Wed 27 March 2013 The Guardian Nigeria

All hail Yityish ‘Titi ‘Aynaw, Black Beauty Queen of Israel WENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD YityT ish ‘Titi ‘Aynaw has become the first from the Ethiopian Israeli immigrant minority to be crowned Miss Israel 2013.

She is also the first black Miss Israel winner.

The stunning beauty whose name is Arabic and means “looking toward the future” refused to take on a Hebrew name, as most immigrants have in Israel.

Aynaw moved to Israel at age

12 after her mother passed away and became a part of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel, which includes a population of over 100,000 people.

While a large number of the group exists, there still re-

mains a racial divide among the Israeli and Ethiopian Jewish community. Yityish Aynaw hopes to be a link between the groups, as she stated in her pageant response: “It’s important that a member of the

Ethiopian community win the competition for the first time.

There are many different communities of many different colours in Israel, and it’s important to show that to the world.”

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Vol. 29, No. 12,508

www.ngrguardiannews.com

N150

28 feared killed in Plateau communities • NYSC redeploys 1, 213 corps members from Kano From Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna), Isa Abdulsalami (Jos) and Murtala Muhammed (Kano) FRESH orgy of violence yesA terday claimed 28 lives in Riyom Local Council of

Nigerian militant leader, Henry Okah, during his trial and conviction of terrorism charges relating to the 2010 Independence Day bombings at the Johannesburg High Court, South Africa… yesterday.(More stories on Page 4) PHOTO: AFP/ALEXANDER JOE

Zambia’s ex-President Rupiah Banda during his trial over charge of abuse of power linked to a Nigerian oil contract signed while he was in office at the Lusaka Magistrate Court, Zambia…

PHOTO: AFP/JOSEPH MWENDA yesterday. (Story on Page 8)

Plateau State, thereby heightening insecurity in the area.

The two communities of Da Jak and Attakar of Ganawuri chiefdom in Riyom came under siege when unknown gunmen stormed them in the early hours of yesterday.

Besides, the rising insecurity in the northern part of the country has made the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to redeploy 1,213 Batch ‘A’ 2013 members initially posted to Kano. They were sent to their respective states at the close of their three weeks’ orientation that terminated yesterday.

According to a reliable source, over 28 persons were CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

South African court jails Henry Okah for 24 years

IGERIAN militant Henry N Okah who has been found • ‘How new anti-terror law tightens noose around militants’ guilty of 13 terrorism-related charges over twin car bombings during the country’s Independence Day in 2010 is to spend 24 years in jail.

The verdict was given yesterday by a South African court.

At least 12 people were killed and 36 others injured during the bombings. Okah led a group, which said it was fight-

ing to help Niger Delta residents gain a greater share of the oil wealth from their part of southern Nigeria.

According to a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report, the court established

that Okah is the former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

He also received a 13-year jail term for threats made to the South African government af-

ter his arrest in October 2010 but this runs concurrently with his 24-year sentence.

The judge found that the state had proven Okah’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt because he didn’t testify in his

own defence during the trial.

He had repeatedly denied any involvement in the bombings.

Prosecutors have argued that although Okah is not a South African citizen, the country had the jurisdiction to try him under the International Cooperation in Criminal Matters

Ogbulafor loses bid to stop trial over alleged N107m scam - Page 3

Act. Analysts believe it would have been too dangerous for him to be tried in Nigeria because of the presence of his militant supporters.

The BBC says Okah may no longer be a headache for the Nigerian authorities but the threat of instability in the Niger Delta remains strong, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

2 NEWS

28 feared killed in Plateau communities CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 killed in the two communities of Plateau State where houses were also burnt. The source further said that the two villages were over-run in a midnight attack by people suspected to be hired Fulani militia.

Confirming the incident yesterday, the member representing Riyom Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Daniel Dem who spoke with journalists on phone, said “dozens of persons were killed but I can’t tell the number of those killed.”

The lawmaker, who described the attack as sad, said both villages had been under siege by suspected Fulani militia since last week.

Dem also accused the Special Task Force (STF) deployed to restore law and order in the area of being part of the problem. “My people are being killed every day and yet the Special Task Force is not doing anything about it.

“I am calling for the withdrawal of the STF since they are not capable of handling the crisis that has been rocking the state for a long time,” he said.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Olakpe, confirmed the incident. He further stated that no arrest was made, adding that his men were carrying out an investigation into the matter.

Eight villages in Ganawuri were razed by the unknown gunmen. It was after that incident that a patrol team of the police went there but were ambushed by the attackers who opened fire on them, killing two of them while the others escaped the

onslaught with injuries.

Navy Lieutenant Jude Akpa who spoke on behalf of the Spokesman of the Special Task Force (STF), Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha, who is on a leave of absence, confirmed the death of the two policemen yesterday.

According to Akpa: “The police team was on a patrol of the area when unknown gunmen who had hidden themselves in the surrounding bush opened fire on them by surprise leaving one of the policemen dead. But one other police corpse was later found adjacent to the scene making the number of the dead policemen two.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Pam Ayuba, who first broke the news, said that the surrounding villages of Ganawuri chiefdom had been deserted by the residents for fear of attacks, adding that their houses have been razed by unknown hoodlums.

Ayuba added that churches were among the houses burnt in the process. According to him, “villages that are affected by the fire included Jadak1, Jadak2, Jadak3, Attaka, Kirim, Zadien, Marid, Luka all set ablaze, including churches.”

He said government of Plateau State felt sad and bad over the incident, appealing to the perpetrators to sheathe their swords for peace to reign.

Management Committee Chairman of Riyom Local Council, Mr. Sam Gyang Audu, refused to pick his calls but a source said he would have been to the venue of the crisis but had to shelve it till today because Governor Jonah Jang

was swearing in the newlyconfirmed Head of Service, Mr. Ezekiel Dalyop and other permanent secretaries at the Government House, Rayfield.

Although the NYSC state Coordinator, Alhaji Bashir Salisu Yakassai, confirmed that more than 900 corps members were granted the request to return to their choice of places, information obtained from the NYSC notice board showed that 1,213 were redeployed from Kano State.

The prevailing security challenge in the state, especially the recent Sabon-Gari Motor Park bombing that claimed 25 lives and injured 64 according to security report, has generated tension and discouraged the youths.

While closing the orientation, Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullah Umar Ganduje, warned the corps members to be security-conscious while insisting that security was not the responsibility of security agencies alone. The deputy governor warned all state government agencies and private establishments not to reject any corps member posted to them in the state.

At the close of the Batch ‘A’ 2013 Orientation, the state NYSC co-ordinator told journalists that necessary efforts to secure co-operation of security agencies and stakeholders had been concluded but the scheme would not hesitate to grant the request of anyone who so wished to transfer.

“The concern everywhere is the security of lives of our corps members and I can tell you we are not relenting. We are trying our best to ensure safety even though it is not the responsibility of NYSC alone.

We urged them to dress de-

cently. But the recent incident I mean the bomb blast is responsible for this redeployment of our corps members. I guess so because before the development we did not receive any case of redeployment and NYSC cannot force them to stay if they don’t wish to do so,” he said.

Adekunle Adeshina, a corps member from Lagos State, said staying back may be risky for him. “I actually had the intention to stay back for the service when we were posted but with the latest development, I can’t risk it. It’s too dangerous to remain in Kano.”

Nnamdi Okoro, a graduate of English from University of Nigeria, said: “The camp is interesting and fun but I don’t think my people will allow me to stay. You all know the situation of the security, so I can’t stay back.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir, has said that the government would continue to deploy members of the NYSC in all parts of the country, while allaying fears that the insecurity in some parts of the North was targeted at those on national service.

He faulted reports and speculations that the security of youth corps members may be endangered in northern states following the insurgency of Boko Haram.

Abdulkadri, who spoke in an interview with journalists in Kaduna yesterday, said that “some of these reports about the safety of youth corps members are not correct”, pointing out that “It is better we give the correct perception and situation.”

‘How new anti-terror law tightens noose around militants’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 despite a fall in the levels of violence since a 2009 amnesty.

Okah was arrested on gunrunning charges in Angola in 2007 and then transferred to Nigeria but never convicted.

He was released after two years under an amnesty for oil militants and he returned to South Africa, where he had lived since 2003.

While MEND and other militant groups say they were fighting for a political cause, criminal gangs have taken advantage of the region’s instability to make money from ransoms paid by oil companies, and by stealing oil.

At its peak, the instability in the Niger Delta cost Nigeria about $1billion (£630 million) in lost revenue, Reuters news agency quoted the Central Bank as saying.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, but most of its people live in poverty.

An Abuja Federal High Court had in January this year found Edmond Ebiwere, one of the four persons arraigned for the October 1, 2010 bomb attack guilty of terrorism charges

and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Ebiwere and three others, including Charles Okah, a brother to Henry Okah, were being prosecuted for the crime.

In a judgment that lasted for close to three hours, Justice Gabriel Kolawole handed Mr. Ebiwere the life sentence after considering testimonies by six prosecution witnesses and exhibits which validly linked him to the crime as he failed to give information to the appropriate authority.

According to Justice Kolawole, Section 40 (B) of the Criminal Code Act provides that any person who becomes an accessory to treason or becomes aware of the commission of treason and did not give evidence to the President, a state governor or a peace officer in order to prevent the commission of the crime, is liable to treason and sentencing to life in prison.

“I concluded that the accused person is adjudged guilty as charged, being aware early in September 2010, that Henry Okah was planning a bomb attack but did not give such information to any of the persons or authority listed in

Section 40,B of the Criminal Code Act,” he said.

Ebiwere was found guilty of the three-count charge, which bordered on whether he was in contact with Okah, whether he had prior knowledge of the attack, and whether he reported the threat to the listed authorities contained in section 40,B of the CCA. Twelve persons, including security officers, lost their lives with many others injured as a result of the blast, while about 30 vehicles were damaged.

Okah was convicted under the new counter-terrorism law, the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and Related Activities Act (Act 33 of 2004), which came into operation on May 20, 2005.

The law covers crimes committed outside the country.

South Africa adopted the new terrorism legislation in 2004, replacing laws dating back to the apartheid era. Since then, 18 people have been convicted on terror charges there, including 13 South Africans, two from Lesotho and one citizen each of Mozambique, Palau and Zimbabwe.

Throughout the drafting process, concerns were raised from a number of civil society and faith organisations that aspects of the new law could detract from basic human rights and civil liberties.

It replaced the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967, which was a law of the South African Apartheid regime until all except section seven was repealed under the Internal Security and Intimidation Act. Section six of the Act allowed someone suspected of involvement in terrorism—

which was very broadly defined as anything that might “endanger the maintenance of law and order”—to be detained for a 60-day period (which could be renewed) without trial on the authority of a senior police officer.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), a terrorist is any person who — (a) with intent to endanger the maintenance of law and order in the republic or any portion thereof, in the republic or elsewhere commits any act or attempts to commit, or conspires with any other person to aid or procure the commission of or to commit, or incites, instigates, commands, aids, advises, encourages or procures any other person to commit, any act; or (b) in the republic or elsewhere undergoes, or attempts, consents or takes any steps to undergo, or incites, instigates, commands, aids, advises, encourages or procures any other person to undergo any training which could be of use to any person intending to endanger the maintenance of law and order, and who fails to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not undergo or attempt, consent or take any steps to undergo, or incite, instigate, command, aid, advise, encourage or procure such other person to undergo such training for the purpose of using it or causing it to be used to commit any act likely to have any of the results referred to in subsection (2) in the republic or any portion thereof; or (c) possesses any explosives, ammunition, fire-arm or weapon and who fails to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

NEWS 3

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

News Abuja varsity VC, ASUU face-off deepens.

Reps invite Customs’ boss, Dikko From Terhemba Daka, Abuja HE House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts yesterday issued a summons to the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr. Abdullahi Nde Dikko, to appear before it to answer sundry queries bothering on the 20072010 remittances to the Federation Account, which the Parliament is probing.

Members of the panel, who took turns to lampoon the authorities of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), described the Dikko, who has consistently rebuffed the committee’s past six invitations, as lawless.

The committee said the Customs boss must appear before the panel today unfailingly to respond to issues raised by the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. Its chairman, Solomon Olamilekan, who expressed dismay at the development, lamented Dikko’s attitude.

T

Immigration Service repatriates 57

By Odita Sunday HE Nigerian Immigration T Service (NIS), Lagos Command, yesterday said it has repatriated 57 irregular immigrants from the Republic of Niger.

Comptroller of Immigration, Mr. Rasheed Odupeyin, who is in charge of the Lagos State Command, said the 57 were among the 92 suspected illegal immigrants arrested during raiding by the Police at the weekend and handed over to them on Monday.

He said that the suspects were arrested in a joint operation by the police command and the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Offenses at the weekend from various parts of the state.

“It was the police that raided and handed them over to us. I am sure that they must have screened them and kept those who committed offence in the police custody for interrogation,” Odupeyin said.

Group to equip youth for mechanised farming

By Isaac Taiwo ASSION for Nigerian youths P to be gainfully employed at this period of economic recession as well as efforts at unifying Nigeria have given birth to an organisation known as Nehemiah Youth Empowerment Initiative.

Briefing the media yesterday at Golden Gate Restaurant, Lagos, the Chairperson, Emilomo Unuigbe, disclosed that the project, aimed at equipping not less than 50 successful candidates with modern agricultural equipment to embark on mechanised farming in North Central Kaduna, was borne out of worry over unemployment among the youth, insecurity in the nation and future of the country.

“There has arisen a need for the re-orientation of young minds to the assurance that Nigeria would remain as one while better quality of living could be achieved.”

By Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja HE frosty relationship T between the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) branch of

Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sani Sidi (left); after decorating Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and Minister of Environment, Adiza Mailafia, as NEMA executive volunteer corps, during the National Consultative workshop on 2013 flood prevention, mitigation preparedness and response in Abuja … yesterday

Ogbulafor loses bid to stop trial over alleged N107m scam

By Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja ORMER national chairman FParty of the People’s Democratic (PDP), Vincent Ogbulafor, yesterday lost bid to stop his on-going trial by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged complicity in award of fictitious contracts worth NI07 million.

Ogbulafor and his co-accused Emeka Ebilah and Jude Nwokorie are standing trial at an Abuja High Court on a 17count charge of conspiracy and award of fictitious contracts.

The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000.

Upon the close of Prosecution’s case, Ogbulafor had, through his counsel, Chief Joe Kyari-Gadzama (SAN) filed a no-case submission application, praying the court to terminate his trial on the contention

that the Prosecution Counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

Delivering his verdict on Ogbulafor’s no-case submission, the trial judge, Justice Ishaq Bello held that “from the totality of evidence led by the prosecution, it was clear that a prima facie case has been established against the accused persons and as such the no-case submission cannot stand. It fails and it’s accordingly dismissed.”

Justice Bello had earlier held that to grant a no-case submission, the court must ensure that none of the evidence given had linked the accuse person with the alleged crime.

“The court is not concerned with the credibility of the witness but whether the evidence given linked the accused person with the crime alleged to have been committed. The issue of whether the court believes in the evidence given by the witness does not arise at

this point. The court is under due obligation to discharge the accused person if the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. But in the instant case, the prosecution had through its witnesses established a prima facie case against the accuse person, hence, the need for the accused person to enter his defence. It is my view, based on the totality of evidence brought by the prosecution, that a prima facie case has been established against the accused. The no case submission hereby fails,” the judge ruled.

Consequently, the court has set down April 15, 2013 for the accuse person to open his defence and ordered him to bring all his witnesses to court on the said date.

Ogbulafor’s counsel, Gadzama, had earlier argued a no-case submission against the submission of the prosecution, stating that the prosecution had not in any way linked his client with the alleged crime.

Prosecuting counsel, Awomolo (SAN), had opposed the application, urging the court, in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice, to order the accused to present his defence for its proper consideration of both sides.

Part of the 17-count (amended) charge dated June 17, 2010 read that Ogbulafor and Ebilah in March 2001, in Abuja, being public officers, to wit, Minister In Charge of Special Duties and Secretary/Member of the National Economic Intelligence Council (NEIC) respectively, did use his positions to confer corrupt advantage upon themselves the sum of N82, 631, 03. 41 from the Federal Government in the name of a company HENCHRIKO NIG. LTD as payment for non-existent contract purportedly executed for the government, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000.

the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Sunday Adelabu, appears to be getting worse as a faction of the union accused the VC of locking its Chairman, Dr. Clemet Chup, out of his office.

But the VC, in a swift reaction, said no such thing happened, noting that the office in question was allocated to the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department of the university for use. Besides, he said Chup was allocated another office space, but declined.

The ASUU’s position was contained in a statement by the Abuja Zone of the union, which decried the alleged hostility of the vice chancellor towards the Chup-led faction of ASUU, which enjoys the official recognition of the national body. The faction was alleged to have been denied access to the national secretariat of the union located on the campus to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the university. The branch chairman was also said to have been locked out for one week.

The union described the development as most negative to experience in the history of the union because “such an atrocity was never contemplated throughout the period our National Secretariat was hosted by the University of Ibadan.

“This denial of access to the National Secretariat built with the resources of the union was made more shameful because the representatives of the Minister of Education and the executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) as well as the immediate executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) were among the many distinguished personalities embarrassed by his act of lawlessness and abuse of power.”

Summit urges policies overhaul for Africa’s industrial growth

By Bola Olajuwon and Kamal Tayo Oropo (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire)

• Sanusi dismisses single currency initiative

O achieve accelerated T industrial growth, African nations should urgently begin

should rather, devote its attention to boosting intra-African trade, which according to him, is at its lowest ebb, improving infrastructure and enthroning right leadership.

Global interest in the continent and recent indication that some of the fastest economies in the world are in Africa, according to the participants, point to Africa’s potential for economic and social transformation, but each country has to tell her own story and thereby shaping Africa’s future growth through structural transformation.

At the opening of ministers’ conference yesterday, President of Cote d’Ivoire, Dr. Alassane Ouattara, Chairperson of African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana

review of their economic, financial and political policies and tailor them towards attracting foreign investments.

This is one of the views of participants at the ongoing Sixth Joint Yearly Meetings of the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on Monday.

Also at the event, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, dismissed the idea of single currency, saying Africa

Dlamini-Zuma, United Nations Under-Secretary and Executive Secretary of ECA, Dr. Carlos Lopes and other panelists agreed that there is need for paradigm shift in policies of African nations for large-scale industrialisation to take root on the continent.

On the theme of the continent, “Industrialisation for an Emerging Africa,” Ouattara observed that industrialisation has not been successful since the time of independence.

According to him, from the 60s and 80s, Africa tried import substitution, but the policy failed. “From 80s, we changed economic policies, focusing on promotion of private sector – privatisation and decreasing governmental control on economy, but overall,

this too has not been successful, even though the share of industrial sector as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was six per cent in 1970’s and it grew to 15 per cent in the 90s. This is not enough. We must do more and better,” he said.

Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire said his country has adopted a development plan to make the country better by 2020. He asserted that in order to be successful in the area of industrialisation, Africa needs political stability and a conducive environment for savings and investments.

Dlamini-Zuma called for tackling the root causes of conflicts on the continent. “We need a paradigm shift from the way we see our economy and political problems in order not to let others dictate our paradigm to us. African

population is growing very high. Between 1995 and 2006, Africa has imported $50 billion of processed foods while we have exported $21 billion of crude crops. This creates deficits and a threat to food security on the continent,” she said.

Sanusi argued that the finance for industrialisation in Africa is not the problem, but deficit of the right policies and good leadership.

“What the private sector wants is the enabling environment. For example, provide industrial cluster area, power, infrastructure, security, provide access to market and the right track and channel of incentives. When you will have a problem is when you will think that you need private capital coming to invest in an environment, which is not conducive.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

4 NEWS

The sentencing of Henry Okah Panel summons Agbaso tomorrow From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri HE judicial panel investigatT ing the allegations of gross misconduct and bribery scandal against the Imo State Deputy Governor, Jude Agbaso, has summoned him to appear before it tomorrow to give evidence under Rule 4 (5) of the Imo State House of Assembly.

According to the summon, which was signed by the chairman of the seven-man panel, Justice Godwin Chukwuemeka Ihekire (rtd), and made available to the media, he was being summoned before the panel sitting at the Hall of the Parliamentary Building, Council of Traditional Rulers of Imo State, Opposite Concorde Hotel, Owerri, by 10.00 a.m. to give evidence in respect of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the bailiff, Chikezie Uchenna, who relayed the problems he encountered with the security men attached to the deputy governor’s lodge, obtained an affidavit of service of summons dated March 25, accusing Agbaso of evading service.

The affidavit read in part: “That in furtherance of my duty, I visited the official residence of the deputy governor for the purpose of serving on him the summons on March 25, 2013 at 8.15 a.m., at 11.00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m., in all of which I found the lodge locked and the security men on duty not willing to volunteer information about the whereabouts of the deputy governor, Sir Jude Agbaso.”

Stating his belief that the deputy governor was evading the service of summons, he added: “I further believe that if this summons is published in national and local newspapers, Sir, Agbaso will certainly have notice of it.”

The panellists were inaugurated last weekend by an Owerri High Court Judge, Goddy Anunaihu, after it was put on hold last Tuesday by the Chief Judge, Benjamin Njemanze.

Agbaso is being accused of demanding gratification of N458 million from the Managing Director of J PROS International Nigeria Limited, a Lebanese road contractor executing a 15kilometre road in Owerri.

Why Henry Okah did not get maximum sentence From Oghogho Obayuwana, Abuja OUTH AFRICAN High Court SClaaseen, judge, Justice Neels said yesterday that Henry Okah who was ordered to be put away for 24 years was not given maximum sentence owing to the fact that the struggle of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) is politically-motivated.

The judge, who sentenced Okah on a 13-count charge, held that a maximum sentence (life imprisonment) for Okah will therefore “be inappropriate.”

Also, there would be no extradition for Okah. Reason: He was arrested in South Africa and at the time of his arrest, he had accepted South Africa Residence, though he did not accept the citizenship of South Africa.

Dismissing the application filed late last week Wednesday

by Okah seeking that his prosecution was irregular, Justice Claaseen said: “The evidence on record was that he was persona non-grata in Nigeria. He was arrested in South Africa and Nigeria still has death

• To serve term in S’Africa • Judge displeased with comportment penalty in place for the offence the accused was arrested.

South Africa does not have death penalty in its justice system. So, the accused cannot be extradited to Nigeria”.

Yesterday, the judge further held that South Africa being a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Treaty on Terrorism Acts allowed the convict to be tried in South Africa though the events took place in Nigeria.

“As a signatory, South Africa is duty-bound to adopt the treaty and incorporate it into the laws of South Africa, in other words domicile the treaty”, he added.

Continuing, he said: “It is the responsibility of the court in sentencing the convict to take into account the feelings of the world community and to make South Africa unpalatable for terrorists to operate within the jurisdiction as member of the comity of nations.”

According to him, “having found the accused guilty in the 13-count charge of acts of terrorism, it’s now the duty of the

court to sentence him, taking into account the position of the victim, the convict and the world community.”

For the judge, all the 13 count charges Okah was convicted of are related to three events. And he reeled them out: • “The first event is the March 15, 2010 bomb attack where two car bombs occurred at the venue of a political gathering which was being attended by the Delta State Governor in Warri, Delta State, where one person died and several others injured.

The second event occurred on October 1, 2010 in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, where two car bombs exploded killing eight people with several others injured. Third event is the threat to the Nigerian government.

• “All these three events were targeted at embarrassing President Goodluck Jonathan,” Justice Claaseen maintained, adding that the acts are very serious crimes, which must be punished in accordance to the terrorism laws.

The judge was also not

pleased with Okah’s comportment. And he said in this regard: “The convict during the trial had never accepted any responsibility nor shown any remorse in spite of the fact that overwhelming evidence linked him with MEND which claimed responsibilities for the bombings. It would, therefore, be wrong for the court to turn a blind eye to the fact that the struggle in the Niger Delta, which led to the events is a political one. The group’s agitation for improved environmental situation and provision of infrastructure in the area is aimed at attracting the Federal Government attention to the plight of the people in the area. Though a good cause, but it does not justify any act of violence and terrorism,” he added.

He further observed yesterday that the court is obliged to impose life imprisonment, which is the maximum sentence due to the political nature of the struggle, adding that the suspended sentence sought by the defence is inappropriate due to the nature of the crime.

“Having considered that the convict does not have any criminal record both in South

Conviction political, illegal, Keyamo insists CTIVIST and lawyer, Festus A Keyamo, has condemned Henry Okah’s trial, conviction and sentencing by a South African court, insisting that it is both political and illegal.

In a statement, he said: “The decision of the South African court that convicted Henry Okah this (yesterday) morning of charges relating to terrorism is politically- motivated and legally incorrect.

“As counsel to Charles Okah and others, who are facing the same set of charges under Nigerian laws, I have been actively involved in co-ordinating the trials both in South Africa and Nigeria. The fundamental flaw in the trial is that Henry Okah was not given adequate facilities and the opportunity to defend himself.

“This is because after the prosecution closed its case in South

Africa, the defence attorneys and my chambers here in Abuja tried frantically to summon the witnesses of Henry Okah, who are based here in Nigeria, to testify on his behalf. These witnesses include some government officials.”

He added: “In this regard, we wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation who replied and directed that Henry’s counsel in South Africa apply to the court there for an order to secure the legal assistance of the Attorney-General of Nigeria.

This was only two weeks ago.

“Without giving Henry’s counsel in South Africa adequate time and facilities to follow the directives, the South African court foreclosed his opportunity to call witnesses and rushed to convict him.

“This is a breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing and

an obvious attempt by the South African authorities to please Nigeria at all cost. That is why the judgment is nothing but political.

“It is wrong to convict anybody without due process; Henry has been convicted without due process. I condemn this judgment and call on Nigerians and

the international community to condemn the trial and judgment of Henry Okah, whose only offence was his refusal to accept the so-called amnesty offered by the Yar’AduaJonathan administration and his insistence on the NigerDelta controlling its resources.”

Nigeria not lagging behind in anti-terrorism war, says Senate From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh and Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja HE Senate insisted yesterT day that Nigeria remained committed to the global war against terrorism based on its own laws and described as untrue insinuations that it was lagging behind in the anti-terrorism war.

Briefing reporters at the National Assembly, Senate Spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said: “Every country has its own laws and countries fight terrorism based on their laws.

“I don’t think that the conviction of Henry Okah in South Africa is what is taking us to recognise that there is terrorism in Nigeria. No! There are a lot of people who are undergoing trial at the moment in Nigeria for terrorism and you cannot blame the National Assembly if there is delay in those trials.”

Meanwhile, he declared that the Senate would soon begin deliberations on President Goodluck Jonathan’s bill seeking amendment to the 2013 budget, pointing out that a decision would also be taken to review its position on whether or not the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arumah Oteh, should be removed from office.

Response from the Presidency on budget review has come to the Senate but we are yet to debate it and take a position on it,” he added. “Until the Senate takes a position on it, I am not in a position to anticipate what it will do.

“Of course, Mr. President indicated in the letter to the Senate

and the House of Representatives that there were certain aspects of the 2013 budget, which is already signed into law, that he wants us to revisit and definitely, we are going to revisit those aspects. That is the process of give and take within government.”

He hailed the intervention of the President on the implementation of constituency projects, which had strained the relationship between the National Assembly and the Executive arm. Abaribe said: “We think what is being done in the Presidency is probably to make it more efficient.

“You are aware that constituency projects are done in each ministry and that what the National Assembly does is simply to pinpoint those projects and where they ought to be sited. We have nothing to do with implementation except through our oversight functions for the constituency projects.

“So, if the Presidency feels that it has to bring it under one umbrella so that it will be better assessed, so be it, that is the job of the Executive.”

Africa and in Nigeria before the struggle in the Niger Delta, I am of the considered view that his clean record both in South Africa and Nigeria should add to his sentence mitigation. Also, the fact that his children will suffer emotionally for his absence if maximum sentence is given is considered in mitigation of his sentence,” Claaseen said.

Before delivering judgment yesterday, the judge confessed to having difficulties in determining what the appropriate sentence should be.

He said in this regard “this is not an easy matter to deal with in sentencing. The sentence of the convict to life imprisonment is not appropriate and to give him suspended sentence is equally not appropriate. To strike a balance, the convict is hereby sentenced to 12 years in prison for counts 1,3,5,7, 9 and 11 for the Warri bombings. The accused is sentenced to 12 years for counts 2,4,6,8 and 10 for the Abuja bombings. The accused is sentence to 10 years for the threat to the government of Nigeria... However, the sentence for counts 2,4,6,8,10 and 13 will run concurrently, In all, the accused is hereby sentenced to 24 years in prison.”

S’African court jails Okah for 24 years CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 not intend using such explosives, ammunition, fire-arm or weapon to commit any act likely to have any of the results referred to in subsection (2) in the republic or any portion thereof, shall be guilty of the offence of participation in terroristic activities and liable on conviction to the penalties provided for by law for the offence of treason: Provided that, except where the death penalty is imposed, the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for a period of not less than five years shall be compulsory, whether or not any other penalty is also imposed.

The process of drafting and deliberating the South African anti-terror law was a cumbersome and protracted one. The Act’s roots can be traced back to the muchneeded overhaul of apartheid security legislation in the mid-nineties. The idea was to bring South Africa ’s extensive collection of security legislation into line with the constitution. In 1998, a new official policy on terrorism was approved. At that time, and in terms of its policy on terrorism, the South African government committed itself to: upholding the rule of law; never resorting to any form of general and indiscriminate repression; defending and upholding the freedom and security of all its citizens; and acknowledging and respecting its obligations to the international community.

MEND condemns sentencing From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt HE Movement for the EmanT cipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has reacted to the conviction and sentencing of Henry Okah, saying it received with disbelief “the 24-year sentence after a sham trial in a South African kangaroo court.”

MEND spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, said the group was disappointed but not surprised that the South African

judiciary allowed itself to be compromised by the highly corrupt Nigerian government.

Gbomo added: “The governments of South Africa and Nigeria should realise that this planned sentencing of Henry Okah would not in any way, shape or form change our struggle, as we will remain dedicated to our cause until we achieve full justice and emancipation for the Niger Delta and its people.”

NEWS 5

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Ondo inaugurates state ID card

Balarabe Musa, Shehu Sani launch political movement

From Niyi Bello, Akure

From Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau Chief

OUR years after his first F2009, inauguration in February RKED by the political and where Ondo State Ieconomic ills, which they Governor, Dr. Olusegun said, are consequences of the Mimiko, in his inaugural speech, promised to know all the citizens of the state individually through a central data system that would capture the aspirations of the people, the state residency card was launched yesterday in Akure, the state capital.

Known as “Kaadi Igbe-Ayo”, the residency card, which already has a substantial part of the state population in its database, is designed to contain individual information and provide the state with accurate demography to assist in planning and implementation of government programmes.

At the launch attended by a rich gathering of stakeholders, Mimiko said, “in 2009,I said, I want to know all of you by name. I want to know where you live. I want to know what you do for a living. I want to be able to talk to you one on one. I want to know the exact number seeking employment and I want to know what type of qualifications you have.

poor leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and leader of the Northern Civil Society Coalition, Mallam Shehu Sani, have inaugurated a group known as Majalisar Talakawa/Peoples Movement to challenge the status quo.

Addressing the teaming crowd at a rally, Alhaji Musa denounced the poor leadership of Jonathan in the country, saying the inauguration of “the Majalisar Talakawa/Peoples Movement

was meant to ensure that those who had no business in governance were not found in the corridors of power”.

According to him: “The response from the Proletariat or Talakawa today is very encouraging because this is the first outing of the Peoples Parliament or rather, the assembly of the common men, or the assembly of the proletariat.”

“What they have chosen to campaign for is the liberation of the common man, liberation of the proletariat and this is very important now, particularly because of the level of social marginalisation in Nigeria today.

“And Kaduna being the state chosen to establish the assem-

bly of the proletariat, for the first time is the right place because in many ways, Kaduna is the centre for liberation in Nigeria. Kaduna and Kano constituted the first areas of political liberation in Nigeria”.

Musa argued: “I think this movement is likely to see the light of the day because its formation is consistent with the fundamental rights provisions of the 1999 Constitutions of Nigeria.

“Secondly, it is relevant because of the level of marginalisation of the masses in Nigeria that has gone so far that something must be done even for the sake of peace in the country”.

“You can see that everything

in this country has been monetised to the extent that our value as human beings is assessed in terms of money”, he pointed out.

He added: “This is the worst situation that can happen in any country. You can see the leading role of corruption, stealing and criminal waste of public resources in Nigeria. It has gone so far that it has disabled our government in the country, at the expense of the common man.

“So, this assembly has come at the right time. It will definitely help Nigerians who understand the state of the nation, it will also help patriotic organisations that already exist in Nigeria to know how to tackle this negative state of the

Africa to host World Routes in 2015

By Andrew Iro Okungbowa WO decades after its exisT tence, Africa has finally got the nod to host for the first time the World Route Development Forum (World Routes). This was one of the fallouts yesterday from the BRICS Summit currently taking place in Durban, South Africa.

South Africa is the choice country with KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN) scheduled to host the 21st annual session at ICC Durban from September 20 to 22, 2015.

World Routes is the global meeting place for every airline, airport, tourism board, and government stakeholders in the travel, tourism and aviation business and attracts well over 110 countries.

The hosting right would further boost Africa destinations and its businesses with South Africa, the host country having once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase the best of destination, potential and infrastructure to the world.

Govt releases 1.5m doses of measles’ vaccines From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja HE National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) announced yesterday that the government has released a substantial amount of vaccines to tackle measles currently plaguing some parts of the country.

The organisation hinted that antibiotics and rehydration fluids were also being procured to support case management of children affected with measles in parts of the country.

NPHCDA said 1.5 million doses of measles’ vaccines were released to worst hit states of Kano, which got 500,000 doses, Katsina 400,000 doses while Sokoto got 300,000 doses.

Additional 7.2 million doses of measles’ vaccines are to be released in the next two weeks, the agency said in a release yesterday.

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Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Emmanuel Onyeje (left); Service Manager, Nokia EDX, Balogun Olumide and Shina Oyetosho, at the kick-off of Microsoft 9jaAPPS Competition in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: PAUL OLOKO

NCP seeks stay of execution on judgment over deregistration by INEC

By Joseph Onyekwere ISSATISFIED with the deciD sion of a Federal High Court affirming the powers of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister political parties, the National Conscience Party (NCP) has filed an application seeking to stay execution on the judgment.

Justice Okon Abang had in his judgment delivered on March 6, 2013, affirmed the power of INEC to deregister political parties, which failed to win elections.

He dismissed the suit filed

by NCP seeking the court to disallow INEC from deregistering any party, which fails to win governorship or presidential election or a seat in the National or state House of Assembly.

Abang affirmed the constitutionality of Section 78(7)(ii) of the Electoral Act 2010, which empowers INEC to deregister parties that have failed to win a governorship, presidential election or a seat in the National or state House of Assembly.

The party filed the application in the same court on March 11, 2013, urging it to grant an injunction against the execution of the judgment pending when the appeal it filed against the verdict is finally determined.

NCP counsel, Marcus Eyarhono, in an affidavit supporting the application, urged the court to grant the

application, saying his since client is being apprehensive, INEC could go ahead to deregister the party on the strength of the judgment.

He said in the application filed on March 11, 2013, that the party was ready to prosecute its appeal against the judgment.

“Furthermore, the granting of this application will not prejudice the defendants/applicants in any way,” Eyarhono said.

He had on March 7 filed a

one-ground notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, Lagos, urging the appellate court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment.

He insisted that the judgment was inconsistent with provisions of Section 40 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the African Charter on Peoples Rights, which both guarantee freedom of association.

“Freedom of association and peaceful assembly is sacrosanct and is inviolable,” he

said.

INEC had on March 9, 2013, filed a preliminary objection to the application, arguing that it was an abuse of court process.

Joined as the respondents in both the applications seeking stay of execution and in the appeal are the National Assembly, the Attorney General of the Federation and INEC. No date has been fixed for hearing on either the appeal or the application.

Nigerian nation”.

Besides, Mallam Sani, also the President of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), spoke on the formation of Majalisar Talakawa and the need for Nigerians to protect the values of true democracy.

He lamented that “it is about 14 years since the restoration of democracy and it is clear that both the elected and appointed people who have found themselves in public offices have taken the issue of the common man to the background”.

Said he: “We have formed this organisation to provide a platform for the masses to express their grievances against people in the position of power, to also bring forth their own agenda, and to perform unofficial oversight functions on those who have been constitutionally empowered to administer the country from all tiers of governments.

“What we should understand clearly is that the common man in this country is faced by a number of crises. We have the elected persons who have decided to disconnect themselves from the people; we also have the feudal institutions that portrayed themselves as natural rulers and exercise authority of repression and exploitation against the common man. And also we have the business class, private sector, that are acting together with the political establishment to exploit the people”.

He added: “The mass movement is aimed at sensitising the people to free themselves and serve as a springboard to the Nigeria spring. It is a revolutionary movement rooted in the people and determined to protect the interest of the people. 2015 is going to be the year of the people because, it is 14 years of tyranny, 14 years of exploitation, 14 years of repression and this Majalisar Talakawa is going to bring an end to what has become a menace to the people as far as we are concerned.

“It is very clear that those factors of poverty and other social vices in Nigeria have seriously hindered, impeded and inhibited our growth as a people, our unity as a people and our progress as a people.

But the Peoples Parliament is all-encompassing, irrespective of your creed, gender, religious affiliation. The parliament will set for itself an agenda of demolishing those barriers of repression, tyranny and exploitation that have become the blocks of impediments to the unity and progress of our people”.

Customs agents task security agencies over upsurge in pirates’ attacks

By Moses Ebosele O successfully tackle T upsurge in the activities of pirates along Nigeria’s waterways, the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), yesterday called for closer collaborations among relevant security agencies.

The Consul General, United States of America (USA) Embassy, Jeffrey Hawkins, recently revealed that since January 1, this year, over two dozen attacks were recorded along Nigeria’s waterways.

Speaking on behalf of NCMDLCA yesterday, its national president, Lucky Amiwero explained that the development if not curtailed urgently is capable of increasing the cost of freight

and insurance for Nigerian bound cargo.

Explaining further, Amiwero said the extra insurance and freight cost may lead to increase in good costs as importers may not have any other option than to transfer “the burden to consumers”.

He described piracy as an international problem, adding that security agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting our territorial water should collaborate in order to achieve the desired result.

“We have the marine police, Navy and task force.

They should work together in the interest of the maritime sector. They need to work together,” Amiwero said.

The Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, at the weekend pledged the com-

mitment of Federal Government to tackle oil theft and other crimes along Nigeria’s waterways.

Hawkins had in a paper presented in Lagos, recently, advised the Nigerian Government to develop the political will to tackle the menace.

“Indeed, we (US) heard report of two dozen attacks since January 1 of this year.

The criminal activitieswhether armed robbery or piracy or kidnapping extends along Nigeria’s coastline.

“On February 4, in the Lagos anchorage. On February 6, along the River Forcados. On February 7, off Brass. On February 10 and 11, two separate two separate attacks off Bonny. On February 17, two separate attacks, one in Lagos and one off Brass. On February 22, again off Brass,

and on February 25, in Calabar Channel, and that’s just three weeks in February”, said Hawkins.

He added “We (US) have talked with a lot of individuals associated with Nigeria’s maritime environment in the past few monthsNigerians and expatriate alike-and I would like to share with you some of what we have heard.

“From cargo theft to kidnapping for ransom, the Gulf of Guinea is becoming known as a very dangerous place to do business. It is becoming known as a place where you must sail in convoys and where you must hire armed guards- who themselves are Nigerian police officers or sailors and rhetorically should have responsibilities other than serving as hired guns.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

6 NEWS

Govs forum decries state executives’ control of councils

By Karls Tsokar, Abuja N consonance with its IReview mandate, the States Peer Mechanism (SPRM) of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has identified the overbearing influence of governors in the structure of local government, which is affecting the holistic development of the states.

It also identified lack of budget comprehensiveness, which blights proper assessment of counterpart funding in Anambra State.

The report made available in Abuja yesterday at the media parley on developments in the SPRM indicates that local government in Anambra and Ekiti states had not being allowed to function properly due to administrative and structural obstructions, consigned by the government.

The Steering Committee National Coordinator, Afeikhena Jerome, said the “overarching issues identifies in more than one thematic area…deserve a holistic approach because of their wider impact on the quality of governance in the state”.

While advising that the state government should set the machinery in motion urgently and conduct free and credible elections, he said, “the last time local government elections were held in Anambra State was in 1998, when local elections in all the states were used to determine which political parties qualifies to be registered…since then local governments councils have been run by caretaker com-

• Indicts Anambra, Ekiti over LG polls mittees. And the governor said, the issue is in court and he cannot interfere with it”.

Jerome said constitutional

breach in local council elections “is in the doldrums in Ekiti State” as the conduct of local elections has been thwarted by successive gov-

ernments not playing by the letter and spirit of the relevant laws that regulates the establishment of the state Independent Electoral Com-

mission, which has the responsibility for conducting local elections”.

He further said the amendments of the local government laws, which reduced the tenure of councils to two years and also trans-

ferred to the governor the power to appoint people to all the positions in the state further compounded the problems given that the powers of the local governments were centralised in the hands of the executive.

Rotary lauds The Guardian over NUJ award T was kudos yesterday for IasThe Guardian Newspapers Rotary Club lauded its outstanding performance at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Award 2012 held in Abuja at the weekend.

The Guardian’s Abuja based Science & Health Reporter, Emeka Anuforo scooped up awards in three different categories.

Reacting to the award, Rotary Club praised Anuforo for defending his media classification.

In a congratulatory message to Anuforo, who is the Club’s Director Public Affairs, President, Rotary Club of Abuja Gwarinpa, Jerry Haruna said: “We are proud of you as a worthy recipient of three outstanding awards from the NUJ. Your awards as the Science, Energy and Agriculture Reporter of the year is indeed a great achievement.”

He added: “Rotn Anuforo, you have distinguished yourself as an outstanding journalist and a true Rotarian. We are truly proud of you.”

Adebayo Solomon of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria ( FRCN) won the Journalist of the Year award, cruising home with the cash price of N1million. About 12 different awards were given out to journalists who had

shown immense proficiency on their beats.

Anuforo, a graduate of English from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, won the 2010 Nigerian Academy of Science / Pfizer Print Science Journalist of the Year Award.

He had previously won an International Development Research Centre (IDRC Canada) funding, which enabled him undertake a six month science journalism fellowship at Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net London).

SciDev.Net is the world’s leading source of reliable and authoritative news, views and analysis on information about science and technology for global development.

NUJ National President, Mohammed Garuba, said the award was organised to as part of programmes to mark the anniversary of the day NUJ was born and to honour late Group Managing Director of Daar Communications and former Chairman of Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Ladi Lawal.

Noting that the award would now be held every year, he stressed that about 130 entries were received in all.

Manager, International Collaboration Unit Office of Policy Health Canada, Greg Monsour; Director, Registration and Regulatory Affairs, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Monica Eimunjeze, Director, Centre for Vaccine Evaluation Health Canada, Dr Lindsay Elmgren; Director-General, NAFDAC, Dr Paul Orhii, during the formal opening of Health Canada NAFDAC, mentorship launch meeting in Lagos … yesterday.

PHOTO: GABRIEL IKHAHON

Insecurity, vaccine rejection may heighten epidemics outbreak • Govt releases measles drugs to worst hit states

By Chukwuma Muanya HERE is palpable fear of T resurgence of epidemics of childhood killer diseases in the country due to continued rejection of vaccines and insecurity in most parts of northern Nigeria.

Experts including government officials have blamed the ongoing measles outbreak in Northern Nigeria, which killed 36 children and infected over 4,000 on drop in immunization coverage due vaccine rejection and shortages as well as insecurity.

However, as part of efforts to contain the on going measles outbreak, the Federal Government through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has released 1.5 million doses of measles’ vaccines to worst hit states in the northern part of the country.

The NPHCDA said the outbreaks indicated the need to ensure that parents were fully aware of the benefits of immunization and the risks associated with not vaccinating children.

Also, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria with 1.7 million, India (6.7 million), Ethiopia (one million), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (0.8 million), and Pakistan (0.9 million) top the list of countries with unprotected population.

Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Gana Mohammed, told The Guardian yesterday: “The States are Kano which got 500,000 doses, Katsina 400,000 doses while Sokoto got 300,000 doses. The Agency has additional reserve of 300,000 doses of measles’ vaccines still kept at the National Strategic Cold Store in Abuja. The Agency would also take delivery of additional 7.2 million doses of measles’ vaccines in the next two weeks.”, he added.

