport project is to improve "inter modal transport system in Nigeria, in addition to addressing a social need.

The minister noted that the completion timetable remains end of 2014.

Umar observed that government has commenced the implementation of second phase of the 25-year Railway Strategic Plan, which is the modernisation of railway transportation in the country.

He pointed out that under this phase, there would be construction of standard gauge rail lines across the length and breadth of the country.

Under the Ministry of Transport funded railway modernisation project, certain routes have been earmarked for upgrading by the Federal Government to increase capacity to meet growing demands for alternative to road transport system.

The routes include the LagosBenin City route (300 kilometres (km); Benin-Abakiliki (500km); Benin-Obudu Cattle Ranch (673km); Lagos-Abuja high speed (615km); ZariaBirnin Koni (520km), and the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line (1,657km).

Others are the Lagos-Ibadan; Ibadan-Ilorin; Ilorin-Minna; Abuja-Kaduna (link line) and the Minna - Kano rail route.

However, it would be recalled that the Light Rail Project, a separate railway transportation venture undertaken by the FCT and valued at $823 mil-

lion, is also currently under construction across various locations within the FCT to augment public transportation for FCT residents.

On the challenges facing the projects, the minister said that efforts are being made to address the two major constraints facing the project.

According to him, the issues of water interference at km 19 and certain estates built along the rail lines especially in Kubwa axis are currently being resolved by relevant authorities in the FCT. "We are achieving a very huge milestone in the development of this inter modal transport system in Nigeria. The work is going on assiduously, the bridges are almost completed and so also culverts, overpass bridges among others", he said.

Umar further stressed that necessary assistance required by the contractors handling the projects have been provided to facilitate timely completion of the work.

Meanwhile, the minister has directed the contractor handling the project, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), to remodel the Idu (Abuja) rail station to meet up with the modern and international standards in railway stations.

Whatapp to add free voice call to platform CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 should start to be rolled out to users within the next few months. The service will be offered for Android and iPhone users initially, with Windows Phone and BlackBerry apps to follow later.

The service, presumably a VoIP based one would pitch the company in direct competition with the likes of Microsoft's Skype service and Viber, as well as potentially eating into mobile network operator's own profits.

However, with mobile networks increasingly pushing

mobile data services as their long term revenue growth, voice calls were already starting to look like a low-margin commodity business.

There is the long term potential though for Facebook to tie the voice call service into its own platform and become a telco in its own right.

WhatsApp's CEO also confirmed that the company, which has just been bought by Facebook for $19 billion now has 465 million monthly users and 330 million daily users.

He added that the small exodus of users following the Facebook deal having barely dented the company at all.

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Govt, stakeholders mull legal framework for solid minerals’ devt HE National Extractive T Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said it was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Solid

Minerals to develop a legal framework for the solid minerals sector.

NEITI Executive Secretary, Zainab Ahmed said that the

framework would facilitate the enactment of a law to guide operations in the sector.

Ahmed said at the ongoing

Kaduna International Trade Fair that the aim was to ``improve governance and management of the sector’’.

She said the legal frame-

SERAP drags Coca-Cola, NBC to UN over harmful drinks From John Okeke, Abuja OCIO-ECONOMIC Rights S(SERAP) and Accountability Project has dragged CocaCola Limited and the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights over “serious breaches of corporate responsibility to respect the right to health of Nigerians and the failure to provide effective remedies to victims.”

The organization said “this failure of due diligence has implications for the enjoyment of the economic and social rights guaranteed under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”

SERAP’s petition signed by its executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni followed recent disclosure by the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council of cases of harmful drinks including two half-empty cans of Sprite, a product manufactured by the NBC under the licence and authority of Coca-Cola Limited, and rusty bottle crown corks, rusty cans and foreign particles in products.

The CPC also said that these companies have failed to put in place a Shelf Life Policy for their products in the country to facilitate the removal of expired products from the market.

According to SERAP, “Both Coca-Cola and NBC have failed and or neglected to subject their manufacturing process to inspection by appropriate authorities, contrary to national laws and international standards, in particular, the guiding principles on business and human rights endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011.”

The organization also argued

Kwara to disburse N214m agric loan to farmers HE Kwara Government yesT terday, said it would disburse N214 million loan to farmers to boost agricultural activities in the state.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Anthony Towoju, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.

He said arrangements for the disbursement of the loan to 172 farmers, through a commercial bank, had been concluded.

Towoju said the money would assist the farmers to cultivate 2,580 hectares of rice, maize, soya beans and cassava in the state.

The commissioner reiterated the determination of the government to transform the agricultural sector.

He said the state government would continue to provide enabling environment for farmers to ensure food security and to promote commercial agriculture.

that, “Coca-Cola and NBC are required to ensure that their activities do not directly or indirectly cause human rights abuses, and to provide effective remedies to victims in cases of abuses of human rights. They must seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.”

“The human rights abuses by Coca-Cola and NBC illustrate the lack of explicit human rights policies by several companies operating in Nigeria

and which have continued to contribute to the violations and abuses of the economic and social rights of millions of Nigerians. Even companies with human rights policies have failed and or neglected to effectively implement these policies for the sake of profit,” the organization added.

The organization further said, “We believe that the human rights abuses by CocaCola and NBC cannot be justified in the light of the letter and spirit of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Guiding Principles as well as the Committee’s own jurisprudence.”

The group therefore requested the Committee “being the principal body established to monitor compliance with the Covenant, to act urgently not only to ensure that corporate bodies like Coca-Cola and NBC are not directly or indirectly abusing the economic and social rights of Nigerians under the Covenant and the Guiding Principles, but also to protect the sanctity, credibility, efficacy, and authority of the Covenant and the Guiding Principles and the Committee’s role in ensuring that corporate practices do not directly or indirectly lead to abuses of human rights.

work was being developed ``on the basis of the findings and recommendations of the NEITI audit report in the solid minerals sector’’. “ wish to call on state governments to cooperate with NEITI with regards to the issues of sub-national reporting and domestication of NEITI process and principles at work levels .

“This is to establish the right investment climate required for attracting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the solid mineral sector so as to halt the current over-dependence and dominance of the oil and gas sector in the Nigerian economy” Ahmed said.

She also said that the mining sector needs to improve governance and prevents resource-based conflicts.

“NEITI process reveals lapses in governance and management of the sector. The infor-

mation and data generated

by NEITI audit would enable the civil society, media, the parliament and the general public to hold government and companies to account”.

In his comment, Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Audu Bajoga appreciated the work of NEITI in enhancing transparency in governance.

He called on the federal government to continue supporting the agency with the necessary political will to meet its objectives.

The deputy governor urged NEITI to expand its work to all states and local governments in Nigeria.

“The Kaduna State Government is open and ready to work with NEITI in areas of mutual interest. We shall appreciate a deliberate effort on the part of NEITI’s board and management to open up relationship with the state.``

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Appointments NLC faults Sanusi’s suspension

By Yetunde Ebosele (Lagos) and Collins Olayinka (Abuja) HE Nigeria Labour Congress t (NLC) has faulted the suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as governor of Central bank of Nigeria (CbN), saying it lacked due process.

Specifically, the Congress through its President, Abdulwaheed Omar, alleged that the suspension failed litmus test, adding that, it was capable of discouraging future whistle blowers in government as well as casting a pall on government’s fight against corruption.

In a statement on tuesday, NLC maintained that the process of Sanusi’s removal was patently flawed and ridicules due process as well as contemptuous of the Act establishing the CbN. besides, it flayed Sanusi for quoting three different figures as the alleged missing oil money not accounted for by NNPC earning him a quiet rebuke by the Senate, which is investigating the alleged fraud.

It posited that in saner climes, Sanusi ought to have turned in his letter of resignation the next day for getting the figures wrong, for misleading the public and for embarrassing the government, his excuse of poor communication between the relevant institutions in question notwithstanding.

It added: “While we hold Sanusi accountable for not doing his home work properly before going public on an issue as sensitive as this, espe-

cially considering the sum involved, we believe the process of his removal is patently flawed and ridicules due process as well as contemptuous of the Act establishing the CbN.” It added: “Indeed, government’s action is negatively preemptive and malicious by virtue of the fact that full investigations into the allegations had not been concluded before

it removed Sanusi and also the fact that it had sent in to the Senate for confirmation the name of his successor.

“We find it intriguing that government and Sanusi could part ways in this fashion. We recall Sanusi’s anti-worker policies/statements and especially his stance during the fuel price increase protests in January 2012, which was clearly in support of government and

the fuel subsidy scammers.

Sanusi did not deem it fit to apologise to the Nigerian workers after their protests led to the exposure of some of the biggest scams in Nigerian history. to this end, it could be argued he was not really interested in fighting corruption but in seeking the headlines.”

It was quick to add that notwithstanding Sanusi ‘sins’, government must not only fol-

low the law but must be seen to follow the law.

NLC declared that rather than dissipate energy on ‘Sanusimania’, government should focus on irrebuttable cases of corruption and bring the culprits to book, saying: “they are legion but we dare mention only the Sure-P missing funds, the bMW bullet proof cars, the Sanusi revelations at NNPC.”

It urged government to redouble its effort at fighting corruption.

“In our view, the most important thing is that government should not lose sight of its fight against corruption which is the major issue here.

Government’s commitment to this scourge should be demonstrable, clear and unambiguous,” it said.

Regional Coordinator, United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Shina Fagbenro (left), National Programme Manager, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems II (PATHS2), Michael Egboh, outgoing Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Femi Olugbile and his wife, Olayemi Olugbile at an event in honour Dr. Femi Olugbile in Lagos… recently.

PHOTO: WOLE OYEBADE

Crisis in ASCON over court ruling, HOS circular on directors

By Our reporter RISIS may be brewing at C the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) following a recent ruling by the National Industrial Court that declared ASCON as an extraministerial department or parastatal rather than a research institute and alleged refusal by some directors who have served the mandatory eight years of service to quit the service as stipulated by law.

The Guardian reliably gathered that there are a large number of directors who have been caught up with the Head of Service directive that directors that had served eight years must retire especially with the court ruling which has now grouped the institute in a new status that makes it mandatory to comply with the directive which would not have been the case if it has remained a research institute. the Court in suit No NICN/LA/426/2012, in a case between two former directors of the college Stephen Imuzei Akhiojemi and bitrus Kefas (Claimants) VS ASCON and Head of Service of Federation (Defendants), the court described ASCON as an extram i n i s t e r i a l department/parastatal contrary to the argument by the

former directors that ASCON is a research institute.

As a result, the judgment which was subsequently adopted by the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, which now makes it mandatory, that other directors in the organisation should compulsorily retire after serving eight years on the post. the judgment was declared January 2014. the members of the union in the college are threatening to down tools if the Director General of the College, Ajibade Peters failed to implement the court judgment and the circular from the Head of Service on the tenure of some directors whom they alleged have refused to leave.

A strong member of the union who craved anonymity told The Guardian: “the DG is still keeping directors who have done eight years or 60 years of age or have done 35 years in the service inspite of the Industrial Court judgment of 2014 and even the head of service circular of 9th of January, 2014. the excuse of the DG is that they are academic staff but the judgment of the court said ASCON is not a research institution but an extra ministerial department.

“We believe that the attitude of the DG is unfair because this rule have been

applied for some other Directors who have left the service after the eight years so why are you now shifting the goal post at the middle of the game. Even the DG second tenure is questionable because he has not complied with the gazette, which stated he should have retired in 2008 when he took the position. the law says he should have retired and then applied as DG afresh because in 2012 he clocked 60 years but he refused to retire. “therefore in order to avoid

crisis in the college, we are calling on the Head of Service of the Federation to compel the DG to enforce the compulsory eight years tenure since the law has been enforced on some directors in the past.

Shielding others who still there will be resisted by the union,” they declared.

Another leader of the union spoke on phone to The Guardian saying: “It is surprising that in-spite of these unambiguous contents of circulars from the Head of Service of the Federation and

the court judgment. the management of ASCON has refused to comply with the tenure policy regarding some directors who erroneously claim to be entitled to the retirement age of 65, being academic staff. the basis for this claim is that ASCON is a research institute and being a research institute, the academic staffs are covered by the exemption top the application of the tenure policy. the ruling of the court, which held that ASCON is an extra-ministerial depart-

ment/parastatal and not a research institute on which the claim of 65 is anchored, has dismissed this basis for this claim.

Efforts to reach the leadership of the organisation were not successful. All calls to the mobile number of the DG did not go through and a management staff who picked calls, said he was competent to speak on the matter. “I believe that at the appropriate time, management will make a formal reaction to it.”

17m Nigerian women extremely poor, says expert

By Charles Coffie Gyamfi, Abeokuta bOut 17 million Nigerian A women are living below the poverty line. Out of the number 7.5 are extremely poor, according to an expert, Mrs. Naomi Osemedua.

Osemedua spoke at the opening ceremony of a workshop, organised by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital as a “Resource Person”.

the five-day workshop was put together to train 40 women to acquire skills in Information Communication technology (ICt), fashion designing and “beauty makeup” among others.

Osemedua stated that inspite of their poverty levels, Nigerian women have a crucial role to play in the economic and social development of the country.

Her words: “It will take everyone (Nigerian women) of us to make a difference, moving the country forward is not the sole responsibility of the country’s leadership.”

the Managing Director of NGC, Mr. Saidu Mohammed in his address stated that the company was a socially responsible organisation, which community relation’s philosophy views the host communities as partners with the desire that they buy into her business.

According to him: “Doing this business, we have pipelines and infrastructure that cuts across over 1,100 kilometres in about 200 communities, including Lagos and Ogun States”. the participants were

selected from Ogun and Lagos States.

Mohammed explained that the decision to organise the workshop was to empower the women: “In our host communities in Ogun and Lagos States in becoming more efficient in managing their businesses and therefore make them self-sufficient in all facets of their lives.”

He implored the participants to take the workshop seriously by seeing it as an opportunity to equip them with various skills that would be beneficial and change their lives positively.

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APPOINTMENTS Thursday, February 27, 2014

ASSBIFI alleges Sanusi’s policies promote sack of workers From Collins Olayinka, Abuja HE Association of Senior T Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) has accused suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi of implementing policies that pushed many workers into the unemployment market.

A statement by the National President of ASSBIFI, Emeka Ogene and Secretary General, Obukese Orere, said that the apex bank governor was noted for his policy somersaults.

The association said that the suspension of the governor was long overdue saying his tenure had been an unpleasant economic journey for the country.

The statement added: “The Sanusi led CBN turned Nigeria into a financial policy testing ground and most of his policies were geared towards punishing the Nigerian workers in the financial sector. The depletion of bank workers during the Mallam Sanusi regime was far more than the Soludo era when 89 Banks were forced to merge and reduced to 25 in 2005.”

Not only that some workers were affected by Sanusi policies, the association noted that even managements of some banks were also adversely affected more in the alleged Sanusi era as vendetta was the hallmark of the suspended governor.

The association alleged that financial pains the Sanusi era inflicted on the Nigerian bank worker with its alien policies were yet to subside as

many affected bank workers were yet to get their exit payment as at today.

ASSBIFI alleged that Sanusi ruled the CBN as a lord who was not accountable to anybody – not even the Ministry of Finance to which it is subjected.

“Since when, if one may ask, has the CBN become an intervention agency on infrastructural development like constructing buildings for both primary and secondary schools in his choice locality or an intervention agency on flood disaster management?” It asked.

It argued that if even if the CBN operational guideline had corporate social responsibility as one of its objectives, the fund for such social responsibility should be appropriated. The unilateral decision of the CBN governor resulting in unpalatable policy in the financial sector is unprecedented.”

ASSBIFI stated that it expected the suspension long before now when the Sanusi led CBN almost forced the production of N5, 000 notes on the economy.

It added: “We have considered the tsunami of 2009 in the banking sector by the takeover of three banks from shareholders and their eventual sales as a policy summersault. The CBN governor was more of a pressman than a Central Bank governor. His utterances were loud and without discretion. He took official issues to the market place first before they become policy issues of the CBN.” The association stressed that public utterances on the banks in 2009 caused a serious run on the eight banks he initially publicly announced as insolvent, adding: “He also openly called on the banking public to withdraw their patronages from certain banks. ASSBIFI saw no profes-

sionalism in these CBN actions.”

It wondered if the public believed that Sanusi was a good whistle blower, he should be asked why the result of the examination he ordered on one of the banks he took over in 2009 has not

ITING gender balance and C need for professionalism, Women in Aviation (WIA) has called for the appointment of Nigeria’s first female pilot, Captain Chinyere Kalu as the next Minister of Aviation.

They insisted that professionalism should be the basis for selection of a minister for the aviation sector, which according to them required high-level technicalities and precision.

Briefing journalists recently in Abuja, spokesperson of WIA,

Nigerian Chapter, Safiya Ibrahim Ogoh explained that Kalu had paid her dues in the aviation sector for over thirty five years, adding that she had an enviable record as the first female pilot in Nigeria, with a proven track record and pedigree of rapid development, zero tolerance for corruption coupled with the fear of God, “as manifested in her short term as rector, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.”

Ogoh said: “We endorse her because she has the capacity for

cy’s effect on Nigerian financial workers.”

The association submitted that Sanusi’s advice to the federal government in November 2012 to sack 50 per cent of the civil service workers is a case not to be forgotten in a hurry.

WRAPA pledges to support women with N124m grant From Omotola Oloruntobi, Abuja HE Secretary General T of Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Saudatu Madhi has promised to continue to support more women and girls both at the national and grassroots level with the N124.275m ($750,000) MacArthur Foundation grant.

WRAPA is one of seven nonprofit organisations around the world to receive the 2014

Group canvasses support for Kalu From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja

been made public.

It said: “When problems arose between the unions and the banks on the implementation of CBN polices, the apex bank looked away without concern. It only shows that the CBN under Sanusi is not concerned about its poli-

performance. She is very prudent with a verifiable record of achievements. WIN’s mission is to empower women in Nigeria to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformations through technology, leadership and economic prosperity in the industry as well as foster, promote and engage in aviation education, particularly as it relates to women in aviation.”

She observed that the decision of the association was informed by the desire to prof-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

MacArthur Award for creative and effective institutions.

WRAPA works to promote and protect the rights of Nigerian women and it uses holistic approach to helping women through provision of legal defense, public education, shelter, skills and literacy training.

Addressing a news briefing in Abuja, she said winning the award was an affirmation of the impact the organisation has been able to make in the life of women in the country.

“WRAPA as an organisation has received the MacArthur Awards of $750,000 having demonstrated exceptional creativity and effectiveness.

WRAPA has received MacArthur support for projects that have direct bearing on well being of women and girls through its human rights programme.

“WRAPA, currently in the process of reorganising its operations to reach even more women, will use its MacArthur Award funding to complete development of a resource centre that will house a hostel and transit shelter for abused women and girls, as well as an office,

library and auditorium.

“The award will not only enhance the strengthening of WRAPA but will also significantly extend its capacity and guaranty the expansion and availability of its services to millions of Nigerian women, girls and families,” she said.

Madhi further stated that the organisation will continue to serve Nigerian women and girls better also expand the preservation of the human dignity of women irrespective of socio-economic issues.

She added that the MacArthur award was not only in recognition of past leadership and success but also an investment in the organisations’ future.

Recipients have to use the award to create endowments funds, increase their capacity, and upgrade technology and physical infrastructure.

“MacArthur has a long history of nurturing emerging organisations and institutions to upscale impact on their clientele, and upgrade effectiveness in delivery of their services,” she said.

She appreciated the leadership of MacArthur for the award and support given to the organisation.

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WOTCLEF launches anti-trafficking brigade From Omotola Oloruntobi, Abuja HE Women Trafficking T and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) has inaugurated a team of human traffic fight-

ers it called the ‘WOTCLEF Anti-trafficking Brigade’ (WAB), made up of pupils and students from different schools.

Its National Coordinator, Mrs. Veronica Umaru, said that WAB was a school-based

programme formed to encourage children participates directly in the fight against human trafficking and child labour.

She stated at the inauguration ceremony held at the Junior Secondary School (JSS)

Firm signs pact with NITDA on eGovernance the cause of of the MoU with Nihilent IHILENT Nigeria, a con- oning N sulting and solutions inte- eGovernance in India for over Nigeria, to provide an objecgration company has signed a a decade, by sponsoring the tive framework for recogniMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to create a framework for e-governance awards, recognition programme and training and development around IT skills.

The company, according to the agreement, will work with NITDA in defining the character and ethos of the eGovernance awards through various activities, including identification of different award categories, formulation of awards criteria, formation of awards committee.

Others are the definition of field survey and documentation procedure, formalisation of awards and recognition.

To achieve these, Nihilent and NITDA will collaborate to foster excellence in eGovernance initiatives in Nigeria and promote use of ICT for developmental purposes.

Additionally, Nihilent will help NITDA in launching a comprehensive training and development programme that aims at tapping the best IT skills and talent in the country.

The Chairman of Nihilent Nigeria, Oti Ikomi, said: “We are pleased to partner with NITDA for the development of e-Governance in Nigeria, and contribute to national growth and development.”

Nihilent has been champi-

Group canvasses support for Kalu CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 fer a lasting solution to the incessant aviation crises and continuity of the implementation of aviation master plan, which is a major component of President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.

Ogoh said: “We thank President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for his magnanimity as a leader. He has so far displayed high level regards for gender mainstreaming, a sign that he is endeared to the actualisation of affirmative action which is prominent in his cabinet composition so far.”

Ogoh commended what she described as the courage of the former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah for her “giant strides in the Aviation industry transformation projects which was witnessed in infrastructural developments at the General Aviation Terminal, Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (Domestic Terminal), Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport Terminal, Kano, Benin Airport Terminal, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu and Aerotropolis” among others

prestigious Computer Society of India (CSI)- Nihilent eGovernance awards.

The awards, helmed by the pioneers of eGovernance in the country, have achieved the highest levels of respectability and repute.

The Acting Director-General, NITDA, Dr. A.S. Daura, added: “NITDA welcomes the signing

tion of eGovernance initiatives, and to promote the use of ICT for developmental purposes.”

