Sun 31 Mar 2013 The Guardian Nigeria by The Guardian Newspaper

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BUSINESS 45

NEWSFEATURE 20

IBRUCENTRE 40

Marginalisation:

Oil Curse: So Much Money, So Much Poverty

Warri Without Shell

Easter: Hope, Pray For Better Times, Say Clerics

The North Also Cry

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Vol. 29, No. 12,112

www.ngrguardiannews.com

N300

Burden Of Recurrent Expenditure:

‘Lifestyles’ Gulp N18tr In 12 Yrs By Marcel Mbamalu (News Editor)

FFICIAL figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that the current democratic dispensation has gulped over N18 trillion to service national “lifestyles” — operations, wages and salaries, purchase of goods and services, as well as subsidies, among others — in sharp contrast to a relatively paltry N6.5 trillion spent on

Only N6.5trn Spent On Infrastructure infrastructure between 1999 and 2011. Realistic figures on last years recurrent and capital expenditures, according to NBS sources, are still being finetuned. But indications are rife that, going by the professed efforts of the Finance Ministry and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy,

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to cut down on recurrent expenditure, the figures could take a downward trend, albeit insignificantly. A document, which The Guardian procured from the NBS, showed a uniform average recurrent expenditure pattern within the range of N1 trillion and N1.6 trillion between

2003 and 2007, but shot up significantly to N2.1trillion in 2008, N2.3trillion in 2009, and jumping even higher to N3.3trillon in 2010 to settle at N3 trillion in 2011. While the recurrent component burgeoned, capital expenditure dwindled in the period under review. Specifically, N489 billion cap-

The Spirit Of Easter Pope Francis (r) presides over crowd of worshippers during the celebration of his first Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, Rome, a religious rite that will culminate in a torch-lit procession and prayers for peace in the Middle East… on Friday. PHOTO: AFP.

ital expenditure in 1999 fell to N239.4 billion the following year. It, however, appreciated to N519.5 billion in 2004, sustaining the tempo to 2009, when the government, according to the NBS, spent N1.1 trillion on infrastructure. The figure also went down to N883.9 billion in 2010, the year the country spent the all-time high of N3.3 trillion on recurrent items. Official figures in the last 31years also indicate that the

country has raked in about N51.50 trillion as proceeds from oil. Between 2000 and 2011 (a 12year period), it earned N48.40 trillion, as against N3.10 trillion it received between 1979 and 1999. The estimates exclude revenues derived from non-oil sectors. Further analyses show that, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

‘Let Easter Usher In New Dawn’

• Jonathan Preaches Unity, Tolerance By Tope Templer Olaiya (Asst Lagos City Editor), Chris Irekamba and Femi Alabi Onikeku T is Easter! Nigerian clerics Ilems are not deterred by the probof insecurity, poor infrastructure, as they urge Nigerians to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ in hope, love and chastity. Charging Nigerians to cling on to hope and believe in their country, the Christian leaders enjoined the political elite to address the issues of failed leadership and corruption. It was a solemn call yesterday amidst the billows of anxiety and apprehension from insurgent groups across the country when the president called on all Nigerians to rededicate themselves to living in peace and oneness with all members of their communities irrespecCONTINUED ON PAGE 2

NEWS 3

Mark, Ekweremadu Preach Peace NEWS 5

Stock Market Gains N115 Billion

TheGuardian

2 | Sunday, March 31, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Nigeria Gets Significant Amount Of FDI In Africa, Says UN Report From Laolu Akande, New York IGERIA is receiving “a sigN nificant amount” of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), that come into Africa, including the expansion of Russian financial influence in the country, according to a United Nations (UN) report on global investment released during the week. The UN report that monitors global investment trends has also disclosed that FDI going into and out of emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) remain on the rise, including the expansion of Russian banks in Nigeria. The report produced by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD was released last week in time for the 5th BRICS Summit, which started Tuesday in Durban, South Africa. According to the report, “the expansion of Russian transnational companies, (TNC’s), in Africa is fairly recent but rapid, reaching $1billion in 2011.” It added that “the arrival of Russian TNC’s have been motivated by a desire to enhance raw-material supplies and to expand to new segments of

strategic commodities, as well as a desire to access local markets.” In specific terms, the UN report noted that a good example is the expansion of Rusal, regarded as the world’s largest aluminum producer, which now has operations, according to the report in Angola, Guinea, Nigeria and South Africa. The report left out the ruling of the Supreme Court that upturned the ownership of Rusal in a case brought against it and the federal government by a US-based Nigerian investor, Dr. Ruben Jaja and his US firm BFIG. But the report also noted that Russian banks are also moving into Africa. It mentioned “Vneshtorgbank, for instance, opened the first foreign majority-owned bank in Angola, and then moved into Namibia and Côte d’Ivoire, while the Russian Renaissance Capital owns 25% of the shares in Ecobank, one of the largest Nigerian banks.” Generally the report showed that foreign investment from BRICS into Africa represented 25 per cent of Africa’s inflows last year, with most funds going to the manufacturing and services sectors.

Also discussing the influence of China’s FDI in Africa, the report said “Chinese FDI stock in Africa stood at $16 billion by the end of 2011,” but added that South Africa is the leading recipient, followed by Sudan, Nigeria, Zambia and Angola. On Nigeria, the report said “a significant amount of FDI stock are also present in Nigeria and in two South Africa’s neighbours: Mozambique and Zimbabwe.” The UNCTAD Global Investment Trends Monitor (GITM), which focused on BRICS FDI to Africa, also examined the relative importance of FDI in the continent in the total outward FDI of the BRICS. “While in the early 2000s, FDI from the BRICS countries to Africa only accounted for a negligible share of the group’s total outward FDI flows. From 2009 to 2011, it rose to 4 per cent, which is higher than the share of Africa in the outward investment of TNC’s from the United States and EU. According to the UN, this latest GITM shows that over the past decade, FDI going into BRICS has more than tripled, totaling $263b in 2012. This figure represents 20 per cent of world FDI flows, and is a significant increase considering the fact that it was only 6 per cent in 2000. Meanwhile, investments from BRICS into other countries have climbed from $7b in 2000 to $126b in 2012, rising from one per cent of world’s flow to nine per cent, with China and Russia accounting for the majority of these investments.

While labour costs in Africa may not differ significantly from those in the in firms’ home economies, the duty-free, quota-free access of African countries and China’s zero-tariff measures for Africa’s least developed countries (LDC’s)

LDC’s such as Sudan and Zambia; an Indian company recently acquired an African mobile phone network and now Russian banks are expanding to another African country besides, Nigeria, that is Côte d’Ivoire.

have generated manufacturing investments. Brazil, for example, has expanded its business in the new African ethanol industry in countries like Angola, Ghana and Mozambique; China is one of the top investing countries in

‘Let Easter Usher In New Dawn’ accepted fact amongst us that our immense potential for tive of ethnicity, religious greatness in the comity of beliefs or places of origin. nations derives in the main In his Easter message to the from our collective strength as a nation, President Goodluck country of close to 170 million Jonathan, said: “As we cele- people and the acclaimed richbrate Easter, which commem- ness of our diverse human orates the resurrection of our resources and natural endowLord, Jesus Christ after his ments,” the president said. redemptive self-sacrifice for Clerics, who sent Easter mesthe eternal salvation of sages to this effect, include mankind, I promise to contin- Primate of the Church of Nigeria ue discharging fully our con- (Anglican Communion), Most stitutional responsibilities for Rev. Nicholas Okoh, Archbishop protecting the unity and terri- of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev. torial integrity of this country Alfred Adewale Martins, with all the powers and forces Presiding Bishop of The at our disposal.” Redeemed Evangelical Mission He further urged Nigerians to (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo, keep on exhibiting restraint and Prelate of the Methodist and understanding in the face Church, Nigeria, His Eminence, of seeming provocations. Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde. “Those who mindlessly and Others are General indiscriminately attack Superintendent of the Deeper churches, schools, health Life Christian Ministry, Pastor workers, motor-parks, banks Williams F. Kumuyi, his counterand ordinary road users must part at the Lord’s Chosen be seen as they truly are: the Charismatic Revival Ministries, brainwashed pawns of inter- Pastor Lazarus Muoka, Special national terrorism. Assistant to the General “They do not represent any Overseer the Redeemed true religion or section of the Christian Church of God (RCCG), country and we must never Pastor Johnson Odesola, and play into their hands by suc- Coordinator of the Christian cumbing to their nefarious Association of Nigeria (CAN) in ploys to incite religious, ethnic Southwest, Ven. Peter O. Guardian Fileserver 1A:7Sunday:Text:Recurrent-Capital hatred and division among us. Ogunmuyiwa. By now, it ought to be an Okoh called on Nigerians to

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

reaffirm their trust in God and in the corporate existence of the country. The victory at Easter, according to him, “must extend to overcoming our sinful nature and habits, to enable us fight decisively against corruption in all its ramifications. Let us remain resolute and resilient, having our hope in the strength and power of God.” Martins described Easter as the focal point of the Christian religion and enjoined faithful to remember the supreme price Christ paid, and ensure they do not crucify Him the second time by their deeds. He also lamented the spate of insecurity in the country, particularly the attacks by the Boko Haram sect. Okonkwo called on Nigerians to remain hopeful and grateful to God because of the message of Easter. He said: “Let me assure everyone that in spite of the seemingly difficult challenges that stare us in the face as a nation, we must hold on, because God will turn things around for our good. Nigeria will again take its place in the comity of nations. Let us remain hopeful, as the change we have always Expenditure.doc! dreamt of is becoming a reality.

Fileserver 1A:7Sunday:Text:Recurrent-Capital Expenditure.doc! Nation UnderGuardian Burden Of Recurrent Expenditure CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 except for some evidence of volatility, revenue from oil had maintained an upward swing, from N724.4 billion in 1999 to well over N4.4 trillion in 2007. The trajectory of growth continued, with N6.5-trillion revenue in 2008, (dropping to N3.2 trillion in 2009 and picking up again to N5.4trillion the following year) to hit N8.8 trillion in election year, 2011. The lower quantum of government spending on infrastructure, as against burgeoning expenditure on “lifestyles,” becomes significant when viewed against the backdrop of heavy capital expenditures by developing nations to engender growth. Similarly, capital expenditure takes the lion’s share of annual spending in many advanced countries. For instance, although Australia’s cultural spending represents just an aspect of its capital and recurrent expenditures, the 2009/2010 expenditure figures, as republished by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in commemoration of the International Year of Statistics 2013, gives an insight into the thinking of the government with respect to capital expenditure. It shows a heavier capital vote on infrastructure than on recurrent —operations, wages, salaries, subsidies as well as purchase of goods and services, among others in that category. Australia’s recurrent expenditure on cultural activities for the two-year period was $5,769.2 million. The government allocated $2,218.4million of its cultural funding towards recurrent activity, while state and territory governments allocated $2,502.1m

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and local governments allocated $1,048.7m. Its capital expenditure — for creation of fixed assets, acquisition of land, buildings and intangible assets —by all levels of government, was $888.9 million. According to the ABS’ website, the majority of this capital expenditure was from state and territory governments, which outlaid $501.2 million, while the central government outlaid $238.6m; and local governments, $149.0 million. Seventy-year-old former British Minister, global investment advocate and coordinator of the Honorary International Investment Council (HIIC), Baroness Lynda Chalker, in a recent interview with The Guardian, added her voice to the debate on Nigeria’s mismanagement of oil revenue. She said the country would have an impressive record in Foreign Direct Investment,

especially in the energy and financial services sector, only if it reviewed extant policies and think of modernising its oil infrastructure, among others. Of particular concern to Chalker is the yawning gap between existing oil technology in Nigeria and global expectations. She observed that the country, having been producing oil in the last five decades, needed a holistic overhaul of its production technology and to make the upstream really efficient for competitiveness. Many Nigerians believe that the state of physical and social infrastructure would have been pleasantly different if the huge revenue from oil and non-oil sectors were judiciously utilised for the good of “one and all, specifically to maintain the nation’s road network of 193,200km — 34,123km (federal), 30,500km (state) and 129,577km (local government). Mr. Callistus Chibuzor Okeke,

an Onitsha-based public Affairs analyst, in a telephone conservation, said it was interesting to note that the Nigerian economy was more tightly, if not better, managed with less than $10 a barrel of crude oil in 1997 and 1998 than it was in 2002 when prices was over $100 a barrel. The huge budgetary allocations made for road construction and rehabilitation in the last 13 years notwithstanding, over 70 per cent of the 34,123km federal roads still remain in wretched state. Mr. Godwin Nkwegu, an Abakaliki-based auditor, alluded to this in a telephone chat when he observed that, apart from few road dualisation and maintenance projects, no new Federal road has actually been constructed in the last 20 years. DETAILS ON BUSINESS PAGE 45

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

NEWS

EASTER Nation Needs More Prayers, Says Saraki

Ajimobi Wants End To Divisive Tendencies

From Abiodun Fagbemi (Ilorin)

OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi G of Oyo State called on Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of

ORMER Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki called for more prayers for the nation. Saraki, now a Senator representing Kwara Central, spoke yesterday in Ilorin through his Social Media aide, Bamikole Omisore. He said: “Easter is a highly significant celebration to mark the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, whom out of God’s love for the world, laid his life as a sacrifice. “Let us join faith and sincerely pray for the progress of Nigeria in a fervent and heartfelt manner during this holy period. In our homes and worship centers across the country, let us emphatically pray for peace in our nation and all those who work for peace and reconciliation in various parts of Nigeria, our ambassadors and military serving abroad, leaders and the entire populace.

Let’s Keep Hope Alive, Amosun Tells Nigerians GUN State Governor, SenaO tor Ibikunle Amosun, called on Nigerians to keep hope alive in spite of the challenges confronting the nation. He noted that the triumph of Jesus Christ over death is an assurance that with abiding faith in the power of the almighty God, we could always overcome our challenges and emerge victorious from every contest of life. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, Amosun said the Resurrection of Christ “is a testimony to the supremacy of God and offers hope of eternal life to those who dedicate their life to the service of God and humanity.” The governor therefore called on all to repent of their sins and reconnect with God. He urged Christian faithful to use the opportunity of the Easter season to reflect on the lessons of crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The governor praised the religious harmony in Ogun State and called on all Nigerians to tolerate one another and live in peace. He wished the Christian faithful a happy celebration.

It’s Time To Serve God, Humanity – Fayemi KITI State Governor, Dr. KayE ode Fayemi, urged Christians to see Easter as an opportunity to offer a better service to God and mankind. Fayemi in his Easter message, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said Jesus Christ who died for the sins of mankind paid the supreme price for the salvation of man. He charged Christians to emulate the sacrificial nature of Jesus Christ by committing themselves to serve their Creator and fellow human beings better by exhibiting piety and love. The governor congratulated Christians in the state for witnessing another Easter season. He also congratulated them for the successful completion of a 40-day fasting and prayers, which culminated in the Easter celebration. Fayemi said that Easter offers Christians and adherents of other religions another opportunity for sober reflection.

A special moment of truth, as President Goodluck Jonathan condoles the matriarch of the Awolowo clan, Chief (Mrs.) H.I.D Awolowo, over the death of her son, Oluwole… yesterday.

Mark, Ekweremadu Preach Peace, Forgiveness At Easter

From Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja

RESIDENT of the Senate, P David Mark, has called on all Nigerians, irrespective of religious affiliations, to use the season of Easter to forgive one another in the interest of peace and harmony. In a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the Senate President noted that Christ died on the cross of Calvary as a sacrificial lamb and as a demonstration of his love for mankind. According to him, the intrinsic message in the death of Christ is that in spite of the pains and torments he went through, he forgave his accusers and prayed for his murderers. He said: “There are lessons we must learn from the sacrifice Christ made on the Cross of Calvary. Though he was sinless, he was condemned for our iniquities, and despite the torments and pains he went through, he prayed for his accusers and murderers. We should emulate such virtue and have a forgiving spirit.” The Senate President used the occasion to call on members of the Boko Haram sect and other aggrieved groups across the country to sheathe their swords and embrace peace and forgiveness, as one people

Urge Christians To Be Steadfast In Prayers and nation with a common destiny. Once again, he condemned their incessant killing of innocent Nigerians to express grievances, stressing that it is ungodly and inhuman. He maintained that dialogue remains the best approach towards addressing any misgiving.

“Easter is a season of peace and sacrifice. It means we should live a life of sacrifice, forgiveness, reconciliation and love towards one another.” Congratulating Christians across the country for a successful Lenten season, Mark urged them to use the period of Easter to remember the poor and the less privileged in

the society. “We have no other country than Nigeria. Therefore, we must do all we can to make the nation a better place.” In his goodwill message to Christians at Easter, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, urged Christians to pray for the nation and imbibe Christ’s virtues of self-sacrifice and unconditional love for mankind.

Obi, Amaechi, Fashola Urge Nigerians To Emulate Christ’s Virtues By Paul Adunwoke OVERNOR Peter Obi of G Anambra State has called on Nigerians to emulate the Lord Jesus Christ at this Easter season and afterwards. In his message, the governor said, “Easter is a period which calls for sacrifice, just as our Lord Jesus Christ exemplified when He shed His spirituality and assumed a human form in order to save humankind from sin and eternal damnation.” He added that this singular action culminated in our Lord’s death on the Cross. The governor, who reminded Christians and non-Christians alike that it is “the sacrifice and service offered by our Lord which brought Him to a glorious resurrection and exalta-

tion”, urged all to take a cue from Him. The governor urged political and other leaders live the life of Christ as they move to transform their constituencies, while displaying a high sense of humility, altruism and frugality. On his part, Rivers State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, enjoined Christians to pray fervently for the nation and its leaders and take advantage of the Easter period to show love and forgiveness. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, he said the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is a clear indication of the love of God for mankind and urged Christians to al-

ways emulate Jesus Christ and imbibe the virtues of love and f o r g i v e n e s s . “Let me call on Christians to always pray for the growth of Nigeria. We should also remember that it was out of love that Christ died and forgave us of our sins. So, we should also learn to love and forgive one another. That’s a sure path to building a better nation,” Amaechi said. Governor Fashola of Lagos State said the season reminds Nigerians of the selflessness, love and tolerance of Jesus Christ throughout His earthly sojourn, adding: “as we celebrate the Passiontide in sober recollection of Christ’s crucifixion, let us think about how we can each help to steer our nation back on the road to peace, by working in the spirit of oneness.”

Nigerians Must Not Despair, Says Uduaghan From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba N his part, Delta State O Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, advised Nigerians not to despair in the face of the challenges confronting the country. Uduaghan called on Christians to reflect on the import of Easter celebrations in their dealings, not only with other Christians, but also with people of other religions. The governor said that Nigerians must eschew bitterness and all forms of violence, stressing that the progress, peace and security of the nation is anchored in good

neighborliness and peaceful co-existence According to Uduaghan, the major lesson of Easter is for Christians to rethink the reality of their faith, adding that as Christians, they should continue to uphold the principles of their religion as it relates to honesty, justice, integrity, accountability, compassion, selflessness and the pursuit of the common good. The governor also used the celebration to draw the attention of Christians to the underlining message of the Cross, which he said must not be lost to the accompanying

festivities. Uduaghan said: “The passion and death of Jesus underscores the love of the Father who gave his only begotten son in love for us and the willingness of the Son to sacrifice himself for others to be liberated from the weight of sin. The story of Easter is that of relief that comes after anguish, pains, trauma, deprivations and sacrifices. Indeed, before the joy that heralds the glorious morning of resurrection, there was terror and thick darkness that were strong enough to swallow up the eventual joy of Easter. It is therefore nec-

essary to remind us all that there is always a glorious dawn after darkness, and without the difficult challenges, the huge and irrepressible triumph of Easter would have been a fantasy.” Similarly, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Victor Ochei, enjoined Deltans to perceive the Easter period as one of sober reflections, contrary to the hitherto notion of mere celebratory time. Ochei said that the period is a time of sober reflection and disposition in people’s daily lives with the ultimate aspiration of making the society a better one.

love, togetherness and renewed commitment to Nigeria’s unity and peaceful co-existence. The governor, in his Easter message issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, said that it is only in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility that Nigeria could witness all-round development. He urged citizens to emulate Jesus Christ who offered himself as a living sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. While congratulating Christians on the successful completion of the 40-day fasting, he said that they should use the occasion to reflect on the essence of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as the opportunity it offeres them to be closer to their Creator. “Easter is not about wining and dining. Rather, it is an occasion to realise that we need to love one another, as exhibited by God who, out of his love for mankind, offered Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to give life more abundantly.

Onaiyekan, Okpala Preach Love, Sacrifice From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja ATHOLIC Archbishop of C Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, urged Nigerians not to give up but continue to trust God who has power to address challenges confronting the country. He urged political leaders to come up with defined action plans that would reassure Nigerians of better things to come. Also, the Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Anglican Communion, Most Rev Godwin Okpala, appealed to Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice and love for their neighbours and the country. Okpala, who lamented that Nigeria is not truly a united country, urged Christians and Muslims to seek reconciliation, saying it is the only way forward. The two clerics spoke in a telephone interview with The Guardian and called for concrete steps to address insecurity in the country and bring to an end the wanton killing of innocent Nigerians in some parts of the country.

Easter Is For Sober Reflections – Prophet Osula HE General Overseer of the T Light of God Ministries Worldwide, Prophet Joyce Osula, has advised Christians to see the Easter season as reflective of the mission and sufferings of Jesus Christ and also appreciate the sacrifices He made for mankind. Osula made the remark on Thursday in Lagos while chatting with newsmen on the significance of Easter. He advised church leaders to be exemplary in their words and deeds. He said: “I want to remind us that we are serving a living God and as leaders, we have to embrace humility and simplicity as demonstrated by Jesus Christ. You will remember that He washed the feet of His disciples. We should therefore shun pride, arrogance, deceit and pretence.”

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

NEWS Imo’s New Deputy Gov Sworn-in, Pledges Loyalty To Okorocha From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri FTER series of intrigues, the newly appointed Deputy Governor of Imo State, 48-year-old Prince Eze Madumere, was sworn-in yesterday amid tight security at the Sam Mbakwe Expanded Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Owerri. Madumere’s name was submitted to the 27-member Imo

State House of Assembly, presided by Benjamin Uwajimogu, after the impeachment of Sir Jude Agbaso, for “gross misconduct of office and bribery”. He was screened and cleared after a seven–man panel headed by Justice Godwin Ihekire (rtd) submitted a report indicting Agbaso. Okorocha; Chief Judge, Ben-

IMO jamin Njemanze; Speaker of the Assembly, Uwajimogu; Commissioners and others witnessed the swearing-in event. Madumere said he would remain loyal to Okorocha whom he described as his mentor of several years. “Circumstance has made me the

Deputy Governor of Imo State. I was comfortable as Chief of Staff,” he said. He swore that he never sought to become Deputy Governor. Madumere wished Agbaso well. Okorocha said: “This is the day the Lord has made, and we shall rejoice and be glad indeed.” Okorocha urged the new

Deputy not to be selfish, but rather discharge his duties as promised. He regretted that Agbaso, whom he cherished, was booted out of office in ignominy. “Let me use this opportunity to wish him well,” the governor said, adding that he stands by the wishes of the people.

NAFDAC Arrests Two, Impounds N25m Fake Products WO brothers, Henry and T Ekene Ezeani, have been arrested by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for illegal manufacture, possession, distribution and sale of an unwholesome alcoholic beverage ‘The Prince AlomoBitters’, worth over N25m. The suspects, from Akwaeze in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, are a part of an organised syndicate under NAFDAC surveillance,

who specialised in faking popular brands of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, especially Alomo-Bitters. A team of NAFDAC officials, led by Mr. Joseph Asikpo and accompanied by security personnel and pressmen, apprehended them while they were producing the fake products in their residence at 140 Ojora Royal Compound, Coker Village in Lagos. According NAFDAC sources, one of the suspects, Ekene,

LAGOS was arrested in 2012 for a similar offence at Oke-Arin market, and was released on bail. His brother, Henry on the other hand, admitted to being the owner of the business, saying that he learnt wine production from a South African company where he had worked before he was deported in 2011. He said that he engaged in the illegal business to earn a living

and raise money to establish his own company. The Director of Enforcement, NAFDAC, Mr. Garba Macdonald, while addressing the press after the operation, revealed that his officers had been on the trail of the suspects since the presence of the fake products were reported in markets across Lagos. He bemoaned the get-richquick attitude of youths, warning that the products, which were not registered by

NAFDAC, are dangerous to health. Macdonald revealed that the offending products have been evacuated for further investigation. He pleaded with members of the public already in possession of the fake ‘The Prince Alomo-Bitters’ to surrender them to any nearest NAFDAC office for necessary action, while promising that the Agency would take appropriate action to mop them up from circulation.

Aregbesola Decries Religious Disharmony In Osun SUN State Governor, Rauf O Aregbesola, has warned persons aspiring to cause confusion in the state by use of religion to desist from doing so. The governor, who was speaking at the swearing-in of local government secretaries for the 30 local government areas and one area office, said

religion is too sensitive an issue. Aregbesola said that by their nature, Yoruba people respect all religions and so they do not fight over religions. He averred that some disgruntled elements are sponsoring crisis and promoting hatred and division among the peo-

OSUN ple. “We don’t fight over religion in Yoruba land. Religion is a very sensitive instrument which must not be used to cause chaos and disharmony. Yoruba people respect all religions. They have not and will

never fight over religion. Our people will never be influenced by their dastardly act. “In all the religions, salvation is personal. It is not collective. Those who want to use religion to distabilise the state will meet their waterloo,” Aregbesola said. The governor said that the

people of the state have seen difference between the old government and the current administration, adding that while lethargy, lack of creativity and commitment to the welfare of the people characterised the former, the government of the day promotes people’s welfare above all

JTF Assures Residents Of Peaceful Easter BORNO From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri HE Joint Task Force (JTF) T in Borno and Yobe States said yesterday that it is at alert to ensure a peaceful Easter celebration. The assurance was contained in separate statements by Joint Task Force spokesmen, Lt. Col Sagir Musa, in Borno State, and his Yobe State counterpart, Lt. Lazarus Eli, in Maiduguri, yesterday. Musa said that security is not only the business of the JTF and other security agencies, but a collective responsibility that could guarantee the safety of life and property at all times. The statement reads in part: “The JTF, as usual, is at alert and will continue to maintain the momentum to ensure peaceful a Easter celebration in its areas of responsibility. Remember, Sallah and Christmas celebrations were peacefully enjoyed without lose of any life or property in Maiduguri and other parts of the state.”

Jigawa Earmarks N10m For Library JIGAWA From John Akubo, Dutse IGAWA State Government Jthehas earmarked N10m for construction of a library

New Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, signing the oath of allegiance at Government House, Owerri… yesterday.

New Law To Address Delay In Justice Delivery By Bertram Nwannekanma HE National Assembly is planning a new law to address delays in justice delivery in the country. Prior to this move, quick dispensation of justice has been hampered by factors that include obsolete laws, lopsided

mode of judges’ appointment, poor attitude of lawyers, frivolous applications, dilapidated infrastructure and ineffective use of technology. The planned law, which is at the instance of a bill sent to the Assembly by the Minister

NATIONAL of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, is aimed at reforming the entire justice delivery method in Nigeria. Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of

Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, who revealed this to The Guardian yesterday said already Adoke is working with relevant justice committees in the Assembly to ensure smooth passage of the bill. Ojo, who got this information on the strength of his

being one of the notable Nigerian lawyers contacted for input by the chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Judiciary, said the new law will address all noticeable hiccups against effective justice delivery, especially in criminal cases.

in Dutse the state capital. The Director, History and Culture Bureau, Alhaji Dan Iya Uba, who made the disclosure in his office, recently, said the library, when constructed, will serve as research center for people wishing to know the history and culture of the state. Uba said that the governor has approved N5m in this year’s budget for the renovation of Dutse theatre. He explained that the bureau has four historical sites, which include rock paintings at Birnin Kudu; Wawan Rafi in Kazaure, and Mai Tunbi graveyard and Majema in Hadejia. He added that the governor has also approved N3m each for the rehabilitation of rock paintings at Birnin Kudu and Majema Hadejia historic sites. The Director stated that an approval has been given for the construction of a central museum in the state capital for the compilation of all historic and research document of the five emirates of the state. According to him, the bureau serves as a catalogue of investigating historical and cultural activities for the benefit of youths and future leaders. Uba said one of the roles of the bureau is the issuance of license to all traditional medicine dealers as well as granting of approval to authors. He commended the state government for its concern on the development of the cultural and historical heritage in the state. The Director assured that the bureau is committed to protecting the historical and cultural heritage of the state.