Mohammed explained that

the additional measles’ vaccines would be delivered to all worst affected states during the forthcoming Polio Immunization Campaign in April 2013.

Ado said that Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) would be given house to house to all eligible under five children during the April Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs) while the measles’ vaccines and Vitamin A would be administered to children aged six to 59 months old at health facilities (fixed posts) and temporary fixed posts.

He said antibiotics and rehydration fluids were being procured to support case management of children affected with measles in parts of the country.

Ado said many parents have declined to vaccinate their children against measles as they believe the vaccine is harmful. “Parents are largely to blame... for their refusal to have their children immunised against preventable diseases including measles due to unfounded suspicion that such vaccines are harmful to children, following persistent rumours that polio vaccine causes infertility in children,” he said.

According to the WHO, measles is a highly contagious viral respiratory tract infection that infects over 20 million people - most of them children - each year. It can be fatal if not treated quickly.

Symptoms include high fever, coughing and skin rashes.

Some 158,000 people, most of them children under five, died of measles in 2011.

Infants are immunised against measles for life at nine months as part of routine immunizations in hospitals and health centres. Other vaccines include yellow fever, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.

A new data published in January edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-

tion’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and then in WHO’s Weekly Epidemiological Record showed overall progress in reducing deaths is linked largely to increased vaccination coverage.

According to the report, despite the drop in number of measles deaths globally by 71 per cent between 2000 and 2011, from 542 000 to 158 000, some populations remain unprotected. An estimated 20 million children worldwide did not receive the first dose of vaccine in 2011. More than half of these children live in the mentioned five countries.

Anyaoku marks 50th marriage anniversary, 80th birthday Saturday IGNITARIES from all walks D of life will on Saturday, March 30, 2013 converge at Orimili, Okpuno Ire Obosi, Anambra State, ancestral home of former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku as he and his family celebrate two landmark events: His 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, Bunmi and his recent attainment of 80 years of age.

The double event will start with a thanksgiving service at St Andrews Anglican Church, Obosi, to be presided by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, His Grace Most Rev Nicolas Okoh.

The Anyaokus in their invitation card have asked guests who are minded to give presents to instead make donations to Iyi Enu mission hospital, Ogidi which is in dire need of a dialysis and diagnostic centre.

The hospital, which was established in 1907 was for many years the leading hospital in the former Eastern region of Nigeria.

It was the birth place of Emeka Anyaoku in 1933.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

NEWS

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Afenifere, OPC seek probe into alleged Bayelsa ownership of terrorists’ hideout

By Seye Olumide YORUBA socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere and the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) have called for investigation into the allegation by the Ojora of Ijora, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka Aromire, that the house where nine suspected terrorists, including a Chadian, were arrested in IjoraBadia in Lagos, belongs to Bayelsa State government.

A statement yesterday by the National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said the attention of the organisation was drawn to the allegation while Oba Aromire was re-

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Growing Business Foundation Manager, Seyi Dare (left); Founder Nehemiah Youth Empowerment Initiative, Tonye Cole; Chairperson, Emilomo Unuigbe and Publicity Manager, Yinka Oyeniyi during the media briefing on Nehemiah Project in Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO:OSENI YUSUF.

Police arraign five over pipeline vandalism

No clues yet on abducted varsity teacher

By Joseph Onyekwere HE Police yesterday arraigned five men accused of vandalising petroleum pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The accused persons: Ganiyu Ishola, Ishola Omopariola, Kayode Ajose, Solomon Olamide and Adebayo Dare, were pressed with a five-count charge bordering on the offence. The charge borders on conspiracy, vandalism, stealing, unlawful possession and sale of petroleum products.

All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor, I. Omosun, told the court that the accused on January 16, 2013, at Ikorodu tampered with petroleum pipeline, property of the NNPC without authority.

He said: “On January 16, 2013, in Ikorodu, the accused did tamper with NNPC products without authority.”

He also accused them of dealing with the pipeline product without appropriate licence and authority.

Omosun told the court that some petroleum products were found in the possession of the accused, who were then arrested by the police.

From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri LMOST two weeks after an Associate Professor of the Department of Geography at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Dr. Abba Kagu, was abducted by suspected gunmen, sources at the school and the Police yesterday said there were no clues on the whereabouts of the varsity teacher.

Speaking on the incident in Maiduguri, a security officer at UNIMAID, who pleaded anonymity said: “We had been making inquiries from both the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police on the whereabouts of our abducted senior staff, since he was kidnapped on Sunday,

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Igbo groups to hold colloquia From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja N the light of the current socio-political situation in the country, Pan Igbo organisations and the body of Igbo Intelligentsia, clerics, elders and patriots are facilitating two international colloquia on the Igbo Question in Nigeria.

In a statement issued after the inaugural meeting of the Planning Committee of the International Colloquia, which was made available to The Guardian in Abuja, the representatives of the various Pan-Igbo organisations said the two colloquia are envisaged - one in Nigeria, the other in the Diaspora.

They added that the first colloquium, which would take place in Enugu between July 9 and 12, 2013, would dwell mainly on history of the Igbo Question in Nigeria, documentation reflections and summaries of its various dimensions, as have so far been identified in the subthemes of the programme.

The second colloquium is expected to produce a road-map or charter, as well as a plan of action for the future. In the light of our history and our experiences in the world today, the charter should be able to define what future we desire for ourselves and our children.

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February 24, 2013, but there was no information on him.

“We are confused and don’t know the next action to take in preventing him from being killed or injured by the abductors.”

Also, a top police officer in Maiduguri that was not authorised to speak with journalists, said it was very difficult to predict what the kidnappers really wanted to achieve by keeping the associate professor at an unidentified location.

“Since the professor was kidnapped here in Maiduguri at his residence, there is no phone call or any message from the suspected kidnappers. Until we establish contact with them and know

what they want, there is nothing we can do for now,” he said.

The Guardian also learnt that Kagu was allegedly kidnapped in “error” as a result of mistaken identity, a situation, which made the kidnappers demand N5 million ransom instead of the initial N50 million demanded from the university authority and family members.

It was gathered that the suspected kidnappers targeted a prominent politician in the state, a look-alike of the abducted varsity teacher.

Kagu was abducted on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at his Federal Low Cost Housing Estate residence at 8.30 p.m.

EFCC arraigns Atuche, others for alleged forgery

By Bertram Nwannekanma and Yetunde Ayobami-Ojo ORMER Managing Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Mr. Francis Atuche and two officials of the bank were yesterday arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of forgery.

The two officials of Central Shared Services Centre of Keystone Bank Limited arraigned with Atuche before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, were Joachim Nnosiri and Uguru Onyike.

The defendants were arraigned on a nine-count charge of forgery, conspiracy and use of forged board resolutions belonging to Futureview Securities Ltd., Tradjeck Ltd. and Extra Oil Ltd. EFCC in the charge claimed the alleged offence was committed on March 4, 2013 and contravened Sections 361 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

According to the anti-graft agency, the board’s resolutions were allegedly signed by the Managing Director of the companies, Mrs. Elizabeth Ebi and addressed to Key Stone Bank.

The purpose of the board’s resolutions, EFCC said, was to request a N10.9 billion credit facility from the bank.

All the defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and Justice Onigbanjo asked the defendants to come from home for arguments on their bail applications.

While Atuche was to come

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While one of the charges is pending before Justice Ofili Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, two others were before Justices Laatefat Okunnu and Onigbanjo of the Ikeja High Court. The new arraignment came after the prosecution had concluded its case in the charge before Okunnu, while the defence is to file a no-case submission against the charge. back today, the other defendants are to come back on March 28 to enable the prosecution react to the bail summons.

This is the third in the series of charges brought against Atuche by the EFCC since his removal as the bank’s chief executive officer.

While one of the charges is pending before Justice Ofili Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, two others were before Justices Laatefat Okunnu and Onigbanjo of the Ikeja High Court.

The new arraignment came after the prosecution had concluded its case in the charge before Okunnu, while the defence is to file a no-case submission against the charge.

One of the critical issues raised by the defence at the N25.7 billion fraud trial before Okunnu was the existence of board resolutions of some companies in which the companies had solicited for a N10.9 billion credit facility from the bank.

But the prosecution witness, who was fingered on the said resolution, Mrs. Ebi, denied signing the board resolutions.

Ebi, who was recalled by the

court for further cross-examination on the existence of the board resolution, also denied knowing the owners of the affected companies.

In her testimony, the witness stated that the alleged board resolutions already admitted as exhibits by the court, did not follow the normal resolution process.

But the defence had informed the court that the loans were solicited by Ebi on behalf of the companies and that the board resolutions were signed by her on behalf of the companies.

The witness, however, denied signing the board resolutions and the court was yet to make any decision on the authenticity of the resolutions before the present situation.

Atuche’s counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), however, urged the court for an accelerated hearing since the charge was an offshoot of the documents pending before Justice Okunnu.

His submission was supported by the other defendants represented by Clement Onwuenwunor, Bamidele Adewunmi and Nwadiogo Okoromaduka.

The court has adjourned till October 10 for trial.

ceiving a delegation of Hausa community. We quote him: “Discovery of such factory in Ijora was very sad to me and the entire family of Ojora. It was God that saved the whole Lagos because the attack was meant to destroy the state as a whole and not Ijora alone.”

Afenifere noted that Aromire also urged the delegate to warn their men very well, “Lagos is no-go area for miscreants… I also want to say that the blame should also go to the Bayelsa State government for not taking care of its abandoned house where the evildoers are using as a hideout.”

Afenifere also said the monarch in his statement explained that “the community has been talking to Bayelsa State for a very long time to lease the property to the people that will make use of it, but they refused.”

Odumakin said it is important at this stage to call for a thorough investigation of the incident to ascertain the following: who these suspects are and what links they have with the blood-sucking Boko Haram or the Amy; why the Bayelsa State government would maintain an abandoned property in Ijora-Badia of all places in Lagos?

Afenifere also wanted to know the veracity of claims that the Bayelsa State government had been approached several times by the community to demolish the house or give it to people who may use it without any response.

He said: “A satisfactory explanation to the three questions would dispel the conspiracy theory that Boko Haram may have become a franchise under which fifth columnists may be operating to disrupt the peace of Yoruba

land and instigate a national crisis with our land as a possible battle ground.”

He warned that Afenifere or any other Yoruba organisation would not accept any shoddy handling of this case as has happened to many of such incidents in recent times with suspects paraded and nothing is heard again.

“We also warn all agents of terror to stay away from Yoruba nation in order not to invoke the wrath of our ancestors.”

According to him, “Yoruba people are peace-loving and our land is a place where people from all nationalities from Nigeria are at home, without any fear of molestation. Any group or individual who wants to shatter the peace of the region can only meet its waterloo.”

He, however, called on residents of the South-West region to be vigilant at all times and report suspicious movements to the appropriate authority.

The Coordinator, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, said such terrorists’ infiltration into Yoruba land was dangerous at this period “not only for Yoruba land but also for the entire country.”

According to him, “With the ravaged situation of the northern part of the country due to the menace of the Boko Haram sect, if a similar insurgence penetrates the SouthWest, it would completely discourage and drive away foreign investors in the country.”

Adams also urged the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the Boko Haram menace, saying: “It is too dangerous for the corporate existence of the nation.”

8

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

AfricanNews Military chiefs call for sustained international efforts for Mali From Oghogho Obayuwana, Foreign Affairs Editor NGOING mop up efforts as O well as containment of snippets of rebel gunfire would

Djotodia

Zambia’s ex-president, Banda, pleads not guilty over Nigerian oil deal President Rupiah Banda has pleaded not guilty Fto ORMER the charge of abuse of authority of office.

Banda took the plea yesterday morning when he appeared before magistrate Joshua Banda.

Reading the charge, magistrate Banda said Rupiah Banda, 75, of Villa number 3 Plot 2785 Lusaka, being a person in the civil service namely President of the Republic of Zambia on dates unknown but between 1st May 2008 and 24th September 2011 did abuse his authority of office by procuring a Nigerian government to government oil deal namely the Republic of Zambia, which in fact intended to benefit him and his family where he instructed his son Henry Chikomeni Banda to determine the destination of the funds, which were the proceeds of this contract as a result of which instructions, the Zambian government did not receive any benefits from the contact, an act which is arbitrary and prejudicial to the Republic of Zambia.

Banda denied the charge and the matter has been adjourned to April 3, 2013.

Speaking to journalists after appearing in court for the first time, Banda said he had confi-

dence in the Zambian judiciary and that the truth would vindicate him.

“Yes, of course I have confidence in the judiciary that is why I came. When this case started, I was not in the country, but I came so that I could go through this process,” he said.

Banda, however, said he still felt persecuted by the government.

“As you can see that at the same time all the leaders of the opposition are here at court with different charges. This has never happened in the history of the country,” said Banda.

Banda was defeated in 2011 by Sata, whose government has launched several high-profile corruption probes into deals struck by the former administration.

Speaking ahead of the trial, one of Banda’s lawyers, Sakwiba Sikota had maintained that the charge was “extremely vague and our only defence is the truth, he is innocent and the truth will be known,” said.

“We will see the kind of witnesses that they are going to bring but we know he is innocent,” he had added.

Sata’s government insists Banda engaged in corrupt activities in the procurement of crude oil from a Nigerian firm,

listed as the Nigerian National Oil Company in official documents. He is also accused of directing tax-payers’ money into his election campaigns.

Since Sata came to power, he has rolled out an anti-corruption campaign that opposition sees as a move to silence dissenting views.

Before this round of troubles for Banda, his lawyers last week petitioned the regional South African Development Community (SADC) over the

“unlawful and inhumane events” taking place in Zambia.

“After being honoured as an esteemed statesman… Banda has been made the target of a vicious, cruel and unrelenting campaign of defamation,” the lawyers wrote in an open letter last week.

They asked the regional body to “observe very closely the behaviour of the (ruling) PF government in the coming days and weeks to see evidence of their malicious intentions.”

not be enough to restore peace and order in beleaguered Mali.

A full restoration would take something more.

This is the view of military top brass, who have been strategising on how to make the African led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) effective.

At the extraordinary meeting of the Chiefs of Defense Staff (CDDS) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which begun in Yamousoukro, the capital of Cote d’ Ivoire, the military chiefs held that there was still a long way to go for normalcy to return to Mali.

Specifically, the chairman of the CCDS, General Soumaila Babayoko, said yesterday that intensified and sustained international support would not only be a soothing balm for Mali, but also come in handy for the huge Sahelian belt and states bordering it, as they combat the sophisticated brand of terrorism as well as “development inhibiting criminality.”

Gen Babayoko’s address made available to The Guardian yesterday, among others noted that while a measure of progress had been recorded through the intervention of France and Chad as well as the regional forces, there was still a long way to go to prevent the destabilisation of the region.

He said “the momentum generated by the international mobilisation that resulted in last December’s United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 2085, behind re-

gional efforts for military intervention in Mali, should be sustained for the reheating of AFISMA into a UN operation coupled with accelerated deployment to checkmate the terrorist insurgents in northern Mali.”

Early this month, France, a major actor in the restoration mission in Mali began a gradual withdrawal of its troops from the country.

French Defence Minister, JeanYves Le Drian, admitted that his country had as much as 4,000 troops in Mali.

Nigeria had an initial 1,200 troops while about 3, 300 troops were pledged by contributing countries that include Chad, Benin, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Togo.

The Nigerian ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Mrs. Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman, a former minister of state for foreign affairs, had earlier expressed optimism that the Yamoussoukro gathering would consider the outcome of the 11 to 12 March 2013 meeting in Bamako, between a UN team and AFISMA Headquarters on the standard of operations and logistics support under a UN deployment for the envisaged transformation of AFISMA under a revised Concept of Operations (CONOPS).

The Commissioner who spoke through the Chief of Staff of ECOWAS Standby Force, General Hassan Lai, commended France, the United States, European Union, the African Union and the UN for their understanding and continued support towards the resolution of the security situation in Mali.

Congolese warlord, Ntaganda denies guilt in first appearance at ICC ONGOLESE warlord, Bosco C Ntaganda, known as “the Terminator” who evaded arrest on war crimes charges for seven years, denied guilt when he appeared for the first time at the International Criminal Court yesterday.

Ntaganda unexpectedly gave himself up to diplomats at the United States Embassy in Rwanda last week, walking in off the street and demanding to be handed over the ICC. Within days he was put on a plane to The Hague.

He is accused of murder, rape and other crimes over a 15-yearperiod of fighting in Rwandanbacked rebellions in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

His appearance almost seven years after the court first issued a warrant for his arrest is a much-needed success for the ICC following the collapse of several cases.

Dressed in an ill-fitting dark blue suit, blue shirt, and stripy tie, attire most likely provided by the court, a stooped and bowed Ntaganda appeared ill at ease in the courtroom, leaning forward and looking down as the hearing began.

He confirmed his name, gave his age as 39, and told the court he was not guilty of the charges, but a judge interrupted and said this was not the occasion for discussing his guilt.

Asked whether he was aware of the charges against him, Ntaganda said: “I was informed of these crimes, but I plead not guilty.”

Ekaterina Trendafilova, who was presiding alone over the hearing, stopped him.

“I wouldn’t like to interrupt you, because you should feel at ease,” she said. “But the purpose of this initial hearing is ... to know whether you have been informed about the crimes ... your rights, and we are not discussing now anything related to your guilt or innocence.”

“I was born in Rwanda but I grew up in Congo. I am a Congolese citizen,” Ntaganda

told the court, speaking in Kinyarwanda through interpreters. “I was a soldier in the Congo.”

Ntaganda is accused of recruiting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during a 2002-2003 conflict in northeastern Congo’s mineral-rich Ituri district.

Most recently, he was a commander in the M23 rebel movement, but his whereabouts had been unknown after he had fled to Rwanda with hundreds of his followers, and his decision to turn himself in to the U.S. Embassy in the capital Kigali caught diplomats there by surprise.

CAR’s rebel head, Djotodia, suspends constitution, dissolves parliament HE leader of rebels who T seized the capital of the Central African Republic, Michel Djotodia says he has suspended the country’s Constitution and dissolved parliament.

Djotodia said there would be a transition period until “credible and transparent” elections, during which he would “legislate by decree”.

He added he would uphold a peace deal that promises elections in three years.

Looters and gunmen roamed the streets of Bangui yesterday as regional peacekeepers struggled to restore order two days after a coup plunged the mineral-rich country into chaos.

The ousting of President Francois Bozize and the political turmoil around it has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis in the former French colony and embarrassed regional power, South Africa, which had sent troops to defend the government.

Thousands of rebel fighters poured into the capital on Sunday, brushing aside a 400strong South African force, which attempted to block their path. At least 13 South African soldiers were killed and 27 wounded.

Self-proclaimed president Michel Djotodia, who had accused Bozize of breaking past peace accords on Monday asked regional peacekeepers stationed in the country to help him restore order.

But sporadic gunfire continued to ring out across the sprawling riverside capital, home to 600,000 people, and electricity was down for a fourth day running.

“We have been patrolling for two days in an effort to stop the pillaging,” a senior officer from the roughly 1,000-strong five-nation regional force FOMAC told Reuters.

“Things are slowing getting better but we are far from being able to say things are normal,”

he added.

FOMAC commanders have been trying to persuade Seleka leaders to get their fighters, a ragtag group of mostly northern rebels, many of them children, off the streets and into barracks amid concerns they were behind some of the looting.

Djotodia pledged on Monday to name a power-sharing government and to set elections after three years in a bid to defuse international criticism of the

coup.

The removal of Bozize, who himself seized power in a coup backed by Chad in 2003, was the latest of many rebellions since the poor, landlocked country won independence from France in 1960. Bozize fled to neighboring Cameroon.

As rebels approached, former colonial power France made it clear it would not intervene.

Paris has long said its days as ‘Africa’s policeman’ have passed.

| 9

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

WorldReport North Korea in ‘combat posture’ to hit U.S. ORTH Korea says it has N ordered artillery and rocket units into “combat posture” to prepare to target United States bases in Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. mainland.

The announcement, carried

by KCNA news agency, follows days of strong rhetoric from Pyongyang.

It came as South Korea marked the third anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan warship, which left 46 sailors dead.

South Korea said it had detected no signs of unusual activity in the North.

Tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test on February 12.

The test led to new United Nations sanctions, which Pyongyang strongly opposes.

Joint U.S.-South Korea annual military drills have further angered the communist nation. In recent weeks its habitually fiery rhetoric has escalated and it has threatened the U.S. with “pre-emptive nuclear attacks”, as well as strikes on U.S. military bases in Japan.

“From this moment, the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army will be putting in combat duty posture number one all field artillery units including longrange artillery units and strategic rocket units that will target all enemy objects in U.S. invasionary bases on its mainland, Hawaii and Guam,” the KCNA statement said.

North Korea is not thought to have the technology to strike

Former Indian political leader shot dead in Delhi Former leader of a promiA nent Indian regional party, Deepak Bhardwaj, has been shot dead at his home in southern Delhi.

Bhardwaj, of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was killed by two unidentified men at his house on the outskirts of the capital.

Mr Bhardwaj, 62, was a businessman with major interests in property.

His declared assets of more than $100m made him the richest candidate when he stood for parliament in the 2009 general election.

According to the Press Trust of India news agency, two men arrived at Bhardwaj’s house in a car yesterday morning and opened fire at him after having a conversation.

The motive for the shooting is not yet known, police said.

“We have got Close Circuit Television (CCTV) footage of the car and the men who came to meet him. We hope to solve this crime soon,” Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar said.

During the 2006 general elections, Bhardwaj declared assets of more than 6bn rupees ($110.5m; £72.7m).

He also ran a school in the capital.

Last November controversial liquor baron, Ponty Chadha and his brother were killed in a shootout in Delhi.

the US mainland with either a nuclear weapon or a ballistic missile, but it is capable of targeting US military bases in the region with its mid-range missiles.

North Korea’s announcement comes as the country carries out large-scale military exercises, the BBC reported.

It is not clear whether the order applies to the army as a

whole or just to specific units.

In a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that he hoped that “relevant parties (would) exercise restraint so as to ease the tension”.

The statement came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-hye called on North Korea to “change course” by abandoning

nuclear weapons.

Speaking at the national cemetery in Daejeon where the sailors who died when the warship sank are buried, Ms Park said North Korea continued to threaten the South’s national security.

“For the North, the only path to survival lies in stopping provocations and threats, abandoning its nuclear

weaponry and missiles, and becoming a responsible member of the international community,” she said.

The Cheonan sank in 2010 near the disputed interKorean western maritime border. South Korea says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship but Pyongyang denies any involvement.

Months later, North Korea

shelled a border island, Yeonpyeong, in the same area, killing four South Koreans, including two civilians. It said it was responding to military exercises in the South.

Last week, South Korea and the US signed a new military plan conceived after the shelling pledging joint action to counter limited attacks from North Korea.

Norwegian mass killer, Breivik, can’t attend mother’s funeral ORWEGIAN mass killer N Anders Behring Breivik will not be allowed to attend his mother’s funeral, prison officials told news agency NTB yesterday.

Breivik, who slaughtered 77 people in 2011 in what he imagined was a civil war against Islam, sought leave to attend the funeral for Mrs. Wenche Behring. She was one of the last people who remained close to him as he withdrew from society and planned his murderous rampage.

Breivik was imprisoned for a maximum 21 years last year.

Mrs. Behring, who refused to testify at the trial, described to psychiatrists how her once

“kind and caring” son transformed into a crazed obsessive.

Breivik, accusing the ruling Labour party of aiding a Muslim takeover of the country, first bombed the government’s headquarters, killing eight, then gunned down 69, some as young as 14, at the party’s summer youth camp.

Breivik, 34, moved back with his mother in 2006 after several failed business ventures and Mrs. Behring once described how on the day of the attacks she expected him home for dinner, not understanding why he was late.

Mrs. Behring, who died last Friday at the age of 66 after a long illness, visited Breivik in prison earlier this month.

Burma communal deaths reach 40 HE death toll from commuT nal violence in central Burma yesterday rose to 40,

Kim Jong-un

Italy Foreign Minister, Terzi, quits over India marine row TALIAN Foreign Minister Iresigned Giulio Terzi yesterday in protest of his government’s decision to send two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen, to Delhi for trial.

The case sparked a major diplomatic row between India and Italy.

“My reservations about sending the marines back to India were not listened to,” Mr Terzi told Italian Members of Parliament.

Prime Minister Mario Monti said he was “astonished” by the decision. He is due to speak in parliament today.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are charged with shooting the fishermen off the Kerala coast in February 2012. They said they mistook them for pirates.

The accused were shuttled

back and forth between Italy and India in recent months while the two governments argued over the legal consequences of an alleged crime committed in international waters.

Italy then announced last week that it would send the marines back to Delhi to stand trial.

On Tuesday, Mr Terzi said he was resigning because his voice had gone “unheard” by Monti and his caretaker administration.

“I can no longer be part of this government,” Mr Terzi said.

“I am resigning because I have maintained for 40 years and I maintain more forcefully today that the honour of the country, its armed forces and the Italian diplomacy must be safeguarded. I am resigning because I support the two marines and their families.”

Mr Monti responded to the resignation with surprise. He said he had met Mr Terzi earlier yesterday and the foreign minister had not mentioned his intention to quit.

Meanwhile Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola said he would not step down over the crisis because he did not want to “abandon a ship in difficulty”

state media said, amid reports of more unrest.

Soldiers clearing debris from buildings torched by angry mobs retrieved eight more bodies in Meiktila town, said the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

This comes amid reports of attacks on a mosque and Muslim shops in Bago region, north of the city of Rangoon.

The United States has warned its citizens to avoid travel to parts of Burma due to the violence, which began a week

Knox, Sollecito to face retrial over Kercher’s murder MANDA Knox and exA boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito have had their acquittals for killing Briton Meredith Kercher in 2007 overturned and face a re-run of their appeal, Italy’s top court ruled yesterday.

The pair spent four years in jail but were freed on appeal in

2011 largely on the grounds DNA evidence was flawed.

Miss Knox said the news was “painful” but Miss Kercher’s sister said she was happy with the decision.

Italian law cannot compel Miss Knox to return from the United States for the review.

The American student lives in

Obama appoints first female Secret Service director RESIDENT Obama yesterP day appointed Julia Pierson as the new head of the Secret Service, making her the first woman to lead the agency after a bunch of men proved to be embarrassments.

Pierson, who was until her appointment the Secret Service chief of staff, took over without a Senate confirmation hearing, following the prostitution scandal that forced former director Mark Sullivan’s resignation and

“exposed a culture within the service of macho behavior while on the road. Senate confirmation is not required for Pierson’s new role.

Pierson is to lead the agency that, among other things, is tasked with protecting the President, Vice President Joe Biden, the first family and other designees.

Sullivan announced his retirement earlier this year following almost 30 years with the agency almost seven years of which as director.

ago.

An argument at a gold shop reportedly sparked riots between Buddhists and Muslims in Meiktila in Mandalay region last Wednesday, displacing at least 9,000 residents.

The government has sent security forces to the area and on Monday issued a renewed call to end “religious extremism”.

In a statement on Monday, the U.S. embassy in Rangoon advised U.S. citizens “to avoid travel to the Mandalay region because of escalating violence in that area”.

He, however, presided over one of the most embarrassing recent incidents for the agency involving revelations that 11 agents allegedly engaged prostitutes in 2012 while on protective assignment at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia. The episode resulted in the retirement or resignation of several agents.

Pierson started her 30-year career at the agency in its Miami office and has held various position throughout

her three decades on the job, including deputy assistant director in the Offices of Administration and of Protective Operations, overseeing the agency’s Presidential Protective Division, Vice Presidential Protective Division and Special Services Division. She was also assistant director of the Office of Human Resources and Training.

Sullivan called her appointment a “historic and exciting time” for the service.

Seattle but, if convicted, Italy could seek her extradition.

In a statement, Miss Knox said: “It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair.”

She added: “No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity.”

A lawyer for Mr Sollecito, Giulia Buongiorno, said: “Today is Raffaele’s birthday and I hoped it was an occasion to tell him and his family that everything was fine and over.

Unfortunately I had to let them know that our legal case is still on and obviously they were very upset.”

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

10

Politics Akinola: A Change agent interrogates evil of corruption

By Ehichioya Ezomon (Group Political Editor) ETER Jasper Akinola, Doctor of Divinity, forP mer Archbishop, Metropolitan & Primate Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) and former National President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), is an intellectual titan, public commentator, and an advocate of change with a burning desire for Nigeria, nay the Black race, to take her rightful place in the comity of nations.

It’s with this passion, and unblemished patriotism that he recently channeled into interrogating the hydra-headed monster called corruption, which has become the bane, and clog in Nigeria’s quest for development and greatness.

Concentrating on the nature and degree of corruption, and its mode of perpetration by particular governments (civilian and military) in Nigeria, he traced the timeframe, when corruption crept into the system, and yet, attributed the problem to what it is: a moral debasement of the society.

He conveyed his message through the first in a planned three-part serial entitled, Nigeria: A Call For Moral Cleansing.

In arriving at that conclusion, he relied substantially on materials from different sources, including authors, human rights activists and bodies, international organisations, such as the World Bank and United Nations, academic papers, Internet postings, government information organs, newspaper commentaries, and biblical quotations.

An expert and a knowledgeable person in his own right, he, nonetheless, resorted to quoting from these public and private documents, to escape the Nigerian stereotypical labeling of ‘concocting information’ or ‘cooking up figures.’ And he did a good job of conveying his message in vivid, lucid, and easily comprehensible and digestible presentations.

The retired cleric kicked off his 30-page treatise, shooting from the hip: Nigeria is faced with a serious moral crisis: corruption — an evil eating cancerously at every fibre of the society — and to which an honest, relentless, redemptive war is demanded from every willing and committed front if the country is to have a new lease of life, a moral re-birth to give her a fresh beginning that she desperately requires.

Noting that Nigeria, once a blessed nation of great promise, is scandalised today a dispossessed nation; he said it was time to ask candidly, when and where did Nigeria miss it? What and who is accountable? And how — which is the crux of the question — can a country and a people so suck in grave immoralities return to the path of morality, experience a gust of enervating rebirth?

To him, morality does not define corruption but corruption — particularly occurring at widespread level, scale and magnitude — indicates a moral collapse bound to throw up a serious moral burden to the society.

“It is what has made corruption a serious moral load on Nigeria, and from which there cannot be any dispute,” he said, adding, “corruption is driving Nigeria towards complete bankruptcy in all aspects of life — political, economic, social, cultural, judicial and spiritual.”

According to Akinola, “when a country suffers grievous limitless perversions that public and private immorality, abuse of trust, criminal betrayals, looting and kleptocracy tend to become enduring norms and ways of life, then the situation pleads for cleansing — moral cleansing!”

Corruption: the hydra-headed monster He disagrees with those that see corruption, as a pattern of anti-social behaviours with a differing degree, thus there is petty and grand corruption. “To those holding this belief, it must be said that there is no minor or major corruption,” he said, urging on seeing all of its manifestations or any of its derivatives “as wrongs that cannot be justified on a scale of degree.”

He also called for the blunting of compartmentalising corruption as criminal, ethical or resulting from incompetence or negligence.

Akinola

He queried: “When manifestations from each of the three categories such as stealing, fraud, looting, lying, cheating extorting and perverting the cause of justice, amongst others, are put together, which is a lesser crime? Or, which does not have effect on people and society?”

Describing corruption both as a cancer, and a sin against God and humanity, and hence a spiritual problem conceived first in the sinful heart, Akinola said as a product of crude greed, “it spurs its victim to obsessive desire of all things by all means including lying, cheating, defrauding, extorting, exploiting, and if expedient, the killing of fellow human beings without remorse.”

Corruption: where is Nigeria coming from?

Akinola traced where Nigeria stands — among countries that can least afford it — in the realm of corruption, “which had remained an albatross, especially in the last thirty years,” in spite of global outrage.

Quoting a World Bank estimate, he said various leaders of developing nations steal about $400 billion each year, and stashed it in foreign vaults, with such funds extremely difficult to recover, “as the experience of Nigeria and the Philippines had shown.”

Nigeria, for instance, spent five years repatriating half a billion dollars looted by the late Gen. Sanni Abacha from the Swiss banks. Yet, that was still a short period compared to the 18 years it took the Philippines to recover the $624 million stolen by their former leader, Ferdinand Marcos.

He wondered why there has been marginal impact on the scale and magnitude of corruption in the country, with the existence of anticorruption agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, Special Fraud Unit, Code of Conduct Bureau and Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?

Akinola recalled that Nigeria once had an optimistic outlook of becoming a prosperous country; beginning the journey to nationhood with modest tangible gains — roads, schools, hospitals, all functioned efficiently; prospects of job

opportunities for her trained manpower, and a per capital income of $1,100 in the late ‘70s that made her one of the fastest growing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

He regretted that Nigeria today “ranks not only as one of the least developed countries with her present $340 per capital income but also has become a global ridicule of a country too rich to be poor and looted bare to be rich!”

He compared the country to Botswana, which at independence in 1966 (six years after Nigeria’s), had only two secondary schools, but which now towers above Nigeria, from economic growth to development, including welfare services designed to add value to the quality of life of her citizens.

“In sharp contrast, Nigeria, with all her wealth, in addition to over $400 billion oil revenue earned since independence, has failed woefully to make life worth living for the vast majority of her people,” he said. “Corruption remains the bane of the country — Nigeria.”

Going to the brass tacks, Akinola related how past leaders, in their several generations, had not led the country in a clean and transparent way, as “almost all of them have had their hands soiled with the ‘mud’ of corruption.”

He told of a 1943 story by John Paden about Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, accepting money from the Fulani, but “he didn’t know it was wrong.” But the British colonial government regarded it as bribery and corruption.

“The Sardauna was tried by the Sultan’s Court and sentenced to two months imprisonment” but later on appeal had the conviction overturned.

In 1956, “the Foster-Sutton Tribunal investigated the Premier of the Eastern Region, Nnamdi Azikiwe, for his involvement in the affairs of African Continental Bank (ACB),” for using his influence to profit the ACB in which he and his family had private interest.

Though against the code of conduct for ministers, and government officials, forbidden them

from engaging in private business, Zik survived the political crisis.

In the Western Region, its Premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was accused of sundry cases of corruption involving the way that he handled a number of governmental agencies. The 1962 Coker Commission of enquiry’s verdict was that Awolowo failed “... to adhere to the standards of conduct which are required for persons holding such a post.”

The incident merely passed like another drama with nothing instructive added to the political life of Nigeria, Akinola said.

He noted, however, that in the midst of this abuse of office, breach of trust, outright stealing and looting, “governments of the various regions still succeeded in meeting the basic needs of the people at a reasonable level.”

“But the bubbles still burst. The military struck with one of their key reasons being — corruption,” he said.

Governments and corruption As Akinola noted, “even military regimes — from Aguiyi Ironsi, the first, to Abdulsalami Abubakar, the last — ruled Nigeria and none failed to identify corruption as a major national malaise to be tackled. But where did most of the wars begin and end?”

That was a rhetorical question, which could only elicit two words: more corruption.

Akinola analysed the governments, one by one, with their pledge to fight corruption and where they eventually ended.

• Ironsi, the inheritor of the first coup, vowed to tackle the enemies of the country, “... the political profiteers, the swindler, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent...”

Despite series of commissions of inquiry to clean the stable, “the government floundered on political corruption, which weakened its capacity to take decisive decisions.”

• Gen. Yakubu Gowon succeeded Aguiyi-Ironsi in 1966, and after four years in office, he regretted that “after promising to intensify the drive against corruption, it was still ‘very much with us.’”

Hence, a newspaper summed up the situation thus: “His (Gowon’s) government was unashamedly corrupt to the marrow. Everyone knew it. They did not even try to hide it from the public gaze.”

• The Murtala Muhammed/Obasanjo regime’s mass sack in the public sector, to sanitise the filthy atmosphere, “was purposive at that material time, but it lacked purposefulness in containing corruption.”

The result: further aggravation of the “grabbing” syndrome by public servants in the form of “ten percent,” “kickbacks” and “using fronts to execute contracts.”

• The Major General Muhammadu Buhari government, springing from the corrupt Shehu Shagari civilian administration, vowed that: “corrupt officials and their agents will be brought to book.”

It did with long prison sentences, “but the government itself was duplicitous,” rolling out a decree to protect public officers’ from being questioned, and doing nothing when its highest-ranking officials violated government policies.

“It anti-corruption stance could to be more than what it sought to be: a hollow crusade rather than a revolutionary agenda,” Akinola said.

• He described the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida regime as appearing as “gaptoothed” and as it was “arty-crafty” on matters of corruption.

Powerful, “what Babangida considered as corruption was corruption and the corruption that he decreed as righteousness was righteousness, no matter how indignant.”

“Under him, the character and institutional integrity of Nigeria’s highest political office diminished,” Akinola said, stressing that, “the depth of the collapse of the moral authority of the administration was his (Babangida’s) refusal to account for the Gulf War oil proceeds that was estimated to be about $124 billion.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

POLITICS 11

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

‘Jonathan was part of Alamieyeseigha’s government’ Ebun Adegboruwa, a Lagosbased human rights lawyer, examines the moral and legal implications of the stunt created by the recent presidential pardon granted to some Nigerians, reports Bertram Nwannekanma.

OW would you assess the state H pardon recently granted to some Nigerians that were punished for crimes against the State?

There is no doubt that the Council of State is empowered by law to consider cases of this nature; to determine who is entitled to be granted state pardon. In very deserving cases of political victimisation or persecution, a new administration may decide to review cases of citizens who had been unjustly tried and sentenced. This is more common in countries plagued by rebels and insurgents.

It is also a form of amnesty. In the past, leaders such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and even recently, General Olusegun Obasanjo, had been granted state pardon in very deserving cases. So, speaking pure legalism, the President is empowered by law to grant state pardon in deserving cases.

Please, note that I have kept using the phrase ‘deserving cases’, to emphasise the fact that there may be cases of abuse or undue compromise. The first thing to note is that a pardon is the forgiveness of a crime, the cancellation of the relevant penalty, usually done by a head of state. It would generally be required that the beneficiary of pardon must apply for it and state the reasons he thinks he merits a pardon.

In law, a crime is a crime, whether it involves murder, armed robbery, looting of public funds or even common assault. What this means is that the power granted to the President to grant pardon does not specify the categories of crime that may or may not merit state pardon.

It is for the person exercising the power to work out the modalities or set out conditions under which the power will be exercised.

In the case of Nigeria, the precedent is for the Council of State, which is an advisory body to the

Adegboruwa President, to recommend to him the people that it deems deserve pardon. The President may or may not accept the recommendation or he modifies it as he deems fit.

What all this point to is that the exercise of the power of pardon is mostly a matter of discretion for the President. So, legally speaking, there is a power given to the President.

The next issue is whether the power of pardon has been properly exercised in this case. In law, matters involving executive discretion are beyond problem or inquiry, especially where the discretion is not to be exercised judiciously. In most cases, pardon is granted only in state offences, where the complaint is of a public nature.

For example, it will become totally anachronistic to grant state pardon to a man convicted of rape, or a confirmed murderer. In such cases, the emotions will run very high on the side of the victims and their families.

In the same way that the President

is allowed by law to grant pardon, so, too, the Constitution allows the Attorney General of the Federation and of the States to file a nolle prosequi, to discontinue or terminate any criminal proceedings on behalf of the State. Once that is done, the charge becomes extinguished.

The courts have held that the power of the Attorney General to discontinue a criminal trial is beyond question. So, if the Attorney General, who is but an appointee of the President, is able to discontinue and terminate a criminal trial, so, too, the President can grant pardon to convicted criminals. This is purely from the legal perspective of this matter.

What about the morality of the exercise?

The morality of an action has nothing to do with the legality of the same action, because the two have no meeting points in law. Law, properly so called, has no place for sentiments and morality, which are mostly connected with religion.

However, public morality is part of

governance and a government must be concerned and bothered about public perception of its actions and policies. In this case, the major challenge with the pardon granted is the personalities involved and, indeed, the nature of their offences for which they have been granted pardon.

The present administration has voluntarily declared war against corruption and corrupt practices.

Indeed. Now, I take it that if the President were so outraged about the failure to effectively prosecute corruption cases, as to warrant the change of leadership of the main anti-corruption agency, then it would seem that the President has a zero tolerance for corruption and corrupt practices.

Such a President will hardly preside over a meeting where it is being considered to grant pardon to those already convicted of corruption offences, as that will smack of hypocrisy, indeed.

For instance, Chief Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha was convicted for looting and embezzling the funds of Bayelsa State. I take it that he had all the opportunities under Nigerian law to appeal against his conviction. Granting such a person presidential pardon would be like giving to him what he had failed to secure under the law.

There are other reasons this particular President should not have been involved in the pardon. First, he was the Deputy Governor when the offences were committed, meaning that he, too, was part of the crime by association.

Second, the President is from Bayelsa, the state entitled to the funds so criminally looted. His own personal desire, to favour his benefactor, could not have overridden that of other millions of Bayelsans.

The principle of law in this regard is that a man should not be a judge in his own cause.

Now, time does not run against the prosecution of offenders. Since the conviction of Alamieyeseigha, President Jonathan has been moving from one office to the other, first as Governor of Bayelsa State, later as Vice President of Nigeria, then as Acting President and now President.

Per adventure he was, indeed, part

of the Alamieyeseigha loot, the law has no opportunity of catching up with the President because of constitutional immunity. So, it may be that the President is indirectly clearing the ground for himself, to make it impossible for him to be prosecuted when he vacates office and is stripped of constitutional immunity.

It is against all the above that it would seem Nigerians are outraged at the action of the President.

What are the implications of this pardon?

One of the unfortunate consequences of this pardon is that we seem to be losing the war against corruption. There is no way we are pardoning and patting looters on the back and at the same time pretending to be prosecuting them. It is either we are fighting corruption or we are not.

Furthermore, those who are on the field, such as prosecutors, investigators, and their witnesses are made to look like fools before the looter who has been pardoned. Thus, it has a demoralising effect on the war against corruption, for the President to be doling out pardons to those convicted of corrupt offences.

Besides, it makes Nigeria a laughing stock before the comity of nations. Chief Alamieyeseigha was a man, who escaped from prosecution in the United Kingdom but was eventually caught, prosecuted and sentenced in Nigeria. Property worth billions of Naira was confiscated from him in favour of the people and government of Bayelsa State.

His former deputy governor (Jonathan) is granting that same man state pardon with the embarrassing consequence that Alamieyeseigha can still respire to rule this country as President.

The legal community cannot but view this development as a national calamity, a set back for the anti- corruption war and, actually, an abuse of presidential discretion.

And in the desperation to free Alamieyeseigha at all costs, the President even included names of those who had been pardoned previously, to mislead Nigerians on the true motives of the pardon.

If it’s possible for this presidential anomaly to be reversed, the better it will be for our nation Nigeria.

A call for moral cleansing of the society CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 • Akinola said Gen. Sani Abacha, who shoved aside the 85-day interim government of Earnest Shonekan, “added a despicable touch to the debauchery that wrecked the Nigerian public life.”

The man, who probed the alleged corruption in the banking sector, handing down heavy punishments, stole billions of dollars and stashed them away in foreign lands.

“How can a country be so ruthlessly pillaged over the years and would not haemorrhage?

There were many Abacha all over the place!” he said.

While he noted that the flight-bound successor military government of Abdulsalami Abubakar cleverly shifted the moral burden back to the civilians in 1999; he, nonetheless, stated that, “it is clear, that the military as a class and as an institution, cannot be absolved from the endemic corruption in Nigeria.”

The return to civil rule and corruption Without any inhibition, Akinola asserted that, “it is evident that all the political leaders are, more or less, the same, tending to play same music and acting similar play of deceit, irrespective of the model of the constitution or form of government that is under consideration.”

He noted that while the four-year government of Shehu Shagari realised N43.6bn from oil alone, and a per capital income of $670, nearly five times that of India ($190), but far lower than that of Tunisia ($1,120), Malaysia ($1,370), and Brazil ($1780); “Nigeria’s per capital income was already gasping at $390 and by 1984 (when Shagari was overthrown), the full effect was telling as it nosedived to $390!”

Under Shagari, mysterious fires gutted government buildings, whose agencies were being investigated; basic necessities like ‘food, soap and everyday necessity became virtually

unavailable,’ and for the first time in Nigeria’s history, unemployment of college-educated Nigerians soared as thousands ‘searched the streets for unavailable jobs.’