He urged the company’s leadership to ensure that provisions of the MoU are adhered, saying that Henry Ford once said that “coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working

in life camp, Abuja, saying the inauguration was the grand finale of the series of programmes the foundation organised to mitigate child trafficking and promote children’s rights in the country.

According to her, WOTCLEF targetted to train 8,000 children from both primary and secondary school to combat the menace of human trafficking and child labour and abuse, which she said had continued to increase despite all efforts to curb it.

“We will train 400 children who will reach out to another 20 children each and this will give us 8,000 all together. The 400 children will undergo training to enable them train other children too on child’s rights, children’s responsibilities, child abuse, reproductive health, peer group pressure

as well as how to reach out to other children.

“We have also trained over 600 children whom apart from feeding we give them clothing and shelter but most importantly we send them to school and we achieve this in partnership with NAPTIP who give us funds to carry out our activities, as well as other donors like the European Union.

“We had earlier conducted training for parents and guardians as well but, most of the guardians refused to attend our training so we train principals and teachers to identify such children who have been abused and through that we can reach their parents or guardians.

Some guardians abuse them but some do not we have achieved a lot by raising awareness to the public,” she

said.

Earlier, NAPTIP Assistant Chief, Chidi Donatus, regretted that Nigeria’s legal system is slow, as many culprits have gone scot free due to lack of law to punish them.

“We are working on making the punishment on child abusers to be more severe and the bill is ongoing at the National Assembly but we are doing all we can to make sure human trafficking and child abuse stops,” he assured.

Newly inaugurated WAB member and student of JSS in life camp, Miss Chisom Obiako, said she would educate her fellow students who are unaware of human trafficking and child labour/abuse, adding that it was time children know they have the right to protect themselves before relying on

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APPOINTMENTS Thursday, February 27, 2014

Stakeholders insist on appointment of technocrat as aviation minister

By Chika Goodluck-Ogazi ORRIED by what they called ‘underground moves’ by some industry players to thwart its proposal for the appointment of a technocrat as the next aviation minister, joint aviation unions and associations in the sector have insisted on its agitation.

The unions, which includes Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), National Association of Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA), National Air Traffic Association of Nigeria (NACAN), Nigeria Professional Pilots, Aviation Roundtable and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), said that its position that an industry technocrat be appointed the next aviation minister has not changed.

According to the convener of the stakeholders meeting, Captain Nogie Meggison, it has come to the notice of stakeholders that some persons were using some experts to make case for themselves as against the collective position.

He added that as stakeholders had resolved that a technocrat should be appointed as aviation minister, some industry players or head of aviation agencies that have misled previous aviation ministers are using their positions to lobby for the

W

position of aviation minister, without the requisite capacity and track record for the position.

“One of the major reasons why industry players need a technocrat as the next aviation minister is to rescue the industry from its current state, where certain self centered elements without pedigree and track record want to continue to hijack the industry. A clear situation is where the industry finds itself today where such people are now in Abuja lobbying to be the next minister of aviation.”

He said that the industry had some seasoned industry

technocrats like Captain Dapo Olumide, former managing director of Air Nigeria and Deputy Managing Director, Aerocontractors, Captain Kiddy Dare, former Logistics Director ExxonMobil, and Former Director of Operations at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Ibrahim Seidu, Managing Director, Kabo Air, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, Rector, Mish Aviation Flying School, Acccra and others.

Meanwhile, President of Aviation Roundtable, Captain Dele Ore has also warned

against the use of the open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan as an avenue by some self-seeking experts to advance their selfish desire to lobby for the position of aviation minister.

“The same so called professionals that are now agitating to be considered to replace Princess Stella are those that misadvised her and are being sponsored for the “BIG COVER-UP” that needs urgent probes, re-organisation of the ministry and some agencies under the Ministry of Aviation,” he said.

‘Walk Your Talk,’ Agabi charges professionals ROFESSIONALS in differP ent sectors of the economy should focus more on practicing the good virtues they believe in and espouse rather than simply taking delight in criticizing others.

This was the admonition given to members of the newly inaugurated Abuja branch of the School of Media and Communication Alumni Association (SMCAA) recently in Abuja by the president of the association, Bayero Agabi.

According to Agabi, who is the chief executive officer of Tribe Media Company, Lagos, example is better than precepts, and professionals must not only talk, but also walk their talk.

In his words: “If we all do the best we can in our different fields of endeavours, with the interest of others and the society as a whole as our focus, rather than personal interest, it won’t be long before we have the Nigeria of our dream.”

The SMCAA president specifically charged the new members: “As you all know, excellence summarises the ideals of the School of Media and Communication of PanAtlantic University (PAU).

“I, therefore, urge you to keep and sustain the ideals of SMCAA. You must not deviate from the spirit of PAU and must add value to the institution, our alumni, your profession and the society as

a whole.”

Agabi also urged the new members to spread the good ideals of SMCAA and the university, just as he advised them to be loyal to the association and be active and supportive members.

A major highlight of the inauguration was the election of the executive council, which saw Mustafa Tafida emerging as president.

Other members are the Vice president, Emmanuel OjoOdiase and the Secretary, Ms. Sarah Oga. Agabi also disclosed that the Port-Harcourt branch of SMCAA might be inaugurated later in the year.

Ihejiahi bags award, urges commitment to duty

By Chijioke Nelson HE immediate past Group T Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Reginald Ihejiahi, has emerged Banker of The Year, at The Sun Newspaper 11th anniversary and awards.

The award, according to the organisers, was in recognition of the financial institution’s strides and scaling two major banking reforms successfully under his leadership.

Under Ihejiahi’s leadership, the bank grew exponentially in all vital indices- shareholders’ fund grew from N2 billion in 2003 to N167 billion in 2013; branch network rose from 17 as at the time he took over to 213 last year; customer base jumped from 150,000 to 2.5 million, while the total assets grew from about N20 billion to over N1 trillion.

The bank also did two land-

mark transactions, which include $250 million Global Depository Receipts in 2007 and $350 million Eurobond in 2013.

The bank also achieved a BBB+ rating by Standard & Poor’s, Fitch rating and Augusto & Co, achieving the merger of FSB International Bank and Manny Bank with old Fidelity to form the enlarged Fidelity Bank, which has become a national franchise.

Beside national honours, he has honoris causa in Business Administration from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; a winner of Ziks Prize for Leadership in the professional category (2003), the Potincal Honours Award 2009.

Ihejhiahi, while speaking to journalists at the weekend, said that dedication to duty and the principle of leading by example had helped him succeed.

Eternit to train carpenters TERNIT Nigeria Limited, E one of the leading manufacturers of roofing and ceiling products has concluded plans to train carpenters in 12 states of the federation before the end of the year.

The training the company in a statement explained is part of its corporate social responsibility, adding that, the training programme has now become a tradition, which it intends to sustain.

“We have already demonstrated our commitment towards improving manpower development and skill acquisition through special

training for carpenters and other products installers.”

This according the to the company, would help boost local technical skills and create jobs in the building and construction industry.

The Managing Director, Dirk Modderman, while unveiling the company’s strategies towards ensuring increase in sophistication within the construction industry especially in the installation of certain products said, “There are new products now in the marketplace that requires highly skilled manpower to install.

Thursday, February 27, 2014 | 31

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ScienceGuardian Scientists advance search for cheap, clean energy

ASTRONOMY With J.K. Obatala

Stars, planets, clusters herald dry season (8)

By J.K. Obatala

GAIN, this oscillation • Create crude oil from algae in minutes A from red supergiant to blue, reflect changes in stel• New, inexpensive production materials boost promise of hydrogen fuel lar temperature and structure.

Heat from ion fusion, • Make fine diesel fuel from plastic shopping bags in shells surrounding the core, causes the hydrogen • Oil eating microbes dominate deep sandstone formations envelope to expand—creat-

Cheap and environmental-friendly energy... generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy one can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains.

By Chukwuma Muanya with agency reports have made StheCIENTISTS major breakthroughs in search for cheap, alternative and environmental-friendly energy sources with: creation of crude oil from algae in minutes; discovery of new, inexpensive production materials for hydrogen fuel; making of fine diesel fuel from plastic shopping bags; and the discovery that oil eating microbes dominate deep sandstone formations.

Generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy one can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains.

The trouble with solar fuel production is the cost of producing the sun-capturing semiconductors

and the catalysts to generate fuel. The most efficient materials are far too expensive to produce fuel at a price that can compete with gasoline.

But researchers in a study published last week in the journal Science, combined cheap, oxidebased materials to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases using solar energy with a solar-tohydrogen conversion efficiency of 1.7 percent, the highest reported for any oxide-based photoelectrode system.

A chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States, Kyoung-Shin Choi, created solar cells from bismuth vanadate using electrodepositionthe same process employed to make goldplated jewelry or surfacecoat car bodies- to boost the compound’s surface area to a remarkable 32 square meters for each gram.

Bismuth vanadate needs a hand in speeding the reaction that produces fuel, and that’s where the

Engineers have created a continuous chemical process that produces useful crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae- a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup... Engineers simplified the production of crude oil from algae by combining several chemical steps into one continuous process.

paired catalysts come in.

Choi created solar cells from bismuth vanadate using electrodepositionthe same process employed to make goldplated jewelry or surfacecoat car bodies- to boost the compound’s surface area to a remarkable 32 square meters for each gram.

Bismuth vanadate needs a hand in speeding the reaction that produces fuel, and that’s where the paired catalysts come in.

While there are many research groups working on the development of photoelectric semiconductors, and many working on the development of water-splitting catalysts, according to Choi, the semiconductor-catalyst junction gets relatively little attention.

Also, researchers report

CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

ing a larger, and cooler, surface area. Cooler surfaces radiate at longer wavelengths.

Here then, is another note for your memory card: There’s nothing like “colour” in nature. The tints and hues you see, is a coding system your brain has devised to identify and classify wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, that are most common (and useful) in the environment we evolved in.

As I often say, if you could step outside your head, you’d scramble to get back in! You wouldn’t see the physical objects we’re accustomed to seeing. Instead, waves, which radiate from these objects continually, would be coming at you from every direction!

The brain has learned to classify those waves that are visible (the ones your eyes can sense) according to their length—and assign colours to each category.

The longest waves are perceived as “red” and the shorter ones “orange,” “yellow,” “green,“ “blue,” “indigo” and “violet” (Remember, “ROY G. BIV”!).

By now, you must be wondering what all this has to do with supergiants, Rigel in particular? Well, we won’t get bogged down in this “black body” business.

But here’s the connection: The shorter a wave’s length, the more energy it carries and the “bluer” the radiating object appears to the eye.

Thus in Earth Science, a textbook for secondary school Students in California (U.S.A.), Ralph M. Feather, Jr., Susan Leach Snyder and Duke T. Hesser write: “The color of a star indicates its temperature.

For example, very hot stars are a blue-white color. A relatively cool star looks orange or red”.

I try to reduce technical jargon to the barest minimum, in this column. But for the sake of secondary school teachers and non-science university students, Wien’s law ought to be mentioned, in connection with temperature and colour.

It says, simply, that the hotter an object is, the bluer it radiates. A metal rod held in a flame, for example,

turns red and then white. If it could withstand more heat without melting, it would eventually become blue. So it is with stars.

In short, Astronomers know that Rigel is hotter than Betelgeuse, for the same reason you prefer to cook with a blue flame rather than a white or red one: Your pot will boil quicker, because gases radiating at “blue” wavelengths convey more heat energy to it than would a red or white flame.

Likewise, there is also a direct relationship between colour, size and mass—at least when it comes to supergiant. Blue supergiants, for instance, are among the most massive stars observed so far, anywhere in the universe. Yet they are generally smaller than red supergiants and also hotter.

Universe Today explains why the colour and size of massive stars like Rigel and Betelgeuse change, as they oscillate, over thousands of years, from blue to red super-giants and vice versa.

“When the star is…more compact,” the website says, “its luminosity is contained over a smaller surface area and so its temperature is much hotter. This is the blue supergiant phase. These stars can then puff up…, spreading their luminosity over a much larger area…[to] become red supergiant stars, and appear the cooler red color”.

Stars loose mass continually, though at varying rates, in the course of their evolution—a process that is intensified, after they have move off the main sequence of the H-R diagram. In fact, Rigel is known to be surrounded by a ring of ejected matter (which is visible only through a powerful telescope).

Astronomers take this as evidence, that the star may have been a red supergiant before and is now in a blue phase. They believe that material streams from a red supergiant in a dense, slow stellar wind, in contrast to the fast and tenuous outrush of matter from a blue supergiant.

The website of OPT Telescopes puts it this way: “Almost all blue supergiants observable have this shell of material surrounding them, suggesting that they all once were red supergiants.

As the star evolves, it may swing back and forth between red supergiant (slow, dense wind) and blue supergiant (fast, sparse wind)…and give concentric faint shells around itself..,”

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SCIENCE HEALTH Thursday, February 27, 2014

‘More private sector participation will reduce frequent strikes in health sector’ The maiden Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Doctors’ Games tagged ‘Eket 2014’ with theme ‘… Let the Doctors Play’ was held last week in Eket, Akwa Ibom State. The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who flagged off the event, spoke with AYOYINKA JEGEDE on the delay in passage of the National Health Bill by the National Assembly (before the passage by the Senate), importance and impact of the maiden Doctors’ Games on the nation’s health care delivery, how to stop frequent strikes by health workers and other issues. Excerpts: Why has the National Health Bill not yet signed into law?

E have gone through that stage because the 6th session of the National Assembly in 2011 passed it but it couldn’t be assented to by Mr. President because if you recalled at that time many groups were claiming that there were issues with the National Health Bill and they wouldn’t want the President to sing it into law.

Some groups even demonstrated at the National Assembly complex what Mr. President decided then was to call for a number of meetings, at least I attended up to four of them and some the Mr. President was involved directly in the meetings to know why some cross sections of Nigerians were opposed to the Bill. Issues are clearer now, some of the areas that we felt we could amend, they have also been done.

What is important is that it is currently before the National Assembly because by the time all these meetings were concluding, the time permitted by the constitution within which the president should assent to a bill or refusal otherwise had already

W

elapsed. It is before the National Assembly, both the senate and the Federal House of Representatives, and going by the pronouncements by the revenant authorities at the National Assembly I believe that this year the National Health Bill will be passed into law. On the part of Mr. President he has now said that once this bill is passed and transmitted to him he would certainly accent.

What will be the benefits of the Bill when signed into law?

The benefits are one; it will define certain roles clearly. It will define what role the National Council of Health would be playing. The National Council of Health has been in existence but is not backed by any law. It is important that some kind of legal framework will be provided for the National Council of Health. Second, it will bring increased funding to the Primary Health Care sub-sector. Presently, Primary Health Care is supposed to be the responsibility of local and state governments but the Federal Government still plays a major role in the nation’s Primary Health Care. The fed-

eral government is championing for Instance, all issues relating to immunization, the federal government and other interventions through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) fund vaccines are actually led by the federal government.

The Bill proposes to establish a primary health care Fund.

The idea is that a certain percentage of the Consolidated Revenue of the Federation (CRF) will be dedicated to the Primary Health Care. The purpose is to use that fund to provide reliable consistent funding for immunization. It will provide funds for even state government on counterpart basis. Local Governments if they contribute five per cent of an amount could be given the balance of 95 percent for the purposes of developing their primary health care system.

State governments that contribute just 10 percent from that funding will get additional 90 percent to fund their primary health care projects.

Funding will also be available to procure essential drugs for primary care. Finally, what is known today, as minimum package of health for all

Nigerians would be provided through that fund?

There will be health insurance care for all Nigerians. The other benefit is that the bill when signed into law is going to provide for the first time in this country a regulatory framework for tertiary hospitals. The present arrangement is such that state governments are expected to be the ones to ensure the standard of facilities, though we have professional regulatory bodies but they only regulate their members, the professionals but for facilities we don’t have any frames work at the federal level to regulate facilities, the facilities are actually been regulated by states but many of the states do not have the capacity. What we are proposing under the National Health bill is to have a mechanism for maintaining and ensuring standards, for all tertiary hospitals in Nigeria be it federal, state, or private. Also there are other areas that have not been regulated in Nigeria for instance the issue of tissue and organ transplantation.

Blood transition falls under tissue transplantation here in Nigeria. We have started

Prof. Chukwu, Health minister doing kidney transplant in Nigerian there is no law governing it that is a gap that will be filled by the National Health bill when passed into law.

In recent times, strikes have become the order of the day in the health sector leading to the loss of lives and preventable morbidity and mortality. What are you doing about this?

What is the permanent solution?

I do not know whether there will be a permanent solution because all over the world there is always from time to time issues between the employers and the employees, when it can’t be resolved

round the table often the workers embarked on strike but I think the issue in Nigeria is becoming too frequent sometimes for frivolous reasons, so incessant that it is disrupting the system. The answer to it is for the workers themselves to accept some responsibilities for what happens in the health sector; just thinking about them only may not be the solution.

There is no amount of money anybody is going to be paid in this world that will be all right because as you get better paid your expectations and need to

CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

Thursday, February 27, 2014

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33

NaturalHealth Grape seed shows promise in fight against bowel cancer NIVERSITY of Adelaide U research has shown for the first time that grape seed can aid the effectiveness of chemotherapy in killing colon cancer cells as well as reducing the chemotherapy’s side effects.

Published in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE, the researchers say that combining grape seed extracts with chemotherapy has potential as a new approach for bowel cancer treatment – to both reduce intestinal damage commonly caused by cancer chemotherapy and to enhance its effect.

Lead author Dr Amy Cheah says there is a growing body of evidence about the antioxidant health benefits of grape seed tannins or polyphenols as anti-inflammatory agents and, more recently, for their anti-cancer properties.

“This is the first study showing that grape seed can

enhance the potency of one of the major chemotherapy drugs in its action against colon cancer cells,” says Dr Cheah, researcher in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.

“Our research also showed that in laboratory studies grape seed taken orally significantly reduced inflammation and tissue damage caused by chemotherapy in the small intestine, and had no harmful effects on non-cancerous cells.

Unlike chemotherapy, grape seed appears to selectively act on cancer cells and leave healthy cells almost unaffected.”

The researchers used commercially available grape seed extract, a by-product of winemaking. Tannins extracted from the grape seed were freeze-dried and powdered.

The extract was tested in laboratory studies using colon cancer cells grown in culture.

‘Orange peel extracts stop prostate, lung, breast cancers in humans’

Can citrus ward off risk of stroke? depleted levels of vitamin C

ATING foods that contain E vitamin C may reduce your and 14 percent were considrisk of the most common type ered deficient of the vitamin. of hemorrhagic stroke, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 26 to May 3, 2014.

Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables such as oranges, papaya, peppers, broccoli and strawberries.

Hemorrhagic stroke is less common than ischemic stroke, but is more often deadly.

The study involved 65 people who had experienced an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, or a blood vessel rupture inside the brain. They were compared to 65 healthy people. Participants were tested for the levels of vitamin C in their blood. Forty-one percent of cases had normal levels of vitamin C, 45 percent showed

On average, the people who had a stroke had depleted levels of vitamin C, while those who had not had a stroke had normal levels of the vitamin.

“Our results show that vitamin C deficiency should be considered a risk factor for this severe type of stroke, as were high blood pressure, drinking alcohol and being overweight in our study,” said study author Stéphane Vannier, MD, with Pontchaillou University Hospital in Rennes, France.

“More research is needed to explore specifically how vitamin C may help to reduce stroke risk. For example, the vitamin may regulate blood pressure.”

Vannier adds that vitamin C appears to have other benefits like creating collagen, a protein found in bones, skin and tissues.

Excess weight linked to memory loss, emotions, appetite EING overweight appears pants exhibited lower levels of B related to reduced levels of NAA in the hippocampus than a molecule that reflects brain normal weight subjects. The cell health in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, learning, and emotions, and likely also involved in appetite control, according to a study performed by researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and other institutions.

The results of the study were published in Neuroimage: Clinical.

Dr. Jeremy D. Coplan, professor of psychiatry at SUNY Downstate, led a multicenter team that visualized the molecule, N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, a non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) application. NAA is associated with brain cell health.

Overweight study partici-

effect was independent of age, sex, and psychiatric diagnoses.

The importance of the hippocampus – a seahorseshaped organ deep within the brain – to the formation and preservation of memory and to emotional control is well known, Dr. Coplan notes, but its role in appetite control is less established.

“The relevance of the finding is that being overweight is associated with specific changes in a part of the brain that is crucial to memory formation and emotions, and probably to appetite,” said Dr. Coplan. The study is believed to be the first human research documenting the association of NAA with body weight.

Orange peel...an extract of multiple varieties of citrus peels is an effective anti-cancer agent that may potentially serve as a novel therapeutic option for prostate cancer treatment.

Can eating the peels of oranges provide the elusive cure for cancer? CHUKWUMA MUANYA examines recent clinical studies where the peels of citrus fruits stopped cancer especially that of the prostate, lung and breast in human models. value-added nutraceutical T may sound absurd but it is Itively true. Researchers have effecused the peels of orange

and its relatives to prevent and treat prostate, lung and breast cancers in humans.

The researchers found that citrus peels and their extracts have potent pharmacological activities and health benefits due to the abundance of flavonoids.

Indeed, the use of extracts of orange peel for prevention and treatment of cancer has also received a Patent.

According to study published in Food and Function, an extract of multiple varieties of citrus peels is an effective anticancer agent that may potentially serve as a novel therapeutic option for prostate cancer treatment.

The study is titled “Potent anti-cancer effects of citrus peel flavonoids in human prostate xenograft tumours.”

The researchers wrote: “Our previous studies demonstrated that oral administration of Gold Lotion (GL), an extract of multiple varieties of citrus peels containing abundant flavonoids, including a large percentage of polymethoxyflavones (PMFs), effectively suppressed azoxymethane (AOM)induced colonic tumorigenesis (tumorigenesis or carcinogenesis or oncogenesis is literally the creation of cancer.)

“However, the efficacy of GL

against prostate cancer has not yet been investigated.

Here, we explored the antitumor effects of GL using a human prostate tumor xenograft mouse model.