THE GUArDIAN, Sunday March 31, 2013

NEWS

Stock Market Gains N115b In March By Godfrey Okpugie (Deputy Lagos City Editor) HE stock market in the month of March experienced up-and-down movement in major indices but stabilised at the end of the month, gaining N115 billion capitalisation. Friday, March 1, the first trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 711.88 basic points or 2.10 per cent to close at 33,183.20. Market capi-

talisation dipped by 2.10 per cent to close at N10.618 trillion. In the second week, which ended on Friday, March 8, ASI, again, suffered depreciation by 334.09 points or 1.01 per cent to close at 32,849.11 while market capitalisation ebbed to N10.512 trillion from the previous week’s N10.618 trillion. But in the third week, it reversed to positive movement.

NATIONAL The ASI appreciated by 556.80 points or 1.69 per cent to close at 33.506.88 while the capitalisation increased to N10.722 trillion. Also, the Bloomberg NSE-30 Index appreciated by 18.88 points or 1.20 per cent to close at 1,597.35. The same applied to Lotus II, which increased by 77.58 points or 3.68 per cent to

close at 2,184.34. Consumer goods sector, banking, insurance and oil/gas depreciated by 0.94 per cent, 1.32 per cent, 0.86 per cent and 1.36 per cent respectively. In week five, ASI increased further by 29.37 points or 0.09 per cent to close on Thursday, March 28, at 33,536.25 while the capitalisation went up by 0.11 per cent to close at N10.733 trillion. Also, the NSE 30 appreciated by 5.53 points or 0.35

per cent to close at 1,602.88. All the NSE sectoral indices surged with consumer goods going up by 1.98 per cent; banking, 1.58 per cent, insurance, 0.63 per cent, oil/gas,1.18 per cent and NSE-Lotus II , by 1.69 per cent. On the whole, the month, which opened with ASI of 33,183.20 and capitalisation of N10.618 trillion, closed ASI peaking at 33,536.25 and capitalisation at N10.733 trillion.

Lagos Goes After Tax Evaders LAGOS By Chijioke Nelson AGOS State government may have concluded plans to clampdown on tax evaders and those who make false declaration to cut down their tax obligations. Gov. Babatunde Fashola, gave the hint at a stakeholder conference, in Lagos, few days ago. He said the grace period given should be reciprocated through compliance. “We have issued letters to some citizens and some are responding by paying up. But we have decided to give further grace because we have compiled further list. We will hold on till April 12, 2013, after which, we will go after them,” he said. According to Fashola, upholding the country’s Constitution starts with obedience of the laws of the land including those that relate to taxation. Fashola lamented that the bulk of the state’s tax revenue comes from personal income tax, made up of those who have no choice than to pay because taxes are deducted at source of their incomes, and few high profile organisations that voluntarily comply. But Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, has warned on the risk of using consultants to enhance tax administration. He asked the government to focus on investment rather than consumption tax.

ICPC Boss Urges Nigerians To Demand Accountability From Leaders NATIONAL From Abosede Musari, Abuja HAIrMAN of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, has urged Nigerians to demand accountability from those in position of leadership as a way of fighting corruption. Nta, who was speaking at a visit by National Coordinator of the Human rights Writers Association Of Nigeria, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, reminded Nigerians that they have every right to demand accountability from their leaders. A statement from the Commission’s head of media, Mr. Folu Olamiti, said that Nta blamed poverty in the country on the nonchalant attitude of many Nigerians to how government spent public funds. He also admonished the youths on the immoral use they have subjected the social media to. He charged: “Follow the allocation released to local government councils, internally generated revenue and the budget that approved by the councilors. Then, monitor it and publish it publicly. He said such would help to fight graft in the country. The ICPC’s boss expressed displeasure at how Nigerian youths use the social media on mundane things. “The kind of ways they express themselves is so appalling that you begin to wonder whether these people are ready for leadership role. The way we use it is really appalling and grammatically deficient while the contents of the message are unhealthy,” he said.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta state (left); Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe; and Minister of State for Niger Delta, Darius Ishaku, during a courtesy call on the governor at the Government House Annex, warri, Delta State.

Bridge Bank Posts N2b Profit, Supports Training In Writing Skills By Geoff Iyatse ESS than two years into operation as manager of distressed Bank PHB Plc’s assets, Keystone Bank Limited may have moved beyond stabilisation stage to healthy growth, as The Guardian learnt that it will post profit for the 2012 financial year. Head of Corporate Communications of the bank, Mohammed Ciroma, disclosed that Keystone has aggressively grown its customer base and business model in the past 20 months it operated. He said the bank would post a profit in the region of N2 billion in its 2012 financial

report. As part of its new aggressive business development strategies, the bank last week unveiled its partnership with IBM on information technology (IT) solutions. At a joint press conference in Lagos, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Phillip Ikeazor, said the adoption of IBM’s solution has delivered 100 per cent improvement in turn around time and 300 per cent enhancement in channel processing time/efficiency. He said the new server has also reduced system backup duration time from

18 to three hours and data restoration period from 22 to three hours. Ikeazor, whose speech was delivered by Executive Director (Lagos/West), Yvonne Isichei, said service disruption caused by system freezing that used to occur once in a week and every month end has been resolved since implementation of the solution begun. The chief executive said the bank decided to make technology key driver of its business transformation and growth agenda, hence the decision to go with smarter concepts. He said the invest-

ment in IT has overhauled the bank’s in-house systems and processes, adding that the bank has emerged a leader in combating cyber frauds, where it has achieved zero record. IBM’s Country General Manager for West Africa, Taiwo Otiti, said the new serve, which cost the two parties did not disclose, would take care of current and future data management as well as transaction processing needs of the bank. He said banking and technology have become inseparable, hence the need for a robust IT platform. Otiti said IBM would con-

tinue to support the sector, especially to meet e-payment demands. He revealed that the company is involved in several behind-the-scene activities to improve the state of IT infrastructure in the sector. Keystone is also partnering with the Media and Communication (SMC), Pan-African University, to improve writing skills to facilitate research and cognate skills. The bank will offset 50 per cent of the course fees for the 2013 programme to make it affordable by majority of Nigerians who want to improve their writing proficiency.

East-West road ready Next Year INISTEr of the Niger M Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, last week, said that the East-West road project would be completed in December 2014, disclosing that President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to it. He said 37, out of the 42 bridges on the road have been completed while 750, out of the 786 culverts have also been built.

He made the disclosure at the Warri Governor’s Office Annex of Delta State during his courtesy call on Emmnaul Uduaghan. Orubebe informed the governor about the Niger Delta Action Plan, a developmental programme initiated for the region. He said the aim of the programme is to organise a summit once a year to discuss issues affecting

DELTA the zone. He said: “As a ministry, we have worked out a document called the Niger Delta Action Plan where a summit would be held once in a year to discuss issues as they affect Niger Delta. I am glad to inform you too that the Federal Government has ap-

proved the constitution of its national council and that the first edition comes up next month in Uyo.” His host, Uduaghan, defended the agitation of Niger Delta describing it as a fair demand. He dismissed the insinuation that the people are troublemakers. The governor pleaded with other parts of the country

to understand the legitimate nature of the demand of the oil-rich region. He commended Jonathan for his commitment to the completion of the East-West road while tasking his visitor to expedite action on the project. He promised the minister full co-operation and security support to ensure smooth execution of projects in the Niger Delta.

TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Cityfile Whispering Palms:

Badagry’s Haven Fettered By Dreadful Roads By Tope Templer Olaiya, Assistant Lagos City Editor NTIL lately, Lagosians were not known to spend festivals and public holidays indoors. Such days, which are far in between on the social calendar, are unique moments when families go out to experience fun on a full scale. No wonder then the nation’s commercial capital has always been reputed for high-flying celebrations, which had earned it the sobriquet, Eko for show. On a day like today, Easter Sunday, residents are usually spoilt for choice with places to visit and be thoroughly pleasured. But social re-engineering, security concerns, economic distress and horrid living conditions, which have all combined to make living in Lagos as stressful as living in a war zone, have made such choices limited to church events, the beach, Silverbird galleria, and the National Theatre Iganmu. One of the few places that have over the years retained its tourism essence in spite of the infrastructural and social makeover of Lagos is the Whispering Palms Resort, a leisure and retreat resort for tourists and researchers at Badagry. Tucked away on an expansive land overlooking the lagoon in the border town of Badagry, the resort is an ideal environment to escape from the city stress, unwind, relax and reflect. Replete with the wonders of nature, such as a mini zoo, various sculptures, Oduduwa fountain, thatch huts, heritage museum of slavery and terraced lagoon front with concrete tables and seats, it is a unique spot for those who want to stand and stare, reflect and write or simply spend idle time for recreation purposefully. Chairman of Whispering Palms, Prof. Deji Femi-Pearse, had in the 70s visited Benin Republic and Togo each months for three nights to unwind and reflect on his research data, particularly in Tropicana Hotel, Lome, a German resort by the Atlantic Ocean shore, where some of his best scientific papers were written and published in peer-reviewed journals. Later, it became increasingly difficult to travel because of the growing nuisance on the road – police checkpoints, immigration, customs and plant quarantine, especially when the journey, which should normally take four hours took over 11 hours from Lagos to Lome. This emboldened Femi-Pearse to establish a resort of sort on the Nigerian coast. He, at first, procured a piece of land at Ojo, near Alaba market, but in a few years, it was encircled by heavy human habitation, noise and garbage. He eventually acquired the present location in 1981, which has since grown to become a soar-away success. On offer for the Easter Extravaganza is a Whispering Palms cultural festival where guests would be treated to a potpourri of local flavours featuring dances in Sato, Zangbeto, Igunuko, Egungun, Agbe, Akere, Gelede and a tortoise parade. Easter Monday offers more with adult dance competition, children dance competition, yam pounding competition, tug of war and Whispering Palms marching band. Sadly, these interesting scenes that could keep the mind fully engaged away from the burden of daily routine, would be sorely missed by a lot of would-be visitors, mainly because of the tortuous journey to the site. On this, the resort’s receptionist, Miss Clement Margaret, reads her chairman’s mind succinctly: “Our major challenge is the bad

road, which has affected the business adversely. It is hell getting here from central Lagos, especially with the traffic from Mile 2 to Agbara. “No matter the money at one’s disposal, not everything here can be recreated in the bustling city of Lagos, particularly the serenity of the park that can only be found in a graveyard. Coming out from Agbara, the real journey begins as the visitor is confronted with bad roads from Aradagun through Iworo down here.” WORO is a sleepy community in Olorunda Local Council DevelIcation, opment Area (LCDA) on the outskirts of Badagry. Despite its loit has become a popular place and a Mecca of sort to picnickers due to the presence of Whispering Palms. Despite the rich historical and cultural heritage that it represents, Iworo suffers from abject neglect and there is little to show that the community is under the management of Lagos State. Both the LCDA and the state government would be scored low going by the state of infrastructure available to the people. Besides the sorry state of the road, there is no electricity, potable water and security in Iworo. The road is dilapidated, causing endless pain and agony to users. Market women, commercial bus drivers and private car owners plying the route are constantly groaning under stress and untold hardship caused by the degenerating roads. A journey through the route is a risky venture, especially for visitors. Between Aradagun and Iworo, which shouldn’t take less than 10 minutes, motorists may sometimes spend up to two hours or more, as only a few motorists dare to navigate the area due to its swampy nature. Unfortunately, this dilapidated road is the link to Ajido, Epeme, Mogoh and other communities. The Guardian gathered that during the rainy season, car owners ignore the area due to the damage caused to their vehicles. The few that dare ply the route charge exorbitant prices to the dis-

comfort of residents. Despite the self-help efforts of Whispering Palms’ management and the community by filling some of the roads with rough gravel as a palliative measure, it gets worse every year. Hopes have, however, brightened of a lasting solution with the mobilization of Chinese construction company, CCECC to the area to commence rehabilitation works. The Guardian spotted CCECC already clearing a bush path to mount its onsite workstation, while earthmoving equipment have been moved to site. The challenge of bad roads and epileptic power supply notwithstanding, the relationship of the resort owners with the host community has helped to grow a dream into stability. “The community is proud to have this resort in their village and our guest have never for once had problem with the villagers. “We won’t have recorded this huge success without their cooperation because they can decide to upset the resort by posing as security threat and nuisance to our guests with their festivals, but such has never been the case,” Margaret noted. AST week, the ancient town was the centre of attraction when L the Lagos Black Heritage Festival opened up the people of Badagry to the huge potential in tourism located in their doorsteps, which had long been ignored by the state government. Apart from the misery of bad roads, construction of facilities that would facilitate patronage of tourists is still in limbo. From the world-class golf course along the Marine Beach to Vlekete Slave Market, where slaves were sold during the period of the infamous slave trade, to the Slave Tunnels and other landmark slave trade relics, Lagos is yet to deliver to enhance tourism. Badagry has, therefore, remained a rustic community and is perhaps the poorest among its sister towns with heavy slave trade on the West Africa coast. But in spite of these setbacks, the locals are upbeat about the cultural resource at their disposal.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

CITYFILE T the densely populated community, preA dominantly made up of farmers, the number of buildings roofed in corrugated iron

Visitors to Amankanu crossing the Idodo River with a makeshift bridge.

Nkanu East: Enugu Council Where Modernity Has Taken Flight From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu T may be difficult to believe, but it is true that there are communities that have not experienced vehicular movement since their existence. These same communities have also not known what electricity, hospital or even schools are, yet they exist in our midst. The communities in Nkanu East local government area of Enugu State, are examples of such weird society. In a fast changing world where modernity has become the order of the day, the new world order seems to have developed wings and taken a perpetual flight from the communities, leaving its inhabitants in a sorry state of despair. The council, created over 30 years ago, has existed with several communities in lack of access roads, hospitals, schools and electricity. Movements are done on foot, while the high-

• LG Constructs Bridge For Amankanu People Who Have Never Seen A Car est means of transportation are motorcycle and bicycle for those who can afford them. A visit to some of the communities leaves one wondering when modernity can sweep through it, especially with its difficult terrain that has seen some areas caught off from the rest of the state due to absence of connecting bridges across many rivers. With a council headquarters located at Amagunze, travelling from neighbouring communities of Amankanu, Owo, Ubahu or Amechi-Idodo to the council headquarter will see the person travelling over 35 kilometers to Enugu and continue from there. The journey would be less stressful if there is a link over the Inyaba Bridge and a link road to the area. Other inhabitants of the council namely

Nkerefi, Mburubu, Nome, Nara, Ogbuakwa, Umode, among others share similar experience and sorry tales. Amankanu, for instance, seems to be the most hit of all the communities. Its swampy nature has also not helped matters. It is the last community in the council sharing boundaries with Ubahu and neighbouring communities of Isi-Uzo and Ishielu local government of Ebonyi State. Accessing the community through Ubahu (a distance of about 20 kilometres) is by foot, across the swampy terrain and locally made wooden bridges. Moving from the road being constructed into Ubahu by the council chairman, Pastor Sam Iyiogwe, the rest of the journey is done on foot through a bush path.

sheets could easily be counted. Most of the buildings are mud houses covered with rafters. Everything in the village is crude, bereft of enhancements. The Guardian gathered that no vehicle had come into the community since its existence due to lack of access road. Like other communities in the council, streams are the only source of drinking water for Amankanu residents. A resident, John Nnaji, said: “There is no hospital up till now. We use wheelbarrow or motorcycle, for those who can afford it, to transport our women in labour to faraway places like Ubahu or Eha-Amufu in another local government to deliver safely.” Nnaji pleaded for the provision of hospital, school, roads, and electricity to the area to enable them live like others. He noted that the people in the community are poor because produce from their farms cannot get out to better markets outside the community. Mrs. Philomena Ugwu, who also lamented the plight of residents, said: “Since I was born, I have not seen a car in my community. Many of our women experiencing labour die before we get to Eha-Amufu or Ubahu while on the wheelbarrow.” The available alternative to the agonizing push on the wheelbarrow is to be attended to at home by traditional midwives or taken to an herbalist home. Even when The Guardian expressed bewilderment over the situation in the communities, some residents say things have improved remarkably. According to them, before now, the area had always been excluded from routine immunization and it was only recently that teachers and corps members were posted to the only secondary school in the village, though such postings have always been rejected. They added that the present administration at the council has awarded several bridges and culverts, as well as opened new roads that would link the neighbouring communities together. It would be recalled that a road for the first time was built for Amechi, Idodo and Ubahu communities last year by the council administration. Nkanu East council chairman, Iyiogwe, described the state of communities as “desolate,” stressing that he was in a hurry to bring development to the area and make some difference. One of the challenges he encountered after assuming office last year was how to link up the communities disconnected by lack of culverts and bridges. He added that his administration has in the last one year embarked on over 70 projects across the council, all of which is like a drop in the ocean, in view of the massive rot and long

Motorists Raise Alarm Over Return Of Roadblocks In Lagos By Gbenga Akinfenwa YEAR after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, ordered the dismantling of all roadblocks and checkpoints mounted on highways across the country, policemen, especially in Lagos State, are back to business on the roads. The move, which was hailed by Nigerians, was to redeem the force’s battered image after various reports of citizens’ extortion at the checkpoints. In Lagos, especially at the IlepoOja-Command road, along LagosAbeokuta expressway, policemen in the area are using the cover of security checks to mount roadblock and extort money from motorists. From Ilepo-Oja motor park through Ile-Iwe junction, Oju-Odo, Big Joy, Ajasa, White House to the Lagos Command Secondary School, there are about five checkpoints stationed daily on the road. Four points on the road have already been designated as permanent site as the sticks used for the roadblock are seldom removed even when the policemen are gone. The regular joints are at Ile-Epo, Big Joy, Ile-Iwe and Oju-Odo bus stops. The Guardian investigations revealed that while the checkpoints at Ile-Epo and Big Joy bus stops are being controlled by Ile-Epo Police Station, the other two at Ile-Iwe and Oju-Odo are managed by Ile-Iwe Po-

lice Station. Interestingly, in the bid to avoid being detected for their illicit acts, the roadblocks become only operational at night from 7pm. This leaves a long trail of congested traffic on the road to the discomfort of road users. More so, the bar has been raised from where the police left it off in 2012. They no longer collect N20. It is now a flat rate of N200, which though could be negotiated to N100 by the bus conductor depending on the mood of the collector at the checkpoint, volume of vehicles and day of the week. In other parts of the state, policemen have invented subtle means of indulging in the banned act. They usually position themselves at major road junctions to control traffic but once the yellow-coloured commercial buses, popularly known as Danfo, are sighted, all pretence of directing traffic is jettisoned. The bus is immediately surrounded and the conductor harassed to his due. When their services are not needed at junctions with a functional traffic light, they still volunteer to marshal traffic and lay in wait for commercial buses and private vehicles that violate traffic regulations. In some other areas, a policeman in mufti or someone else is delegated to collect the money at the bus stops.

BUS driver, Mr. Nurudeen A Ishaq, said the activities of policemen on the road partly contributed to the hike in fare from N50 to N100 between Ile-Epo and Command, as failure to part with money at the checkpoints would only lead to unnecessary delay and a risk of their vehicle being

impounded. He added that one of the policemen in the area, popularly called Oluaye Olopa, is notorious for collecting N2,000 from any driver that falls into his trap, whenever he is on duty. A resident, Mr. John, who works in Oshodi, lamented that after endur-

ing the traffic jam on the LagosAbeokuta expressway every evening, it is demoralizing to be subjected to a needless delay because some policemen are stropping vehicles to collect toll. He called on the Lagos Police Command to check the activities of the policemen in the area.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

CITYFILE A Pinch Of N(u)ews A Laugh At Serious Issues

By Stanley Azuakola

Akpabio’s Donation Upsets Aso Rock

Boko Haram Threat:

HE legendary donating ability of the Akwa Ibom governor, T Godswill Akpabio, has landed him in trouble with Aso Rock. There are fears that Akpabio’s lavishness might have gone out of his control following the donation he announced during the dinner party in honour of the ACN national leader, Bola Tinubu. Earlier during that event, a member of the PDP board of trustees, Kashim Imam, had declared that the PDP would be defeated by the APC in 2015, and so President Jonathan should get ready to vacate Aso Rock. To the shock of everyone present, when it was time for Akpabio to give his speech, he said, “in line with what my brother PDP member has said, I would like to donate one million Ghana-must-go bags to the first family to help them pack their belongings when leaving the villa. I would also complete the president’s humble mansion in Otuoke, which he says he has been struggling to build so that he can move in there and live happily ever after.”

Gov. Dickson Loves Akpos Jokes

AST week, some protesting unemployed graduates in Bayelsa LDoowere brutalised by men of the state’s security outfit, Operation Akpo. Now questions are being asked about the security outfit. One of the most frequently asked questions is: Who gave such a name to a security outfit and why? According to some Bayelsans, Operation Doo Akpo was established by Seriake Dickson in 2012, during the peak of the Akpos jokes franchise in Nigeria, in furtherance of his administration’s objective of adopting a laughable approach to governance. Recruits into Operation Doo Akpo must be properly armed with a repertoire of Akpos jokes, which they must be ready to ‘Doo’ at the discretion of the governor. Dickson believes that even though the outfit would be charged with brutalising, they should do it with a smile on their faces to show that they have ill feelings towards none. Operation Doo Akpo is opposed to anything unfunny. PRAYER FOR PEACE: A member of a white garment church praying in front of a crucifix at the Lagos bar beach. They allegedly arrested a man for sharing an unfunny joke in which he said that he can never stay alone in the same room with Dickson because of fear that with the ginormous (gigantic+enormous) size of the governor’s nose, he might suck away all the oxygen in the room.

... Fear, Anxiety Grip Lagosians

Nigerians, Kenyans Fight Over GEJ

AST week, there was a much-publicised fight on social media between Nigerians and their Kenyan counterparts. It has now been confirmed that the reason for the fight was the insults heaped on President Jonathan, by Kenyans on social media. When Kenyans insulted Nigeria, the Super Eagles, and Nollywood, Nigerians didn’t respond to them. But immediately they touched Nigeria’s anointed in Aso Rock, the whole nation united in war. The Kenyans first wrote: “#TellNigerians that we see how your president is going around Africa begging for highest honours. Tell him to come to Kenya, we’ll give him Grand Kolo of the Kenyan Republic.” As if that wasn’t enough, they wrote, “#TellNigerians that we know how Jonathan went to Liberia and they awarded him Grand Condom in the Most Vulnerable Order; he went to Cote d’Ivoire and they gave him Grand Gross of the Order of the Nation; then he went to Guinea and they handed him the Guinea Fowl Order Award.” The lies offended Nigerians. In Liberia, Jonathan received the Grand Cordon in the most venerable order of the pioneers of the Federal Republic of Liberia; in Cote d’Ivoire he received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Nation; and in Guinea he received the Grand Collar of the Order of Independence.

CROWNED CLOWN (CeeCee) OF THE WEEK

OTS of Nigerians give Nigeria a bad name – there’s no Nigerian Ljumps who can deny that. From the internet scammers to the thief who bail in the UK, we can list so many instances. But there is something reprehensible about someone writing a book, which classifies “Nigerians” as an international organised criminal organisation. That’s exactly what Peter Lilley, a UK author did in his book, Dirty Dealing – The Untold Truth about Global Money Laundering, International Crime and Terrorism. Lilley’s action is particularly upsetting because when he describes criminal groups in other countries, he used qualifiers – for instance, Colombian cartels, Russian mafia, Japanese Yakuza, Turkish and Kurdish gangs. But For Nigeria, he simply uses “Nigerians.” On Page 50, he writes: “Amongst this varied collection are: Turkish and Kurdish drug smugglers; traffickers in migrants; the Italian Mafia; Kosovo Albanian gangs; even the Nigerians have attempted to get in on the act through Athens Airport.” He does this again and again and again in his book; lumping 170 million people into his ridiculous classification. It is incredible that neither his editors nor his publishers saw it fit to correct this, and despite entreaties from some Nigerians to explain or amend, Peter Lilley has kept mum. Lilley should be ashamed of himself for his misleading characterisation of Nigerians. While we await his response, and even as some Nigerian lawyers in the UK prepare to take it up, we call on him to receive the Crowned Clown Award this week. It looks good on him. Follow A Pinch on Twitter: @stanleyazuakola

By Tope Templer Olaiya, Assistant Lagos City Editor HINGS have never been the same again in the boisterous city of Lagos since last week when a joint task force arrested two suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Ijora Badia area of Lagos. Arising from the operation carried out by a combined team of OP MESSA and personnel of the Department of State Security (DSS), which busted a Chadian and another man from the North in their hideout, the Nigerian Immigration Service last Tuesday commenced the mass deportation of illegal aliens arrested in different parts of the state. Security agencies have also been placed on red alert following previous antecedents of the sect to strike during holidays and festive periods. In preparation for Easter, security has been beefed up at strategic areas of the state to prevent attack on Lagos by Boko Haram extremists. While the state Deputy Controller of Immigration, Dora Amahien spent the whole of last week with her team visiting various local councils to explore opportunities for collaboration on ridding Lagos of illegal aliens, the state governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday met with thousands of officials of the Neighbourhood Watch outfit chairmen of all Community Development Associations (CDAs) on how to strengthen community policing. Addressing the Neighbourhood Watchers, Fashola told them to brace up for the challenge ahead and ensure that terrorists did not creep into the state. The governor said the officers must police the grassroots appropriately and ensure that strange elements were identified, arrested and handed over to the police for prompt action. He said the state relied and believed in them as grassroots security outfit to be vigilant and on the alert at all times and work with community leaders to identify people with nefarious purposes. A CDA chairman in Bariga, who was at the

meeting with the governor told The Guardian that after the discovery of the Ijora Badia Boko Haram hideout, where bombs, guns and other ammunitions were recovered, the state government is doing everything humanly possible to ensure terrorist insurgents do not strike in Lagos. “Some other successful raids have been made but these were kept away from the media. I also learnt Boko Haram members have infiltrated Lagos but want to established their underground cells first before their first strike, which would make it difficult for security agencies to smoke them out. However, the governor is not resting. “Some of the state’s tactics include massive deportation of northerners and foreigners, 24 hours surveillance of every neighbourhood, particularly settlements were northerners are prevalent because every Hausa man is a potential terrorist. My advice to Lagosians is for them to try as much as possible to limit their rapport with northerners and watch them closely. But our worry is that nowhere is safe now because they are in every community riding okada and doing se-

Traders Lament Low Patronage During Easter Celebration By Oluwakemi Ajani S Christians all over the world joined their counterpart to celebrate Easter, traders in some major markets in Lagos have complained of low patronage. A visit to some of the markets at the weekend revealed that prices of food items have increased, a situation that caught most customers unawares. At the popular Mile 12 market, prices of different brands of rice, ranging from Aroso, Agric and Ofada, have also increased. A bag of rice that previously sold for N6,500 now sells at N10,500. A trader, Mrs. Sadia Adeleke, said there was an unexpected lull days leading to Easter, as most customers complained of paucity of funds due to late payment of salaries. “If salaries of workers had been paid on time, it would have been a busy weekend

for us, but as you can see, everywhere is dry,” she said. A garri seller at Daleko market, Mrs. Adesina Agnes, attributed the low turnout of customers to liquidity squeeze in the economy. “Since morning, I have sold a bag. The few people that patronized me today have all decided to cut their coat according to their sizes. “Those who usually buy a bag now go for lesser quantities. A bag of garri that was sold for N5,000 is now N8,500. What economics taught us is that prices crash if little money is chasing a product, but this is rarely the case in consumables.” However, a few commodities that were immune from the vagaries of the market and lull of customers is frozen chicken and pepper. It was a bobbling scene at the chicken stand in Ketu market, as buyers almost trampled on each other to get

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Some other successful raids have been made but these were kept away from the media. I also learnt Boko Haram members have infiltrated Lagos but want to established their underground cells first before their first strike, which would make it difficult for security agencies to smoke them out. However, the governor is not resting. Some of the state’s tactics include massive deportation of northerners and foreigners, 24 hours surveillance of every neighbourhood, particularly settlements were northerners are prevalent because every Hausa man is a potential terrorist.

the best bargains. In this instance the law of economics was proved right, as the marginal increase in the prices of broilers, cockerels, layers and full-grown chicken did not dissuade buyers. Mrs. Famorigba Tutu, who was at Ketu market to stock for the holiday, said the less money in circulation could be blamed for the buyer’s apathy. “Everybody knows the situation in the country that money is not well circulated. Also, the timing of the festivals matter; just like Christmas when people spend less because of worrying over payment of school fees. “Most parents today are worried about paying another term’s school fees. Festivals come and go but not the responsibilities. So, nothing really special about Easter,” she noted.