Thus, the Shagari’s government did not survive the corruption-induced rot in its political behaviour; and two decades later, “the very man who handed over power to Shehu Shagari found himself back in power. Olusegun Obasanjo, a man of history came at the most critical period in Nigerian history,” Akinola said.

He recalled that the Obasanjo government responded to the international community and Nigerian people’s expectation to fight corruption, by creating the ICPC and EFCC; and without wholesome investigation of corrupt misdeeds by past public officials, it exposed the reckless pillaging of the Nigerian treasury by the late Gen. Abacha.

Amid a few breakthroughs in corruption cases of some governors, an Inspector-General of Police, and a Vice-Chairman of Obasanjo’s own party, Akinola noted that, “in the end, there were in the public domain, more questions than applause for the Obasanjo administration’s anti-corruption efforts.”

Among them: Usage of a government agency’s fund — the PTDF — for private gains; the over N1.3 trillion expended on the power sector, resulting in more black outs for Nigerians; the $700 million spent on turn-around maintenance of refineries, causing more importation of refined petroleum products, and scandalous subsidies that could not be accounted for; the N300 billion voted for roads maintenance, but still, the roads remained death traps; the N150 billion alleged fraud in the Nigerian Ports Authority; and the $302 million oil revenue unaccounted for by the NNPC. Electoral process and evil of corruption Akinola observed that, one unbroken ploy of departing heads of state and state governors in Nigeria, which guarantees the continuation of

the status quo, that also in a way makes corruption intractable, “has been the manipulation of the process of who becomes their successor.”

“This, in itself, manifests in succession to Obasanjo’s administration by the Umaru Yar’Adua/Goodluck Jonathan government in 2007, and, the subsequent incumbent Goodluck Jonathan/Namadi Sambo administration that took power in 2011,” he said.

Not absolving any government or president, Akinola summed up this heading thus: “Elections have now gone beyond marketing of desire and interest towards advancing public good. Ethnicity, which previously ranked as the chief obstacle to the success of elections in Nigeria, had been supplanted by more foul and filthy means of attaining power.

“As aptly put, ‘Today, money drowns votes and voices in Nigeria, as godfathers openly confess about shady deals, funding or sponsoring elections for ‘godsons’ and purchasing electoral victory.’”

He also referred to killing, as one of the evils of corruption, citing publications documenting the tragedy of people “dying in politically controversial circumstance since 1999.” The casualties included Air Cdr. Anthony Ikhazoboh (Rtd), Chief Layi Balogun, Hon. Monday Taurbari Ndor, Dele Arojo Engr. Funso Williams, Chief Bola Ige, Prof. Chimere Ikoku, Chief Aminasoari Dikibo, and Mrs. Joyce Maimuna Katai.

Judiciary and the evil of corruption Akinola held that, “the judicial arm of the state, that is supposed to serve as a protective shield for every Nigerian citizen, has itself been paralysed by corruption.”

He said judges had been accused of receiving bribes and other material inducements to tilt cases in particular ways, thus contradicting the wise counsel of a former Supreme Court Justice, Justice C.O Oputa, that, “… no one should go to the Bench to amass wealth, for money corrupts and pollutes not only the channels of justice but

the very stream itself.”

He stressed that the compulsory retirement of a number of judges on accounts of proven cases of corruption, had not diminished the general feeling that, “the evil of corruption is a major cankerworm that has eaten deeply into the fabric of the Nigerian judiciary.”

Religion and the loss of moral voice Akinola did not spare those in his constituency.

According to him: “Many church leaders are as wayward and corrupt as their Moslem counterparts. Piety, humility, honesty, proclamation of the undiluted Word of God has been replaced with the rabid desire for ostentatious life fuelled by greed for material possessions.”

But he admonished such ungodly persons in the House of God with words of the psalmist: Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them (Psalm 62:10).

Conclusion Most Revd. Akinola declared: “From the foregoing, corruption from the beginning has been part of our tortuous journey to nationhood. The question is, must it continue forever?”

He emphasised that, “it is time for total moral cleansing,” and threw the “onerous challenge” before President Jonathan.

But he said: “With all of his intimidating credentials… is he willing and able to muster the political will to fight courageously the cankerworm of corruption?

“Will the president and his team, with a singular resolve, create the needed irreversible process aimed at correcting the rot afflicting our political and public life? Nigeria begs for moral cleansing.”

Most Revd. Akinola promised that the second part of this series will be focused on the desirability of the present generation of Nigerians becoming patriotic, and address the challenge of making a clean break from the ugly past and charting a new course for the Nigeria of our dream.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

12

TheMetroSection Avi-Cenna pupil runs electricity generating set with fuel from urine ’By Felix Kuye and Wole Oyebade T was another intriguing display of critIyoung ical thinking that drives innovation as a Nigerian and pupil of the Avi-

embarked on a sanitation exercise.

The exercise, which was powered by Aero Contractors and Le Meredian Hotels, in collaboration with the Rivers State Environmental and Sanitation Authority, was held between 7.00a.m.-10.00a.m. on Saturday, March 2.

Waterfront residents and its leaders, KFI staff, FAB Magazine and the sanitation authority joined hands to make the environment healthy for habitation.

It ended with the entire crew visiting the inner parts of the Bundu Waterfronts for a discussion between the community and the sanitation agency on the appropriate measures to keep the Bundu community safe and free of waste.

The first of the sanitation exercise series, which began in April 2012, ran through for four months and was adjudged to have been of great benefit to the communities and a tremendous success as it not only brought out the communal spirit in the people plus a clean and healthy environment, but it also succeeded in putting the Waterfront communities involved on the map for weekly collection with permanent bins being placed in strategic areas.

“This is not the last of sanitation exercises for the Kinabuti Fashion Initiative as plans are underway for more sanitation exercises to hold every first Sat-

urday of the month in three different communities and eventually, other states.”

KFI also commended the Sanitation Authority’s commitment to picking up rubbish daily from 6.00a.m. to 8.00a.m and from 5.00p.m. to 10.00p.m in the evening.

HE City of Lagos Edition of T Monopoly began yesterday and would run throughout the

ATM holds prayer summit HE National Women’s T Prayer Summit 2013 (NWPS) organized annually by the Awesome Treasures Foundation (ATF) will hold on Saturday at the Agip Recital Hall of the Muson Centre, Onikan from 9.00am to 1.00pm.

The theme is Shalom- Peace, Progress & Prosperity. ones have that those in the public schools also possess. It is just a matter of opportunity. If we take it as our priority, then that will be our future.”

Joseph was among about 150 young scientists that showcased different projects at the science fair themed “Beyond your horizon 2013.”

Precious Ufomadu discovered an alternative energy source: “going green with bio-gas: from trash to fuel”. From the waste of animal, she produced methane gas used in generating electricity. Her materials are cow manure, manometer to measure the amount of pressure gas produced and Bunsen burner.

“When you put this trash inside a container, you allow it to ferment for a period of time, depending on the amount of trash. The Bunsen burner will light when it has produced methane gas.

“The best thing about this gas is that it is a renewable source of energy. You can never go out of trash, and more so, methane gas is actually a compliment of natural gas. It is completely colourless and odourless as well,” Ufomadu said.

Kinabuti Fashion Initiative cleans Bundu Waterfront community in Port Harcourt O improve the lives and living conditions of peoT ple in the Waterfront communities of Port Harcourt, Kinabuti Fashion Initiative (KFI), recently

City of Lagos edition of Monopoly games begin Easter holidays. It is organized

by Bestman Games, promoters of the board game, and is designed to encourage family values and neighborliness. It is tagged "The City of Lagos Edition of Monopoly Easter Hunt".

The competition, which will be aired by Rhythm FM, will give participants the chance to win prizes .

The competition is organized in conjunction with sponsors of Monopoly: First Bank of Nigeria Plc, GTBank Plc and the Lagos State Government.

Lagos is the first African city with its version of Monopoly.

Since the launch in December 2012, the City of Lagos Edition has already earned an iconic status, representing an object of pride to Nigerians at home and Africans in the Diaspora.

• Other young scientists display talents

Cenna International School, Lagos, Gbenga Bamidele Joseph, at the weekend exhibited a urine-powered electricity generating set, which he invented.

The invention, which is capable of generating 300 voltage of electricity that could last for six hours, was displayed to the admiration of participants at the 2013 Avi-Cenna science fair held at the school’s premises in Ikeja, Lagos last Saturday.

Joseph’s invention followed an earlier urine-powered electricity generating set built by four girls of Doregos Private Academy, also in Lagos, and showcased at the Maker Faire Africa, a pan-African conference of handcrafters held in Lagos in November 2012.

Also, in 2012, some secondary school students picked from across the country, after being trained by a group of students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston under the aegis of Exposure Robotics League (XRL), were able to programme robots to perform some specific tasks in real life.

Joseph said he had picked up the project because “it is creative and bothers on al- Principal of the school, Mr. David Ogburu ( third left) and other participants at the fair ternative source of energy” that is the inthing around the world. school project. The contraption in sume energy, she explained. Since urea is Explaining the procedure, Joseph said question is an electrolytic cell that con- already being collected by such facilities, the urine, through a cell device, was con- verts urea, the main compound in Botte says it makes sense to extract hyverted into hydrogen gas and nitrogen. urine besides water, into nitrogen, drogen from it. This in turn can be used Both are again separated by a water filter, water and hydrogen. to generate electricity, thus reducing the then pushed into a gas cylinder for stor- Gerardine Botte, a Chemical Engineer amount of outside energy required to age. A liquid bora removes the moisture, at Ohio University, who invented the run the wastewater treatment process. then it changes to dry hydrogen gas that urea electrolysis process, in a reaction, The expert’s observation nothwithis pushed to the generator as fuel. said: “What these kids are doing is tak- standing, it takes nothing away from “A litre of urine will power a 300voltage ing urea electrolysis and making hy- Joseph and the likes. generator for six hours,” he said. drogen and then using that hydrogen Chairman of Evans Medical Plc and obJoseph’s parents were said to have pro- to make electricity. server at the fair, Bunmi Olaopa, said he vided the N53,000 spent to acquire the “It is a high school project, so don’t was quite impressed with the creativity, materials used in the project. take it (so seriously). You will never get which, according to him, shows that Science teacher and science coordinator more energy out than you put in be- Nigeria has a future in technology. in Avi-Cenna International School, Ade- cause you are treating urea… but it is Olaopa said: “All that we need is just to fowope Adesanya, described the proce- a unique and elegant way to treat encourage our children. I saw a group dure as quite simple than imagined. urine waste, which will allow you to co- work there on robot. If they are encour“You know that urine is a chemical, con- generate electricity,” she said, aged, I believe they can compete with the taining urea and hydrogen. What we need She added that the student’s work best anywhere in the world. to do is to make hydrogen come out of was empowering and suggested they “I wish some of the people in the Minurine and send it to the fuel tank or cham- work with an engineer to understand istry of Education would come here and ber and use that to ignite the engine. Hy- the technology and its appropriate ap- see. Though, this is private institution drogen is the fuel for the future,” he said. plications. For Botte, the technology is and they pay a lot of money, but I’m sure Quite impressive as Joseph’s work is, the most practical as a way to make the that if government also invests in our expert who invented the contraption at wastewater treatment process more public schools, they will do the same. the heart of the technology is of the opin- energy efficient.

After all, it is the same brain that these ion that it may not be more than a high All wastewater treatment plants con-

Briefs

The communities, such has old Bundu, have also agreed to fine residents who litter the waterfront.

The exercise ended with an agreement between the chairman of the community and the sanitation authority to maintain a clean environment for the health and wealth of their people.

UNIBEN alumni mourn Chinua Achebe HE University of Benin T (UNIBEN) Alumni Association has condoled with the family of the late literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe, who passed on last week.

A communiqué issued at the end of its 74th Council Meeting held in Ibadan, Oyo State over the weekend, and signed by the President Worldwide, Dr. Clement Kayode Oghene and Secretary General, Dr. Emmanuel Oghre, read: “ Council mourns the demise of the great literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe and commiserates with the family and the nation, Council calls on the Federal Government to give serious consideration to the reasons, which made Prof. Achebe to reject the offer of Nigeria’s national honour.

The council also frowned at the spate of violence in the country and urged the government “to take concrete steps to ensure safety of lives and property .”

Prof. James Obi for burial HE death has occurred of T Prof. James Oseloka O. Obi, the Isama of Asaba, former Chairman, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Child Heath Physician. He died on Sunday, March 17, 2013.

He will be buried in Asaba, Delta State on Friday, April 5, 2013.

He is survived by his wife, Justina and children including Henry, Kevin Uche Obi and Vivien Shobo.

Participants cleaning the community during the exercise

Obi

METRO 13

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Photonews

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shetimma interacting with students of Arabic Teachers’ College, Maiduguri during an unschedPHOTO: NAN uled visit to the college...on Monday

IGP’s ban on use of tinted vehicle glass is contemptuous, says rights activist

By Bertram Nwannekanma IQUED by what he called the Inspector-General of Police’s (IGP) insistence on the ban against the use of tinted glass vehicles, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Malachy Ugwummadu, has written to IGP, Mohammed Abubakar against his renewed directive to begin physical apprehension of offenders.

In the open letter dated March 24, 2013, whose copy was made available to The Guardian, the activist noted the renewed directive by the IGP was inappropriate and contemptuous in view of suit no: FHC/L/CS/622/11 between Malachy Ugwummadu Vs. Minister of Police Affairs & 2ors.

Ugwummadu urged the IGP to desist from his present insistence pending the determination of the matter to which he had entered appearance and have been represented in court.

According to him, it is evident that the renewed directive by the IGP is biased, selective and discriminatory against the express provision of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution notwithstanding the idea behind it.

P

It is also not supported by the law under which you purportedly exercised your discretionary powers.

He said: “While he acknowledge, appreciate and commend your force for the perceived principle behind this ban, which is to moderate and mitigate the rising incidences of crime, allegedly perpetrated with vehicles of such tinted glasses, I am constrained in the interest of justice, rule of law and the fate of democracy in this country to resist the brazen discrimination inherent in your policy and directive.

“The threshold of the concept of rule of law as a primary condition for every civilized nation is equality before the law.

“First, it should be placed on record that the extant law Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act Cap. M 21 LFN 2004 under which you exercise your powers limits the exercise of your discretion as to permission and exemption to the twin conditions of health and security and not political. See Section 1(2) of the Act. I am, therefore, taken aback to note that the exemption ac-

corded the aforementioned category of persons were purely on political grounds.

They are persons who occupy high political offices in the country and at present, are all members of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), save for a few governors.

“On the whole, it is evident that your directive is biased, selective and discriminatory against the express provision of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, notwithstanding the idea behind it. It is also not supported by the law under which you purportedly exercised your discretionary powers.

“In view of the foregoing facts and considering that they are the same issues, we have submitted to the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court for adjudication, we most respectfully urge you to desist from your present insistence, pending the determination of the matter to which you have entered appearance and have been represented in court.

“To persist with your directive and insistence is to openly call the bluff of the court and foist a fait accompli on the judiciary in the circumstance of this matter which will be very un-

Oyo State Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo (centre); President, Ibadan Grammar School Old Students’ Association, Prof.

Charles Aworh (second right); Ambassador Olusola Saanu (right); Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Adeolu Akande (left) and the Senior Special Assistant, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mrs. Adebisi Adegoke second left during a courtesy visit by the old students’ association to the Governor’s Office in Ibadan...on Monday

PHOTO: OYO GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Head of Project, Biosciences for Farming in Africa, Prof. Brian Heap (left), former Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Turner Isoun, Head of Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa(OFAB)&Biotechnological Awareness Unit, Mrs.Rose Gidado, and Representative of the Minister of Agriculture, Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Prof. Baba Abubakar, during the launch of “Africa’s Future : Can Biosciences Contribute ? in Abuja on Wednesday

PHOTO: LADIDI LUCIE ELUKPO

Bank workers support Lagos environmental initiatives Bank, at the weekSitsTERLING end, mobilized over 500 of workforce for a routine environmental cleanup exercise at Ikeja roundabout and its environs, in Lagos.

The workers, led by the lender’s Group Head, Collections, Jide Sonoiki, were joined by over 50 support-staff from the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA).

He said the exercise showed its support for the state government’s drive to keep the environment clean.

“This is our way of showing

that we are part of the environment. And the turnout is impressive and indicative that our workers have bought into this vision of a clean and healthy environment,” he said.

The Business Manager, Iyana Ipaja branch, Jolly Enabulele, said apart from identifying with the initiative of the state government, it was part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), which every staff of the bank has keyed into.

The business manager said the team was, in the course of the exercise, able to clean the entire

Ikeja roundabout, the whole of the business areas within the vicinity, filling stations and top of the bridges, among others.

According to him, “LAWMA alone cannot clean the state, but needs the support of corporate organizations and individuals to be able to keep the state clean. ” “We must encourage people to be clean. By coming out ourselves, bringing our friends and customers to join in cleaning up Lagos, we have demonstrated how serious we are over the exercise,” he said.

Dr. Julie Osara examining one of the beneficiaries eyes during the free vision screening and presentation of glasses organised by Akowonjo Lions’ Club International. With them are President of the Club, Hassan Olasunkanmi and other members.

Photonews

Winner of ‘Mr. Chef’, Salisu & Sons, with Director of Bayswater Industries makers of Mr. Chef seasoning cubes, Alhaji Lawal Idrisu, at the company’s “Distributors Reward Scheme” in Lagos

Director, UACN, Mrs. Awuneba Ajumogobia (left); Managing Director, Resources, Accenture Nigeria, Mrs. Abayomi Olarinmoye and Chief Executive Officer,Theta Alpha Consults, Mrs. Titilayo Akisanya, during the International Women’s Day celebration orPHOTO:SUNDAY AKINLOLU ganized by Accenture in Lagos... on Friday.

14 THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

TheGuardian 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 Finding the killers of Oyerinde HE open controversy and verbal altercations between the Edo State Governor, T Adams Oshiomhole and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke over the failure of the state to apprehend killers of Olaitan Oyerinde leaves a sour taste in the mouth. On the one hand, it showcases concern in some quarters that murderers and assassins appear to be beyond the arms of the law. Related to this, on the other hand is the crass incompetence of law enforcement agencies to perform their duties of protecting lives and property; and to bring criminals to book.

The thorny issue between the public officers was the manner the Federal Government is handling investigation into the murder of Oyerinde, who was Private Secretary to the governor. The feistiness of the altercation almost degenerated into fisticuffs at the meeting of the National Council of State, Nigeria’s highest advisory body. Oyerinde was murdered several months ago in his home, and there has been no serious clue on his killers. But he was only one of dozens, including public officers and prominent politicians, who have been so killed without their killers being found or punished.

Ultimately, the controversy underscores the cavalier attitude of government to the sanctity of life and its sacred responsibility to protect it; a telltale of its lackadaisical attitude to security of lives and administration of criminal justice in the country.

While the governor was bothered about the nonchalant attitude of the law enforcement agents in the way investigation is being conducted, the federal attorney general felt that whatever lapses there are should be blamed on the Edo State attorney general.

The open battle at the Villa was all about making the government see the need to value the lives of its citizens as it obtains elsewhere and to exhibit necessary passion when a life is lost. It is unacceptable that innocent lives are regularly taken by assassins without any hope that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would ever get apprehended. Strange enough, government is never ashamed of its regular failure to deliver on its promise to apprehend the killers. And so, those behind high profile assassinations involving the then attorney general of the federation, Chief Bola Ige, a gubernatorial candidate, Funso Williams, party stalwarts Marshall Harry and Aminosoari Dikibo, to mention a few, were never apprehended let alone prosecuted. It is bad enough that such murders were allowed to happen with ease; it is worse that no culprits are ever caught thereafter. With this established pattern, killers have nothing to fear since it is almost certain that they will never be caught.

Apparently, this scenario informed Oshiomhole’s concern over the murder of his aide. He believes, like many other Nigerians that Oyerinde’s murder was one assassination too many and that it was possible to burst the crime with a little commitment or sincerity on the part of the law enforcement officers. His fulmination at the presidential villa was therefore triggered by despondency and frustration arising from the shoddy investigation of the crime. To that extent, his indignation cannot be faulted. Indeed, more Nigerians should express resentment at killings around the country.

Undoubtedly, the conduct of the police in the matter is disappointing, justifying the lack of public trust in the organisation. Equally worrisome is that it is not in a hurry to turn away from its old insensitive and lacklustre ways of doing things in spite of remonstrance about its conduct and strategy. Why would the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) refer a matter that ordinarily should be prosecuted by the state to the federal attorney general? Was his action due to ignorance, or deliberate to stall prosecution of the culprits? As if to advertise the deficiency and unreliability of the security apparatus, two sister agencies that claimed to have investigated the murder came up with different set of suspects. The suspects paraded by the State Security Service (SSS) were different from those paraded by the police, leaving Nigerians utterly bewildered. That should be embarrassing enough to the government. That the same police seemingly did not know who should handle a murder case between the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Attorney General of a state justifies the charge of incompetence and insincerity by Oshiomhole, which led to the diatribe between him and the AGF. Embarrassing also is that the SSS had to be openly involved in crime investigation, against the known principle that it operates behind the scene.

Equally despicable is the conduct of the AGF who chose to play the ostrich in a matter as crucial as investigating and prosecuting a murder case involving a Nigerian. If a matter that falls under the purview of the state AG is referred to him for whatever reason, shouldn’t he as the chief law officer of the federation advise the agency concerned appropriately? Is it not his duty as the chief law officer of the federation to ensure that government’s business is conducted in accordance with the dictates of the constitution, which distributes power vertically and horizontally? Did it not occur to him that time was of the essence since delay, as it is said, defeats equity? If at all he noticed any lapse on the part of Edo State government, which may jeopardize the conduct of the investigation, did he have to wait till the Council of State meeting before bringing this to the attention of the state government? Yes, the AGF needs to fight, but not against Oshiomhole; he should pick the fight against the killers of Oyerinde and those who make it difficult to apprehend the killers.

Government should step up action in the investigation of the murder and every other similar case. The country cannot continue to treat matters of the lives of Nigerians with disdain and levity. What would be the fate of ordinary Nigerians if investigation into such high profile murders as that of Oyerinde is handled so loosely?

LETTERS

President’s men: Your reporter was wrong about me My attention has been SpageIR:drawn to an article on 71 of Sunday Guardian

of 24th March, 2013 in which one Anote Ajeluorou wrote an opinion about me as one of “The President’s Men”.

I feel compelled to react to this write up in view of the fallacies, falsehood and unfortunate display of ignorance and malice displayed by the writer.

For the avoidance of doubt, I was the ‘only’ national officer of the National Republican Convention who resigned from the position I occupied and from the party in protest against the annulment of the 1993 presiden-

tial elections won by the late Chief MKO Abiola. My resignation was well reported in the Nigerian media and was a major issue in national political discourse for many months. How then did this writer come about the claim that “Okupe pointedly supported the annulment of that election?”

The writer further alleged that I “acted as strong anti democratic element” when it is on record that I was the youngest member of the inner core of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which championed the struggle for the actualization of MKO Abiola’s man-

The popes, Einstein, Faraday and Ette IR: Pope Benedict the SApril Emeritus got elected on 19, 2005, exactly one day after the anniversary of the death of Albert Einstein on April 18, 1955. Like Albert Einstein, Pope Emeritus Benedict is German whereas the new Pope Francis was elected on March 13, 2013, exactly one day before the anniversary of the birth of Albert Einstein, precisely on March 14, 1879. Like Einstein, Pope Francis is a scientist.

Interestingly Einstein used to be referred to as the Pope of Physics.

Of Michael Faraday and Akpan Ette, British Physicist and Chemist Faraday was born September 22, 1791. He is referred to as the Father of Electricity. He rejected the Presidency of the science institution, The Royal Society, whereas Nigerian Physicist, Akpan Ette was born September 23, 1930. He is the Nigerian father of Atmospheric Electricity. He became the President of the Nigerian Academy of Science.

• Augustine TogonuBickersteth, England.

date and a return to democratic rule in Nigeria. I was arrested and detained on the spurious allegations of plotting to overthrow the Abacha administration and also suffered many deprivations in pursuit of my convictions. Elder statesmen like Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Prince Ademola AdenijiAdele and former Governor Segun Osoba are living witnesses to these incontrovertible and unassailable facts.

These lies were obviously the basis upon which this writer said “unfortunately Dr. Okupe’s antecedents do not recommend him for the job he has been called to do at this critical time in the life of Nigeria”.

The content of Anote’s piece suggests that he might actually be a hired writer who concocts fiction to distort facts, which really makes him an unsuitable staff of a reputable newspaper like The Guardian.

I reject this damaging account and see it as a deliberate attempt to defame my name, family and all that I have stood for in the whole of my political career to date.

Thank you.

• Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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Business Compulife P25

Industry P40

‘Why NCC shifts kick-off date for number porting’

Unbriddled importation: Threat to Nigeria’s oil palm business

Nigeria’s telecoms installed capacity hits 226.6m lines

By Adeyemi Adepetun HE installed capacity of T Nigeria’s telecommunications industry has hit 226.6 million telephone lines in January, with country’s teledensity now firm at 81.7 per cent, according to latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Though, the country still awaits official mobile subscribers’ numbers through the NCC and telecommunications operator conducted N6.1 billion Subscribers

.Teledensity now 81 per cent Identification Modules (SIM) registration, Nigeria can presently boast of about 114.1 million active connected lines.

Installed capacity is the total number of telephone lines which telecommunications networks have built at a particular period of time.

Going by the data, telecoms operators recorded additional 1.3 million active telephone lines in January

2013 alone, bringing the industry total to 114.4 million at the end of the month.

The 2012, the industry ended the year with combined subscriber base of 113.1 million up from 95.8 million active subscriptions in January, 2012. However, the latest data did now contain information for last month.

According to the NCC data, only Global System for

Mobile Communications (GSM) operators such as MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat contributed the additional 1.3 subscribers, as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators and fixed line operators further recorded decline in their ever-dwindling subscriber base.

The CDMA operators comprising Visafone, Multi-Links, Starcomms and the dormant Zoom Mobile experienced

reduction from 2.9 million in December 2012 to 2.8 million at the end of January 2013.

This means about 100, 000 telecoms subscribers hitherto on the CDMA networks dropped their lines in January alone. Also the fixed line networks, which had active 418, 166 subscriber base in December, 2012, a marginal reduction was also recorded on their networks as their subscriptions fell to 406, 222 lines in January, 2013.

Meanwhile, the NCC data

Activists tag BRICS ‘new imperialists’ in Africa RICS, Don’t Carve Africa” reads a banner in a “B church hall in downtown

Director, Investment, Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Michael Olanipekun; Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; and Head, Investment Policy Reviews, Africa, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Alexandre de Crombrugghe, during the inauguration of the task force to develop the Nigeria’s Policy Framework for Investments, in Abuja, on Monday.

has revealed an increase in teledensity from 80.85 in December 2012 to 81.78 as at the end of January, this year.

Teledensity is the percentage of connected lines in relation to the population at a given period of time and its growth is proportional to rise in subscriber base.

Highlights of the latest industry data also revealed that telecoms firms continued to spend on network expansion to accommodate more subscribers on their networks.

Durban where civil society activists have gathered to cast a critical eye at a summit of five global emerging powers.

The slogan evokes the 19th Century conference in Berlin where the predominant European colonial states carved up the African continent in a scramble historians see as epitomizing the brash exploitative capitalism of the time.

Decades after Africans threw off the colonial yoke, it is the turn of the blossoming BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa to find their motives coming under scrutiny as they proclaim an altruistic-sounding “partnership for development, integration and industrialization” with Africa.

Led by that giant of the emerging powers, China, the BRICS are now Africa’s largest trading partners and its biggest new group of investors. BRICS-Africa trade is seen eclipsing $500 billion by 2015, with China taking the lion’s share of 60 percent of this, according to Standard

Bank.

BRICS leaders persist in presenting their group - which represents more than 40 percent of the world’s population and one fifth of global gross domestic product - in the warm and fuzzy framework of benevolent South-South cooperation, an essential counterweight to the ‘old’ West and a better partner for the poor masses of the developing world.

In his first trip to Africa as head of state, China’s new president Xi Jinping expounded this line in Tanzania on Monday, saying his country wanted “a better life for African people” and was offering a relationship of equals.

“We think there’s too much back-slapping,” said Patrick Bond of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s center for Civil Society, who helped to organize an alternative “BRICS-from-below” meeting in Durban to shadow the BRICS summit on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bond and other critics of the BRICS’ South-South pitch say developing countries that

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

FBN Capital, FCMB, others seal $225m gas pipeline infrastructure financing

By Roseline Okere and Helen Oji IRST Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Fother Capital Limited is leading four banks to seal a $225 million syndicated medium term facility for infrastructure financing deal with Accugas Limited, a subsidiary of Seven Energy International Limited.

Other banks involved in the deal include First Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa, FCMB and Stanbic IBTC. The deal, which was sealed yesterday by the banks in Lagos, is to be utilised towards refinancing the exist-

ing $55 million debt secured for the Akwa Ibom gas pipeline project, with the balance of $170 million to be used towards part-financing the cost of expanding its gas processing facilities and building a new gas pipeline to supply gas to the Calabar National Integrated Power Project power plant.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Accugas, Philip Ihenacho said that the Calabar project was the second phase in Accugas’ gas processing and distribution development programme, aimed at bringing

the substantial gas reserves from the South East Niger Delta to market to meet the growing energy demand from power plants and industrial users in the region.

Ihenacho said that the project involves the construction of a 37- kilometres gas pipeline from the Uquo gas field in Akwa Ibom state to Oron for delivery of 131 MMscfpd of gas to the 560MW power plant in Calabar.

Construction of this new pipeline is scheduled to be completed in July 2014.

He commended the project’s team for the laudable work

done to in bring this material transaction to a close. “The successful signing of the Accugas financing deal shows the confidence that the financial institutions have in Accugas and Seven Energy, as well as the prospects for the Nigerian gas market,” he said.

Chief Financial Officer of Seven Energy, Bruce Burrows, stated: “The completion of the Accugas financing marks a major milestone in the project’s evolution. With construction of the Ibom gas pipeline Phase 1, now complete and on track to deliver gas to Ibom Power Plant from

April 2013, we are now embarking on Phase 2 with construction of the Calabar gas pipeline already commenced.

Burrows commended the professional and efficient work by the FBN Capital team and other parties, and sincerely thanked all the lenders for their continued support in bringing the company another step closer to finalizing a project of huge importance to power supply in Nigeria.

Managing Director, Accugas Limited, Stephen Tierney, noted that NDPHC’s role in

the Accugas financing, particularly in working closely with Accugas in getting the transaction towards the finish line, and in providing the financial support required by the banks.

Speaking on the transaction, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FBN Capital Limited, Kayode Akinkugbe, said: “FBN Capital is very proud of the instrumental role it played in assisting Accugas to structure and arrange the financing for the project.”

“The successful signing of

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

16 BUSINESS

Govt to sustain growth plan for industries, says Aganga HE Minister of Industry, T Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to the growth and development of local industries, by placing emphasis on local patronage as the key enabler of growth in the Nigerian manufacturing sector.

This, according to a statement, signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the minister on Corporate Communications, Mrs. Yemi Kolapo, is contrary to the interpretation given to the minister’s absence at the Senate hearing on local patronage on Monday.

The statement said that indeed,, Aganga had, since his assumption of duty as the minister in charge of the ministry, pursued policies and programmes directed specifically at growing the economy

through industrialisation and backward integration with passionate support for local industries.

“The Local Patronage Bill, when passed into law, will go a long way to protect Nigerian manufacturers, boost capacity utilisation of local industries, increase the productivity and export of Made-in-Nigeria goods, create jobs , generate wealth and save foreign exchange for the country.

“It is in this regard that the passage of the Local Patronage Bill, which has passed the second reading at the Senate, becomes very important to the ministry, considering the efforts by the ministry to create enough market for local industries to thrive. The ministry’s low quality representation at the hearing, as observed by the Senate, was due to a communication gap in the ministry,

Local patronage is, in fact, one of the enablers of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, which the ministry recently kicked off. The lack of patronage of products produced locally is one of the reasons for the low capacity utilisation and contribution to Gross Domestic Product.

We are working with industries to enhance their productivity, improve the quality of their products and ensure that we significantly reduce the importation of substandard products which is highly regretted,” the statement added.

To fast-track the re-orientation of Nigerians towards the patronage of Made-inNigeria products and also showcase the potential of Nigeria’s local industries, the ministry, through one of its parastatals, the Small and Medium Enterprises

Development Agency of Nigeria, is already working with the private sector to implement its grass-roots based One-LGA-One-Product initiative [OLOP].

This is to serve as a complementary bottom-up multistakeholders development and investment platform for the creation of jobs and

generation of wealth in the 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria, in addition to galvanising and harnessing the potential of the informal sector of the economy.

Aganga said, “Local patronage is, in fact, one of the enablers of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, which the ministry recently kicked off. The lack of patronage of products produced locally is one of the reasons for the low capacity utilisation and contribution to Gross Domestic Product. We are working with industries to enhance their productivity, improve the quality of their products and ensure that we significantly reduce the importation of substandard products.

“We are passionate about it because we know that no nation has moved from being a poor to a rich nation by importing raw material without a strong industrial base. We know that we must nurture new industries, supported by government incentives, until they grow strong enough to withstand international competition.

These are the reasons we have taken time to develop the NIRP, which will in no time place our industries where they belong – at the forefront of inclusive economic growth and development.”

According to him, “As a country, we have a large market, comprising 167 million people. We are the gateway to ECOWAS, which is about 300million people.

What this means is that local patronage is very important to us as a country because we must take advantage of our large market to drive our Industrial Revolution Plan.

“In fact, local patronage is key to the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan because it will help us to increase the productivity of our local companies; reduce foreign exchange spent on importation of goods from other countries and create more jobs for our people.”

The minister noted that the President had directed the ministry to compile the list of goods produced by Nigerian companies so that there would be no reason for their importation.

“We are going to do same thing in the states by adopting the same policy. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria is also doing the same thing. Once we complete the process, nobody will be allowed to import those things we produce into the country, especially in areas where we have comparative and competitive advantage,” he explained.

Banks offer $225m facility for gas pipeline CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Managing Director. FBN Capital Ltd. Kayode Akinkugbe (left) Chief Finance Officer, Seven Energy International Ltd. Bruce Burrows. Chief Executive Officer. Seven Energy International Ltd. Philip Ihenacho and Managing Director. Accugas. Stephen Tierney, at the Accugas $225 million refinancing and expansion facility signing ceremony in Lagos yesterday.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

this financing shows that lenders see Accugas as a robust project that will bring sound economic benefits to Nigeria.”

Akinkugbe said the bank, as the global facility coordinator Bank for the project is committed to support innovative transactions, especially those that can open new boundaries for investment opportunities.

He noted that there is a huge gap in terms of funding in Nigeria, adding that the bank is willing to be at the forefront in terms of financing developmental projects.

“We have identified Seven Energy International, Accugas as the institution we want to support. We are willing to support average innovative transactions that can open new boundaries and we have made significant stride in creating flexibility and funding for Accugas. “ For transactions of this

nature which is early stage of life of the company, there need for institution in the country to take the lead”.

The Director, Head, Project and Structured Finance, FBN Capital, Patrick Okey Mgbenwelu said the bank, was determined to fund investment projects across all the sectors to enhance rapid economic growth, noting that “government cannot do it alone” “Nigeria has a lot of gas that can be used for petrochemicals and others and if you build power station without getting gas, it would not work.”

Executive Vice President of Institutional Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Bashirat Odunewu, said that First Bank was very proud to invest in Accugas Limited, as the project is uniquely aligned with the Federal Government’s vision of harnessing the nation’s immense gas reserves, and developing the country’s domestic gas sup-

BRICS as new imperialist?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 from Guinea and Nigeria to receive investment and assistance from the new emerging powers need to take a hard, close look at the deals they are getting.

Beneath the fraternal veneer, Bond sees “incoherent imperial competition” not unlike the 19th Century scramble, saying that BRICS members are similarly coveting and exploiting African resources without sufficiently boosting industrialization and job-creation, all much needed on the continent.

This view has gained some traction in Africa as citizens

Zambia and Mozambique increasingly see Brazilian, Russian, Indian, Chinese and South African companies scooping up multi-billion dollar oil and mining deals and big-ticket infrastructure projects.

Many of these deals have come under scrutiny from local and international rights groups. More than a few have faced criticism that they focus heavily on raw material extraction, lack transparency and do not offer enough employment and developmental benefits to the receiving countries - charges often

leveled against corporations from the developed West.

Anti-poverty activists say the profit motivation of large BRICS corporations working in Africa is no different from that of Western companies.

“Matters of greed are universal and their actors come from both the North and the South,” said Wahu Kaara, a Kenyan social justice campaigner and coordinator of the Kenya Debt Relief Network who attended the “BRICSfrom-below” meeting.

This wariness of the new players in Africa has even permeated some government circles on the continent.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

ForexWatch FXTM FINANCIAL WEEKLY DIGEST 18th March - 24th March, 2013

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Published in association with

Targeted Savings and Investments (2) This is the second part of last week (Part 1) of the article, which was erroneously tagged part two

THE GuARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

BuSINESS 21

NIMET advises airline operators on windy weather

By Chika Goodluck-Ogazi with agency report

HE Nigerian Meteorological Agency T (NIMET) on Tuesday advised airline operators in Northern Nigeria to beware of the upcoming rain which would be accompanied by strong wind.

The General Manager, Public Weather Services, Mr Wilson Samson, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He said the onset of the rainy season in Abuja and the extreme north, according to 2013 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), is April 16, and that the rain will come with strong wind.

Samson advised airline operators and pilots to stick

to weather information from NIMET and not to be in a hurry to embark on any journey once they were cautioned.

He also advised passengers to be patient with the pilots in case of flight delay or rescheduling due to weather-related reasons. ``For the aviation sector, normally every onset of the rainy season that comes from the central to the extreme northern part, is accompanied by very strong wind. ``This is not too good for the aviation industry because it can disturb them, especially in landing and taking off. It can lead to delay or rescheduling of flight operations. ``We advise them to stick

For the aviation sector, normally every onset of the rainy season that comes from the central to the extreme northern part, is accompanied by very strong wind. This is not too good for the aviation industry because it can disturb them, especially in landing and taking off. It can lead to delay or rescheduling of flight operations.

World Bank lauds Lagos development, transport plans

By Yetunde Ebosele oRLD Bank Country W Director for Nigeria, Ms. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly has expressed confidence in the ability of the Lagos State Government through Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) to implement the Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP), which is geared towards transforming Lagos into a world-class city.

Against the backdrop of projection that Lagos’ population might hit 25 million inhabitants by 2015 to make it the third largest city in the world, Marie-Nelly said the development of the transport master plan was a bold step in tackling the expected surge in population which would require the development of new infrastructure and the upgrade of existing one.

The World Bank Country Director, who was in LAMATA to oversee the mid-term review of the Lagos urban Transport Project (LuTP) phase two which the Authority is implementing, described Lagos as the “engine room of growth in Nigeria.

“I am pleased to see that the state has a plan for development and in its overall development, there is a transport system which is critical element for the citizens to be happy,” Marie-Nelly said.

A press statement issued by LAMATA quoted the World

Chief as saying the World Bank was carrying out a review of urbanisation in Nigeria with focus on seven to eight cities of which Lagos is one.

According to her, such cities have population in excess of one million inhabitants, adding that the review would take into account their sustainability.

Marie-Nelly, who took a ride on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system as well as visited the on-going BRT extension project from Mile 12 to Ikorodu Town, commended the overall organisation of the project describing it as “impressive.”

She said: “The extension (of BRT from Mile 12 to Ikorodu) will bring a lot of value to the people of the area.”

Given what she described as the professional leadership the top echelon of LAMATA had displayed, Marie-Nelly tasked the Managing Director of LAMATA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola to champion the collaboration of World Bank financed projects in Lagos State towards promoting periodic knowledge sharing.

Explaining further, she said: “In fact, we would like to have them share their experience with other projects financed by the World Bank in Lagos. The organisation (LAMATA) is excellent and you can feel the team spirit and this together make things work.”

religiously to the use of weather information from NIMET before embarking on operations.

“If that information has an indication of possible weather hazard, they should wait and inform the passengers,’’

Samson said.

NIMET had, in February, assured airline operators that the agency would con-

tinue to issue accurate weather forecasts to forestall weather-related accidents in 2013.

Benefits of new tax rules, by stakeholders

By Helen Oji uLTINATIoNAL compaM nies and corporate organisations have been urged to embrace the new transfer pricing (TP) regulations issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) , to ensure that businesses are taxed appropriately, without suppressing profits or moving it to another territory.

Speaking at a transfer pricing seminar organised by Pedabo, the Nigerian member firm of Morrison International in Lagos at the weekend, Albert Folorunsho of Petabo explained that TP regulations seek to fight tax evasion through over or under –pricing of controlled transactions between associated enterprises, as well as reducing the risk of “economic double taxation that may arise”.

According to him, TP rules are made to ensure that companies do not take undue advantage of local taxation through creative cost allocation, cost sharing, profit shifting, among other connected entities.

“TP is a concept of determining the values at which goods (tangible or intangible) and services are exchanged between divisions of the same entity or between different entities that are under common control. Sometimes the entities are within the same tax territory, but the importance of the transaction becomes greater when they are located in different tax territories”.

“Since the object of income tax is the profit of companies, and such profits are impacted by the prices at which intra-group sales are made, the tax authority of a territory is usually interested in the basis for determining such prices to ensure that

taxable profits have not been suppressed or moved to another territory”.

In his presentation on the FIRS Expectation for Advance Pricing Agreement (APA), a representative of FIRS, Ajayi Bamidele, explained that the new transfer pricing regulations were in line with international best practice, to give effect to general provisions in Section 17 of the Personal Income Tax Act, Section 22 of the Companies Income Tax Act and Section 15 of the Petroleum Profits Tax Act, thereby setting parameters for the determination and verification of the arm’s

length value of intercompany transactions.

He further explained that the regulations were aimed at fighting tax evasion through over or under invoicing, provide level playing field between multinational and local enterprises and generally ensuring that the taxes paid in Nigeria are appropriate for the economic activities performed in Nigeria.

Bamidele therefore explained that the opportunity for entering into Advance Pricing Agreement with taxpayers, was based on the desire of FIRS to minimise potential disputes that could

arise from transfer pricing.

Citing Indian experience of TP regulations, Sachin Vasudeva a representative from FIRS India, while speaking on Indian experience with transfer pricing after 10 years of implementation, noted that there is need for Nigeria to learn from some of the pitfalls suffered by India to clearly define Nigerian TP terms and implementation.

He also urged Nigerians to include a limitation clause that excludes local group companies from filing transfer pricing returns until they attain a certain threshold of intercompany transactions.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

BUSINESS

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Sokoto, agric bank seal N1 billion facility pact for farmers

By Bukky Olajide HE Sokoto State governT ment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) for a N1 billion facility in favour of farmers in the State.

Under this pact, 500 small and medium scale farmers across the 23 local governments would receive N250,000 loan each, for their respective farming operations.

Speaking on the collaboration, the Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko observed that the scheme marks his administration’s first direct relationship with the reinvented Bank of Agriculture.

He pledged to work with

the BOA, leveraging its wide rural network to empower rural farmers in the state to provide financial resources available to them.

Managing Director and Chief Executive of BOA Dr. Mohammed Santuraki, congratulated the State government for the transformation that has taken place in the state, especially in the area of infrastructural development.

Santuraki disclosed that Sokoto State is abundantly blessed with immense water resources and dams, which can be properly harnessed to improve the lots of the masses.

The BOA boss pointed out that with the successful take-off of the first phase of the collaboration, both parties would be able to

explore possibility of expanding the scope, to support more farmers.

Santuraki signed on behalf of the bank while Sokoto State Agriculture Commissioner, Alhaji Arzika Tureta signed for the state government.

Santuraki said that the loan will be repaid in two years.

Tureta stated that not less than 5000 farmers will benefit from the gesture under the aegis of genuine farmers cooperative groups across the 23 local governments of the state.

The Commissioner further reiterated the commitment of the State government to do everything possible to reduce poverty and unem-

ployment rate in the state.

“Food security is paramount and we are determined to take all the necessary measures for the people in the state to have food on their tables,” Tureta, averred.

Meanwhile, BOA was declared the best farmerfocused institution at the

just concluded Kaduna International Trade Fair and bagged the “Best Farmer’s Friend”.

The award was given after a series of assessment visits to the bank’s stand by an appraisal committee, set up by the chamber to assess the presentation and performance of exhibitors at the fair.