“Our data demonstrated that treatment with GL by both intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection and oral administration dramatically reduced both the weights (57 per cent100 per cent inhibition) and volumes (78 per cent-94 per cent inhibition) of the tumors without any observed toxicity. “… Our findings suggest that GL is an effective anti-cancer agent that may potentially serve as a novel therapeutic option for prostate cancer treatment.”

Researchers have also shown how monodemethylated PMFs from sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) peel inhibit growth of human lung cancer cells by apoptosis.

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death (PCD) that may occur in multicellular organisms.

According to the researchers, PMFs are almost exclusively found in the Citrus genus, particularly in the peels of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and mandarin (Citrus reticulate).

They wrote: “We studied the effects of two major PMFs, namely, nobiletin and 3,5,6,7,8,3’,4’-heptamethoxyflavone (HMF), and

two major monodemethylated PMFs, namely 5-hydroxy3 , 7 , 8 , 3 ’ , 4 ’ - p e n tamethoxyflavone (5HPMF), and 5-hydroxy-3,6,7,8,3’,4’hexamethoxyflavone (5HHMF), on the growth of human lung cancer H1299, H441, and H460 cells.

“Monodemethylated PMFs were much more potent in growth inhibition of lung cancer cells than their permethoxylated counterpart PMFs. In H1299 cells, cell cycle analyses further revealed that monodemethylated PMFs caused significant increase in sub-G0/G1 phase, suggesting possible role of apoptosis in the growth inhibition observed, whereas the permethoxylated counterpart PMFs did not affect cell cycle distribution at same concentrations tested.

“These results strongly suggested that the phenolic group is essential for the growth inhibitory activity of monodemethylated PMFs. Further studies in H1299 cells demonstrated that monodemethylated PMFs downregulated oncogenic proteins, such as iNOS, COX-2, Mcl-1, and K-ras, as well as induced apoptosis evidenced by activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of PARP. “Our results provide rationale to develop orange peel extract enriched with monodemethylated PMFs into

products for cancer prevention.”

Yet another clinical trial has shown that orange peel can stop breast cancer. . 2007 Dec;51(12):1478-84.

The study titled “Apoptosisinducing activity of hydroxylated polymethoxyflavones and polymethoxyflavones from orange peel in human breast cancer cells” was published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

The researchers wrote: “Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) peel is a rich resource of flavonoids, especially PMFs. Citrus flavonoids exert a broad spectrum of biological activity, including antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects in cancer cells. We have recently shown that individual PMFs from orange peel induce Ca(2+)-mediated apoptosis in human breast cancer cells and that hydroxylation of PMFs is critical for enhancing their proapoptotic activity.

“Here, we report that the fraction of orange peel extract containing a mixture of non-hydroxylated PMFs (75.1 per cent) and hydroxylated PMFs (5.44 per cent) and the fraction containing only hydroxylated PMFs (97.2 per cent) induce apoptosis in those cells as well.

“Treatment of MCF-7 breast

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34 | NATURAL HEALTH Thursday, February 27, 2014

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‘We want to train practitioners on how to prepare safe, efficacious herbal medicines’ O

800 nominations for Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards as entry closes on March 5

• Initiative will prevent brain drain, say organisers

By Chukwuma Muanya

The Universal Health Management Consultant Training Institute (UHMCTI), an accredited member of Nigeria Council of Management Development (NCMD), in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) plan to conduct a two-day workshop and training on herbal medicine development, starting on Monday March 3 and 4, 2014, in Lagos, Zone 1, for South West; March 10 and 11, 2014, in Kaduna, Zone 2, for northern region; and March 24 and 25, 2014, for the eastern region. Chairman of the organizing committee, Executive Director of Programme at UHMCTI and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Pharmacognosy College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL), Dr. Steve Ogbonnia, in this interview with journalists on Monday dismissed suggestions that imported herbal medicines are better than locally-sourced ones and that herbal medicines are responsible for the rising cases of kidney and liver problems. Ogbonnia, however, said the major bane towards herbal medicine development in the country are ‘poor’ technology and unhygienic method of preparation that exposes the products to contamination with toxic substances and microorganisms. CHUKWUMA MUANYA was there. Excerpts: Why the workshops on herbal medicine development?

The workshop is basically on the development of herbal medicine in Nigeria. Why is the workshop timely or essential? Now people are going back to nature and we have a lot in this country, Nigeria located in tropics and we are rich in biodiversity both in plants and animal species. Secondly, our grandfathers, great grandfathers they did not go to the hospitals but they lived hundreds of years. My own grandfather died at the age of 102 and it was once he went to the hospital. His junior brother had his last baby at the age of 80. I asked him, ‘Papa what is the secret?’ He went and brought one big bottle with barks and roots. The secret was just to mix them with local gin and take the decoction morning and evening.

Unfortunately he died when I was young. I never new I would find myself where I am today. That preparation is better than Viagra. But when I came back from South Africa, I saw what was happening, how foreign herbal products and food supplements such as GNLD and Tianchi have flooded our markets. I started training here with Diploma in Herbal Medicine and Advanced Diploma in Herbal Medicine. Since then I have trained some people here, some herbalists that graduated here with Diploma in Herbal Medicine and educated elites that came for Advanced Diploma in Herbal Medicine have graduated. The programme is still on but we have suspended it for sometime.

What informed the workshop?

People have been clamouring for it especially those that came for Higher Diploma. They said it would be nice if I made it public for people to benefit from. S that was the reason why I went to the Director General of NAFDAC and told him, ‘this is what the people are calling for and it will be nice if you give us the consent so that we will organize a workshop.

So you have a kind of collaboration with NAFDAC? Yes? To what extent is the partnership with NAFDAC? When we presented the proposal to the D.G. of NAFDAC he went through it and said it is a very beautiful programme and gave us the go

Dr. Ogbonnia ahead to organize it.

What will the participants, that is traditional medicine practitioners, going to benefit? What will be the added value?

The aim of this workshop is one, for people to know what herbal medicine is all about and two for people to know that the problem we have with herbal medicine is from the preparation not the herbal medicine itself. So the attention here will be on how herbal medicine can be prepared so that it will be safe and still maintain its efficacy. We will also train and educate people on the important uses of herbal medicine.

There have been reports linking herbal medicines with kidney and liver failure. How true is this?

That is one of the areas we need to address. I have done a lot on herbal toxicity. You find out that herbal medicine could be contaminated with some toxic metals that could lead to kidney and liver failure not the herb per se. We want to sensitise people that herbal medicine needs to be standardized and we have to look at the basic toxicological effects so that those things are certain anybody that takes the preparation is guaranteed of the safety and still derive the promised pharmacological benefits.

It is believed that Nigeria has one the richest biodiversity in terms of plants but unfortunately we still import herbal medicines. In fact Chinese herbal drugs have

RGANISERS of the maiden edition of the Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards (NHEA), Global Health Project and Resources (GHPR) in colaboration with Anadach Group, United States, have received over 800 nominations even as entry closes on Wednesday March 5, 2014.

NHEA Programme Coordinator, Dr. Shola Alabi, at a press briefing on Monday said the initiative aimed at recognizing the rapid growth in the healthcare sector, and the capacity of individuals and corporate organisations to influence and set new performance standards in Nigeria and beyond will stop brain drain.

How? “It will enable other practitioners and the general public to be aware of medical services and competences available in the country, which they would prefer to patronize instead of traveling abroad to access such,” he explained.

Alabi said over 43 individuals and organisations have been nominated for the various corporate and individual categories listed for recognition.

He said the event which will hold on March 21, 2014 at Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos is expected to focus on elevated performance; creation of new business models; embracing new trends; market leadership; inspirational performance, etc.

Alabi urged all healthcare stakeholders to visit

www.nigeriahealthawards.co m to make their nominations.”

Prof. Soyibo Adedoyin, an expert in Health Economics, University of Ibadan is the Chairman of the Advisory Board. While Dr. Jim Rice, Project Director, Management Science of Health, USA is the Chairman of the Jury/Selection Committee.

The award has a total of 16 categories which include: The Lifetime Achievements Award, Outstanding State Government Healthcare Programme of the Year, Outstanding CSR Health Project of the Year, Healthcare Media Excellence, Private Healthcare Provider of the Year, Public Healthcare Provider of the Year, Laboratory service provider of the Year, and Radiology Service Provider of the Year.

Others are; Indigenous Biomedical Engineering Service Company of the Year, and International Biomedical Engineering Service Company of the Year, International Pharmaceutical Company of the Year, Indigenous pharmaceutical company of the Year, Pharmaceutical Retail Outlet of the Year, etc.

Dr. Egbe Osifo-Dawodu, founding Partner, Anadach Group and previously an Adviser at the World Bank Institute says, “NHEA will be credible and objective.

Measures have been put in place, especially in the selection of the award jury’.

NHEA has the support of the

Ujah re-appointed as NIMR Director-General flooded the Nigerian market and we are losing a lot of foreign exchange. Are you comfortable with the situation?

Does it mean we do not have the capacity?

No! The problem we have is that of technology. So that was the reason why I started the Diploma training so that traditional medicine practitioners will know how to prepare these and the preparation will be acceptable. So the problem we have is that of acceptability of our local preparation not that the imported products are better than our local preparation. We have potent herbal medicine and practitioners because it is our tradition.

So of these people acquired the knowledge from their great grandfather and it has been in the family for millions of years. They acquire it from their fathers and it has never failed them. But the problem we have is how do they or how can they prepare this medicine so that it can be hygienic, devoid of contamination whether is microorganism or metallic or other toxic substance contamination. That is the problem that we have. If this problem can be addressed and we are able to train people that will take into cognizance the hygienic aspect of their preparation, I think they will be happy with themselves with time and people will appreciate herbal medicine. Sometime ago there was a man, he was to go for prostatic operation. I told him not to go that I have a herbal medi-

cine that can help. I sent just two bottles to him and he was cleared and since that time people have been coming and I have been giving them that medicine.

For the simple reason I have been in toxicological evaluation of herbal medicine. That is what I do as my research work and I evaluate it for people. From my research work so far the problem we have with herbal medicine are the contaminants not the herbs per se. At times you have Escherichia coli contamination and when you have that it is from water or the soil. Escherichia coli (also called E. coli) is a bacterium that can cause serious infections. So you find out that the problem is the hygienic conditions of the preparation of herbal medicine.

So that is what the workshop is all about. Firstly, we have to train people on how to go about it. You know for herbal medicine to be effective there is time to collect the plant material and also processing and drying.

There is a temperature you are supposed to dry the herbs and if you do not do it at that temperature it will lose its potency. So what we want to do in this workshop, development of herbal medicine, is just to tell people what and what they will observe and do so that when they do their preparations they will be effective, devoid of contaminations and devoid of other contaminants that will make herbal medicine unsafe.

IRECTOR-General of the D Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Prof.

Innocent Ujah, has been reappointed for another four tenure the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

In a letter dated February 14, 2014, Minister for Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu, urged the DG “not to rest on your oars but to regard your appointment to improve on your performance during your first tenure.” Ujah’s current tenure expires on April 14, 2014.

Born on 6th November, 1954 at Aidogodo-Okpoga in Okpokwu local government area of Benue state, an astute Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecological Surgeon assured that his new tenure will be hinged on the CONSOLIDATION of past achievements to reposition the institute to become a truly centre of excellence for health research.

The strategic plan of the institute between year 2011 to 2015 and the measurement of his earlier successes emphasized on strengthening health research capacity, Information Communications Technology

Ujah

(ICT) of the institute, establishment of effective public relations unit, partnership and collaboration for enhanced synergy and welfare and performance of institute staff.

Ujah obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1978 from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state.

The DG has qualifications from numerous prestigious institutions including the Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria in Obstetric and Gynaecology in 1988, postgraduate diploma in Health Services Management in 1992, honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, England in 1992.

His impressive resume also includes a diploma in International Maternal Health Care in 1993, Specialist in Gynaecological Endocrinology and Infertility in 1987, member, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS in 1995, Honorary Fellow of the International College of Surgeons in 1996.

Ujah, an experienced and proven medical progressive has 30 years expertise in National Maternal Health policy development in Nigeria including national integrated planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory.

From 1996 to 1999 he served as the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Jos University Teaching Hospital in Plateau state and later became the Chairman of Safe motherhood Committee in Nigeria and member of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON).

Thursday, February 27, 2014 SCIENCE & HEALTH

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How to stop frequent strikes by health workers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32 maintain the newly attained standard of living become important. What is important is to be able to manage whatever you are getting from the system at any particular time.

On part of government what we are doing now is that we are engaging various unions and professional bodies within the health sector more often.

Ultimately what will also help to the address the issue is a system where we should encourage the private sector more in the health sector. If the private sector engages more, and more of the workers in the private sector while government ensure adequate policies and laws as well as ensure that it create mandatory health Insurance so that people who go to hospitals can pay the care providers. I think it will reduce unhealthy rivalries that we have in our hospitals today.

Nigeria is yet to record the case of polio for some months now.

Does it mean the country will soon eradicate polio?

What we told the world is that certainly by the end of this year Nigeria should have interrupted the transmission. In the case of eradication, the World Health Organization (WHO) gives the certificate for eradication if you maintain a clean slate for minimum of two years, but at least we need to interrupt. Once we have interrupted just like what we did in guinea worm, we begin to ensure that we will maintain that clean slate. What you pointed out shows the outcome of recent effort both by the country and by our development partners working harder to see that indeed Nigeria eradicate polio. We are looking forward to see that.

There is a prediction by the Nigerian Academy of Science that there will be shortage of vaccines for immunization this year, 2014. What are you doing to forestall this?

I was not of aware of whatever prediction. I am a professor; I am not a prophet so I do not work with prophets. I think it is wrong for anybody to sit in the comfort of his or her home to make predictions. What is important is that with freedom of information you have access to everyone and I have directed the executive director of the NPHCDA to address the situation. Certainly, that report is unfounded and federal government is taking step to ensure that up till 2015 there will be no stock out of any vaccines.

What is the significance of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Medical Doctors’ Games on health care delivery in the country?

I want to commend the President of the NMA, Dr Osahon Enabulele, for the initiative. Doctors have always told the general public that act of living a healthy life is exercise and doctors themselves often do not have time. They are so busy with their patients that they do not even have time for themselves. With this you can imagine doctors being in Eket, Akwa Ibom State for a week just to ensure that they exercise. It is promoting good healthcare for them and it is a wonderful development.

The general public will always look at the doctors and whatsoever doctors do the general public try to emulate them.

We doctors also take part in competitive sports. I believed the entire public would learn

from his.

The concept of having games for doctors on annual basis is a great initiative that demonstrates the value and role of sport as a component of the overall strategy for the promotion of healthy living amongst the citizens as they take after doctors who do not smoke and are physically healthy. Also beyond the health benefits of

participate in the games is the opportunity it affords doctors to socialize, fraternize and network in a convivial atmosphere devoid of the rigorous scientific conferences and delegates meetings.

In addition, the link between lack of exercise poor nutrition and smoking and the development lack of exercise, poor nutrition and smoking and

the development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like obesity, diabetes and heart disease have been scientifically proven. Too are the profound beneficial effects physical activity have both on the prevention of these conditions and on the amelioration and reversal of their negative effects on the body.

What have been your achieve-

ments in the Ministry so far?

Impact is the best measure of achievement.

We have reduced maternal mortality ratio from 545 per 100,000 to 350 per 100,000. We have also reduced child, under-five mortality rate from 157 per 100,000 to 94 per 100,000. Routine immunization coverage is now 83 per cent; for the first time in more than two

decades that it is more than 60 percent. We successfully introduced two new vaccines: the pentavalent vaccine and the MenAfriVac for the cerebrospinal meningitis.

MenAfriVac is a vaccine developed for use in sub-Saharan Africa that protects people one to 29 years of age against meningococcal bacterium Neisseria meningitidis group A.

Nutricima wins NAFDAC export-compliant award HE Port Inspection T Directorate (PID) arm of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday gave the best export-compliant award to Nutricima Limited.

The award was in recognition of the beverage company’s compliance to global

standard in manufacturing services and adherence to regulations of NAFDAC and other regulatory agencies in export–destination countries.

Speaking at the PID 2013 end of the year party/performance recognition award for stakeholder, held in Lagos, NAFDAC Director General, Dr Paul Orhii said the event was to

recognize outstanding staff and clients across the country, and encourage them to do more.

Director of PID NAFDAC, Mauren Ebigbeyi in her opening address noted that the selection process of awardees was thorough, identifying those that had deployed innovations in regulatory compli-

ance and staying atop despite tough business terrain.

Head of Marketing, Nutricima, Wande Oluwasegunfunmi, said the company was delighted to know that the government recognised their roles in the polity and their conscientious efforts to adhere to NAF-

DAC regulations.

According to her, “It means a lot to us to see that our efforts are being recognised. It is a recognition that did not come easy and quite appreciated by the company. We remain committed to delivery of nutritious well-being to our consumers,” Oluwasegunfunmi said.

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36 | NATURAL HEALTH Thursday, February 27, 2014

Why NAFDAC workers are earning less In recent times workers at the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have been protesting the reduction in their take home pay, which they blame on the Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii. Some of the workers are also accusing the management of insensitivity and mismanagement of funds.

However, Director of Special Duties and Head, Media and Publicity Unit of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Abubakar Jimoh, in this interview with The Guardian explained why the staff of NAFDAC and sister agencies like the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) Abuja at present receiving less pay. He blamed the recent media attack on the DG on unrelenting detractors and ‘dirty’ politics. Jimoh, however, said the Agency is not deterred in its drive towards zero tolerance for fake and adulterated food and drug products.

CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes. Excerpts: Workers are saying that their salaries have gone down and there have been deductions in recent times from their take home pay. They accuse the Director General of NAFDAC of insensitivity. What do you have to say about this?

Thank you very much for bringing that to our attention.

For those who are very familiar with the issue of salaries, you will recall that NAFDAC and other parastatals of the federal government were formally lumped together into a salary structure called CONTISS (Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure).

Salaries are paid by the federal government not by NAFDAC through the federal ministry of finance and accountant general’s office. Every month, every federal civil servant in Nigeria is paid from one source so the question of deduction of somebody’s salary does not arise as a case against NAFDAC management because Ab initio salaries are not been paid by NAFDAC. Do not forget that DG and other directors of NAFDAC are also receiving salaries and it will be to their own pleasure and happiness that they receive salaries without any deductions except additions.

You will agree with me.

The issue with salaries in NAFDAC is not an isolated issue nor NAFDAC an isolated institution or structure. NAFDAC staff is under the same salary structure whether you are union member or not. So from CONTISS the federal government move NAFDAC on CONHESS (Consolidated Health workers Salary Structure) because they felt that we belong to another group. They argued that medical doctors, nurses and medical health workers are there and in the health sector everybody does not perform medical duties.

Some are into research, some

are into regulatory and enforcement like NAFDAC and some are into clinical services like doctors and nurses. So they now decided that we should migrate to CONHESS. So NAFDAC migrated into that but no sooner than we started enjoying CONHESS, they gave another directive that not all of us are into the health-related duties that we are not entitled to Call Duty allowance even though we are under CONHESS. So what they did was to separate us again from people who are doing core clinical work like nurses and we were now placed under CONRAISS (Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure).

You can see the historical movement of salary emolument from CONTISS, CONHESS and to CONRAISS. So no sooner than we migrated to CONRAISS the salary dropped because they said we were not entitled to the allowances we were receiving under CONHESS. So we have to belong to the appropriate place. So it is not only NAFDAC that was asked to migrate. Parastatals like NIPRD are also there and about six other parastatals. So that the workers union in NAFDAC is blaming the situation on the management is phony. It goes beyond what we are seeing maybe it has political undertone because NAFDAC management is not connected to this at all.

Because of the DGs sensitivity, the very serious nature of our job and the hazards involved the DG himself felt that this our drop in salary is not good although it is not any of his fault or any other management staff.

The issue of all these things is traceable to the issues of salaries and wages and other arms of government that are responsible and not even NAF-

Jimoh DAC. Management was very concerned and met the union several times. Initially they started their agitation when their salaries dropped and we had to educate them. We thought that they were acting on ignorance. We felt that after educating them they will now understand the issue and now know where to direct their energy in terms of mode of agitating not on management that is even trying to see ho these things can be addressed so that we can start to enjoy what we have been enjoying

before.

It was in realization of this that the DG on November 4, 2013, wrote a letter to the Chairman of National Salary Income and Wages Commission asking for an upward review of those specific allowance for food and drug regulatory agencies like NAFDAC. Complaining that our movement from CONTISS to CONHESS and CONRAISS and the resultant drop in salary is not good based on the hazards of the job we are doing even though we are not medical

institution that we are equally entitled to a higher pay, emoluments in terms of allowances.

So this was an effort by the DG. So as I speak with you now the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources has been directed by the DG to continue to work on that and pressurize the National Salary Income and Wages Commission so that they can come to terms with the case we are making on behalf of staff. So the DG is first and foremost the number one staff of the Agency.

We continued to explain this to the union leaders but all of a sudden it beats our imagination why they are towing this part. I find it difficult to believe that it is the union that is fuelling this controversy. It has political undertone. We had course to call the union and ask them that we have been receiving calls from the media that its members are protesting and have we not explained to you. They denied they have not been complaining that they are innocent. This suggest that certain forces are underground who have tried to hard to see how they will hit on the management but it has not been possible all these years. They are not relenting on their efforts. We have asked our union and they said, ‘no it is not us. We have understood the issue that the solution does not lie within NAFDAC rather NAFDAC is pursuing it through appropriate channel to ensure that government grants our request.

How about the controversy surrounding the alleged N700 million fraud?

At the press conference last year when the DG addressed an international audience everything was laid to rest. All the issues were raised and the journalists asked questions, so it has been laid and buried.

They have found a way of repackaging it and bringing it up as if it is a fresh issue to bring it to public consciousness while in the sense it was dead on arrival. It is a nonissue. We have made all the argument the other time.

Govt inaugurates panel to end counterfeit, fake drugs From Emeka Anuforo HE federal government T yesterday identified counterfeit drugs as one of the factors responsible for treatment and development of drug resistance This is coming as the Presidency gave directives to the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to seal off any radio or television station that engages in the advert of drugs or good products that had not been approved by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Also yesterday, government set up federal and state task forces on counterfeit, fake and unwholesome processes foods. The task forces were given the powers to seal up any premises used of being used in connection with any off fence related to fake and counterfeit drugs.

Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, who inaugurated the committees in Abuja yesterday, stressed that the effort would strengthen National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)’s anti counterfeiting efforts.

He announced that the era of spurious claims by herbal and other drug manufacturers were over, as the Presidency had given a

• Presidency asks NBC to close Tv, radio stations advertising unregistered drug standing directive for media houses that promote such to be heavily sanctioned, He said: “Counterfeiters can be overcome despite the dangers and threats from their criminal network. I charge you to bring their activities to a standstill in your various

states working within the enabling law. You should collaborate with regulators, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders so that we can effectively tackle this problem. We must constantly share our experiences and strategies and build on what

we have so as to always be a step ahead of these merchants of death.”

NAFDAC Director General, Paul Orhii stressed that a capacity building workshop had already been conducted for the members of the task forces.

Lagos Ministry of Health Perm Sec, Olugbile retires

By Wole Oyebade ERMANENT Secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Olufemi Olugbile on Monday retires from public service at the age of 60.

Olugbile, a trained psychiatrist, has occupied the seat since 2010, after nine years as the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

Born on February 24, 1954, Olugbile obtained his West African Examination Council (WAEC) Higher School Certificate in 1972 before enrolling at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan between 1973 and 1978 and the University of Edinburgh between 1980 and 1983 from where he obtained the MBBS and MRCPsych certificates respectively.

P

Prior to his appointment as the LASUTH CMD in 2001, Olugbile had teaching experience as an Associate Lecturer (Psychiatry) at the Medical School, University of Ife (198586). He is Honourary Lecturer, Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba Postgraduate Training Programme (1985 – till date) and Associate Lecturer, Lagos State University College of Medicine (2004 – till date).

Olugbile has various papers and publications to his name and has authored six books.

They include: Nigeria at Work (Social Psychology/Psychiatry); Lonely Men (Fiction-Short listed for Commonwealth Prize); Leader! (Fiction); Ten Ahead! A History of Table Tennis in Nigeria; and Batolica.

Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) at a recent launch of his new book, commended his contri-

butions as a public servant.

Fashola said: “When I appointed Dr Olugbile as CMD LASUTH, I knew he made a First Class in Medicine, but I did not know he was also a great literary writer,” he said.

He added: “Olugbile’s life is a message that you can be anything you want to be in life provided you know what to do with your time. I have benefitted immensely from his work.”

At other events organised by Partnership for Transforming Health Systems II (PATHS2) and State Ministry of Health in his honour, development partners, colleagues and friends also eulogised his exemplary style of leadership and contribution to the development of health system in the state.

Thursday, February 27, 2014 | 37

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Scientists create crude oil from algae in minutes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 that plastic shopping bags, an abundant source of litter on land and at sea, can be converted into diesel, natural gas and other useful petroleum products.

The conversion produces significantly more energy than it requires and results in transportation fuels – diesel, for example – that can be blended with existing ultra-low-sulfur diesels and biodiesels. Other products, such as natural gas, naphtha (a solvent), gasoline, waxes and lubricating oils such as engine oil and hydraulic oil also can be obtained from shopping bags.

A report of the new study appears in the journal Fuel Processing Technology.

There are other advantages to the approach, which involves heating the bags in an oxygenfree chamber, a process called pyrolysis, said Brajendra Kumar Sharma, a senior research scientist at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center who led the research. The ISTC is a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

Meanwhile, engineers have created a continuous chemical process that produces useful

crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae- a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup.

The research by engineers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was reported recently in the journal Algal Research.

A biofuels company, Utah-based Genifuel Corporation, United States, has licensed the technology and is working with an industrial partner to build a pilot plant using the technology.

In the PNNL process, a slurry of wet algae is pumped into the front end of a chemical reactor.

Once the system is up and running, out comes crude oil in less than an hour, along with water and a byproduct stream of material containing phosphorus that can be recycled to grow more algae.

With additional conventional refining, the crude algae oil is converted into aviation fuel, gasoline or diesel fuel. And the waste-water is processed further, yielding burnable gas and substances like potassium and nitrogen, which, along with the cleansed water, can also be recycled to grow more algae.

Also, a Duke research team has developed a better recipe for synthetic replacement cartilage in

joints. Combining two innovative technologies they each helped develop, lead authors Farshid Guilak, a professor of orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering, and Xuanhe Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, found a way to create artificial replacement tissue that mimics both the strength and suppleness of native cartilage. Their results appear December 17 in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Articular cartilage is the tissue on the ends of bones where they meet at joints in the body — including in the knees, shoulders and hips. It can erode over time or be damaged by injury or overuse, causing pain and lack of mobility. While replacing the tissue could bring relief to millions, replicating the properties of native cartilage - which is strong and load-bearing, yet smooth and cushiony - has proven a challenge.

Also, halomonas are a hardy breed of bacteria.

They can withstand heat, high salinity, low oxygen, utter darkness and pressures that would kill most other organisms. These traits enable these microbes to eke out a living in deep sandstone formations that also happen to be useful for hydrocar-

bon extraction and carbon sequestration, researchers report in a new study.

The analysis, the first unobstructed view of the microbial life of sandstone formations more than a mile below the surface, appears in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

Meanwhile, while algae have long been considered a potential source of biofuel, and several companies have produced algae-based fuels on a research scale, the fuel is projected to be expensive.

The PNNL technology harnesses algae’s energy potential efficiently and incorporates a number of methods to reduce the cost of producing algae fuel.

PNNL scientists and engineers simplified the production of crude oil from algae by combining several chemical steps into one continuous process.

The most important costsaving step is that the process works with wet algae.

Most current processes require the algae to be dried- a process that takes a lot of energy and is expensive. The new process works with an algae slurry that contains as much as 80 to 90 percent water.

While a few other groups have tested similar processes to create biofuel from wet algae, most of that work is done one

batch at a time. The PNNL system runs continuously, processing about 1.5 liters of algae slurry in the research reactor per hour.

While that doesn’t seem like much, it’s much closer to the type of continuous system required for largescale commercial production.

The PNNL system also eliminates another step required in today’s most common algae-processing method: the need for complex processing with solvents like hexane to extract the energy-rich oils from the rest of the algae.

Instead, the PNNL team works with the whole algae, subjecting it to very hot water under high pressure to tear apart the substance, converting most of the biomass into liquid and gas fuels.

The system runs at around 350 degrees Celsius (662 degrees Fahrenheit) at a pressure of around 3,000 PSI, combining processes known as hydrothermal liquefaction and catalytic hydrothermal gasification. Elliott says such a high-pressure system is not easy or cheap to build, which is one drawback to the technology, though the cost savings on the back end more than makes up for the investment.

The products of the process are: • Crude oil, which can be

converted to aviation fuel, gasoline or diesel fuel. In the team’s experiments, generally more than 50 percent of the algae’s carbon is converted to energy in crude oil — sometimes as much as 70 percent.

• Clean water, which can be re-used to grow more algae.

• Fuel gas, which can be burned to make electricity or cleaned to make natural gas for vehicle fuel in the form of compressed natural gas.

• Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — the key nutrients for growing algae.

An analysis of the microbes’ metabolism found that these bacteria are able to utilize iron and nitrogen from their surroundings and recycle scarce nutrients to meet their metabolic needs.

(Another member of the same group, Halomonas titanicae, is so named because it is consuming the iron superstructure of the Titanic.)

Perhaps most importantly, the team found that the microbes living in the deep sandstone deposits of the Illinois Basin were capable of metabolizing aromatic compounds, a common component of petroleum.

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SCIENCE HEALTH Thursday, February 27, 2014

Why science, technology have failed to develop Nigeria’s economy, by Isoun Professor Turner Isoun is Nigeria’s longest serving Minister of Science and Technology, and served six years under then President Olusegun Obasanjo. He is reputed to have initiated policies that promoted both high-tech and low-tech science for development, including Nigeria’s space and ICT programmes . He holds a B.Sc., D.V.M. (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine), and Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine and Pathology from Michigan State University. His research findings have been recorded in over 50 scientific publications and scholarly journals. His early career includes lecturing at the University of Nigeria and University of Ibadan where he taught at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. A Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Sciences and the African Academy of Sciences, he was the first Executive Editor of the pan-African Science Journal. Recently a book he jointly wrote with his wife, Miriam, was presented in Abuja.

In the 620-page book, ‘Why Run Before Learning to Walk’, he highlights the challenges of the science sector in Nigeria, putting government to task on the way forward. In this interview with EMEKA ANUFORO speaks on how government could create millions of job by concentrating on science, technology, innovation and, capacity building.

Excerpts:

Y

terms of policies and implementations, as documented in the book.

You established agencies and you had tall dreams. To what extent can you say it wasn’t a case of running before learning to walk? There have been talks that some of those policies were too ambitious in the midst of other more pressing priorities…

There were not mistakes! I think that Nigerians should be fair. I think Nigerians like scandals, bad stories, and failures. We are comfortable with failures. We are not very comfortable with excellence. NASRDA, for instance, is not a failure. NASRDA (National Space Research and Development Agency) is a success story.

NigComSat (Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited) is not a failure.

NigComSat is a success story.

NITDA (National Informational Technology Development Agency) is not a failure. Galaxy Backbone Limited is not a failure. The neems project is not a project.

They are success stories. The good thing I can tell you is that since we created those institutions and they have been change of governments, I have already talked about our Ministers, nobody has scrapped any of the institutions that we established.

Is it not telling you something? None of those institutions has been scrapped and rendered redundant or bankrupt. They are still operating.

They are still effective.

Could they have done better? Of course they could have done better! But are they still doing it in a steady way? Yes! On balance, I think the whole idea of running is still on.

Prof Olu Tomori put in the opening that let the other sectors also run in tandem with the front lines.

Policy and dedicated funding are strategic areas of intervention that developed countries have used to give their science sector a boost. Have you seen the Science, Technology and Innovation policy recently formulated for Nigeria? Do we now have the major ingredients to drive the sector?

That is a good question.

The issue of funding is very critical and strategic. When I was minister, I wanted to ensure that there was science and technology foundation endowment. I put it in the book, the section on reforms.

You will notice that I advocated for a national science and technology endowment fund. Not just advocating. I took memos to the National executive Council (NEC) three times and failed. I wanted the so-called Excess Crude Account. I wanted at least part of that money to fund research and development.

They refused. They shared it among the governors. Yet, we have quite a few existing institutions. Look at the PTDF (Petroleum Technology

Prof. Isoun Development Trust Fund).

What do they do? They are giving out contracts.

Look at the Education trust Fund (ETF). It is supposed to fund research and development (R&D). See what they are doing.

Look at Sugar Endowment Fund. There are so many endowments. Are they serving the purpose for which they were created, to fund research, development and innovation? If you ask me that as a senior member of this constituency, I will say no! This is an area. I am implying that Nigeria is already spending some of these monies, but it is filtered, it is excreted, it is wasted! We need to harness them.

The good point about the science and technology policy that they launched was to bring all these things together.

But because of the tough and territory, fights, they have not been able to bring all these things together to form one striking force, fund, in one place to be administered. I think we need to do that.

Nigerians are waiting. I think the federal government should make sure that the good motives that drive the policy to monitor it to deliver. You asked a fundamental question, and I

“

have given you a fundamental answer. The federal government has over the years had good motives, but it has not delivered.

What should then be done to put us back on track?

I have already said that in my book! I am a scholar. I am not a soldier; I am not a President. But please, I want us to note one point. It is only in Nigeria that everybody wakes up and says: ‘President Jonathan has not given me food this Morning. President Jonathan never put petro for my car. President never wash my cloth.”

It is not like that. I was just in a meeting in Ibadan and somebody made a presentation that in many countries, what starts as the peripheral of innovation, finds its way to the centre of innovation.

The only thing that I can tell you is that what we started as information and communication innovation, started as a government policy, in the peripheral and has now got to the centre of development in Nigeria, to the extent that my sister who is illiterate in Odi in Bayelsa State can make a phone call to me from her farm. That is a revolution.

I am saying that we need to restructure, particularly in national research and development coordinating council, to look at science and technology as holistically target to work for Nigeria. It is not this issue of ministry. In fact, you can ask the question, is there science and technology in Nigeria. You are literarily asking, if there is development in Nigeria. Without science and technology, there is no development!

“

What can you say is your motivation for wanting to talk about science and development, many years after?

OU may even put it differently. Nigerians will say ‘wetin dey worry am’. What is worrying him, who do you write this book?’

I will tell you wetin dey worry me. For almost 30-40 years, we have been wrestling with the questions: How come we have not been able to use science and technology for development? We have a lot of very good, well-trained scientists. They will tell you that they are the first Africans to do this, first African to do that. They will tell you that there are Nigerians in NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the agency of the United States government); there are Nigerians in Russia. They will tell you that they will be the first. But how does that impact us. And that is a question! It is no longer just what you did. What is critical is that you need to bring science and technology to be institutionalized, to be programmatic, to be targeted, and to do work for you.

We have not been able to do that. I had an opportunity of a lifetime, being a scientist, being a teacher, being an editor, to be asked to do this, and I did it to the best of my knowledge for six and half years. I thought I owed it as an obligation to my self, to my nation, and to my colleagues to tell the story. I do not claim that this is the only authority, nor do I claim that there are no stories to be told. But I thought I had a story. I just read something weeks ago.

Everybody has a book to write, because everybody has a story. I thought I had a story, and that was why I wrote.

When you look at the scenario between, what you met as Minister, things you accomplished, and things still undone?

I think I mentioned that earlier. I want to refer you to the point of reference. The point of relevance is the book I wrote with my wife: Why run before learning o work?

Everybody has been asking me where I got the sarcadilic and romantic title. But it is for a purpose. We did that on purpose. But to answer your question, I said in the introduction that before I came, the average life span of a Minister, key policy maker and implementer, was less than two years. I was allowed by the grade of God, and the President I worked with, to stay for six years.

Since I left, the situation has relapsed to revolutionary status. Since I left, there have been four ministers and they have served less than four years. So, the situation in terms of tenure of ministers and continuity of policies, has not improved. But there have been some improvements in

But that was a policy that we started, and now it has revolutionized the communities.

That is what we are looking for.

Over the years, the core science community has always complained that they have hardly had a minister who is well known in the science sector. For instance, you can hardly say any of the past ministers of science was a fellow of the academy of science, or who is known per se.

Well, you put it well. It is a sensitive question. I am not the one t answer that question.

The general question still stands. You don’t need to go for special training to be a minister, but if you bring something to the table, particularly in a technical subject matter like science and technology. It can only help. I stop there.

How would you advise government about the selection process for sensitive ministers like that of science and technology, and importantly, what were some of your challenges dealing with other ministries that also deal with science and technology?

There are structural problems. My answer is this. Many of the ministries that utilize science and technology like agriculture, communications technology, energy, petroleum, defence, aviation, do not seem to know how they relate with science and tech. Equally, science and tech do not also know how to relate to these.

I hear that a ministry makes a presentation at the Federal Executive Council and the other ministers are grumbling that such and such are impeding on their mandates.

What is your mandate, I ask?

Is agriculture not part of science and technology? What is your mandate? What we proposed then were a national research and development council. This is a structural matter now. WE are yes, there should be a ministry of science and tech; yes, there should be ministry of agriculture; yes, there should be ministry of health, and I can go on and on.

But there must be coordination.

People are getting their agencies and running to the ministry, because they know that there is no supervision there. And they think that they can have a territory in a way. I said they should have national research and development coordinating council.

Indeed, then President Olusegun Obasanjo had a presidential retreat on science and technology in the villa. It is all documented. I want you to read the book. I have documented it there.

Part of it is that they must create a national research and development coordinating council to ensure that all these various things that one man wakes up and thinks he is the greatest minister of agriculture, and another comes up and says he is the greatest in

Investment. What of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)? I want you to read the portion on SMEs. Many of the SMEs don’t even know what it is.

They don’t know the technology. They cannot write any bankable project. All they are asking for is money, money, and money!

You cannot create job without science and technology.

You cannot create jobs without the skills. You cannot create jobs without the capacity.

What do we hear? Money, money, and money. They actually created funds in the Central Bank and in the banks!

But they couldn’t access that money because many of them could not write bankable projects. You can only write bankable projects if you have the technology, you the means of management and you have capacity. Yes, there is a problem because everybody is mouthing the same clichés.

They want to create jobs! They want to use such as mechanism to access money. Lets look at the informal sector. I captioned it Bridge to Nowhere. Many of our colleagues in the East are mechanics and so on. It is journey to nowhere. Why? No body is training them. They can’t improve on their skills. They can’t improve on their skills in technology or management. It is a journey to nowhere.

I am saying that we need to restructure, particularly in national research and development coordinating council, to look at science and technology as holistically target to work for Nigeria. It is not this issue of ministry. In fact, you can ask the question, is there science and technology in Nigeria.

You are literarily asking, if there is development in Nigeria. Without science and technology, there is no development!

I stop there!

Perhaps we should also reflect on the foundation, science education. Students at primary, secondary and tertiary levels develop very innovative experiments in school. But it stops there. No plans to mop up, so to say, these talents and enhance their experiments.

What can be the interface?

There are two big questions that you are asking. How can we also address the issue of capacity building, training and getting our young people to be interested in science and technology, and all? I want to take you back to the launching of the book. We told people that we do not want them to donate money for my wife and I to go to Wuse Market to buy Amala, or to go and get Okazi soup. No! We wanted to use the process for technology in excellence in education. I am always routing your question to the book and events. The evidence is there. We believe that technology can help us.

Many of our kids cannot read and write when they are 11 or 12

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Thursday, February 27, 2014 SCIENCE & HEALTH 43

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Dynamics of managing human resource in Lagos health system Dr Olufemi Olugbile is the outgoing Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, a seat he has occupied since 2010. As he retires from office last Monday, the Psychiatrist and former Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), shares with WOLE OYEBADE, the importance of technical managerial skills and harmony among practitioners in the sector.

Current situation of health in Lagos State AGOS is today at the forefront of the health enterprise as far as Nigeria is concerned. As everyone admits that, there is still a lot to be done. There are several things going on. There is the ambition to have a flagship primary healthcare facility in every Local Government and Local Council Development Area (LG/LCDA). That is in process and some of them were flagged off recently by the governor. There is the drive to drastically reduce maternal and child mortality rate as we drive towards the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4&5.

The Maternal and Child Mortality Rate Reduction Programme was flagged off and celebrated every October.

Though a work in progress, we have achieved some height.

We also have to drive usage of facilities, because it is one thing to have facilities available and another to actually get people to use them. Like in some places in the state, the patronage of the PHC is unacceptably low. So, government is also driving advocacy.

There is an effort in place to standardise the quality of service across the board, so wherever you are in the state, the standard of service and outcome of interventions would be of pride. It requires that providers of services are trained and retrained on a regular basis, effective monitoring and supervision of the outcomes so we are not having imbalance in the system. All of that is part of the gargantuan task that the ministry embarked upon and being driven by the Commissioner for Health and the Special Adviser of Public Health. And we are already having evidence that some results are being achieved.

Of course, we still have significant rate of users complaint in our facilities. We are setting up structures so that complaints can be handled within a shortterm frame, to boost confidence in the system and in the government. The Service Charter project is building an effective customer interface of the entirety of the government. But health has taken it as a major issue and said to have accomplished some success.

L

Olugbile We are today number one service charter ministry in the state. We are now cascading the project to all our health facilities to have an effective user experience. All of these are system-building efforts that are ongoing to improve the health indices and health status of the people. There is improved advocacy and awareness on good health habits, preventive measures and early screening. Health is not all about going to the hospital for treatment.

How has it been managing the human resources to achieve these objectives?

There are two sides to it: the technical and the human side.

In managing people, it really helps to be humane. Being humane is not the same as being weak. To run the system you have to enforce discipline and that is one of the management task, without which you cannot run a system. The technical aspect requires that you apply managerial skills; get people to recognize their collective goals, pull their energy together and work actively in their bits and pieces, which constitute the whole spectrum.

It is a continuous thing that needs application. But I also need some technical knowledge because management doesn’t just happen or one manages by muddling along.

Nowadays, people are getting to recognize that doctors need to acquire technical managerial skills along with their basic medical knowledge to really get things done.

Major challenge in this stead Of course, there has always been a major complaint on not having enough staff to do many of the things that needed

to be done. But you also know that Lagos as a state has more facilities and health personnel than any other state in the country and you cannot continue to balloon the wage bill.

There is now a technical focus on human resource management apart from management of the system itself. There is focus on acquiring expertise in the human resource, which is constituent of the enterprise. In doing that, you need to have professional human resource managers.

Previously, that function has been subsumed under the Directorate of Finance and Administration.

Some changes have come in the last few years to provide additional technical competence to that cadre of people and bring in people who have core trainings in human resource management. This is because the human resource management are the ones that are responsible for career development of people, determining who goes where based on the need and capabilities of all the different cadres. That is now being applied to our health system.

We have had assistance from some major partners like Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS2).

PATHS2 has been very useful, supporting us in doing the work. It is actually our work and they have been very supportive. We have a document now on human resource management as it applies to health system based on our own experience. We have done a lot of trainings for people in the system. Using professionalized human resources management within the health system

would help to put square pegs in square holes and help to maximize the utility value of people that are in place.

You don’t just throw numbers at issues. It is true that in many of our facilities people complain of being overworked because they are inadequate. But the context of the work also needs to be looked at ergonomic rate of distributing the work, so that everybody is really doing its bit and not only five of 100 unit doing donkey work while the rest do less work than they should be doing. All these are part of human resource management.

While it is going to be continuous exercise, the process has now been inserted properly and Lagos is in the forefront of doing this kind of thing in the Federation. Traditionally, people would say ‘you need more people, get more people.’ But there is a limit to the amount of wage that resources of the state even the federation can bear. There is supposed to be a balance between your capital and over-head cost, otherwise there is no development or sustainability, but just giving people three square meals aday.

One of your biggest challenges must be managing doctors (your colleagues), considering the number of times they were on strike during your tenure I’m not going to say a particular group, but managing people involves looking at the satisfactions and their dissatisfactions, while seeking to optimize the former and reduce the latter. And it doesn’t matter what professional group you are talking about. There is certainly a need for harmony within the health family and again the ministry is driving to assure that.