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curity jobs,” he said. UT worried by the unchecked activities B of the insurgent group in the country, Lagos residents have called on authorities in the state to step up security. Speaking on the platform of Association of Market Leaders, Alhaji Hassan Akerele, said the Muslim community in the Lagos was already on alert monitoring their members, especially during prayers at the mosques. Presently living under the fear of Boko Haram attack are areas in the state where northerners have cluster communities. Major parts of the state, including highbrow areas of Surulere, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki, have a huge concentration of northerners and foreigners operating motorcycles, popularly called okada or engaged as security guards. In a chat with The Guardian, a community leader in Obalende, Prince Soji Ladejobi, said the community is concerned with the proliferation of northerners in the area but cannot do much to check the influx of suspected bombers. “There is little the community can do against this new wave of threat though we are working with our vigilante team to keep a tab on all uncompleted and abandoned buildings in the neighbourhood, as well as those who sleep in the markets at night. “The association is ready to tackle headlong not only the Boko Haram issue, but other security challenges like the peddling of Indian hemp, growing shanties and beer parlours where armed robbers meet and fratenise. We would ensure the local council put the streetlights in order. When the streetlights are working, people will feel safer and it would enhance the security of the area,” he said. While the Easter festivities go on, the police have, however, urged the general public to be more vigilant and report any strange object to the nearest law enforcement agency.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

CITyFILE Nutricima Begins Diet Lagos Island Commissions First Campaign In Lagos Schools Secondary School In Olowogbowo L By Gbenga Akinfenwa ISTORy was recorded in Olowogbowo community, Lagos and its environs last week Tuesday, as the first secondary school in the area, Elegbata Junior High School, was commissioned and handed-over to the state government by Lagos Island local council. The building converted to a school was initially conceived as a replacement for the classroom building of Anwar-Ul-Islam Primary School, Elegbata, but was later designated to be a secondary school. The construction, which started in 2009 and was completed a year ago, has 12 classrooms, provided with requisite furniture, a library, a computer room, teachers’ office with cabinet, principal’s office tiled with air conditioner and Vice Principal’s office. The building also has 12 toilets. Chairman of the local government, Wasiu Eshinlokun Sanni, said the site of the school was a swampy and dingy environment, with a derelict and dilapidated building that had sunk to an unsafe and inhabitable level. He noted that at inception, his administration was confronted with the task of restoring confidence in the public school system, a task that the council confronted headlong

and “the result is what we are commissioning today.” Sanni enjoined the education authority in the state to build a new structure for Ansar-Ul-Islam, Elegbata and to also start plans for the construction of Elegbata Senior Secondary School so as not

to reverse the gains of the take-off. Chairman of Olowogbowo Community Development Association, Oluwole Ogunleke, who lauded the effort of the council, urged the council boss to ensure other projects in the community are given urgent attention.

EADING dairy and beverage makers, Nutricima Limited is offering students in Lagos State the opportunity to taste the nourishing values of two of its products, Nunu and Bliss in a school-wide campaign featuring about 6,000 children in 10 nursery and primary schools. Ten pupils will also win N10,000 each through an essay competition among the schools. Officials of the firm kicked off the initiative last week with visits to schools in the Ikeja Local Government area. Schools visited include Chrisland International at Opebi, St. Leo’s Catholic School, Gophawood School, Omoleye Children’s School and Salvation International School. Others include Hallmark School, Agidingbi, Tunwase School and Future Kids. The school sampling initiative is one in a series of events the company has embarked on in recent years as it strives to promote an all-round healthy populace.

Lagos Lauds Firm Over Human Capital Development Initiative

By Tunde Alao AGOS State government last week presented a CSR Award to Nigerite Ltd, a leading building component manufacturing and marketing company, in recognition of its support for the state’s human capacity development initiatives, especially the ‘Support our Schools’ programmes. Presenting an award of recognition at a breakfast meeting held at Lagos City Hall, Governor Babatunde Chairman of Lagos Island local government, Wasiu Sanni (third left), flanked by guests while cutting tape to Fashola said the award was a way of showing apprecicommission the new school ation to the company for its contributions to the state’s developmental programmes. According to Fashola, Nigerite’s gesture is a wakeup call to corporate organizations and individuals who have not joined the initiative, adding that everybody has a role to play in the development of human caT was an emotion-laden gathering as memclothes, building materials, food items met their needs. pacity necessary for national development. bers of the Dorcas Oke Hope Alive Initiative among others, Aluko said: “DORHAL has One of the leaders of the initiative, Mrs. Marketing Director, Nigerite Limited, Toyin Gbede, (DOHAL) relived fond memories of the late five cardinal goals: death prevention proFadekemi Aluko, stated that the initiative had Dorcas Oke, daughter of the founder of the gramme; youth emancipation and empow- said his organization is grateful to government for been on since 2003 after the unfortunate death recognizing the firm’s little effort in moving the eduSword of the Spirit Ministries, Bishop Francis of Dorcas Oke due to typhoid fever. She revealed erment programme; poverty eradication cation sector forward in Lagos State. Support our Wale Oke, at Soka, in Ibadan, where relief materi- that it was the needless death of the young lady programmes; rural development and emSchools initiative aims to revamp the state’s educaals were distributed to victims of the February 10 that propelled the parents of Dorcas to reach out powerment programmes; and disaster retion system through active participation of individurainstorm in Ibadan, Oyo State capital. lief programmes. We carried out our to many Nigerians who are victims of unIn the wake of the disaster, many residents of baseline study and discovered that the rain- als, civil society, and corporate bodies to support one favourable circumstances and put smiles back or more of the 1001 public primary, 329 junior secthe area lost valuables, while several others were on their faces. storm victims here in Soka need to be rendered homeless. For residents of Soka, the helped. This is why we are here to distribute ondary and 312 senior secondary schools and five techDistributing the materials, which included nical colleges in Lagos. gesture was timely as the materials distributed lend a helping hand.”

Group Donates Relief Materials To Ibadan Rainstorm Vic-

CITYSHOTS:

Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State (right), his Borno State counterpart, Kashim Shettima (middle) and Yobe deputy governor, Engr. Abubakar Ali (left) in prayers after the wedding fatiha of two of Governor Gaidam's sons in Damaturu... yesterday.

Two Fighting W HEN in those days two errant pupils decide to turn against each other and abandoned their homework, the third pupil will shout ‘two fighting’. But when a state government and the federal decide to ‘fight’ over ownership of a particular road project or more, citizens become too shocked to shout anything. What could lead to a misunderstanding over road projects if not constipation, resulting from eating too much? A fight is in the making between Ogun State government and Abuja over a certain N6bn road contracts awarded by the federal government, which incidentally, the Ogun government claims it had also awarded. The roads in question are Ejinrin/Folagbade/Ibadan Road in Ijebu-Ode, Ilaro-Pa-

palanto Road in Ewekoro Local Government and Ogijo Road, Sagamu Local Government Area. Governor Ibikunle Amosu said his government has paid 2bn for the construction of the roads before the Federal Government ‘woke up from its slumber’ and said it had awarded contract for the road since 2009 and 2010. Very shameful, but not surprising! There had been similar ‘wars’ over roads in the past, when party politics takes over good governance. Instead of fixing roads and letting the dividends of democracy manifest, the two tiers, in their usual laziness would wait for the rainy season to descend before they begin to trade words over roads. The Federal government is used to abandoning projects. It had abandoned Sango Ota, a

Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye (right); Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Wahab Alawiye-King; and Governor Babatunde Fashola, presenting Support our Schools award to Marketing Director, Nigerite, Toyin Gbede, for the construction of Nigerite Centre for Excellence in Building Component Solutions in Ikorodu and facilitating an industry backed competency development curriculum for LASTVEB… recently.

A Crooner Goes To Sing In Senate? NE of the tough challenges of the moment is getting quality leaders to man the ship of state at all levels. There are less and less of men whose mere presence in an executive capacity can turn things around for the country. The situation is more frightening in the camp of lawmakmajor artery for many years. ers, where men of high Now it went into another corner standing are supposed to of Ogun State to look for trouble. watch over the affairs of the exCC wants the two to stop playing ecutive from a moral and politics and harmonise. They sound high ground that is should mobilise Julius Berger to without blemish and powered return to Ota and other critical by uncommon patriotic zeal. CC is worried by the absence areas, where there are real chalof a clearing process where lenges. The Governor is familiar with next generation leaders could the situation on that route and be put through a deliberate should not join issues with a dis- tutelage, to imbibe the art of tant federal government. That is governance. It is more worrynot what the people want. That ing that in place of such exis not democracy. alted selection process, what

exists are pockets of men who decide who goes where. Take this for instance: There are ongoing plots to decide who goes to the parliament in 2015 from a gateway state in the Southwest and there are feelers that a musician is being tipped to go and sing for the Eastern flank in the Senate. There is nothing wrong with that if the singer has a good voice and his lyrics are audible and sensible. The man should also be able to speak some good English, so that when he gets up to speak in plenary or at the committee level, all who hear him would be happy with those who selected him. That means the man should have sound some education. Anything short of this will demean the Southwest, a zone

that is well respected for its ranking position in these matters. Should a godfather have the misfortune of tipping a barely literate crooner and praise singer for an exalted seat in the Senate, CC cautions that the blessing of the godfather should be reversed because there are enough benchwarmers in the Senate and House. If the truth must be told, the country is presently at crossroads, urgently desiring redemption, and this redemption lies in the hands of serious minded people. Senate membership is not that of a street corner club, or Egbe Bobakeye, neither is it a place for those who are looking for a place to hibernate.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

FOREIGNNEWS

Dar Es Salaam Building Collapse Kills 17 TANZANIA T least 17 people have been A killed after a multi-storey building collapsed in the centre of the main Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam on Friday morning, according to a local official. Commissioner Saidi Meck Sadick said 18 people had survived. He added that the search for other survivors was continuing. Earlier reports said some 45 people, including construction workers, residents and children from a Koranic school, were missing. The high-rise building, accord-

ing to BBC, is under construction is now a “huge pile of chaos”. Eyewitness Nishit Surelia said: “There was a huge noise and the building collapsed behind me. “Everyone started running, thinking it was an earthquake. There was dust everywhere. We then realised what had happened.” Trapped victims are said to have been making phone calls to friends and relatives. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete visited the scene. The collapsed building was near a mosque, as well as other residential and commercial properties in central Dar es Salaam. It was supposed to have been at

Karzai In Qatar ‘To Discuss Taliban Talks’ AFGHANISTAN FGHAN President Hamid Karzai A has arrived in Qatar on a two-day state visit for talks with Qatari officials. The possibility of the Taliban opening a political office in Qatar is expected to be discussed, officials say. The setting up of an office in Qatar is regarded as an important step in formalising a channel for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. US-led Western troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. As the Afghan president’s visit began, there were reports that two children and nine suspected Taliban militants had been killed in an air strike by international forces close

to the south-eastern city of Ghazni. A Nato spokesman quoted by Reuters news agency said an Afghan police patrol had come under attack and had called in a helicopter for support. Last month, President Karzai issued an order banning Afghan security forces from calling in foreign air strikes in residential areas, because of heightened tensions about the extent of civilian casualties. Mr Karzai’s office said the talks in Qatar would focus on bilateral cooperation and on Afghanistan’s peace process. Last month Mr Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said that they would work towards a peace deal for Afghanistan within six months.

least 12 floors high when finished. Police say they are questioning four people linked to the construction company, while work

Chinese media said the first body had been found - but only 36 hours after the landslip - and that the chances of finding survivors were slim. The miners’ camp, 70km (45 miles) east of Lhasa, was destroyed by thousands of tonnes of rock. Rescuers have been hampered by

TIBET freezing weather, altitude sickness and risks of further landslides. Xinhua news agency said that as of 10:00 local time (02:00 GMT) no survivors had been found and later reported that the first body had been discovered at 17:35 local time. “The miners’ survival chances were slim due to the scale of the landslide,” it quoted one rescue

Dar es Salaam in recent years, as in many African cities. The speed of construction and lack of safety standards sometimes put at risk both the buildings and those living and working in them.

Mandela Breathing Without Difficulty SOUTH AFRICA ELSON Mandela is breathing N without difficulty, South Africa’s presidency has said, as he spends a third day in hospital with a lung infection. Mandela, 94, was comfortable and was continuing to respond to treatment, the statement said. It said Mandela had developed a pleural effusion - excess fluid in the lungs, which had been drained to enable him to breathe more easily. There are no details yet on how long he will remain in hospital. After Mr Mandela was admitted

to hospital late on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma said people “must not panic”. The former president first contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while detained on windswept Robben Island. His lungs are said to have been damaged while working in a prison quarry. This latest spell in hospital is his fourth in just over two years. Mandela served as South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999 and is regarded by many as the father of the nation for leading the struggle against apartheid. The statement read by presidential spokesman, Mac Maharaj, yesterday

said that Mr Mandela had been admitted to hospital “due to a recurrence of pneumonia”. It said: “Doctors advised that due to the lung infection, former President Mandela had developed a pleural effusion which was tapped. This has resulted in him now being able to breathe without difficulty. “He continues to respond to treatment and is comfortable.” The statement said the presidency “would like to acknowledge and thank all who have been praying for, and sending messages of support for, Madiba and his family.”

Supreme Court Upholds Kenyatta Election Win ENYA’S Supreme Court has K upheld Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential election victory, rejecting several petitions challenging the vote. Chief Justice Willy Mutunga announced the decision, which was unanimous, saying the poll was free and fair. Main challenger PM Raila Odinga, who lodged the appeal, said he would fully respect the verdict. Official results said Kenyatta

Hopes Fade For Mine Landslide Survivors OPES are fading for more than H 80 miners buried in a landslide on Friday in Tibet.

on a nearby site undertaken by the same company has been suspended. Tanzania’s growing economy has prompted a construction boom in

worker as saying. The landslide took place at 06:00 local time on Friday at the mine, which lies at an altitude of 4,600m (15,000ft), burying 83 workers. Some 2,000 police, firefighters and doctors have been sent to the disaster site, setting up temporary accommodation at a safe distance. About 200 bulldozers have been deployed to shift rock.

KENYA beat Odinga by 50.07 percent to 43.28 percent, avoiding a run-off by just 8,100 votes. There was tight security at the Supreme Court as the judgement was read out. Violence after a disputed election in 2007 left more than 1,200 people dead. The presidential, legislative and municipal elections held on March 4 were the first since the 2007 poll. Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, are expected to be sworn in as president and vicepresident on April 9. Chief Justice Mutunga said the court’s decisions had been unanimous on all the issues they were asked to rule on. He said that Kenyatta and Ruto had been “validly elected” in a poll carried out in a “free, fair, transparent and credible” manner. “It is the decision of the court that the said elections were indeed conducted in compliance with the constitution and the law,” he said.

“At this historical moment in our country, the Supreme Court has discharged its constitutional duty in conformity with the solemn oath each one of us took,” he added. “It is now for the Kenyan people, their leaders, civil society, the private sector and the media to discharge theirs, to ensure that the unity, peace, sovereignty and prosperity of the nation is preserved. God bless Kenya.” Supporters of Kenyatta took to the streets of central Nairobi, tooting their horns, blowing on vuvuzelas and chanting. Outside the courthouse, police used tear gas to chase away people protesting against the ruling but the area is now quiet. There were also reports of tear gas being fired at stone-throwing youths in the western city of Kisumu, a stronghold of Odinga. And there was an angry mood in the Nairobi slum of Kibera, a BBC report says, with people chanting “no Raila no peace”.

Kenya Supreme court's six-judge bench led by Willy Mutunga (3rd L), The court… yesterday upheld the victory of Uhuru Kenyatta in the March 4 presidential election, Mutunga said, throwing out a bid by his rival Raila Odinga for a new poll that would have revived the spectre of violence. The court unanimously ruled that the election had been fair and credible and that Kenyatta and his running mate had been validly elected. PHOTO: AFP

TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31, 2013 | 11

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Outlook Easter, Hajj, And Spiritual Awakening By Stephen Lampe ASTER 2013 is especially significant for Catholics. It is the first to be celebrated by the new Pope Francis I, who is the first nonEuropean Pope ever as well as the first in about 600 years to succeed a living Pope. The omen is that he will bring new and practical idealism into the Papacy, which cannot but have a positive impact on all Christians and possibly even on all spiritually-inclined humanity, regardless of religion. Easter and Hajj are the most important festivals of Christianity and Islam respectively —- two world religions that have so much in common in their essence but which are at loggerheads in so many parts of the world. The focus of both religions has been on organisations, which invariably provide material benefits and earthly influence for their leaders and high officials. As the emphasis has shifted from promoting individual search for truth and deepening individual relationship with the Creator, their common core has become veiled. Easter is preceded by the Holy Week, the last week of Lent, a 40-day penitential period of prayer and fasting, which reminds one of the Muslim Ramadan. In some years, there is a near coincidence of the Hajj observance and the Holy Week. Easter is central to the whole Christian calendar. The dates of all movable Christian feasts (in contrast to festivals like Christmas whose dates are fixed) are based on the date of Easter. Moreover, the whole liturgical calendar of worship (the dates for observing various Church rituals) is arranged around the date of Easter. Similarly, the completion of Ramadan, the month during which Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset as part of an effort towards spiritual purification and renewal is followed by the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr. A second major Islamic celebration takes place during the time of the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hajj is one of the “five pillars” of Islam, and thus an essential part of Muslim faith and practice. Although only the pilgrims in Mecca can participate fully in the Hajj, all other Muslims in the world join with them by celebrating the Eid ul-Adha or Festival of Sacrifice. This country has never had as many churches and as many mosques as it has today; it has never known a greater intensity of religious activities, amounting to what can justifiably be described as excessive zeal. And yet we witness so much hatred and distrust among religious groups and a dogged resistance against peaceful and just solutions to our multifarious problems —- all of which are rooted in spiritual immaturity and consequent moral weaknesses. Those who are most flagrantly corrupt and who grossly abuse public office are to be found in the ranks of the self-proclaimed staunchest religious champions. Muslims and Christians are as likely as non-believers and idol worshippers to engage in corrupt practices and other illegalities and to preach ethnic hatred when it serves their personal or group agenda. What can be the explanation? Is it possible that these religions no longer have the power to make us good human beings? Is it the case that we do not really understand the teachings brought by the Lord Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be

CONversation

Upon Him)? Both teachings came from God, and both are emphatic about justice and love, and respect for human lives and human rights. May it be that we are mere hypocrites and that we have no conviction in these teachings? We do not need to think deeply before we come to the conclusion that Christian and Islamic ideals are at present patently lacking in the social, economic, and political life of Nigeria. The period of Lent leading to Easter is intended as a time for reflection, genuine change, and a genuine striving to live in accordance with the teachings of Jesus. Ramadan and Hajj present the same opportunities with respect to the teachings of Prophet Mohammed. Let us be reminded that both Easter and the Hajj are about spiritual awakening, about inner change, about being truly born again. I should note that there is widespread misunderstanding and debasement of the spiritual concept of being “born again”. The Hajj is meant to be an opportunity to seek forgiveness of sins accumulated throughout one’s life. Prophet Mohammed is reported to have said that a person who performs Hajj properly “will return as a newly born baby”, determined not to sin again, and resolved to forgive the sins others may have committed against him or her. Such a person is truly “born again”. It is an analogous inner change that makes a Christian truly “born again”. The pilgrimage also enables Muslims of different races, ethnic groups, and languages from all

over the world to come together in a spirit of universal brotherhood and sisterhood. The Hajj is not a religious jamboree but a deeply spiritual event. The rites of the Hajj include going around the Ka’bah seven times and going seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa. In the knowledge that the number seven signifies “spirit”, one can say that the rites testify to the deep spiritual nature of Hajj. Whoever does not celebrate it in spirit gains nothing. The term “Easter” was first used when Christianity was introduced to the Saxons. Before this time, the Saxons had held an annual feast in honour of the ancient Teutonic goddess of Spring called Eostre. The name was transferred to the Christian observance of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Spring is the season that marks the awakening of nature following the slumber or “death” during the Winter months. In the Tropics, such as in Nigeria, this “death” and resurrection of nature is not as dramatic as it is in the Temperate Zone. But the phenomenon does exist. In the dry season, grasses die, some trees shed their leaves, and the activities of some animals (including snails and toads) are curtailed, similar to the conditions of Winter. At the start of the rainy season, there is a new growth of grasses and various plants and a revitalization of animal activities, reminiscent of Spring. Easter has always been closely linked with

Spring, the season of the awakening or the resurrection of nature. In the early years of Christianity, Jewish Christians (Jews who became Christians) observed the resurrection and Passover together on the 14th day of Nisan, the Jewish month roughly corresponding with April. However, Gentile Christians marked the resurrection every Sunday with a special celebration on the Sunday closest to the 14th day of Nisan. To settle this difference, church leaders fixed the date for Easter at the Nicene Council in 325 AD. They decided that Easter would be the first Sunday following the Paschal full moon. The Paschal full moon is the first full moon after the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 21; March 21 marks the official beginning of Spring. The system that was agreed at the Nicene Council for fixing the date of Easter is still followed today. Because it depends on the date of the full moon, Easter Sunday moves between March 22 and April 25. However, the Eastern Orthodox Church follows a slightly different calculation. As a result, the Orthodox Easter, although sometimes coinciding with that of other Christians, can come one, four, or even five weeks later. But it still remains a springtime celebration. It is interesting to note the dependence of the date of Easter on the moon, just like some Muslim festivals. As a celebration of the awakening of nature, Easter should become a festival of spiritual awakening and renewal for all human beings, regardless of religion. We should consider Easter a time for the awakening of the inner self; a “resurrection” of our individual spirits from spiritual slumber. It is a time to rededicate ourselves to doing the Will of God so that we who have journeyed as immature spirits into the deep vale of the World of Matter may one day be able to ascend into Paradise, our permanent home. May all Nigerians, particularly our Christian and Muslim political leaders, be imbued with the sense of love, justice, humility, and tolerance that comes with genuine spiritual renewal, which is the essential purpose of both Easter and Hajj. And may such qualities translate into actions, so that rays of spiritual light may begin to break through Nigeria’s ethereal darkness. Amen. Efforts to make Nigeria a country of which we can all be rationally proud deserve the support of every true follower of the teachings of Jesus and/or of Prophet Mohammed through concrete deeds and not by mere words. The good news is that, in line with the special spiritual nature of our times, all genuine good volition is supported strongly by invisible, non-physical powers. Therefore, we should not be afraid of the apparent power of human beings who may be bent on perpetuating injustice and evil; such people must fail, sooner or later. In the end, the power of the Light will shatter the ethereal darkness hanging over Nigeria. With the destruction of ethereal darkness and its agents, materialism and religiosity will give way to a genuine desire to learn and to do the true Will of God, which is once again revealed to us at this time of the Cosmic Turning Point. We would do so as independent individuals who jealously guard our God-given Free Will and who refuse to be mere tools in the hands of various manipulators, including leaders of religious and related organizations. Dr. Lampe is a publisher based in Ibadan.

By Obe Ess

TheGuardian

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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Editorial Easter And Nigeria’s Redemption HE resurrection of Jesus Christ, being celebrated today, Easter T Sunday, is the miraculous event from which Christianity draws its essence. For Christians, it is the manifestation of the power of life over death, the triumph of good over evil, the victory of light over darkness, and the conquest of love over hatred. At no better time than now does the message of Easter resonate with Nigeria, a nation in dire need of redemption. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are a lesson on the power of humility, service, self-sacrifice, and true love. He taught a lot of lessons through his parables and miracles, but the greatest lessons he taught are in his own life. He taught his followers that, in love, a man can lay down his life for others. That those who seek to be first must make themselves last and servant of all. And that is what he did when he accepted a humiliating death in order that humanity may live. Nigerians can learn a lot from the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Easter is a celebration of hope and new life. For Nigerian Christians in particular, Easter promises the triumph of good over evil after a long season under the weight and trauma of failed leadership, political banditry, monumental corruption and the resultant economic stagnation, social dislocation, and unprecedented violence and crime. With the event of Easter, Christians are convinced that all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, evil can only dominate for a while, but will eventually crumble and give way to righteousness, truth and peace. As Nigerians celebrate today, they must not lose sight of the notion of sacrificial love that is central to the life of Jesus Christ. Authentic religion and genuine worship necessarily involve sacrifice and self-denial. What appears to be popular in Nigeria today, however, is a religion of convenience that glamorizes wealth, pleasure and power and makes little provision for sacrificial love, self-denial and self-abnegation. Mahatma Gandhi had identified this kind of religion (without sacrifice) as one of the seven deadly social sins of our age. Believers in Nigeria must strive to fight this deadly social sin. Citizens must capitalize on the best ideals of Christianity and Islam to transform the country from a land of endemic corruption, greed and graft, led by a succession of manipulators and opportunists, to a corrupt-free one under visionary leaders. Nigeria’s constitution rightly recognizes that the only way to protect the exercise of citizens’ religious duties is to guarantee the freedom of religion. Nigerians should not lose sight of the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified for proclaiming a message that ran against conventional wisdom. He was politically murdered, contrary to due process, by civil authorities that made the cause of religious bigots their own. This highlights the danger to truth and freedom that can manifest itself when state and religion inordinately cohere. Easter is an opportunity to reflect on the state of the nation. Nigeria’s stock has drastically fallen in the world on account of rampant corruption and misrule by past and present leaders. Many young Nigerians now lack the courage to dream dreams and pursue high ideals, as their vision has been rendered opaque and their confidence shaken. But Easter is a call to hope, a declaration that there is life beyond Calvary, a reality of eternal possibilities and renewal. A nation may be awash with corruption and official malfeasance. It may even be tottering on the brink of collapse. But the people need not give in to a death wish. They can dream dreams. Nigeria can rise to new heights and regain her dignity. Nigerians can make Nigeria work for the benefit of everyone. It only takes sacrifice, discipline, determination, focus, commitment, integrity, and visionary, selfless leadership. Buffeted though by a myriad of woes — a stagnant economy propped up with statistics, a corrupted judiciary, decaying national infrastructure, a manipulative ruling class steeped in corruption, terrorism, an escalation of kidnapping and armed robbery, declining educational and health care delivery, a self-serving political class — redemption is still possible. As adherents of the two major religions of Christianity and Islam, when Nigerians abandon hypocrisy and, instead, live out the high ideals of the religions, redemption is certain.