ECA urges Africa to embark on mass industrialisation based on raw materials MASS industrialisation of A the continent based on raw materials is necessary, possible and profitable, according to this year’s economic report on Africa prepared by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched on Monday. ``The experience of countries rich in resources shows that industrialisation based on raw materials is possible, in spite of the criticisms,’’ it said, adding that it would not be more difficult than any other industrialisation mode”.

The report was launched at the sixth conference of African ministers of Finance, Economic Planning and Development holding in Abidjan.

The report with the theme: ``Draw the biggest profit from African-based products: Industrialization in service of growth, employment and economic transformation’’, stressed the need to create added value in the african industrial process. ``It is through the creation

of added value and establishment of relations between sectors that industrialisation will create jobs, revenue, fiscal and non-fiscal profits, such as the diversification of technology capacity and the improvement of industrial structure,’’ the report said.

According to the report, progress has been made in upstream and downstream sectors of basic industrial, agricultural and energy products sectors in several African countries.

Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt are good examples of countries which know how to exploit their basic industrial products, the report stated.

The transformation of primary raw materials paves the way for perspectives in the creation of added value and industrialisation based on basic products in Africa, the ECA report added. ``The food-processing industry is one of the most advanced manufacturer in Africa. Most countries have food-processing industry,

CFAO Group launches equipment subsidiary

By Babatunde Oso FAO Group has launched C an equipment and services subsidiary, CFAO Equipment Nigeria Ltd. Speaking at the launching in Lagos recently, CFAO Equipment Nigeria Managing Director, Mr. Francois Saget said the new company was originally established in 2012 through the merger of four (4) CFAO Subsidiaries, namely CTNL, SOFITAM, TECMAT and STRUCTEC. Saget said the amalgamation and fusion of these former subsidiaries into CFAO Equipment was borne out of the need to deliver greater and unparalleled value in equipment and services in Nigeria.

According to Saget, CFAO Equipment Nigeria is a member of a dedicated network present already in eight (8) countries in Africa and is active in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and across the country through 16 outstations.

“As partner of renowned brands,” Saget said, “CFAO Equipment offers, in a business-to-business approach, a wide range of construction

equipment, handling material, agricultural machinery, power generators, water treatment solutions and elevators.

Consular General, South Africa High Commission, Mokgethi Monaisa (left) Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria. John Ugbe and Partner. Aluko Oyebode & Co. Olubunmi Fayokun, at the breakfast meeting of the Nigeria South Africa Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by MultiChoice Nigeria in Lagos.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Lottery contract: Nigeria loses N2 billion monthly, says firm From: Terhemba Daka, Abuja UTHORITIES of a private firm, Systems Numeric Nigeria Ltd, have declared that Nigeria was losing revenue in excess of N2 billion monthly as a result of the delay in the implementation of the Lottery Platform As a Service (LPAAS) Project by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Chief Athan Achonu made the declaration in Abuja while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions yesterday over the company’s petition to the Committee on the alleged irregularities he leveled against the Lottery Commission and the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) in the LPAAS contract bid.

The Company had petitioned the Committee on February 25, 2013, accusing the Lottery Commission and BPP of violat-

A

ing due process in contract bidding as contained in the Act establishing the regulatory agencies.

Specifically, the firm accused the Lottery Commission of delaying in announcing it as the rightful winner of the LPAAS bid and subsequently awarding it the contract.

Achonu, in presenting his petition to the Committee, claimed that SNL met all the biding requirements prescribed by the BPP, which according to him, its only contender, EGame Technology Africa Inc. did not meet.

According to him, in compliance with the requirements, SNL submitted a single technical proposal in which the financial proposal was a section, noting that E-Game submitted its technical and financial bids as separate documents in violation of section 13 page 17 of the Lottery Commission’s request

for proposal, RFP. Achonu pointed out that SNL provided full financial bid including hardware, software, cost of deployment, training, etc, while E-Game allegedly submitted an incomplete financial bid which failed to capture the total deployment cost for the project.

He noted that the rival bidder failed to submit the performance bond as required whereas SNL provided performance bond of N500,000,000.00, lamenting that the money which was sourced from a bank facility was still accumulating interest to the detriment of his Company.

He further accused the LPAAS Consultant of fraudulently standing in for E-Game in interpreting and calculating their financial bid, listing observers from the Office of the SGF, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC

as witnesses to the alleged violation.

Commenting about the technical expertise of SNL, Achonu said that his technical partners are Decart Ltd and Oasis Management Ltd, stressing that they are a world class establishments with high professional and technical records.

Convinced that his Company met all the relevant requirements to win the bid, he said, “with the foregoing, we expected that in compliance with all international best practices for bids of this nature, our company would have been immediately awarded the contract but instead, the SGF directed the Lottery Commission, BPP and the ICRC to further review the bid, which unnecessarily gives E-Game further opportunity in the LPAAS bid, when in fact, it should have been disqualified and the contract awarded to us forthwith”.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

BUSINESS 25

Minister bemoans Nigeria’s dependence on imported sugar From Joke Falaju, Abuja HE Minister of Agriculture T and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina yesterday dropped the hint that 98 percent of sugar consumed by Nigerians are imported from other countries, with only two per cent of the total consumption locally

produced.

The minister who regretted that although the country is the second largest producer of citrus fruit in the world, blessed with all the needed human and natural resources, still spend $1billion yearly in importing citrus and concentrate.

Adesina who stated this

while receiving delegates from Coca-Cola led by the firm’s Central, East and West Africa President, Kelvin Balogun, he said: “As you look at the sugar market today, you have high cost of production of sugar, unreliability of supply, we have a situation where Nigeria itself is importing 98 percent of its sugar and only

has 2 percent self sufficiency in sugar production”.

While wooing Coca-Cola to invest in the cassava valuechain so as to create substitute for sweetener and citrus concentrates for their production, he said the nation is blessed with potentials to produce the commodities locally.

He however urged the firm to

Manager, Publications & Conferences, First Bank Plc. Oze K. Oze (left) Group Head, Peculiar People Management (PPM), Dele Omatsola; Guest Speaker, Willie Jolley; Resource Executive, Marketing & Corporate Communication, First Bank Plc, Chidinma A. Igbokwe; and Chief Executive Officer, PPM, & Project Consultant Ghandi Olaoye, at the event held at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos

partner with the ministry and reduce their importation of sugar and citrus concentrates.

Pointing out that the firm imports about 100,000 metric tonnes of sugar and 150,000 metric tonnes of citrus annually, Adesina noted that their partnership with the ministry would further boost the nation’s revenue and the agriculture sector.

He stressed that the firm could partner to make cassava into starch and starch into sweetener to be used in the industry and citrus syrup for its juice produce.

However, he said the country has designed sugar master plan aimed to replace the imports and transform sugarcane into sugar but may not immediately yield desired result.

The Minister informed that government had gone into partnership with Cargil to setup 15, 000 hectares starch plant facility in Kogi State to produce 75, 000 metric tons of starch. It will be in addition to another 50, 000 metric tons sweetener plant in Kwara state.

According to him, the ministry is working with Flourmills of Nigeria, investing in starch and sweetener plant. He therefore urged coca-cola to partner the investors to establish the

starch and sweetener plants to guarantee supply of sweeteners to them.

Beside other benefits, the partnership will reduce production cost for starch by 28 percent and 20 per cent for citrus.

“As you know, Nigeria now has sugar master plan we are working on to turn sugarcane into sugar but that will still take some time for it to come to the fruition we want so in the main time, we have to look at other substitute and cassava as president Balogun said is a fantastic plan,” he added.

The Minister who lauded Balogun’s recent appointment said the post was an indication that Nigerians excel in every phase across the world. He informed that the country is the second largest producer of citrus in the world, second to China. But the produce gets rotten due to poor investment opportunity.

Balogun said the company had followed with keen interest developments in the agric sector since assumption of the Minister.

He said getting replacement for sugar has been an issue of concern, adding that the firm was partnering the ministry to develop high starch syrup to create an alternative rather than importation of sweeteners for its productions.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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MoneyWatch Rising profile of Nigeria’s e-payment system

By Chijioke Nelson ITHOUT doubt, the record of cards and W electronic payment in Nigeria has transcended beyond the challenges around the initiative, with upsurge in acceptance, just as the transactions’ figures sustained rising profile. But behind the figures are ingenious designs made possible by innovative ideas.

This means that the future of cards and e-payment in Nigeria and Africa as a whole lies in what we can imagine and create.

Beside infrastructure, which has been assessed as parlous, not only in Nigeria, but across the continent, individual/group talents and innovative ideas have the potentials of charting a path to greatness, especially when the future may have been predicted gloomy for the developing and under-developing nations.

However, despite the harsh business environment characterized partly by the infrastructure deficit in the continent and Nigeria, in particular, many are still thriving in their respective businesses, leaving others wondering the source of the “magic wand”. In most cases, the success story lies in innovative scheme.

But speaking on the role of recognition in driving innovative schemes to a new height in Africa, the Managing Consultant, Intermac Consulting, Adeyinka Adeyemi, said that the rapid growth of electronic payment across the continent is driven by innovative products occasioned by huge investments in research and development, hence the maiden edition of the Card and e-Payment Africa Awards (CePAA) will drive further the huge investment into research and development needed to sustain innovation in electronic payment in Africa.

He said: “There is just nobody noticing the huge investments going into research and development to bring new technologies and new solutions. Sometimes these solutions succeed, other times they fail. But when they fail, most stakeholders tend to go back, spend more, until they get to the market. Once they get to the market with the product, nobody recognizes their effort, even though they make money by selling their services. We must come to terms with the fact that there are people who are doing a lot of work to get the products to the shelves and to get technologies that will work to the table and we must encourage them. That is why CePAA is relevant.”

The Vice President and Area Business Head for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands of Mastercard Worldwide, Charlton Goredema, while receiving the award for Best Security and Authentication Programme, said that “card usage and acceptance in Africa has become phenomenal, especially given the volume and value of transactions recorded on a daily basis for e-commerce. Financial institu-

Ngozi Okojo-Iweala, Finance Minister tions and payment system providers who are making this convenience and security to happen should be recognised for their efforts and investment in innovative products and services.”

The Managing Director of Empresa Interbancaria de Servicos, Angola, Jose de Matos, while receiving the Personality of the Year award, at CePPA, commended Intermarc Consulting for its leadership, passion and commitment in organizing the award, stating that “the initiative could not have come at a better time, as the African continent is experiencing a huge appreciation of technology in the day to day activity of the average citizen”.

Receiving the Best Card Benefit Programme of the Year award on behalf of Absa Bank South Africa, the Chief of Staff, Card and Consumer Finance, Juanita Matelakengisa, noted that since similar awards are being held in Europe, Asia and America, developments in the card and e-payment across Africa need to be recognised.

Also a Director with eTranzact Global South Africa (Pty) Limited, Lincoln Boweni, who received the Best Mobile Payment Initiative of

Lamido Sanusi, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria the Year on behalf of his company, encouraged key stakeholders in the e-payment industry across Africa to celebrate success stories as the African electronic transaction industry has come of age.

The Executive Director, Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc, Uzoma Dozie, while receiving the Best Credit Card Product of the Year and Best CoBranded Card Product of the Year, said that Diamond Bank is happy to receive the awards, which will further encourage the bank to focus on providing excellent customer experience across all electronic channels.

He posited that the banking industry in Africa must come together to embrace initiatives like this so that together we can make the continent the pride of all.

The organizer of the awards, Intermac Consulting, a firm involved in creating platforms for the promotion of e-payment and ebanking systems across Africa, said the aim of the awards is to recognise and reward excellence and cutting –edge innovation in the card and electronic payment market in Africa.

“This is the trend in Europe where Cards Awards (Europe) is hosted annually in London

The rapid growth of electronic payment across the continent is driven by innovative products occasioned by huge investments in research and development..But there is just nobody noticing the huge investments going into research and development to bring new technologies and new solutions.

and in Asia, where card awards is hosted yearly. Unlike other parts of the world where such companies are recognized for their research and development roles, and turning out new innovations, in Africa we don’t do that. So, we can now change that in Africa and do even better what the stakeholders are doing in other places. This first one held in Johannesburg, was a huge success because we had people from Ghana, South Africa, Congo, Zimbabwe, all over Africa, with the call for support to this initiative.

CePPA recently featured 12 categories of awards with the Congo subsidiary of Access Bank, winning the Best Debit Card Product of the Year award. The Best Mobile Payment Product award was won by Fundamo (PTY) South Africa, while DrawCard, South Africa won the Best Alternative Payments Programme award. Master Card emerged as the winner of the Best Security and Authentication Programme.

Other awards were Best Card Processor of the Year won by HPS Worldwide, Morocco; Best POS Integrator of the Year won by Transaction Payment System (TPS) Zimbabwe; and Industry Personality of the Year won by Mr. Jose G. Matos, Chief Executive Officer, Emis Angola.

The 12 award winners emerged through an online voting system on the Card and ePayment Africa Awards website and was supervised by a panel of judges comprising six industry experts from the card and e-payment sector across Africa.

Path to improved collaboration for global development of the African Development Bank LandEADERS (AfDB), European Bank for Reconstruction Development, Inter-American Development Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group have pledged close collaboration to support global development.

The leaders emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, which was aimed at ending poverty and hunger, increase access to education and health care, improve gender equality, and ensure environmental sustainability.

“Nothing could be more important than ensuring young people get the right start in life. We aim to make 2015 the year in which children no longer negotiate access to basic education, nor mothers to the most basic health care, households to water and sanitation, nor girls to the most fundamental opportunities for schooling, work, or voice in their communities. And we aim to ensure these gains are permanently sustained in the post-2015 era,” Donald Kaberuka, President AfDB, said.

The leaders pledged strong support for and collaboration with the UN-led process of

defining the Post-2015 Development Framework. They voiced support for an approach that integrates concepts of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Noting that even recent gains in social indicators are at risk in the absence of a long-term financing plan, leaders pledged to work together to develop options for long-term investment to strengthen the foundations of growth.

They called for a renewed focus on financing for development, with greater leveraging of official development assistance and private sector investment, as well as better domestic resource mobilisation and management and stronger institutions and pledged cooperation to build the statistical capacity of governments, to enable better policies, for example by deploying the latest techniques for monitoring poverty and inequality, and factoring natural wealth accounting into decision-making.

“We are at a critical time where, working together, we can bend the arc of history – eliminating absolute poverty, boosting shared prosperity, and defining a pattern of growth that demonstrates that we care for our planet and all its people,” Jim Yong Kim, President of

the World Bank Group, said.

“In these tough economic times, we’ll only reach our goals by pulling together. We will work with a wide variety of partners to reach our goals, thoughtfully and creatively. Civil society, business and government need to think and work together. Our Banks aim to create an atmosphere for open dialogue and imaginative solutions to emerge,” added Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the InterAmerican Development Bank.

Issues of inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and long-term financing are global in nature. They affect rich and poor countries alike. Recognizing this, the leaders of the Banks welcomed the G20 and G8 analysis of related issues, and committed to harnessing their own institutions analytical and convening power to identify solutions to such pressing global issues. Because developing countries are so important to resolving longterm issues such as growth, environment and jobs that concern the G20, leaders of the Banks reaffirmed their commitment to making developing country voices heard more clearly.

“The very large gaps in development finance mean we’ll need to search for ever better ways

to encourage investment. Recent economic crises, which have put so many people at a risk of falling into poverty, mean we need to do more to promote macroeconomic stability, and to build strong and transparent financial systems,” added Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

The Bank leaders committed to excellence in management and organization of their own institutions. In this respect they shared experiences with organizational change, and reiterated their commitments to the highest standards in serving clients, excellence in staffing and professional development, and collaboration on the ground among the Banks.

“The development challenges we face at the global and national levels are of such scale that we must work together. It’s not only a question of financial resources, but of ensuring we can deliver the best available knowledge, best people, and best models of cooperation to our clients. They expect nothing less, and we aim to deliver nothing short of their expectations,” Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, added.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

CompuLife ‘Why NCC shifts kick-off date for number porting’ Lists new strategies

By Adeyemi Adepetun, Lagos and Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja RESH facts emerged on Monday on the factors that made the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to shift the date for the kick-off of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Nigeria.

The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson and the Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Tony Ojobo had at different fora said that number porting would commence at the end of this month.

Ojobo had given March 26 (yesterday) for the kick off of the scheme in the country.

MNP is the process that enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.

The scheme was supposed to have started in Nigeria as early as 2011, when the commission first muted the idea.

However, The Guardian learnt that telecommunications operators, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom, Etisalat, Starcomms and Visafone have asked for three weeks extension to get the process started in the country.

An industry source monitoring the process, who spoke with The Guardian on Monday, said that there were some issues around harmonisation of various networks links and data between the regulator-clearing house and the telecoms operators.

According to him, it was relatively better if there were still challenges and they were resolved amicably before we venture into it fully and everything becomes a flop.

“MNP is not easy the way people see it. It involves several upgrading of facilities, including billing systems; setting up of routers, Operation Support Systems (OSSs) and internal business processes, such as customer care, and other management systems, among others. Today we have about 113 million active mobile phone users. That is a huge data you know.”

Indeed, Ojobo, who spoke to The Guardian on Monday, said that the commission had shifted the date to April so as to guard against to block any loopholes in the final take off of the scheme.

Ojobo confirmed that telecoms operators actually asked for three weeks extension to be able to put things in order.

“We have postponed the kick-off of MNP in Nigeria to April. The telecoms operators have asked for three weeks extension to be able to put things in order. The situation now is that the operators are testing their various links, crossing from telecoms company A to B. The present situation is to ensure that the proper process ahead of take off. We want to ensure it is seamless,” he stated.

According to him, the operators already have routing numbers.

The routing number is a unique number that uses the format of a telephone number, but actually represents an entire telephone switch through which multiple telephone numbers are routed.

A close source to the appointed clearing house for MNP, Interconnect Clearing House confided in The Guardian that the major challenge revolved around the hamonisation of the data from the Subscribers Identification Modules (SIM).

The source that informed that the Interconnect Clearing House appointed by the NCC to create a unified interface billing system is rounding off exercise by bringing service providers networks on the MNP platform, disclosed that both parties involved in the SIM registration process are having some issues around harmonisation.

But, an official of one of the telecoms operator, who preferred anonymity, however, said that operators were ready.

According to him: “I can say with all emphasis that we as one of the operators is ready. The challenge should be from the regulator.”

F

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya (left) ex-MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop, Chairman of the occasion, Oba Otudeko and member of the Board, Airtel Nigeria, Usoro Paul Usoro at the send-forth organised in honour of the former CEO/MD in Lagos.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

It is better if there are still challenges now and they are resolved amicably before we venture into it fully and everything becomes a flop. MNP is not easy the way people see it. It involves several upgrading of facilities, including billing systems, setting up of routers, Operation Support Systems (OSSs) and internal business processes, such as customer care, billing and other management systems, among others.

Responding to The Guardian query on the present status of the scheme and reason for a shift in date again, the Chief Operating Officer of Interconnect Clearing House, Mr. Uche Onwudiwe simply stated: “Please contact NCC about number portability status and next steps. Thanks.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah at the weekend said that when a phone user felt that another operator could offer him a better service than his current operator, MNP would allow him to move and enjoy the coverage, quality or tariff of the new operator while retaining his old number.

Juwah said that with number portability your operator could change but your number would be the same, noting that there were roles to be played by the subscriber which would make the process effective and successful, especially in validating the SIM Card Registration process.

“The number to be ported must be a SIM registered number with your current operator. The subscriber must physically visit the retail store/customer outlet of the new operator.

“A photo identification card must be presented to the new op-

erator. This means, therefore, that there will be no proxy porting process. Also, a porting will be completed within 48 hours from the port request,” he said.

According to Juwah, MNP was a simple process and would be free and for the porting process not to be subject to abuse and arbitrariness there would be porting windows, that is, the time within which an already ported number could be ported again.

“So, stakeholders will have to play their relevant roles for the process to work instead of waiting for the regulator to wave a magic wand to right everything, stressing that MNP is a significant process that the regulator is embarking on at this time after all necessary documentation and would be guided to successful implementation,” he said.

President, Association of Telecoms Companies for Nigeria, Lanre Ajayi called on the NCC to ensure that all necessary measures were put in place before launching the service to avoid possible network problem.

Also, the President, National Association Telecoms Subscribers, Deolu Ogunbanjo, said that telecoms subscribers anticipated the service as it would lead to improved service and address the multi-SIM scenario among telecoms subscribers, “since one single SIM can now be used to initiate calls from any of the networks.”

Already, the Commission had released the guideline detailing the rules and regulations for implementing an MNP service in Nigeria.

The document titled: “Nigeria Mobile Number Portability: Business Rules and Port Order” sets out the business rules to manage the processes for porting mobile number(s) between mobile service providers, NPC and subscribers, licensed by the NCC to provide mobile telecommunications service in Nigeria.

The document, however, refers only to MNP, which means it does not cover Fixed Number Portability (FNP) or any other form of number or service portability.

Expert canvasses IC3 certification to boost digital literacy in Nigeria

By Adeyemi Adepetun O fast -track Nigeria’s quest towards a knowledge based economy, an Information Technology- expert, Dr. Niran Oyekale, has called for the adoption of the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC3) programmes across the federation.

With strong focus on all sectors of the economy, including security, Oyekale said that the IC3 initiative has been positioned to boost digital literacy, stressing that it had helped countries that had adopted it to record even developments.

Oyekale in a chat with The Guardian at the weekend disclosed that the IC3 initiative was a global training and certification programme providing proof to the world that an individual or organisation was equipped with the needed computer skills to excel in a digital world; capable of using a broad range of computer technology, from basic hardware and software, to operating systems applications and the Internet among others.

IC3, which is a baby of Certiport Inc, a United State of America based firm, Oyekale informed that the IC3 exams were a globally recognised

T

credential in basic computing skills, which was the product of hundreds of subject matter experts from all over the globe, investing their time and knowledge into the objectives that were used around the world to certify all manner of people in digital literacy.

Statistically, he disclosed that IC3 certification was the fastest growing basic computing credential with 59 per cent growth in 2011.

Created in 2001 and launched in 2002, Oyekale said in 2009 the certification was updated to Windows 7 and Office 2010 and localised into several languages and had become a basis of secondary and higher education digital literacy/technology literacy programmes.

Already, the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities has already recommended IC3, stressing that it would give an edge to both students and staff of their institution.

According to him, Certiport has delivered IC3 in 169 countries, with over 20 million exams delivered in 27 languages and 1.4 million certifications had been granted.

“This globally recognised certification could ensure that nation’s workforce, job seekers and workforce have the foundation of knowledge

needed to excel in areas that involve computers and the Internet.

“This programme reflects global standards that further validate most relevant skills for school, study and life today,” stressed Oyekale.

Basically, the IC3 certificate is awarded to individuals that take and are able to pass three separate examinations in Computing fundamentals (hardware, software, using and operating system), key applications (programme functions, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software functions), living online (networks and the Internet), electronic mail, using the Internet and the impact of computing and the Internet on society.

“With this certification, every individual have the critical entry-level skills needed to effectively use the latest computer and the Internet technologies to achieve school, career and educational objectives, expand productivity, improve profitability and give our country a competitive edge,” he stated.

IC3, which is being championed in Nigeria by Commit Technology and Consult Limited, Oyekale explained that to be certified, a candidate must pass three examinations, which are three to four domains per 45 questions for each

minutes.

He disclosed that there were performance based items (measuring skills) and linear items (measuring knowledge) in each examination, the exam is automatically scored with the criterion validated and translated into multiple languages.

By and large, the university don noted that the IC3 credentials verify critical skills needed to be employed in a broad range of jobs, including health and manufacturing.

IC3 is said to be unique in the sense that it ensures global certification, provides standard professional validation, ensures performance and knowledge based testing and has a global database of test results and digital certificates.

The certification helps among others to provide guidelines for the knowledge and skills required to be a functional user of computer hardware software, networks and the Internet.

Oyekale said that by undertaking the IC3 training and certification, the tertiary institution communities were initiated into today’s digital world whereby everyone was given globally accepted and validated credentials that provide employers’ needs.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

NCC advises telecoms subscribers on substandard phones HE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on T Monday in Lagos advised telecommunications subscribers to use standard phones to get quality services.

Glo ambassador, Desmond Elliot, Assistant Director National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Fidelis Ajibogun and Globacom Head of Advertising, Tunde Kaitel at the unveiling of Glo Strapline ‘UNLIMITED” held in Lagos.

Cash-less economy: MTN partners NIBSS on PoS roll-out

By Adeyemi Adepetun TN Business, the business-to-business division of MTN M Nigeria, has partnered with Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) in operationalising the cashless Nigeria policy. This was achieved through the successful rollout of effective point of sale (POS) services at the popular Oke-Arin market in Lagos and other shopping malls in the metropolis.

Speaking at the event, MTN’s Chief Enterprise Solutions Officer, Bob Osho, said: “Several tests were conducted with different POS terminals at the market, and they were all successful.

And this is just the beginning as we have resolved most of the connectivity issues. In all, we have provided 80, 000 SIMs to NIBSS, and we are empowering POS merchants by giving them options for service delivery in the malls. We will also provide prompt and top-class after sales support and proactively work together to ensure network quality is desirable where necessary.”

Apart from Oke-Arin, Osho said that network quality optimisation had been completed at the Silverbird Mall, while work was on going at Alaba, ASPAMDA, Ikota and Computer Village

in Ikeja.

According to him, apart from MTN’s extensive fibre network, the company had perfected its local processing power, local data storage, networking, and graphical user interface which made it possible to develop flexible and highly functional POS systems.

“The key requirements that must be met by modern POS systems include high and consistent operating speed, reliability, ease of use, remote supportability, low cost and rich functionality all of which have been perfected by MTN Business,” he said.

Apart from wired connectivity in selected shopping malls, MTN also has the cutting-edge technology to deploy cloudbased POS whose advantages are instant centralisation of data, ability to access data from anywhere there is Internet connection, lower costs and the ability to expand POS systems to mobile devices.

Osho said that the POS rollout was in line with MTN’s renewed commitment to transiting from the perception of just a telecommunications service provider to a one-stop-shop for all its customers’ ICT business requirements.

The Director of Public Affairs of the Commission, Tony Ojobo, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He said that the use of substandard phones would significantly reduce quality of services received by subscribers.

The NCC official blamed some of the challenges on quality delivery to fake or substandard phones.

“Drop calls, lack of network connectivity and reduced ability to maintain clearer conversation while making a call are some of the problems associated with substandard phones,’’ the NCC director said.

According to him, the regulatory body has published a list of type-approved phones on its Website to assist subscribers on which handset to buy.

Ojobo said that NCC was partnering with the Nigeria Customs Service to check the influx of substandard telephones into the Nigeria market. ``We have collaborated with the Customs in giving them a list of phones that are type-approved since they have the responsibility at the entry point where these phones are coming in,’’ he said.

The official said that the telecom regulator had in 2012 embarked on enforcement tasks and had closed down offices of manufacturers whose phones were not certified

by NCC. “Once we find that they are substandard products, we impound them and even arrest the people selling them,’’ Ojobo said.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, had in 2012 said that 60 per cent of the mobile telephones in the country were substandard.

Juwah said that most of the phones were poor quality ones imported from China and which made it very difficult to technically locate them when stolen.

Nokia’s Vice President, West and Central Africa, James Rutherfoord, said recently that issue of substandard phones in Nigeria had become a ‘big monster that has become difficult to tame’.

Rutherfoord added that the firm was, however, collaborating with the mobile service providers and relevant agencies to curb the menace.

He also said that Nokia would step up campaign aimed at educating its customers.

COMPULIFE

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SAP seeks partnership with govt on technology Microsoft’s Office 2013 now in Nigeria advancement, capacity building

By Adeyemi Adepetun HE potential of Nigeria’s emerging market came to the fore at the weekend with the submission by German software maker, SAP AG, that the country remained a huge spot in its global business.

SAP, which rakes in about €16.22 billion as revenue in 2012, said that Nigeria’s market potential was yet untapped.

The software company expressed its readiness to partner with the Ministry of Communications Technology on improved business solutions and capacity building in

the country.

According to SAP’s Chief Executive Officer, Pfungwa Serima in Lagos, the size and potentials inherent in Nigeria’s market had made it one of the most preferred destinations for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa.

Serima, who restated the company’s commitment to the Nigerian market, said, “we appreciate the size of Nigeria and the potentials it exudes both within the continent and strategically globally. We are all aware that Nigeria is very big in oil and gas.

ing economies globally are from Africa and Nigeria is at the top of the growth charts according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“With abundant natural resources, Nigeria clearly offers attractive investment opportunities. As investors from around the world look to Africa, public and private sectors across the continent must now prove to investors that they are ready to plug into the global economy.

“SAP provides the tools for businesses and government alike – large and small – to provide the investment community with the returns that they expect through technology solutions that can scale and be From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja higher education and the rapid adoption of rapidly deployed,” he stated.

EST Africa’s leading Aerial Fibre self-paced eLearning, Africa had become the He reaffirmed SAP’s commitInfrastructure Company, Phase3 most dynamic eLearning market in the world. ment to the development of Telecoms in partnership with the Federal According to him, the theme of the event, the Nigerian economy Ministry of Education, Accra Institute of “leveraging on technology to expand opportu- through strategic partnerships Technology (AIT) Ghana, Ministry of nities: ‘Expanding Learning Opportunities both in the private and public Education, Ghana, the Economic Commission through ICT”, was chosen with the backsphere. of West African States (ECOWAS), and United ground that technology had the potential to To the Head, SAP West Africa, Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural help West Africa leapfrog many of the educaRichard Edet, there was needOrganisation (UNESCO), has concluded plans tional obstacles it faced to equip itself for ed to build developmental to hold the 1st West Africa eLearning today’s knowledge economy. skills on the continent.

Conference and Exhibition at the University He explained that WAeLCE 2013 offers public Edet said that the company of Lagos. and private sector players, research and eduwas placing significant emphaThe conference, which is designed to bring cational institutions, web and other technolo- sis on skills building both on the eLearning message deeper to home and gy providers as well as other stakeholders the the African continent and in address the challenge of expanding educaopportunity to share and articulate on comNigeria, because, “in Nigeria, tional access to high-speed and reliable mon forward plans. one of our greatest strength is broadband Internet is billed for today and Jegede observed that technology had vast human resource. But how do tomorrow at UNILAG. potential to close the educational gaps adding we make our people more The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Phase3 that only 28 per cent out of 1.5 million competitive globally. I must Telecom, Stanley Jegede who disclosed this at prospective applicants gained admission into say this can be achieved the weekend in Abuja noted that due to the Nigerian universities in 2012, which was a through capacity building inisharp rise in academic digitisation prohuge contrast to China’s 300 million students tiatives.” grammes, booming enrolment in online of online universities.

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“We know Nigeria is also big when it comes to institutional knowledge. If you look at Nigeria’s financial services industry, there are lots of financial institutions that are not just local banks but regional banks that aspire to become international banks. There is a need therefore for any serious minded business regardless of if it is SAP or not to give attention to this market and be part of the growth. In view of this, Nigeria plays a significant role when it comes to SAP’s global strategy.”

“Half of the ten fastest grow-

Phase3 Telecoms, UNESCO hold e-Learning conference in Lagos

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By Bankole Orimisan OFTWARE giant, Microsoft, has announced the availability of Office 2013, the next iteration of the company’s flagship office product line for consumers in Nigeria.

Office 2013 has been designed to work with both touch and a mouse and works seamlessly in the cloud giving the user an unmatched on and offline experience, the firm said in a statement.

“Office 2013 makes the end user more productive in both work and home environment,” the Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, Mr. Marc Israel, said.

“With Office, you can continue working offline, while the integration with cloud technologies allows you to sync your documents seamlessly, allowing you to be far more productive,” he added.

Cloud technologies are fast becoming part of everyday life, which is why Microsoft’s Office 365 Home Premium makes sense for the African market.

Office 365 Home Premium, one of the offerings within Office 2013, is a cloud service designed for busy households and people juggling everincreasing work and family responsibilities, the company explained.

The new offering includes the latest and most complete set of office applications;

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Resourcery bags Cisco’s ATP certification in West Africa Integration Company in West site skill set to market, sell and deploy StheYSTEMS Africa, Resourcery Plc has achieved Cisco Mobile Internet Technology soluCisco ATP Mobile Internet tions, as well as provide ongoing supTechnology status, thereby becoming the first Cisco partner in the West Africa to attain this height.

The Cisco Mobile Internet Technology (MIT) Authorized Technology Provider Program (ATP) is an invitation-only program focused on bringing Cisco mobile packet core solutions to the wireless service provider market through qualified channel partners.

This recognition, according to a statement, means Resourcery has the requi-

port to their wireless service provider customers’ across West Africa.

Cisco said with this certification, Resourcery has met the rigorous its (Cisco) certified personnel levels required for an ATP - Mobile Internet Technology Partner, which helps ensure that the company’s sales and support organizations are better prepared to properly sell, design, install, and support the ATP program specific technology and products.

According to Cisco, “this is an outstanding accomplishment for Resourcery Plc and demonstrates your desire to develop expertise in this market. Resourcery Plc and the Cisco account management team will continue working together to develop and enhance our mutual capabilities to support Resourcery Plc and your customers.”

Speaking on the importance of this achievement, the Business Solution Manager in-charge of Voice and Video solution (Resourcery), Olugbenga Adanlawo noted that the company has clearly demonstrated that it has the rele-

vant job, industry and market credentials to deploy and support the Cisco MIT ATP technology.

“We have the required expertise in mobile network infrastructure and the market experience in selling and integrating packet core technology in a mobile operator customer base. Our experience also includes selling network infrastructure to service providers and the eagerness to invest in our personnel in the area of training and development. We equally have the technical expertise to provide pre- and post-sales support to mobile operators.”

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works across up to five devices, including Windows tablets, personal computers and Macs and comes with extra SkyDrive storage and Skype calling.

Speaking during the worldwide unveiling of Office 365 Home Premium in January this year, the Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, highlighted that that marked the next big step in Microsoft’s transformation to a devices and services business.

“This is so much more than just another release of office.

This is office reinvented as a consumer cloud service with all the full-featured office applications people know and love, together with impressive new cloud and social benefits,” he said.

Microsoft also announced it would now deliver many new features and services to the cloud first, transforming the company’s traditional threeyear release cycle.

Now, new features and services stream are to be made available to subscribers as soon as they are ready, keeping subscribers always up to date while eliminating the hassles of upgrading.

“This is a major leap forward,” Israel said, adding: “We know that people’s needs are changing rapidly, particularly on the African continent. This new iteration of Microsoft Office allows them to adopt technology that changes with them, meeting their everyday requirements.”

Customers believe that the new iteration of Microsoft Office allows them to focus on growing their businesses, rather than IT functions.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years of doing this, it’s that no small business knows how to run a server,” author and small business owner,” David Kroenke, was quoted as saying.

“And furthermore, they don’t want to run a server. They want to run a business. With Office 365, you can manage your employees, not your computers,” he added.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

32 COMPULIFE

Ghanaian firm plans multi-billion naira PC, phone assembly plant in Nigeria

By Adeyemi Adepetun technology transfer and Fin OR local content development Nigeria’s Information and

Communications Technology (ICT) sector, a Ghanaian firm, RLG Communications, has unveiled plans to commis-

sion a multi billion-naira Personal Computer and phone assembly plant in Nigeria.

With about five years of

operations in Ghana, the firm, which entered the Nigerian market in 2012, operating as RLG Communications Nigeria

Limited, informed that the assembly plant, which has its site in Osun State, should be ready by May ending and commence operations in June.

The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mr. Taiwo Latilo, made this known in Lagos at the weekend at a programme organised for the disabled titled: ‘Communication and the disabled’.

Latiwo, who said promised that the company would churn out quality products that can compete with the other known brands around the world, stressed that the world was rapidly changing in the area of technology and people with disabilities needed to be equipped with ICT skills that will make them fit for the job market.

“For us, this is a mandate to revolutionise ICT in Africa and create one million jobs for the youth in the world. In this regard, we have just commenced the construction of ‘HOPE City’ (an acronym for Home, Office, People and Environment), which is an ICT Park modeled after Silicon Valley in America. That will be the first of its kind in Africa,” he added.

According to him, if communication meant thought, messages and information exchanged through mediums like speech, visuals, signals, writing or behaviour, a significant segment of society would not be able to communicate effectively.

According to him, this significant segment is for people living with disabilities, and represents 15 per cent of the population of the world (by The World Health

Organisation’s figures), which is about 800 million people worldwide.

Indeed, he stressed that this set of people might have visual impairments, hearing impairments and/or physical impairments, “how then can this class of people overcome the hurdles in their way of communication? The answer is simply ICT. Our organisation is in the forefront of training people with disabilities in ICT, not just to communicate but also to learn and thereby have more access to opportunities open to the rest of us,” he said.

The forum had in attendance officers of the Federal Road safety Corps, National Union of Journalists, religious leaders, Mrs. Funke Oga of NTA Channel 10 (who is the coordinator), among others.

Latilo said in Ghana, the firm had unveiled an ICT training programme initiated by government and RLG for persons with disabilities, adding, “The initiative is worth N2.1billion and is to train 5,000 people living with disabilities in phones and computer repairs.

He disclosed that graduates from the scheme will be employed as instructors in various resource centres and will be assisted to set up shops to sell and market RLG products, stressing that some others will work as engineers and technicians in the firm’s plants across Africa.

He said RLG Nigeria was prepared to work with government at various levels in Nigeria to replicate this initiative and bring hope to people living with disabilities, and make their dreams a reality.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Oracle to help organisations simplify IT, manage costs NITED States-based techU nology firm, Oracle, has said that it--strategies were to help organisations simplify Information Technology and cut costs.

Oracle, which said that it was well positioned to assist banks in Nigeria build world-class data centres for improved business climate.

Vice President, Hardware Sales for Middle East and Africa, Oracle Corporation, Tom Pegrume, in Lagos recently hinted that Oracle’s investment in R&D enabled it to engineer hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in the data centre – from servers and storage, to database and middleware, through applications.

Pegrume, who said that banks were expected to build in data

centres in the country to simplify their services said: “Oracle is really in a position to help them build data centres. Our strategy is to simplify IT, and we do that by taking the complexity out. By taking the complexity out, we save money,” he said.

The Oracle VP pointed out that the past few years have been challenging for banks, further adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strictly enforced compliance, global standards around compliance, security as well as risk management.

“Banks recognise that Information Technology (IT) is indeed strategic to enable them to grow. In many ways, financial institutions have an opportunity to leapfrog, because they have not invested so much since the past four years.”

Pegrume gave vivid insight into the company’s recent report entitled: “Oracle Next Generation Data Centre Index Cycle III.” He said that many organisation across EMEA were bringing their data back in-house after a year, which he added saw many turn to the short term support of external, third party providers. Cycle II of the research, released in January 2012, and showed a marked move to the use of external data centre support, attributed to businesses being taken by surprise by a big data explosion. Cycle III revealed that firms were now reversing that trend and bringing their data back into in-house data centres, according to the research conducted

by Quocirca.

Firm preaches biometric solution for organisation’s efficiency Africa, the United advanced TAMS to a fully integrated HR solution with human resource manageCommunications Manager for ment features that handle, SB Telecoms, Ismail Shado said among others, issues of leave that the present era revolved management and payroll aroundleveragingtechnologyto management, thus eliminatachieve much and also save cost. ing, to a great extent, the ghost While talking about the compa- workers syndrome. TAMS is a ny’s TAM solution, Shado proven system that has described it as an automated improved organisations’ time attendance and access con- returns on investment trol system designed by the firm throughautomatedsystemof with an ISO9001: 2008 certifi- detecting and curbing time cate.Hesaidthatthesolutionwas theft, absenteeism and laxity. based on advance biometrics Embedded in this technology technology designed to manage are auditing and reporting employees’ daily attendance and tools that give managers eliminate the inherent lapses of direct access to their employthe traditional paper attendance ee data anywhere in the world sheets and other time thefts. at any point in time.”

He said: “We have further

O fast-track organisation’s from South T productivity and improved Kingdom, Ukraine, the Middle service delivery, indigenous bio- East, the Marketing and Brand metric solution company, SB Telecoms and Devices Limited, has called on organisations and government establishments to deploy biometric technology.

SB Telecoms and Devices Limited, which showcased latest time and attendance management (TAM) solutions at the just concluded International Fire and Security Exhibition & Conference (IFSEC West Africa) in Lagos, noted the issue of ghost workers still prevailed because of dearth of technology to monitor workers performance and attendance.

At the exhibition, which also had in attendance, exhibitors

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

COMPULIFE 39

PC penetration will spur broadband growth, says Mortazavi Amin Mortazavi is the Vice-President, Middle East and Africa for Acer Computers. He recently visited Nigeria and spoke with journalists.

ADEYEMI ADEPETUN was there. Excerpts.

AN you give an overview of C Acer business operations in Nigeria?

We are looking at the English speaking West African countries and building a team here.

We are in the process of strengthening our teams. We have teams in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria. We understand the growth is coming from Africa and if we want to capitalise on this growth, we need to have our feet on the ground. We’re really glad to be here to sit with our partners, connect with our distributors and have good conversation with customers. What I have seen so far in the last couple of days in Nigeria, people are really eager for business here.

It is a country of hardworking people. Wherever you go on the streets, you see entrepreneurship and businesses that are putting a lot of efforts in order to be successful.

We also see a trend where the government is enabling the middle class and the truth is that the middle class is getting more prominent by the day in Nigeria. We would therefore like to be here to be a technology provider to the growing middle class. As Acer group, we want to strengthen the values between people and technology. This is our task and the mentality of how we do business across the globe. We also have a huge focus on education, which I believe is very relevant to the African continent.

We have also done a couple of very successful programmes in the southern part of Africa, and we would like to replicate those successes not only here in Nigeria but also in the rest of the English speaking African countries, especially in the east clusters of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia.

What are the strategies you have put in place to penetrate the Nigerian market?

The strategy is simple. As Acer, we are a 100 per cent channel player. We don’t do direct business. We fully rely on our channel partners across the globe that help us play the game in any given country. We have also kept our relationship so far with our partners and distributors and we intend to build on that by reconnecting with them and discussing the details of our coming back to the market with them. We already got them interested into reviving the business and relationship together. We’ve also got the commitment of our partners to help get to where we deserve to be. So the strategy is to go through channel partners.

How have you been coping with Grey Market activities ?

In Acer, grey marketing does not exist, because we do not push products into the market that the market cannot absolve.

What are you doing in the area of education-related products?

This is one of the projects we are looking at, and to achieve this, we have decided to put Rafy Abrahamiam on ground to attend to customers’ complaints and enquiries about the products. And as a way of looking into that, we’re developing a specific hardware for the educational segment. I cannot reveal enough but we’re coming with hardware that is really designed primarily for the sensitive educa-

tional markets. We believe Africa is a perfect place for this kind of education. Education is most needed in Africa. This will encourage government’s policies on education and with a member of the team on ground, we are going to attend to every requirement of the government in terms of commercial and interface with Acer consumers. We believe that increased PC penetration would spur broadband growth in Nigeria.

Already, we have a very successful programme that we implemented in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have joined hands with the Orlando Pirates, a soccer club, and we equipped two classrooms with 60 seats, fully equipped with Acer IT equipment. And we provide computer literacy to some of

the kids in schools in Soweto. It is not the same concept we intend to do here, but a similar programme that will foster educational policies in Nigeria.

With technology shifting towards smartphones and tablets, do you still see a market for laptops in Nigeria in the next two years?

Yes, because laptop and desktop still have their market and we believe there will always be customers looking to own desktops or even laptops. More so, because the requirements of the customers are evolving, we also have the right products when it comes to the tablets and we’re going to launch very interesting tablet products, excellent in size and affordability. We do have 10 per cent of our workforce in R&D to tackle the requirements of the evolving landscape and changing requirements of the end customers. Demands will always vary in terms of products because what you can do with a tablet is quite different from the uses of a PC. That’s why we have

Mortazavi minimum content creation on tablet products as against PC, so there will always be need for PCs. We still have a lot of first time buyers that are well educated and informed. We have different consumers and we have the right products for everyone.

What is Acer’s market share in Nigeria?

I do not have very accurate data but depending on the segment you’re looking at, our market

share would be about 10-12 per cent. But the question of a market share is sometimes philosophical, because I don’t want to invest my money just to achieve market share. I believe if we do the right thing, increasing market share will be a positive side effect in the things we do. The only one, who can actually judge us, is our customer in relations to how they behave when they pick up our products. So, I’ll rather invest my money not into capturing market share per say but doing the right thing.

Any plan for technology transfer to Nigeria?