Different professional groups need to talk to one another really. This is not a Lagos thing but nationwide. At the end of the day, they health team is still a family and we need to see ourselves as one. Of course, the doctors have the leadership position but it also goes with a lot of responsibility. They have the responsibility of not just looking after themselves but after other people. That tends to build trust and when people trust you, they are less likely to go out on their own and want to fix their own end.

Bane of science, technology development in Nigeria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 years.

The last time the news was that 75 per cent failed at the West African Examinations Council exams. I don’t believe in lamentations. I am a practical scholar, policy maker and implementer. I believe that we can use technology to impact on the training of our young people to read and read, and to be interested in satellites and technology, to be interested in innovation, to be doers, to take responsibility of themselves and create jobs.

As a technocrat with substantial experience in the sector, what do you think about the name of the ministry? Some have argued at the name Ministry of Science and Technology is a bit deceptive. It limits it. Some have also proposed that it should be converted to Ministry of Research and Higher Education to establish that needed interface…

That is a good question, because there are some people who interpreted science, technology and education. There are others who argue that science and technology is a department of education. They look it as an arm. I do not subscribe to that definition. I think that science and education has a much bigger role to drive the system.

To give you an example, Immigration was having problems during our time. We gave them the technology of biometrics. And ICT, and they were able to have the e-passport and they were able to collect their money through electronic means. Not only did they stop the fraud. They also increased their revenue. That is technology for you, and not to interpret technology as just an arm of education.

It is more serious than that.

It has a role to play in education, don’t misinterpret me. To give you one good example, it is very important. The federal government that I served, and that I am still willing to help…Please don’t get me wrong. I am not looking or a job. I want the federal government to succeed. Take the example of neems. You heard the neem story, the Dongoyaro tree. They planted Dongoyaro in northern Nigeria to check mate drought, millions of trees, with seeds! They didn’t know what to do with it.

My ministry’s agency, the National Institute for Chemical Technology, under the leadership of Dr Okonkwo, with the help of the Presidency, we started the processing of neem seeds and we could produce neem fertilizer,

neem pharmaceuticals, organic pesticides, and so on. It is in the book. It was an opportunity to create millions of jobs and wealth. This is an important point.

The minister of industry at that time, who then became minister of FCT, told me what I had done in science and technology, people in Agriculture should have done it., commerce and industry should have done it, among others, but that I had done it!

Again, this is what I am taking about science e and tech. we are not impeaching and interfering with other mandates.

Our mandate is cross cutting.

It should be running before learning to walk. We should be pushing this people to run!

We are pushing Nigeria. They refused to run.

What is your take on the drone recently developed by the Nigerian military? For us in this part of the world, that was celebrated as some innovation in practice.

Thank you for that. I do not know the details for that. But in principle, it agrees with my book and my philosophy that we should go straight to the front of the technology isn’t it?

That is the good motive.

Sometimes this message is not gotten; to go to the front of the technology might mean accessing propriety knowledge, meaning knowledge that is not in the public domain, in the libraries. We should pay for proprietary knowledge.

The satellite knowledge we got was proprietary knowledge. I believe, I don’t know the details, but form the general knowledge that I have, the knowledge of drones’ technology may be proprietary knowledge. It means that we paid for it.

There are foreign countries that are wiling to cooperate with us and give us that technology. I am in support of that.

The only thing to add is that we should really learn the technology. We should internalize it. We should make it our own, not just to be purchasers and regulators!

My message to the nation is yes, we can do it. But we must do it, we need all the help and support. We want also to be able to do things differently.

We want a commitment, isn’t it? Nigeria is so fortunate and blessed. We have all that it takes Look at the manpower, look at the youths! I am told over 60% of our populace are youths. This is the major asset that we have. Invest in your youths, give them technology, give them capacity, give them skills. Motivate them, push them. Nigerians are very entrepreneurial. They will deliver!

Health experts want legislation on female condom development From Omotola Oloruntobi, Abuja call yesterday while deliverN a bid to promote family Ifrom planning and save women health-related risks, experts have called on the legislative arm of government to develop a framework that would encourage wholesome acceptance of female condoms.

They assured that this would go a long way in addressing maternal mortality and prevent unwanted pregnancies among young girls in Nigeria.

The Chief of Strategy and Technical Officer for Society for Family Health (SFH) Abuja, Dr. Jennifer Anyanti, made the

ing a keynote address at a three-day policy analysis advocacy workshop organised by the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) in Abuja.

According to Anyanti, the female condom is the only female-initiated dual protection method that would enable women protect themselves from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), as well as unwanted pregnancy.

She regretted however that since female condom was introduced in Nigeria in the 90’s, it still remained

unknown as only four per cent of citizens are aware of it due to numerous socio-cultural, economic and programmatic factors.

“It has been 20 years since the first female condom came on the market and studies have repeatedly shown high level of acceptance, yet most women cannot use them because they are not available, or there is insufficient support to use the product.

“Female condoms were viewed with scepticism by most international institutions and donor agencies, it is perceived as a niche product to be used by sex workers only and

not as a family planning/protection method so, they did not integrate them in their policies and budgets. While availability has increased, yet without a ground swell of advocates encouraging the government and other bodies to get involved in female condom programmes, many of these gains we have had over the last five years can be eroded,” she lamented.

She stressed on the need for increased awareness by the media, stakeholders, religious, community and socialcultural leaders on the use of female condom, stating that the female condom is not just

about women, but is also about men and about their families.

“We as Nigerians also need to be begin to take destines into our own hands. The male condom benefitted from having many advocates and supporters. The lessons we have all learned in introducing the male condom can also be applied to the scaling up of a female condom, which include deep interest in improving health, and concerted prolonged and persistent support from wide range of groups aiming at improving the health of Nigerians,” she said.

Earlier, the convener of the workshop and ARFH President, Professor Oladapo Ladipo, said government must do things rightly so as to ensure safety of lives in the country, he added that sex is biologically driven but can be moderated by the behaviour of society.

He also stated said the level at which we are losing women in the country is alarming. “We need to ensure that female condom gets the needed awareness, as this will reduce the mortality rate, help to tackle infertility and also control Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).”

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44 | NATURAL HEALTH Thursday, February 27, 2014

Stopping cancer with orange peel CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 cancer cells with these fractions inhibited growth and induced apoptosis associated with an increase in the basal level of intracellular Ca(2+).

Effective concentrations of the hydroxylated PMFs fraction in inhibiting growth, inducing apoptosis, and increasing intracellular Ca(2+) were lower than those of the nonhydroxylated PMFs fraction.

“Our results strongly imply that bioactive PMFs from orange peel exert proapoptotic activity in human breast cancer cells, which depends on their ability to induce an increase in intracellular Ca(2+ )and thus, activate Ca(2+)dependent apoptotic proteases.”

According to a study published in Continental Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, orange peel contains citral, an aldehyde that antagonizes the action of vitamin A. “Therefore, anyone eating quantities of orange peel should make certain that their dietary intake of vitamin A is sufficient.”

The researchers from the University of Benin wrote: “Orange is said to lower cholesterol and aid in digestion of fatty foods. The Vitamin C in oranges is concentrated mainly in the peel and the white layer just under the peel.

There are better sources of vitamin C, orange peels are therefore better sources of vitamin C. “Sweet orange oil is a byproduct of the juice industry produced by pressing the peel. It is used as a flavoring of food and drink and for its fragrance in perfumes and aromatherapy.

“Sweet orange oil consists of about 90 per cent dlimonene, a solvent used in various household chemicals.

However, d-limonene is classified from slightly toxic to humans to very toxic to marine life in different countries.

“Limonene now is known as a significant chemopreventive agent with potential value as a dietary anti-cancer tool in humans.”

Until now, naturally occurring non-nutritive agents present in plants such as

Orange peel

flavonoids, phenolic compounds, glucosinulates, terpenes and many others are believed to have disease preventive properties.

Diets containing some of these substances have been shown to be protective against diseases such as colon and breast cancer in animals. The clinical relevance of such natural phytochemicals is dependent on extrapolation from epidemiological data and from experiments in animal models of diseases of interest.

Purified flavenoid compounds isolated from citrus juice have been tested individually for their effects on carcinogenesis, tumor cell growth and invasion of tumor cells into normal cells. In particular the polymethyoxylated flavenoids, tangeretin and nobeletin, were shown to have anti-carcinogenic activity.

Extracts of bitter-orange peel are used as an herbal drug.

Conditions treated include loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints. The main components of the extract include limonene and flavonoids such as neohesperidin and naringin.

Several patents disclose the use of various phytochemicals in combination with orange peel extract or dried orange peel. CN 1200277 describes use of a composition composed of 16 plant components, one of which is dried orange peel, for treatment of psychosis and nervous system disease.

CN 1116945 describes the use of orange peel along with several other natural products in a capsule form to sooth the liver, nourish the stomach, remove stasis, stop pain and cure various gastric diseases.

CN 1111134 discloses an oral liquid containing orange peel, among other things, for treatment of neurastenia, chronic bronchitis, asthma, coronary heart disease, high blood lipid levels, hepatitis, cytopenia, senility and immune dysfunction.

CN 1106673 is a patent for a disease-preventing nutrient tea that is produced from a variety of products, including soaked, crushed orange peel.

CN 1077124 describes a Chinese herb preparation for treatment of iron-deficiency anemia that is composed of a

number of ingredients, including dried orange peel.

Also, a Japanese patent (JP 57156761) discloses a heat-generating pad for orthopedic diseases that contains extracts and powders of many plants, including orange peel. It has now been found that an extract of orange peel has biological activity as a treatment and preventative agent for cancer.

According to The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia, citrus fruits pack a powerful punch – reducing the risk of some cancers by 50 percent. These scientists report that citrus fruits are most protective against stomach, mouth, larynx and pharynx cancers.

Phytochemical screening, proximate and elemental analysis of Citrus sinensis peels indicated the presence of reducing sugar, saponins, cardiac glycosides, tannins and flavonoids.

The elemental analysis indicated the presence of the following mineral elements in various concentrations: zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), and managanese (Mn), while cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) were less than 0.001 and 0.05 respectively, while chromium (Cr) was about 0.01 in concentration.

Proximate analysis also showed that it has a high nutritional value such as carbohydrate, fibre, ash, fat and protein.

The results published Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management by researchers at the University of Benin, Edo State, recommended the consumption of these peels of desired physiochemical properties as sources of food fibres or lowcalorie bulk ingredients in food applications requiring oil and moisture retention.

According to a recent study published in African Journal of Biotechnology titled “Waste to wealth: Industrial raw materials potential of peels of Nigerian sweet orange (Citrus sinensis),” consumption of orange fruits generates orange peel wastes that could bring about environmental pollution if not properly han-

dled.

The researchers wrote: “Towards recycling of wastes and avoiding littering and waste-related environmental degradation, this study was carried out to explore the components of orange peels with a view to establishing their raw material potentials.

Orange peels cut into small bits were subjected to steam distillation process and the extracted essential oil was put through some chemical characterization procedures for purposes of identifying its components.

“Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric scan of the extract, revealed a single prominent peak at a wavelength of 300 nm, as was also the case with paper chromatography which showed one major band separation.

Subsequent infrared spectroscopy for structural configuration gave three main identifiable peaks reflecting structural, functional and group/bond positions: C=C, CH and =C-H at 1640 to 1680 cm1, 2850 to 2960 cm-1 and 3100 cm-1 bond positions, respectively, and these tallies exactly with those found in the structure of limonene, thus confirming the later (one of the terpenes), as a dominant component of the orange peel among others that were present in small amounts.

“Limonene is an essential oil with wide application in industrial and domestic domains. Thus, exploring essential oil is an additional way of evaluating the underlying economic value of citrus due to their usefulness as food nutrient and flavor, and their waste peel is a source of essential oil which is useful in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial and domestic applications.

“Processing of citrus peels into essential oils is a sure way of transforming these wastes with great potential for environmental pollution into a resource with great potential for economic prosperity, and also for securing the public health impacts of safer and healthier environment, likely to be obtained from the indirect waste management option so offered.”

Strategies for living a disease-free life (7) TRESS is commonly Stress and Its Management Snegative described as the impact of a force [could be neu- belonging to the glucocortitral or positive], from within and without on an individual’s mental and physical wellbeing. An individual’s response to these negative forces, generally affects the individual directly or his environment.

Human beings are exposed to these stress-causing situations daily but whether one can be said to be stressed is dependent on certain factors.

These factors include the overall wellbeing and fitness, nutritional status, psychological fitness and soundness of the mind. Others are the spiritual standing of the individual and the amount of rest and sleep that he or she gets daily.

These are internal factors that determine an individual’s ability to deal with the external forces that cause stress.

Otherwise known as stressors, these external forces that we are frequently faced with in our environment daily are money (think about all the challenges that are related to the issue of money, such as not having enough,) work and other sources of income: in this category are issues such as targets and deadlines, job satisfaction, the demand for gratification from female workers by their bosses etc).

There are also issues as relationships (especially marital, affecting women more, whether or not the marriage is blessed with children. Other marital stressors are third party involvement, which can cause stress in both husband and wife.)

Apart from marital relationships, other kinds of relationships, challenges and expectations that individuals have, do cause stress around here. Disappointments that people are faced with always are also a major causes of stress in our environment. It could be disappointments from parents, a spouse, one’s boss or friends. In our cities, Lagos most especially, the perennial traffic jam is a major cause of stress.

According to Dr Batmanghelidj [of blessed memory), dehydration, is considered the no. 1 stressor.

Now, lets look at a bit of the neurochemistry that is involved in the development of stress. Cortisol, the main stress hormone, is secreted from the adrenal glands which are positioned on top of both kidneys. In response to stress, the hypothalamus secretes and releases the corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH). This CRH, stimulates the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland [also found in the brain] to release adrenocorticotropic hormone which acts on the adrenal glands to produce and release cortisol.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone

coids, which are secreted in response to stress.

The primary function of cortisol is to redistribute glucose to areas of the body that require it more for the production of energy in a stressful situation. When the body is confronted with an external stress-causing force, the immediate response is the fight-or-flight response and at such a time the brain and the muscles need energy the most. It is the responsibility of cortisol to redistribute energy to these organs to facilitate fight or flight.

Secondly, cortisol which is a product of cholesterol in the adrenal cortex suppresses the immune system and aids in fat and protein metabolism for alternative sources of fast energy generation. Two other neurotransmitters among others that play a significant role during stress are norepinephrine and serotonin.

Norepinephrine, a primary chemical messenger of the central nervous system prepares the body for fight-orflight response. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter is thought to be involved in mood regulation. Symptoms like fear, anxiety and depression have been associated with stress-induced serotonin dysfunction.

Signs and symptoms of stress The brain, nerves, muscles and joints, the heart, stomach, intestines, the pancreas and the reproductive organs are the organs and structures most frequently affected in stressful situations.

The signs and symptoms of stress may be behavioral, emotional, cognitive and physical.

Behavioral symptoms are: excessive eating [may be less], too much [or too little] sleep, dependence on alcohol, narcotic drugs and cigarettes, living in isolation, neglecting responsibility and nervous habits like pacing and nail biting.

Emotional symptoms are: restlessness, irritability, agitation, short temper, moodiness, feeling of loneliness, isolation, unhappiness and feeling of depression.

Cognitive symptoms are loss of memory and other memory problems, poor judgment, anxiety, pessimism, constant worrying and inability to concentrate.

Physical symptoms are aches, pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness chest pain, increased heartbeat, loss of libido [sex drive] and frequent colds.

In the concluding part of this series which will be featured next week Thursday, the management of stress will be discussed and how sleep (too much or too little) can affect one’s health.

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Education ‘Abolition of teachers’ training colleges, education sector’s greatest mishap’ Professor Rasheed Adamu, Provost, Niger State College of Education, in this interview with John Ogiji, decries the abolition of teachers’ training colleges in the country because of its impact on the country’s educational development. He also spoke on government’s attitude towards education and how policy summersaults hurt the sector among other issues. EXCERPTS OU are now in your second four-year term as the Provost of Y the Niger State College of Education, how has the journey been for you since assumption of office?

There were a number of serious problems that I inherited ranging from dilapidated infrastructures to falsification of admission figures and low morale among staff. There was also the issue of unpaid salaries among staff while others were paid half salaries. It was words of encouragement from some committed staff, especially the Registrar of the college that made me stay on because the problems were just too many. But I thank God that collectively we were able to weather the storm.

All these problems must have impacted seriously on academic excellence in the institution. Don’t you think so?

Yes, I quite agree with you. In fact, some of the most disturbing issues were that of admission and certificate racketeering. The later actually threatened the quality of our certificates even as no student of the college was issued any certificate on graduation before I came in. They were only given statements result, which was the main document they tendered when seeking employment or admission into higher institutions. With an atmosphere like that in place, there were all manner of people with questionable statements of result bearing Niger State College of Education. These were some of the prices we have had to pay for the decay, which was prevalent.

With the school producing the bulk of primary and post-primary school teachers in the state, the effect of this decay must have been felt at those levels long before now?

That is true. What is going on right now in the state is the recycling of highly unproductive and unqualified teachers in the state. And if you produce unqualified teachers, they will in turn produce weak students, who will come back and be recycled again as teachers. So the basic foundation of education was being destroyed gradually.

High standards of education simply stems from qualitative teachers’ education, and so if teachers’ education is weak, you can never have qualitative education because there is nowhere in the world where any student has risen above the quality of his/her teachers. Having said that, I would summarise by saying that the situation did not engender the production of qualitative teachers and this was severally demonstrated in their area of teaching assignment.

So how were you able to overcome all these challenges and bring the institution to where it is today within four years in office.

I think we should first of all thank God because if not for his mercies, we would not have achieved anything, no matter how intelligent or resourceful we think we are. However, I should point out that we have a team of committed management and staff, who are armed with perseverance and sincerity of purpose.

With this in place, we were able to go all out, source for additional funding and make judicious use of the little we have in the best possible way to turn things for the better. For sure, the increase in our financial base has given birth to projects and programmes that are meaningful, far-reaching and yield the muchneeded resources.

Recently, the institution uncovered certificate and admission racketeers, and this development led to the dismissal of some staff of the institution. How did that happen?

What the college did was to constitute a quality assurance team.

This team decided to intervene in the process of admitting students into the institution as a way of ensuring that we admit only the best applicants that are coming forward. Of course you are aware of the existence of “miracle centers” for examinations in Nigeria, which allow people to acquire questionable number of credit passes at ordinary level examinations (that they are not able to defend). The quality assurance team was able to sift the wheat from the chaff. And I can say that from the day we started the entrance examination, even falsification of admission figures began to reduce.

Subsequently, we also decided to bring in a checklist mechanism, by introducing the college web portal. Through this avenue also, we were able to inform all and sundry, whom genuine students were. With the introduction of some security features in our admission letters, we were able to establish that what some people were carrying during registration exercises, only resembled admission letters, but were not even as we also put an end to the use of fake bank tellers during the process of registration. The issue of fake bank tellers was our major discovery because we ended up uncovering the great network of syndicate that was operated in concert with some unscrupulous

Adamu members of staff, who have so far been disciplined according to the law establishing the school.

How big is the challenge posed by funding to your institution?

I will say that the arrangement put in place by the state government for funding has been favourable in a way, since the government came up with the policy of “generate and spend.” The bulk of money generated by the institution is put to use by the institution itself.

So, this policy has further motivated the institution to go all out to seek new ways of enhancing funds generation. For intance, the introduction of a micro finance bank and the establishment of the school’s Frequency Modulation (FM) radio station. All these have brought in a lot of money to the institution, which we have ploughed back into the development of infrastructures to enhance our teaching and learning environment.

The approval granted schools by the government for them to spend the school fees collected has also been of great help. With staff salaries and overheads taken care of through budgetary provisions, I would say that we give the government a pat on the back as far as funding is concerned because I know that there are state government owned institutions where they generate money and the government takes over the revenue and gives them only a small percentage.

So, in a way, unless you mismanage the little you generate or you refuse to go all out to source for more money, there is no reason to complain about funding.

Specifically, what have you been able to achieve in terms of infrastructural development, given the funds at your disposal?

When we came in, the place was ravaged by gully erosion and the roads network was not well defined. Also there was no proper drainage in place, so the first major thing we did was to define the roads and provide culverts and drainages around the college. We did that with our internally generated revenue. To address the issue of potable water, we provided boreholes around the college and also brought in water from the state water board. We upgraded our electricity line from 11KVA to 33KVA to ensure adequate power supply. We also renovated existing structures that were in a deplorable state. And this covered structures in the school’s administrative block, other principal officers offices, that of all the deans. In addition, all schools in the college were renovated from our internally generated revenue.

Furthermore, we constructed a fine art studio; reconstructed the school’s convocation square; constructed what we call the “Agric Village” and established a block making plant as well as a sachet water outfit all from our internally generated revenue (IGR). Added to the hostel for the girl-child education, which we constructed, we just finished a sports complex, which is ready to host the forthcoming Nigerian Colleges of Education Games.

The residences of the Provost and that of the Registrar were renovated from the IGR and the school’s clinic was also given attention to the extent that minor surgery can be undertaken there.

So what you are seeing in the college today are products of our efforts and from IGR. The college is proposed as Niger State University of Education, can this be sustained with only IGR? A University of Education would be a different scenario altogether. A major lacuna in this institution has been its structural arrangement. From the onset, it was not built as an autonomous institution, but in the case of a university, the law provides for autonomy in terms of funding by the state government. For example, what the state-owned Ibrahim Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai, gets from the government, as monthly subvention is the same thing that the proposed Niger State University of Education will enjoy.

Funding two universities will definitely be a challenge. Don’t you think the college should be made to serve as Faculty of Education of the IBBU? No, I don’t think so because only recently, the president of Nigeria Colleges of Education was seriously advocating that these institutions be transformed into universities of education.

This is the position of the union now. So, I see universities of education as specialised institutions for the production of teachers to replace unqualified teachers at both primary and post-primary schools in the country.