LETTERS

What Customs Comptroller Said IR: The Nigeria Customs placed. He stated that “present- now. SCommand Service (NCS), Seme Area ly, cargoes are being examined • physical examination cannot do thanks The Guardian with either or both the mobile the job of thorough examination of for the publication of the interview with the Comptroller. However, we wish to draw your attention to a distortion in the piece, which perhaps, was an oversight or printer’s devil. Obviously, the Comptroller’s response about the fixed scanner being installed was mis-

scanner and physical examination. So, the fixed scanner is being introduced because of the inadequacies of the mobile scanner.” But the said publication wrongly quoted the Comptroller as saying that: • the scanner is not being used yet but it is being installed

trucks but with fixed scanners, any item concealed in the truck can be seen. We will be pleased to see these errors corrected. •DSC, Olottah Ernest, Customs Public Relations Officer, Seme Area Command.

•The error is regretted. Editor.

The Editorial On Alamieyeseigha IR: Let me briefly salute the erally viewed as a phantom Sonymous usual courage already syn- coup, but rather he was conwith your stable’s victed of the beastly, barbaric fearless and spot on editorials as evidenced in the Friday, March 22, 2013 edition. Permit me to put on record for the sake of posterity, that Major Bello Magaji (reported as Major General Bello Magaji) was not amongst those cream of officers convicted in what was gen-

and bizarre offence of sodomy (an offence committed in 1996) by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday, March 7, 2008. It is soul lifting that the exit of the literary Iroko – Prof. Albert Chinua Achebe, the conscience of the violated

who is through his last chapter, will not extinguish the flame of the flagship’s motto of Conscience being an open wound which only truth can heal. The plain truth has been said with this editorial, and once again, more ink to your pen as you continue to walk the path of truth that even ‘saints’ dread to tread. •Opeyemi Ajala Lagos.

‘Feb. 24 Consecration Was Not The First In Lagos’ SIR: This is to thank you for the rich coverage given to the February 24th consecration of three bishops at the Cathedral of St. Jude, Diocese of Lagos Mainland in your edition of

March 3 (“This Consecration Will Advance Gospel, Anglican Communion”). It shows keen interest in the affairs of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican

Communion) for which we remain appreciative. It is, however, incorrect to say the consecration service was the first in Lagos State in the last 38 years or that it was the first outside of the Mother Cathedral (Christ Church Cathedral Marina, Lagos). On August 23, 2009, the present bishtaught there before I joined ops of Egba, Rt. Rev Emmanuel public service. I therefore Adekunle and Ijesa North East, Rt. feel a deep sense of personal Rev. Joseph Olusola were conseloss by his death. It is like crated at the Cathedral of St. Jude, losing a part of me. Ebute Meta by our retired Primate, Prof. Achebe’s death leaves Most Rev. Peter Akinola. As a paper a void not only in Nigeria of record, it will be greatly appreand Africa but also globally ciated if this error is corrected. because he is one of the best Once again thank you for your susnovelists the world has ever tained interest in the church. produced. He will be sorely missed but we take solace Lanre Idowu, in his rich legacies. Honorary Diocesan PRO, Diocese of •Prof. Dora Akunyili, OFR, Lagos Mainland, Church of Nigeria Abuja. (Anglican Communion).

Achebe: A Personal Loss As we say in Igboland when StheIR:aniroko extraordinary person dies, has fallen. I feel a sense of personal loss because Prof. Chinua Achebe was not only from my state, Anambra, but was also one of my heroes and role models right from my days at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), where he taught until the road accident that made him to relocate to the USA, where there are better facilities to enable him to continue to work. I attended UNN and later

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

Special Report On Ibadan Grammar School Centennial Celebration LD Students Association of Ibadan Grammar School (IGS) is organizing a grand centennial celebration as well as the launch of N500 million development fund for the school that has been passed as a leading Christian Secondary School which provided light in the darkness of heathenism and underdevelopment when it was established March 31, 1913. The founder, Rev. A.B. Akinyele who was later promoted Bishop established Ibadan Grammar School as a Christian School in the best tradition of the Anglican Church. A visionary clergyman, Akinyele who was the principal of the school until 1933 made a huge sacrifice to champion the cause of education when it was not popular and was almost meaningless to people. Succeeded by other Principals, the School, according to the Old Students Association witnessed a tremendous uplifting during the era of the legendary Archdeacon Emmanuel Alayande who made a notable impact on the school. It was during his tenure that the school moved from OkeAre to Molete. Among notable and unprecedented development the school witnessed during his tenure was the introduction of Higher School Certificate Programme, the first in the entire South West of Nigeria and the second in the whole country. Alayande transformed IGS and made it unique in the country drawing students from every part of the country and abroad. It was the first school to employ expatriates as teachers and it is on record that University of Ibadan recruited some of these expatriate teachers as lecturers.. It is therefore not a surprise that the School has produced a lot of great men and women who are today occupying high positions both in Nigeria and in the diaspora amongst whom are the President, The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman, Ikeja Hotels, Mr. Goodie Ibru, former Ambassador to Brazil, Dr. Dele Cole, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, Chairman, Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga (Jnr.), current Chief Judge of Lagos State, Ayotunde Phillips (Mrs.) and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, late Chief Bola Ige among others. No wonder, the Board of Trustees. Old Students Association (BOT), under the Chairmanship of Mr. Goodie Ibru, Secretary, BOT, Mr. Adegoke Adeniyi and others had determined that along with the celebration of the 100 years of establishment in the School, the association would bring the glory of the school back by giving it a face lift through provision of ICT Centre donated by Otunba Mike Adenuga Jnr., provision of E-Library donated by Chief Bayo Akande, New Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories donated by Ibadan Grammar School Old Students Association of North America, standard table tennis hall funded by Brig. General Teslim Adebiyi among others. Notable products of the School who have vouched to restore the old glory of the school and make the incoming generation enjoy the type of education they were privileged to have and made them what they are today include:

Chairman, BOT, Mr. Goodie Minabo Ibru, OON who was born in Kano, 1942 after his primary education at Yaba Methodist School, proceeded to Ibadan Grammar School for his secondary education between 1956 and 1960. He later left for the Holborn College of Law, London and graduated LLB (London) in 1965. He was called to the English Bar (Inner temple) in 1966; Enrolled at the Supreme Court as Solicitor and Advocate in 1968. He became a Notary Public in 1973. On his return from the United Kingdom, he formed the Law Firm, G.M. Ibru and Company of which he is the Principal Partner. Ibru, currently , is the Chairman of Ikeja Hotel Plc – owners of Sheraton Lagos Hotel as the Chairman of the Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, owners of Federal Palace Hotel. He is also the Chairman of Hans Gremlin Nigeria Limited (a subsidiary of Ikeja Hotel Plc) which acquired 51% equity stake of Capital Hotels Plc owners of Abuja Sheraton Hotel, under the privatization programe of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is also the

Chairman of Capital Hotels Plc. Mr. Ibru is on the Board of several other companies including Guardian Press Ltd., DTN Tyre & rubber Plc among others. He is the current President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Executive Vice President (West African Chapter), African Business Round Table (ABR) and Chairman of NEPAD Business Group Nigeria among others, Ibru is a recipient of the many awards which include National Honour Award of Officer of the Order of the Nigeria (OON), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Merit Award, Year 2003 among others. Secretary, BOT, Goke Adeniji was also a student in IGS between 1956 and 1962 where he completed his secondary and higher school certificate (HSC) course. He later proceeded to University of Ibadan from 1963 to 1967 where he obtained BA in English and Diploma in Librarianship. He later obtained MLS (Pitt.Pa.) He was Asst Librarian, Unilag 1967 and became University Librarian 1997. He retired 2006. Sabbatical leave engagements included setting up libraries of Punch and Guardian newspapers(1970s and 80s) and in1990 a Director of Special Duties at the National Directorate of Employment where he presided over the chairman’s(Chief Ella) Committee for the Creation of One Million Jobs. Mrs Ayotunde Adeyoola Phillips (Nee: Williams) the current Chief Judge of Lagos State was born on the 26th day of July 1949 in London, England, United Kingdom. She did her HSC in IGS between 1966 and 1968. It was in this school that she gained confidence in herself and became very outgoing and as rascally as the boys. She enjoyed the change of atmosphere from the very rigid form of education . After obtaining her Law Degree from the University of Lagos in 1973 she proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1974. She was among the first batch of Lawyers to serve under the NYSC Scheme and was posted to the then East Central State where she worked as a pupil State Counsel in the Ministry of Justice, Enugu between 1974 and 1975. She held several positions and became the Acting Chief Judge 10th June 2012 to 13th June 2012. On the 14th day of June she was sworn in as the 14th Chief Judge of Lagos State. . She is a member of several associations including Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), International Association of Women Lawyers. (FIDA), International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), among others. She is currently the Legal Adviser to the Ikeja Archdeaconry, Diocese of Lagos West, Ikeja, Lagos, and she is the Deputy Chancellor Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Diocese of Lagos West, Ikeja, Lagos State. Justice Phillips is married to Folorunso Modupe Phillips who is also a Mountaineer with children and grandchildren. BRIG GEN GREGORY OLUJIDE TESLIM ADEBIYI BSc, MSC, DSS, fwc. Brig Gen. G.O. Adebiyi was a member of Golden Jubilee Set (1963 – 67) of Ibadan Grammar School after which he proceeded to Igbo-Elerin Grammar School for his HSC course. He was the first Army General produced by Ibadan Grammar School. He joined the army by enlisting into Nigerian Defence Academy for Regular 12 combatant course. Luck smiled on him when he was selected among the 4 officer cadets after a month stay at NDA and proceeded to the world reknowned Military Academy, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in UK, where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1974. He was a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University – BSc in PE 2nd Class Upper Division (Best Student). He also graduated from Prestigious University of Ibadan. He won the Chief of Army Staff Award for the year 2002.

MS. SIJU ALABI attended Ibadan Grammar School between 1975 – 1980, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of Redlands, California, USA. She was trained as a young broadcaster at KUOR FM, California, USA. Alabi was also a Newscaster/Continuity Announcer with the Nigeria television. Author, Tejuosho Lagos TV News Anchor and Programme Presenter with Channels Television Lagos, Head of Presentation/News Editor – Minaj Broadcast International Lagos (MBI) and Manager, News with Superscreen Television Lagos. She climbed the ladder of success having won the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award as the best television newscaster and programme presenter. Alabi who is the 2nd Vice-Chairman Ibadan Grammar School Old Students’ Association (Lagos Branch) is the managing consultant of PHONEME ASSOCIATES LTD, a media consulting and training firm.

Adedayo Olugbenga Onakoya was a student in Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan between 1971 and 1975. He later proceeded to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1975 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons.) degree in History in 1979. He attended University of Lagos from 1981 to 1984 where he obtained his Bachelor Laws degree. He proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985. He also obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from the University of Lagos in 1995. He started his legal career as a Junior Counsel in the firm of Ariyo Adebayo & Co., Legal Practitioners from 1985 to 1988. He was subsequently a Partner in the firm of A. A. Adekoya & Co., Legal Practitioners from 1988 to 1989. He then moved on and set up his own firm, becoming the Founder & Principal Counsel of Dayo Onakoya & Co. in 1989, a position he has held till date. He was sworn in as a Notary Public for Nigeria in 1993 and has remained so till date. In 2010, he became an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria (ACIAN), emerging as the overall best candidate and winner of Judge Bola Ajibola’s prize for International Arbitration. He joined IGSOSA, Unife Branch in 1975 and later joined the Lagos Branch. He has at various times been the Assistant Secretary, Secretary and Ex-Officio member at the Branch level and Ex-Officio member at the National level. He is currently the Chairman, Lagos Branch and member of the National Executive Committee. ENGR. FOLUSEKE ABIDEMI SOMOLU, immediate past national President, of Ibadan Grammar School Old Students Association entered Ibadan Grammar School January 1962 in Form Three,. An active member of the Ibadan Grammar School Old Students’ Association, he served as Chairman of the 1960-64/66 Set between 1993 and 1996, National President between 2007 and 2010. Engr. Somolu was given a letter of commendation in 1996 by the Oyo State Government for his contributions to the development of Ibadan Grammar School and of education in Oyo State in general. He worked for 27 years in NEPA and retired as General Manager (Transmission) in 1997. He served as a member of the NEPA Presidential Technical Board, 2000-2001, and as Presidential Adviser on Power to Presidents Obasanjo and Yar’ Adua, 2005 – 2008. He is now a Consultant Power Engineer and Part time lecturer (Distinguished Fellow, Professorial Cadre) in Power engineering at the University of Lagos. He was President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) 2002-2003. Engr. Somolu is the Chairman/CEO, Optimal Power & Control Engineering Limited (Consultants and Project Engineers). He is also a Distinguished Fellow (Professorial Cadre) of the University of Lagos, teaching post graduate courses in Electrical Power Engineering. Areoye Oyekunle attended Ibadan Grammar School from 1977-1982. He was President, Ibadan Grammar School

Old Students’ Association - Unife Chapter (1984-1985) He attended University of Ife now OAU in 1987 and graduated in Botany. He served in FCT, Abuja between 1987 and 1988. He went for Computer training at DEBIS COMPUTERS and worked with DEBIS for some time as Tutor and Programmer, He also worked with Automation and Accounting Systems Ltd, Opebi and at the moment the System Administrator of TBWA\CONCEPT an advertising agency in GRA, Ikeja. He was the Treasurer - IGSOSA Lagos branch – between 2007-2011. He is the Social Secretary - IGSOSA Lagos branch - 2011 - till date and also the Secretary - Centenary Book Publication. Ajisefinni A. Adejuwon was born in Ekiti State, Ijero L.G.A. on 9th June, 1974 and was a student of Ibadan Grammar School, Molete, Ibadan between 1986 and 1992. He is currently the 2nd Assistant General Secretary of the Ibadan Grammar School Old Students’ Association,(IGSOSA) Lagos branch. After his secondary education , Adejuwon proceeded to Ondo State Polytechnic,Owo now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo for his HND in Accounting and later did his Post Graduate Diploma (PGD)in Business Administration from Lagos State University. RICHARD GIWA-OSAGIE was a student of Ibadan Grammar School between 1964 and 1971. A Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) Osagie also hold MBA degree (Finance & Accounting) from the University of Ibadan. He is presently the Managing Partner of Giwa-Osagie, DFK & Co. (Chartered Accountants), a member firm of DFK International. In the course of his career, he has rendered professional services to all sectors of the economy. . He was the District Governor of Rotary International, District 9110, Nigeria (2008 – 2009) and also ex-Chairman, Ikoyi Club 1938. He was granted the honorary citizenship of the City of Sarasota, Florida, USA by the Mayor of Sarasota, Florida in January 2008 due to his Rotary Commitments. Ex-Students speak on the way forward: Goodie Ibru: 1956 – 60 set “Government should make allocation on education in its budget very buoyant like Japan that has 35% allocation on education. Government should return schools to their original owners because it cannot do everything”. Richard Giwa-Osagie: 1964 – 68 set “The government was ill-advised on taken over of schools and should return schools back to missions” Jide Ogidiolu: 1965 – 1969 set Government should release mission schools to their owners for them to be managed effectively”. Dimeji Mako: 1973 – 1978 set: “Government should handover Ibadan Grammar School to Anglican Church, the rightful owner. IGS predates Nigeria while a trust fund should be established to manage the school in conjunction with the old students association” Ajisefini Adejuwon: 1986 – 1991 set “I want the school to go back to the missionary for proper administration as government has a lot of things to cater for. “My vision for the school in the next ten years is for the school to return to her glorious days to be unparalleled in academic excellence and sporting activities, to have boarding house again and to be the best school among the equals in the country. Goke Adeniji: 1956 – 1960 set The collapse of the boarding system is one of the greatest tragedies of the present day Ibadan Grammar School. This is a food for thought for the government that took over the school while the old students association would try and lay a new foundation for the progress of our beloved almamater.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

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THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

Felicitations I.G.S OF OUR DREAM

Proposed New Physics Laboratory

On behalf of my family and the Lagos State Judiciary, I felicitate with the old students, principal, staff and students of our great Alma Mater Ibadan Grammar School, the first Secondary School to have Higher School Certificate (HSC) Programme in the entire South West of Nigeria, on the occasion of its CENTENARY CELEBRATION. UP MOUNTAINEERS! UP SCHOOL! LONG LIVE, IBADAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL LONG LIVE ALL THE GRAMMARIANS BOTH IN NIGERIA AND IN THE DIASPORA

IBADAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL OLD STUDENTS ASSOCIATION, LAGOS BRANCH Ibadan Grammar School Old Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association, Lagos branch rejoices with the National President and members of the executive, the chairman and members of the Board of Trustees, the entire members of the old students association, the principal, staff and students of our alma mater on the centennial celebration of our great school. May Ibadan Grammar School continue to grow from strength to strength and continue its service of training and moulding the character of young Nigerians.

HAPPY CELEBRATIONS!

LONG LIVE IBADAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL!!! LONG LIVE IGSOSA!!! DAYO ONAKOYA Esq. BRANCH CHAIRMAN

DEO ET PATRIAE!

KUNLE AREOYE SOCIAL SECRETARY

AYOTUNDE A. PHILLIPS (MRS) CHIEF JUDGE OF LAGOS STATE

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

SUNDAYMAGAZINE 17

SPOTLIGHT

Tinuade Okoro...

The Medical World At Her Feet

Nigeria’s Dr. Tinuade Okoro, Best Graduating Medical Student in Ghana (middle) receiving her prizes from the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Sharon Bar-li (left) at the Graduation Ceremony of the University of Ghana, Legon last weekend. Dr Okoro scooped 16 prizes to emerge as the best graduating medical student. By Kikelola Oyebola

T’S well worth it if Tinuade Olukemi Okoro basks in the euphoria of being the first among her equals for some time. The Ondo State born Nigerian recently emerged the best student at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Legon from where she recently graduated after a six-year academic sojourn in the West African country. With the over 16 prizes she won from different quarters, Tinuade displayed her exceptional academic brilliance in a feat yet to be rivaled by a Nigerian or any other student in the history of that school; the closest to it was recorded by a male student, who received nine prizes. The prizes won by Tinuade, which cut across the various aspects of the medical field, include the prize for all-round best student, sponsored by the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Medical Association Prize for the best overall student in the MB ch. B final part 11 Examination. She also got the prize for the best student in Gyneacology sponsored by the Society of Obstetrics and Gyneacologists of Ghana; the Nana Preko Ampem 11 Prize for the best student in clinical obstetrics and gyneacology; Archampong Prize in surgery; Harry Sawyerr Prize in Medicine and Therapeutics as well as the R.K. Obeng Prize for the best student in clinical pharmacology among others. Indeed, she is no stranger to leadership positions. All through her secondary school days, she was the Head girl, as she was always leading her class. With hindsight, the budding doctor is convinced that all the glory and praises should go to the Lord whose blessings and favour had enabled her record such outstanding performance though there is no denying the fact that she also contributed in no small measure to this achievement by going the extra mile and working hard. The 25-year-old is, however, taking it all calmly in her stride. “I’ve always been favoured all my life and my going to the University of Ghana Medical School was also not by accident,” she says. “In everything I do, I always try to develop a culture of excellence and doing a little bit more than is required of me. I dread being anything less than I can be. So, when I was setting out for UGMS, I told myself it was my responsibility to train myself and acquire knowledge wherever possible. I believe that a student is responsible for his/her learning and skill acquisition, not the school, lecturers or anyone else for that matter.”

Taking into consideration how the whole event unfolded, one cannot but agree that it could only have been good old providence that once again decked the cards in her favour because her original intention was to go to the United States for her studies. But visa refusal and admission delays from chosen Nigerian universities pushed University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) to the top of her list. And Tinuade is appreciative and glad to have been given the opportunity to attend that school. “I’ll forever be grateful for the quality of training I received at UGMS. Even with subsequent exposure to medical training outside of Africa,” she says. She is quite impressed by the fact that the Ghanaian school runs ‘a system that works’ as well as their maintenance culture, which enables the school remains fresh and relevant. “Throughout my course, there was never a situation whereby lecturers went on strike or some such thing. The Ghanaians are so dedicated and committed to work.” It was, however, not all that smooth sailing for the young doctor, as she initially had a few challenges to contend with, chief of which was the issue of payment of school fees. “The fees, probably a small sum to some, were quite steep for my family. But the Lord raised help for me through my dear uncles— Mr. Femi Falaye, Mr. Foluso Falaye and Mr. Bankole Falaye, who faithfully, year after year, despite their own financial challenges, contributed towards my fees. “My father, sisters and a few cousins also gave faithfully, even when they had very little. God also miraculously raised help for me through strange places. He sent people, some of whom I had never met, friends of family, church members and lecturers among many others too numerous to mention who sent contributions for my fees,” she says. To compound the problem, tuition fees were suddenly increased by 40 per cent halfway through and no amount of pleading or crying could change anything; the school was adamant. Since there were no scholarship schemes for

Nigerian students in Ghana and not wanting to overburden the people that were already making lots of sacrifices towards the payment of her school fees, Tinuade resorted to catering on the side. “It was a very trying period for me. I started cooking bowls of stew, soups and lots of moi-moi for fellow students. And the Lord blessed me with customers who placed orders right when I needed money. A few times, I considered leaving and going to start over somewhere cheaper. But always, the Lord sent supply just in time. That experience taught me gratitude, faith and responsibility,” she recalls, as she fights hard to keep back the tears. And for this reason, she says she’ll forever be grateful and indebted to all her benefactors for reposing so much confidence and trust in her, which they exhibited through cash contributions and prayers. Tinuade sounds quite philosophical when narrating how she was able to cope with the other challenges, which had to do with the stress and rigour of medical school. “I was told when I began medical school that one should be grateful for a pass. While that may be true and I certainly got a number of passes, I decided that was not enough for me. I think one owes it to oneself and one’s Creator to aim for the highest available honour. That credits and distinctions exist means they are attainable. I know that life can be so difficult it is easy to slip into survival mode but there are enough potential limiting factors in this life without one adding a vote of no confidence in one’s own self to the list. A person has to be his/her own greatest cheer leader.” This belief apparently motivated and spurred her on when she felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work or when confronted with seemingly tough situations. “With the guidance and blessings of the Lord, however, I was able to map out sound strategy for structured learning and plan. At every point, I learned how, when and

In everything I do, I always try to develop a culture of excellence and doing a little bit more than is required of me. I dread being anything less than I can be. So, when I was setting out for UGMS, I told myself it was my responsibility to train myself and acquire knowledge wherever possible. I believe that a student is responsible for his/her learning and skill acquisition, not the school, lecturers or anyone else for that matter.

what to study. I worked hard and did my best. But I have come to learn in this life that the race is not always to the swift. After having done all, promotion still comes from God.” Coupled with this was the great confidence she has in herself. “This is another factor I found useful because lecturers like a confident student and patients like a confident care giver.” Her vision for the future? After the one-year compulsory housemanship, the latest star on the medical firmament is dreaming of proceeding to the United States for postgraduate training. She is hoping fervently to be able to secure scholarship from institutions or individuals to enable her pursue her dream of further studies in Public Health and a Clinical specialty. She is equally clear in her mission of getting the best and bringing it back home to practise. “Contributing to the promotion of global health is priority. I want to help structure and implement health policies and programmes that would improve the health and living conditions of whole populations at a time, inclusive of but beyond the consulting room. Affecting lives positively seems the most reasonable thing to do with one’s life,’ she says. Although the Nigerian community in Ghana is strong and there are quite a number of Nigerian students at the University of Ghana, Tinuade is not your big time outdoor person. When not reading or ‘studying with her friends and study group members that helped her study and taught her what she didn’t know,’ she loves reading fiction, writing stories and poems and catering. She also enjoys listening to any music where the string instruments feature prominently. The last of six daughters, Tinuade is from the family of Mr. Benjamin Oyedele Okoro, a retired civil servant and the late Mrs. Omotayo Yetunde Okoro, who was a nurse until her death some years back. She was born and brought up in Jos though her parents are from Ondo State. She started her primary education at Plateau Private School, Jos in 1993, continued in Rantya Model School and ended in Camp David Nursery and Primary School, Lagos. Thereafter, she proceeded to the Federal Government Girls’ College, Akure from 19982004, following which she completed some computer training while awaiting admission into the university. She resumed at the University of Ghana, Legon in 2006 and was admitted into the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Accra in 2007.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

18 SUNDAYMAGAZINE

NEWSPEOPLE Named as the 71st most powerful woman in the world and the most powerful woman in Africa by Forbes, Joyce Hilda Banda (née Mtila) is a Malawian politician, who became the first female president of Malawi since April 7, 2012. She took office as president following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Born on April 12, 1950, she is the founder and leader of the People’s Party, created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women’s rights activist, Banda was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and vice-president of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012. Before her active career in politics, she was the founder of the Joyce Banda Foundation, founder of the National Association of Business Women (NABW), Young Women Leaders Network and the Hunger Project. Fielding questions from a group of Nigerian journalists, including CHUKS NWANNE, who was in Lilongwe, Malawi for the Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) Nomination Party, President Banda shared her experiences as the first female president of her country, the intrigues, hurdles and roadmap to success. A shot at the presidency WAS foreign minister before I was elected side by side with my late president in 2009. But immediately we got into office, it was very clear that he had decided he was going to have his brother take over from him; this was not part of the plan. What he had told me and my husband, when he asked me to run with him, was that, he saw in Malawi a future after him, where a woman took over. Of course, such a woman would have to go through election but he would have to support me. But from day one in the State House, it was very clear that that was not the case. As a result, it compromised everybody else; everybody wanted to please him in that quest to have his brother take over from him. But after a year, it was also clear that he had deviated from the development agenda; he was just concentrating on this succession process and the biggest losers in that equation were Malawians, because at the end of the day, what we have found out is that poverty worsened. Poverty in the land This is a country where 85 percent of the people live in the rural areas; only 15 percent in urban areas. But also, statistics show that half of Malawians live under the poverty line. So, to have a situation where the economy and poverty worsened, it meant that we hit rock bottom. And in those three years, I was fighting with my boss. I could see things going wrong and once in a while, I made statements and that worsened our relationship. Everybody in Malawi knows what I went through; it was the civil society and the churches that fought for me. But it got so bad that on November 19, 2011, there was an assassination attempt on me. Fortunately, they hit the wrong car and the newspapers in Malawi rebuked government for that. Taking over a sick nation This time last year, there was a big conference organised by the civil society and they gave the president a 60-day ultimatum to call for referendum, get a fresh mandate or to resign. In fact, there was a meeting on February 4 where he approached the civil society, to plead with them to change their mind about giving him that ultimatum. Another meeting was supposed to take place on the sixth but he died on the fifth (the next day after the first parley). There was nepotism, corruption and wastage; so, Malawians were suffering. For one year and half, I was not allowed to come anywhere near this residence. Cabinet meetings took place next door but I couldn’t come. In fact, I didn’t know much of what was happening. If you recall, on July 20, 2011, there were protests in this country because of the economic situation and 20 people were shot dead. So, I took over a country that was in that situation where everything had broken down. For me, the biggest challenge, to answer your question, was to pick up the pieces and to begin the process of rebuilding this nation. Taking the bull by the horns When I came back, there was already a Malawi Growth and Development Study and so, the system does not allow you to come in when you have only two years to finish the term of the previous president’s to start making your own plans. But what I did, in order to address or meet that chal-

Banda

‘We Are Looking At Countries Like Nigeria To Invest In Malawi’ lenge, was to look at the same Malawi Growth and Development Strategy and pick the key sectors and focus on those in the next two years, to see if we can change the economic situation here. But what I have come with is new; my agenda is poverty eradication through economic growth, through the creation of wealth and the creation of jobs. That is why yesterday (March 15) was a good day for Malawi with the film awards and the launch of the job creation initiative for youth. It is exactly what we aim to achieve through the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy. Picking the pieces I organised a national dialogue the moment I took over and at that dialogue, we drew up what we are calling the Malawi Economic Recovery Plan. We did that plan with five sector: agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure and tourism. So, in the next 15 months, I have told Malawians that in each of those five sectors, there would be three projects that they could see, feel and touch. Whether completed or not, they will align those projects to judge and say, ‘she came, didn’t have enough time but she also tried to implement a programme that was not popular but within that time was able to do one, two, three projects.’ The reason we went down economically is because the last president refused to devalue the Kwacha for three years; so, by the time I took over, we had to devalue for about 50 percent, which was huge. And the impact was also huge on ordinary Malawians. That is why side by side, we have had a reform programme; we have had to implement a social programme, such programmes that could help mitigate the effects of the reform agenda.