We need to first establish our presence and push our products here. With increased acceptance, we can then look into the possibility of establishing assembling plants here. We understand that government gives the benefits and incentives to those technology providers who would not only provide the technology but also do a transfer of technology and provide jobs. Definitely, this is some-

thing that we are going to do at the right time. We need to take it step by step. And with time, we’re definitely going to do that. But for now, we’re not structured for that. We do have an assembling plant in our Dubai office and we’re basically the only PC manufacturer that does have the capability across the region where we can custom-build products that meet the requirements of education. We also have offices in East Africa where we can custom-build products for them.

What is the strength of your channel partners in Nigeria?

We have partners across the country. They are in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Calabar and all across Nigeria. So, we have people reaching across to our customers. On the corporate side, we have to do a little bit of homework there because that’s one area we do not have a very good standing. So we would like to increase our workforce here on the ground by getting someone to go further on the corporate side.

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MaritimeWatch Advancing capacity building in maritime sector through collaborations

Joshua Okpo

By Moses Ebosele UEST by the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State to upgrade its status to that of degree awarding institution was given a boost recently by the visit of the President, World Maritime University (WMU), Prof. Bjorn Kjerlve to Nigeria.

Located in Malmö, Sweden, WMU is a postgraduate maritime university founded by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a specialised agency of the United Nations in 1983.

The aim of WMU is to further enhance the objectives and goals of IMO and IMO member states around the world through education, research and capacity building to ensure safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans.

The university operates on the basis of a Charter adopted by the IMO Assembly, and is accountable to the IMO SecretaryGeneral, Council and Assembly, and to an international Board of Governors composed of representatives of some 50 different governmental, industry, labour and educational bodies.

Kjerive, who was in Nigeria for the first time met with strategic stakeholders including the Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, Rector of MAN, Mr. Joshua Okpo and Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, among others and used the opportunity to access available infrastructure at MAN. The visit is the latest in the series of events lined up by the federal government to enhance capacity building in the maritime sector.

Kjerive had in August last year in Malmo played host to a delegation from Nigeria including the transport minister and MAN Rector.

The visit centered on ways WMU can collaborate with the ministry of transport and MAN coupled with how Nigeria students can benefit from the numerous opportunities available at the institution.

At MAN, last week, Kjerive described the facilities on group as impressive, adding that plans were underway by the WMU to establish some Memorandum of

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Kjerlve Understanding (MoU) with the federal government and MAN. Explaining further, Kjerive said: “We will establish a number of memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the federal government and the academy. We have been asked by the minister of transport to help evaluate and recommend making the academy even better.

“This is the beginning of a good relationship. I am looking forward to see more instructors and graduates from the academy coming to WMU for short term courses.”

Kjerive also disclosed that as part of the existing relationship between Nigeria and WMU a team of professors have been scheduled to visit MAN to evaluate the situation in the institution and make necessary recommendations to the federal government on what to do next.

Accompanied by senior staff of MAN during the tour of facilities at the institutions, Kjerive at the end of the exercise said: “I am quite impressed with the quality of staff and facilities, seven alumni from the WMU who are working here. I am satisfied, with the determination of government to make the academy become world class.”

While going down memory lane to trace the origin of MAN and federal government efforts to make it first class maritime institution, Okpo said that the school was excited to have Kjerive in their midst, adding that when the set goals are achieved, “your name (Kjerive) will be written in gold.”

MAN and other institutions are reportedly contributing their quota to capacity development in the maritime sector.

Established in 1979 and formerly known as the Nautical College of Nigeria, MAN was designed as an integrated institution for the education and training of shipboard officers and ratings shore-based management personnel.

Indeed, Okpo recently declared this year (2013) as a great year for MAN and capacity building in the maritime sector generally.

“Our objectives for 2013 are to ensure by all possible means that our collaboration efforts with other international organisations yield positive results for our great nation and our cadets.

“Within 2013, the academy will strive fur-

Idris Umar ther to meet the yearning of those interested in maritime education and training by continuously improving on standard, infrastructure and equipment in line with internationally accepted standard,” said Okpo.

At MAN, Kjerfve inspected facilities at the marine and electrical engineering workshops, simulator/ information and telecommunication centre, completed and ongoing building structures, classrooms among others.

While in Lagos the WMU chief also had an audience with the Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi.

At NIMASA, Kjerfve disclosed that Nigeria would soon be accorded a special recognition by IMO. He commended efforts by the Nigeria government to boost capacity building in maritime sector, pointing out that the vision of WMU was to develop human capacity with its range of programmes.

On his part, Akpobolokemi commended Kjerfve for his effort to visit Nigeria, pointing out that Nigeria would sustain its ongoing resolve to boost capacity building.

Akpobolokemi also used the opportunity to announce NIMASA’s plans to support developmental efforts at MAN with N2billion.

He explained that NIMASA in 2012 approved N1 billion to MAN, Oron to boost its facilities and prepare the institution for upgrading to a university status.

Explaining further, Akpobolokemi said: “We are desirous of seeing to it that the academy is well positioned to cope with the challenges of developing competent manpower for the maritime and allied industries and that is why we will continue to support it even beyond the statutory role.”

According to experts, human capital development in the maritime sector was another viable avenue through which the government could generate numerous jobs as some countries were in dire needs of qualified personnel to occupy sensitive positions.

In Nigeria, the demise of Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) in 1995 is believed to have created huge gap in human capital development in the sector, as qualified personnel are either now retired or presently actively involved in other sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

The federal government has repeatedly

pledged to make it possible for cadets within and outside the country to have sea time experience.

Besides, some observers were of the opinion that the ongoing clamour for the full implementation of the Cabotage Law may face stiff challenges without adequate manpower to sustain its execution.

According to the Cabotage Law, foreign vessels are not allowed to partake in any domestic coastal trade as obtainable in other developed countries of the world, while it will at the same time promote the development of indigenous tonnage and to establish a Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and for related matters.

Affirming government’s resolve to tackle the challenges of human capital development, the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Maritime Services, Olugbenga Leke Oyewole, in a chat with The Guardian said the present administration is determined to encourage and support local participation in the sector.

Already, the federal government through NIMASA said that it had concluded plans to bridge the projected vacancy of 250,000 seafarers by the year 2015 by International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Akpobolokem explained recently that apart from meeting local requirement for seafarers, Nigeria also intended to commence the export of seafarers to other parts of the world like the Philippines.

“The desire to fast track the creation of a large pool of Nigerian seafarers by the year 2015, to meet local demand and contribute to the manpower needs of the international shipping community, informed the agency’s decision to commence a ‘fully sponsored scheme’ whereby NIMASA fully sponsors qualified students.

“Under the scheme, about 1,500 students were examined and screened for the 2012\2013 academic session.

Admission have been secured for the successful ones in various maritime training institutions abroad, to be trained up to degree level in the Nautical Sciences, Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture”

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

MARITIME WATCH

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Maersk Vessel

Panel on oil spillage admits 15 exhibits

By Moses Ebosele

HE Marine Board of T inquiry raised by the Federal Ministry of Transport to ascertain the factors responsible for the 2009 MT Concep/Redfferm oil spillage at Tin Can Island, lagos state has received testimonies from ten witnesses and admitted not less than 15 exhibits.

Also, almost 200 communities and the Lagos State have approached the board to explain how they were affected by the oil spillage.

Inaugurated by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar on February 28, 2013 the Board has Chief Magistrate Nureni Kuranga as its president.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Kuranga commended the Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi for being very proactive to all issues of safety and Marine pollution.

Welcoming members of the board to his office, Abdullahi said NPA will continue to collaborate with other agencies in the Maritime industry in order to ensure a safe and secured marine environment.

Abdullahi identified the Nigerian Navy, the Department of Petroleum Resources [DPR], Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety

Communities bemoan impact on environment Agency,[NIMASA],Federal Ministry of Environment and others as agencies NPA will synergise with, adding that the Health, Safety and Environment [HSE] department of the Authority will continue to be empowered to enable it carry out its functions effectively and efficiently.

The board’s terms of reference are to investigate the circumstances that led to the incident, authenticate the

veracity of the incident as reported, ascertain the legal status of the MT Concep/Redferrm and its tonnage capacity, find out if MT Concept/Redferrm is covered by the relevant insurance policy as provided for by the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Funds convention, determine the legal beneficiaries of any compensation arising and make any other recommendation that the

committee may deem appropriate.

Kuranga recently called on all stakeholders in the Maritime sector to work with the Federal Government towards establishing a Marine Accident Investigation Bureau as this would ensure that investigation is carried out when evidence are still fresh and victims compensated without delay.

He appealed to members of

the public, stakeholders, organisations and groups to come up with information and suggestions that could help the board in its assignment.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed board members of the NPA have inspected facilities at the Lagos Channel Management (LCM) as part of their familiarisation tour of the Authority and her agencies.

A press statement issued by

NPA General Manager (Public Affairs), Capt Iheanacho Ebubeogu explained that the board members include Senator Florence ItaGiwa, Alhaji AminuBabba Dan Agundi and Senator Lekan Mustapha who were led on the tour by top management team of the Authority including the Executive Director Marine and Operations Engr.

David Omonibeke, Executive Director Finance and A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Mr.OlumideOduntan and the General Manager Board, Mrs. Oby Anubi amongst others.

Global Scansystems’ fixed scanner at Seme begins full operation in April N indigenous Destination the need for the company to Udechukwu also told the com- requires proper training of for proper planning for the operations and maintenance A Inspection Service work with the fixed scanner mittee members that the fixed customs officers.

Provider, Global Scansystems over a period of time so that scanner must be manned by ``We don’t want to risk the of the scanner, due to its high Limited says the fixed scanner at the seme border post will go into full operations by April.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr Fred Udechukwu, who made this known to members of the Senate Committee on Finance during the committee’s visit to the Seme site on Tuesday, said the company would start test-running the fixed scanner

by March.

Udechukwu said that work was fast in progress to test-run the facility which he said had two generating sets as backup.

He explained that there, ``Is

both the operators and those who will maintain the equipment will have good knowledge of it.’’

well-trained hands, adding, ``The health implication of 9 million volts emitted by the fixed scanner is massive and

lives of Nigerians, if not, cancer will ravage the society,’’ he said.

Technically, there is the need

technology state so that the ultimate operators would know how to handle unanticipated faults.

‘Shippers council should be transformed as port regulator’ the continued passage of the Ports and XPERTS and stakeholders explained that this has about E in the shipping industry become necessary follow- absence of an effective regu- Harbour Bill.

The Bill will seek to make have appealed to the ing cases of alleged illegal lator in the ports industry Federal Government to use the opportunity of the current moves to pass the Ports and Harbour Bill into law to also provide for the transformation of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) as a commercial regulator.

The stakeholders

charges being imposed on Nigerians by the multinational shipping agencies and terminal operators.

The stakeholders who attended the Public Hearing on Ports in the National Assembly Abuja expressed their concern

about six years after the concessioning programme.

During the Public Hearing, the Minister of Finance, Dr Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala had stressed the need to sustain the reform in the ports by early

the Harbour Authority the technical regulator and promote participation.

Following this, shipping industry experts who were there welcomed the moves but stressed the need for government to hasten action on the Bill.

Govt to tackle oil theft, gets report on private jetty operators

By Moses Ebosele HE minister of transport, T Idris Umar has pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to tackle alleged oil theft and other crimes along Nigeria’s waterways.

Receiving the report of a committee on the activities and operations of Private Jetty operators and stevedore operations in the maritime industry, Umar explained that the present administration is determined to bring the security situation under control.

A press statement issued at the weekend quoted the minister as saying the

Federal Government is aware of the enormous potentials and “leakages inherent in maritime operations especially around jetty operations and therefore set up the committee to look into ways of guaranteeing security and smooth organised labour workforce at the private jetties to enhance efficiency”.

The statement signed by Assistant Director, Abiodun Oladunjoye, said Umar expressed his optimism that the recommendations of the committee will go a long way in addressing most of the security issues identified in the maritime domain.

Chairman of the Stevedoring and Jetty Review

Committee who is also the Director of Maritime Services in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Musa Nagogo, in his submission explained that members of the committee put in their best to ensure the committee’s terms of reference was adhere to.

He said the committee could not reach all the jetties identified due to security reasons as well as funds constraints “but expressed the optimism that with the implementation of the recommendations of the committee, most of the problems identified would be overcome”.

The United States of America

(USA), recently, advised the Federal Government to tackle alleged increase in armed attacks and oil theft along Nigeria’s waterways.

Speaking at the 2013 Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), held in Lagos, the Consul General, US Embassy, Jeffrey Hawkins, blamed the development on alleged lack of communication and cohesion among security agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting Nigeria’s waterways.

He advised the Nigerian Government to develop the political will to tackle the menace, adding that since the beginning of this year, over a dozen attacks have

been recorded.

“Indeed, we (US) heard report of two dozen attacks just since January 1 of this year. The criminal activitieswhether armed robbery or piracy or kidnapping extends along Nigeria’s coastline.

“On February 4, in the lagos anchorage. On February 6, along the River Forcados. On February 7, off Brass. On February 10 and 11, two separate two separate attacks off Bonny. On February 17, two separate attacks, one in Lagos and one off Brass. On February 22, again off Brass, and on February 25, in Calabar Channel. And that’s just three weeks in February”, said Hawkins.

He added “We (US) have talked with a lot of individuals associated with Nigeria’s maritime environment in the past few months-Nigerians and expatriate alike-and I would like to share with you some of what we have heard.

“From cargo theft to kidnapping for ransom, the Gulf of Guinea is becoming known as a very dangerous place to do business. It is becoming known as a place where you must sail in convoys and where you must hire armed guards- who themselves are Nigerian police officers or sailors and rhetorically should have responsibilities other than serving as hired guns.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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Industrywatch Unbriddled importation: Threat to Nigeria’s oil palm business

By Femi Adekoya N recent times, there have been efforts by government to encourage increased participation of many people, especially the unemployed in agro businesses. The reason is not far fetched. After decades of neglect, government discovered that the nation’s agriculture sector is falling far short of its potential, especially in its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while the country depends mostly on imports to feed its citizens.

For instance, many of the sustainable crops have been allowed to wither due to neglect by government, concentration on the oil and gas sector as well as inadequate protectionist policy for indigenous firms.

Till date, larger part of the country still offer, just the right conditions for growing many of these crops with exceptionally high quality. For cocoa, Ghana and Cote d’Iviore seem to have overtaken Nigeria in making the cocoa sector a big employer of rural labour, while increasing local consumption of their products. For rubber production, the conditions for growing the crop in the country are ideal, but the country produces only about a tenth of its potential.

For Palm oil, used in soap, lubricants and industry fats, the story is quite pathetic. In the 1950s, Nigeria supplied Indonesia with its first palm seedlings. In 1970, Indonesia produced half as much palm oil as Nigeria. By 1991, it was producing three times as much and in the mid 1990s, Nigeria started to import Indonesian palm oil. Nigeria’s exports of other formerly lucrative crops, such as groundnuts and cotton have virtually ceased.

Like other key agricultural sectors, palm oil production in Nigeria has had the misfortune of falling from grace to grass. However, there are concerns that official connivance to reduce tariff on imported crude palm oil (CPO) from South East Asian countries like Malaysia may keep the nation’s palm oil industry in a quandary.

Despite assurances by Federal Government that it would soon come out with a policy that would be local palm oil production-friendly, the plantation owners believe that there may be moves to truncate such moves.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, had in December noted that government was having meetings with all stakeholders in the palm-oil producing sub-sector and would come out soon with a policy that will be favourable to the sector.

Some stakeholders within the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON) however accused certain local manufacturers especially in the food processing industry of conniving to strangle the local oil palm industry as their latest move to force the Federal Government to throw the nation open to free flow of cheap imported Crude Palm Oil (CPO) into the country.

POFON has been crying foul in reaction to what it calls “the clandestine moves” of proponents and promoters of reduction of the current tariff on the importation of CPO from 35 percent to between 5 and 10 percent. POFON has reiterated that crude palm oil tariff must be protectionist.

POFON, made up of PRESCO Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, and a litany of smallholder plantation owners and palm oil processors, is dismayed that while Indonesia has increased its CPO export tariff and reduced its export tax on refined products to promote processing and Malaysia has increased its CPO export quota by 2 million tonnes free of tax, Nigeria is being encouraged to reduce its CPO tariff from 35 percent to 5-10 percent. It argued that Nigeria was being made to become vulnerable and a veritable dumping ground for cheap palm oil from Malaysia.

Hitherto, the Federal Government had lifted the ban on importation of crude palm oil.

POFON kicked against it. POFON raised concern that it found it illogical for the Federal Government to lift ban on importation of crude palm oil “when palm oil is now grown in 24 states of Nigeria” and wondered why government was taking this step when “there is no shortage of palm oil in the country.”

I

Bunches of palm kernel While Nigeria is one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil, it still remains a net importer of palm oil. Analysts argue that Nigeria should think of increasing productivity of the sector and not encourage dumping.

They believe there is therefore a need to share information on the sector, to refocus attention on the potential for palm oil production and highlight the potential for boosting the Nigerian economy by concentrating on the enterprise dynamics.

For them, glaringly, tariff reduction serves no useful purpose for the Nigerian economy; it is part of the grand design of Malaysia to stifle our palm oil production. Malaysia, they argue, is establishing CPO refineries in Africa including Nigeria; the primary objective is to market their CPO. POFON argued: “It is cheap already importing Malaysian CPO into Nigeria at 35 percent and we wonder how locally produced CPO is expected to compete at the present level talk less at tariff lower than 35 percent; it is certain to be an over-kill - both estates and smallholder operations in over 24 states of Nigeria will be wiped out.”

POFON alleged that some firms are channeling their palm oil imports from Malaysia to Nigeria in response to the stiff competition Malaysia is now facing from Indonesia in an international palm oil market that has grown increasingly fierce in the last 5 years.

The body said: “In their relentless effort to undercut the Nigerian oil palm industry, these manufacturers, which are actually of foreign origin with unfettered access to cheap and subsidised palm oil from their continents and countries of origin are said to be working with some government agencies to the end of clearing the way for the flow of CPO into Nigeria, which is now one of the biggest emerging market for vegetable oil in Africa and the world.

For instance, PZ-Wilmar, a company currently setting up a palm oil refining factory in Nigeria was said to have argued that local oil palm plantations in Nigeria lack the capacity to meet its need for CPO for refining, therefore calling on government to allow it to access palm oil offshore either duty free or subsidised.

Analysts have however rebuffed this claim stressing that while they prepared feasibility for the success of their palm oil refining business in Nigeria, they must have followed the international standard practice of taking all the fiscal policies of their investment destination into account.

“You do not plan to succeed in a business you are taking to a foreign nation by hinging the success of the business on an intention to force the government of that country to change its policies to suit

your business plan. Rather you structure your business plan to suit social and economic realities of that country,” a POFON member said.

PZ-Wilmar however states that it is investing over N100 billion in both plantation agriculture and CPO refining, a claim which POFON members say is a smokescreen devised to mislead the Federal Government into granting the company exclusive concessions, which may end up causing market disruptions.

According to the POFON sources, DE-United Foods and PZ-Wilmar are championing the flow of Malaysian crude palm oil into Nigeria at all cost.

They say De-United Food’s claim that local oil cannot meet its demand for the production of Indomie noodles and PZ-Wilmar’s claim that the local production of palm oil cannot meet the required quantity to run its proposed refining facility are untrue describing it as efforts to get government to grant them concessions that are detrimental to the entire palm oil industry.

Already, De United Foods Industries Limited (DUFIL), makers of Indomie brand of noodles recently announced its intention to invest about $30 million in a new palm oil plant in the country.

Managing Director of De United Foods Industries Limited, Deepak Singhal, said the factory, which is under construction is expected to be of 500 tonnes/day capacity.

On why the firm is importing, despite the high import duty on palm oil (currently at 35 percent), instead of establishing a palm plantation in the country, Singhal said that palm plantation is a very time-consuming business, adding, “The plantation takes about five years before you can produce. We are ready to go into it, but we cannot do small scale plantation. We want to have a minimum of 50,000 hectares of land for plantation and gradually develop it, and here you are talking about investment of $300 million for a period of eight years, and there may not be a kobo in the next 10 years. It is a capital-intensive and time-consuming project which we are ready to embark on while there is infrastructural support from the government.”

The POFON members alleged that in the past couple of months these companies have strangely refused to buy CPO from local producers.

POFON said: “Their claim is that it is cheaper for them to buy palm oil from the international market. But analysts have computed the variables and discovered that it is impossible for these companies to get CPO at the international market at the prevailing international market price, pay for shipping of the bulky commodity and pay the full 35 per cent duty on it and still get it cheaper than

the local market price of CPO. The only way their claim to obtain palm oil from the international market at a cheaper price than the local market can be correct is if they are short paying government in the area of import duties and levies.”

“Glaringly, tariff reduction serves no useful purpose for the Nigerian economy. It is part of the grand design of Malaysia to stifle our palm oil production. Malaysia is establishing CPO refineries in Africa including Nigeria. The primary objective is to market their CPO - there is no doubt that the bulk of the extra two million tonnes tax free export quota is aimed to be shipped into Nigeria to unsettle the local market equilibrium.”

To industry watchers, Nigeria cannot afford to let down its guard and expose itself to pummeling and sabotage by competitors, especially in an increasingly competitive global palm oil economy.

According to them, the country must follow the protectionist path of Indonesia and Malaysia. It is certain that the Malaysia’s CPO tariff is set to undermine the Nigerian Oil Palm Transformation Agenda. In the circumstance, the most appropriate response by Nigeria is to reinstitute the ban on importation of CPO. POFON views the purported move with the utmost concern warning that Nigeria’s oil palm industry is just recovering from the shock and negative effects of the ban that was lifted in 2009 with Plantation Owners now increasing their investments in new plantings.

For instance, Presco Plc is set to replant Risonpalm (16,000Ha); Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc is planning mill expansion (hitherto put on hold when the ban was lifted) to 65 tonnes FFB/Hr - which would be the largest in Africa; Dansa Agro Plantation has commenced planting on its 15,000ha concession in Cross River State and is set to acquire an additional 30,000 hectares for oil palm.

Other plantation owners in Ogun State and Cross River State are expanding their plantation and milling capacities. Oil palm is a perennial crop, thus affirming the claim of planting.

The plantation owners warned that such development and investments could go down the drain if the concessions being pursued by its advocates are granted.

POFON insists that if the Nigerian government should allow the surreptitious move to dump cheap and low quality palm oil in Nigeria, much more than the loss of corporate investment, the rural economy will be dealt a devastating blow.

Equally, Nigeria’s natural resources and biodiversity will be adversely affected in the process.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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For The Record Competitive strategy: The perpetual struggle for a successful life Being concluding part of the text of an inaugural lecture delivered by Prof. Ben Emukufia Akpoyomare Oghojafor, professor and Dean of Business Administration (Strategic Management), Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Lagos (UNILAG) at the Main Auditorium on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. (The third part was published on Thursday, March 21, 2013.)

People Advantage HIS occurs when a company’s ability to adapt to incessant changes is embodied in the way people make decisions and behave in the workplace. There is no adaptive strategy without an adaptive organization; management paradigms die hard, especially when they have been the basis for historical success and offer the comforting illusion that a company can perfect, foresee and control its destiny (Reeves, et al. 2009). Developing a people strategy was once a straightforward matter of figuring out how to create the best possible work force to execute an already defined business strategy, but people strategy today involves much tougher choices and trade-offs. It may actually drive business strategy as much as business strategy drives it. Besides globalization, other developments, like sharp shifts in core business processes, diversity, increased competition for senior managers, aging of the work force, advent of “people businesses,” which have few assets besides their employees and new technology that drives human resources processes, are having a serious significant impact on people strategy as an element that can enhance competitive advantage (Schwarz, Barber and Villis, 2006). The world economy today, of which Nigeria is a part, can be described as very turbulent and volatile.

Therefore, any success made is achieved in the face of turbulent economic challenges. However, turbulence is not sufficient as an excuse for failure on the part of companies’ managers. This is because investors will never be ready to take such an excuse in replacement of their dividends.

Technology and telecommunications are also critical factors because company- ies are challenged by ongoing technological revolutions and rapidly shifting consumer choices (illustrated by Apple i-Phone and Galaxy SIII which are embroiled in legal suits). The banking sector is facing the global financial crises. Nevertheless, competition is on the rise in spite of all these. According to Gunby and Nicol (2008), CEOs are faced with these two dilemmas: (i) in the face of turbulence, how can my company deliver near term profit growth and ensure strong economic returns?, and (ii) how can I take advantage of the turbulence to win? In the face of these turbulences, CEOs are expected to deliver values on the investments of their organizations.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, now that we all understand what constitutes core competencies and what can be translated into competitive advantage, it may be germane to ask ourselves: How many competitive strategies can a firm use in its core competencies to pursue its objectives in the industry where it operates? The answer to this question may be a bit tough because these strategies can be numerous and peculiar to different industries. I will, however, just highlight a few of them, common to all the industries in business, which are known as the “Five Generic Competitive Strategies”, as represented in Figure 4 below.

A firm can choose to design, produce or deliver goods and services of quality acceptable to customers at the lowest cost in the industry relative to that of the competitors. The moment a firm has cost advantage, it can leverage on this core competence as a competitive advantage. For example, Marine Science/Biology/Fisheries and Engineering graduates should be easier for University of Lagos to produce than other Universities because of her proximity to natural aquatic splendour. It does not need land dredging before its students can have access to the sea and all the associative elements for teaching, re-

T

Prof. Oghojafor search, and practicals, compared to other Federal Universities that are situated inland, away from the sea, in their various locations, except Universities of Calabar and Port Harcourt. So a cost leader in the industry always ventures into activities that will reduce costs while quality is still sustained, to make it difficult for competitors to match the prices at which it is offering its own product or services to the customer.

Secondly, focused low cost strategy is pursued when the primary emphasis of a firm is to keep the cost to its lowest ebb. It even does this by low cost with enhancing differentiation of its product so that the less privileged or low-income earners segment can be specially attended to. Most times, firms using this strategy, as competitive advantage, always claim to associate with the comfort and standard of living for the down- trodden, so that their own needs can be catered for. What the firm does here is to focus on the provision of goods and services at the least cost, as a measure of competitive advantage over rivals.

The third strategy that a firm can pursue is the broad differentiation strategy. This is embarked upon by a firm whenever the buyers’ needs and preferences are too diverse to be fully satisfied, because of the homogeneous characteristics of the products or services being offered by the numerous firms in the industry.

The moment a firm understands that it has a unique name that commands customer loyalty, such a firm can brand its own product in a unique way that will reflect a different offer from that of its competitors. However, this becomes a competitive advantage for a firm only when it has identified and understood its strategic customers, and can consistently upgrade the differentiation features that the customers value without any significant cost increase. Since a differentiated product satisfies customers’ unique needs, firms using this strategy, as competitive advantage, will have the ability to charge premium prices, because the customers are loyal and ready to pay

higher prices for a unique product.

The fourth strategy viable to pursue in the model is the focused differentiation strategy. This strategy seeks to provide high perceived product/service benefits, justifying a substantial price premium, which is usually to a selected market segment (Niche). An example of this is our University’s flagship/cash cow, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) Executive Programme in the Faculty of Business Administration, among other postgraduate programmes. A firm can choose a focused strategy whenever it wants its core competencies to serve the needs of a particular industry segment or niche, at the exclusion of others. Hence, firms can target particular buyer groups, varied segments of product line, different geographic markets, and local or international customer segments. The core competence becomes a strong competitive advantage whenever such a firm can effectively serve a segment whose unique needs are so specialised that broad-based competitors choose not to serve that segment.

The last, but not the least, of the five strategies, is the best cost provider or integrated cost leadership strategy. A firm pursues this strategy whenever it has the core competencies of engaging low-cost provider’s strategy, as well as differentiation strategy, far better than the competitors can do.

This means that the firm has the resources and capabilities to achieve good-to-excellent quality, incorporate appealing features, match product performance, and provide good-to- excellent customer service - all at a lower cost than its rivals (Thompson et al. 2008). A firm that has this strategy, as competitive advantage, usually has the ability to quickly adapt to environmental changes, learn new skills and technologies, and effectively leverage on its core competencies while competing against its rival.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, apart from these basic five generic strategies, there are other strategies a firm can use for the pursuit of its competitive advantage. Among these are: strategic alliances and collaborative partnership (like the ones UNILAG has with Universities of Bedfordshire, Cen-

The third strategy that a firm can pursue is the broad differentiation strategy. This is embarked upon by a firm whenever the buyers’ needs and preferences are too diverse to be fully satisfied, because of the homogeneous characteristics of the products or services being offered by the numerous firms in the industry. The moment a firm understands that it has a unique name that commands customer loyalty, such a firm can brand its own product in a unique way that will reflect a different offer from that of its competitors.

tral Lancashire, West of England and Birmingham abroad); diversification strategies, involving either or both forward and backward integrations (e.g., UNILAG Foundation Programmes is an of example of backward integration strategy); initiate offensive strategic moves, employ defensive strategic moves, outsourcing and merger and acquisitions. All these, Sir, can be employed by firms including universities, depending on their capabilities and core competencies.

COMPETITIVE STRATEGY AND FIRM PERFORMANCE My Vice-Chancellor, Sir, as I begin to round off this lecture, please, permit me to inform this distinguished audience of some of the conclusions of my empirical researches over the years on measuring the impact of a firm’s competitive strategy on its performance, which have further significantly underscored the importance of firms having the right competitive strategies.

Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, mni, CFR, the Sultan of Sokoto, during his investiture as the Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, quoted copiously from Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto’s investiture speech thus: “The cardinal principle upon which our university is founded is to impact knowledge and learning to men and women of all races without any distinction on grounds of race, religion or political beliefs. This principle is enshrined in the university law. Only through the freedom of membership and the freedom of enquiry drawn into the full ferment of thought from which new knowledge comes.

But... our character must reflect the needs, the traditions, the social and intellectual heritage of the law in which we live... it is not our intention to copy a standard pattern of university from the United Kingdom, from the Commonwealth or from the United States of America. We must develop our own pattern to suit our present background and out future needs. Our university must grow out of our own soil. We shall be truly a Nigerian institution and not the mirror image of some alien body”.

The excerpt above, if strictly adhered to, will confer competitive advantage on any of the Nigerian Universities because all have sinned and fallen short of expectation of the standards recommended by His Eminence, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto on November 23, 2011. A large number of the Federal Government-owned institutions have unwittingly reduced themselves to regional or sub- regional institutions. This will never confer any competitive advantage or lead to scientific breakthroughs, if it makes them less inclusive.

Gulbraith and Schendel (1983) in their study on empirical analysis of strategy types, found out that there is evidence to suggest that a firm’s competitive position in the market place may also affect the relationship between strategy types and business performances. They affirmed that firms holding dominant competitive position generally enjoy more favourable performance results than those holding less dominant market positions. In this connection, their empirical analyses established that important trade-offs exist between cash flow, return on investment (ROI) and changes in market share positions, depending on the strategy type that a firm chooses to implement; and that the impact of these strategies upon business performance equally varied according to the relative competitive strength of firms in which the dominantly positioned firms generally enjoy more favourable performance results than competitors holding less dominant positions.

Varadavajan (1985), in another empirical study on a two-factor classification of competitive strategy, categorised the two subsets of competitive strategy as “success producer variables” and “failure preventer variables”. The study concluded that this classification will assist a firm to do an assessment of its relative competition position (competitive advantage, parity and disadvantage), with a knowledge of the success-producing and failure-preventing characteristics of competitive strategy variables, in order to effectively allocate organiza-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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For The Record Competitive strategy: The perpetual struggle for a successful life CONTINUED FROM PAGE 53 tional resources to achieve high efficiency. Young, Smith and Grimm (1996) used the dynamic model of competitive activity to examine the complex linkages between the firm’s environment and its actions and performance outcomes, by sampling 1,903 competitive moves undertaken in the software industry in Australia, and found out that a firm’s level of co-operative strategies increases the firm’s competitive advantage, which, in turn, has a positive relationship with the firm’s return on assets and return on sales.

Beyond a firm’s performance, there have been various pieces of evidence that countries, where the intensity of competition is rising, showed, by far, the greatest improvement in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (Porter, 2001). Similarly, the study by Sakakibara and Porter (2001) revealed a positive and highly significant relationship between the extent of market share fluctuations (a measure of local rivalry), and trade performance.

Japanese industries’ prosperity, as at today, is evidence of prosperity achieved as a result of proper implementation of competitive strategy. The Chinese have followed this path, through a series of revolutions, especially the cultural revolution; yet, every Chinese will tell you that China is a developing nation. They exemplify modesty.

Competitive advantage is the sustained superior performance of firms (Rumelt, Schendel and Teece, 1994). In strategic management researches, the leading hypothesis has been that sustained superior performance arises from sustainable competitive advantages (Barney, 1997, Grant 1998, and Roberts, 1999). However, there have been different theories as to the sources of competitive advantage. To some, (Caves and Porter, 1997; Porter, 1980) superior performance takes a form of monopoly rents to protected market positions, while other groups (Lippman and Rumelt, 1982 and Wenerfelt, 1984) believe that Ricardian rents are attributable to idiosyncratic firm-specific resources, while the last group (Winter, 1987; Teece, Pisano and Shuen, 1997) believe in the theory of “Schumpeterian rents” and the dynamic capability to renew advantage over time. An extension of this debate is researchers’ views about the extent to which superior performance occurs at the level of the firm, business unit, corporation or in the aggregate industry (Rumelt, 1991, Powel, 1996; McGahan and Porter, 1997, Brush, Broniley and Hendrickx, 1999).

Head or tail, the hypothesis of competitive advantage dominates theories of sustained superior performance because under any of the leading theories; where sustained superior performance exists, it has specifiable causes, and these causes are tied to the concept of competitive advantage (Powell, 2011).

In view of the debates presented above, Konstantinos, and Stephen (2006) postulate that successful entrepreneurs tend to create competitive advantage in the following four basic ways: identifying a clear position and role in their industry in a sizeable growing market; establishing a unique value proposition for their customers that clearly addresses a pair point; developing a unique fitting business model that enables them to deliver the proposed value more profitably than their competitors can; and applying these three strategies in a way that the firm excels simultaneously in innovation and mastering and/or exploiting complexity.

Can Competitive Strategy Lead to Better Organisational Performance in University of Lagos? Mr. ViceChancellor, Sir, permit me to end my lecture by answering the above question on behalf of my adored University. I was primarily motivated by my abiding commitment to my Alma Mater to deliver this lecture on the chosen title. I feel greatly honoured that this lecture coincides with the year the University is marking her 50th year of existence and its approved Golden Strategic Plan: 2012 - 2037. Now is the appropriate time to present a lecture of this nature! What do I mean? It is very crucial that we appraise our 50 years of existence to give kudos to ourselves where we have done well and re-appraise ourselves for better further performance where we have discovered shortcomings. I believe you will all agree with me that the University of Lagos had the capabilities and the core competencies to achieve much more than we have achieved over the years, if we had understood the nitty-gritty of competitive strategy. That we are not a profit-making institution does not mean we should not feasibly engage in competition in our own industry. As a matter of fact, educational

Prof. Oghojafor globalisation and international benchmarking today have produced an inherent competition, as I have earlier demonstrated.

Thus, even if we refuse to compete, competitive strategy will compete with us. Where then, more precisely, do we, as a University, fit into in this lecture?

I began this lecture by describing the importance of competition to the success of individuals, firms and organisations. Therefore, if my thesis in this lecture is accepted, the University of Lagos, as a matter of urgency, must set up a system that will drive healthy competition among individual members of Staff, Units, Departments, Faculties and Directorates, so that this can aggregate into effective and efficient performance that the University will use as a strength to compete with its peers nationally and internationally.

For example, if the stage is set to reward the best academic member of staff, the best administrative member of staff, the best Faculty, the best Department, the best Unit, etc, in a year, on the basis of laid-down criteria, this will dovetail into effective competition that will give birth to outstanding performances. If these performances can be aggregated across the University’s functionaries, they will give us the wherewithal to compete globally, because the aggregate best performance of all the sub-systems will enhance the ranking of the University in her future endeavours.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, I did earlier point out many of our core competencies that are valuable, rare, costly to imitate and non-substitutable.

How many of these capabilities have we leveraged on over the years? How have we even strategically understood our location to the benefit of our activities academically, politically, and economically? With the galaxy of intellectuals we have in this University, how often are we consulted on issues of critical national policies? How many of our scholarly researches today have been globalised to attract international recognition that can enhance our ranking? How have we leveraged on and translated our being situated in the economic hub of the nation into wealth and financial autonomy for the University? Are we harnessing the benefits of our location to the fullest?

How integrated with the University are our alumni? How have we leveraged on their international placements, connections and wealth, to the benefit of our University? What is our attitude to competition against other Universities? How bothered are we anytime we are rated behind some institutions, less well placed/situated than us? What is the level of our attention towards the politics of rank-

ing in Nigeria, Africa and the World?

CONCLUDING REMARKS Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, answers to all my questions about the future performance of our University of First Choice and Nation’s Pride have been provided, as they are all embedded in this lecture.

I want to strongly commend the efforts of the University’s Council and Management in setting up a Strategic Plan Committee for our University for past and future appraisal, for forecasting and for better repositioning of our University for the next twenty-five years, rather than five years or ten years! Well done Sir(s) and Ma(s). This is a laudable initiative that I profoundly appreciate.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, let me quickly add here that competitive strategy is like a boxing bout, during which none of the boxers must ever lose focus, otherwise, the cracking and knock-out punch can come from the adversary, like a thunderbolt. We, as a University, must keep faith with our strategic plans for implementation. We must see ourselves now as competing in a volatile educational industry that requires us the “giant”, to take our rightful place and position. It is unacceptable for UNILAG to rank behind any University in Nigeria.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, in the last January 2012 World-Web Ranking, our University ranked behind four others to be in the 5th position in Nigeria, and No 51 in Africa, ranking behind 3,386 other Universities in the world. But in August 2012, we, as a University, were ranked as No.1 in Nigeria and No.16 in Africa. Great Akokites! I want to encourage all of us here today by posing this challenge that, by the next ranking in 2013, we have the capacity, not only to maintain the No. 1 position in Nigeria by leveraging on our core competencies and our understanding of competitive strategy to conveniently stay at the top, but also to achieve a superior number I ranking. Similarly, by year 2020, our University can beat 16 other Universities in Africa to become No. 1 in the continent. Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, I say with the utmost confidence here today that, when the University of Lagos will be celebrating its 75th birthday (by the Grace of God Almighty), it has the capability to rank among the top 100 universities in the world going by the numerous giant strides taken so far. Can I hear you all say, it is possible! The Bible tells us about the power of thinking and planning, as God created the world by thinking when He said: “Let’s make a man in our image”. All that is required of us is not to treat our strategic plan as one of those usual paper presentations or committee reports, but as “our life”, setting our strategies right, leveraging on our core competencies, always maintaining our focus in playing the game of competitive strategy in the educational industry arena, mobilising all our resources towards attaining these heights; before we know it, we will get there earlier than expected.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, I believe that you and my listeners would by now agree with me that competitive strategy is life; that life is success and that success is competitive strategy; that, in a nutshell, competitive strategy is a perpetual struggle for a successful life.

SUGGESTIONS/POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Academic planning function should henceforth be seen as a competitive function that demands strategic planning. It should therefore be professionalized by the appointment of a trained and qualified non-academic staff to perform it, if we are to remain competitive in the world of Universities. Similarly, rather than belabouring the academic staff with the headship of positions, like Works, Press and Guest Houses, e.t.c., qualified and experienced non-academic should be deployed as managers of these Units, with competitive objectives set for them to reposition these important arms of the University that provide support services to the University.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, permit me, at this point, to present my suggestions and recommendations. As the saying goes, “charity begins at home”, hence, I will begin with our University: 1. Our University should quickly establish a Strategic Human Resource Unit, to strategically plan for our manpower needs and close existing staffing gap across all disciplines/functions.

If we must win this competitive race, especially now that we are No. 1 in Nigeria, we must leverage on a very strong man-power 53 base that is capable of winning in the face of the global challenges of learning and research. The Unit will be responsible for, among other duties, undertaking students’ assessment of academics, so that the feedback is based on an analysis, which will be beneficial to all, as this will improve the university system competitively.

Clinics should be held for individuals with common lecturing challenges, in form of seminars, talks, constructive engagements, as there is no relationship between a First Class Honours degree and competent lecturing: the right skills of delivery must be acquired.

Academic planning function should henceforth be seen as a competitive function that demands strategic planning. It should therefore be professionalized by the appointment of a trained and qualified non-academic staff to perform it, if we are to remain competitive in the world of Universities. Similarly, rather than belabouring the academic staff with the headship of positions, like Works, Press and Guest Houses, e.t.c., qualified and experienced nonacademic should be deployed as managers of these Units, with competitive objectives set for them to reposition these important arms of the University that provide support services to the University. Therefore, the learning curve will then be sufficient for any office occupant to adapt to or shape out.

UNILAG has come of age to provide, as a University of First Choice and Nation’s Pride, all stakeholders (students, staff, parents, all applicants/candidates, visitors, e.t.c.) “Pocket statistics” containing vital detailed information on programmes, staff (academics/non- academics with their specialties) and students (data base), as it is done in the advanced world. The one by the Director of Academic Planning in the ViceChancellor’s Office is commendable, and can further be improved upon. This will enable all our stakeholders to help in advertising the progress of the University everywhere in the world, for the pocket statistics will always be a mobile fact that speaks on our behalf. The Pocket Statistics will be particularly useful for all units, as my experiential findings reveal abysmal ignorance of many members of staff/students, when asked questions on the Unilag system, structure, locations and programmes.

His Eminence, Alhaji M.S. Abubakar, the Sultan, raised pertinent issues of our competitive development as a nation, firms, institutions and individuals that must be urgently addressed as there is abundance of the human capital needed for the attainment of the lofty aims/objectives of all our National Development Plans since independence. He suggested, and we agree with him totally, that “it is imperative to address adequately and urgently the challenges of quality of tuition and research in our university. Many laboratories and equipment have been neglected for so long that they could hardly yield benefit, even to the teaching of the history of science. How could we produce the next generation of scientists, engineers and other professional cadres when we don’t provide adequate facilities to train them? How do we expect these cadres to master the latest knowledge and techniques, when, for so long, we neglected their tutors and spent very little in building their capacities. We must also re-vitalize and re-energize the research culture within our universities. There cannot be innovation and progress without expanding the frontiers of knowledge through rigorous research activity. We cannot provide viable solutions to emerging problems within our society without the generation of new knowledge that could help address them. We cannot adequately manage change when many of us remain as spectators of the scientific revolutions that produce the change in the first place.”

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Energy Exploring deepwater discoveries in West Africa’s offshore basin

By Roseline Okere

S East Africa rapidly emerges as a frontier province with major gas discoveries offshore Mozambique and Tanzania, West Africa continues to advance plans for new and existing exploration and production projects.

A recent Infield Systems Limited report estimateds that more than 220 fields are expected to start production in the next five years within West African sub-region.

According to the energy analyst, the largest proportionate growth in reserve additions will occur offshore Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Ghana.

At the just concluded Offshore West Africa conference titled: “Deepwater Discoveries: Emerging Opportunities”, stakeholders in oil and gas sector emphasised the need for the oil and gas operators in the sub-region to tap into opportunities in the deepwaters.

Speaking at the event, Ghana’s Energy and Petroleum Minister, Armah Kofi Buah, stated that capital spending on deepwater exploration in the country’s oil and gas fields Deziani Alison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Buah would see a sharp rise to about $35 billion towards the ending of 2014. duction operations have the potential of trans- ment of all applications for the issuance of In 2013 alone, the minister noted, research forming the Ghanaian economy through the permits for specific petroleum ventures as rehad revealed that deepwater expenditure participation of indigenous businesses. quired by law. may reach an average of about $32 billion.

Geophysics Manager of the Ghana National Pe- Jubilee Asset Manager at TGL, Gilbert yevi, He explained further that over the last three troleum Corporation, Theo Ahwireng, said made some recommendations to encourage years, deepwater spending increased from growth and prosperity could be achieved by ef- more deepwater development in Africa. less than $20 billion in 2005 to nearly $30 bil- fective collaboration with all participating The recommendations included the establion in 2008. lishment of mutually beneficial contractual stakeholders in the industry.

Buah disclosed that nearly 90 per cent of “These feats have been chalked by the brilliant terms for investors to operate, harnessing the spending has been intended for the deepwa- deployment of individual talents and creativity potential of transfer of technology and the ter golden triangle, which includes Africa, galvanized into corporate capabilities and com- roll out of institutional systems and schemes Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico regions. to mitigate non-technical risks. petence,” he added.