So, I don’t see anything wrong in having universities of education if we could have universities of technology and that of agriculture in Nigeria. Let us not forget that education is the mother of all professions. Therefore, if there are no adequate qualified teachers, the nation cannot produce qualified medical doctors, qualified engineers and qualified journalists. So I strongly believe that universities of education would address the deficiency that exists in the teaching profession.

Don’t you think that the abolition of teachers’ training colleges in Nigeria is the main reason why there are too many unqualified teachers in the country?

Honestly, the abolition of teachers’ training colleges in Nigeria is one of the greatest mishaps that have happened to education in Nigeria. In fact, the abolition has negatively impacted the quality of teachers that we have today. In addition to this, you will also discover that over 50 per cent of students that come to colleges of education today are doing so because they could not secure admission elsewhere.

What this means is that people are coming here not because they have interest in the teaching profession, but because they have no other option. In the final analysis, we are losing large numbers of these students to conventional universities after their National Certificate of Education (NCE). The only way that we can address the deficiency that exists in the teaching profession is to pin down these students, and this is by having both colleges of education and universities of education exist alongside so that qualified teachers to teach in both our primary and postprimary schools are readily available.

How do you view government’s attitude towards education in the country?

Because of policy summersaults, it is even difficult to define the policies we are implementing in this country. In most cases, you will discover that as a policy is being formulated, before it gets to the level of implementation, a new policy is already emerging.

Also, the government has not been able to commit resources to implement policies to the letter and see to its effectiveness and limitations.

Let me give you an example. One day we were asked to go and establish departments of special education and that of adult education, without really finding out whether facilities, funding, personnel and other requirements actually existed in colleges of education.

Because it was a government policy, we were mandated to implement it and we had to transfer teachers from different departments to the special education just to fulfill the condition as specified by the new policy. I believe that is not the best way to implement a policy. This is indeed one of the reasons why we are getting it wrong.

How soon is the proposed university taking off?

Well, there is a law already in place now, which was passed by the Niger State House of Assembly and assented to by Governor Babangida Aliyu. So what is being awaited for now is the formal declaration by the governor, and that will come after the visit to the Nigerian Universities Commission to seek their blessing and approval.

In terms of structure, facilities and personnel, how ready are you for the formal take-off of the proposed university?

As we are experiencing expansion in the area of facilities and equipment, we are also planning in the area of manpower development. As I speak, we have about 43 staff pursuing their doctorate degrees, 79 studying for masters degrees in various fields and about 50 are pursuing their degree programmes. So with this calibre of personnel, it expected that college as presently constituted, is going to support the proposed university in the area of

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Honeywell partners Ekiti to develop pupils’ entrepreneurship skills From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Head South West Bureau Ado Ekiti) kITI state government has E canvassed robust skills and entrepreneurship development right from the primary level of education so as to combat the geometric increase of unemployment in the country.

Deputy governor of the state, Prof. Modupe Adelabu who made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti Tuesday, during the 2nd Trade Fair for Public Primary Schools in the state, said the essence of the programme was to begin to nurture and enhance pupils’ entrepreneurial and technical skills that are capable of making them employers of labour rather than job seekers in the future.

She said, “As we all know, entrepreneurial education is meant to equip the pupils with relevant skills to enable them stand on their own without necessarily running after non-existing white collar jobs after leaving schools.

The primary goal is to promote creativity and innova-

tion through acquisition of requisite skills”.

At the programme initiated

by Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the pupils made exhibition in handcrafts including pottery, dying, woodcarving, pottery, weaving and knitting.

Also speaking at the event, which was sponsored by Honeywell Flour Mills, wife of the state governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, lauded the SUBEB for the programme, and charged parents to be conscious of new trends in the Nigerian economy, which demand that children must develop certain skills aside their academic works.

Mrs. Fayemi said as part of the measure to boost education at the cradle, the government had established the Early Child Education Centre in Ado Ekiti, to give children a befitting background that could nuture them to greatness, even with minimal education.

The Brand Manager, Honeywell Flour Mills, Mr. Lanre Da-Silva, said his company partnered the govern-

Adesola tasks youths on vision creation as Olashore marks 20th anniversary

By Ujunwa Atueyi HE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Bola Adesola, has tasked youths to develop the habit of creating excellent vision in their endeavours, since vision remains the major characteristic that runs through the life of highly respected and successful leaders across the world.

This was as students, parents, friends and well-wishers converged on Iloko- Ijesa Community, Osun State, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the school’s Founder’s Day. Adesola, who was the guest speaker at the ceremony said: “Vision is a prerequisite for achievements in life. A visionary person is one who plans the future with imaginary wisdom. He is able to articulate and envisage what he envisions. This is more than ideas as it takes risks for such a person to be able to express his thoughts, share and implement them.

Study the profile of great, visionary men past and present so as to drive your vision.”

Informing the students that it takes courage to bring to reality, an audacious dream, she urged them to be “be courageous and audacious.

Think about attaining audacious goals and heights and don’t let anyone put a lid on you. If you can dream it, believe it that you can do it.

Dare to be different, challenge the norm and accept the unconventional.”

She commended the

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school’s management for its landmark achievements and reputation for academic excellence over the years, adding that the vision and dreams of the founding fathers were being met.

Former External Affairs minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, who was special guest of honour at the event, spoke on the imperativeness of education, urging students to their academics with all amount of seriousness.

Principal of the school, Mr. Derek Smith, informed that: “The school is celebrating its 20th year of academic excellence. Academic excellence was an expectation of the founder when he built this school and remains the bedrock of the school. I can only imagine how proud he would have been of our former head girl, Yimika Osunsanya, who achieved perfect results in her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Straight A’s in her Cambridge International Examinations.

“At Olashore we are proud of the leadership training shown by our prefects and this pride is compelling as the school prefects are regularly recognised as the best prefect in the AISEN Prefect Training Course.

At Olashore, we challenge students to lead and serve throughout their school life.

The chairman of the school’s Board of Governors, Abimbola Olashore, also presented long service awards to deserving members of staff of the institution.

ment in sponsoring the programme because the objectives of the fair were in tandem with the philosophy of his company, which believes in introducing children to entrepreneurship development to make them self-sufficient when they grow up.

He, however charged the parents to be conscious of the natural potentials in their children, saying such natural knack must be nurtured to maturity for them to have sustainable and prosperous future.

Da-Silva, who said his, company was glad to partner with SUBEB to boost early education in Ekiti added, “there is no human being without potentials or natural endowments. You don’t have to be professors before you become great in life. With minimal education and good skills, you can rise to any level.”

Apart from the trophy presented to the pupils of Ijero council area that came first during the exhibition, Honeywell also presented them with N100, 000 cheque and products of the company worth several thousands while pupils of Ekiti West who came second got N60, 000. The third prize of N40, 000 went to pupils of Ado Ekiti council area.

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Revamping of education sector has no religious motive, Aregbesola insists • Insists school buildings not for adherents of any religion • Excitement in Ile-Ife as Baptist Elementary School receives facelift FTER enduring decades of A poor and decrepit classrooms and the general lack of sundry appurtenances in their school, pupils of Baptist Elementary School, Ile-Ife and members of Ilare Community recently thronged the premises of the school to witness the commissioning of the once decrepit structure, now an ultra-modern facility courtesy of the Osun state government.

The newly transformed school, now also plays host to Anglican Central School A&B; St John’s School A&B; Local Authority Elementary School as well as the host school.

Part of the structures that make up the new school include 25 classrooms, offices for two head teachers, two staff rooms, one facility manager’s office, a multipurpose hall, food court, library, sickbay, 12 toilets for pupils, four toilets for teachers, recreational zone and a security house. And from an initial total enrollment of 162, the school now accommodates about 1000 pupils.

Established in 1925 by the Ilare First Baptist Church, the school was taken over by the government in 1975 and has since suffered series of setbacks. Its infrastructure had decayed while quality of teachers remained poor.

Eighty-year-old, Pa Amiel Fagbulu, who was part of the arrangement when the government took over schools in 1975 through a decree said: “Anyone who knows what it means for a child to be seated and learning in a pleasant environment cannot but rejoice with those state governments that are bending backwards to pro-

vide first-class physical facilities for the children to learn in.”

He further described as heroic and great commitment, any government’s decision to take up the challenge of putting up many purpose-built learning institutions across a state as large as Osun, and at the same time provide food, uniform and instructional materials.

“These children have no reason to yell now because they are provided with almost everything that they need to enjoy learning and securing their future. The quality and quantity of teachers have been assured; parents have also been relieved of the burden of paying for a thousand and one things for their children’s education and children have not had it so good in Nigeria since independence. They should therefore guard what they have been given on a platter of gold jealously,” he stated.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in his remarks stated that by design and purpose, the new school buildings are not for Muslims or Christians neither are they for adherents of any other religion.

His word: “They (school buildings) are for all children of Osun, regardless of their circumstances of birth.

This I expect should be the basis upon which government should be engaged and encouraged. The education of our children should not be a subject for petty squabbles or unhealthy politics about our narrow interests. Indeed, if we are genuinely interested in the future of our children, we should bury our narrow concerns of today in order to assure for them a glorious

tomorrow.”

According to the governor, preparing children for the future is a responsibility that must be fulfilled by all.

“It is one for which we will never be forgiven if we fail in its fulfillment. The world around us is moving on and at a pace that leaves no room for lack of seriousness or half-measures, especially with regard to education.”

Aregbesola, who asserted that the world has been changed radically by technology in the last 20 years hence, “woe betide a nation or a people that is not prepared for this change.

“This is why we remain unflinchingly focused on giving the best education to our children in a most conducive learning environment. Since we began the journey a little over three years ago, we have recorded significant achievements that give us the courage to press on,” he added.

On the progress made so far in the education sector, he said that the state has added 10,407 new teachers to the list of public school teaching staff, thereby taking the total 12,715 teachers in primary schools and 7,848 teachers in secondary schools in the state.

According to him, this amounts to a 54.8 per cent increase in the number of public school teachers inherited, in addition to the same non-teaching staff, whose number has also increased by 564.

Also, he noted that the salaries and pensions of primary and secondary school teachers now costs the government N16.8b and N10.3b respectively on an annual basis.

Aerial view of a classroom block and the recreational zone at the Baptist Elementary School, Ile-Ife, Osun State “On the free school uniforms, we expended N900m while the elementary school feeding programme costs N3.6b every year. In the supply of furniture to our schools, we have committed N2.5b so far, while we have spent N503m on instructional materials, which were not part of public school education before we assumed office. We have similarly increased school grants from N122m to N856m.

Under our administration, WAEC fees have also shot up from N38m to N400m We have also expended N1.2b on our pace-setting e-learning tablet, Opon-Imo,” he informed.

Along with building of new schools, he announced that the state was also renovating and upgrading some of the existing ones. So far, he said N1.6b had been expended on renovation and upgrading, while N14.4b had been committed to capital projects in the new schools.

Giving a breakdown of funds spent, he said: “our recurrent annual expenditure is N21b on elementary schools, and N13.43b on secondary schools.

This amounts to per capita spending of N84, 000 per elementary school pupil, and N30, 000 per secondary school pupil. The total capital expenditure on all schools in the last three

years outside new schools is N31.31b.”

Aregbesola reaffirmed that efforts at revamping education never had a religious motive rather than being motivated by the highest ideal of developing a complete personality who will be an asset to society as he would be for himself.

Said he, “We are clearly neutral on religious observances. It is this neutrality that is the root of the absurd stigmatisation. If religious observance had been allowed, why would a section of the partisans seek relief from the court? An answer to this poser, will clearly settle the erroneous perception that fuels the smear campaign on us.”

The governor reassured the community that work and spending were still going on and would not stop until the government achieves its goal of making public schools in Osun places where pupils can get the kind of education that would place them at par with the very best in the world.

Also, Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori who also doubles as the Commissioner for Education, said the commissioning of the new school building symbolises that “change is inevitable”, and that “change is possible” especially, when the vision of

such change is conceived, nurtured, and delivered by a visionary leader.

To deliver on its promise of a functional education in the state, she said the government took a deliberate decision to overhaul the day-to-day running and administration of the public schools, remove the financial burden of public school administration from the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), while retaining the association to function in advisory and collaborative capacities.

According to her, the government has initiated a competence-driven policy, culminating in the compulsory training and re-training of teachers of all cadres in the state employ.

Headmistress, Baptist Central Elementary School, Mrs. Folaremi Jegede said the merger and new changes had brought about enthusiasm among the pupils and teachers.

“There is now a healthy competition in teaching because we all want our pupils to be the best. There is no room for laziness and seeing all the pupils during assembly is fantastic.

Although, we have four headmistresses, we all do things in common to ensure that the affairs of the school is well coordinated,” she said.

Expert tasks govt on stable public education

By Eno Bassey HE Nigerian government T needs to oversee a stable public educational system that will contribute and benefit the country’s youthfull population. This is the submission of the Principal, Lead-Forte Gate College, Mr. Ben Greyling, in a statement.

According to Greyling: “Nigeria has an enormous influence on the African continent and is one of the financial powerhouses in Africa. Future generations are the key to the growth and success. LeadForte Gate College wants to be part of the development of future leaders that would be

able to contribute positively to the future of Nigeria.”

He said the vision to produce world-class leaders with proficiency and excellence in their various fields of endeavour brought about the establishment of Lead-Forte Gate College, a Nigerian/British curriculum co-educational secondary school embedded in tireless efforts of providing an all-inclusive world-class education that develop students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes, thereby harnessing their potentials and equipping them to become future leaders, role models and global citizens.

“Lead-Forte Gate College has a

determined long-term ambition of not only becoming an excellent all-round school, but also to create an educational environment for educational innovation, teacher creativity and reality focused curriculum development. As a topnotch educational institute, we deliver to our students, education that will make them compete with their contemporaries in any part of the world and prepare them to succeed in a very rapidly changing world. Our school programmes strive for an exceptional standard of excellence and students are challenged towards health competition.

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World Indigenous Language Day: Wike laments neglect of local languages From Kanayo Umeh, Abuja HE Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike has expressed serious concerns that many Nigerian languages and dialects may go into extinction in the nearest future if urgent steps were not taken, many.

Wike sounded the warning Tuesday in Abuja during the celebration of the 2014 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Mother Language Day. According to him: “You will agree with me that all our indigenous languages are facing the threat of becoming extinct due to remarkable decline in usage. Our youths, especially those living in the urban centers hardly communicate in their mother tongues. Worse still is the sharp drop in the number of those that can’t read or write in those languages as a result of over dependence of social media, against the traditional letter writing.

“I believe that if we want to give our children the best possible chance to know our history, values and tradition as parents, we must ensure that every Nigerian child can read and write in his or her own language,” the minister who was represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr. Macjohn Nwaobiala, stated.

Wike noted that the theme of this year’s celebration, “Local languages for global

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citizenship: spotlight on science,” rightly coincides with the ministry’s efforts in ensuring quality in the teaching and learning of all languages especially at the basic education level.

He stated that the ministry, in line with its mandate of providing and expanding access to quality education is gradually reversing the negative trend of declining use of indigenous language through advocacy and sensitisation campaigns as well as organising capacity building workshops for language teachers.

“It would interest you to note that many more language groupings have expressed

interest in the development of their orthographies due to the enabling environment provided by the ministry.

The minister further revealed that the ministry in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders namely State Ministry of Education (SMOEs), UNESCO, Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN) and language associations are making significant progress in creating awareness on the need to preserve and promote our indigenous languages.

He stated that the use of indigenous languages could play a significant role in conflict resolution, which according to him promotes peaceful coexistence among various

groups.

“As we commemorate this year’s International Mother Language, which incidentally coincides with our centenary celebrations, I call on all Nigerian especially our students to be proud of our culture, heritage and our country and be prepared to defend it anywhere, at any fora.

The International Mother Language Day is marked in pursuant of the actualisation of the current administration’s Transformation Agenda in the educational sector and in the recognition of the strategic role of mother tongue in the promotion of Nigeria’s linguistic, cultural diversity and national cohesion.

Wike

Thames Valley College berths in Ogun

By Ujunwa Atueyi HE formal opening of T Thames Valley International School, an ultramodern secondary school situated at Likosi community, Km 10, Sagamu-Ikorodu Road, Ogun State, has taken place.

A quick tour of the college, shortly after it was declared open by the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, revealed a well-harmonised teaching and learning facility.

The purpose-built international boarding secondary school spread out on 21 acres of land, has 64 fully integrated multimedia classrooms, with inbuilt e-learning facilities; two fully equipped 75-seater ICT-

driven amphitheatres; fully equipped laboratories for sciences and other special subjects; international standard multi-purpose sports complex, finished for lawn tennis, basket ball, badminton, volleyball, handball, soccer and track events and a well structured campus network connectivity with WiFi presence.

Amosun, represented by the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. John Olusegun Odubela, who said the level of development of any nation was measured by the number of its literate citizens, added that the massive investment at the new school was indeed a landmark

achievement for the state and the society.

“I want to thank the management of Thames Valley College for citing this institution in Ogun State and also congratulate them for being alive to the needs of quality education for the future leaders… Without any doubt, this college will grow to be an efficient life moulder and definitely every member of this community will benefit either directly or indirectly from your serene school environment”.

In his welcome address, founder of the school, Mr. Nurudeen Fagbenro said: “The quality of education I received in my adulthood

makes me question the quality of my early education. It is this antithesis that has stirred up in me an interest in the education of young minds.

Secondary education is very important. It is where mistakes in primary school education are corrected. It is also the place where critical preparations for colleges/universities and adult life are consummated”.

“It is a place to form strategic lifelong friendship. The concept of Thames Valley College is largely built on these realisations. Therefore, as a founder and pioneer chairman of Board of Governors, I promise every stakeholder in the Thames Valley College

project that we shall run a child-centred school that brings about healthy development of our young ones.

“We have raised the bar of academic excellence, in today’s fast changing world, your child needs to be inspired and groomed to keep up with the pace and that is why we are here. We have carefully researched and put together all that your child would require to be in control and to succeed in the fast and ever-changing game of life. Parents’ access to upto-date student information from anywhere in the world is also available”, he added.

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NAUKCEA cautions parents against patronising fraudulent agencies

By Ujunwa Atueyi Or parents whose wards Funiversities are seeking admission into in the United Kingdom, the need for them to be wary of the activities of dupes and fraudsters, who parade themselves as genuine recruiters of students has been stressed.

The warning came from the Nigerian Association of United Kingdom Certified Education Agents (NAUKCEA), which is an indigenous association of recruiters for universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.

The body has, however assured and expressed the its resolve to sanitise the sector and ensure credibility and professionalism among its

members in order to ensure genuine practice.

President of the association, Mrs. rose Omonubi, gave the assurance at a one-day stakeholders forum in Lagos, which was in partnership with UK institutions.

Among other things, the meeting deliberated on issues affecting recruitment of Nigerian students into UK institutions; development and challenges in the Nigerian market as well as operating within the extant laws and guidelines for both agencies and UK institutions.

At the forum, which was a brainstorming session held in the wake of the just concluded British Council Education fair, Omonubi, expressed strong disapproval

over the immoderations going on in the industry and called for restraint.

“Our overall aim is to come together with the UK institutions and see how we can work together to curb the excesses in our recruitment agency industry. We have heard several reports of parents being fraudulently misled by charlatans who call themselves recruitment agents. This association would work towards bringing credibility and professionalism into the industry. And we want the universities to be in line with us and avoid dealing with fraudulent agencies.”

She stressed that the association will work assiduously towards meeting its set objectives as well as create a strong

voice and identity for agents in Nigeria.

However, “Some issues were raised about getting the big foreign agencies to join us, we approached them but they did not come. We are not going to beg them to join us, this is our country, they are here to make money and ours is to redeem the image of our

HE need to equip Nigerian T youths with educational skills and knowledge required to ensure a sound future for the country dominated talks at the fourth edition of the Thistle Praxis Consulting Sustainable Conversations, cohosted by Etisalat Nigeria.

The programme, which is part of Etisalat’s commitment to advancing educational development in the country and Africa, is a platform, which experienced leaders in the education sector engage in frank, productive and solution-oriented conversations in order to move the sector forward.

According to the Director, Leadership and Organisation Development of Etisalat Nigeria, Mrs. rabi Isma, Etisalat is committed to the sustainable development of education-oriented initiatives that bring both private and public sectors together to talk and share positive ideas on how to address critical global challenges, especially in Africa where the factors hampering the development of education are diverse.

“At Etisalat Nigeria, we believe that education is the bedrock of development. We are passionate about equipping today’s populace with the educational skills and knowledge required to ensure a sound future for

Nigerians. And we believe that a sustained strategic approach must be embraced, rather than flash-in-the-pan projects that ultimately do not contribute as much to the wellbeing of the educational sector in particular and the nation in general,” she said.

The Chairman, Council of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Prof. Pai Obanya, encouraged the private sector, especially corporate organisations to continue to support the initiatives that properly empower and educate the Nigerian youth.

He noted that the educational sustainability and growth of Nigeria as a country, depends on the ability of the private and public sectors to

grammes.”

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Dave Abion Consulting, David Abiola Oni reminded the UK institutions of the existence of charlatans in the industry, urging them to strictly adhere to all rules guiding the association and the institutions.

Experts charge Salem varsity teachers on professionalism, others EACHErS and other proT fessionals at Salem University, Lokoja, Kogi State have been urged to always upgrade their professional competence as that was the only way to remain relevant in today’s dynamic world.

Experts made the call

Firms chart way forward for education, Nigerian youth

By Wole Shadare

country, protect the interest of agents, students and parents; and reduce the emergence of fraud,” Omonubi stated adding that “soon we will organize a seminar to enlighten Nigerian parents on the processes and benefits inherent in UK education especially the scholarship pro-

close ranks and work towards improving the lot of the Nigerian youth.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer/Lead Consultant, Thistle Praxis Consulting Limited, Mrs. Ini Onuk described sustainable conversations as a solutionoriented event, which was borne out of the need to reinvent the wheel of change in the nation.

“These fora help in identifying problems and proffer solutions to sustainable development in Nigeria and Africa as a whole,” she said, thanking Etisalat for keying into the value of the mission and vision of Thistle Praxis Limited to continually foster sustainable development.

recently during a one-day capacity building workshop organised by the institution for its staff.