A call for unity government EFORE now, ordinary Malawians and I were on one side, while the president, cabinet ministers and members of parliament were on the other side. So, when I became president suddenly, it meant that I was on this side and everybody else was on the other side. So, I had to reach out, to forgive, to bring everybody together and to make sure that I formed a cabinet that was allinclusive of all political parties as a starting point. That is how we proceeded. I tried, and we feel that it worked but it is not easy because the problem that we have in parliament is that the majority are on the opposite side because all those that were not appointed cabinet ministers left the government side and went into the opposition. So, the opposition is in the majority now. My side has 80 members of parliament. That sometimes poses difficulty when we have to pass a bill; we have to negotiate with other parties in order to have a smooth ride in parliament. Restoring financial support from donor agencies and countries First and foremost, we have Britain, which was the country that colonised us. We have a very close relationship; they are our big brothers, but the president fought with their ambassador and expelled him. Apart from them, the rest withdrew because of our governance record, corruption and also because we were off track. So, the first step I had to take was to go back to the IMF, to negotiate and get back on track. After the negotiations, they had to provide what they call letter of comfort. It is the letter of comfort

that allows you to begin to negotiate with other donors, too; that is the only letter that will bring them back. You must, however, build confidence; they must have trust. For the first time, the question that was there was, ‘how do we know that this time, it is going to be different?’ In 2004, we were at the bottom. When we went back to negotiate, our economy went up; we were growing by six percent a year. Then, the former president decided that, ‘my brother must become president.’ From that point, he abandoned the development agenda and went into fighting with his vice president. Then we went down again, back to the bottom. So, we had to really work very hard to convince the international community that this time, there is a woman in the State House. Number two, it is not going to be business as usual and number three, they have to trust us. So, we gained that trust and they began to come back one after another. But I also quickly I renewed our relationship with Britain and as I speak, we have our ambassadors exchanged. They are the ones who have given us most of the money that we have received as budgetary support. As of last week, the money that has come into the country is about a billion kwachas. Cleaning up the mess So far, we have done well but I have asked former and current governors, everybody, why is it that we still struggle? And they told me the hole was too huge; there was a lot of looting, so it will take a long time. I have said to Malawians, ‘yes, donors can come in and help us but we should be offended; we should be angry with ourselves and not depend on donors for 40 percent of our budget.’ Therefore, as they assist us, we must also look for ways of moving away from aid to trade. We are looking at countries like Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, countries that are big, that are not going to come and give us handouts. But we must look upon them as trading partners. Discovering mineral resources Whatever little we have, we are so rich and we didn’t know that we have so many minerals we could mine. We have coal, gold, bauxite, oil, gas; we didn’t know this before. So, what we must look for in other countries are partners to come in and invest. That is the only way I believe we can move and prosper. But right now, where we are is hard. And it is hard because we are just beginning to recover. In getting back on track, we had to devalue our kwacha; our kwacha has gone up and it is what people are not used to. The previous president said, ‘I will not devalue but I will also fix the kwacha’. It had an official rate, which was 150-kwacha to a dollar, but on the black market, it was 350; that’s where we are. Now, when we devalued, the hidden dollars came back but we need to find a way forward and that is what is hard because I have to convince even people in my own party to say, ‘we need to wait just a little bit longer; we are closer to the end than where we have come.’ The future of our agriculture is in Nigeria WHAT we are focusing on most in Nigeria is your expertise; your Minister of Agriculture is our jewel there. That is what we are aiming at. Why? Because when we went to the Rockefeller Foundation and everywhere to talk about agriculture, they told us, ‘go to the Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria.’ So, we are trying to launch in this country a cassava programme to increase production, processing and export. I have had these meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and I asked him, ‘will it be possible for us to engage his ministry of agriculture,’ which he graciously accepted; we have started those negotiations. The minister came here and launched the cassava project. We have distributed a lot of cassava sticks and we are looking at how we can process the cassava. We are looking at how we can get the market. But I believe that those countries that have done well on this continent can help us by transferring technology and knowledge. I even brought here baskets of Nigerian bread made with 20 percent cassava flour. Malawians couldn’t believe because we just didn’t know, because here, cassava grows very easily, indeed. We are hoping that that is where we can benefit. But also, I have had discussions with President Jonathan in Addis Ababa that we intend to grow two crops a year and he must help us by buying our rice because we know that Nigeria is working towards being self-sufficient in the production of rice, but right now also imports. I asked him, ‘is it possible for Nigeria to import rice from here?’ Then he laughed and said, ‘one order from Nigeria will clear your entire crop.’ Cementing diplomatic relationship with Nigeria HAT we looked at was that the ambassador that was representing us in the whole of West and Central Africa was one person and that doesn’t work at all. All these things we are talking about, even about you people coming here, it is because Michael Anyiam-Osigwe is now our Honorary Consul and he can tell us about the opportunities that exist in Nigeria. Even for me to visit Nigeria first, it is because when you begin to talk to people they say, ‘oh, we are growing cassava, rice, there is a market for this and for that’. Having a representative, a permanent ambassador in Nigeria will be the way to go, but even if that happens, we still need an honorary consul; that is what happens in other countries.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

NEWSFEATURE From Chido Okafor, Warri ATRICK Jobome, 47, was until June 2010 a P ‘contract staff’ working at the Shell Petroleum Development Company’s main office at Ogunu, Warri, Delta State. ‘Contract staff’ is a phrase used to differentiate a full staff of Shell, who is entitled to all benefits the job offered, from those who are merely employed on casual basis and who have no remuneration perks beside the paltry sum they are given at the end of the month. Jobome, a father of three, took care of his children and wife from the money he earned from clerical duties at the oil firm until 2010 when the firm sent home nearly all its workforce in the Warri area. Unable to find another job, Jobome used part of his savings to buy a motorcycle and now ekes a living from commercial biking popularly called Okada. Sadly, last year the Delta State government banned commercial biking in the streets of Warri, throwing Jobome again out of his newfound job. As he narrated his ordeal to the Guardian, the deflated man queried “is it really true that Shell has left Warri or merely transformed into new a firm in order to address threats to its operations?” In 2008 the signs were palpable that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was getting wary of the restiveness in the Western Niger Delta and was plotting an exit strategy and focus on offshore deep water exploration, where there are no communities’ or militants’ disturbances. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant, which had being exploiting oil since the 1950s in the region was planning to sell off its assets especially those located in troublesome flashpoints in Delta and Bayelsa States to new firms. Armed militancy and sabotage had reportedly dipped the firm’s production to just 100,000, from about 500,000 barrels per day with persistent attacks on the firm’s pipelines, which were either sabotaged or bombed. Between 2005 and 2006 was said to be the worst production period for Shell in Western Niger Delta, as the firm was so hit hard it was unable to meet production quotas due to disruption of its operations. The first warning that Shell could halt operations in Western Niger Delta came in early 2010, through the then outgoing General Manager, Western Operations, Mr. Cor Zegelaar, who expressed fears that the production level of the company in the area (about 100,000 bpd) was seriously threatened by the restiveness in the region and that the firm was no longer able to produce enough oil to sustain it’s operations, stressing the company was passing through very rough times. He said: “our existence is at stake. We need to produce a minimum of 400,000bpd to support our business here, but in the last four years we are able to produce just a quota of this figure. We had quite a lot of challenges – due to the crisis in the Niger Delta - as a company we went through difficult period.” He was particularly worried about the spate of kidnappings in the Niger Delta and admitted the development affected the operations of the Shell because some of the firm’s staff fell victim to kidnappers “I regret to say that even in our operation we had a number of our staff and their families fallen victim to kidnapping …and I really hope this kind of crime incident is reduced,” he said “Shell has been one of the longest operators in Nigeria, Shell also has the largest footprint and I think Shell also has one of the greatest challenges of the operators as a result of it. I think Shell’s contribution to Nigeria has been significant in terms of revenues created for

Gas flaring, a destructive landmark

Warri Without Shell: Unfolding Story Of Economic Downturn, Communal Rage

SWarri-Effurun roundabout, entrance to the city; inset - Gov. Uduaghan the nat ion. One other area I think Shell has contributed is the supply of domestic gas for power generation and I’m very glad that even during the crisis, production staff worked round the clock to keep gas supply going and the lights on,” Zegelaar said. Although Zegelaar feared Shell may devise drastic survival strategies, he was optimistic the firm would not withdraw from Nigeria, but from flashpoint zones. Six months after that pronouncement, rumour, ironically, circulated that Shell was planning to leave Warri and environ. Many did not believe. They argued that it was impossible for Shell to leave Warri, so long as there was oil to exploit and explore. But the shocker came in 2010 when Shell actually begun the pull out in Delta, Edo and parts of Bayelsa States, by selling its operations, locations and assets to Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited – a fusion of two companies: Platform Petroleum Company Limited and Sheba Petroleum Company Limited. A few months earlier, Shell issued an official statement to the effect that it had sold some of her assets in the West, including Ovor, Sapele, Amukpe and Oben. The deal also included the sale of all its assets in Land 1, Land 2, Egwa, Jones Creek, Odidi, Escravos, etc, in the West, to companies of their choice. OML 34 fields were sold to Niger Delta Petro-

leum Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of Niger Delta Exploration and Production Company; while OML 42 fields were bought by NECONDE – the consortium of Nestoil, VP Global Ltd, Aries Exploration & Production ltd and Kulczyk Oil Ventures of Poland. Shell formally hand over the facilities to the new companies on August 1, 2010 and bade goodbye to on-shore production to face offshore production squarely. Shell claimed that by selling off, they were promoting local content and wanted indigenous oil and gas companies to grow. However, the news of Shell pulling out of Western Niger Delta was not well received by stakeholders in the region. For instance, the Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC) singlehandedly took up the battle to stop Shell from pulling out by petitioning the Presidency and dragging the oil giant to court, urging the court to declare the sales of its assets null and void. NDPC argued that the circumstance of the sale of operations locations/assets was questionable. The group said the effect of Shell suspending operations in Warri, Isoko and other areas would be unimaginable in the near future. Cost of Shell’s Exit ND barely two years after the firm pulled out, the impact of its exit, as predicted, is being felt by the people in the affected areas. For instance, a trader at Igbudu market believed to be Delta’s largest, Mrs. Evelyn Erediyoma narrated how the exit of Shell took away a good chunk of commercial vibrancy from the market. “On Saturdays”, she said, “We normally stock our stores with a lot of things because that is the day that most Shell workers come to the market to buy things for their households. You know they normally buy in bulk because they don’t like coming to market every day. So many of the traders sold a lot of things, but since Shell left, we no longer sell as we used to do. Many of them, from what we heard, lost their jobs, so even when they come to the market they buy little things and not as bulky as before,” she said. It is not only the market women and men that are complaining, the owners of hotels in Delta State are also hit hard by the oil giant’s exit as many who operated retainership with Shell are now gnashing their teeth. The chairman of the Hoteliers Association, Delta State, Chief Sir George Owarieta, told The Guardian, “in Warri, the hotel business is going under because so many of the oil companies are no longer doing their business. For example, Shell has packed out of the town, so, many

of the hotels that had retainership with Shell are now vacant. Besides, so many of the oil service companies who used to come to Warri no longer come. Others are quick to point out that the noticeably high unemployment rate and insecurity in Warri, Isoko, Ughelli and other places where Shell operated were linked to their pullout. It was gathered that Shell employed thousands of contract staff, either directly or through its numerous oil services companies; this low cadre employment opportunity mopped up a lot of jobless youths and ladies from the street. It was gathered that over 14,000 persons were suddenly thrown into the labour market. The national coordinator of NDPC, Chief Zik Gbemre, said: “Three years ago, there were rumour that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) planned to leave Delta State. At the time, there were official denials, probably for diplomatic reasons. Today, however, the rumour have been confirmed. “As far as we are concerned, if Shell wants to leave its Western Operations, the company should harvest her pipes and other sundry items on the surface and leave. The natural resources below the ground are not owned by Shell. On the contrary, they are the God-given assets of the respective communities in which they are found, to better the lot of the people. Therefore, Shell cannot automatically transfer the rights to extract the minerals, just as a tenant cannot sublet his apartment without the knowledge and agreement of the landlord. “You cannot transfer ownership of land without the consent of the owner. If a new company is to take over, the proper thing is for the new companies to negotiate afresh with the respective communities where the resources and facilities are located. “Come to think of it, why is Shell not having these massive sales of its assets and operations in the East? The only sale made in the East is that of Ogoni. And we know that the Ogoni case is different because the people had refused to accept Shell as a company to operate any more in its land because of the environmental degradation and neglect suffered over the years, hence, the sale became inevitable. To say the least, these massive sales in the West and incorporate practices are absurd on the one hand, and against tenets and ideals of the Local Content Bill on the other hand. This is a new ploy to further impoverish and enslave the people of the Niger Delta, as exemplified by the sale of the Delta State Company (DSC). Shell Locations and operations are

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THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

NEWSFEATURE

Shell’s Exit Doom For The People, Says Gbemre One of the first Niger delta activists to warn of Shell’s plan to cut and run was Mr. Zik Gbemre, who is also the founder and coordinator of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC). In this interview with CHIDO OKAFOR, he queries the questionable sale of Shell’s asset, paving the way for their eventual pullout. you really think Shell has pulled out of DForOWarri or just playing clever business games? over 10 years now, there have been rumours and speculations that Shell (SPDC) was going to pull out of Warri, to the extent that authorities of Shell (SPDC) were one time invited by the Delta State House of Assembly for clarification. But they have always denied these rumours, stating that it was all just propaganda. Until recently when it became public knowledge that Shell (SPDC) had actually sold all its oil and gas assets in Western Division. Shell (SPDC) has two divisions in the country – the Western Division based in Warri, in Delta State and the Eastern Division based in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. The Central Division – Bayelsa State, was only added recently. They have a Liaison Office in Abuja and another Corporate office in Lagos. Shell has sold all their assets in the land areas and some parts of the swamp areas in its Western Division. The whole of Urhobo, Isoko and Ndokwa, including all their gas plants located in the land areas; these are: Utorogu Gas Plant, Ughelli East Gas Plant, Sapele Gas Plant and Oben Gas Plant, have all been sold to indigenous companies. The Sapele assets/interests were sold to Seplat Petroleum Development Company Ltd. Seplat is also the one operating/managing these Sapele fields/areas. While the Utorogu areas, Ughelli East and Ughelli West areas, comprising the strategic OML 34, were sold to indigenous companies but have been transferred to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Companies Limited (NPDC) to operate/manage, under the directive of the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. OML 30, which comprises of some parts of Urhobo and Isoko areas was also sold. OML 42 in the swamp was sold to Neconde Energy Limited. The only areas/assets that were not sold by Shell are the Forcados Area and the Escravos Area. And one of the reasons why we believe they left the Forcados areas is because of its export terminal potential. Other oil companies make use of the Forcados Terminal to transport their products. What do you think made Shell leave Warri and

Gbemre other locations in Western Delta? To us, everything about Shell’s exit from Warri and the entire Delta State is “politicallymotivated,” because all their assets and facilities in the East, including Bayelsa State, are all intact; none was sold. The flimsy excuse they gave was that the oil wells in Delta State are getting dry; then of course there is the issue of insecurity. But that is not the main issue. If the oil wells in Delta State are getting dry why would other indigenous companies scramble to acquire them? No corporate company would like to acquire what it cannot profit from. Then again, the issue of insecurity can always be managed. Besides, Shell was fully on ground in Delta State when the militants and their hostilities were hottest. The crux of the matter is that Shell’s complete exit from Delta State was politically motivated. Some “political interests” at the Federal and State levels had to be protected and harnessed, obviously to the detriment of the general good of the people of Delta State. The question is; why did Shell not sell its assets in Bayelsa State, which we all know is the home state of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister for Petroleum Resources? The Escravos area that was not sold by Shell, is

an Istekiri area. And of cause, the Delta State Governor is an Istekiri man. You put the two together and make your conclusions. The Forcados Terminal is left too because it is still considered a money-making avenue for Shell since it is an outlet for other oil companies to use. We have often said that Delta State is more like a “farmland,” where different Federal and State political interests come and reap where they did not sow; that is why the quest for political power in Delta State, is often ridden with electoral and judicial malpractices of the highest order. And this is only so because the government of the day in Delta State has allowed it, Delta State is not the only oil-rich state in the country; other states are there. So why is the case of Delta State different? What are the socio-economic implications of Shell leaving? The socio-economic implications of Shell’s exit from Warri and the entire Delta State cannot be measured. It is reported that Delta State is losing about $800million monthly from just taxes, as a result of Shell’s exit from the State. We brought this to the attention of the Delta State Governor on countless occasions. And we made it clear that the mass movement of Shell and

other oil and gas companies out of Delta State will be disastrous to the economy of the State. All withholding and Income Taxes will be going to Edo State and Rivers State, because the companies taking over Shell assets in Delta State viz: NPDC and Niger Delta Western Limited, are not on ground in Delta State, but operating from Edo State and Lagos State respectively. Not only that, Delta State is also losing in the area of employment opportunities. All employment opportunities that cannot be imported, like grass-cutting, Security Guards (Surveillance), Catering (tea girls), House Keeping etc, are all lost. All the Shell staff and their families who used to live in Delta State (except) those that were laid off), have been moved/transferred to Port Harcourt or Lagos. That means these Shell staff and their families will no longer patronise the market women and men in Warri; school children will be transferred; the mechanics, vulcanizers and panel-beater men will no longer have Shell customers; even the barbers/hair saloon owners are not left out. Every economic activity in Warri is adversely affected by Shell’s exit. Ogunu used to be a bee-live of business activities but all that is no more. In fact, Warri is now so ‘dry’ from business and socio-economic activities. Recently, Pan Ocean Oil Company relocated their Head Operational office from Warri to Benin, in Edo State, though their oil and gas activities are all located in Delta State. This invariably means that all with-holding and income Taxes of Pan Ocean will be going to Edo State. Just the same way the companies that have taken over Shell assets in Delta State are not on ground but operating from other states. On several occasions, we raised alarm and cried out to the Delta State Governor about this unfortunate exodus of oil and gas companies from Delta State; who chose to operate their assets in Delta State from other states. With the way things are going, we believe there is a grand design by the NNPC Group and some of its subsidiaries and political interests, to cripple the economy of Delta State. We urged the Delta State Government and the Delta State House of Assembly to resist this development. But they payed deaf ears and turned a blind eye to all our pleas and these happenings. The Delta State governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan does not care at all. We made it clear that these companies, including the NPDC, should not be allowed to have their oil and gas assets in Delta State, whereas their Head Operational Offices that hold the bulk of their work force and business

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...Story Of Economic Downturn CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 unlike Refineries and the Delta Steel Company, in the sense that these operations are focused on the surface. But Shell locations and operations have to do with mineral resource (crude oil and natural gas) that are underground.” The group stated. As if echoing the views of the NDPC, an Ijaw leader and marine industrialist, Chief Tunde Smooth, described the sale of Odidi and Batan flow stations, located near his community, by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited as unfortunate. He cautioned that the flow stations should be sold to the indigenes, warning that any attempt to sell the oil facilities to non-indigenes would amount to restiveness in the Niger Delta. It is not only the Urhobo and Ijaw that were rattled by Shell’s pullout, the Isoko people are also squaring it out with Shell after the firm pulled out and handed its facilities in Isokoland, OML 30, to a new firm, Shoreline Company Limited without any dialogue with them. The Isoko people were miffed that their application to buy Shell’s equity in Isoko land were ignored by Shell and instead it sold to firms of their choice. Last month, the Isoko people shut down all Shell facilities on the land and chased away the new operators. When a Shell team led by a senior manager, Mr. Akpomudjere Edesiri tried to pacify Isoko people at a meeting in Effurun early this year and to explain the reasons behind Shell’s decision to sell facilities in OML 30, the people were clearly uninterested. Edesiri said Shell’s pullout of Isokoland was a strategic move to streamline the operations of the firm with what obtained elsewhere in the world, since Shell, according to him, operates in over 170 countries. He said just as Shell was closing down facilities in one location or country it was opening new frontiers in others. For instance, Edesiri said Shell closed down its operations in Cameroun and had opened new frontiers in East Africa and urged Isoko people to cooperate with the new firms. Chief Dennis Egwe Etaluku, an Isoko leader said they were insulted by the fact that Shell and NDPC did not come to Isoko where the oil facilities where to discuss with them instead they were brought to Effurun for talks.

He said: “The first foot you put forward has a fault; you did not deem it fit to go to Isoko to meet the people, but you invited us to Effurun to meet with us, this is the way Isoko people are treated…you dragged me from my community …now you want to buy my cooperation after disrespecting me. Etaluku said there must be a formidable agreement signed between Isoko people and the new firms before they would be allowed to move to site, adding that no non-Isoko person would be allowed to work in the facilities. What is however surprising to the communities, individuals and groups protesting Shell’s pullout and questionable sale of oil wells and facilities in OML 30 and 34 and 42 to firms of their choice is the alleged silence of the state government in the whole matter. According to Zik Gbemre.“ Ordinarily, one would have expected the government of the day to question the said sales, given the fact that the company is owned to the tune of 55 per cent by the Federal government. Unfortunately, the silence of the government is a clear pointer to the fact that its consent and blessing had been received, even when the host communities have registered their strong disapproval of the unfolding drama and calamity. From all indications, this obviously irresponsible/callous stance of the government means Shell is selling to companies fronting for government people. And this spells doom for the common man. “His Excellency, Dr. Ewetan Uduaghan, we are shocked and disappointed to learn that you had fore-knowledge of Shell’s plan to sell her assets in Delta State. The long-run implication is that hundreds of Deltans will lose their jobs, their children will drop out of school, insecurity, crime, unrest and hardship will increase if Shell hands over. Yet, you consented, because the locations being sold are not Ijaw/Itsekiri land. This attitude reveals you are tribal leader, and do not have the salient interests and welfare of the Urhobo and Isoko at heart. This is unacceptable and not good enough. “We will challenge the sales legally and take it up in the appropriate quarters. You equally have to do something about it. You must come out and ask for the revocation of the sales, in the best interests of the good people of Delta state,” Gbemre said.

Alison-Madueke Traditional rulers and community leaders equally made effort to stop Shell’s exit by asking the federal government to intervene and reverse the sale of OML 30 and others in order to avert possible breakdown of law and order, but lost the battle because it came rather late, so people said. At a meeting of the monarchs and stakeholders at the palace of the Ovie of Ughelli, HRM Oharisi III, in March 2011, the monarchs and leaders said the SPDC lacked the right to sell lands leased to them by communities to another operator without their consent. The monarchs and leaders said several communities leased their lands to SPDC for an initial term of 20 years and that the terms had expired twice over and that the SPDC was now a trespasser on the land without the renewal of all expired leases. Alleging that SPDC shrouded the bidding process for the assets in the communities in secrecy, they demanded the immediate cancellation of all commitments already made on the proposed sale and call for fresh and open bidding process, saying there should be no urgency in the transfer of SPDC equity interest.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

NEWSFEATURE Now, do you know that since they knew they lack technical knowledge, the architects of this charade thought they will be the operators of OMLs 26 and 30 like in earlier assignments to SEPLATS, who are the operators of OMLs 4, 38 and 41 which covers Oben, Amukpe and Sapele respectively. So, what they did was to engaged in mass transfer of SPDC staff to OML 30 apparently to meet its technical requirement by seconding SPDC staff after disengagement to these assignee companies before the Minister wield her big stick by denying them operatorship. You can see how they intended filling these gaps. Do you also know by the provisions of paragraph 12 of the same Act, the duration of an OML is for 20 years? Then by the provisions of paragraph 12 (1), one half of the area must be relinquished to the Federal government. So, the questions begging for answers are: what is the unexpired residue assigned by SPDC and others? Was the one half of the area relinquished before the assignment? Furthermore, the Act does not provide for operatorship by NPDC as currently indiscreetly done by the Minister. This is because the holder of any licence or lease to which this schedule applies shall at all times indemnify and keep harmless the Federal Government, the Minister and every officer in the civil service of the federation or the states (and their agents) against all actions costs, charges, claims and demands howsoever which may be made or brought by any third party in relation to any matter or thing done or purported to be done in pursuance of this Act. The law also preIki-Ebieroma sumed that the assignee should be the operaemployer (SPDC) to give up their interest in the tor hence the requirement for submission, divested assets to enable them front companies details of the work, which the applicant is prewhere they have interest. It was, therefore, a pared to undertake or programme for carrying business tactics whose outcome was different out any minimum working obligations imfrom the intended plans but only succeeded in posed, Regulation 1[2][e] of the setting the ship on a tempestuous voyage, the Petroleum[Drilling and Production]. handiwork of the Minister for Petroleum by The result of this false assumption of operatorhanding over operatorship to an ill-equipped, ship by NPDC, knowing that they are grossly inmal-functioning and incompetent agency of competent they decided to contract out the the government like NPDC. operatorship to O & M (Operate and Maintain) Do you think the sale of Shell’s assets in Isoko contractors in order to make up for this obviwas legal and followed due process? ous anomaly. In this circumstance, the O & M The sale was not just illegal but criminal, a cor- contractors had to shop for and recruit SPDC reporate sham, which never satisfied the relevant tirees of over 20 years, most of whom were duly provisions of the law i.e. the Petroleum Act CAP retired after the mandatory retirement age. A P10 LFN 2004. Paragraph 16 [a][b] and [c] of the thick cloud of inconsistency has been created First Schedule to the Act provides for what pre by the act of the Minister with NPDC, the supconditions to be met before you can qualify as posed operator abdicating its duty of operatoran assignee. sub [b] of paragraph 16 clearly pro- shop to the O & M contractors to operate this vides that the proposed assignee must possess very sensitive aspect of oil exploration. OMLs sufficient technical knowledge and experience 26, 34 and 30, which covers Ogini, Utorogu and and sufficient financial resources to enable it oil facilities in Isoko and Urhobo land. OMLs 26 sufficiently carry out a programme satisfactory and 30 are being operated by IGPES and OML 34 to the minister in respect of the area of operais being operated by Lee Engineering with adtions under the lease which is to be assigned. verse consequences.