He indicated the government of Ghana was Coordinator of Local Content at the Petroleum yevi also recommended that governments expecting to see ongoing production and up- Commission, Juliette Twumasi-Anokye, ex- should create the right business environment coming field developments pave ways for plained that the commission carried out con- to develop local talents and capacity to menmany field investment opportunities over the tinuous registration of companies desirous of tor and coach particularly young ones. whole value chain with the Ghanaian busi- operating in the oil and gas industry.

He urged governments to build infrastrucness community and investors.

This, she said, was to help promote local par- ture early to attract direct foreign investHe believed that the development and pro- ticipation in petroleum activities and assess- ments in the oil and gas sector.

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Afren offers $37m for stake in Nigerian firm

By Sulaimon Salau FrEN Plc, a United Kingdom-based oil and gas company, is planning to expand reserves by 29 per cent after increasing its stake in an indigenous firm, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Company Limited.

Afren, according to a statement obtained by The Guardian, said the proven and probable reserves would climb to 270 million barrels of oil equivalent from 210 million barrels.

The statement said Afren has agreed to pay about $37 million for 10.4 per cent of First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Co. (FHN), raising its stake to about 55 percent.

The Board noted that: “COGIL has exercised the terms of an amended agreement under which Afren would acquire the beneficial in-

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terest in approximately 10.4 per cent of the issued share capital of FHN in exchange for an aggregate consideration of $37.05 million, payable in cash.

Under the terms of agreement, Afren will acquire a beneficial interest in 15 million shares in FHN. Following the acquisition Afren will have a beneficial interest in 54.8 per cent of the issued share capital of FHN. This will also result in a material change in 2P reserves net to Afren.

It stated that the Group’s pro forma net proved and probable reserves is expected to increase from 210 mmboe to approximately 270 mmboe, adding that it plans to increase its net proved and probable reserves by 29 per cent after completion of the deal.

The agreement also emphasized that FHN will remain as an indigenous Nigerian oil and

gas company.

FHN was established in June 2009 in direct response to the Nigerian government’s policy to increase indigenous participation in the Nigerian upstream oil and gas sector and its commitment to deepening indigenous involvement in the sector at all levels.

Afren initially held 40 per cent of FHN’s issued shares and currently holds (directly or indirectly) 44.5 per cent of the issued share capital of FHN (46.7 per cent as at 31 December 2012 prior to a new issue of shares by FHN).

In December 2011, FHN acquired a 45 per cent interest in the OML 26 portfolio of assets in Nigeria from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria and Nigeria Agip Oil Company.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Nana Boakye AsafuAdjaye, said building strategic collaboration is the headway to maximize benefits from Africa’s oil and gas resources.

“GNPC strongly believes that building strategic collaborations is indeed one of the keys to maximizing benefits from the oil and gas resources of our continent for the benefit of African entrepreneurs and leaders,” he expressed.

The GNPC boss further noted that the success of the Jubilee oil discovery had opened up the potential of deepwater exploration in the Tano basin and subsequently led to other discoveries.

“This represents a record number of exploration wells ever drilled in the country in a particular year, with a very high success rate of 75 per cent compared to an industry average of 10 per cent,” he noted.

According to Asafu-Adjaye, the success of Jubilee was what opened up the potential of the Deepwater Tano Basin and led to a string of other 22 discoveries, which galvanized industry interest in Ghana’s three other basins.

He said these emerging opportunities in the industry presented enormous opportunities for service companies to set up in the sub- region to support the industry.

British High Commissioner, Peter Jones, described West Africa’s oil and gas industry as a growing market that offers substantial opportunities for UK companies to do business.

He has therefore called for deployment of highly developed skills to utilise the sub-region gas reserves.

“With oil production in Ghana expected to rise to half a million barrels a day over the next decade and significant investment from the Government, exploitation of the country’s considerable gas reserves will require an influx of high-level expertise,” he said.

The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew yakubu, stated that Nigeria is the largest crude oil producer in Africa and was determine to ensure that it remained the leading oil and gas country in the sub-region. yakubu stated: “Government’s focus on gas development and ensuring its availability for power generation is based on the firm belief that the spin-off effects of a reliable power supply would provide a solid base for industrialisation, leading to the provision of employment opportunity and attracting the much needed investment in the country.

“Government plans to build a Central Processing Facility (CPF) is rivers State from which would come wet gas from wells, which would be processed into dry gas and natural gas”.

This initiative, he said, also involves the setting up of a world-class petrochemical plant with the capacity to produce 1.3 million tonnes of pyethylene and 400,000 tonnes of polypropylene yearly.

PIB, a veritable tool for curbing corruption, says NEITI

By Sulaimon Salau PPArENTLy optimistic on the fresh A progress recorded on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the Nigeria Extractive Indus-

tries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) believes that the emerging law would halt mismanagement, inefficiency and lack of transparency in the petroleum sector.

The industry watchdog, in a statement made available to The Guardian on Sunday, also considered the PIB as a very important bill which must be guided to provide solid foundation, sound regulatory, structural, commercial and fiscal frameworks for optimal operations in the oil and gas sector.

NEITI therefore advocated the emergence of

a petroleum industry law that would promote good governance, fiscal regime that meets international standards as well as guarantee increased revenue flows to the federation.

“NEITI looks forward to a petroleum industry law that reflects the principles and spirit of openness, fair play, healthy competition, efficiency, professionalism and prudent resources management.

“Our expectation is that the new law should help Nigeria overcome the resource-curse syndrome common to most resource rich-countries and move Nigeria from oil exporting-importing to an oil producing, processing and exporting country. The position of NEITI on the PIB now before the National As-

sembly stands firmly on this premise.” It stated.

The agency applauded the commencement of deliberations on the PIB by the National Assembly, but urged the legislators to consider the stakeholders’ input through it recommendations submitted to the Assembly, and make best decisions on the bill to the interest of the nation.

“As an agency set up to, among other things, enthrone transparency, accountability, and good governance in the extractive sector, especially the oil and gas industry, NEITI has a legitimate interest in the PIB in view of the strategic importance of the Bill to implementation of the global Extractive Industries

Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Nigeria in particular and execution of NEITI mandate under the NEITI Act 2007 in general.

“As soon as the Bill was sent to the National Assembly, NEITI conveyed a National Stakeholders Forum in Lagos in September, 2012 to provide opportunity for companies, investors, legislators, government, civil society organisations and general public to freely discuss the content of the Bill. The Forum was attended by legislators, investors in the industry, the civil society, the media and general public. These stakeholders worked with NEITI to examine, discuss, review and situate the contents of the Bill on the scale of transparency, accountability, and good corporate governance.

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NPDC explains shut-down of oredo gas plant

By Roseline Okere IgErIaN Petroleum DeN velopment Company Limited (NPDC) has shut its oredo gas Plant for further expansion in the next two weeks.

Its Managing Director, Victor Briggs, explained that the temporary shut down was to allow for hook up works aimed at increasing its wet gas handling capacity from the current 65 Million Standard Cubic Feet per day (MMscfd) to 100MMscfd. according to him, the plant is expected to be re-opened april 4, 2013. NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC has its oredo gas Plant located at oML 111, ologbo near Benin City.

The gas Plant is in operation and delivering 65MMscfd of natural gas to Nigeria domestic market. Hydrocarbon introduction into the facility commenced in November 24, 2012 and the plant has since been delivering 65MMscfd to the nations’ gas grid.

The gas plant was officially commissioned by the Minster of Petroleum resources, Mrs. Diezani alison-Madueke on Thursday, January 17, 2013 during which the minister urged NPDC’s to accelerate works to raise the capacity delivered to the domestic market from 65MMSCFD to 100MMSCFD by the end of the first quarter, 2013. In line with minister’s appeal, NPDC consequently braced up to the challenge and has concluded plans to hook-up works on the plant to meet the set target.

The oredo gas project is a 100MMscfd capacity gas plant with fractionation and LPg dispensing units. When the plant is completed by the third quarter of 2013, it will produce 100MMscfd pipeline spec gas and 330 tonnes per day of Liquefied Petroleum gas (LPg). on November 24, 2012 the NPDC commenced delivery of 65 million standard cubic feet per day of gas into the domestic market from oredo field in oML 111. The 65mmscf/d of gas is capable of generating about 260 megawatts of electricity,” he said. oredo Integrated gas Handling Facility (IgHF) project was being executed by an indigenous contractor, Network oil & gas Company Limited.

The gHF is located in oredo Field in oML 111 , which is approximately 35 kilometers south of Benin City in Edo State.

The oredo gas project is a 100mmscf/d capacity gas plant with fractionation and Liquefied Petroleum gas (LPg) dispensing units.

When the plant is completed by the third quarter of 2013, it will produce 100mmscf/d Lean gas - West african gas Pipeline specification and 330 tonnes per day of LPg. This is expected to boost power generation and LPg utilisation in the country, which will no doubt reduce firewood and kerosene consumption, thereby contributing to a cleaner environment.

...Tasks contractors on safety standards, community management strategy From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City or improved operations and execution of contracts, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National petroleum Corporation (NNPC), over the weekend in Benin City, the Edo State capital tasked its contractors to improve their safety standards and community relations to ensure adequate services.

But the company said it has engaged the services of Internationally Certified Consultants to help it upgrade the standard of operations and strategies in its operations.

This it said would help it shorten contracting processes and that it was working with other sister companies in the NNPC conglomerate to generate a database benchmark that would reduce the cost of contract execution and selection process.

Managing Director of NPDC, Iyowuna Victor Briggs disclosed this at the First NPDC Quarter Contractors ’Forum where he said that the forum has become imperative because of the challenges facing the company as a result of rapid expansion in size within a very short period of time and the large number of assets recently assigned to it. represented by the Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services Division, Malam Hamidu Namtari, Briggs noted that due to the time needed to deliver on these assets, the company decided to organised the forum

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to sensitise its contractors and service providers.

He said “operating the new assets also exposed us to interact with a large number of host communities and this has introduced more complications in our operations. But because it is mandatory for us to maintain very high environmental and safety standards while delivering very good quality work by producing crude oil for the federal government which accounts for over 80 percent of our national revenue, it became very important for us to organise a gathering such as this with our contractors and service providers”.

He listed pipeline vandalism, community unrest and crude oil theft as other challenges confronting NPDC in its operations just as he pointed out that the forum was meant to provide the opportunity for the company to interact with the contractors and enable it” rob minds together, highlight and identify problems they encounter in the execution of contracts.

Contract Manager of NPDC, Mrs. Stella Ukpong, in her presentation, said the objective of the forum was to create a platform for credibility, removal of all form of bias as well as enlighten contractors on approval and invoice payment.

She observed that most times, contractors lack sufficient funds to execute contracts given to them, lack readiness to mobilise, inadequate and poor equipment in contract execution, misinformation and capability.

National President of The Nigerian Institution of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (NIEEE), Adekunle Makinde (left); Special Assistant to Bayelsa State Governor, Olice Kemenanabo; and Mrs Kemenanabo; while the Vice President Nigerian Society of Engineer, Otis Anyaeji, looks on during the public lecture of NIEEE in Bayelsa State.

Chevron optimistic on 2017 production target, highlights future growth

By Sulaimon Salau HEVroN Corporation has assured that the company is continuing to deliver industry-leading operational and financial results and progressing key development projects towards 2017.

The oil multinational, at the company’s annual security analyst meeting in New York, yesterday said it was committed to deliver the 3.3 million barrels of oil-equivalent production target by 2017.

Chevron’s chairman and Chief Executive officer, John Watson, said: “We had another outstanding year in 2012. We continue to lead the industry in total shareholder returns and most other

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safety and financial performance metrics,” He added: “our key development projects remain on track, and we are well positioned to deliver our 2017 target of 3.3 million barrels of oil-equivalent production first announced three years ago. In addition, our project queue is gaining momentum to deliver growth beyond 2017.”

The Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President, Upstream, george Kirkland, highlighted Chevron’s upstream results, which include top rankings on earnings per barrel, cash margin per barrel and return on capital employed.

The company also high-

lighted the strong performance of Chevron’s current producing base, where a consistent focus on reliability, operating efficiency and targeted investments has reduced natural field decline rates.

He also noted ample investment opportunities and the ability to expand shale and tight reservoir operations, particularly in North america’s Permian and Marcellus basins.

Kirkland reviewed progress on key growth projects under construction, saying: “We are advancing our project queue as planned. Construction on our australian Liquefied Natural gas (LNg) projects, gorgon and Wheat-

stone, is progressing very well, with first LNg for gorgon targeted for early 2015.

Construction continues on the Jack/St. Malo and Big Foot deepwater projects in the U.S. gulf of Mexico, both of which are scheduled for start-up in 2014.”

He highlighted encouraging results from recent, new technology applications designed to improve recoveries and reduce costs for deepwater developments.

Finally, Kirkland commented on favorable project returns, noting, “The projects we are bringing on line over the next five years have very sound economics and potential to increase our cash margins.”

Why afDB supports energy projects in Nigeria, others

By Chijioke Nelson HE african Development Bank (afDB) said it has supported the development of energy projects in Nigeria and other african countries because of the assessed low energy access rate and limited infrastructure development, which have left majority of the region’s citizens without electricity.

The bank said the situation called for urgent action, noting that at the recently held 18th

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Summit of the african Union, african Heads of State expressed worries and endorsed a set of priority energy projects to be implemented by 2020, as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development for africa. recently, through the support of afDB, Nigeria secured a $50 million facility agreement from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) for financial intermediation for renewable energy and energy efficiency

through local banks, as part of the country’s national Investment Plan endorsed by the CIF. The money, being provided under the CIF’s Clean Technology Fund, is designated to stimulate alternative and efficient ways to generate electricity and to reduce dependence on energy sources, which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

“In africa lies a paradox between plentiful untapped hydropower and other

renewable energy resources versus very little electricity access. about 45 per cent of the electricity generation in Sub-Saharan africa comes from hydropower but only five per cent of the continent hydro-potential has been tapped.

“By harnessing those resources, we would help to deliver sustainable energy to many more people,” the Director, Energy, Environment and Climate Change, afDB, Hela Cheikhrouhou, said.

‘Importance of energy-saving street lighting in Nigeria’

By Roseline Okere HE Chief Executive officer of Dubrai Contractors Limited, okaro Williams, has emphasized the need for the Federal government to adopt the use of energy-saving technology for its street lighting across the country. according to him, the challenges of global warming have necessitated technological breakthroughs that now make it possible for the country’s markets to offer a friendly environmental,, friendly, healthy and high efficient low energy street lights.

He said that powering the

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nationwide street lights through the national grid has enormous challenges due to the country’s power generation and distribution capacity.

He added that a closer look on Nigeria’s present energy crisis will indicate the effect of the huge amount of energy been guzzled by street lights across the nation.

Walliams stated: “While for the option of powering our street lights with diesel generators also has its attendant negative impact and consequences, the average cost of diesel and the environmental implication of carbon foot-

print cannot be overlooked.

“The challenges of global warming has necessitated technological breakthroughs that now make it possible for our markets to offer environmentally friendly, healthy and high efficient low energy street lights.

“The energy consumption of these hi-tech products is as low as 35 watts, with lumen efficiency as high as 115 lumen/watt and life expectancy of 15,000 hours and above. If these low energy street lights are implemented in abuja for example, the current energy demand for abuja street lighting will drop astronomi-

cally from estimated 75MW to 10.5MW”.

Walliams disclosed that study has shown that in lighting a street, the implementation cost was fractional when compared to operating cost.

“If we review the operating cost element, we will discover that the major factor is energy cost. Using abuja city, which has more than 300,000 street light poles and still expanding, we will be looking at an average energy consumption of 75MW. The average cost of diesel and the environmental implication of carbon footprint cannot be overlook”, he said.

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For The Record Competitive strategy: The perpetual struggle for a successful life (4) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 54 All Laboratories (Lab) in relevant fields should be centralized to enhance staff development and competition, instead of the current practice in all Nigerian Universities of Professor Fine Face’s Lab, Professor Oghenebiko’s Lab, Professor Motisheri’s Lab, Professor Ekenedilli’s Lab and Professor Osundo’s Lab, which exist without the essential ingredients of laboratories. Aggregation of these laboratories may provide better synergistic effects that will metamorphose into strength for our University, rather than the individuals that will never have conical flasks, reagents and capillary tubes, among other necessities. Status-driven symbols should be discouraged in all Nigerian Universities.

I am delighted that the University of Lagos has commenced this process. It is worthy of commendation and emulation by others (Responseto-poverty-led personalizing laboratories to the detriment of institutions of learning, instead of Departments and Central Laboratory). It is not how many times a man fails, but how he is able to rise; failure is part of success.

His Eminence, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has continued to canvass for increase in Central Research Laboratories in all Nigerian Universities, to be founded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). Therefore, the Honourable Minister of Education, Professor (Mrs.) Ruqayyat Ahmed Rufai, OON should do all she can to further strengthen scientific breakthroughs by providing Central Research Laboratories in each University and geopolitical Central Laboratories for capital intensive ones.

6.

Non-functional Departments are too many in Nigerian Universities. We need to right-size to gain competitive advantage and improve on our world, through a synergistic approach. All lecturers in related fields should be quartered in the same Department, because strength is power. The origin of fractionalization of Departments is well known to us all in this industry. My investigation revealed that Departments and, sometimes, Faculties, are created around personalities, because of personality differences. For example, I met a Department of Biological Sciences in this University, which has grown geometrically. Co-operative competitiveness is desirable among all academics.

Similarly, a retired industrialist, rather than an academic, should be employed, as a Director, to handle Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES). Such a Director will leverage on his/her social networks of several years to the advantage of students, and further strengthen the linkages between the University and other institutions - industry linkage, which will further enhance our competitive advantage.

This University must, as a matter of urgency, provide access to physically challenged students, to enhance their learning as the law provides for.

Halls of Residence and Classrooms pose numerous challenges to them, as they depend largely on kind-hearted mates to carry them to 1st, 2nd, 3rd ...... nth floor, for lectures. This has affected their learning negatively, and may equally affect our rating negatively, if nothing is done, and positively, if attention is paid to it. We can design a coping strategy that will stand us out as the friendliest University to the physically challenged in Nigeria and Africa. This can attract external funding to the University, and, indeed, write our name in gold.

This is an area that has not been sufficiently harnessed today in any Nigerian University.

Our attitude now to the politics of National, Regional and Global Universities ranking must CHANGE, henceforth! Before now, our claim as the Pride of the Nation (one of the most valuable legacies Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe bequeathed to Unilag as the 8th Vice-Chancellor) was not “footholding” because our University was not No.1 in Nigeria. But to God be the glory now, we have shown that this saying is no longer a claim, but the REALITY! But let me quickly inform my audience that, we defeated 4 Universities in Nigeria to be No.1 and 19 in Africa to become No.16 in September. Alas! They are going to fight back. It is not enough for us to achieve No. 1, we must mobilise all efforts to sustain it. The University should, as a matter of urgency, re-work her website and make it more colourful, accessible, attractive, informative, interactive, and loaded with the quality materials that will showcase research potentials of staff/graduate students. There is nothing wrong if our dear University can encourage a good finan-

Prof. Oghojafor cial incentive for anyone that publishes in a 5star journal, and he is ready to submit such publications to the website of the University.

There is a private University in this nation that gives as much as Three Million Naira to any of its academic staff that publishes in 5-Star journals. Our attitude to national, regional and global competition should take a new dimension: it should be driven by the desire to stay on top of the game as the academic market leader in Nigeria, Africa and, in no distant future, as one of the best 100 Universities in the world.

We have the capacities and the potentials, if we will pay the desired attention to the competition around us!

As a rider to the above, the NUC must purge itself of the Village Headmaster mentality of inviting Vice- Chancellors and Bursars to Abuja arbitrarily, at their whims and caprices. All associated risks will be avoided, if a desk officer is posted to each University (at least, Federally owned Universities), and supported with good ICTs. This will give the CEOs (Vice-Chancellors) of these various Universities the required autonomy that will enable them to focus on the core business of managing academic matters, with reasonable concentration.

To the industries, especially the ones I used as examples in this lecture (Telecommunication, Banking and the Fast Food Industries), the competitive arena in Nigeria is just gathering momentum, none of you should rest on your oars, believing the race has been run and won.

In the telecom sector, the field is still a level playing ground, with a lot of room for surprises and overtaking. As at today, there is still no very clear leader in the telecom, banking and fast food industries. Organizations should learn good lessons from the highly instructive impact of competition in the past 7 years’ history of the banking industry, where the “mighties” are falling and the “ants” are swallowing the “giants”. I foresee a repeat of this happening soon in the telecom sector and other sectors of our economy, depending on the appreciable efforts paid by firms to competition and competitive strategies. I will therefore advise the

CEOs that grace today’s lecture to begin to (“think”, “do” and “act”), then (“do”, “think” and “act”) strategise, by stationing their organizations in a position of first, fast and advantage in respect of every identified opportunity in the business environment. With this, you can be very sure that you will be on top of the game.

To my dear Nation, the largest and the most populous black nation in the world, and the “GIANT” of Africa, a game of racing to the TOP is not a game that is handled with levity and lack of strategy. As a nation, we are not occupying our rightful position today. Even in Africa, where we are supposedly a “GIANT”, we are not winning the competitions of Technology, Politics, Economy, Energy and Power, Rule of Law, Education, Per-capita Income, Foreign Earnings, Human Rights, Exportations, Balance of Payments/Trade, Housing, Social Amenities, etc., not to talk of winning the global competition. As a result of these mentioned factors, Nigeria as a nation, must begin to respect the game of regional and global competition, if vision 2020 is still anything she has the earnest desire to achieve. Our present image of being seen as not meeting appointments or/and starting meetings late, referred to as “Nigerian-time”, and as regarding corruption as “sharing the national cake” and political hooliganism as “Nigerian style of politics”, will never position us near the attainment of this vision. We virtually remain the only very populous nation of the world that has not turned this large population into economic wealth advantage and political strength. Today, China and India, as very populous nations, have successfully converted their large populations to a very strong strength that they have leveraged upon to start winning decisively the global economic, political, technological and developmental competitions among nations of the world. We must seriously look in-wards to build global winning strategies, which will eventually define our success as a nation among the League of Nations. On this note, I recommend, as a matter of national urgency, that, in responding to this global competition (that we cannot afford to ignore), the Presidency and the National Assembly should come up with new VISION and MISSION statements for the Nation NIGERIA, that will redirect our orientation and focus towards building a virile nation that is ready to claim her position in Africa, in particular, and in the world, in general. In the United States of America (USA), irrespective of the political party dominating Congress and the party to which the President belongs, the vision/mission/objectives are fundamentally the same, only the methodology employed may defer.

Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, I have enumerated my modest achievements as a student and as a lecturer so far. In my field, Strategic Management, we assume that assessment is simply: Where are you now? Where are you going, and how do you intend to get there? We are at present known as Faculty of Business Administration, which, unfortunately, is not contemporary. We are, therefore, working tirelessly to turn it into a Business School. Pan African University has beaten us to this by setting up Lagos Business School. We are, therefore, left without any option but to, unfortunately, utilize our brand, UNILAG, to name ours: UNILAG Business School, University of Lagos, following the tradition of Harvard Business School.

We also have the option of following the tradition of Cambridge University, which, in 1990, named its Business School after Sir Paul Judge, who is the Chief Funding Officer and Financier of the School. Or, we can follow the example of Cass Business School, City University, London, named after Sir John Cass. Ours, for instance, can be named Michael Adenuga Business School or T. Y. Danjuma Business School or

Non-functional Departments are too many in Nigerian Universities. We need to right-size to gain competitive advantage and improve on our world, through a synergistic approach. All lecturers in related fields should be quartered in the same Department, because strength is power. The origin of fractionalization of Departments is well known to us all in this industry. My investigation revealed that Departments and, sometimes, Faculties, are created around personalities, because of personality differences.

Aliko Dangote Business School, University of Lagos. The issue will be that the financier must come up with a minimum of N500 million a year, for, at least, 10 years. Sir, this takes a lot of financial burden off the University, and the School can also finance some of the University’s projects. Doing this will only make us contemporary. This is where I envision my Faculty to be in the next five years, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir. Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Sir, as a Professor, I have made my modest contribution by supervising and co-supervising some Ph.D. candidates in this University and elsewhere. Our concern has been to make our Ph.D. programmes, not only robust but also highly competitive. I learnt how to teach by teaching, and this is still the tradition, but we have to move forward by either making it compulsory for our Ph.D. candidates to take Education courses at the University’s Education Faculty or we bring in Lecturers from the Education Faculty to teach our Ph.D. students both the Theory and Practice of Teaching, and have separate certificates issued for this. Sir, this is the practice in the United Kingdom from where we copied partially our curricula! This is similar to Professor J. A. Omotola’s aborted proposal of the need for all Lecturers to be certificated in Educational Methodology.

Mr. Vice Chancellor, Sir, I want to thank God for what I have achieved so far and also seek His favour to provide me with more strength and wisdom to be able to achieve other goals I have set for myself. I want to quickly add, Sir, that my colleagues should examine themselves, their psyche, their personality traits and their composition, in order to identify the areas where their competitive advantages lie. Those who are not strong in research and teaching may be sent for psychological clinic, to avoid experiencing frustrations for lack of promotions. All of us have areas of strengths and weaknesses, identifying them are the problem in this country, as in other developing countries. Sir, this is where the developed countries have excelled. They identify areas of strength in their children while growing up, motivating and encouraging them along. This is why the real sector has not been receiving the attention it deserves in our country. Instead, sports, arts, etc, probably attract more investments and employ more people than the manufacturing and service industries.

Sir, we need to propel the country forward and put a stop to the situation where those who cannot get jobs in other sectors of the economy migrate to academia as an option for survival. Let us attract ONLY those who have the competitive advantage, irrespective of where they come from in the world.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (if it is to be taken seriously as regards building competitive advantage for Nigeria) must review the conditionalities for granting loan facilities to business and young graduates in order to encourage business growth and development.

No young graduate with a very good idea of business can afford bank requirements, such as collaterals in the form of landed properties, because a good number of them sponsored themselves through school!

Finally, I want to say to all of you, who have listened to me today, that this world that you have come to this once, is a place where you will never be given a chance, if you are not ready to claim your chance by being at alert to recognize opportunities and contest for them with your peers. Many of us complain a lot about what our peers have obtained that we have not obtained.

Some will even attempt to blackmail the system, without lifting a finger, just to get the benefits that others have got. It cannot work that way! The competition arena is like a dancing stage, where there are lots of dancers. The best dancer must use the best technique of dancing to outperform other dancers before he or she can win the prize. As the Bible puts it, “the race is not for the swift, neither is the battle for the strong, but time and chance happeneth to them all”. How have you taken your chances in the various competitions of life? Your answer to this question will determine your own success, because of the need to cope with the perpetual struggle for a successful life. Remove the alphabet “u” from the word – “success”, you will, no doubt, see that you can no longer pronounce it meaningfully! I will leave you with this pertinent question: Whom are you responsible for as regards

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

NigeriaCapitalMarket NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at Tuesday PRICE LIST OF SYMBOLS TRADED FOR 26/03/2013

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CAPITAL MARKET

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at 26/03/2013

PRICE GAINERS

LOSERS

NSE market capitalisation depreciates by N12b

By Bukky Olajide and Helen Oji qUITy transactions on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, yesterday closed on a down turn, occasioned by price losses suffered by major bluechip companies, as market capitalisation depreciated by N12 billion.

Specifically, market capitalisation of equities went down by 0.11 per cent to close N10.697 trillion from N10.709 trillion recorded on Monday.

Similarly, the NSE All Share Index dropped by 38.32 basis points to 33429.45kobo from 33467.77points it closed previously.

Investors traded 368.011 million shares worth N3.752 million in 5208 deals against

E

…Exchange launches X-Issuer portal 481.564 million shares valued at N2.827 million traded in 5016 deals.

Lafarge Wapco topped the losers table, declining by N3.99 kobo to close at N70.00, Dangote Cement trailed with a loss of N3.10kobo to close at N151.90 while Guinness Nigeria Plc loss N1.99kobo to close at N263.01kobo. Other stocks thaty depreciated in price were CCNN and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc which loss N1.21and N0.80kobo respectively to close at N10.89kobo and N23.80kobo per share.

On the other hand, Nestle

Nigeria Plc led the gainers chart, gaining N56.00 to close at N916.00, Okomu Oil followed with a gain of N3.20kobo to close at N67.24kobo while Cadbury, International Breweries and Guaranty Trust Bank enhanced by N1.64kobo, N1.29kobo N0.44kobo respectively to close at N34.85kobo, N21.45kobo and N25.50kobo.

The trading result further showed that NPF micro finance Bank Plc recorded highest volume of activities, exchanging 39.335 million shares worth N38.940million,

Wema Bank Plc followed with a total of N37.704million shares worth N58.772million while UBA traded 27.396 million shares valued at N221.329million Meanwhile, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterady launched an issuers’ portal to eliminate the delay associated with information dissemination among quoted companies and the NSE. The Chief Executive of NSE, Oscar Onyema, who stated this at the launching of the product in Lagos, explained that the portal would eliminate leakages of sensitive information.

He explained that the portal would allow issuers to fulfil

their disclosure obligations to the NSE accurately and timely.

“The NSE X- Issuer will allow online information submission for enhanced interaction between the Exchange and listed companies globally,” he said.

Onyema said that the aim was to transform the Nigerian capital market and facilitate the creation of corporations that would be the African champions.

“At the Exchange, we intend to be well-positioned to adapt our business to compete effectively in the global marketplace and meet the needs of our clients,” he said.

Mrs Josephine Igbinosun, the Head, Listings Regulation of

the NSE, said that the X-Issuer would enable issuers to submit information to the NSE from the comfort of their offices.

Igbinosun said that the portal would ensure transparency and accountability in information dissemination among quoted companies.

“The portal will offer unique benefits of data capture form, submission validation and other ancillary services such as submission notification mechanisms and tracking of submitted information,” she said.

Igbinosun said that the XIssuer would also facilitate comparison of data by international and local investors as well as other investment analysts.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Opinion In memory of Ashikiwe

By Kingsley Osadolor WENTY-SEVEN years ago, Ashikiwe AdioneT Egom and I embarked on a journalistic quest that exposed me briefly, but tellingly, to the treacherous terrain of corporate politics, although it was not until a few years later, as I rose through the corporate ladder, that the significance of the sabotage that Ashikiwe and I endured on that occasion would make deeper sense. The African Guardian weekly newsmagazine of which we were pioneer staff had begun publishing in January 1986, after months of incubation. We decided on a cover story on the then military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

I was nominated as the anchor, which required reportorial legwork and a distillation of the various reports by others assigned on the story.

At the editorial conference at which the broad outlines of the cover story were discussed, Ashikiwe offered to tap into his contacts in the establishment that was still firmly rooted in Lagos, to enable us dredge up new perspectives on our subject, rather than a mere rehash of previously published bio-briefs. In addition to library research, I tagged along Ashikiwe as we went to conduct interviews, some of it off-therecord, with those who knew Gen. Babangida well, and could therefore provide a character and leadership sketch that was crucial to the theme of our cover story, being a prognosis of his regime that began with a streak of populism only six months earlier, although we were sceptical about his junta’s capacity to sustain such a likeable profile.

The contacts that Ashikiwe and I interviewed included serving military officers, some of whom worked in Dodan Barracks, the seat of government. We also visited a well-placed Permanent Secretary at his Ikoyi residence; and he was a rich source of information on aspects of the story, the contact flowing as he did because he had been Ashikiwe’s teacher much earlier. While we were working on the story, Prof. Ojetunji Aboyade, who was then heading Gen. Babangida’s Economic Think Tank, paid a visit to Rutam House, headquarters of The Guardian. In the circumstance of his visit, he was an open source. Asked what his reading was of Gen. Babangida at the time, Prof. Aboyade said rather respectfully that, over and above the Military President’s other qualities, he thought that Gen. Babangida was

somewhat naive, a characterisation that excited Ashikiwe, and one that he would often refer to as Babangida’s regime careened from one disastrous mishap to another.

To cap our legwork on the Babangida cover story, Ashikiwe and I proposed an interview with the Head of State. Ashikiwe took it upon himself to arrange the interview through his Dodan Barracks contacts. He and I were to be the interviewers, and The African Guardian newsroom, which at the time bristled with an amazing collection of talents never to be seen again in any news organisation in the country, gushed with excitement, for we believed the interview would be the icing on the cake of our cover story and pose a solid challenge to Newswatch, our competitor.

I was unfamiliar with the protocol at State House, and had not bothered to ask Ashikiwe whether he went through the right contacts for the interview appointment. But I followed his confident instinct and gestures that we would interview Gen. Babangida. Ashikiwe and I went to Dodan Barracks, and were duly received in the office of one of the Head of State’s Principal Officers, a Lt. Col., who apparently was one of the key contacts that helped arrange the interview. A few moments after our arrival, the officer led us towards the military President’s office, clearing the security checks. We stopped briefly at the ADC’s office, waiting to be ushered into Gen. Babangida’s presence.

A short while later, we were hit with the bad news: the interview was off. The Principal Officer who had led us there displayed no emotions, while Ashikiwe smirked, then frowned briefly, before asking that we take our leave. The significance of the disappointment still had not dawned on me. We returned to the office of the Principal Officer, who bade us farewell, and Ashikiwe and I returned to Rutam House. We arrived in the afternoon, by which time The African Guardian newsroom was reasonably populated.

Expectant colleagues were firing questions: “How did the interview go? How did it go?” It was my lot to answer, while Ashikiwe went to brief the Editor and Editor-in-Chief of how we drew a blank.

“The interview didn’t hold,” I replied, and I was greeted with sullen faces.

But one unmistakable face lit up with private joy and satisfaction that the interview plan had foundered. We were to be scuppered and scooped – on the matter of an interview with Gen.

Babangida. Regardless, we did the Babangida cover story, a definitive account that a number of users still referred to for its window onto Babangida’s military presidency. (See The African Guardian of March 13, 1986, with Fred Ohwahwa, Adaora Momah, and Ashikiwe Adione-Egom as contributors to the main story, which I anchored.)

A few weeks later, an interview with Gen. Babangida by staff of The Guardian stable, who were freelancing for the New African magazine, provoked a corporate policy that forbade staff of the organisation thenceforth from stringing for any other publication, with the risk of job loss in the event of a breach. Otherwise, until that policy, staff of The Guardian freelanced for a number of foreign publications, proudly showing off their bylines and hinting at reasonable rewards in hard currency. After the policy took effect, many such contributors went incognito with pseudonyms.

A couple of weeks after the Babangida cover story, Ashikiwe called me aside one morning and said he needed to have a discussion with me. The African Guardian topbrass were fretting over the impending raid of the organisation, as headhunters from Nduka Obaigbena’s ultimately illfated weekly newsmagazine, Thisweek, were prowling various newsrooms to lure talents to populate their pioneer team. Ashikiwe beseeched me not to fall for the temptation, even as some of my colleagues had already made their exit, or were on their way to the Ogunlana Drive offices of Thisweek.

While imploring me not to quit, I thought Ashikiwe was wasting his time, because I had no such intentions – and stayed at The Guardian for almost 25 years later, until my latest leave.

Ashikiwe reported my assurances to the Editor and the Editor-in-Chief, both of whom still invited me to reinforce their message of avoiding the raiders. But it was Ashikiwe who, in later years, would prove peripatetic. He ventured into media and book publishing; had a stint at The Ibru Centre; drifted here and there; and the last time I saw him was at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs a couple of years ago when he proudly informed me that he had found refuge there.

I first encountered Ashikiwe on the op-ed pages of The Guardian, where he signed off as the Motor Park Economist, a self-deprecatory but unique appellation that would somehow provide the fit-

ting label for some of his eccentricities and cleareyed economic proposals that swept in the opposite direction of orthodoxy. For a long while, he was an advocate of countertrade (trade by barter) and convertibility of the Naira. Bunched up in The African Guardian, he, several rungs higher, Ashikiwe proved a source of intellectual stimulation and guidance on some global issues of significance.

Ashikiwe was a writer and thinker; but he learnt the ropes of journalism at The Guardian. He was sucked in by the industrial osmosis that attracted intellectuals and scholars to the newsroom in the 1980s, when The Guardian broke new grounds as an alternative milieu for instantaneous publishing. Ashikiwe had frequent rows with Ted Iwere, Editor of The African Guardian, and mostly it was about style and topicality. One such bust-up led ultimately to my being appointed Coordinator of Cover Choices later in 1986, while Ashikiwe was confined to the Economy desk, although he retained his seniority.

Ashikiwe was immensely proud of his educational background – King’s College, Lagos, and Cambridge University. He could not stand sloppiness, intellectual or otherwise. But he was no social model: bohemian, carefree; smoking and drinking, until he kicked both habits and opened his eyes wide with excitement that he had found Christ and love. Before then, on his bad days, if anyone greeted him, “Good Morning,” he retorted, “What is good about the morning?” He was an aficionado of classical music, deriding jazz, to my discomfiture, as being “too syncopated”. On occasion, Ashikiwe hummed a tune that we, in the newsroom, thought was meaningless: “When I say to the Cookie/ Will you be my wedded wife?...”

Ashikiwe spoke fondly of his children borne by a Danish woman. But above all else, Ashikiwe owed an eternal debt of gratitude to Ajie Ukpabi Asika, one-time Administrator of East Central State. I never got to know the full details of the circumstances of Ashikiwe’s indebtedness to Ukpabi Asika, but I could glean from conversations that Asika had saved Ashikiwe from a near-death experience – most probably, a paralysing prospect of summary execution during the civil war. Last Friday, Ashikiwe, who turned 70 last July, was interred in Lagos, having succumbed to cancer. He will be sorely missed.

• Osadolor is Special Assistant to the Minister of Information.

Chinua Achebe: There was a country (1)

By G. G. Darah HE passing away of Chinua Achebe at 82 years on Friday, March T 22 reminds us of the African saying that it is advanced age we all pray to attain; no one can escape the final submission to the authority of death. Achebe burst into literary fame with the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. The title became an undying image and symbol of confrontation with and resistance against European nations that invaded the African continent to colonise and exploit. This was in the immediate aftermath of the Berlin conference of 1884-85 at which African territories were divided amongst the powerful European nations of the world.

What is now Nigeria was allocated to Britain and, in the early 20th century, the British began to take effective control of the colonial territory. Guns and the forked tongues of Christian missionaries combined to subdue all resistance to British rule.

The imaginary Umuofia community of Things Fall Apart is caught in this whirlwind of forceful dispossession. They rally to regain their sovereignty but they are overwhelmed by the armed power and ideological weapon of Christianity, both of which put a knife into the unity of the village democracies and things truly fall apart.

Okonkwo, the hero of the story, exemplifies this resistance but he is humiliated and destroyed in the process. This tragic experience of Africa has been narrated by eminent historians such as Kenneth Dike, from the same Anambra State of Nigeria as Achebe, Jacob Ade Ajayi, Obaro Ikime, Adu Boahen of Ghana, and Basil Davidson of Britain. Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is a political-economic version of the story.

Achebe creatively recycles the epic story of Okonkwo in subsequent narratives as the Africa-Europe tragic encounter is replayed in Arrow of God where the chief priest, Ezeulu is dethroned and dispossessed of sovereign authority in Umuaro. The third novel, No Longer at Ease, is a sequel to the first; Obi, the lead character, is the grandson of Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart. He is sent to England to obtain the golden fleece of education and returns to face pressures of communal life too heavy for him. In about 70 years of plunder and repression, the British have managed to clone together over 500 languages into a single country called Nigeria. By the time the British are to leave in 1960, political and social turmoil has matured enough to herald instability which deteriorates as the native bourgeoisie engage in deadly scrambles for power and spoils

of office. This is the egregious drama of the fourth novel, A Man of the People (1966). Chief Honourable Nanga, Member of Parliament, and M.A. degree “minus opportunity” is neo-colonial inheritor of the awesome power bequeathed by the imperialists. His party rigs elections and the victors brandish their stolen wealth ostentatiously. As the new power holders brook no opposition, election-related violence sets the country ablaze literarily. A military coup intervenes to halt the common ruin of all. The Nigeria-Biafra war of 1967-70 is a morbid extension of the inter-ethnic and intra-class squabbles.

Achebe’s stories have charmed and counselled millions of people across the world. The stories and the academic researches they generated have canonised Achebe as one the best storytellers of all ages.

He is adoringly regarded as the father of African fiction. Things Fall Apart has entered the lexicon of world classics of literature and it is included in the 3,032-page The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces In his essay, “The Empire Fights Back” Achebe explains the political and ideological conditioning of the emergent African literature in European languages. He argues that the “new literature that erupted so dramatically and abundantly in the 1950s and the 1960s had one common thread running through it all: the thread of a shared humanity linking the author to the world of his creation; a sense that even in the most tempting moments of grave disappointment with this world, the author remains painfully aware that he is of the same flesh and blood, the same humanity as its human inhabitants”. This outlook of bold optimism has positively influenced the perception of Africans forever just as it has reinforced the process of decolonisation from the 1960s.

In 1983, Achebe reflected again on the debacle of Nigeria’s inability to achieve socio-economic and technological transformation nearly 25 years after the attainment of independence from Britain. He traced the disease to the mental handicap of the elite to connect the technical graph of development to the science of inventive and creative thinking. The mind or intellect or story, Achebe reasons, is the fount of the ideas and technologies that engender progress. As he put it poetically, people create stories create people.

Development does not come from miracles and prayers but from intense investment in human capital as the example of Japan shows.

When Japan decided to modernise after the Meiji revolution in the 19th century, the ruling elite collected, transcribed and interrogated the country’s oral heritage of stories, myths, legends, religious be-

liefs, superstitions, proverbs, and other sites of its antiquity. The knowledge derived from these oral archives were converted and reformulated to create the basis of the sciences and technologies that have defined Japanese prosperity for over a century.

Professor Achebe identified the trouble with Nigeria as the indolence of the leadership caused by the providential riches of oil; such that the country always believes in throwing chunks of money at problems. He was infuriated by the ill-conceived policy of imposing a 60:40 science-arts ratio on admissions into tertiary institutions. As he quipped, “what kind of science can a child learn in the absence of, for example, basic language competence and an attendant inability to handle concepts”. These thoughts are from his 1983 Nigerian National Merit Award lecture, “What Has Literature Got To Do With It?” As a theoretician of development and change, Achebe fervently believed in the power of literature and the creative arts to heal and regenerate people and society. He viewed the tradition of written African literature as constituting landmark progress for African civilization and repossession of the patrimony looted and appropriated by European imperialist interests. The manuscript of his Things Fall Apart novel found a European publisher by sheer accident. Achebe was to convert this chance to a formidable literary arsenal when he became the founding editor of the African Writers Series under the aegis of Heinemann of London. That series recorded about 400 titles in about 30 years. By the time Achebe died at 82, there was no publishing house in Nigeria or Africa that could play a role similar to Heinemann’s in the 1960s.

Achebe regarded the corpus of African literature as aesthetic and moral glue that bonded African people on the continent and the African Diaspora. “The new literature in Africa”, says he, “like the old, is aware of the possibilities available to it for celebrating humanity in our continent…Whether the rendezvous of separate histories will take place in a grand, harmonious concourse or be fought with bitterness and acrimony will all depend on whether we have learned to recognize one another’s presence and are ready to accord human respect to everybody”.

• To be continued.

• Professor Darah, former chairman of The Guardian Editorial Board, teaches literature and folklore at Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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Opinion There is blood in the land

By Femi Fani-Kayode ERMIT me to begin this contribution by P quoting the insightful and powerful words of Hon. Dino Melaye who is undoubtedly one of the rising stars and stronger voices of the new and up and coming generation of political leaders in Nigeria. On 19th March 2013, just a day after the terrible bombings in Kano in which between 30 and 65 innocent Nigerians were killed (depending on whose report you choose to believe), Melaye wrote the following words on his Facebook wall – ‘’The Kano bombing is barbaric, callous and wicked. God save us in this country. The Federal Government and indeed President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has demonstrated incapacitation and ineptitude by their inability to contain this growing insecurity. According to our constitution, the fundamental objective of government is the provision of security and welfare for the people. Unfortunately Jonathan has failed in both regards. Our President is overwhelmed. He should take the path of honour, take a bow and resign.

There is too much blood in the land. There is blood in our roads, air, police stations, army barracks, churches, mosques, clubs, car parks and homes. There is blood everyw h e r e ’ ’ .