Presenting a paper entitled; “Enhancing Effective Communication in the University System,” Dr. Baba Danjuma stated that for communication to be effective, what is said must be what is meant and what is said must be what is heard so that what ought to be done remains done.

He stressed that effective communication was essential because it helps facilitate the exercise of our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech, helps management in setting goals, directing, controlling and coordinating so as to achieve set targets and objectives.

In his paper titled, “Teaching methods and effective learning”, Dr. Sunday Awe emphasised that academic profession embraces three major areas of human endeavourteaching, research and service. He added that a good teacher must be able to develop his/her lecture notes, set questions and develop mark-

ing schemes effectively.

He noted further that an effective teacher must be well prepared and organised, define his/her method of teaching based on the nature of the course and stick to it. A good teacher must be a friend and a great motivator to his/her students.

In another paper titled, “Teaching Today for Tomorrow.” Dr. Sunday Okpanachi lamented that many people take up teaching today as second best career or Plan B, adding that this development has a big implication on their passion for teaching.

Still speaking on the waning passion for teaching, Okpanachi who noted that today’s socio-economic situation has made people resort to teaching only after trying to seek greener pastures in other professions or careers, however pointed out that how to teach is as important as what to teach in the education enterprise, stressing that for a teacher to merit his/her place in education, mastery of the two skills remains a sine qua non.

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ISSUE

By Etim Inyang HE debate over the quality T of cement being sold in Nigeria cannot be ignored, owing to the importance of the product in building and construction. Cement is a fine, soft, powdery-type substance.

It is made from a mixture of elements that are found in natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and/or shale.

Four essential elements are needed to make cement. They are Calcium, Silicon, Aluminum and Iron; with Calcium being the main ingredient which is obtained from limestone. Cement is a chemical binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. With all these qualities, cement is no doubt, a central factor in building and construction. It serves as the major framework which all other materials cling to.

On one hand, a coalition of civil society groups and professional bodies in the construction industry are set to launch a major campaign for what they call the standardisation of cement production and importation in Nigeria, on the grounds that government is turning a blind eye to the scourge of substandard cement in the country.

The coalition further outlined its planned activities that included getting the National Assembly to probe manufacturers and importers for compromising standards; enlisting the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to help with regulation; enforcing the National Building Code; and enlisting the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) in fighting sub-standard cement. The coalition of civil society groups also planned to confront the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) for what it called the poor standard of local and imported cement.

On the other hand, most of the cement manufacturers, under the auspices of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) deny the accusation leveled against it by the coalition, stating that they have all along complied with conventional practice in the cement industry. The nation’s leading manufacturer of cement, Dangote Cement Plc, however, tows a somewhat different line; one that has pitched the company in-between both contrasting assertions. While Dangote Cement Plc believes that some cement manufacturers and importers deal in substandard cement, it strongly disagrees that it is among such companies, on the grounds that it has strived to maintain its brand name and leading position in the market by complying with global standards. Meanwhile, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has debunked the accusation leveled against it by the coalition of civil society groups, while affirming its stand on infractions and those who contravene the law and go contrary to set standards in the Nigerian market.

In response, SON stressed that there was no substandard cement in Nigeria, explaining that it was a matter of application of cement in practice.

SON explained that it had all along been working closely

The cement war: An alternative view (1) with the Consumer Protection Council and professional bodies like the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, while it had continued to make progress in enforcing the national building code.

A perturbing question which one is tempted to ask is why the coalition of civil society groups did not approach SON with their alleged findings and discontentment, rather than going public with the matter; a situation that may have escalated the controversy and misinformed an aspect of the populace.

The controversy is not a complicated one, though there has been misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the true situation. To start with, Nigeria does not produce or trade in substandard cement.

SON has ensured this through its tight supervision and regulation. The various types of cement available in the country are only being misapplied in some instances and not even in all cases. Out of the three major grades of cement traded globally, namely 32.5N/m2 42.5N/m2 and 52.5N/m2, two main ones are traded in most countries, including Nigeria. These are 32.5 N/m2 and 42.5 N/m2. 32.5

grade cement is used for lighter-weight construction

such as plastering walls, for pavements, culverts, among

other uses, while 42.5 is used to erect buildings, flyovers

and other more solid structures. • To be continued •Inyang, a civil engineer and Founder, Safer Construction Network (SCN), writes from

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AS AT 26=02=2014

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MARKET INDICATORS

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NSE lauds submission of ‘corporate actions’ with accompanying financials

By Helen Oji HE Nigerian Stock T Exchange (NSE) yesterday, affirmed that the practice of submitting corporate actions with the accompanying financials has been very effective for the companies listed on the stock exchange.

This, according to NSE is in line with the bourse’s efforts of aligning with global best practices which entails all listed entities to submit their financial statements as and when due with detailed information especially on corporate actions.

According to Head of the Legal and Regulation Division of The NSE, Tinuade Awe, the practice became effective and enforced with the introduction of the first ever Issuers’ Portal in the Nigerian Capital Market styled as X-Issuer.

She explained that the Issuers’ Portal, which was formally launched in early 2013 as one of a number of new regulatory initiatives of The NSE was developed to permit Issuers to submit their information online, thereby enhancing interaction between the Exchange and listed companies.

“X-Issuer has consistently offered unique benefits of data capture, form submission validation and other ancillary services such as submission notification mechanisms and tracking of submitted information. With this, Issuers are no longer required to submit hard copies of information to the Exchange by post, hand delivery or courier.

“Because X-Issuer is a secure online portal through which Issuers have been submitting financial and other informa-

tion to The NSE and the market from the comfort of their offices, it has not only encouraged transparency and accountability but has expedited the discharge of Issuers’ post-listings obligations relating to structured and continuous disclosures. This has eliminated leakage of price sensitive information because of the minimal time between submission by the Issuer and release to the market” she stressed.

Over the years, the NSE has required entities that intend to declare dividends and or issue bonuses (corporate actions) to file information regarding such corporate actions with the relevant financial statements.

(Interim or year-end dividend/bonus are to be accompanied with interim/year-end accounts).

NSE explained that X-Issuer does not accept the uploading of financial statements by issuers before their corporate action information, adding that corporate actions can be filed before the financial statements.

“Filing of corporate action information alone does not qualify a listed entity as having submitted the financial statements for the relevant period. The need to file corporate action before financial statements or along with the financial statements of the relevant period cannot be over emphasized.

“This is because the market reacts to any information that is released on financial reporting disclosure such as rendition of forecasts, interim accounts – Q1, Q2, Q3 financial statements, audited yearend financials and other price sensitive information.

APT, Valmon Securities emerge most active brokers on NASD platform

By Bukky Olajide RADING activities on the platform of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) was on the upsurge on Tuesday, with APT Securities Limited and Valmon Securities emerging the most active brokers on the platform.

NASD is a securities exchange registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide platform where all instruments not listed on a traditional exchange, registered by SEC, can be traded through licensed stockbroking houses.

Specifically, APT Securities Limited emerged the most active broker by virtue of the number of securities it has introduced to the market.

It has introduced four securities out of the 12 that are trading on the platform, while the other eight securities were introduced by other brokers.

The most active Broker by value of trade on the market is Valmon Securities Limited with a trade value of N37 million.

“I expect that trading activities will increase as more securities are introduced to the market,’’said the Managing Director of NASD, Bola Ajomale, who spoke with The Guardian.

Meanwhile, ARM Life Plc (for-

T

What Happened?

The NSE All-Share index declined by 76bps (0.76%) and closed at 38,862.87. This represents a year-to-date performance of - 5.97%. Market Capitalisation also depreciated 0.76% to close at N12.483 trillion. Total value traded decreased 21.62% to N3.464 billion and total volume traded decreased 12.32% to 359.06 million units.

Where?

At the close of trading, the banking sector represented 53.90% of the total market value traded, while the breweries sector represented 8.36% The Top 5 stocks as a % of total market value traded were: GUARANTY (16.98%), ZENITHBANK (15.65%), NB (8.36%), NESTLE (6.88%) and FBNH (6.43%).

On a volume basis, the Top 5 most traded stocks for the day were: NEM (45.25m), UBCAP (38.27m), TRANSCORP (35.89m), ZENITHBANK (25.59m) and GUARANTY (23.62m).

merly Crystal Life Plc) and Partnership Investment Company Plc have joined the league of OTC tradable shares.

Both companies were recently introduced to trade on the NASD OTC market. They joined 10 other securities that have been admitted to trade on the platform.

NASD OTC tradable shares have risen from six of the 10 major industry sectors. These are consumer goods, consumer services, financials, industrials, oil & gas and technology.

“We have therefore seen securities from six of the 10 major Industry sectors. The only sectors that are currently not yet introduced but we look forward to trading soon are the basic materials, health care, telecommunications and Utilities sectors,’’ said Ajomale.

Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited is the first Custodian to join the NASD OTC market.

Ajomale said that it is a great development for the market as it opens up the OTC market to the international investing community, who have been looking forward to trading on a transparent and organised OTC market. “ “We are in the process of bringing in another custodian and shall announce this once formalities are concluded, ‘he said .

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74 | NEWS EXTRA Thursday, February 27, 2014

INEC, IPAC, parties differ over 2015 election timetable From Muyiwa Adeyemi (Ado Ekiti) and Ezeocha Nzeh (Abuja) HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday received knocks from the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) over the sequence of the timetable for the general elections of 2015 as well as the voters’ register that is being compiled by the commission for the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.

Speaking yesterday at a meeting of the INEC and registered political parties in Abuja, the chairman of IPAC, Tanko Yinusa, condemned the commission’s unilateral decision on the election dates and sequence, stressing that INEC failed to seek the advice of political parties, which he insisted, should

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Bamidele accuses Ekiti APC of flouting electoral body’s directive have been consulted before the dates were chosen.

The meeting was called to enable political parties arrive at a consensus on planned electoral activities in the run-up to 2015 general elections. While the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) hailed the sequence, the chairman of United Peoples Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, said there was nothing wrong with the sequence of the election, especially as the constitution empowers INEC to fix dates for election.

But the IPAC chairman, who is also the National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP),

insisted that his position has the backing of about 80 per cent of the political parties and expressed the regrets of the political parties over the order of the election, which provides for a two-phase elections with the presidential and the National Assembly coming up first and the governorship and state assemblies coming up next as against in the past which has a three-phase election with state assemblies, governorship, presidential and National Assembly coming up in that sequence.

“The sequence of past elections gave all the political parties equal chances of winning elections, but with the present situation as per the timetable released, you will

agree with me that immediately the presidential election is concluded, it will close doors for all other elections to be free and fair for all those concerned. I have to advise INEC to ensure that the voters’ register must be updated in a manner that can build confidence between the electorate, INEC and the political parties. The electorate need to be sure they were registered to vote and their names should appear accordingly.”

He further suggested that political parties append their party’s seals on the ballot papers as a mark of authority and confirmation of the authenticity of the ballot papers, adding that it would create confidence

within INEC and political parties in the case of litigation.

Addressing journalists at the event, Nwanyanwu dispelled insinuations that the sequence of election would have bandwagon effect, saying “unless such political party is already conceding that they know the winner before the conduct of the election. It could be any other party. One thing with opposition parties is that they sit down and criticise.”

Okorie on his part urged parties to concentrate on working hard to win votes rather than bothering themselves with bandwagon effect.

In his response, Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, represented by a National Commissioner, Mrs. Thelma Iremiren, re-assured that

there is no cause for concern over the timetable, adding that a significant feature of the timetable is its early release.

Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant of Labour Party (LP) and member, House of Representatives, Michael Bamidele has accused All Progressives Congress (APC) of violating INEC’s directive on erection of billboards and pasting of posters ahead of June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Jega had during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Ado Ekiti last week warned politicians and political parties behind the campaign materials to remove them saying their action contradicted the Electoral Act. Speaking at the LP’s secretariat in Ado Ekiti during its state congress where 23 officers were elected to pilot the affairs of the party for years, Bamidele wondered why the APC is being treated as sacred cows while the LP had since complied with the commission’s directive.

Bamidele added: “I assure you that Ekiti 2014 election is going to be a peaceful one.

I know INEC is going to do its best, we are a law abiding political party. We have kept to INEC directive to stop erection of billboards and pasting of posters.

“We have removed all our billboards and posters on the streets but we are surprised that Governor Fayemi’s posters and billboards are all over the place and nobody is talking about it.

“The governor has continued to paste posters everywhere. The INEC gave 24 hours deadline to remove posters and billboards, but we won’t heat up the polity and I want to appeal to our supporters to give peace a chance, we are government in waiting.”

The newly elected chairman of the LP, Akin Omole, promised that the new executive would work towards ensuring the success of the party at the governorship election.

He, however, appealed to members to participate in the INEC’s registration exercise slated for March 7-9 and March 12-19 saying the only weapon they could use to chase Fayemi out of office was their voters card.

Omole, who presented the list of the new executives to the Administrative Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Agboola, accused the governor of sponsoring crisis within the party.

He maintained that the party has not anointed anybody for the party’s governorship ticket.

The new executives are Hon. Akin Omole, Chairman; six deputy chairmen; Hon. Abiola Olowokere, secretary; three assistant secretaries, Mr. Banji Gbenga, treasurer; Olu Olofin, financial secretary; Mr. Olugbenga Daramola, organising secretary; Mrs. Bola Olakunle-Bruce; Barrister Olalekan Olatawura, Legal Adviser; Comr Bisi Omotoso, Auditor; Chief Mrs. Modupe Otun, three assistant women leaders.

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Thursday, February 27, 2014 ISSUE 75

Orbih’s gaffe on Edo 2014 Budget

By Dan Owegie DO State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently faulted the 2014 Appropriation Act signed into law by Governor Adams Oshiomhole, describing it as “motley of uncoordinated numbers and lacking reality.”

The state party chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, who led his entire executive at the press briefing claimed that the budget has an inbuilt deficit spending of 30 per cent.

The PDP media hype has left more questions. What does Orbih know about budget process? How many economists does the PDP have to challenge the APC-led government budget of consolidation? Why did the Edo army of economists not advise the former governors who pilloried the state resources for over 10 years?

The Edo State 2014 budget, just like all previous ones by the Oshiomhole-led administration, deliberately put capital estimates over and above recurrent estimates. This is what has led to the transmogrification of the state, which the Edo PDP left in ruins. It is incontrovertible that Edo State is far much better today than what the PDP left of it.

On the contrary, the PDP Federal Government budget of over four trillion naira, earmarks over 72 per cent of the budget for recurrent expenses, leaving capital projects with a paltry 28 per cent. The 2014 Federal budget is simply designed for PDP to manipulate the upcoming 2015 general elections. The budget has been clandestinely prepared to be stolen through all dubious means

by PDP to return the party through a do-or-die process.

Sadly, Orbih and his cohorts in Edo PDP have not raised a voice against the ill-conceived, baldly prepared 2014 Federal Budget.

Orbih lied that “N49 billion out the total budget of N160 billion was expected to be sourced through loan.” How did he arrive at such a concocted budget figure when the Governor that presented the budget did not state so?

Orbih deludes himself in the aphorism that “when you keep on telling a particular lie all the time, it will be mistaken for truth by credulous listeners. But he hit the rocks because Edo people are too politically matured to be told such obvious lies.”

In any case, if Orbih is saying Edo will augment the 2014 budget with some borrowings, what he failed to tell Edo people is whether the PDP-led Federal Government on its own proposed a surplus budget for 2014! Out of a N4 trillion budget for this year, PDP-led Federal Government is borrowing N1 trillion. So you can see the pot calling the kettle black.

It is ridiculous for any individual or egbekegbe society called Edo PDP for that matter, if one may borrow from the legendary words of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, to criticize Oshiomhole over the planned building of three model schools in each of the three senatorial zones. To make matters worse, he foolishly claims “facts on

E

grounds showed that existing ones were ill- equipped in terms of content and facilities.”

Where were such facts obtained from? What was the state of public schools under PDP-led governments in Edo? Orbih should stop marketing his ignorance of observable facts in Edo State.

Education under the PDP was a disaster. At the Federal level, in spite of the poor funding of public universities which is clear to all, did President Goodluck Jonathan not embark on the building of new universities in all the states which did not have one in Nigeria? What did Orbih say about that. He kept silent.

Professor Wole Soyinka assures that the man dies in likes of the Orbih who keeps

silent in the face of tyranny, as is now evident in the PDPled Federal Government.

Education under the PDP in Edo and at the Federal level is a disaster! Orbih should not even go there at all.

Again Orbih embarked on the harakiri voyage when his leaking mouth recklessly drove him into the sale of industries in Edo State for which he thoughtlessly accused the Oshiomhole administration.

In his words: “Bendel Brewery is dead, Nigeria Observer is in comatose, Edo Line is bedridden, Edo Transport is being buried, the long proposed Ehor Fruit Juice factory is rotting away and the planned Uromi Cassava Plant is still moribund. Where else can jobs come from?”

But this kind of brainless message can only emanate when stark illiterates begin to dabble into issues they do not understand.

Accusations by the PDP that the state-owned industries have been sold are ridiculous. The PDP administrations in Edo State should be held responsible for the sale of the industries and mismanagement of the proceeds realized from such sales to the detriment of the people. The PDP leaders need to bury their heads in shame having ruined the state economically. The records are there for all to see. There are existing documents to show how the industries were privatized.

Churchgate acquired Bendel Brewery Limited in 1992; Josien Holdings

acquired majority shares in Edo Pharmaceuticals in 1993 while Bendel Feeds and Flour Mills was bought in 1986.

Others are Bendel Cement Company purchased by Scancem Holdings, Solid Minerals Processing Company purchased by Goopex Nigeria Limited in 2005 and Fruit Processing Company bought by Alliance Limited in Lagos State. In all of these, where does the APC government come in?

But Edo State Government of today is not folding its arms and lamenting. It has created the enabling environment for industries to thrive as a first step through the provision of basic infrastructure: Roads, water and electricity.

In order to continue its programme on poverty eradica-

tion, Edo State Government has concluded plans to tap into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) N220 billion Micro-finance intervention Fund. When fully operational, small and medium scale industries would bounce back and employment rate would be leapfrog. Besides, Edo City Transport service has since be repositioned by the state government and is solving the transportation needs of Edo people.

Edo people must continue to ignore Orbih’s unresearched, evil-intended, illconceived, mischievous and malevolent criticisms.

• Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.

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Sports Veterans thrill spectators at 2014 NOGIG

Ahead Brazil 2014 World Cup

Garba Lawal predicts doom for Super Eagles From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja ORMER Nigerian international, Garba Lawal, yesterday expressed concern over the form and few playing time given to Nigerian players at their various European clubs this season, arguing that it would be difficult for the Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, to prosecute the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup with match rusty players.

The NFF technical committee member, who was recently appointed the team manager of Nigerian league side, Kaduna United, said yesterday in Abuja that Nigeria’s best legs in Europe’s lack of playing time ought to bother Keshi.

Worried that such players as John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses, among others, were not regulars at their various clubs since the beginning of this season, the former Super Eagles’ utility player, said, “I want to admit that I equally entertain fears just as any other Nigerian, concerning the bench role of our players at their European clubs.

“The World Cup is not a tournament a coach prosecutes with the majority of his players either sitting on the

F

bench or match rusty. World Cup is a big stage, which requires players in top form.

“I don’t know how Keshi feels about the situation, but I know that he ought to be bothered that most of his players will not be in form.

“It is going to be difficult for Keshi at the World Cup because of the current form of his boys. The ones he is relying on are not playing regularly, yet he does not want to invite players like Ike Uche that are doing well for their clubs this season. He does now want Uche or Osaze Odemwingie to return to the team. I don’t know how he thinks but for me, he needs Osaze and Uche in his team.”

Despite the fears he expressed over Super Eagles players, Lawal said he is satisfied by the team’s programme ahead of the Mundial.

“I want to think that we are on course, but the head coach should be in the best position to answer the question. I want to believe that Keshi knows what he wants as a coach to prepare and give Nigerians qualitative representation at the World Cup,” he added.

16th Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship

State finals dunk off next month, as NSSF lifts ban on Kwara ITHOUT any interruption since its inception W in 1999, the 16 th Milo School Secondary Basketball Championship dunks off with the state finals across the country in March.

And to ensure an all inclusive competition, the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) yesterday lifted its two-year ban on Kwara State.

Speaking at the press briefing to unveil the packages for this year’s competition, Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Dharnesh Gordhon, said the company would continue to sponsor the championship as part of its contribution to sports development in Nigeria, adding that the tournament is part of the ideals of Nestle to enhance the quality of life through sports.

“Our belief that sports serves as a suitable platform for youths to imbibe important values such as honesty, teamwork, fair play, respect, adherence to

rules, discipline, perseverance and resilience, has been the motivating factor behind our commitment,” Gordhon said.

As the foremost sponsor of basketball in Nigeria, he added that over 7,000 schools across the country are expected to participate in this year’s championship.

With the grand finale scheduled to hold in Lagos after the conference finals across the five zones, Gordhon said that this year’s would witness an improvement from the last edition.

LMC Chairman, Nduka Irabor.

HRILLING results have T been coming out of the 2014 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games, particularly from the veterans, whose dexterity and commitment have kept the spirit of competition high.

This was demonstrated by the squash players in the ladies veterans’ category.

Yesterday inside the Squash section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Yemi Adeleye, representing Shell, defeated Bassey R.K (NNPC) in straight sets of 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 to qualify for the final, which comes up this morning.

Adeleye will clash with Eziafa Nwokolo (Chevron), who dismissed Lydia Udoka (Mobil) 7-11, 12-10,11-6 in the other semifinal in the veterans’ category.

12th Bankole Olumide Aluko tourney draws hold today th

HE draws for the 12 T Bankole Aluko football tournament will hold today

Super Eagles’ defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe.

MTN/GTB Lagos International Polo Tourney

Ironclad/Fifth Chukker win, as teams jostle for semi-final tickets

By Tony Nwanne RONCLAD/Fifth Chukker Iground yesterday at their home defeated Kano Titans 14-8 in the only game played yesterday at the on-going Lagos International Polo Tournament sponsored by MTN and GTB. The game was moved to the Ironclad Farm, Ajah, about 30km from the Ribadu Road Polo Club, Ikoyi, where Ironclad/Fifth Chukker won to brighten their chance of

playing in the final of the Majekodunmi Cup. Games involving Lagos Petrosmith against Lagos Goodfellows, Raven Rojo versus Ibadan A, as well as the Kano Susplan/Titan and Kano Aitek clashes were shifted due to poor pitch condition.