Shell Exit Staged To Hoodwink Communities – Iki-Ebieroma Okiroro Iki-Ebieroma, a lawyer and environmental activist, is the coordinator of the Isoko Survival Synergy. He told CHIDO OKAFOR that the purported Shell’s exit was only an attempt by some few opportuned individuals to manipulate the Nigerian state.

neighbour or a tenant who does not pay his rents? It really goes beyond these but this is just a brief summation on how in the most euphemistic manner I can describe SPDC activities in isoko land. It would rather be a call for a celebration that SPDC is leaving but what we actually have is not an exit but an attempt by few opportuned individuals to manipulate the Nigerian state, ditto host communities by some big players in the oil industry from SPDC top echelon through misrepresentation of facts with the active connivance of some top government offiWhy are Isoko people not happy with Shell? HE Isoko people have so many reasons not to cials who should have provided policy be happy with SPDC, which include amongst framework for the growth of the industry. other things, underdevelopment, promotion of So it was originally designed to be an in-house change of baton and bare change in nomenclacrises in the host communities and nepotism, which denies our people a fair share in the areas ture but with Nigerian actors within SPDC’s circle whose ambition was to sidetrack SPDC to own its of employment, as people are recruited from interest garbed in indigenous toga using SPDC’S other parts of the country where the man on human, intellectual and material resources top hails from. This is to the exclusion of our through manipulation of the system. qualified indigenes whose lands are limited However, things did not materialise according and rendered unfertile for agricultural purto plans thereby creating a lot of uncertainty in poses due to oil exploration activities, lack of contract patronage as the best contracts are ei- the industry and regrets for those who incubated ther run by SPDC’S staff or are secured for their the idea, I mean the Nigerian top shots in SPDC friends or cronies as vital technical information that are the beneficiaries of their own device. The most unfortunate aspect in this saga is that needed for every successful bidding are disNPDC vested with operatorship of SPDC divested closed or pre-arranged for their people. Every successful contractor in SPDC represents some assets has nothing going for both technical, moral and intellectual so it can never conceive let interest within the SPDC cartel. Among the isalone deliver. If you are opportuned to observe sues is the recent divestment/assignment of their approach to community engagements, you OML’s 26 and 30 in Isoko land, which lacked can the feel aura of despair and a people in want transparency, illegal and overreaching the inof compass. You don’t require a T.B Joshua calling terest of the host communities, to know that ominous time are here again for the What do you think are the effects of Shell leavoil industry and what ever happens the Minister ing Isoko? SPDC leaving Isoko land is not really of any ad- of Petroleum must be personally held liable. I challenge her to engage me in a debate and the verse economic impact on the people. On the world will see from points of facts and law that contrary, its exit only form a part of the ugly the entire process was done to subvert the law. phase of SPDC’S unwholesome activities rangDo you think Shell has really left Isoko or just ing from pollution, environmental degradabeing smart business wise? tion, intra communal crises created by the By the original design, it was meant to be a ‘divide and rule policy’ of SPDC like in Olomoro grand deceit, designed to fool the Nigerian state and Uzere towns. Its unceremonious exit was meant to be only in the name but there still re- and to create overnight billionaires whose aim mains the unresolved problems as mentioned was to enrich themselves among our Nigerian brothers heading SPDC by circumventing the above which are the hallmark of it’s over 50 law and to shortchange the Nigerian governyears of exploration. ment and SPDC’s parent company abroad by creWill Shell be missed? ating an atmosphere of insecurity to their Will you miss an irresponsible, troublesome

Shell’s Exit Doom For The People CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 activities, are relocated or left to operate from Benin (Edo State) and other States. Soon, Warri and environs will be ghost towns. We cannot be cooking food in Delta State and taking it to Benin. for instance, to serve whereas people in Delta State are going hungry. When there is an oil spill, it is the people of Delta State (farmlands, fish ponds, bush animals, air) that suffer it; just as people suffer the immediate negative effects of gas flaring. It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Therefore, the same people in Delta State ought to be the immediate beneficiaries of the offices and business activities of the oil and gas companies that have taken over from Shell (and those relocating); by way of getting employment as engineers, technicians, operators, cleaners, drivers, security personnel etc. Of the companies that took over Shell assets in Delta State, it is only Neconde that has its office base at off Deco Road in Warri; the rest are either in Lagos, Port Harcourt or Benin. Many people don’t believe Shell has pulled out because their Ogunu and Edjeba offices are still operating? The whole Edjeba offices have been vacated. All the buildings in Edjeba are empty as we speak. They have all been handed over to NPDC as the new operators. But the NPDC have not relocated, neither does it look like they are planning to do so soon. All the building in Edjeba, Warri now belongs to the NPDC, going by the directive of the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke. Neconde used to occupy Block N in Edjeba in Warri. But when the directive was given and NPDC took over, they had to relocate/move their office to off Deco Road. It is only the Access Gate (front and rear entrance), and the turbines that have not be sold or taken over. As for Ogunu in Warri; we have the Residential areas and the Industrial areas. The whole of the Residential areas and its physical buildings, including the Bush Hut, have been sold and are supposed to be taken over by the NPDC. But as we speak, no NPDC staff or their families have relocated there. The whole Residential area is empty. The only place Shell did not sell in Ogunu is the Industrial area, where they have their jetty and their Aso Rock building near the jetty. The place is currently being renovated and few Shell personnel are remaining there. The Jetty and the helipad are obviously still relevant for Shell in case they want to transport anything or fly to the Forcados terminal. What happens to Shells assets? The Shell assets have been transferred to NPDC as directed by

the Petroleum Minister. It is not like the NPDC spent a dime to acquire these Shell assets. NPDC has no equity/shares in the acquisition. It was a mere directive from the Petroleum Minister that transferred the operations/management of these Shell assets to the NPDC (as a subsidiary of the NNPC that has the major share in the Joint Venture). NPDC was asked to operate these Shell assets for reasons best known to the Petroleum Minister and those in support of her actions. Rather than allowing the indigenous oil companies that bought over Shell interests in Delta State (specifically in OML 34 and others), to operate and manage these assets/facilities, the Minister just asked NPDC to take over the whole operations. And at the moment, NPDC is already running the OML 34 and others aground, owing to them not having the capacity and technical expertise to manage these assets/facilities and its host communities. T is a real source of worry that the NPDC, as a subsidiary of the NNPC, is allowed by the Minister for Petroleum Resources to be playing the role Shell was playing, by being the operating/Management partners of the oil and gas assets/facilities instead of the indigenous companies that have the expertise, experiences, and wherewithal to run/manage these oil and gas assets, particularly the ones in OML 34 and others. It is a known established fact that the government and its agencies or public enterprises do not have the “capacity” to run any business successfully. It is never in the place of government to run business in sensitive sectors of any economy. Issues of corruption, bureaucratic bottlenecks, indifferent-attitude and archaic modus operandi have often made ridicule of government parastatals to succeed in public businesses. That is why government establishments like the Nigeria Airways, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Nigerian Ports Authority, NEPA (PHCN), Delta Steel Company (DSC), Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), The Daily Times of Nigeria and a host of others, have either crumbled, or about to crumble, or they are just “managing” to stay afloat. The NPDC is no different from these ‘failed’ government companies. The currently observed “apprehensive atmosphere” and hiccups in the Shell (SPDC) divested oil and gas assets operations in OML 34 and others that being operated by the NPDC, is a justification of this point. At this modern age, the NPDC is still running all its corporate business operations “manually”, particularly contracting issues. Everything is done manually, just like the local government

councils. None of its corporate business operations are done online; rather documents are handled from one table to another; to the extent that community contractors of OML 34 and others for instance, are forced to always shuttle between Warri, Delta State and NPDC office in Benin, Edo State. The NPDC claims to have a functional office in Edjeba, Bock X (former Shell Edjeba Housing Estate building), Warri Delta State. But the one or two NPDC personnel that are usually there, cannot address any corporate business issue; for instance with host Community Contractors. Most times, Community Contractors are referred to go to NPDC Benin Office just to sign a document. The said Edjeba NPDC office in Warri is more like a ‘mockery’ of a corporate business office; a post office so to speak. Most times, the Community Contractors for instance, are left with no other option but to travel from Warri, Delta State to Benin City, Edo State. Is that the sort of company the Petroleum Minister wants to run/operate the nation’s oil and gas assets in OML 34 and others? When the NPDC was taking over the oil and gas assets operations in OML 34 and others, they held a meeting with Community Contractors in OML 34 around December, 2012, in Warri (former Shell Main Office), in Delta State. And in the meeting, NPDC top officials said they would inherit and follow “all” Shell (SPDC) policies and practices. But as soon as the NPDC fully took over the operations in OML 34 from January 2013, they dumped everything and have introduced their anti-host community people policies and practices to run/operate the OML 34 in Delta State, from their Head Office in Benin City. NPDC has shown that they have no iota of respect for the host community people where they operate in OML 34 and others. It was as a result of all these that we recently called for the outright sack/replacement or resignation of the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, which we sent to the Presidency and published in Vanguard Newspaper of Thursday, March 7, 2013, page 51. Our call is born out of the fact that it has become obvious that the Petroleum Minister does not know what she is doing. She does not have what it takes to adequately run Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Is Warri better or worse off as a result of the pullout? Warri is worst off. When a company like Shell and its personnel and their families, are pulling out of a place they have been for several decades, it will surely affect that place adversely. The Shell pullout has equally affected the operations and busi-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

NEWSFEATURE

Warri Without Shell: Lamentation Of A Stakeholder By Sunny Awhefeada

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

N the beginning Urhoboland was anIlived other Eden, a paradise where life was to its fullest. The people lived a life that was measured and certain. The rains came when they should. The dry season followed. Then harmattan knew when to register its severe presence. The trees were green and grew untrammeled. The animals enjoyed a free rein. The fishes in the many rivers that irrigated the land multiplied and were numberless in species. The soil was fertile and it sustained food crops and fruits. The air was rarified and the people were healthy. The avian family manifested itself in the innumerable species of birds that came and went with the seasons; there was omoko as well as okpemu, so were agbreren, okareko, okan, oso, apiapia and others. The trees, okpagha, okpobrisi and uloho were sacred. Okpagha stood out in its toughness, okpobrisi in its mysteriousness just as uloho was phenomenal in height. Harvest time was song-full because the fertile soil yielded bounties. Cassava, yam, cocoyam, groundnut, maize, pepper and more graced the harvest barn with aplomb. Palm tree, the king of trees yielded ripe and alluring iledi, palm bunches in their numbers during oke oro, the dry season. The people celebrated gods, ancestors and the coming of different seasons through festivals and rituals. Life was bliss in its pristine state and every moment, every activity had a song. That was before Shell BP (British Petroleum) invaded Urhoboland in the name of oil exploration and exploitation. Shell struck oil in Urhoboland first at Afiesere in Ughelli, now in Delta State, in 1957 three years before Nigeria’s independence. The company had begun exploration for oil in Nigeria around 1908 and discovered it first at Oloibiri in the present Bayelsa State in 1956. Afiesere was probably the second place Shell got oil in Nigeria after Oloibiri. For over 50 years Shell the Anglo-Dutch oil potentate bestrode Urhoboland leaving the terrain in ruins comparable to the worst form of ecological degradation. After discovering crude oil at Afiesere, Shell was egged on by the optimism that it could strike more oil in communities that are contiguous to the somnolent settlement. Soon, Shell discovered the black gold in Kokori, Evwreni, Effurun-Otor, Erhuemukohwarien, Agbarha-Otor, Amukpe and in many other Urhobo communities. It operated thirteen out of the 15 oil fields in Urhoboland from which it obtained 65 to 70 million barrels of crude oil annually. The 1960s and 1970s saw Shell consolidating its hold on Urhoboland, where it became the most prominent of the “seven sisters” that ravaged the nation’s flora and fauna in the name of crude oil.

Shell’s Exit Doom For The People, Says Gbemre

Environmental degradation from oil spills in the area

catastrophe would remain for as long as life endures. The ills bequeathed to the Urhobo by Shell as well as its dubious legacies shall remain indelible. Ughelli, where Afiesere Shell’s first point of call in Urhoboland is located, best signifies the parasitic and exploitative character of Shell. Ughelli Quality Control Centre was one of the most significant assets of Shell and it once served as the headquarters of its Western operations before it was moved to Ogunu in Warri. A great percentage of crude oil processed by Shell passed through the centre. Yet, Ughelli just like Afiesere and other Urhobo communities that played host to Shell remain grossly underdeveloped. Next to Ughelli is Erhuemukohwarien, a town whose name ironically played out in Shell’s ingratitude. Erhuemukohwarien means one should be appreciative of a good turn, an admonition that was lost on Shell. The town is reeling from neglect and impoverishment despite the millions of barrels of crude Shell had siphoned from it. Erhoike in Kokori is endowed with the best variety of crude oil in the world. The sulfur free sweet crude which Shell pumped from the bowels of Erhoike since the early 1960s made Netherland a paradise while turning Urhoboland into paradise lost. There used to be a big flare site at Erhoike. The flare, which was a big fire whose hissing sound was heard some fifty kilometers away, did so much harm to Urhoboland. While it lasted, the people of Kokori, Orogun, Agbarha-Otor simply murdered sleep as the phenomenon not only left the air dense, but made the setting hot. Other flare sites, Shell’s fires, abound in Urhoboland and they scorched the earth and people no end. Rivers and farmlands were victims of VERNIGHT, Shell installations sprang Shell’s armageddonic presence in up across the length and breadth of Urhoboland. Since most of the people were farmers and fishermen, they lost their Urhoboland. Monstrous oilrigs bemeans of livelihood and became victims of came common sights. Shell lit fires everyShell-induced poverty. The assault on the where in the guise of gas flare. Crude rivers through oil spills was unprecedented. bearing pipelines like giant arteries ran riot. Shell literally drilled wells in the heart An uncountable species of fishes became exof Urhoboland. The land came under pres- tinct. Other aquatic creatures and organsure and rupture supplanted the romanti- isms were also wiped out. The famous mermaid popularly called mammy water, cism of yore. Shell held Urhoboland in economic thralldom and ecological trepi- which Victor Uwaifo and Goslow Di canonized in their music, was not left out in the dation for 50 years. And now, having almost sucked the land onslaught against Urhobo waterways. dry of its God’s given bounty of crude oil, any farmlands were also devastated. having decimated the flora and fauna, havThe eco-friendly mangrove forest, ing killed the rivers, having made the inwhich embellished the Urhobo landhabitants victims of pollution and ruptured the rhythm of their lives, having scape was almost burnt out. Urhobo lost so much of what was green. Vegetable species, raked in billions of dollars from crude oil derived from Urhoboland, Shell suddenly herbs of inestimable values, fruit trees especially berries, wild, but alluring shrubs all discovered that the environment was no longer friendly and good for business and became victims of Shell’s capitalist insensiit decided to take a French leave while the tivity. Many species of birds took leave of Urhobo land remain comatose and drained of life. stratosphere when the air became unbearYes, it is no longer news that Shell, after ably unfriendly because of Shell’s fires. over 50 years of unmitigated eco-technoMany animals which once constituted the cratic fascism has left Urhoboland. The fauna are either wiped out or drastically question to ask is, ‘can things remain the same again for good or for ill with the exit decimated; uzo, orua, afioto, ahwa, aghwaghwa, udi, origben, urianko, eran, of Shell’? The answer is in the negative. In okpohrokpo, edjanakpo and many more have spite of its many acts of economic brigandage and corporate perfidy, Shell occu- become rare in Urhoboland. In spite of the foregoing Shell left its impies a looming space in Urhobo popular print on Urhobo flora. There is today a very consciousness. Shell’s disavowal of that ubiquitous shrub known as shokopini everywhich is human in Urhoboland has not where in Urhoboland. Lore has it that been met with an equal sense of resentment among the people. It is for this reason shokopini was not part of Urhobo landscape before Shell’s advent. The shrub, which has that the memory of whatever Shell stood become notorious in farmlands and in for while it subjected Urhoboland to eco-

other locations, was believed to have come with Shell to Urhoboland hence the name shokopini, which is a corruption of Shell Company. Shell Company has left Urhoboland, but will shokopini go with it? It should be said that shokopini is not a nuisance entirely. When its green leaf is squeezed, it gives out a brown liquid, which is dropped into fresh wounds. It was always handy for injuries sustained in the farm. The leaves and stem also form part of the recipe boiled and drank for malaria. Whether these were efficacious or not, one cannot tell. Shell also impacted on Urhoboland socio-economically for good and for ill. It created employment opportunities for Urhobo sons and daughters. Although many of those employed were not direct employees of Shell. They were mostly engaged by subsidiary firms or Shell contractors. Nevertheless, they had bread on their tables. Most of those that were directly employed by Shell to work in Urhoboland were from other parts of Nigeria. They were well paid and many of them built houses in Urhobo territories since the Urhobo were very friendly and genial hosts. When Shell moved its western operations headquarters from Ughelli to Ogunu, it built an expansive estate, which significantly altered the landscape and the social taste of the community. Shell became a metaphor for affluence in Urhoboland in the late 1980s and 1990s. Those were the two decades when Babangida’s Structural Adjustment Programme malevolently restructured the economy and foisted malignant poverty on the masses. Since Shell workers were well remunerated the hunger that was ravaging the land was alien to them. They bought cars, built houses and lived in relative affluence. They also ate good food. It was then that poor parents often told their demanding children “I no be Shell worker, I no get that kind money.” The young girls in town also preferred dating Shell workers. HE presence of Shell created a new set of local contractors in Urhoboland. These contractors took charge of ancillary demands ranging from catering and hotel services, supply of equipment, provision of security and other sundry engagements. Some of them built estates, which Shell rented to cater for the accommodation needs of its staff. Money flowed in for these nouveau riche contractors and many of them went on to marry as many wives as possible. Some of them built hotels and it was boom period for them in Ughelli, Effurun, and other conurbations in Urhoboland. Shell made a pretence to giving back to Urhobo people what it took from their soil. Beginning from the 1980s the oil company built schools, cottage hospitals, very narrow roads and small market stalls which dot Urhoboland as if it were a territory of pigmies. This effort is inconsequential when considered against the background of the billions of dollars, which Shell made from Urhoboland. Awhefeada, an eco-activist teaches literature at the Delta State University, Abraka

nesses of other contracting companies and organisations; most of who have been relocating to Port Harcourt and other states in recent months. Warri is no longer the “oil city” of boom but now becoming a “dry city” of gloom. The situation would have not been made worse if the NPDC that took over Shell assets, particularly in OML 34, are up to the task by adopting Shell policies and practices they left behind in dealing/doing business with host communities. Let us reiterate the fact that the OML 34 for instance, houses the Utorogu Gas Plant and the ongoing Utorogu Gas Plant Phase 2 (better known as Utorogu NAG-2 or Utorogu Dom-Gas) Project, Ughelli East Gas Plant/Ughelli Pump Station (UPS), Ughelli West Field in Delta State etc. The Utorogu is one of the biggest natural gas reserves in the country. It was designed by Shell to be the “gas hub” of West Africa, which is why we have the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) that is meant to supply gas from Nigeria’s to Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana. It is the first regional natural gas transmission system in sub-saharan Africa. The Utorogu Gas Plant supplies gas to Egbin Power Station (the biggest power plant in Nigeria). In other words, the Utorogu Gas Plant and the Utorogu NAG-2 (Dom Gas) Project in OML 34 are key to the sustainability of not only the Delta State economy but all the entire Nigeria economy and domestic industries. You can then understand why we are crying out against the NPDC being allowed by the Petroleum Minister to manage/operate these assets. They will practically run everything aground. For instance, despite the fact that it was agreed between NPDC and Shell (SPDC) in the divestment that Shell (SPDC) with its contractors, should complete the ongoing Utorogu NAG-2 Project before handing it over to the NPDC. But at the moment, the said ongoing project has been suffering seriously due to lack of funding and commitment on the part of the NPDC. Since NPDC took over the operations of OML 34, they have not been able to fulfill their own part of the arrangement with Shell (SPDC) in the funding of the ongoing Utorogu NAG-2 Project. Hence, the said project is at the brink of being abandoned to rot, just like every other oil and gas assets (for example the Abura Field in Delta State) under the operations of the NPDC; most of which are today overgrown with weeds. Many communities are at war with Shell over questionable sale of assets. Do you think sale was transparent? The communities that are at war with Shell over questionable sale of its assets are doing so obviously out of ignorance. They have not really looked at the bigger picture of the whole thing as we have pinpointed here. We strongly believe that Shell did not advertise or made it public knowledge about the sale of its assets in Delta State. And this is due to obvious reasons we believe. Perhaps they were avoiding politicians to take over these assets with fronts that cannot actually manage them properly, and might leave the assets to rot. It is obvious that Shell wanted indigenous companies that have what it takes to manage/run these assets, to take over. Just like Seplat and Necode are doing already in areas they acquired. But the directive from the Petroleum Minister, that the NPDC should take over, has defeated this intention. That “government factor” has crept in through the NPDC, to spoil what Shell has left behind. We would not be having the problems we are having today between host communities and the NPDC, if the indigenous companies that bought these Shell assets, were allowed to manage/run the assets and their facilities. These indigenous companies are professionals in Exploration and Production (E&P) and they have what it takes to boost the output of these assets. Unlike the NPDC. Like every situation where the community people are somewhat ignorant of what is actually going on, some others are cashing-in to make money from people’s ignorance. Recently it was discovered that some community people, who claim to be consultants, are seeking for host communities signatories to be their representatives in NPDC. And we could not help but wonder what is there that the host community locals cannot do for themselves that would require a consultant? What are the wider implications of Shell pulling out? The wide implications of the Shell pullout from Warri and the entire Delta State, are numerous. The economic implications are there; underdevelopment and insecurity, aggravated by youths that are out of work, are also there. Warri is already ‘dry’, in the sense that the volume of money circulating in the ‘oil city’ has reduced drastically. Things are getting bad as smaller companies that used to handle minor contracts and consultancy services are now struggling to stay afloat in business and keep their staff. The situation has increased insecurity concerns like armed robbery, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism for illegal bunkering activities, and other criminal tendencies at any provocation. Why is the state government not reacting to the pullout? The Delta State government does not care at all about the economic well-being of Deltans. Otherwise, it would have resisted or done something to prevent a big oil company like Shell from pulling out from the State. It is worthy of note that in Rivers State, Governor Amaechi and Rivers State House of Assembly insisted some few years ago, that Shell and all the oil and gas companies in the State must operate from the state and not from outside. By implication, all their offices are in Rivers State, and all recruitment, contracts and Sustainable Community Development (SCD) Projects/Programmes are handled in River State. The Rivers State Governor also directed Shell to relocate the head office of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Rivers State. And Shell has since complied with this directive.

24 SUNDAYMAGAZINE

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

KALEIDOSCOPE

Ibadan Grammar School At 100 By Babatunde Ayo-Vaughan

O God be the glory. I am alive to see this once in a lifetime event. I have no doubt in my mind that this expression captures the feelings of most of us who are privileged to see the Ibadan Grammar School Centenary, the Centenary of our great alma mater, one in the league of the 10 oldest secondary schools in Nigeria and certainly the oldest in Oyo State of Nigeria. Most of us cannot help but feel that indeed it is an august event to be cherished in the gamut of our existence. Most of our cherished members who had been part of the Ibadan Grammar School family would have loved to see this day. But sadly enough, it could not be so. One of such prominent one among them was the great Alex Ibru the founder and chairman of The Guardian newspaper. For those of us who are privileged to see it, happily for us including Goodie Ibru, the highly esteemed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our alma mater, one could imagine the sense of fulfillment that must attend the experience. It is like witnessing the turn of a new century or more importantly, the turn of a new millennium that happened in the lives of many of us just over a decade ago. We can also liken it to the cycle of the Halley’s comet, which comes once in every 76 years and which most people can hardly see twice. To our members who are no longer with us today to celebrate this august event, we thank God for their lives. In humility and solemnity, we carry their memories with us. They will always be with us in spirit as they continue to remain perpetually with their maker. It was the very first secondary school in Oyo state. The laying of its foundation was on the 31st of March 1913. (the significance of this day for us today as a Christian Anglican-based school is that it falls on Easter Sunday). The British Empire undoubtedly was the most influential sovereign in the world at the time with its tentacles heavily present in what was then southern Nigeria where Ibadan, the capital of what today is known as Oyo state was locat- 1965-71 set members among other Grammarians at the centenary home for the event ed. The British Empire with its enormous influence around the Today by the grace of God in this significant centenary year, that I could never recall an occasion when there were fights among stuworld claimed to champion the cause of civilization. As controversial as the claim may be, this influence was adequately repre- dents and it was attributed to ethnic differences or religious misun- same ‘boy’ sits eminently as the national president of the Ibadan sented on the day Ibadan Grammar School was established. The derstanding as it could also be. I am of the Yoruba stock. I had many Grammar School old students’ association. Papa Alayande did not stage manage it. He had long been dead before it happened. God seniors in the school from the other ethnic groups. If you offended representative of the British Monarch resident in Ibadan was indeed moves in mysterious ways. He surely has a foot in our there. Civilization is about culture, finesse and civility. These qual- them, they would ‘deal’ with you and you might sweat. But it just almamater. The motto of our school is Deo et patriae meaning ‘for ities of civilization constitute the universal fabric of a true society. never crossed my mind that somebody from a ‘foreign’ land had Since inception the calibre of people Ibadan Grammar School had come to ‘deal’ with me on my own soil. The climate of orientation in God and our father land’. The school indeed is for Him and our entire fatherland. our school was that rather than see the incident from such a churned out symbolized culture, finesse and civility that conEverything in Alayande’’s time for us students was up to standard formed with universal best practices. We are not saying that we parochial perspective the senior would rather remind you of what such that outside one government secondary school in Nigeria, are saints. Like every other human beings, we may have flaws that some of your older siblings or elders at home do to you when you Ibadan Grammar School was the first secondary school in Nigeria misbehave. That exactly was the perspective from which you permay be detected by those whose specialization is to find weakceived him too – another brother or sister as the case may be. Albeit in 1956 to be granted the privilege of running the higher school nesses in their fellow human beings. What I am saying is that it certificate (HSC) courses. students up to my time at Ibadan an extended one. could be said with authority, pride and with out apologies that Grammar School came from other schools to use the school’s Ibadan Grammar School’s products in the last one hundred years We have to give a lot of kudos to our mentors in this respect. They have been in the forefront among those who had shaped the des- laboured very well to mortify the embers of prejudice and discrimina- facilities. There was a solid level of academic excellence. One proof tions. Ibadan Grammar School was one school where you have chil- of this to be mentioned will suffice. When the HSC results of 1966 tiny of the Nigerian nation to date. were released two of Ibadan Grammar School’s students got the dren of prominent politicians from diverse colourations and while We are using this medium too, to salute the heroic efforts of other institutions in what they might have done in their different their fathers were fighting each other bitterly on the political terrain, best and second best results in biology in the entire common ways to contribute to the making of Nigeria and I say more power their children in Ibadan Grammar School would be playing among wealth. They were Abiodun Adebisi of blessed memory who to their elbow and God bless them all. However these institutions themselves beautifully. In this significant respect I have to single out became a professor of zoology and Obasola Ogunkeye, who later became a distinguished medical Doctor. Personally, in my own Papa (Arch Deacon) Alayande my principal. may just have to give it to us that this is our year, a significant year, our centenary year. It is to be believed that some institutions Papa Emmanuel Alayande gave me admission to Ibadan Grammar case, I had an academic setback at the point of leaving Ibadan School in 1965 and remained my principal till 1968. Chief Ayo Labiyi Grammar School. But it has to be given to the school that even the must have sprung up during these last one hundred years but an astute man in himself succeeded him as principal in 1969 my final characteristics of the spirit and determination needed to weather along the line had gone back into oblivion. After one hundred such a setback was imbued in me by the school. years Ibadan Grammar School is still growing and moving from year. But from 1965 to 1968 Emmanuel Alayande was my principal. During Papa Alayande’s time, the sporting life of Ibadan strength to strength. Its roots are firmly fastened to the ground. Somebody has described him as the principal of principals. I could not agree more. After all at some point in his career he was elected the Grammar School was very vibrant to the point where the prodIts stem, robustly sturdy. The universal fabric of Ibadan Grammar School at its inception national chairman of the principal of secondary schools. He reflected ucts of the school were a force to reckon with even up to the national level. Whatever were needed by us to make us stay formicould be said to have influenced its cosmopolitan disposition as it the qualities of a born leader, a thorough bred educationist and a dable were never denied us. In my own time we did not win the was developing to take its position in the comity of worthy insti- great humanist. I call him the Aristotle in my own life. He made no vital football cup but we could boast of the fact that Tesilimi ‘thuntutions. From the way the school continued to evolve into its mis- pretences about what he wanted to use the virtues of education to sion it was clear that the visionaries behind the development of achieve in his students. By and large it was like making them world der’ Balogun was our footballcoach. That was a prolific footballer the school had and understood the world view of education. They citizens. World citizenship is about selflessness and accommodation. of his day who has a prominent stadium named after him today That is the true human being. It is about culture, civility and finesse. If in Lagos. Although we might not have won any vital football comknew that education in the best tradition of the word must be broad based. It must not only include the academic and the intel- indeed this was the vision of the founding fathers of Ibadan Grammar petition in my time it was during the time of thunder Balogun as lectual, the moral and the spiritual, as well as the physical, above School Alayande in his own time carried it to a sublime and truthful the school’s football coach 1968/69 school year that Felix Adedeji popularly known as ‘thundi’ the school’s football prefect in 1969 level. all, it must never be parochial in such a negative way that must Charity begins at home. According to Jesus ‘If you are not faithful in came into limelight. He was not only adjudged the best school affect peaceful co-existence and the brotherhood of man. In this respect Ibadan Grammar School which could be regarded little things how can you be faithful in big things.’ Ibadan Grammar boy football player in Nigeria, at that point in time he was already playing for a top first division team based in Western Nigeria. One School to Alayande could be the microcosm of the macrocosm. In as the brain child of the Anglican Christian communion spear of our expatriate American tutors Mr. Johnson was instrumental other words, the school in itself at its small level as a community headed by the late Bishop Alexander Babatunde Akinyele never in the virile development of the basketball in our school such that could actually reflect what you may get among humanity in the discriminated in its admission policy. Although as a student of not long afterwards in 1967, we won the national championship. the school you were expected to participate in the Christian reli- world at large. It was like Alayande wanted you to come to Ibadan gious ceremonies of the school. The truth of the matter however Grammar School, leave Ibadan Grammar School, and by the virtue of Ibadan Grammar School was a leading school in lawn tennis in is that it does not translate into any attempt to convert anybody the education you have received at Ibadan Grammar School, go out my time as the coach of the school was the Nigerian champion into Christianity. The compulsory participation of every student and fit into any society in the world. My Ibadan Grammar School edu- and the international star of the time, Thompson Onibokun. It was a time when Tunde Oremule from Ibadan Grammar School cation by virtue of its cosmopolitan nature fitted me very well into was to fulfill all righteousness. Nobody was ever compelled to change religion. In this sense, many Muslims, animists and prob- the British society when I got to England in later years to further my was a shining lawn tennis star at the national level. The school’s table tennis prowess was such that we produced quite a number ably atheists passed through the wall of Ibadan Grammar School education. During Arch deacon Alayande’s time, teachers were of national champions. Two of them Babatunde Obisanya, went recruited from across the world to come and teach at Ibadan safely with their beliefs if they were still interested in them. The unwritten principle of the school no doubt is that by the time you Grammar School such that when I got to England I was already famil- on to become the national table tennis coach and Brigadier leave Ibadan Grammar School, if indeed you are a Mountaineer as iar with tutorship in the hands of foreign tutors. The standard of edu- General Jide Adebiyi(rtd) went on to become the first Director the Ibadan Grammarian is typically known, you will carry out of cation I took away from Ibadan Grammar School I noticed compared General of sports of the Nigerian armed forces. Boxing as a sport thrived very well in my days at Ibadan Grammar School. favourably with the best that obtained in England. Virtually all our that school in your character, the stamp of culture, finesse and The School was placed directly under the management of the civility. To our mentors, that is good enough to show case you as a tutors were living among those of us who were in the boarding child of God even if you don’t call yourself a Christian. Christianity house. Stories abound about how Alayande would contact his friends Western Nigerian boxing board of control with the leading trainer of the time Mr Okitipi either coming to the school to train us or from non-yoruba land to encourage them to send their children to in its true concept should be nothing more than that. taking us to the liberty stadium to train. The icing of the cake was Ibadan Grammar School as I said from inception seemed strong- Ibadan Grammar School. That was clearly in his vision to make the grand boxing tournament of the year in the school comly to have a world view of education. Students are not only admit- Ibadan Grammar School truly a community of mankind. You will pound in 1965. The very boxing ring that was used for the middle ted from across Nigeria dating back to almost eighty years as far appreciate what this meant to him through a story I heard on the weight world title fight between the legendary Dick Tiger of as my research could carry me, they also come from neighbour- night of tributes for him on his passing to the great beyond. Professor Charles Aworh one of his former students came out to tell Nigeria and American Gene fulmer in 1963 was brought to the ing countries. In my own time in the school two white Britons were actually part of the student body. The beautiful experience us that when the Nigerian civil war was about to break out, being of school to be used. It was a press affair. The hall was packed full. The British deputy high commissioner in western Nigeria was the Igbo stock, his parents came round to tell Papa Alayande that they that formed my lot from this cosmopolitan nature of Ibadan were going back to Asaba where they hailed from and they had come guest of honour. I should remember this very well. I was an active Grammar School and which many of my compatriots shared through their own experiences too, is that if the world sincerely to withdraw their son from the school. Papa Alayande told them that participant. I was the first to get into the ring for the first bout of the night. At the zero hour, the referee gave his command-‘Box allows it, it is certain that people from diverse backgrounds could ‘if you want to go you can go but you are not taking this boy with On’ and I did. I lost the fight on points to my compatriot Abimbola you’. I was aware how much he was upset seeing the Igbos leaving live in brotherliness, peace and harmony. Ayorinde, now in the united states of America disappointing western Nigeria at that time of the Nigerian crisis in the mid 1960s. As it is typical among human beings there were fights among students in my own time as you would also get among brothers Aworh’s family gave up the idea of going. According to Charles Aworh those who had placed a bet on me that I would win the fight. Such is life at times but life must go on. Ibadan Grammar School was and sisters. Indeed that was the nature of these occasional fights (the boy) not long after Alayande prevented them from going to Asaba, there was a big massacre there that would probably have per- and I believe still is the First Ibadan troop in the Boys’ scout moveamong the students of Ibadan Grammar School. It was in the nature of what you get among siblings because we were indoctri- ished his family. Talk of visionary acumen. That was ‘OGA’ Alayande ment in Nigeria. Ayo-Vaughan is Ibadan Grammar School Class 65-71 Set Chairman, (IGS) nated well into an orientation that saw us as brothers and sisters. for you.