This is a courageous contribution from a young man who obviously has tremendous passion for our country and who is deeply troubled by all that is happening today. I only wish that there were more young men like Melaye in Nigeria. Can any seriousminded person disagree with his observations on this matter? Is Nigeria not in a state of undeclared war today? Is this not a season of complete anomie in which human life no longer has any value and where life itself has little meaning? Do we actually have a government in this country today? Are the murderers that killed the innocents in Kano on the 18th of March worthy of life let alone amnesty? Are they really human beings?

Can anybody, no matter how highly placed, respected or reverred still talk about amnesty for Boko Haram now? What do such people suggest that we tell the families of the 60 that were slaughtered on March 18th and the 4,000 that were killed before them?

How do we wipe away their tears and ensure

that they are given the justice that they so desperately seek? Do we tell them that it was just one of those things and that they should consider the murder of their sons, daughters, wives, husbands, parents, grandparents, siblings, distant relatives and friends as part of their sacrifice and contribution to national development and service? Do we tell them that those that murdered their loved ones have now been granted amnesty for their efforts and that they have been forgiven by the state and reintegrated back into society? Is that justice? Is the very suggestion not utterly heartless and insensitive? No one should ever sing the amnesty song again because too many innocent and defenceless people have been killed. In this matter justice must be done.

Yet the sad tale does not stop at the loss of life. There is more. It is a sad testimony to our national malaise that in the very week that a refreshing and exceptionally compassionate and humble new Pope was elected to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today, we have been reliably informed by the Catholic Church in Nigeria, through Rev. Father Ituah, that no less than 50 of the 52 Catholic churches in Maiduguri, Borno State have been burnt down by Boko Haram. How does one explain this madness? How would the Muslims of northern Nigeria have reacted if virtually every single mosque that had been built in one of the southern states had been burnt down by Christian militants? Would they have shown the level of maturity and restraint that the Christian community have displayed in the face of these provocations and attacks on their places of worship?

Would they have insisted on amnesty for those who killed their people and burnt down their mosques?

Why is it that Boko Haram and those in the Muslim community in northern Nigeria that secretly sympathise with them cannot learn a thing or two from the billions of Muslims in the world that live peacefully and happily side by side with other faiths, including Christians, Jews and Hindus? Why can’t they learn from the Yoruba Muslims who are, generally speaking, exemplary and very liberal in their approach to adherents of other faith.

Are they not Muslims too? What is it about the islamist that he feels the need to kill and shed blood in the name of God? Indonesia

has the largest number of Muslims on this planet with 200 million practising Muslims in it’s borders. Yet Indonesia is a secular state with a sizeable and respected Christian minorty population which runs into millions. India has the second largest concentration of Muslims in the world with a Muslim population of over 150 million. The Muslims of India are a minority because the country is predominantly Hindu yet the religious rights of every Indian is guarded jealously and protected by the constitution because India, just like Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Senegal, Tunisia, the Palestinian West Bank and many other predominantly Muslim countries, is a secular state. Why can’t the islamists of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria learn from these great countries and these great people who have proved to the world by their conduct what a civilised, humane and decent religion islam really is?

Boko Haram insists on trying to give Islam a bad name and the challenge that they have thrown down to us is one that we must take up vigorously. Yet despite all the evil and ugliness that we see around us in Nigeria today we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of the light. St. Francis of Assisi whose name and memory has been resurrected by the new Pope Francis once said, “all the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of one candle”. And he was right. The darkness of Boko Haram will not extinguish the light of Nigeria, but it is time for us to bring a firm end to their carnage before it is too late and before all hell breaks l o o s e .

Though bitter, the truth is this – Nigeria will not know peace until the blood of every single one of the over 4,000 innocent souls that have been cut short and slaughtered by Boko Haram, Ansaru and all the other Al Qaeda-affiliated islamist terrorist groups that have plagued our land and bled our people in the last two years, is fully avenged.

Until this is done that sea of innocent blood that has been shed will continue to cry out to God in heaven for vengeance and it will attract all manner of misfortune and curses on our beleaguered land.

My solution to the Boko Haram scourge is simple and clear. The President, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria must

join hands together, rise up as one and seek them, their secret backers and their secret sponsors out. They must be unmasked, brought to justice, systematically eliminated and sent to hell where they belong. Enough is enough. Call it what you like – a crusade, a war against terror, a fight for justice and righteousness, a war against the kingdom of darkness, the final battle for the soul, liberation and independence of Nigeria or any other name that you choose. Let us take our country back from these heartless men called Boko Haram that were sent to our shores by the devil himself to slaughter and torment our people and to paint our land red with the blood of our women and children.

Mr. President needs to wake up, smell the coffee, rise up to the occasion and do his job diligently by defending and protecting the lives and property of the Nigerian people effectively. He must have no sense of restraint and he must give no quarter in this war. Yet if for any reason he cannot muster the will to do so then I would have to agree with my brother Dino Melaye that it is time for him to do the honourable thing, to resign and to leave the job for someone else who has the guts, the strength of character, the sense of urgency and the courage to do what needs to be done.

Nigeria is dying. She is being bled to death

by Boko Haram, Ansaru and Al Qaeda. Who will deliver her? Who will save her? Who will take the bull by the horns and ‘’fight the good fight’’? We need a President that has the stomach for that fight. We need a leader that harbours no fear, that has the courage of the biblical Joshua, Jehu and David and that is ready to stand up and openly confront the greatest evil that our country has ever known.

It is time for old men to hold their peace and for young men to rise up in rage and anger and defend their values, their families, their faith, their lifestyle and their nation. It is time to put on the mantle of gallant men and to recite the inspiring words of King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt. It is time to invoke the spirit of the great Greek warrior, the noble Achilles. It is time to remember the words of Mark Anthony and to shout “Cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of war”. It is time to save our beautiful nation Nigeria from the evil that stalks the land and from the enemy that resides within.

• Fani-Kayode is a former Minister of Aviation.

Babalola’s unrepentant crusade for quality education

By Patrick Tolani T a time when it is very difficult to find graduates from A our universities who can convince you about the quality of their learning, I found a man, whose access to education (as people like us had it from primary school all through to the university) was what was called “Standard Six” in those days. To be very honest, with my level of education and international exposure, I mind every sentence that I use whenever I have to write and send anything to him because his eagle eyes would pick any mistake or uncoordinated grammatical construction in any document even at the good old age of eighty-four. He is no other person than the distinguished Aare Afe Babalola. To say the least, Aare Afe is a thorough-breed. Taking cognizance of his commitment to quality education in Nigeria, I have decided to tag him ‘the unrepentant quality education crusader’ of our time.

My engagement with the Afe Babalola University, a university that has been described as a benchmark, a model and a reference point by the almighty National University Commission itself, I believe, is not by accident. I have been involved doing a number of things outside Nigeria and I often used to lament about the quality of education in Nigeria, particularly, the obvious disconnect between the ‘gown’ and the ‘town.’ I find it disheartening that graduates have to compulsorily sit for aptitude tests in most companies before they are adjudged qualified to be interviewed. I am surprised that companies no longer head-hunt for talents from the universities to join their companies. The quality of education in this country has been reduced to shambles. The dilapidated facilities in our universities, the overcrowded classrooms, the moonlighting lecturers who probably teach in as many universities as five are all tell-tales of what our

ivory towers have turned into. Worse still, some of the lecturers have no clue about what they are teaching and in some cases are light-years behind their contemporaries in the developed world. I know that in the developed countries, especially in Europe, there is hardly any law, regulation or policy that would pass without having input from the academia. Unfortunately, in our case, policies and laws exist and the people who should have been the architects of such policies are not even aware of their existence.

Yes, I can now understand why a man who had attained the pinnacle of his career as a long-standing Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a legal icon, a quintessential gentleman, a man who believes in the integrity associated with the ‘old school’ and a two-term Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos would decide with his life savings when he should have been enjoying his retirement to venture into starting a university.

Aare Afe, no doubt, understood what he was going into before storming the wilderness in Ado-Ekiti with the Bulldozers to site his world-class university there. It takes courage and sagacity to do what he has done. The challenge of running a university is not for the lily-livered. Yet, Aare Afe continues to weather the storm. He has continued to deploy tremendous energy and resources to build the university and make it the “Harvard of Africa.”

To say that Aare Afe is a man of excellence and will always recognize excellence is an understatement. I had an encounter with him in his office recently where he proved me right. He had every reason to be upset with a young man that I took to his office; but I had informed this gentleman that the Aare that I know might be upset with you; but once you have the wit to dazzle him, you have won his heart. I told the young man that whatever he thought he had done wrong would be obliterated once Aare sets his eyes on him.

Almost prophetically, when we got to Aare’s office, the young man delivered a speech that everybody believed was a powerful oration and, pronto, the weakness in Aare came to the fore again. By his own admission, Aare told everybody in his office that he has a weakness for brilliant people (definitely not people who are clever by half). Undoubtedly, he adores them and, almost inevitably, such people will always have their way with him.

Little wonder, tomorrow, the weakness is coming into the open again as he publicly gives awards to brilliant students in his university. I must admit that I am too lazy to count the number of students who are receiving awards for excellence in the university because of the sheer number involved. But giving away N28.5 million to students and staff in recognition of their performance is outstanding. Awards ranging from N65,000 to N500,000 will be presented to deserving students. There is a particular category of award that blows my mind, it is for indigent students. Each of them will be receiving N400,000.

The question in my mind, which I want other better placed Nigerians to answer are: what does it cost them to benefit others with their wealth? Are they not aware that a candle does not lose anything by lighting other candles? Rather, when it is completely burnt out, the ones it has lighted will continue to burn, shine and light others too. I challenge other privileged Nigerians to have a deep thought and join the crusade led by Aare Afe Babalola and other well-meaning Nigerians who believe passionately in the delivery of quality education to our leaders of tomorrow. Such a noble gesture will not be in vain.

• Tolani is the Executive Director, Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednessday, March 27, 2013

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GlobalStocks U.S. stocks rise as housing overshadows confidence report NITED STATES (U.S.) stocks rose, after yesterday’s decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as data on durable goods and home prices overshadowed a report showing consumer confidence dropped more than forecast this month.

Peabody Energy Corp. climbed 1.1 percent after Raymond James Financial Inc. upgraded its rating on the company. Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. dropped 1.7 percent after its full-year forecast fell short of analyst expectations.

The S&P 500 (SPX) added 0.5 percent to 1,559.06 at 11:03 a.m.

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in New York, after the equity benchmark fell 0.3 percent yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.59 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,540.34. Trading among S&P 500 shares was 14 percent below the 30-day average.

“The data continues to be pretty good out of the U.S. and that’s part of the reason stocks are still up here at 1,550, even though we had some bad news out of Europe over the past few days,” Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, which oversees $170 billion, said by phone.

“Housing is a huge part of the

economic recovery story and if housing prices rise, people feel better about their homes and generally more confident.”

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities climbed 8.1 percent in January from the same month in 2012 after rising 6.8 percent in the year ended in December, the group said today in New York.

The increase exceeded the 7.9 percent median forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Sales of new U.S. houses in February capped the best backto-back months in more than four years, spurred by near record- low borrowing costs

and improving job prospects.

Purchases of newly built homes fell 4.6 percent to a 411,000 annualized pace, following a 431,000 rate in the prior month that was lower than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington.

U.S. bookings for goods meant to last at least three years rose 5.7 percent, the most since September, after a 3.8 percent drop the prior month, a Commerce Department report showed today in Washington.

Confidence among U.S. consumers fell more than forecast in March as Washington’s budget battle soured

Americans’ views of the economic outlook.

The Conference Board’s index declined to 59.7 from a revised three-month high of 68 in February, data from the New York-based private research group showed today. Economists surveyed

by Bloomberg projected the March measure would fall to 67.5.

“We like to see what consumers do rather than what they say,” Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at Charles Schwab Corp., said in a phone interview. The San Francisco-based firm has $2.04 trillion in

Traders at New York Stock Exchange

client assets. “They may say they’re less confident, but does that translate into their spending? So far we haven’t seen that. Retail sales have held up pretty well.’

Equities initially rallied yesterday, sending the S&P 500 to within a point of its record set in October 2007, as Cyprus obtained a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout from the euro area after agreeing to shrink its banking system. Stocks then dropped amid concern that the rescue package will become a template for future rescues of debt-stricken European countries.

Health-care companies, consumer-staples and utilities shares advanced the most, adding at least 0.6 percent.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines, fell 5.6 percent to 12.97.

Peabody added 1.1 percent to $21.03. Raymond James analyst James Rollyson raised his rating on the largest U.S. coal producer to outperform from market perform.

Consumer durables and apparel retailers had the only decline among 24 S&P 500 industries. The International Council of Shopping Centers cut its top-end forecast for March same- store sales. ‘‘An abnormally cold bout of weather in eastern two-thirds of the country brought a chill to consumers and their interest in spring goods—especially apparel,” Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist, wrote.

Gap Inc. lost 2.5 per cent to $35.11 and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. slid 1.9 per cent to $45.51. Coach Inc. slumped 1.5 per cent to $48.99, while Nike Inc. fell 1 per cent to $58.98.

Children’s Place tumbled 1.7 percent to $45.19. The Secaucus, New Jersey-based retailer forecast full-year earnings of at most $3.10 a share, trailing the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg of $3.53.

China shares have worst day in over a week, under-perform Hong Kong HINA shares suffered their C biggest loss in more than a week on Tuesday after Everbright Securities obtained approval for a private share placement, stoking fears of a new wave of stockofferings by brokerages.

Earnings-driven strength in the Hong Kong property sector helped the Hang Seng Index reverse slim midday losses to end up 0.3 percent.

The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong slipped 0.5 per cent.

The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen listings sank 1.5 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index was off 1.3 percent. For both, Tuesday was their heaviest loss since March 18.

Everbright sank 2.6 percent

in Shanghai after the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved plans for it to raise up to 8 billion yuan ($1.29 billion) in the mainland to boost the company’s core capital, IFR reported.

“The fear is that Everbright’s private placement is the first of many fundraising attempts, which could inevitably involve a public offering,” said a Shanghaibased trader with a major Chinese brokerage.

Losses for Everbright on Tuesday took its shares to the lowest in a week. Haitong Securities fell 4.3 percent in Shanghai and 0.7 percent in Hong Kong ahead of 2012 corporate earnings.

Shares of Haitong are down 15.5 percent in Hong Kong in 2013, compared with a 4.5 per-

cent slide for the China Enterprises Index.

In the last 30 days, two of 16 analysts who follow Haitong have downgraded their earnings-per-share estimates by an average of 32 percent, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.

In 2012, China’s 114 brokerages together earned less than Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs did, and the combined profit for the Chinese firms was down 16 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed in mid-January.

Corporate earnings remained a big focus on Tuesday, with at least 38 Hong Kong-listed companies due to report final 2012 results. Of the 58 percent of companies that had already reported in Hong Kong, over half have missed

expectations, according to StarMine.

Hong Kong property developer Henderson Land jumped 5.5 percent after its 2012 results impressed, while a fall in shares of Wharf Holdings was reversed after its earnings came out at midday.

The two lifted Hong Kong property peers. Cheung Kong Holdings rose 2.3 percent ahead of its own results after market close on Tuesday. It reported 2012 net profit of HK$32.2 billion ($4.15 billion), trumping expectations for HK$23.7 billion.

Markets were also hurt by a report in the official China Securities Journal that Chinese banks have restricted the pace and scale of lending to the property sector as part of greater governmental risk

controls.

Mid-sized lender Minsheng Bank dived 4.6 percent in Shanghai, hurt also by chatter of possible tightening after the Chinese central bank drained 32 billion yuan from the money markets.

In Hong Kong, Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) slipped 0.8 percent, while Bank of China was down 0.3 percent ahead of their 2012 earnings.

After markets closed, AgBank, the country’s No.3 lender, reported a 19 percent rise in net profit, missing analyst estimates, as the central bank’s interest rate cuts sliced loan margins.

Bank of China, the country’s No.4 lender, said on Tuesday its 2012 net profit rose 12.2 percent, beating analyst esti-

mates, as wider margins from lending to smaller businesses helped offset a slowdown in foreign operations.

The Chinese property sector was relatively unfazed as Guangdong became the first province to release a plan for localised real estate curbs. The central government had announced guidelines for local-government curbs on March 1.

China Vanke ended a choppy day down 0.2 percent in Shenzhen. It has now retraced almost a third of its 10 percent tumble on March 4 when markets first reacted to the Beijing announcement, but has been range-bound since.

Vanke is still up 9.9 percent on the year, compared to the 2.1 percent gain for the CSI300 index.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

MidweekArts ‘Ife Confab is to help promote playwriting enterprise’ intend to sustain it?

Well, Mallam Shehu Sani was one of the first people to suggest this; he, in fact, gave a substantial personal amount towards the funding of the confab, unfortunately he did not come, which was a bit disappointing for me. Well, I didn’t want it to look as if I am searching for another empire to rule or something like that. I certainly wasn’t looking forward for any other kind of association, but as I said it was just to discuss ideas and see what we could do to galvanise that expressive part of the industry. But the people started calling for association, the confab’s decision took a wind of my idea, but then; I said if people demand for association, then we have it. But I am not going to be an officer and still will not be an officer, if we have that kind of an association.

What inspired you to call the Confab?

How about now that you have been made the HERE is no mysterious thing about it. I just felt playwrights have not been meeting; yet Interim president?

No, you can’t say that because no association to me, we have a crisis at the moment in the was really formed. They only said I am the GM, area of playwriting, particularly with the younger ones. I have been teaching playwriting general mobiliser; or GO, general overseer and for a while, I know there are problems, serious things like that. There was no clear duty really problems; so, I thought maybe a few of us could assigned to us; definitely we will help in facilitatmeet rack our brains and come out with some ing future meetings and I know what we did to initiatives that would help us promote the act host the past meeting. The local organising of playwriting. Maybe get some organisations groups were actually helpful; they really impressed me and if we can get the committee to fund workshops and something like that. going, that would be fine. I just saw that maybe to That was what I was thinking about when I keep it going it was necessary I should continue summoned the Confab. Though, I called it a confab, because I was thinking of a small thing to play a role; I would not mind being a Patron, really; once I began to discuss it, the news start- but I don’t want to take up any administrative duty of organising playwrights association. ed getting to people and many more people started to come, so it became very big, I realised However, whether an association is formed or the fact that people have been waiting for it; I not, it looks like the playwrights do want to meet didn’t real know this. A lot of people were really regularly and, now, we have the biennial going, it’s going to be a little bit tricky because I only waiting for the opportunity. Perhaps, it was have a year contract with Obafemi Awolowo good I didn’t think of doing it in a big way, maybe it wouldn’t have held because I would be University, the host university. But that is the more reason I took it on because I need somesearching for fund to take care of the people.

But as soon as I realised that a lot people were body who would still remain here to coordinate interested in coming, I had to work out modali- the meeting. ties. We didn’t have funding, so I made it volun- People are agitating for training and mentortary, despite that, many people from far north, ship; do you think the union can achieve these?

Bayelsa, Cross River and other states still made it I have a separate plan anyway. I have a plan, to the event. Despite this large number, many which I have given to the Department of Theatre people still called me to say they didn’t know of Arts, University of Ibadan. It is to sponsor a yearly festival of new plays. I have been trying to work the gathering. out the modalities alone, but with what I have With a Union of Playwrights in the making, just seen, I will ask all those that are interested in what would be the prospect, and how do you

Femi Osofisan is a playwright, poet, literary theorist and Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State. The foremost Africa dramatist, who has written and directed over 50 plays across the world, recently organised a playwrights’ confab in collaboration with OAU to arrest the crisis of generating quality plays in the country. In this interview with Omiko Awa, he bares his mind on the confab.

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Osofisan the project to partner with me to host a weeklong festival, where new plays by younger or any aspirating playwrights would be presented. It may hold in Ibadan or Ife. It’s going to serve as a platform to experiment new plays; however, you need people to produce the play and somebody help read it through and offer advice. Apart from that we intend to organise workshops; we were not thinking of workshops when we conceived the confab, but the demand came and we had to squeeze it in at the first day of the event because that was the only time we could put it. We could see from the enthusiasms that people want it.

We will be happy to see people sponsor the workshops and it’s going to be a residence thing.

How do you feel with the number and quality of the attendees?

I am very happy, but the important thing is that people came and expressed their delights and were satisfied with the meeting.

It is like a little dream expanding and beyond what I had expected. We didn’t really know there were so many playwrights in the country. However, I am a bit disappointed, because we thought we would be able to bring out the directory, showing who is who

in the industry. But again, not many people responded to the letter we sent out; I am a bit exasperated by that and I have written again to many of the playwrights to summit their details to enable us publish it. We have already got a publisher that will do that for us, but we can’t do it when we have only 60 people, which is the reason we have extended the submission of final list by two weeks. This will enable us know the sizeable number of playwrights in the country and we can use that to ask for sponsorship and help from different organisations. For when these organisations see the book, they will know it is an important organization and then you will see help coming to the playwrights.

Were you not surprised at some of the agitations raised on the floor?

No, because I didn’t have any planned agenda; the confab was mainly to open up discussions.

Personally, I planned it in such a way that we have to adhere strictly to the time, so that we would have many voices air their opinions, particularly during the discussions, but we started late because of the environmental sanitation, and then people would not keep to time. But we got quite a number of people talking, but I had wanted more to talk, so that we would have more opinions and ideas.

Why we need Union of Playwrights, by Gbadamosi Foremost, playwright and former industrialist Minister for National Planning, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, was among the tribe of thespians that gathered recently at the Playwright Confab held at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Chairing one of the sessions, the art collector called for a playwright union as well as the mentoring of the younger generation of writers.

HAT do you think would be the W prospect of a Union of Nigerian Playwrights?

Well, it’s about time to have it, and secondly, those of us who are accidental playwrights, as supposed to academic playwrights, will have a platform where we can exchange ideas and know about playwriting in other areas of the world. It is a right initiative that is necessary for better plays.

Would forming playwright organisation not duplicate efforts of other unions in the industry?

I don’t think so; the more, the merrier. There is always room and there will also be the possibility of choosing. If it is found out that efforts are being duplicated members will come back to the organising table.

Gbadamosi

Are there any possibilities of the Confab impacting on stage performances?

Yes. Drama by its nature is about playing out the make belief world of standing on a stage and giving life to imagination of writers, who, in the corner of their rooms, would have crafted a play; then they give life to it, because we know that a written play is just a written document until it is performed, it cannot take on its own life. What the Confab has done is to encourage and to give all possibilities, turning into life the creative instinct of a playwright after he or she has done the major work.

What exactly do you expect younger generation of playwrights to do with this new idea?

There is always the aging process in all-human endeavours and I am not comfortable with this idea of first generation of writers occupying the stage, all the time. I am almost 70 and I am beginning to feel, where are the people going to write about contemporary issues? Where are the people that will give us the new orientation of values in drama? you know, because all through human history, there will be a particular period, a particular movement, not just in drama, but the whole gamut of arts — sculpture, paintings, drawings and others — that would be categorised with the men of a particular generation. This will enable students and researchers, particularly to always weigh and compare events in that time with theirs.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

D’Angelo, Jonathan Butler, Darey for Calabar International Jazz festival

By Shaibu Husseini ICHEAL Eugene Archer better known as M D’Angelo will headline the first edition of the Calabar International Jazz Festival, which will

The singer and guitarist will be joined by Burna Boy and Darey who said he was pleased at the decision of the Cross Rivers state government to establish the festival as a stand alone event different from the jazz event that is held during the Calabar carnival. “I am excited at this initiative and I look forward to a good show,” Darey said during the official unveiling ceremony of the festival in Lagos two weeks ago.

Festival Director and Chairman of the planning committee of the festival, Mr. Nzan Ogbe stated at the formal presentation ceremony of the Calabar International Jazz festival that the demand from discerning consumers for a jazz event in a more intimate setting necessitated the introduction of the jazz festival as a separate event.

Although he clarified that the jazz component of the yearly Calabar festival will still be sustained, Ogbe remarked that the international jazz festival is conceived as a permanent feature in the nation and the state’s social calendar.

According to him, the festival was also designed to provide the ideal Easter weekend get away for lovers of jazz in the country. Rather than have

connoisseurs of jazz music travel to Europe and other parts of Africa to listen to ‘’smooth jazz and sweet soul music’’ Ogbe said the Calabar International Jazz Festival would provide jazz lovers ‘’three nights of fabulous headline performances.’’

Interestingly, the Calabar international jazz festival will be holding almost a week before the popular Cape Town International Jazz festival.

The Capetown Jazz festival is in its 14th edition and will hold between April 5 and April 6 at the Capetown international convention centre in South Africa.

The festival, which always boast of a loaded bill of both international and local talents would, features over 40 musicians that will perform across five stages. On the line up of the festival this year are accomplished artistes like Omara Portuondo (Cuba), BWB’s Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun (USA), Zonke Dikana (South Africa), Jill Scott (USA), Thandiswa Mazwai (South Africa) and Jimmy Dludlu (South Africa Observers say that the line up for the maiden edition of the Calabar International Jazz Festival

looks good considering that it is the maiden edition. They applaud the decision of the Cross Rivers state government to host the event and commended their ability to secure world class acts for the festival.

They only hope that the festival will be sustained like the jazz festival in Capetown, which has a space in the continents and indeed world calendar of musical events. Nzan Ogbe assures that the Calabar Jazz festival Ebonylife TV, MTV Base, Classic FM, Beat FM, Naija FM and Smooth FM as media partners has come to stay. “It has come to stay. There is nothing good and positive that we start in Cross River that we don’t continue. We are still running with the Calabar festival and this will not be any different. In fact it will grow bigger and bigger from edition to edition. One thing I can assure is that anyone who travels down to Calabar fro the festival will not be disappointed.

There is something for everyone. We have packaged other side events like tours to go with the festival. So it is going to be an exciting musical showcase. By the time we are done, you won’t want to go elsewhere for a festival but to always plan to be in Calabar for the Calabar

hold on March 29 through to March 31 in Calabar.

The American rhythm and blues and neo soul singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who is reputed as one of the most influential artist during the rise of the neo-soul movement would lead some of Nigeria’s celebrated artist including Darey and Asa to get the maiden edition of the festival which was initiated by the Cross River state government to hold every Easter period beginning this March on a heavy side. The other artiste on the bill include Eric Benet, Jonathan Butler and Burna boy.

Jazz enthusiasts say they cant wait to listen to the sound that will ooze from the guitar of the world class artistes that are on the bill of the Calabar International jazz festival which the state government say it decided to initiate because of the direct result of the success of the jazz concerts held during the Calabar festival.

D’Angelo who is also better known for his vocal abilities will alongside Darey, Asa, Bez and a few talented local jazzist fill the cultural centre main bowl space with quality jazz music on the opening night.

Next day, still at the cultural centre, it will be the turn of the contemporary rhythm and blues singer Eric Benet, Jonathan Butler and Burna Boy to light and jazz up the cultural centre space.

Like D’Angelo, Eric Benet and Jonathan Butler are good picks for any jazz festival. Benet has made name as a performer who sings with mild hiphop and strong adult contemporary influences.

He has also received four Grammy nominations for his musical accomplishments. Likewise Butler who is a multiple Grammy nominated and international recording artist.

The 51 years old musician and songwriter is a delight to watch on the guitar. Joining these international stars is home boy Damini Ogulu popularly known as Burna Boy. The singer whose hit single Always Love you is enjoying air play on most radio station, will also fill the cultural centre stage with his brand of music. To close the show will be the Nigerian born singer, songwriter, composer and guitarist Emmanuel Bez Idakula, who is better known as Bez. Calabar Jazz Festival Director, Nzan Ogbe with him is EbonyLife Tv Director, Mo Abudu (right) and other guest at the pre-festival briefing in Lagos

Secretary General, Lagos NANTAP, Stephen Ogundele; Chairman, Lagos NANTAP, Mrs Eki Eboigbe; and Chairman of WTD2013 Planning Committee, Dada Ajai during the World Theatre Day briefing in Lagos... last week.

Folklorist and singer, Jimi Solanke (right); and ace photo journalist, Tam Fiofori at the 2013 iREP Docu film festival... held at Freedom Park, Lagos last week

For WTD, NANTAP honours Akpabio, others

By Omiko Awa HE national body of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) will today, March 27, join other theatre practitioners across the globe to celebrate the 2013 World Theatre Day (WTD).

Slated to hold at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the celebration will witness the honouring of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Dr. Godswill Akpabio, as the World Theatre Day 2013 Ambassador for Nigeria.

The event will be chaired by Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) while

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Chief Edem Duke, Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation is the chief host.

Dr. Akpabio is being honoured for his contributions to the development of arts and entertainment in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria in general.

The selection was made at NANTAP’s National Convention held in Abeokuta, Ogun State in November 2012.

Formerly known as the International Theatre Day (ITD), WTD was declared in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), Paris, France under the auspices of UNESCO, as a day specially set aside by UNESCO for Theatre artistes across the

globe to gather and celebrate in their various communities. The celebration centres on theatre arts and its relevance in the global theatre development.

In the past, the association and its state chapters have participated in the celebration through the promotion of WTD messages to the public, international or national theatre festivals on or around March 27, organisation of special performances, symposiums, colloquiums and workshops, circulation of information in the media as well as giving of awards to distinguished personalities.

Activities lined up for the celebration include the unveiling of WTD

2013 Logo by Professor Kalu Uka, presentation of Ekondo, dance-theatre project choreographed by Victor Thompson and Beyond Expectations, a performative tribute to Governor Akpabio’s state’s projects written and directed by Sunday Umanah.

Prof. Bakare Ojo Rasaki, CEO/Artistic Director, Abuja Carnival will take the event’s lecture on the theme, Theatre And A Culture Of Peace: Basic Orientation For Consciousness on Wednesday March 27 while Dr. Akpabio takes the keynote address.

Scheduled to be honoured alongside Akpabio are Aniekan Umana, Commissioner for Information and Communication, Akwa Ibom State; Dr.

Clement Bassey, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism; Boniface Ebewo, Initiator, Real Brass Nigeria; Patrick Idiong, CEO Ekemini Cultural Troupe; Florence Umanah, wife of the Secretary to the State Government; Emem Isong, CEO Royal Arts Academy; Moses Armstrong, International President, Ibom Actors Forum; Arnold Udoka, deputy director, National Troupe of Nigeria; George Ufot, a director in the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Ime Victor; Dr. Ubong Nda, HOD, Theatre Arts, UNIUYO; Pat Akpabio of La’Khush Group and Prof.

Molinta Enendu of the Department of Theatre Arts, UNICAL.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Sports Ahead Brazil 2014 World Cup

Ahead Brazil 2014 World Cup

Kalu Uche, Nsofor may return, as Minister urges end to AFCON victory festivities

Peak MVP award winner, Omeruo wants to consolidate position in Eagles

• Francophone countries honour Keshi

after the Nigeria versus Kenya World Cup qualifier in Calabar on Saturday, believes he has bright future in the national team hence his decision to continue working hard to cement his position in the squad.

Since taking over from Skipper Joseph Yobo in the second game of the South Africa 2013 CAF Nations Cup Omeruo has grown in stature in the Super Eagles to the extent that he is among the first names in the team list in every game.

While savouring the Peak Man-of-the-Match award, Omeruo said the honour is an indication that he is gradually finding his feet in the Super Eagles, adding that it would spur him to perform better in subsequent matches.

The defender, whose sterling form during the match ensured he tamed the incursions of the Kenyan captain Dennis Oliech, won $5000 for his efforts courtesy of Peak, the Official Milk of the Nigeria national football teams and was presented with his prize shortly after the match.

The 19-year old Chelsea player, who is on loan to ADO Den Haag of Holland, explained that he is dedicating the award to his mother for the role she has continued to play in his career.

Although the game against Kenya ended in a draw, Media Manager, Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, makers of Peak, Oluwafemi Adeniba, in a statement shortly after the match, urged Nigerians not to entertain any fear as their darling team would return to its streak and surely qualify for the World Cup. He charged the Super Eagles to reach for their innermost strength and show to the world why they are the African Champions by winning the group’s ticket, stressing that the team would not lack support of any kind as Peak, their number one fan, would not waver in rallying behind them to ensure they perform at their peak all the time and achieve favourable results.

By Christian Okpara and Ezeocha Nzeh XILED Super Eagles attacking E midfielder, Kalu Uche and striker, Obinna Nsofor are among the players Coach Stephen Keshi and his technical crew are considering in the build up to the FIFA Confederations Cup, which comes up in Brazil in June.

Both players have not featured for the Eagles since Keshi became the national team coach, but a source close to the gaffer told The Guardian that they are among the old stars being considered for the build up to the Brazil 2013 competition.

Uche was Nigeria’s best outfield player at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, where the Super Eagles crashed out in the first round, just as Nsofor was a mainstay in the team since he debuted in 2005.

“Keshi wants to assess the former members of the team, who have not been part of his programme, to see if they fit into side. That was why he invited Obafemi Martins to the last game against Kenya.

“There are others like Dele Adeleye, Michael Eneramo and Lukman Haruna are also in the picture. If you recall, John Utaka was once in this team because Keshi wants to see all the possible national team players in action before settling for the final core of his squad,” the source said.

Keshi received the red carpets again yesterday, but this time from the Francophone countries, led by France, who gathered in Abuja to tell him that he still has much more to give to football in Africa and indeed the world.

The event, which was held at the French Embassy in Abuja, was the initiative of the France Ambassador to Nigeria, Jacques Champagne De Labriolle and had the Mali Ambassador, Mary Berth Leonard, in attendance.

There were also Morocco Ambassador, Mustapha Bouch, and Togo Ambassador to Nigeria, Mathew Sunday Adole, at the event.

Keshi had previously been national team handler of Mali

and Togo and it was not surprising that the two countries joined in appreciating his contribution to their football growth.

There was also the Belgium Ambassador to Nigeria and that of Ivory Coast.

Among Nigerian official present at the occasion were Assistant Coach, Houadonou Valere, Super Eagles team Secretary, Dayo Enebi Achor and Emmanuel Ayanbunmi of the NFF Protocol Department.

At the occasion, the French ambassador presented Keshi with a special Medal from France and urged the Nigerian coach to keep his head high and achieve more glory for Nigeria and the Super Eagles.

Meanwhile, Minister of Sports/ Chairman of the National Sports Commission, (NSC), Bolaji Abdulahi has reminded the players and officials of the Super Eagles that the result of last week’s Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier against the Harambee Stars of Kenya in Calabar was an eye opener that they should put an end to their AFCON victory party for them to focus on the task of securing the Mundial ticket.

The minister reminded the team that Nigerians would easily forget that they won the Nations Cup in South Africa if they missed the World Cup ticket, and them to brace up for the tasks ahead.

“When you go for a football game, only three things will happen: You win, draw or lose. That has nothing to do with the country that is involved, yes, we played Kenya in the World Cup qualifier and we all know that World Cup qualifiers are never easy.

“For some time now, we know that we have been celebrating as African champions and what happened on Saturday against Kenya is a wake up call to all of us.

It is a warning that the AFCON victory party should be over and we must focus on the great task ahead.

“We should know it that qualifying for the World Cup is the major task we have right now.

We have to see any game we are playing as playing as 11 players, not as African champions,” he warned.

ENNETH Omeruo, who was K selected as the Peak Most Valuable Players by journalists

Kalu Uche may stage a return to the Super Eagles.

Hope rises for HFN as sports ministry backs World Challenge teams

By Adeyinka Adedipe HE Handball Federation of T Nigeria (HFN) got a lifeline yesterday, as the National Sports Commission (NSC) indicated interest to provide funds for the Nigerian teams to begin camping for the 2013 Challenge Trophy qualifiers, which begins in Djibouti on April 6.

President of the HFN, Yusuf Dauda told The Guardian that he got a favourable reply from the NSC top brass yesterday in Abuja, expressing hope that the team would begin camping this weekend. He said that despite the delay, Nigeria would qualify for the world event coming up in Sweden later this year.

He said, “I was at the ministry

today (yesterday) and I am happy that they agreed to release funds to commence camping this weekend. It may have come late but we will ensure that the players are well grilled for the task ahead.”

Dauda also revealed that the International Handball Federation (IHF) has already paid for the team’s ticket to Djibouti while the host would provide accommodation for the team. Apart from funds needed for camping, the HFN boss said that money would also be needed to pay the coaches and players’ allowances.

According to a release made available to The Guardian the female team has Judith Ahmedu. Ada Okey, Rachael Ovetue, Ruth Jonah, Janet

Hassan, Patience Okpe, Blessing Patrick, Bely Godwin, Jennifer Edeh, Blessing John, Olubunmi Bosa, Faith Inegbudum, Taiwo Raji and Mercy Samuel. The coaches are Adebayo Stephen (head coach) and Uzoh John (coach).

The male team comprises Mudashiru Abdulmajjed, Jamilu Adamu, Aminu Chris Adamu, Bashir Mohammed, Hosea Titus, Emeka Obiano, Ali Ahmed, Abubakar Atabo, Bello Mubarak Salau, Obinna Ani, Musa Salihu, Nasiru Mohammed, Yahaya Owolabi and Andrew Ojo. The head coach for the team is Fidelis Obi while Solomon Yola would assist him. The teams’ head of delegation are Hamza Musa and Olusola Luke.

Algeria 2013 African Youth Championship

Egypt stops Nigeria’s title defence, as Flying Eagles await draws GYPT dashed Nigeria’s E ambition of defending its title when the young Pharaohs

Super Eagles’ defender, Kenneth Omeruo (center), receiving his Man-of-The-Match Award from Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke on Saturday. The Chelsea star aims to become a sure starter in the national team’s games.

yesterday evening beat Nigeria 2-0 in one of the semifinals of the on-going Algeria 2013 African Youth Championship at the Omar Ouicef Stadium.

A brace from Abdelmonem Kharaba was all the North Africans needed to condemn the Flying Eagles to the third place play off, and in the process grab their first victory over Nigeria at the U20 level.

The Flying Eagles could not sustain the tempo that saw them dismiss their Congolese opponents 3-1 in their last match as they put every foot

wrong in a match that could have guaranteed them a place in Saturday’s final.

It means that Egypt will now meet Ghana, 1-0 victors over Mali, in the final, while the Flying Eagles will battle the Malians in the third place game.

Meanwhile, the Flying Eagles will play in either B or D at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, taking place between June 21 and July 13.

At the Draw ceremony, which took place at the Grand Tarabya Hotel in Istanbul on Monday night, the African teams were allocated spaces as CAF champions, runners-up,

second runners-up and fourth respectively, as the African tournament is still on-going in Algeria.

A similar thing happened in 2011, when the Draw Ceremony for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011 was made in Cartagena while the African Youth Championship was still on in South Africa.

African champions, who will be decided after the final game between Egypt and Ghana, will play in Group E alongside Chile, England and Iraq, which is not a bad proposition. The matches will take place in Antalya and Bursa.

Africa’s runners-up, at the competition, which ends in Algeria on Saturday, will play against France, U.S.A and Spain in a Group A that is seen as ‘Group of Death’ by FIFA U-20 World Cup enthusiasts. The matches will come up in Istanbul and Kayseri.

If Nigeria wins the third place, the Flying Eagles will play against Cuba, Korea Republic and Portugal in Group B, which matches will be played in Kayseri and Istanbul, while the fourthplaced team is drawn in Group D to play Mexico, Greece and Paraguay in Gaziantep and Trabzon.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SPORTS 73

Eyes on 15-year-old Oduduru, as Warri 2013 Africa Athletics Championship begins From Gowon Akpodonor, Warri

• As Ese Brume targets three gold medals

LL roads will lead to the A Warri Township stadium this afternoon, as the maiden

Speaking further, Porbeni, who has been part of Team Nigeria’s technical team in Port Harcourt said, “we have a crack team. We have trained well and I’m sure that most of the athletes we have in this team will turn to stars very soon. This is a good beginning for our build up to the next All Africa Games and the Commonwealth Games.’’

Another athlete expected to come good for Nigeria is Ese Brume, who says she is targeting three gold medals.

Brume is eyeing the medals in 100 metres female, high and triple jumps.

The Microbiology student of Uniben, who got silver in the high jump for Delta at Eko 2012, stormed the Excel Hotel camp of Team Nigeria in Warri from Benin alongside her sister promising to take other contenders by surprise in the three events.

She disclosed she had been training in Benin under two coaches for the competition.

The Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Omatseye Nesiama said some of the athletes in the Nigerian team could be mature for international meets before the Rio 2016 Olympics Games.

Over 34 African countries are taking part in this maiden edition of the Africa Youth

Africa Youth Athletics Championship, tagged: Warri 2013 AYAC flags off.

In preparation for the championship, Team Nigeria athletes and officials were camped at the IAAF High Performance Centre in Port Harcourt for a period of one month.

In one of the trials for Nigerian athletes in camp, 15year-old SS three student, Divine Oduduru became the cynosure of all eyes after posting an impressive time of 10.05 seconds in the 100m male event.

On arrival in Warri on Monday, some of the coaches boasted that no matter what happens in the 100m race, the young Oduduru would capture a medal for Nigeria.

Speaking with The Guardian, ex-international and former Delta State Director of Sports, Seigha Porbeni, said Oduduru would be one of Nigeria’s best athletes in the nearest future if given good training. ‘’When a 15-year old runs 10.05 seconds, you can imagine what he will do with good training in a year or two,’’ Porbeni said.

He was optimistic that Team Nigeria would present a solid squad for the championships.

Students trading tackles during the last Channels Kids Cup.

Athletics Championship, which Delta State government is hosting on behalf of Nigeria. It will run from today till March 31. A total of 59 athletes with about 15 coaches are in Team Nigeria’s camp at the Excel Hotel.

To give the Local Organising Committee (LOC) a smooth ground to host a better championship, Delta State government approved a grant of N300 million for the competition.

The Chairman of the LOC, Amaju Pinnick said yesterday that everything was in place for a successful championship, just as the AFN President, Solomon Ogba has assured that the country would present a disciplined team in the competition.

Bazely, Ezinwa triumph at LCI charity golf tourney . BAZELY and Vitas Ezinwa P won the male and female prizes at the Lions Club International District 404B (Mercy Home Project) Charity Golf tournament, which held at the Golf Course of Ikoyi Club 1938 at the weekend.

The event was to raise funds for the construction of a 20room building at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos, to alleviate the physical and psychological trauma of parents with children that have cancer and other terminal diseases.

Over 170 participants graced the occasion along with a team of ladies, led by Mosun Sofola, who hit the ceremonial tee-off on behalf of the first lady of Lagos State.

At a colourful awards dinner held at the recently completed banquet upper terrace of the Golf Section, trophies and prizes were awarded to winners that included the following, with Bazely, who had a net score of 67 off 24 handicap taking the ladies’ prize, while Ezinwa scored 70 net off 13 handicap to win the men’s net prize, with Tim Ayomike getting a 79 net to win the gross category.

The veterans’ prize was won

by Felix Majekodunmi with a 73 net.

Governor Uduaghan (right), Delta State Director of Sports, Pinnick Amaju and former African track queen, Mary Onyali (left) when the governor went to inspect the Warri Township Stadium ahead of the African Youth Athletics Championship, which begins today.

Uduaghan declares Warri ready for AYAC OVERNOR Emmanuel G Uduaghan of Delta State yesterday visited Warri Township Stadium, the venue of the Africa Youth Athletics Championships and after inspecting the facilities there, he uttered three words as a preamble to what he had to say, ‘’we are ready.’’

He was particularly impressed by the EDM (Estimated Distance Measurement) equipment the state acquired for accurate distance measurement and the reconfiguration of the Warri Stadium to accommodate track and field events of international standard.

The stadium has a four-lane warm- up track with jump facilities outside. It is the only stadium in Nigeria outside the Abuja National Stadium that has such facilities.

The EDM equipment is the first of it’s kind in Nigeria. It is from Timetronics, arguably, the best in the world. It’s a timing device for the manage-

ment of competitions so that tapes would no longer be required to measure distances in events like Long Jump, Javelin, and Triple Jump etc.

The reaction of athletes at the start lines is also recorded.

It is so sophisticated that five Belgians and one Dutch are in Warri to install it and also teach Nigerian officials how to operate it. Delta acquired it and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria will be using it for the first time in Nigeria. ‘’We are setting standards to help develop sports so that our athletes will be encouraged to do their best to raise their own standards and be among the best in the world.

It is from competitions like this that the likes of Blessing Okagbare were discovered and being a youth event it could be the springboard to many athletes from Africa,’’ Uduaghan said after his inspection.

He will be at the accredita-

Favourites take charge at Zenith Bank Basketball League

By Adeyinka Adedipe AVOURITES have continued FZenith their dominance of the Bank basketball league, which entered its third day yesterday.