Action continues today with no fewer than five matches expected to be decided in the Low and the Majekodunmi Cups.

The organisers say they are

working out alternatives so as to conclude the preliminary matches on time ahead of the semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday.

The tournament features top-class players from Argentina, Spain, South Africa and England, also enjoys sponsorship from Veuve Clicquot, Union Bank, Chapel Hill & Dunhill, UBS, Caverton Group, Dansa Foods Ltd/Dangote, Southern Sun Hotel, Smooth FM, Beat FM, Delaney and Avlon

by 4.00 p.m. at the Astro-turf 2000 Ikoyi with the 13 participating law firms in attendance.

This year’s edition will kick off on Sunday at the Astroturf 2000 Ikoyi, at 3pm, with Pinhero & Co, Banwo & Ighodalo, Olisa Agbakoba & Associates, Babalakin & Co, The Law Crest, Probitas Partners/B.Ayorinde & Co., Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Wole Olanipekun & Co, Aluko & Oyebode, Tayo Oyetibo & Co., Falana & Falana, Alex Partners and Tokunbo Orimobi LP, confirmed for the event.

LMC soft pedals on clubs’ registration requirements, season kicks off March 7 From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja S part of its measures to ensure that the 20 Glo Nigeria Premier League clubs begin the 2013/2014 season on strong financial base, the League Management Company (LMC) yesterday said it has granted some waivers to the teams to allow for kick off of the new season, which has now been slated for March 7.

The LMC met with representatives of clubs on Tuesday in Abuja to announce a number of incentives, which it noted, were uncommon in the history of professional football administration in the country.

The incentives, according to the LMC Chairman, Nduka Irabor, covers players’ welfare, match officials’ indemnities and clubs’ earnings and specifically includes the introduction of a Bridging Pension Scheme for players, substan-

A

tial increases in the match indemnities for referees and match commissioners and a 50 per cent rise in the total pay-out for the Merit Award introduced last season.

He revealed that clubs will also in the new season receive rights fees for hosting any match that is televised live during the season.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Irabor explained that LMC has decided to abolish the payment of registration fees by the clubs beginning from the 2013/2014 season, adding, “the Bridging Pension Scheme has been set up to secure the future of all our players in the elite league, as they will be eligible to draw some portion of the fund on retirement, terminal injury or perhaps voluntarily quitting the game.”

In addition to these improved welfare packages, the meeting affirmed that all clubs participating in the

2013/2014 Glo Premier League season will comply with the mandatory provision of N100 million performance guarantee from an approved financial institution, while clubs are to take steps to address within nine weeks all the concerns raised about their home grounds by the LMC Stadium Inspection teams.

Also in a communiqué issued yesterday, the LMC revealed that the indemnity of match officials and commissioners was reviewed upwards by 25 per cent starting from the 2013/14 league season.

The LMC Chairman also announced a 50 per cent increase in the Merit Award from N50 million of the 2012/13 season to N75 million for the 2013/14 season.

The Merit Award is a performance bonus paid to clubs at the end of the season based on their final standing on the log and is aimed at increasing

the intensity of the competition and the entertainment value thereon.

On the commencement date for the season, the meeting also affirmed that the 2013/14 Glo Premier League season kick off on the weekend of March 7 through to March 9 as scheduled and agreed a deadline of Tuesday, March 4 for return of all registration materials by Clubs to the LMC. Although the LMC and the clubs agreed on the provision of Performance Guarantee of N100 million from an approved financial institution, the allowed the clubs to provide the guarantee in quarterly installments of N25 million, saying that any defaulting club “shall be liable to forfeiture of six points, six goals and a further withholding of the defaulting club’s financial entitlement from the sponsorship rights.”

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UEFA Champions League

Sahin condemns fan violence URI Sahin has slammed N the fan violence, which overshadowed Borussia Dortmund’s 4-2 Champions League victory over Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday.

BVB supporters were chased and attacked through the streets of St Petersburg ahead of the match by groups of up to 20 Zenit fans.

And Sahin has condemned the perpetrators, saying that

such scenes have no place in football.

“It’s just sad that people think they have to fight,” the Turkey international told Goal.com. .

“I’m sorry for all those involved there. I hope they can get home safely. I want to thank everyone who supported us today. It was a long journey for the fans, “I think we have done our best and they can fly home

safely.”

Reflecting on the match, Sahin warned his teammates that they cannot start thinking about the quarterfinals just yet, despite their big away win.

“I think we’ve got a good starting position after winning 4-2 away. This is strong, but we are not through yet.”

Dortmund entertain Zenit in the second leg in three weeks’ time.

Dominguez says Olympiakos have made history LYMPIAKOS midfielder, O Alejandro Dominguez says his side are looking to make history in the Leauge this The Greek claimed a 2-0

Dominguez

Champions season. . champions win over

Manchester United in the first leg of their last-16 clash on Tuesday and stand on the brink of the quarter-finals.

And though the Argentine is adamant that the tie is far from over, he says his side are

confident of making a splash in the competition.

“I am so happy. I am very satisfied with the team’s work and the victory we achieved. I believe we have made a big step – a giant leap forward,” he told Uefa’s official site.

“The tie is not over yet. We have the away leg to play, but we should enjoy today’s result.

For me, this is a historic night for the club and we are thrilled about it.

“The coaching staff prepared the match in detail and today everything went exactly as we had planned. We were at our absolute best.

“With everything going perfectly for us, we had a great match and made a big step towards qualification.

“Manchester United are not easy opponents. They know this competition and have to be respected.

“However, we have our weapons on the pitch – we gave it everything we’ve got and achieved a great result which is very important for us.”

Manchester United’s Dutch forward Robin van Persie takes off his jersey after losing the round of 16 Champions League match against Olympiakos at Karaiskaki Stadium in Athens on Tuesday PHOTO: AFP

Olympiakos defeat, new low for Moyes ANCHESTER United M were beaten 2-0 at • Persie claims frustrated by team-mates Olympiakos in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Sportinglife.com reported that goals from Alejandro Dominguez and Arsenal loanee, Joel Campbell left the team with a huge mountain to climb to make it into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Afterwards manager David Moyes admitted his team had deserved nothing from the game.

The second leg takes place at Old Trafford on 19 March, but with United sixth in the Premier League and 11 points off fourth spot it could be their last appearance in the competition for some time.

With United also out of the Capital One Cup and FA Cup, Tuesday’s loss leaves Moyes facing a first season at the club without winning a

major trophy and under increasing pressure.

Meanwhile, Robin van Persie accused his teammates of getting in his way as he cut a frustrated figure following the club’s damaging defeat.

Van Persie wasted a good chance to score a vital away goal at the end of the match as the Dutchman put in an uncharacteristically poor display.

The former Arsenal striker, speaking to Dutch broadcaster NOS after the match, said that his cause was not helped by the positioning of some of his team-mates.

“It was quite difficult because my team-mates are often in the area where I want to play,” the United striker said adding, “t hat’s why I have to change my tac-

tics. Unfortunately, they are often in my area.

“It was much too slow today and we only had one shot on target in the whole match against Olympiakos, which is far too little.

“Everyone is very disappointed.”

United have to win by three clear goals to be sure of their passage to the last eight of the competition they were claiming they could win in the run-up to Tuesday’s first leg in Athens. And Van Persie is refusing to throw in the towel just yet.

“It is still possible, because with all due respect to Olympiakos, we should be able to win 3-0 at home,” the striker added.

“It is not that they were fantastic (in the first leg), we just mostly failed.”

Dortmund was tactically perfect against Zenit, Reus claims ORUSSIA B attacker, claims his

Dortmund Marco Reus side’s tactics “worked perfectly” in BVB’s 42 win over Zenit on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga side raced into an early lead through Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, before Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the second half to put paid to Zenit’s efforts at a comeback. .

Reus was proud of the way BVB performed in the clash in Russia, but warned that the goals from Oleg Shatov and Hulk after the break proved that Jurgen Klopp’s men cannot afford to sit back in the return leg at Signal Iduna Park.

“We started very well. Our tactics worked perfectly, we took an early 2-0 lead and put in a fine display, especially in the first half,” the Germany international told uefa.com.

“In the second period we

slacked off a bit and this should serve as a lesson to us for the return leg. Our 2-0 advantage was deserved, as was the final result, I think. I always say it doesn’t matter what the individual does, but to win as a team, and that’s what we have shown today.

“We should take it game by game. Today we took the first step towards the next round, but you could also see that an away team is always capable of scoring. We did a lot of the work today and so a lot of things would have to happen for us not to go through in the return leg. Nevertheless, we have to be on our guard.

“I am, of course, feeling good about my performance.

It was important that the team won and we are very happy. We will take it one match at a time. In a couple of weeks we have the return leg in our stadium and we want to go through then.”

Defender, Lukasz Piszczek

was pleased with his side’s reaction following the humbling Bundesliga defeat to Hamburg at the weekend, but reserved special praise for Lewandowski, who will join Bayern Munich in the summer. .

“We had quite a good start with the two goals and that made life a bit easier for us.

But we were also very focused the whole time and were a bit unlucky to concede those two goals,” he said.

“I don’t think we were lacking concentration when we conceded, those two goals were a bit of a fluke for Zenit.

We stood up well and were unlucky in those situations.

We did well and I hope we play as well in the return leg.

“Robert (Lewandowski) is a world-class player. We are happy he is still with us and hope he will continue to play as well as he did today and over the past few weeks.”

Thursday, February 27, 2014 SPORTS| 79

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Stationery Stores gets Owu, 1960 Bet, Union Bank deals FTER two matches since A its return to the Nigeria National league (NNL), ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com can reveal that Stationery Stores has sealed shirt sponsorship deals with sports brands, 1960 BET and Union Bank, respectively.

The logos of both brands will occupy strategic positions on their jerseys, when they confront Shooting Stars, in one of the oldest football rivalries in the country today.

Stores, fondly called “Flaming Flamingoes,” disappeared from the football

scene, but made a return this term after acquiring the position of Union Bank in the NNL. “1960 BET will be the frontof-shirt sponsor, while Union Bank, will appear on the sleeve of the shirt,” a source revealed to ojeksaikhoje.blogspot.com.

However, financial details of both deals remain undisclosed. The feat makes Stores one of the few teams in the land to secure shirt deals.

Cowbell Milk, produced

by PROMASIDOR (formerly called Wonder Foods), was

the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor, in the 90s.

Today’s match against Shooting Stars is already gathering momentum and football fans are looking forward to the encounter.

Although the team is yet to pick maximum points, the Taiwo Enegwea tutored side have shared points with Abia Comets at home and Gateway during their first road trip.

Stores have also joined the exclusive list of clubs with jerseys produced by leading indegenous brand, OWU Sportswear.

Interestingly, shirt sponsors don’t just represent money coming in, they serve as symbols to the outside world that someone with many advertising options sees value in slapping their logo on the shirt of a football team.

Stationery Stores in their new OWU outfit…the Flaming Flamingoes will confront old foes, 3SC, today at the Onikan Waterfront. PHOTO: GOAL.COM.

Agbim, Uzoenyi model Super Eagles’ 2014 World Cup jersey today OME-BASED Super design is produced by cial guest of honour, NSC Super Eagles, Daniel H Eagles’ Captain, Adidas, the official kit sup- Director General, Gbenga Amokachi, will represent Chigozie Agbim, Ejike plier of Nigeria national Uzoenyi and Abdullahi Shehu will model the new jersey of the national teams when the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) unveils the wears today in Abuja.

The new wears will also serve as the official Jersey of the Super Eagles at the 20th FIFA World Cup finals taking place in Brazil this summer.

The new and refreshing

teams and the leading kit manufacturers in the w o r l d .

Expected at the event scheduled for the Sunday Dankaro House, Package B of the National Stadium by 10.00 a.m., are the Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Bolaji Abdullahi, who will be spe-

Soccerfone rewards football fans OCCERFONE, a soccer quiz ners were given N350, 000 game, which E-Scape and N250, 000 respectively.

Slaunched Speaking about his prizes, with the support EJike Uzoenyi and Gbolahan Salami celebrating a goal against South Africa at the 2014 CHAN. Uzoenyi is one of the models lined up for Super Eagles’ new kits unveiling…today.

Doregos joins appeal for private sector participation in sports philanthropist, SshePORTS Clementina Doregos says will continue to invest in youth development through sports and education.

Speaking at the final of the 10th edition of the Doregos Inter-School Basketball Championship decided at Doregos Private Academy basketball court, Ipaja, she said the only way to check youth unrest in the country is for government, private and the public to sponsor sports and educational programmes that would reduce vices and child delinquency.

The renowned educationist said the Doregos basketball championship was borne out of the need to raise future educated champions through sports, noting that the competition has helped to foster healthy rivalry amongst all the participating schools since 2005.

Doregos explained that products of the competition would soon become global stars through the NBA and WNBA. “We believe that education and sports are interwoven and for us at Doregos this is our benchmark. As a college of champions, we ensure that every child becomes a champion in his academic and

sports career.

“Government alone cannot fund sports. The private sector should invest in the youth. We need to support the youths in all ramifications.

“The likes of Usain Bolt, David Beckham, Lebron James, Chioma AJunwa and Peter Rufai, among others, are global brands and they all went to school. Parents should encourage their children, who are into sports. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are successful today because their father invested time and money on them.”

In some of the matches played at the final, International School, Lagos defeated host Doregos 43-26 in the boys final to retain the title they won in 2013.

ISL has won the last five editions, winning a total of six titles, including the 2006 edition. The third place boys were won by Avi-Cenna International School, who thrashed Air force Secondary School, Ikeja 61-27. In the girls category, Defending Champion, Vivian Fowler College, Ikeja confirmed their supremacy as they slaughtered ISL Akoka 44-20 in a repeat of last years final, which they won.

of MTN on Friday, has presented the winners of the first set of games with their prizes.

In a ceremony, which saw 25 young Nigerians being presented with different gifts, at the studios of Metro FM, Lagos, the winners were rewarded with exciting prizes, including the grand prize, a trip to the United Kingdom worth £1,000 and MTN goody bags amongst other gifts, won by Tochi Ani, a 21-year-old programmer.

The second and third win-

Tochi Ani said, “I am so excited to be here. It is good to see that I can utilise my knowledge and passion for soccer for something so fruitful.’’

Expatiating on the reason for MTN’s partnership with Soccerfone, the General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Kola Oyeyemi said, ‘‘we at have noticed that Nigerians are passionate about football.

We want to use this passion as a channel to reward our customers hence the decision to support Soccerfone.’’

Elegbeleye, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Adamu Gumba, Chairman of the House of Reps’ Committee on Sports, Godfrey Gaiya, Chairman of the League Management Company, Nduka Irabor, PresidentGeneral of Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Oladipo and a number of prominent football figures.

NFF President, Aminu Maigari will have the compliment of members of his executive committee, as well as NFF management, led by General Secretary, Musa Amadu.

The Assistant Coach of

Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, who is already in the United States preparatory to next Wednesday’s friendly against Mexico in Atlanta.

“There is a uniqueness about the new jersey that Nigerians will love. The design is a top-of-the-range thing specially for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014,” Amadu said yesterday.

NFF’s Director of Marketing, Adama Idris will explain the concept of the new design, which will be worn for the first time by the Super Eagles at next week’s international friendly against Mexico in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

FUTA celebrates NUGA team’s 11 medals HE Vice-Chancellor of the T Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola has described the performance of the institution’s athletes at the just concluded Nigerian University Games (NUGA) as heartwarming.

FUTA’s contingent to the games held at the Obafemi

Chairman, National Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM), Yemi Idowu (right); Director, Gem Private School, Dr. Oyindamola Anjorin and Member, Board of Governors, Gem Private School, Omolara Otujo at the annual inter-house sports competition of the school in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI.

Awolowo University placed 11th out of 57 participating Universities with two gold medals in long jump and Table Tennis Team events.

FUTA also won five silver medals and four bronze medals.

Predictably, Babajide Okulaja, who has shown consistent class, picked the gold medal in the long jump event, as none of his fellow competitors could match his dexterity.

Daramola said it was a thing of joy that FUTA, the nation’s leading University of Technology, has also shown its readiness to be counted among the best in sports.

The vice chancellor reiterated his administration’s determination to continue to support students who are sport inclined so that they can create a good balance between sports and academics.

He assured that the university, which has state of the art tartan track and one of the best sporting facilities in the Nigerian university system, will ensure their regular maintenance and upgrading so that students will continue to have access to the best training environment that will bring the best out of them.

TheGuardian

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Odohofreh Enobong Ita FEW days ago, I came across a travel A blog, where an African-American was telling his experience of his first time in Nigeria. To him, Nigeria was a place to reunite with his black ancestral root. He said it was the first time he did not feel judged by the colour of his skin. The first time people didn’t cross the street to avoid him at night. The first time he, as a black, really felt free.

Freedom? Nigeria defines that word in a whole new way for me. My Nigeria is different. Very much different from what outsiders believe it to be. It is certainly not just a conflict-ridden, poverty-stricken, crime-infested place that foreign news channels depict it to be. Yes, it is all that, but a lot more to me, because I do not look at her through the eyes of a Cable News Network (CNN) reporter, or an estranged Nigerian child living in Diaspora, or even with the eyes of a foreigner coming here for the first time, or not coming at all because he or she believes he or she could never bear a place like this. When I chat with my friends who dream of living abroad for the rest of their lives, they are always surprised when I tell them that I don’t mind staying in Nigeria. I could travel to all the lands of my dreams but I will always want to come back home.

Home? This is what my Nigeria means to me. I was born here and I have never travelled beyond her borders. And in living and growing up here, the meaning of this place to me evolves and multiplies. I feel free to live here. I am a legitimate part of this country by all standards and that everlasting freedom is deeply savoured by me. Crises abound, but they do not chase me away; they only reinforce my ideas of how each of us, in our interactions with our society, can make a difference; either good or bad.

Bad things happen in Nigeria. Bad things happen to her, too. But in all my years of living here, I have seen as she always bears these misfortunes without breaking. In 2001, the New Scientist magazine listed

And each time I picture Nigeria in the global picture, her resilience is one thing that readily comes to mind. I’m happy that my country is not depressed. To me, Nigeria means strength. Then again, a more recent survey carried out by Forbes magazine placed Nigeria as the 20th saddest place to live in on earth. I haven’t lived in any other place, so I wouldn’t dare to refute that point. But I must say that such a turn of events is saddening and if true, it means that the fire of hope that we had for our country is burning low. Where is the fuel? Fuelling my love for this country is also the vibrant cultural heritage we have which is expressed in our everyday lives.

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My country Nigeria Life here isn’t perfect. In as much as I am speaking with so much pride about my country, I realise we are so far behind on development, civilisation, patriotism, and many other items on quite a long list. But I have decided to hate the sin, and not the sinner. This means that while I do the things I can to make Nigeria better, no matter how little they seem now, I still love this broken country of mine. I believe it is the love that will always make me to drop the wrappers of my sweets or biscuits in a waste bin, or keep it in my purse until I get home where I can properly dispose of it as I have been directed by the instructions, which always say “Keep Nigeria clean.” So while my mates laugh at my obedience in the midst of so much dirt and trash littered around, I understand that loving isn’t always easy. And it doesn’t always make sense to love.

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Editor: MARTINS

OLOJA

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ABC (ISSN NO 0189-5125)

Nigerians as the happiest people on earth.

Interesting, right? Whoever compiled that list must have seen how resilient we are. It seems it is a miracle that we don’t get depressed by all the crimes and sufferings we experience. In fact, suicide in Nigeria is considered quite odd and people wonder why a person would take his life prematurely when you would still die anyway.

Someone said this buoyancy we have may be because we’ve seen it all. I guess when you’ve had so many bad experiences, nothing breaks you anymore. So, this resilience rubs off on me. And each time I picture Nigeria in the global picture, her resilience is one thing that readily comes to mind.

I’m happy that my country is not depressed. To me, Nigeria means strength.

Then again, a more recent survey carried out by Forbes magazine placed Nigeria as the 20th saddest place to live in on earth. I haven’t lived in any other place, so I wouldn’t dare to refute that point. But I must say that such a turn of events is saddening and if true, it means that the fire of hope that we had for our country is burning low.

Where is the fuel?

Fuelling my love for this country is also the vibrant cultural heritage we have which is expressed in our everyday lives.

We don’t have to put on a special occasion before you see us colourfully dressed in our beloved Nigerian clothes. The markets, the streets, even schools and offices are brightened by people going about their business with clothes made from Nigerian textiles. Which Nigerian woman doesn’t have a beautiful colourful adire dress sitting in her wardrobe? Even our foods have colourful and spicy tastes. It’s like I’m being reminded everyday that I am alive.

And that yields a vibrant feel to my life.

Life here isn’t perfect. In as much as I am speaking with so much pride about my country, I realise we are so far behind on development, civilisation, patriotism, and many other items on quite a long list. But I have decided to hate the sin, and not the sinner. This means that while I do the things I can to make Nigeria better, no matter how little they seem now, I still love this broken country of mine. I believe it is the love that will always make me to drop the wrappers of my sweets or biscuits in a waste bin, or keep it in my purse until I get home where I can properly dispose of it as I have been directed by the instructions, which always say “Keep Nigeria clean.” So while my mates laugh at my obedience in the midst of so much dirt and trash littered around, I understand that loving isn’t always easy. And it doesn’t always make sense to love. Especially loving a place like Nigeria.

Nigeria is many things to me. And in every place I look, I see a new part of what Nigeria means to me. I keep looking, because I’m not afraid or disappointed or angry that I’m a part of this beautiful dysfunctional country and she, a part of me.

Hence, I look with eyes that realize that no matter what happens in my life, in Nigeria, in the world; the interwoven relationship between me and Nigeria will remain forever.

• Ita, is a 500 level Law Student of Igbinedion University, Okada. oenobong@yahoo.com