TheGuardian

THE GUARDIAN,Sunday, March 31, 2013 25

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Junior Guardian Rightville And Vineville Students Dazzle At Interhouse Sports T was another glorious moIRightville ment for the pupils of School and Vineville

Cross section of pupils of Rightville School, Surulere with the Chairperson of the occasion, Mrs. A, Joe-Ezigbo and the school’s PTF Chairman, Barrister Gwam during their annual interhouse sports competition last... Thursday.

Academy, Surulere, Lagos to exhibit their various athletic and sporting abilities to the delight and admiration of parents, friends and well wishers at their annual interhouse sports competition last Thursday. The event, which held at the Union Bank Sports ground on Bode Thomas, Surulere, also provided an avenue for the children to let off steam and exercise their bodies after a rigorous academic period. They participated keenly in events such as kick the ball, sack race, filling the bottle, flat race for boys and girls, invitational relay and relay race among others. Proprietress of the Schools, Mrs. Chinwe Anyas at the occasion, said at the occasion that sporting competitions among children form an integral part of their overall development, since education is not all about the academic aspect alone when the aim is to build all-round future Some students of Vineville Academy, Surulere displaying their trophy at leaders. the competition.

PUZZZLE

Pupils of Jenny Jones Schools during their 5th Annual Inter-House Sports Festival at Olodi Apapa Lagos …recently.

Deeper Life School Holds Interhouse Sports HE first Inter House Sports Competition T of Deeper Life High School (DLHS), Abeokuta, Ogun State was a fun and rewarding experience for the students, par-

ents and staff alike. The turn out at the event was an unforgettable one, as it was both joyful and uplifting. The students, beautifully dressed in

neat House uniforms, started on a warm note. They stood at attention while singing the National Anthem and school song. The four partici-

pating Houses: Love, Faith, Purity and Peace took their turns in the march past. Soon, the day’s events started in

earnest and each was greeted with happy and excited cheers from the crowd. Some of the of the day’s events included the invitational relay, the 100 and 200 metre race, filling the basket, sack race and high jump among others. In the end, Love House was declared winner of the competition. They also carried the day by emerging the overall winner in all the event categories. For many of the students, this was their first such experience. Johnson Victor, a JSS 2 student of Love House said: “I am so happy that our House won. We worked very hard, so it is only fair we came tops. It was such a great joy running alongside my friends in the relay.” Though the school’s first, the event was by all standard a huge success. Mr. Olufemi Ademolu, Principal, said the school is committed to an all round development of the child— physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially. The school’s mission, he said, is to produce students that are adequately equipped as future leaders. “Indeed, our school is home away from home.” He charged the students to be upright, God fearing and focused.

—Bisi Alabi Williams

Love House with their trophies

COMPILED BY KIKELOLA OYEBOLA

(You can contact us on events for this page through: e-mail: jideoojo@yahoo.com , 08035818924)

26 SUNDAY mAGAZiNe

THe GUARDiAN, Sunday, march 31, 2013

cAmPUS OOU Holds colloquium On education th

S part of activities marking the 30 A anniversary celebrations of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago iwoye, Ogun State, the institution will on Thursday, April 4, hold a special colloquium on education with the theme, Nigeria Tertiary Education in Crisis: The Way Forward. Speaking on the theme, the institution’s Pro chancellor and chairman of the Governing council, Dr. Segun Oshin, said the deterioration of tertiary education in the country has reached a stage that calls for urgent attention from all stakeholders. Prof. craig mahoney, chief executive, Higher education, UK and Prof. Dominic Fobih, member of Parliament and former cabinet minister of education, Ghana will be keynote speakers, while Prof. Yakub mamud, former executive Secretary, Tertiary education Tax Fund will be the lead speaker. The colloquium will take place at DLK event center, moshood Abiola Way, Abeokuta.

Some corps members of the 2013 Batch ‘A’ Orientation Course in a thug of war competition at Zang Secondary School, during their swearing-in ceremony in Jos, Plateau State recently.

ASUU condemns corruption

Jos Crisis: Minister, NYSC Reassure Corps Members Of Safety

From Kehinde Olatunji, Ibadan cADemic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned corruption in its entirety. The chairman, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) chapter, Prof. Peter Akinola, stated this in ibadan while briefing newsmen recently on the industrial crisis at the institute of Agricultural Research and Training (iAR&T). All the unions at the institute have been on strike for nine months over allegations of fund misappropriation totaling N192 million, which was leveled against the management. Akinola noted that only the Vice chancellor of OAU, Prof. Tale Omole, was constitutionally empowered to appoint and remove the embattled director of the institute, Prof. Benjamin Ogunbodede. The ASUU boss called on the Vc to ensure full implementation of the factfinding panel set up to investigate the management of the institute.

By Chidi Iloamaeke THe mention of Jos, Plateau State to prospective corps members would make a chill run down the spine. For the 2013 NYSc Batch ‘A’ corps members, who until last Tuesday, were camping in Zang Secondary commercial School, Bukuru, Jos, it is like a deliberate effort by the Federal Government at striking at the very heart of national cohesion. Security provision is, therefore, at the optimum level. many corps members who reluctantly reported to camp, with the intention of

redeploying, are now giving it a second thought. The reason for this, many say, is because of the definite peace they are witnessing, which contradicts what they were told before arriving Plateau. The minister for Youth Development, mr. inuwa Abdulkadir, assured corps members of the security of their lives and property in Plateau State. The minister, who paid a visit to the Plateau State NYSc Temporary camp, announced that the ministry is working hard to ensure the continuous improvement of the welfare of corps

members. He charged them to be agents of peace in the country. The State coordinator, mr. Steven ehoda-Adi, explained that the media has not adequately captured the true state of the security situation in Jos. He urged corps members not to be restricted to any part of the state. A batch ‘A’ 2012 corps member, Agwunobi Pascal, who recently passed out from the scheme, relayed to The Guardian his experience in Plateau during his service year. “When the posting came and i saw that i was posted to

Plateau, it was a nightmare for me but i decided to give it a try, with the intention of redeploying (using fake medical report showing that i had epilepsy). “Today, i have decided to live here because i have found a life-time opportunity in Plateau. For me, Plateau is one of the best states a corps member should be, despite the few incidences of violence in the past.” Iloamaeke is presently serving in Plateau State.

Dealing With exam malpractice in The ivory Tower By Shimfe Martina xAmiNATiON malpractice is any illegal act committed by a student singlehandedly or in collaboration with fellow students, parent, teachers, supervisors, invigilators and anybody or group of people before, during or after examination in order to obtain undeserved marks and grades. The phenomenon is influenced by many factors such as lack of confidence as a result of inadequate preparation, peer influence, societal influence, parental support and poor facilities in schools. in the days of yore, a graduate was highly respected because of the high premium placed on education. But now, examinations, which are supposed to be the best tool for an objective assessment and evaluation of what students have achieved after a period of schooling, have been desecrated. Some graduates now find it difficult to express themselves correctly and many can’t defend the certificates they have been awarded. Those who engage in examination malpractice lack sound education, a vital value for leadership.

JAW JAW

The question is what will become of our generation when the present crop of leaders leaves the stage? We certainly cannot import leaders from other countries. So obviously, we are going to have thieves, rogues and exam cheats as leaders. efforts to curb this menace in schools have been on for a very long time but authorities appear to be fighting a lost battle. The more new plans are initiated to check the vice, the more students hatch new techniques. every examination season witnesses the emergence of new and ingenious ways of cheating. Students these days are lethargic and languid. majority of them prefer attending parties, watching movies and football, or other trivialities to serious academic engagement. This ill has eaten deep into the bone and marrow of our educational system. Hardly can you find a student preparing for an examination burning the midnight oil or having sleepless nights. instead, it is planning how to cheat. Our schools have been turned into miracle centres or commercial outfits. Teachers who are the supposed role models compromise their integrity by collecting and enriching themselves with

bribe from students. Some parents have helped in killing the reading culture of their kids by paying special amount of money for their wards to get enrolled in special centres in order to get good grades. Some even go to the extent of paying extra money for people to write the entire examination for their wards. They try to defend this act by arguing that examination is not the true test of knowledge. The acts of exam fraud include leakage of question papers, changing answer booklets, impersonation, smuggling answer booklets in or outside the examination arena, answers written as text message on mobile phones and copying from neighbour’s work. Students also communicate in codes (hand position, foot position or foot taping, noises like clicking of pens). Some even go out while exams are on in pretence of a bathroom break. All these won’t help, as there is no short cut to success. The only remedy is for students to embrace reading and read widely. Martina is a Mass Communication student of Taraba State University, Jalingo

WiSecRAcKS

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TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31 , 2013 27

Lafete NEXIM partners PAU for Creative synergy

HOMEFRONT

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Funmi comes on ALL THAT JAZZ 36 board with Grace ARTS

L-R, Mr. Roberts Orya (MD, NEXIM Bank), receiving the Distinguished Lecturer Plaque from Prof. Emevwo A. Biakolo (Dean, SMC, Pan-African University), and Mr. Peter Bamkole, (Director, EDC, Pan-African University) practitioners and regulators; and commisestablished overseas market demand in Africa, BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR sioned a study to review the industry and develUK, USA and the Pacific Islands coupled with op/recommend the best financing prohuge Diaspora population. Thus, warranting R. Roberts U. Orya has been thinking more gramme/instruments for the Nigerian government’s attention and recognition of the about the creative industry lately. You don’t blame him for this. Orya, managing director/CEO industry as a major contributor to employment Entertainment Industry based on the Bollywood and foreign exchange generation and justifying financing experience and others.” of Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), one of Concluding his lecture, the NEXIM boss drew the $200m Entertainment Industry Fund and the banks chosen to administer the entertaininferences from current experience in its fundment intervention fund, has been able to discover the N3billion grant recently announced.” ing intervention, the EXIM India’s Report on the tricks for lifting the industry. OTWITHSTANDING all these, the NEXIM boss Film Financing Programme and the Recently, he was a guest lecturer at the PanCommunique of Stakeholders’ Interactive acknowledged that the industry still faces African University, Lagos where he spoke on That They May be One: Towards a Greater Synergy Between some challenges that are militating against the Forum organised by Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), and stated, “to further strengthen and full realisation of its potentials. Nexim and the Creative Industry under the He explained, “these include very low produc- deepen the industry, there is need for the estabDistinguished Lecture Series. lishment of an Entertainment Industry tion for theatrical releases and cross-border coAn initiative of the School of Media and Guarantee Fund to strengthen the credit delivproduction arrangements; inadequate exhibiCommunication (SMC) through its Mass Media ery system and facilitate flow of credit to the and Writing Department in line with its statutory tion/theatrical infrastructure.” Orya knows of what he speaks coming up as a industry.” mandate as a teaching, research and community service-oriented institution, the Lecture Series aim banker and technocrat. His voice is authentic. He According to him, “this will be akin to the Cultural Industry Guarantee Fund, established didn’t do approximations in a certain type. to foster and deepen the culture of robust debate by Francophone West Africa countries in conAccording to him, “it is unbelievable that a on significant, topical issues locally and globally. Mr. Orya was invited to the lecture in recognition country of more than 170million people current- junction with ECOWAS Bank for Investment and ly has less than 60 modern screens in multiplex- Development (EBID), which was intended to of the extensive and impressive work of Nigerian es located in five cities of Abuja -15, Lagos – 17, P/H - facilitate bank financing of cultural industries Export-Import Bank in furthering the growth of in the Francophone states.” 14, Enugu – 5 and Uyo – 6. This, when compared the national GDP through promoting export-oriented investments in the non-oil sector and specif- with India is one of the lowest in the film market, Other steps that must be taken to rejig the industry include ensuring a Copyright with India having over 13,000 screens translatically the trailblazing interventions he was bringEnforcement regime and intensification of the ing to 12 screens per million people.” ing to boosting investments in the Creative Arts Reform System of the Nigerian Copyright Taking questions from his audience on what industries. System; design and issuance of sector specific Introducing his lecture, the NEXIM boss took the panaceas NEXIM is doing to improve the situapolicy instruments by the insurance industry tion, Orya indicated that the bank’s role in the audience through the business of the bank and like completion bond, insurance policy and othcreative arts and entertainment industry condeclared that the Creative and Entertainment sists in funding intervention and capacity build- ers, he revealed. Industry is a key driver of global growth and can ing. For the former, the bank extends loans to eli- Orya added that there is a strong need for govcontribute to sustainable global economic recovgible companies in all the value-chain within the ernment to consider the establishment of the ery. creative arts and entertainment industry under National Film Development Fund (NFDF), proviHe said, “during recessions, the creative econosion of sector specific investment/tax incentives my continues to thrive as people continue to go to the Nigerian Creative Arts & Entertainment regime, especially towards the establishment Industry Facility Scheme.” the cinema and museums, listen to music, watch of digital studios as well as He also informed the class that NEXIM’s videos and TV shows and played video games.” Cinemas/Multiplexes, to address the issue of low Funding support is in line with Mr. President’s Citing the Nollywod experience, Orya noted, Cinema screen density; as well as to operationalpolicy pronouncement in November 2010 to “Nigerian film industry has literally upstaged the support the industry with funding intervention, ize the Nigerian Film Institute campus in Lagos globally movie world through its innovation, to complement the Jos Campus as well as other which also falls under the Bank’s “Export of imaginativeness, and prolific performance. private sector initiatives to enhance human capSpecifically, the industry is now globally adjudged Services” mandate. ital development in the industry. He, however, noted that even before then, as the most prolific with consistent production of In his remarks, the Dean of SMC, Prof. Emevwo more than 2000 titles in the country’s three major NEXIM had provided over N460million in supBiakolo thanked the NEXIM MD for an insightful port of the improvement of distribution infralanguages rendered every year since 2008. This lecture and most of all, for accepting the invitastructure/platforms and the establishment of has placed, Nollywood as the third in global revtion despite his very busy schedules. enue earnings, with receipts over the years report- new digital production studio. He stated that the Distinguished Lecture According to him, “as at today, the total funded to range between $300m to $800m in the Series has been set to run on a quarterly basis as recent past to the extent that the practitioners and ing support to the Industry by NEXIM is over N778.5million, with applications over N26 billion an ongoing dialogue between town and gown, businessmen from Hollywood and other global the academia and society to inform and educate equivalents can no longer ignore the industry as is under processing.” Towards capacity building, Orya stressed, “the diverse publics on developmental issues in the being manifested in several joint collaboration media. bank has been working towards ensuring that movie works.” He invited Mr. Orya to consider establishing a the industry operates in a structured manner The implication of the foregoing, according to collaborative relationship between the Bank and within global best practices/standards. Till Orya, is that Nollywood has “very high prospects for growth and sustainable development based on date, the bank has in collaboration with various and the SMC towards linking film and entertainment professionals with investors as means of stakeholders developed draft operating guidea combination of advantages, which include increasing financing for content development, prevalence of high pool of creative talents; strong lines to enhance access to loan facilities with infrastructure and capacity development. inputs from various stakeholders, including and growing domestic entertainment industry;

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Confronting tradition in Flow ALL THAT JAZZ

Sunday at Newport with Mahalia Jackson

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

28 SUNDAYMAGAZINE

LAFETE From Transcorp Comes The Taste of Nigeria From Land And Sea FROM BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE, ABUJA OR the next one week, guests and cusFcuisines tomers would be treated to Nigerian served in a fine dining set-up by the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Tagged, A Taste of Nigeria from Land and Sea, the experience, which promotes serving of local dishes in bits and pieces after continental dish style, is the initiative of Chef Raji Ayodele Wisdom. The Kwara State-born chef said initiative is aimed at upgrading local dishes from one heavy main course to about seven course meals as done in most parts of the world. Although most big hospitality outfits in the country do not operate served menu, the Transcorp Zuma Grill would be pampering their customers with starter, main course, sorbet and desert meals, all prepared and served from Nigerian dishes in a unique way that does not reduce meals’ originality both in content and flavor. “A Taste of Nigeria from Land and Sea offers a set menu with Nigerian cuisine and Nigerian flavor by Nigerian chef. This is the original idea of Transcorp and it is served in the Hotel’s only Fine Dining Restaurant– the Zuma Grill. The difference is the provision of starter, sorbet and desert, all prepared locally. We have always had all these cuisines with us but effort has not been made to put them together until Transcorp takes the lead”. Raji said he was motivated by the concern that Nigerian dishes, the way they were served in the public lacked fine dining setup culture, which is trendy the world over. He wondered how Nigerians would have adopted the language, dress culture and the religion of their colonial masters, but left out their food culture. “When you say Nigerians don’t have a style of eating, you might be right. When we were colonized, we adopted the white man’s language, mode of dressing and religion but what we did not adopt was his cuisine. Nigerians want to have their food the way it

is and the way it is being served. Our style of eating does not fit into the trendy world of fine dining set-up. We Nigerians want our food served heavy and devoured with bare hands. All we care for is the main course without starter and desert. I came up with this initiative with the support of Hilton to fill that gap. In the Zuma Grill, we can have up to seven course meals prepared from local cuisines that are sourced from across diverse Nigerian food cultures. The process, he informed, started in 2009 and had undergone series of experiments. Trained in the Hilton through the students apprenticeship programme, the Chef has put in about 14 years in the profession. The credit goes to his father, who contributed immensely in shaping his carrier as a cook. “I was trained in Hilton and have served for about 14 years. I went through the Transcorp Hilton’s student apprenticeship programme. I have also travelled to other Transcorp Hilton in other parts of the world to broaden my knowledge in cooking. “My carrier was shaped by my father, Mr. Raji Akanni, who had a bakery — Temitope Bread in Offa. I was born into a family of 16 and most of us are men. So, we do most of the works and cooking at home but along the line, I discovered that people enjoyed my food most. It gave me pleasure and internal happiness to see people happy when they eat my food and that encouraged me into cooking as a profession.” The 34-year old husband and father is currently a Chef De Parte (number three in hierarchy in the kitchen) His ambition is to become an executive chef one day. “I am a Chef De Parte now; I am number three person in the kitchen in my section. I want to be an executive one day. It has been my dream and I know God will help Raji achieve it”, Raji said.

Jack Daniel’s Bartender Training ends N exciting turn of events ultimately concluded the 2012 edition of Jack Daniel’s Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey’s International Bartender Training, as two winners jointly emerged when the final results were released. Daniel Ogundeyi of E-Bar, Lekki, and Danladi Istifanus of Auto Lounge, VI both had an impressive highest score of 87 per cent on the final IBC Grade which ensured that this year’s edition comes to an exciting and pulsating conclusion. Courtesy of Jack Daniel’s Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey, they both receive individual cash prizes of N100, 000, together with their IBC International Bartender Certificates accredited by Shaker Bar School, UK. Recall that a few months ago, 10 finalists had emerged from an initial pool of 45 bartenders drawn from as many different outlets across the city of Lagos. The initial candidates were all subjected to bartending boot camp comprising of an intensive course in Essential Bar Skills followed by a comprehensive Whiskey Masterclass. Their skills and knowledge were then thor-

oughly examined and the 10 finalists selected on merit. The final week of training was conducted by 4-time National South African Flair Bartending Champion and Head of Training at Shaker Bar School, Johannesburg, Mr. Pieter Oosthuizen. Speaking at the award presentation ceremony held Thursday, March 21 at The Lagos Bar School where the training was held, Guy Nixon (Director, The Lagos Bar School) disclosed that he was very pleased with the high standard achieved by this year’s participants and praised Jack Daniel’s for their ongoing commitment to raising and developing standards within the Nigerian hospitality industry. Aside from the two first-placed joint winners, IBC International Bartender Certificates were also presented to the following successful students: Ayodeji Odufuwa of Lounge 46, Surulere; Adewale Adenrele of Mellow’s Bar, Surulere; Helen Ochang of Michael’s Bar, V.I; Stephen Itodo of Caliente, V.I; Temidayo Sado of Shuga Reef, Lekki, and Joseph Salem of Morningside Suites, V.I, all located in Lagos.

Bayswater rewards distributors

BY OLUWAKEMI AJANI T was celebration all the way, as IChef Bayswater Industry Ltd, makers of Mr. Super Seasoning products, recently

Winners of the 2012 Jack Daniel’s Bartender Competition; Danladi Istifanus (left) and Daniel Ogundeyi (right), with the brand’s Portfolio Manager, Lillian Chinelo at the cash / certificate presentation ceremony on Thursday March 21 at The Bar School Lagos, Lekki Phase 1.

rewarded another set of distributors with cash worth millions of naira and cars for the year 2012. The event, which held in Lagos, attracted distributors from different parts of the country. The General Manager of the company, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, said the event aimed at appreciating distributors for their excellent performances. According to him, “there is need to reward our customers because our products are doing very well in the market. Ours product sale has increased especially in remote areas and villages.” He said that last year, Chicken Flavour and Mom’s Pride Maggi were launched into the market and now both products are doing very well. “This year, we would continue to implement the concept by launching more new products into Nigeria market and maintain price uniformity for more sales and

better returns,” said Kumar. While noting that incentives would be given to thedistributors, advised them to abstain from sub-standard products that may damage their repution. Mr. Lawal Idris, the company’s operations manager, said, “despite the challenges businesses are facing in the world today, we thank God that we still sustain the quality of our product and retained our customers.” He said two of the major problems facing businesses in the country are poor power supply and bad roads. The Bayswater boss, however, said, “the company is committed to retaining its leading position in the industry, by bringing in innovations through the upgrade of the existing products and the production of the new ones.” According to Mrs. Ajibola Elizabeth, a distributor from Kwara State, who received a cash prize of N1, 500,080, she has been trading with the company for some years now and what makes their products unique is the health benefit that people derived from them . She promised to do more business with the company in the years ahead.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

SUNDAYMAGAZINE 29

MOVIEDOM

BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI

shaibu70@yahoo.com

Around and about Nollywood... NFC presents scorecard, two significant publications T was a period for stocktaking for the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), last week, as the corporation presented some of her publications to the public at a special public presentation held at Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos, as part of the 2013 edition of the iREP International Documentary Film Festival. The Publications — Reel Views, Behind The Scenes and 8 Years Of Reel Transformation captures NFC’s interventions and achievements in the Nigerian film sector, especially in the past eight years. Speaking at the presentation, the immediate past Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NFC, Mr. Afolabi Adesanya, recommended the three publications to stakeholders and members of the public. Adesanya, who served out his eight years tenure as CEO of NFC commended stakeholders in the movie sector for understanding the reasons NFC engaged government, domestic and foreign stakeholders to develop the sector. He called for continuous support and participation in the corporation’s programmes, saying much can, and are being achieved by the corporation. Earlier, NFC’s Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Tekena Benibo, said due to the strategic position of Lagos as a film production centre, and as a business hub in Nigeria, the public presentation in the city is very important to both NFC and stakeholder within the region. “It will afford all stakeholders unhindered access to the publications, with a view to sharing the success story of the NFC,” Benibo noted at the public presentation. ‘’Within the past eight years, NFC has recorded appreciable transformation and repositioning, which has enabled her play a more proactive and developmental role in the industry,” Benibo added. “There is the need to document these landmark projects and programmes executed by the corporation for public consumption and to show that the transformation agenda of the Federal Government is indeed achieving remarkable success, particularly in the film sector,” he revealed. Reel Views is a collective of essays and reviews on the Nigerian and African film industry while Behind The Scenes is a collection of selected speeches and papers by Mr. Afolabi Adesanya on the Nigerian, African and global film industry during his tenure as the managing director/chief executive. The third book 8 Years Of Reel Transformation, catalogues with pictures, the various transformation at the NFC as evidenced in the intervention projects, programmes and infrastructural development at the her headquarters in Jos, Plateau State and offices in Lagos, Abuja and Kano, within the past eight years.