Sola Aluko tutored Sunshine Angels of Akure were the most ruthless beating newcomers Taraba 100-27 in yesterday’s opening game. The Taraba team was no match for the Akure team, who dominated the game with ease.

Sunshine has a 100 per cent

record having won all their three games and left no one in doubt about its desire to make the final eight.

Despite dominating the game, Aluko continuously dished out instructions to his girls, encouraging them to take their opponents to the cleaners.

In the second game, Benue Queens beat Oluyole Queens 56-42 to better standing on the log. For Oluyole, it must start winning games to make the final eight.

EPL, Dutch coaches for Greensprings Kanu Football Camp OUTH coaches from the rently working towards his AY English Premier League licence.

(EPL) and the Dutch league have confirmed their participation in this year’s Greensprings Kanu Football Camp.

The camp scheduled to hold from April 7 to 13 at the Lekki campus of Greensprings Schools, will have coaches drawn from Liverpool and West Brom.

Gary Judge, a youth coach with Liverpool was at the maiden edition last year and he will be making a return this year. From West Bromwich Albion are David Lawrence and Liam Wall.

Lawrence is West Bromwich Albion’s Football Development Officer and the Albion Ladies first team coach with a B-licence, who is cur-

Wall is West Brom’s community coach and Girls’ Centre of Excellence U-15 coach, pursuing his B-licence at present.

Also David Shepherd, a sports agent and UEFA Licensed agent will be part of the team coming to Nigeria for the camp.

The Dutch coaches are Mark Von Zon, Carlo Danny Rietduk, and Jerino Lekatompeessy, who are expected to bring their experience to the camp.

According to Greensprings’ Director of Education, Prof.

George Hickman, this year’s camp, which has a blend of English and Dutch expertise, will surpass the previous edition.

tion centre this morning to do his own accreditation for the continental event that will actually kick of tomorrow, Thursday. Today has been set aside for arrival and a c c r e d i t a t i o n .

Uduaghan said something that should interest Nigerian athletes. ‘’If you are identified as a talent, we have a development programme that could help you achieve your potent i a l . ’ ’ On the event that Warri is hosting he asked questions from LOC Chairman, Amaju Pinnic and having seen for himself what was on the ground he said, ‘’we are ready for Africa.’’

Africa’s queen of the tracks Mary Onyali, AFN scribe, Maria Wophill, Amaju Pinnick, and Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, who is the tournament director, were among those who took the governor around the facilities, including the media tribune and media centre.

Group Managing Director, UBA Plc, Phillips Oduoza, assisted by MD, UBA Foundation, Ijeoma Aso, and other marathoners during the flag-off of UBA Foundation Mini Marathon for Prostrate Cancer Awareness in Lagos… on Saturday.

Nigeria Customs also defeated Coal City 56-14 to make steady progress towards their dream of making the final eight.

Customs showed the newly promoted coal city team what it takes to play in the elite division. Dolphins also defeated rivals Nigeria Immigration 54- 21 while First Deepwater BC beat GT 2000 52-14 to record another easy win.

Aluko told The Guardian that his team has performed well so far having won all its three games and expressed hope that it would continue to improve as the competition progresses.

He said, “I am sure that my players can still do better despite having the best result on Tuesday (yesterday). The performance was due to hard work and we will continue to work as hard as we can to get to the top.”

Speaking on tomorrow’s game against AHIP OF Kano, Aluko said that he would not predict the outcome of the game but noted that his team would play hard to record another victory.

President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Tijan Umar commended the teams and stated that some of the teams have shown good understanding of the game.

He stated that the gulf between the top team and the newly promoted ones would soon shrink has the competition progresses.

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THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SPORTS 75

Ahead Sports Association Election

‘Only a focused person can succeed in AFN’

By Gowon Akpodonor F former African fastest IOmagbemi woman, Mary Onyalihas her way, the current president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba, will have no opposition in the fast approaching Sports Federations election scheduled for May. The National Sports Commission (NSC) has just released its guideline for the sports federation election with the zonal election holding in April and general election in May. For the former Queen of the tracks, Ogba’s tenure as AFN president has brought the needed turn around in athletics. She also predicted that in the next couple of years, athletics in the country would be the envy of other sports and even challenge the dominance of football in Nigeria.

Speaking with The Guardian in an interview in Lagos, Onyali said, “those, who know me will attest to the fact that I don’t pretend. I say it the way it should be, especially when it comes to issues relating to administration of athletics in Nigeria.

“From what I have seen of the nation’s athletics in the last two to three years, I am bold to say that the present board led

by Ogba has done a wonderful job. That is not to say that the man does not have his bad side because in his first year as president of the AFN, Ogba made some blunders. That is natural.

“But he was able to re-trace his footsteps and he adjusted so quickly by listening to experts. It does not really matter weather you are a politician or a former athlete for one to be successful as a leader in a sports federation. What count is the passion and the wherewithal to lead the people.

These are the advantages Ogba has and I am very pleased with his level of achievement so far.

“He has the capacity to give the sport a facelift. Rome was not built in a day. The last two years has been very wonderful for Nigeria athletics and Ogba still needs time to do more. He has my support for second tenure as AFN president,” Onyali said.

She continued, “it takes eight to 10 years to make an Olympic champion. Our athletes may

not have done well at the last Olympics in London, but from the structures on ground, the AFN has laid the foundation for good things to come. If we give Ogba the support, I am so optimistic that Team Nigeria will make hay both at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Brazil 2016 Olympics. I am speaking from my experience as a former athlete.”

But Onyali has words of advice for young athletes who want to make names for themselves and country. She said, “one thing is to be an athlete and another is to make a living from it. In every thing you do, especially as an athlete, you must be able to project ahead.

“You must show high level of commitment and dedication.

They say nothing good comes easy in life. There must be seriousness on the part of an athlete, who wants to climb to the top. And once you are on top, you must strive hard to remain there because it is easier to get to the top than to remain there.

“I am saying this to our young athletes because there is this adage saying that heaven helps those, who help themselves. The present Ogba-led AFN board will go to any length to render assistance to any athletes, who deserves it.

We have so many talents scattered all over this country.

Everybody cannot get there at the same time.

“The gospel I am preaching to the young athletes is to make good use of the quality leadership at the AFN at the moment to decide their future. We have the World Athletics Championship in Russia later this year, All Africa Games next year, as well as, the Commonwealth Games. The AFN is ready for the athletes and I implore them to make good use of the opportunity,” Onyali said.

At the end of the London 2012 Olympics Games, some critics painted the AFN boss red, saying that his federation failed woefully. They passed their judgment, especially after the country’s medal hope, Blessing Okagbare, finished last in the women 100m race.

But some athletics buff are also of the view that Team Nigeria’s inability to win a single medal at the London Games should not be blamed

Ghana baseball/softball association confirms Nigeria friendly HANA Baseball and G Softball Association has confirmed the April 25 and 27 friendly with Nigeria in Tema Park, Accra.

In a letter sent to Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation signed by the Secretary General of Ghana Baseball and Softball Association, Francis Asare, formally conveyed the message of the game to their Nigeria c o u n t e r p a r t .

The letter reads, “on behalf of Ghana Baseball and Softball Association, I wish to formally accept and invite you to Accra to engage the senior side of Ghana Baseball team in a twoday friendly match.

“The Association is expecting your arrival in Accra on April

25, 2013 and depart on April 28, 2013. The game will be played on April 26 and 27 at Tema Community 7 Park.”

“This is in line with our biennial matches’ agreement for this year.”

In a quick reaction to the confirmation letter from Ghana Baseball and Softball Association, the Secretary General of Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation, Kayode Olaniyan said the match would serve as part of the nation’s long preparations for next year’s World Baseball Classic, adding that with the current aggressive development of baseball going on in the country, Nigeria is ready to once again dominate the game in Africa.

on AFN alone. To them the country’s track and field athletes to the London Olympics deserve some respect.

Former long jumper, Yusuf Ali, told The Guardian in a recent interview that the Ogbaled AFN did its best at the London Olympics. “Our athletes were able to make 10 semifinals and five finals at the Games and that was commendable. They even set some records at the London Games.

“In women 100 metres at the London Games, our girls were able to run 10.93, 10.93 and 11.01 seconds, which is not common with Nigerian athletes at the Olympics. They made the final of the women 400 metres hurdles and our men were able to improve on the high jump event. I feel the athletes were so unlucky at the London Games because they were so closed to picking the medals. The AFN should be encouraged to do more for the country.”

He canvassed support for Ogba-led AFN board calling on the government and the corporate bodies to help fund its programme, “whatever the AFN did in the past few years was through the effort of Ogba and the board. This is a sector I know so well and I am bold to say it. Our country needs to start seeing sports as a critical sector of the society. Our athletes should be given the support they need the same way everyone is rallying round football.

Athletes compete during the last 18th National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. Inset: Onyali PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Abdullahi, Kalu differ over why Nigeria lost CAF seat Amos Adamu following his suspension from football related matters by FIFA. Maigari was beaten by Benin Republic’s Anjorin Moucharaf.

The minister, who expressed his disappointment at the development, noted that the Nigerian contingent to the election did its best to sell the country’s candidate but lost to the power of regional politics at the Africa’s football governing body, adding that the loss had nothing to do with quality of candidate that the country presented as has been claimed at some quarters.

Reacting to reports that the CAF President, Isa Hayatou should have been put under pressure to adopt the

fectly as if we prophesied it.

The regionally loyalty dominated the whole thing.

HILE Minister of ‘‘But all the same we had a Sports/Chairman of the good show, we were not disNational Sports Commission graced, we have learnt our les(NSC), Bolaji Abdulahi, yestersons and it means that in day ascribed Nigeria’s inabilifuture, we have to work hardty to recapture its CAF execuer to win it. It was not about tive committee seat at the last the candidate we fielded Confederation of African (CAF) because I believe that we had a congress to the usual regional good and strong candidate at politics between the the election, we only lost to Francophone and regional politics that is played Anglophone countries that in CAF.” make up the body’s member“No matter the candidate we ship, Abia State’s former govhad fielded, it would not have ernor, Orji Uzor Kalu, blames removed the regional the ministry for not being alliances that prevail in CAF. I proactive in the pursuit of the personally travelled to position.

Yaoundé to meet with CAF Nigeria Football Federation president Isa Hayatou about (NFF) President, Aminu the election. I also met with Maigari, recently failed to win him in South Africa where I the seat vacated by Nigeria’s reminded him how he has benefitted from Nigeria in CAF politics in the past and the reason he must have a person from Nigeria in the executive. He told me he is the father of everybody that he cannot make any commitment on behalf of any country or candidate,” he said.

But Kalu said the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed to carry along credible stakeholders, who are very conversant with the politics of African football, hence the Nigeria lost its bid to return to the executive seat.

Kalu regretted that a country like Nigeria with a high football pedigree has continuously been missing in the African football decision-making body, since the suspension of former executive member, President, Lagos Country Club (LCC), Mr. Wale Oshomo (right); Chairman, Table Tennis Section, Mr. Tajudeen Akande (left), sponsors of the championship, Chief Gbolahan Owolabi (second left), and winner of league one, Olatunji Lawal, during the final Amos Adamu by world footst ball governing body, FIFA. of the Chief Owolabi’s 71 Birthday Table Tennis Championship held at LCI over the weekend

From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja

W

Nigerian candidate as part of his team, the minister explained how he travelled to Yaounde and South Africa to sell Aminu Maigari’s candidacy to the CAF president, who, he said, rejected all efforts to commit him to adopt the NFF president.

“I was disappointed because it would have been an opportunity for Nigeria to return to football decision making body in Africa. But one thing we should understand is that it is all about politics.

“For Nigeria, it was important for us to play at that level and we felt that it was an opportunity. But you could recall that even before the election, I told you that the politics of CAF will determine the result and it played out per-

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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CricketWeekly Australia’s Clarke out of the IPL, saved for the Ashes USTRALIA’S Captain, A Michael Clarke will take much-needed rest at home, rather than taking up his likely appointment as captain of the Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as the best remedy for the back and hamstring problems that bedevilled his India tour.

Clarke underwent scans soon after his arrival in Sydney and ESPNcricinfo understands these showed that his back trouble was caused not by any new source but the same degenerative disc that has afflicted him since his teenage years.

Complaints of hamstring discomfort were also assessed, with no evidence found of a new injury, rather the accumulated wear of carrying a tender muscle through the tour after he strained it during the home Test series against Sri Lanka.

As a result of these dual problems, Clarke has been advised to rest and then train to strengthen his body rather than linking up with the Warriors. It has been reported that Clarke may be offered as much as Australian $2 million to lead the IPL franchise after Yuvraj Singh expressed reluctance to be captain, but the risk of fouling up an Ashes campaign that may define his captaincy has been deemed too acute.

“Michael Clarke had scans that confirmed his current lower back injury is an exacerbation of previous issues he has had with his spine,” Cricket Australia Chief Medical Officer, Justin Paoloni said.

“As always, we need to manage this carefully as there are potentially serious consequences with further aggravation.

“He still has pain with basic activities and is not back to full function as yet. He also has a hamstring injury that has been a concern for most of the summer and will complicate his return.

“Michael is having intensive rehabilitation for both his back and hamstring but is still 7-10 weeks away from returning to training and playing. We are confident that it will not affect his Ashes preparation but will know more over the coming weeks.”

Nigeria battling with Japan at the last WCL in Botswana.

NCF to construct five turf wickets, upgrade existing facilities

By Christian Okpara HE Nigeria Cricket T Federation (NCF) has resolved to build five strip turf wickets at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval and also upgrade the facilities at the Jubril Martins Secondary, which will serve as alternative pitch for national and international competitions.

Rising from its Technical

Committee meeting at the weekend, chaired by first Vice President, Yahaya Ukwenya, the NCF said the process of constructing the five strips of turf wicket, including four at the centre and one at the nets, would commence immediately and called for minimum of three quotations from contractors.

In the communiqué released after the meeting,

the committee also urged the NCF to look for sponsors for the construction of the turf wicket at the TBS Oval, just as it asked the federation, Lagos State Cricket Association (LSCA) and the Club Cricket Committee (CCC) to arrange a meeting with the management of Jubril Martins School, Surulere, Lagos with a view to upgrading the school’s grounds for use as an alterna-

ICC releases teams, fixtures Pepsi WCL Division 7 play-off

By Christian Okpara HE International Cricket T Council (ICC) yesterday released the list of players and fixtures for the World Cricket League Division Seven play-off scheduled for Botswana from April 6 to 13.

The teams billed for the competition are Fiji, Germany, Ghana, Nigeria, Vanuatu and host Botswana, with the games to hold in Gaborone and Lobatse.

The top two finishers in the competition would gain promotion to Pepsi ICC WCL Division 6, which will be played in Jersey from July 21 to 28, 2013.

In the fixtures released by the Council, Nigeria will begin its campaign for promotion with a game against Fiji on April 6, Vanuatu tackles Germany, while Botswana will meet Ghana.

The following day would witness a clash of two West African countries with Ghana meeting Nigeria, Botswana battling Vanuatu and Fiji taking on Germany.

The teams would rest on April 8 and resume the pursuit for points the following day with Nigeria up against Botswana, Fiji taking on Vanuatu, while Germany would face Ghana.

On April 10, it would be

Nigeria’s turn to face Vanuatu, with Botswana engaging Germany and Ghana meeting Fiji.

The teams would rest on April 11, to resume hostilities the next day, when Vanuatu would meet Ghana, Germany battles Nigeria and Botswana facing Fiji.

The final would hold on April 13, the same day that would also feature the third versus fourth play-off and the fifth versus sixth play-off.

According to the squad list released by the ICC, Nigeria would be represented by Adekunle Adegbola (captain), Sesan Adedeji, Saheed Akolade, Olalekan Awolowo,

Olajide Bejide, Endurance Ofem, Joshua Ogunlola, Oladotun Olatunji and Segun Olayinka.

Others are Oluseye Olympio, Ademola Onikoyi, Chimezie Onwuzulike, Osita Onwuzulike and Ricky Sharma.

In Botswana’s squad are Karabo Modise (captain), Feroze Essack, Nabil Master, Tshepo Mhozya, Saad Mohyuddin, Karabo Motlhanka, Hasantha Mudiyanselage, Thabang Nshomane, Segolame Ramatu, Faisal Rana Rasheed, Denzil Sequeira, Waseem Tajbhay, Thatayaone Tshose and

tive playing cricket pitch.

On the 18th National Sports Festival, which cricket featured among the medal events, the committee agreed that the standard was low, and urged the coaches to pay attention to development instead of competition.

To that effect, the committee resolved that a three-day development seminar would be organised for state coaches, adding that the event would also to discuss a proposal on National Development Policy for the NCF. According to the communiqué, “in future national cricket events, including the National Sports Festivals, NSC Festival Guidelines and ICC Rules and in the case of any national cricket events, ICC Rules must be enforced (especially Duck Worth Lewis D/L Method).

“The meeting deliberated on the issue of indiscipline during the cricket event of the 18th National Sports Festival and condemned the unruly behavior of some players and officials. The meeting therefore resolved that henceforth, serious sanctions would be meted out against any player or offi-

cial for misconduct. In addition, states must be made to sign an undertaking of good conduct of players and officials before the commencement of future national cricket events.

“The meeting reviewed the performance of the Senior National Team at the ICCAfrica T20 cricket tournament held in Uganda in February 2013 and agreed that the many pre-tournament friendly matches played in Uganda were unnecessary. The meeting therefore resolved that the team should play pre-tournament friendlies in a country not participating in a tournament with Nigeria, before going for any tournament.”

It added that any of the national players, especially beneficiaries of NCF Welfare Package, engaged in any act of misconduct would lose their allowances and those on Welfare Package would have that withdrawn, just as it agreed that the trial for selection of Under-19 players, who will be participating at the World Cricket U19 qualifiers slated for Nairobi, Kenya in August, 2013, should commence in April 2013.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SPORTS 77

UEFA Champions League

Drogba desperate to repeat Champions League glory ALATASARAY striker, G Didier Drogba has revealed he is eager to win a second Champions League medal.

The Cote d’Ivoire front man led Chelsea to a surprise victory in last season’s tournament, scoring the winning penalty in a dramatic final victory over Bayern Munich, and wants to experience the sensation of winning Europe’s top

prize once more.

“It’s a big pleasure to play in the Champions League,” he told TRT Spor.

“To hear that music makes me excited. I want to win the cup and live those emotions again. Our faith brought us to this level. I have moved one step forward in my football career.”

The former Olympique de Marseille man has only scored

once since moving to the Turkish champion from Shanghai Shenhua in January and insists there is room for improvement in his game.

“Even though I am 35-yearsold I still have things to improve. For example, I am not so good at heading the ball,” he added.

Galatasaray faces Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of

Mourinho won’t rule out return to Chelsea OSE Mourinho says he will JLeague return to the Premier and won’t rule out a return to Chelsea.

The Real Madrid boss was in the capital after having attended Brazil’s game with Russia at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening.

Mourinho is widely expected to leave Real this summer, and suggested last week that he was ready to return to one of his former jobs, which many people took as a hint he would be back at Chelsea.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News, he admitted he

‘Tottenham not scared of Arsenal’ OTTENHAM midfielder, T Lewis Holtby insists there will be no repeat of last year’s end-of-season collapse in the race for Champions League qualification.

Spurs surrendered an eightpoint lead to local rival Arsenal last term and are in danger of falling away again after defeats in their last two league games.

Holtby, however, says Spurs do not fear their north London foes and are well prepared going into the final stretch of games.

“No, we’re not scared. That’s the past. We are prepared,” he told the Daily Mail. “We have a lot of players who have seen that but we are prepared now and we have to just focus on our game. We don’t look at the table, just win our games and at the end we can watch and hope that we are in the top four.

“We can definitely do it. We

had 12 unbeaten league games, we had a very good run. And now we’ve had three disappointing games.”

The former Schalke midfielder hopes the international break will have given his teammates a chance to clear their heads and ready themselves for the run in.

“These 12 days of international break are really good for us to clear everybody’s head, to go to the national team and see something else,” he said. “We will bounce back, especially in the next game.

“There are still a lot of games to play and I think we have the right mentality and the right quality to play Champions League next season.”

Tottenham sits in fourth place, one point behind Chelsea and four ahead of Arsenal, having played one game more than its two

still loves English football and confirmed his passion for Chelsea remains.

“In this moment, I am completely independent of talks and speculations and people, who know me, know me well enough that I think about my job at Real Madrid,” Mourinho said.

He joked that the current freezing weather conditions in England was not enough to put him off.

“I cannot deny that, despite this weather, I love it here, and as I said I have a house and I have big emotional connections with Chelsea and one day I think naturally I will have to be back to English football, or to Chelsea or to another club.

“Of course, Chelsea means to me differently than other clubs. Chelsea is in my heart as Inter is for example.

“One day I have to be back but again it is normal that I am in London. The same way I walk in my home city in Portugal, people see that as normal and this is normal, the same thing is normal when I am in London.”

Also linked with the Manchester United and Manchester City roles, Mourinho does not expect either of those jobs to be avail-

able any time soon.

“I think Manchester is Sir Alex’s kingdom and I would love that job to be his job forever, and for many more years and the other chair is Roberto with a contract,” he added.

“He was champion two years ago so I don’t think there is a move over there and I hope everything goes well for everyone. Even Benitez, I hope it goes well for him and I wish the same for them as me for it to go well.”

Mourinho insists that his presence in London, which is regular, should not be seen as a sign of his imminent arrival, though.

“You know, there is a lot of talk but I think people has to understand that I can be in London very often, because we have a house here and I love it here and our daughter is coming to study in London and being in London should be seen as a normal thing for us,” he said.

“But every time I come and people see me shopping, people start immediately making connections about a return and I feel it a little bit because I say every day I love it here and I have a fantastic time, and that I will return one day so, to be fair, I give a little contribution to the speculation.”

Sanchez eager to stay at Barcelona LEXIS Sanchez has insistA ed that he is happy at Barcelona despite reports suggesting he will quit Camp Nou in the summer.

The winger joined the Catalans from Udinese in

Drogba

Neymar is Justin Bieber of football, says Barton OEY Barton has launched Jinternational yet another attack on Brazil Neymar and says the Santos star is the “Justin Bieber” of world football.

The midfielder, who is currently on loan at Olympique de Marseille after he was deemed surplus to requirements by QPR at the start of the season, hit out at the forward last month and has again voiced his opinion that Neymar is overrated after watching the international

friendly between Brazil and Russia.

“Neymar is the Justin Bieber of football. Brilliant on the old YouTube. Cat piss in reality...,” Barton said on Twitter.

“Its amazing what some decent YouTube footage can achieve. I’ll have to get one up doing some keepy-ups in the garden. Neymar’s actually been one of their livelier players tonight... But people should stop chatting pony.

He isn’t in the same stratosphere as the boy Messi and

that Ronaldo fella...”

Barton also criticised the Brazilian Primeria Division, saying this his U14 division was harder.

“Stop going on about goals in Brazil Lge as well. I once scored 77 in 1 season in the Rainhill and Byrne u14 league and that’s a stronger comp.”

Neymar said last month that he had never heard of Barton after his first outburst, but has yet to react to the latter’s latest tweets.

2011 but has failed to recapture the sort of form that made him one of Europe’s most desirable forwards.

As a result, the transfer rumor mill has continued to link him with a move back to Italy, with reigning Serie A champion Juventus reportedly keen on his signature, though he says he has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.

“I feel important at the national team and at Barcelona. I’m happy with life at Barcelona,” the attacker was quoted as saying by Sport.

“I know what kind of player I am and I know that I can make the difference. I can be one of the best players in the world.”

Sanchez, 24, has a contract with Barcelona until June 2016.

Mourinho

Heineken Planet abuzz for possible El Clasico clash ANS, who throng the FPlanet Heineken Champions every match day top

Neymar

savour the games of the UEFA Champions League are already salivating over the possible clash between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the competition, which has entered its final stages.

The Spanish giants were kept apart in the draw for the quarter-finals matches, just as the two surviving German clubs, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, also enjoyed similar opportunity when the next round of matches resume next week.

Despite the absences of national rivalries, football fans will still be thrilled to see Paris Saint-Germain FC strik-

er, Zlatan Ibrahimovi , renew acquaintances with his former club, FC Barcelona, while resurgent Juventus will tackle Bayern Munich and Spanish debutants, Malaga will host Borussia Dortmund.

The last game of the round will see Real Madrid taking on Galatasaray at the Santiago Bernabue Stadium in Spain.

Unlike in previous seasons, UEFA did not also make the draw for the semi-final pairings at the same time - that will now take place on the 12th of next month.

“I am looking forward to an El-Clasico final should the two of them progress and the semifinal pairings still place them away from each other.

It will be an interesting final at the Wembley stadium and a memorable match,” a fan reacted after the draw ceremony.

“Given the panache with which Barcelona dispatched AC Milan to reach last-eight, it will be difficult for Qataribacked Ligue 1 leaders, PSG, to move beyond this stage. It will be a great test for them as they will miss the service of Ibrahimovic in the first leg due to UEFA match-ban,” another fan said.

Despite the excitement with the pairings, some fans were quick to mention the increased unpredictability of the games particularly at this stage, noting that it would create a more competitive

atmosphere at the Heineken Champions Planet as chances of winning premium quality Heineken gifts items from the innovative games in the house could be narrowed.

“My team has been eliminated from the competition but I still follow the competition passionately because of the StarPlayer game, which has made me to enjoy the live matches much more. I am yet to win a prize because of the complexity of the game, and the quarter final fixtures will make things a beat cumbersome for me, but this is the beauty of the game and I will sharpen my intuitive knowledge of the matches to achieve my goal,” another fan commented.

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

78 SPORTS

Tiger Woods’ long road back to the top IGER Woods never quesT tioned his ability, only his health.

of October 2010, a span of 125 weeks that represented his longest spell out of the top spot.

He replaced Rory McIlroy, who has a chance to get back the No. 1 ranking this week at the Houston Open. ‘’It’s a byproduct of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments,’’ Woods said.

The next step is winning majors. His next stop is Augusta National. Woods has gone five years without winning a major, and eight years since he last won a green jacket at the Masters.

He is trending in that direction with his three wins, and perhaps more significantly, with wins in his last two starts.

It had been three and a half years since Woods last won consecutive tournaments he played, the Buick Open and Bridgestone Invitational in August 2009. The last time he won consecutive starts before April was in 2001, and he won the Masters to complete his sweep of the majors.

Asked the last time he felt this good about his game going into the Masters, Woods replied, ‘’it’s been a few years.’’ ‘’I’m really excited about the rest of this year,’’ he said.

Woods fell as low as No. 58 in the world as he coped with the collapse of his marriage, a loss of sponsors and injuries to his left leg. One week after he announced he was dating Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, Woods returned to the top of golf. ‘’Number 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!’’ Vonn tweeted moments after his win.

Asked if there was any correlation to him winning right after going public with his relationship, Woods smiled and said, ‘’you’re reading way too much into this.’’

Like so many other victories, this one was never really close.

Fowler pulled to within two shots with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, but after he and Woods made bogey on the 15th, Fowler went at the flag on the par-5 16th and came up a few yards short and into the water. ‘’I was swinging it well. I made a few putts, and trying to put a little pressure on them, let them know I was there,’’ Fowler said. ‘’Just would like to have that 7iron back on 16. Just kind of a touch heavy.’’

Rose, who played the first two rounds with Woods, closed with a 70 to finish alone in second. ‘’He plays every shot like he plays them on Sunday,’’ Rose said. ‘’His intensity is the same on Thursday often as it is on Sunday and that makes Sunday a lot less different for him. He plays in that kind of atmosphere far more regularly than a lot of guys do, and it’s an adjustment for most of us. It’s a known for him.’’

It was only fitting that Woods raised his putter to salute the fans as he walked off the 18th green. The club was like a magic wand this week. He dwarfed the field in putting statistics, and this might have been the most absurd of all - Woods was 19 of 28 in putts between 7 feet and 20 feet.

Players might be lining up to force Steve Stricker into full retirement for the putting tip he gave Woods at Doral. ‘’The three events that I’ve won, I’ve putted well,’’ Woods said. ‘’Stricks helped me out there at Doral and got me into position where I felt like I was now putting like I did at Torrey.’’

The trick now is whether he can carry that to Augusta National in two weeks.

Woods returned to number one in the world by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, not surprising except if you consider where he was a little more than a year ago.

He had not won a PGA Tour in some 2 1/2 years. He missed most of the summer and two majors in 2011 because of injuries to his left leg and Achilles tendon.

He walked off the course at Doral a year ago because of tightness in the same tendon. It wasn’t until June that he felt good enough to hit balls on the range after a round.

Instead of a limp, he now has a swagger.

After making three straight bogeys to end his second round at Bay Hill, he stayed on the range for close to an hour.

When someone noticed his caddie walking away, Joe LaCava replied, ‘’going to get another bucket.’’

Woods was at full strength in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and he looked as good as ever.

Woods never let anyone get closer than two shots in the final round Monday, and when they did, he always had an answer.

Rickie Fowler drained a 40foot birdie putt on the 12th hole at Bay Hill to get within two shots, and Woods followed with a birdie putt from 25 feet, sweeping the putter into the air with his left arm and marching to the cup as it dropped.

Even after Fowler bowed out with a 7-iron that came up short and into the water - and another shot in the water that led to triple bogey - on the par-5 16th hole, Justin Rose was still in the picture only two shots behind.

From a fairway bunker, Woods hit 8-iron from 178 yards to the middle of the green for a twoputt birdie.

Woods played it safe from the rough on the final hole and made bogey for a 2-under 70, giving him a two-shot win over Rose. He tied a PGA Tour record that had not been touched in 48 years. This was his eighth win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 16 appearances.

Sam Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times from 1938 to 1965. ‘’If I get healthy, I know I can play this game at a high level,’’ Woods said. ‘’I know I can be where I’m contending in every event, contending in major championships and being consistent day in and day out - if I got healthy. That was the first step in the process. Once I got there, then my game turned.’’

Dating to that win at Bay Hill last year - the first for Woods on the PGA Tour since September 2009 - he has won six of his last 20 starts.

Woods never liked that question, perhaps because he’s never sure how far he’s going.

And in his mind, golf is a game in which a player never arrives. ‘’I’m getting there,’’ Woods said. ‘’I’m very pleased that some of the shots that I struggled with last year are now strengths. One of the things that we need to continue to work on is getting it more refined. Because my good ones are really good. Just making sure the bad ones aren’t that bad - whether it’s a driver, 3wood, long iron, wedge - whatever it is, that I’m missing the ball in the correct spots. That’s getting way better.’’

Perhaps the best measure of whether he’s back is that no one else is in front of him.

Woods last was atop the world ranking in the final week • Culled from AFP

Tiger Woods plays his tee shot at the par 5, 16th hole during the final round of the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard at Bay Hill Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida on Monday. Inset: Woods holds the Arnold Palmer Invitational trophy PHOTOS: AFP

THE GUARDIAN, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SPORTS 79

Serena survives Miami scare Williams survived a SSonyERENA scare to progress to the Open quarter-finals and extend her stay as world number one.

The American found herself 6-2 4-1 down to Dominika Cibulkova but from that point she lost just two more games as she rallied to complete a 2-6 6-4 6-2 victory.

The success means Williams cannot be overtaken in the rankings this week, even if second-ranked Maria Sharapova wins the title.

Williams was all at sea against her Slovak opponent in the early stages and was brushed aside in the first set.

When the problems continued and she lost her serve at the start of the second, she appeared to be on her way out of the tournament.

But from 1-4 Williams reeled off six straight games to level the contest and go a break up in the decider.

While she then dropped her own delivery again, Williams’ level had improved and she pushed on to dominate the decider and set up a last-eight meeting with China’s Li Na, who earlier had beaten Garbine Muguruza 7-6 6-2.

“Mentally I was just struggling,” Williams said afterwards on the official WTA website.

“I was playing a really good

I took all of that energy from the crowd and my dad and I knew I could do better opponent and I was making so many unforced errors out there - I couldn’t pull myself together.

“But the crowd was great.

They started saying, ‘come on Serena,’ and someone over there kept telling me to relax and I listened, and I also saw my dad on the sideline and he was sitting there looking so calm and relaxed.

“I took all of that energy from the crowd and my dad and I knew I could do better.”

Williams’ quarter-final opponent will be fifth seed Li Na, who saw off Spanish wild card Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (8/6) 6-2.

Third seed Maria Sharapova had a considerably more comfortable outing than Williams as she beat Klara Zakopalova 6-2 6-2.

Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska beat 16th seed Sloane Stephens 4-6 6-2 6-0 in one hour and 39 minutes and eighth seed Sara Errani also came from a set down, beating Ana Ivanovic 1-6 6-4 6-2.

There were also wins for Roberta Vinci, Jelena Jankovic and Kirsten Flipkens.

Ikuru heads LOC for Amaechi Wrestling Tourney EPUTY Governor Tele D Ikuru has been appointed as the chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the forthcoming maiden edition of Governor Rotimi Amaechi wrestling extravaganza expected to hold in six centers of Rivers State.

The President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Prince Hameed Olanrewaju Mohammed, who is also the initiator of the tournament, said that Amaechi approved the appointment to ensure a successful hosting of the championship.

According to him, the Federation is in contact with all the foreign wrestlers that will participate in the weeklong tournament even as he announced that the former LOC Chairman, Anthony Abiodun Banigo is back in the country after a successful European tour where he met with some of the foreign wrestlers that have indicated interest to be part of the biggest wrestling tournament in the continent.

“We are getting ready to organise the best wrestling championship in the continent and I am happy to announce to you that Governor Rotimi Amaechi has directed his deputy to be the chairman of the LOC. “To ensure proper co-ordination of the foreign based wrestlers, the Federation has also decided that 20 time Tag-team Champion, Big Daddy will co-ordinate American wrestlers, while champion of BRF Wrestemania, Bambikiller will co-ordinate wrestlers from Austria, Germany and Russia with Banilux Bulldog overseeing those from UK, Scotland, Holland and

Belgium. Also, Makoto Morimitsu of Japan will coordinate Asian wrestlers while Mr. Omar from Iraq will be in charge of wrestlers from the Arab countries with Body Steel coordinating Canada and wrestlers from the Caribbean.”

Mohammed while explaining that he is in contact with 22 time world champion, Huck Hogan, who will serve as match commissioner in the tournament, noted that the championship will be spiced up with beauty pageant that will attract contestants from about eleven countries just as he announced that 80 dancers from all the geopolitical zones of the country including popular musicians such as Seun Anikulapo Kuti, Nice and D’Banj will entertain fans during the championship.

Serena Williams plays a backhand against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during their fourth round match at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne, Florida on Monday.

PHOTO: AFP

Maritime Cup: NIMASA shocks Customs in opening game

By Adeyinka Adedipe HE chances of Nigeria T Customs winning its third consecutive Maritime Cup received a dent yesterday as Nigeria Maritime

Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) defeated the border boys 1-0 at the Legacy pitch of the National Stadium Lagos.

Honours were even in the first half despite the brilliant

McIlroy out to oust Woods TTENTION will turn back A from Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy this week as the Northern Irishman attempts to ensure his rival’s stay at the top of the rankings will be the shortest possible one.

Woods returned to world number one on Monday for the first time since October 2010 after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his third tournament victory of the year.

This week will be his 624th at the top but, with Woods not playing again until the Masters on April 11, McIlroy has the chance to take the position back straight away with victory at the Shell Houston Open.

The 23-year-old’s struggles

this season have been well documented but there are signs McIlroy is rediscovering his form, as evidenced by his seven-under-par 65 in the last round of the WGC Cadillac Championship earlier this month.

Woods’ elevation ends a period of European dominance in the rankings, with Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald and McIlroy all topping the standings since the American’s fall.

Woods admitted after his victory it has been “a few years” since he felt as good heading into the Masters and he is a clear favourite to win his first major since the U.S Open in 2008.

The 37-year-old told

reporters, “over a period of time it’s been years since I’ve hit the ball this consistently day in and day out.

“I’m getting there. I’m very pleased that some of the shots that I struggled with last year are now strengths.

One of the things that we need to continue to work on is getting it more refined.

“Because my good ones are really good. It’s just making sure the bad ones aren’t that bad, whether it’s a driver, three wood, long iron, wedge, whatever it is, that I’m missing the ball in the correct spots.

“That’s getting way better. I can still continue to improve and clean up my short game.”

display of both teams but it was the defending champion that looked more likely to score. Custom lost a great chance to go ahead early in the half but one of its midfielder missed from eight yards.

However, at the resumption of the second half, NIMASA who were playing in the competition for the second time, got the only goal in the 60th minute through Femi Okunade, who slotted home from the penalty spot after Emmanuel Slyvanus was brought down in the box.

The goal brought life into the game with the defending champions searching for the equaliser, which never came.

NIMASA were resolute in defence as they stood their ground to record the famous victory.

NIMASA Coach, Chuka Egwuoba said his team hoped to win the trophy despite making it second appearance in the competition. The first appearance was last year when it crashed out in the preliminary stages but Egwuoba is predicting a

better outing.

“It is good we started with a victory and it will surely boost our confidence as we take on Certified Institute of Shipping (CIS) in our next game on April 2,” he added.

For Customs Coach, Soetan Monsuru, winning its third trophy is still possible despite the setback suffered against NIMASA. He said he was optimistic that his team would winning its next two games and move to the quarterfinal stage.

Speaking before the game, Nigeria Customs’ Controller of Operations, Zone A, Inua Mohammed, who stood in for the Comptroller General, Abdullahi Inde Dikko, said that the competition brings together major players in the industry since it started five years ago.

He said his team has won the trophy back-to-back because the Nigeria Customs has a vibrant sports department while assuring that it would win its third title this year. He, however, enjoined the teams to play within the rules of the game and

TheGuardian

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Abiola Olarinde ECEMBER 31, 2012, was a terrible day for me if I must confess. I have never had such an emotional breakdown that I could not hold back tears. I literally cried like a baby as tears welled up in my eyes and ran down my cheeks freely. The only thing I could not have done was to break down completely so I would not be sent away from the prison yard. Thank goodness my handkerchief saved the day. The fact that I wore glasses made me pretend as though my eyes were itching so I could remove my glasses and stylishly dry the tears on my face.

I thought I was alone in the emotional breakdown; little did I suspect my bosom friend, Ayo Ajayi, who was on the team, had also found himself in the same situation from his own narration of the visit. It was a visit to the Nigerian Prisons Service, Agodi Prison, in Ibadan.

According to him, what provoked his emotional breakdown was that he identified his mate at senior secondary school as one of the inmates we went to visit. I wished I did not go at all because the memories of what I saw haunt me till today. I had my psyche brutally bruised by the inhuman conditions in which the inmates live not just in one place but also across the Nigerian prisons. On the other hand, I appreciate the fact that I went because I would still have remained ignorant of the cruelty in the Nigerian prisons.

According to the convener of the team, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, the president and founder of The Sword of the Spirit Ministries (a. k. a. Christ Life Church), December 31 of every year is his commitment to the Lord in the past four years to visit a prison.

The team took off from the church and arrived at Agodi Prison premises at 10 a.m. We went through the protocol welcoming the bishop and his entourage. A visitor’s card was given to every member of the team with the exception of the bishop. There was a strong warning to everyone to keep the card jealously.

Afterwards upon entering the ward, we were led directly into the Liberty Chapel building where the inmates conduct church services. The building has a sitting capacity of about 150. On this day it was filled to the brim. We were seated on a separate set of chairs on a raised platform- behind the pulpit where the bishop preached. Every part of the service which started 10:45 a.m. was nothing but emotion-arousing as inmates displayed amazing talents. The best way to express the experience is: Talents are wasting away in prison.

The conditions to which the inmates are subjected are demeaning. According to the statistics on their notice board, there are 903 inmates on the whole of whom 12 are women. In the prison yard, there are four main cells with iron bar openings purportedly called windows and it is only one of them that is opened.

It occurred to me that those inmates that joined in the religious service are those serving mild sentences for minor.

Meanwhile, how those cells were able to accommodate 903 inmates still baffles me.

According to the anchor of the programme, a senior prison officer, who is also a pastor and a member of the church, said that other cells would not be opened for security reasons. There, I saw heavily built young men looking through the openings with their heads

D

Imprisonment is not to humiliate or dehumanise people. Anywhere in the world, imprisonment is a corrective measure to make criminals sober, realise their errors and have a change of heart and attitude.

Without mincing words, these are not what obtain in the Nigerian Prisons Service

Please send reactions and feedback for YOUTH SPEAK to:

editorial@risenetworks.org and 07067976667- SMS ONLY

What is the hope of the Nigerian inmates?

Zakari Ibrahim, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Prisons Service

in between iron bars. It was a pathetic scene to behold with some of them carrying Bibles and listening with rapt attention as the bishop preached. The inhumane condition of the prison yard has not only falsely humbled many of them but also humiliated them.

A lot of issues call for attention. First, is it so impossible for the government to build more prison yards? During an opening speech DCP Sowumi Adewale who was ably represented by his assistant DCP Adeyemi Ademabayoje, applauded the bishop for his good gesture towards the welfare of the inmates.

He specifically referred to the donation of ICT facilities, which he made the previous year during a similar evangelical visit and some roofs that were fixed. The question that plagued my mind was: Is that really the way to ease the conditions of living for prisoners? Is it the inmates that will use the computers? Seemingly

no. As much as that is appreciated, I think the first way to alleviate the dehumanising conditions is to decongest the yard through provision of more prison yards across the nation. It struck me like a thunderbolt when I was told that the situation at Agodi Prison was even better compared to what obtained at Kirikiri Maximum Prison and several others all over the country. If what I saw at Agodi Prison, where the offensive odour assailing a visitor can make person become ill was considered better, then other prisons must be hell on earth. I now know the reason why we were not allowed to bring phones, camera and other recording devices into the prison yard.

The conditions of our prisons raise two salient questions. First of all, what is the aim of imprisonment? The aim of modern prison system anywhere in the civilised world is the protection of society. It is also to induce retribution, to deter

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The aim of modern prison system anywhere in the civilised world is the protection of society. It is also to induce retribution, to deter reform and rehabilitate prisoners. The aims and objectives of the Nigerian prisons service are in no way different from these. It plays the role of safe custody of inmates to ensure recovery of those who serve the cause of disorder. Reformation and rehabilitation are very important and indeed are the dominant aspects of the aims and objectives of the Nigeria prison service reform and rehabilitate prisoners. The aims and objectives of the Nigerian prisons service are in no way different from these. It plays the role of safe custody of inmates to ensure recovery of those who serve the cause of disorder. Reformation and rehabilitation are very important and indeed are the dominant aspects of the aims and objectives of the Nigeria prison service- Daniel I. Nkwocha, (2010— in Prisons and Correctional Institutions in Nigeria, Abuja, published by National Open University, Page 20.)

Imprisonment is not to humiliate or dehumanise people. Anywhere in the world, imprisonment is a corrective measure to make criminals sober, realise their errors and have a change of heart and attitude. Without mincing words, these are not what obtain in the Nigerian Prisons Service. At Agodi, although the floor looks neat but the yard is far from being hygienic. Besides the horrible odour, which can even endanger the health of the officials, the congestion can cause an outbreak of epidemic. We have the relentless religious activities and humanitarian services of churches, to thank, otherwise it is not conceivable that an ex-convict in Nigeria would change for better.

After the service was over, the bishop and his entourage were taken round the yard. In the course of the tour I saw a caption “CC” meaning Condemned Cell. The team was taken to another cell where inmates who commit another crime in the prison yard were locked up for the bishop to pray for them. It was a horrible experience that could make a lasting negative impression on a visitor.

This conviction brings me to the second salient question the government should answer. What does it entail to free an inmate? Are they just allowed to go home after the completion of their term? Is that how it should be done? I wonder why the so-called condemned prisoners said amen aloud as the bishop was taken round to personally pray for them. Their longing for prayers of intervention could not be unconnected with stories of testimonies by those who had been freed miraculously in the past and helped to integrate into the society for offences for which their mates had been executed. On December 31, the day of the Episcopal visit, the team paid N10, 000 fine which had kept a prisoner for one extra month after his term had ended and he had had no one to come to his financial rescue.

Apparently, when inmates are freed on one ground or the other, they are often homeless, jobless and stranded. Life becomes crueler than it was when they were imprisoned. The government is expected to set up rehabilitation centres for proper orientation, psychological balance and entrepreneurial empowerment of ex-convicts to prevent their falling into wrong companies and getting lured back into evil. It is high time the Nigerian government did something about the Nigerian Prisons Service or should forget about the lip service of fighting crimes and insecurity.

• Abiola Olarinde, an author and a graduate of University of Ibadan (U.I).