Fresh programmes on WAPTv NE of Nigeria’s leading cable channel on O the Star Time network wapTV, will from April introduce some fresh and unique pro-

Bimbo Manuel takes his turn at Ojez forum today ODAY, in Lagos, friends, colleagues, famiT ly members and well wishers of the actor and broadcaster, Bimbo Manuel, will converge on O’jez, Surulere, Lagos to celebrate

AMAA jurors and President Banda of Malawi

grammes to entertain and enlighten its viewers across the country. These additions include Sabongari, a short narration of a Hausa proverb as well as its English translation with it’s application to everyday life; Akpan & Oduma, a short comical insight into the daily struggles and antics of two male youths from Cross River State who are looking for different ways to survive in Lagos; a programme which would take wapTV presenters to several hospitals to project genuine cases of patients in need of financial help for treatment of critical ailments; as well as a programme targeted at teenagers and youth. According to Gina Ehikodi, A.G.M/Head of Programmes of wapTV, “these additions are as a result of multiple requests from millions of audience across the country via our Social Media platforms as well as our detailed research into the yearnings of the average Nigerian TV viewer.”

Mba gets IRep Award ORMER Director General of the National FMr.Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Emeka Mba was the only one who

Gina Kwesi the actor, who turned 56 last week. Organised by Ojez Entertainment Forum, the actor will receive the forum’s award in an evening that promises to be exciting. Chief Joseph Odobeatu, CEO of the entertainment outfit that organising the awards, in a statement signed by his publicist, Media Image Managers (MIM), said, the centre is celebrating Manuel because of his immense contributions to the nation’s motion picture industry. ‘’We are celebrating an icon; we are celebrating one that has done so much for the nation with his exploits in the nation’s film industry — Nollywood. Now, he’s turned 56 with so much achievements; we are proud of him and thus decide to celebrate him,” Chief Odobeatu said. Starting at 7pm. Music will be supplied by the in-house band and the octogenarian highlife great, Fatai Rolling Dollars. Elenu, MC Shakara and Elder O. Awilo are expected to crack ribs with their jokes. The Zee Boy and Zee Girl dancers will also spice up the evening with their breathtaking dance steps.

AMAA hosts book fair in Yenagoa, awards hold April 20 HE organisers of Africa Movie Academy T Awards are working with the Bayelsa State government to host an international book and craft fair in Yenagoa, the state’s capital. The event, according to the director, Mr. Onyeka Nwelue, will hold from April 17 to19 with popular Indian writer and supermodel, Shobhaa De and Portuguese actor, Jose Fildago as headliners. The AMAA awards comes up on Saturday, April 20 at the Glory Land Cultural Centre, Yenagoa. According to Nwelue, “prominent Nigerian authors and their international counterparts will be part of this second edition of the fair designed by the Bayelsa Tourism Development Board as part of the Experience Bayelsa project within the AMAA week. He said, “authors that would participate include Shobhaa De from India, a former model and very controversial columnist; Brian Bwesigye from Uganda and Javier Lozano from Mexico. Portuguese actor, Fildago would be in a conversation with former Big Brother Africa Housemate and currently Rhythm FM presenter, Melvina Longpet. Uti Nwachukwu, model, actor and TV presenter will moderate sessions and also talk about the invasion of the privacy of the lives of celebrities. Nollywood director, Charles Novia will launch his memoir, Nollywood Till November and also, speak about the joy of documentation. The writer, Toni Kan will talk about How We Can Make Money as Writers. Professors Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Chukwuemeka Ike and Kanchana Ugbabe will also speak. Others include Sinem BilenOnabanjo, Nze Ifedigbo Sylva, Binyerem Ukonu, Teresa Oyibo-Ameh, Ayodele Arigbabu, Ayodele Morocco-Clarke, Ayodele Olofintuade, Chris Ihidero, Akin Alabi, Sharon Ezeamaka, Peter Bunor Jr, Williams Uchembah, Emmanuel Iduma, just to mention a few,” he informed. GloNaijaSings winner, Casey Ed, and French ballad singer, Jann Halexander, from Paris, will perform while Dudley O’Shaughnessy will be on ground to give out books to school children. Bayelsa Book & Craft Fair was initiated by Africa Film Academy curated by Blues & Hills Consultancy and sponsored by Bayelsa Tourism Bureau and Century Energy Services Limited (CESL).

received a special festival recognition award from the organisers of the just held iREP International Documentary Film Festival. Mba, who served out two terms as DG of the NFVCB from 2005 to August 2012 was recognised for his contributions to the field of media, entertainment and technology. The former censors czar is considered by many as a leading visionary in the converged fields of media, broadcasting, communication technology and regulatory policy environment. Mba who holds a first degree in Mass Communication and an Advanced Management Programme Diploma in Media and Entertainment Management from the IESE Business School of New York is currently studying law from the external programme of the University of London. Mba has attended several courses and training programmes in Nigeria and abroad, often times as a speaker on African media, communications technology, entertainment industry initiatives and future development.

Lion of Judah comes in Pidgin English By Florence Utor HE name Akpos may mean different T things to different people in the social circle. In recent time, however, it has been frequently used that the character Akpos has come to stand for anything unserious. However, with the animated movie Lion Of Judah, the name will surely regain its pride of place. Originally shot in English, but reproduced in Pidgin English, to reach a wider audience across the country, the animated movie has doses of message to pass to the viewers. The hilarious and adventure movie is embedded with the message of Easter, as Judah is to be a sacrificial lamb, but his new friends — horse, cow, rat, rooster, donkey and pig — from Bethlehem follow him to Jerusalem, where they encounter Jesus lead the way to Golgotha to die and set man free from evil powers. Written by Brent Dawes, but produced by Animated Family Films of South Africa, the franchise of the film is brought to Nigeria by Horace Raynos, the originator of the family soap opera, Tinsel showing on DStv. Commenting on the innovation, Raynos, said, “I am pioneering something new in Nigeria. I have done this for over 26 years and I have a fairly good idea about what will work. Sometimes it is an advantage to be different and sometimes it is not, but this is the beginning of many other such projects that will be different and also give a wider space to Nigeria. Nollywood has created that already, but I think we need to move to the next level.” The movie, whose voice-over characters include Ngozi Nwosu, Zack Orji, Ada Ameh and others, will be shown to the Nigerian audience on April 9.

THe GuARdIAn, Sunday, March 31, 2013

30 SundAYMAGAZIne

HOMEFRONT

SOMEWHEREELSE Jay-Z put on blast for not taking calls! AY-Z, was once Jblast famously put on by Robert DeNiro for not returning his phone calls. The rapper did it again and has been called out on it! Singer/songwriter, Paul Anka is the latest victim of Hov’s behavior and isn’t happy about it. During an interview with TMZ, Anka vented, saying, “I called up Jay-Z ‘because I wanted to put him in on a rap with Michael Jackson. I called him up, but Jay-Z has totally blown me off. He won’t answer my calls, he’s inappropriate in his behaviour.”

Justin Bieber investigated for assault HE L.A. Sheriff’s department is investigatTstar’s ing Justin Bieber for battery after the pop Calabasas, California neighbour claimed he was physically assaulted by the singer. It is believed that the neighbour confronted Bieber about the noise he was making after hosting a party when he returned from his overseas tour. It is unclear though whether Bieber physically assaulted the man or simply got into a verbal argument with him.

Birdman tattoos face for Lil Wayne about going to the end of the world TALK for the ones we love! Cash Money Records CEO, Birdman, has taken his love for Lil Wayne to the next level and tattooed TRUKFIT on his face for the rapper. TRUKFIT is Lil Wayne’s clothing label and the tattoo is believed to be in solidarity with Weezy’s recent seizure episodes that landed the rapper in the ICU. Birdman and Lil Wayne were famously snapped kissing on the lips a few years back.

Weezy storms record shelves with I Am Not A Human Being’

Funmi Sax at her album lauch

Jay & Churkie set forth with My Number One BY dAnIeL AnAZIA & JtheAYCHuRkIe are latest sib-

lings to storm the nigeria music industry. Christened Ikenna Michael nkemka (Jay) and Chuka Charles nkemka (Churkie), the Imo State-born atrtistes started their musical career in 2002 and recorded their first single, Life, the same year. determined to make a mark in the industry, they released another chat topping single, My Number One, on Friday, March 22, 2013. Signed unto Paradigm entertainment, the duo’s individual understanding of music and the ease with which they carry both the young and old along with their lyrics make them a perfect match. They have performed with notable artistes including duncan Mighty, durella, emmanuel Babayaro (da Godfather). Their artistic BY PAuL Adunwoke talent and stagecraft stand them out, aside from making them household names in owerri, where they perform at various events. LuwAFunMILAYo Ibukunoluwa Ajayi popularly known as According to the Ceo, Paradigm entertainment, ejiofor Funmi Sax recently added her name to the growing number Chukwuemeka, “Jay and Churkie are the next good thing to hapof gospel music artistes in the country with the lunch of her pen to the music industry.” album titled, Grace in Lagos. According to sax player, dreams cannot translate into value without hard work. She said the message of the album is God’s grace. In her words, “without God’s grace, we can do nothing. “whatever you have achieved is by God’s grace and without God we are nothing.” Funmi started her musical career at the evangelical Church of Yahweh, Maryland, Lagos, 10 years ago. As a member of the Brigade Band, where she was drummer, Funmi was fascinated by the sound of sax and had to leave drumming for it. BY FLoRenCe uToR Training with the church’s instrument, the lady gradually LSo called nucleus, uche kenneth Felix is gradually becoming a learned her ropes, going through thick and thin to master the technicality of the wind instrument. household name in the nigerian music scene. “It was so frustrating and annoying at the beginning, but the He is not only enjoying massive airplay on radio and TV stations across the country with his three hit singles, Kolo, Destinabori and pains only fired me up to make a decision of a life time, to excel. I was determined to learn sax and had to save to buy one. Nwa guy, but dominating party scenes and topping the chat. I got my first sax in 2008 and being a shy person, I never asked The 23-year- old enugu State-native is back to the studio fine-tunanyone for financial help rather I starved myself to be able to ing his afro-pop album. save for it,” she revealed. The Kolo crooner, who started music at the tender age of 12, but what inspires you to sing or play sax? went professional in 2008, said, “I used to sing with my friends, “It’s the Holy spirit. I am an empty sax player without Him. He though my parent never wanted me to sing. They wanted me to be inspires me during my ministration and I see and feel people a footballer, however, I was bent on doing music because of the love and passion I have for it. Music is my life. I kept on attending being blessed.” Funmi said, “the album was ready since last year, but we were shows, mingling with friends who are also into music.” trying to rework some parts of it, so, it took three months workknowing where his interest lies, the mother gave me her words ing day and night in the studio; but we thank God it is now out.” while her father insisted that his son must be a footballer, but Advising young and upcoming artistes, the gospel artiste nucleus never bothered. enthused, “they should be focused and hard working; they on how music chose him, the Kolo crooner said, “I have always should not relax, thinking that every thing would work by itself. derived a lot of pleasure singing. My father because of our If God has given you the talent then keep building on it until it Christian belief sees every musician as being irresponsible; a reason he would not want me to sing. And owing to that, I was never becomes better, because Rome was not built in a day.

Funmi comes on board with Grace

nucleus to hit the scene with afro-pop music

UBBED one D of the A most anticipated albums of 2013, I Am Not A Human Being II was dropped last Thursday on the record shelves by Lil Wayne. This making it Weezy’s tenth studio album and it will be interesting to see if he can push a million sales with the new job.

given the opportunity until I began to mingle with friends. “Anytime, we had shows, I would sneak out of the house at night to attend, and come back starving because nobody would ask if I have eaten. All these prepared me for what I am doing now,” he intoned. Are we expecting any video? “Yes, it will be in the market soon and it is going to be something very spectacular,” he assured. For him, his greatest influence as an artiste is God and he is grateful for all that have happened to him. Looking back, he said, “I now look at my self wondering if it is really me that is still forging ahead, because most of the people I started with have all given up on their music career; but here I am, believing in God that the best is yet to come.”

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

SUNDAYMAGAZINE 35

ART

Confronting tradition in Flow BY TAJUDEEN SOWOLE N the mainstream of the Nigerian art space that is unapologetically traditional — indifferent to signs of emerging radical shift — a US-based artist, Nnenna Okore sneaks into it to bridge the traditional and the populist artforms. For over seven years, Okore has projected her kind of art — a derivative of her former teacher, El-Anatsui’s well-known flavour in native textile depiction. Titled, Flow and showing at The Wheatbaker, Ikoyi, Lagos, till April 15; Okore’s new works, lightly sculptural, which are not entirely new to the Nigerian art space stole the show at ArtHouse’s Lagos auction in 2009 when her work Egwu Ukwu (2009), mixed media, 76.2 x 198.1cm emerged as the second highest sold work for N3. 3 million. It was also well received during her solo show at Goethe Institut, Lagos the same year. Though her works have featured in nearly all the ArtHouse Contemporary auctions, the response after the impressive debut appearance seemed to have dropped so soon. With Flow, a show the artist describes as a ‘mini exhibition of wall pieces’, Lagos art scene has got another opportunity to look at some of Okore’s works. To a large extent, Okore’s works are synonymous with wave, using such materials as clay, burlap, paper and sometimes fabric. Ahead of the show, some of the works presented for preview suggest that even within the fragility of the artist’s work, there is an eclectic, perhaps varied taste to choose from. In fact, a thin line exists among most of her works seen in the past. Two of the artist’s works, Igbo Nkwu and

Predicament are not from the wave and modulating styles, on which Okore’s art thrived in the past few years. Though works in the non-modulation tones add diversity to her art. As familiar as works such as Vogue, Nwaada Lined Cloth and Pride are in the family of wave aesthetic, on which the artist has established her identity; what looks like another form titled Consciousness appears distinct, even within this familiar group. KORE could have been trained anyO where outside the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka and still be under the shadows of El-Anatsui. However, the fragile nature of the assemblage clearly makes the difference; a softer version of her teacher’s sea of flattened bottle tops or burn-effect wood. Indeed, every piece of art has its share of fragile expression, no matter how small. But how the public appreciates and accepts the seemingly uniqueness of such an art, to a large extent, fuels the sustainability or otherwise of it. “I don’t create for the sake of selling,” said Okore, who is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Art Department at North Park University, Chicago, Illinois, US. Her perception of art appreciation in the country clearly sounded like an old, perhaps, long discarded argument where there is a frantic effort by artists to create their own wealth without waiting for government’s support that hardly comes. Okore is currently on a Fulbright Scholars award, lecturing at the University of Lagos

(Unilag). Her statement reads: “I am drawn to uniquely tactile characteristics of the collective physical world. I am astounded by natural phenomena that cause things to become weathered, dilapidated and lifeless - those events slowly triggered by aging, death and decay — and subtly captured in the fluid and delicate nature of life.” HE curator of Flow, Sandra Mbanefo T Obiago noted Okore’s new works “have taken on another identity through hardened textures.” Obiago said Flow is one of several efforts “we are using to get corporate support for art.” She listed The Wheabaker and Sterling Bank as two groups that supported the show.

The Vogue

Sunday at Newport with Mahalia Jackson announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is Sunday morning, and time for the world’s greatest gospel singer,” one could tell that something of value was about to happen. It was obvious that the capacity audience, which had sat in the rain through an unusually long program me - was waiting for Mahalia. It seemed as though Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and all Christians were waiting to meet the Messiah! Such was the super star status that Mahalia Jackson commanded and the veneration that surrounded gospel music, a purely jazz vehicle - which held crowds of devotees spell bound as they listened with engrossed interest. Mahalia Jackson walked on stage of the Jazz Festival

from the University of Iowa in 2004 and 2005. She has received several national and international awards and as well shown in numerous prestigious galleries and museums within and outside the United States.” Her works have been exhibited internationally in museums and galleries in Chicago, New York City, London, Paris, Cancun, Sao Paulo and Copenhagen. She is recognised by the local media as well as the Chicago Tribune, BBC, the Financial Times and the New York Times among dozens of media outlets, for her exceptional use of materials, textures and colours in her works.

Nwaacha

BY BENSON?IDONIJE benidoni@yahoo.com

All That Jazz

HEN Willis Conover, the incredible host of “Music USA” W and “Voice of America Jazz Hour” for over 50 years walked on stage of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and

KORE’s website states that after her B.A O Degree in Painting from Nsukka, in 1999, she got an M.A and M.F.A. in Sculpture

(where she was of course topping the bill) and was given an ovation from the audience and a downpour from the heavens. But she had not finished her first selection when, as if by pre- arrangement, the rain stopped and did not return until the end of her glorious performance. Many tried in vain to describe what it was that motivated her artistic creativity. However, art is seldom describable; but one thing is certain: Mahalia and her art were made luminous by sincerity, and her ability to project an emotion, regardless of its motivation is unparalleled by any singer past or present- with the possible exception of Bessie Smith, the ‘Empress of the blues’ and the inspirer of the first generation of female singers. The texts of Mahalia’s songs are religious in nature; one can be moved regardless of one’s beliefs. Like a true jazz musician, she could sing the same song over and over for an entire

evening, and each performance would be different. This thoroughly explains the fact that jazz is the performer’s art; and not the composer’s or arranger’s. Subtle changes in rhythm and melody make each hearing a revelation. Her impeccable sense of rhythm forces the listener to participate. On the slow, ballad - type songs, one is swayed along with the beautifully sustained passages she spins out. Audiences have come along with little or no comment about the voice, rhythms, the groans, calls, cries, but always about the dignity and the depth of the woman. They saw and heard a dimension that hadn’t been a common factor in their lives. They were not religious and many would not accept the theological premises of the religious viewpoint of Mahalia Jackson. But they sat and listened as they did at this concert at Newport, late at night and in the rain. People are seldom articulate about their religious views. Whether it is prayer or meditation or reflection, it is done in the secrecy of the church, the quiet of the cell, or the privacy of one’s room. Graced with marvelous presence, Mahalia could kneel, close her hands, lift her head, assume any gesture, and though the audience might gasp or pull back, the world’s greatest gospel singer mastered them, and the determination and earnestness of the woman came through. Another problem that confronts the artist here is the form or medium that she has chosen as her own. Gospel songs are simple in structure and almost childlike in lyric, appearing at times incapable of conveying the drama and reality they are called upon to express. But through the history of revival meetings, house parties, church choirs and the singing of the blues, the test of the hymn and the gospel song is not what the music and the words bring but what the artist gives this small creation. Here, the emphasis of jazz becomes a factor as the artist strides through with all the force that freedom and spontaneity can bring to any performance. Yet another difficulty is the contrast, which Mahalia presents the listener who is accustomed to the lean sounds of the synagogue or of medieval chant. Such musical lines project the same dedication and intensity but by an entirely different means. They are disciplined and contained, and no changes are permitted because the voices represent the social group, the prayer offered is the prayer of all, not the prayer of one. Obviously the form is different; ears raised on this as typical religious music are taken aback by the looseness and the almost formlessness of the gospel singing form. But again, remember that Mahalia sings within a different tradition, one that calls for the burst of song from the individual –and the form does not demand concern about grace notes and accents. This is Mahalia, when she sings: Happy, vibrant, full-figured, dressed in white, brown-skinned, flashing eyes, easy with the audience, and in complete rapport with them as she deftly announces her own songs, and teases the audience as they ask for more and more! Encountering Mahalia Jackson in live performance is a wonderful experience. She brings you conviction, dedication, commitment- and she gives it all to you with all the strength that she can muster. This means with her heart and her mind – two words that still convey the totality of human accomplishment and which appear in her songs. All of these things plus Mahalia’s devotion contribute to her greatness as the world’s foremost gospel singer!

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

36 SUNDAY MAGAZINE

LAFETE

Seven down, four left in Nigeria Idol 3

HE girl with the baby doll voice, Efezino bid T her tearful goodbye as Nigerian Idol sailed past the halfway point and into the top five.

Jeffrey told him, “That was greatness in the making right here!” Femi was equally enthusiastic, telling him, “What I loved It was a bitter-sweet moment for the young most was the way you modulated changwoman with a unique voice, who had struging key…it’s like you were flying and took gled with song choices throughout the season us along with you.” However, Dare told and had brilliant song moments along the way. him he needed to connect more with the The competition is now left with five contest- audience. ants looking to be crowned the season three Debbie was the last for the evening, startchampion of Nigerian Idol. ing with a beautiful guitar intro for her It would have been four remaining but there version of Dance with my Father. Again, the was no eviction last weekend, as the judges judges gave mixed reactions, with Yinka used their save to keep Safeeyat on the show. saying the guitar worked for her but Femi Safeeyat, the singer with the big voice, was telling the strumming songstress, “You voted off the show. She was given the opportu- can’t give your competitors any chance.” nity to sing again for a chance to be saved, and Then the competition switched gears and she sang; Kiss from a rose by Seal. turned to the highlife tunes, starting with While the judges conferred, it looked like her Moses and an experimental take on the time was up but they decided to give the singer classic song, Sweet Mother. another chance and used up their save to keep The judges got into quite a heated arguher in the running for at least another week. ment, with Dare of the opinion that the In the previous show, the guest judge was changes made to the song were too experisinger and entertainer, Dare Art Alade, who mental, while Yinka on the other hand, came excited to see what the remaining contold him. “You did very well! Your transitestants could deliver. Along with host Ill tions were on point.” Rhymz, Jeffrey Daniel, Femi Kuti and Yinka Abasiakan took on the challenge of Davies were the regular judges on the show. ‘Hallelujah’ by one of Nigeria’s greatest The themes for the evening were music from divas: Onyeka Onwenu. A quick learner, he the late, legendary R&B singer, Luther took Dare’s earlier critique to heart, and Vandross, as well as something straight from tried to connect with the audience, a fact the home shores: highlife. that did not go unnoticed by the judges. The evening started off with a very special per- Femi said, “I’m happy contestants are lisformance by Fatai Rolling Dollar Won Kere si tening to our critiques.” Jeffrey seemed to Number Wa. quite like the performance, saying, At 87, it was a joy to behold his energetic and “African music brings out something in spritely performance, and he eventually was you. joined on stage by the eager group of contestEverything about the performance—I ants. loved it.” Dare was pleased that Abasiakan An appreciative in-studio audience gave the took his advice telling him, “You nailed it, performance a loud and prolonged standing and you were dancing!” ovation, thrilled by the performance. JayFeel chose to perform Taxi Driver wearing an afro wig, bow tie, shorts and knee Fatai Rolling Dollar had this to say about young, upcoming performers: “I love what the length socks. It was another polarising peryoung artists now are doing. They have a good formance. Dare said, “I would like to see a lot more musicianship from you at this message for the young crowd out there, and I stage of such a competition.” absolutely love it!” It was then the contestants’ turn to perform, Femi was even more blunt, saying, “I starting with Luther Vandross songs. Safeeyat think Dare is right, in the middle of the started off the night, and performed ‘So song you went off key, twice.” Amazing’. Debbie Rise performed Mos’orire and it Jeffrey told a disappointed Safeeyat that seemed she has been battling vocal issues. “…the passion and emotion that was supposed While the judges loved it, Yinka warned to be in this song, I was not getting that.” her not to scream, and Dare told her, “It Dare gave his own critique saying, “I think was creative, it was enjoyable…but be you struggled to connect to the song.” JayFeel, wary of your voice.” was next, singing ‘ If I Didn’t Know Better’. You can watch who makes it to the next stage on Saturday on NTA at 3pm, Sound While Yinka looked mildly pleased with his performance, Dare was blunt with his criticism City and ONTV at 7pm, Silverbird at 7:30pm, telling the back-flipping singer, “I thought you Superscreen at 6:30pm, TVC at 9:30pm, Real Star TV on Startimes at 9pm, channels 209 didn’t really control the song.” Jeffrey added, on Sky and 828 on Virgin (Africa Channel “Your voice was scratchy.” UK) at 9pm on the Result Show. Moses performance of ‘If Only for one Night’ had the judges on the fence. Catch all-new performances on Sunday on NTA at 3:30pm, Sound City and ONTV at While Dare told him, “One word: soulful,” 7pm, Silverbird at 8pm, TVC at 8:30 pm, Femi was disinclined to agree, saying, “It was Superscreen at 9:30pm, Real Star TV on good as usual,” then referred to his words of Startimes at 9pm, channels 209 on Sky and warning to the ‘teddy bear’ singer last week 828 on Virgin (Africa Channel UK) at 9pm about sustaining a performance. Yinka was Winner of the show sponsored by thrilled however, hugging Moses and saying, Etisalat, in association with Pepsi and sup“That is what I’m talking about!” ported by Beat FM will get $100,000. Abasiakan’ rendition of ‘I’d Rather’ saw an ecstatic crowd rise to their feet, and the judges were effusive with their praise.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

SUNMDAY MAGAZINE 37

THE READING NATION

ARTSVILLE

2012 Flooding In Delta State In Print By Anote Ajeluorou OllOWING the devastating consequences and Fravaging unprecedented humanitarian crisis occasioned by the flood, the government of Delta State began emergency rescue and relief operations immediately in an effort to ameliorate the excruciating conditions being faced by victims of the flood, by setting up temporary camps to accommodate and provide for the basic needs of the internally displaced persons (IDPs)… “Arising from the need to provide a more pragmatic basis for dealing with the problems arising from the flood disaster, as well as developing a framework for dealing with such incidents in the future, the Governor of Delta State, His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, inaugurated a Technical team Committee on Flood Impact Assessment – drawing on the research capacity of Delta State University…” The result of this research is what the Delta State University, through its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Eric A. Arubayi, published under the telling title, The Impact of the 2012 Flood on Affected Delta State Communities. The committee was set up while the flood was still ravaging parts of the state last October. Indeed, the setting up of this committee at the heart of the flood was a commendable effort by the Delta State government. Expectedly, its conclusions and recommendations should have far-reaching effects both for the state and the entire nation or parts of Nigeria that went through that traumatic experience of devastation, loss of lives and property and the emotional stress. The committee’s terms of reference included determining the extent of the flood; effect of the flood on the environment, social and health; determining the receptors of the flood; determining the magnitude of the impact of the flood; assessing the emergency response and intervention measures already put in place, in order to ameliorate the living conditions of IDPs; estimate the cost of the flood damage, and make necessary recommendations on short and long terms strategies to be adopted for ameliorating the impact of the flood in the future. With these terms, the committee plunged head on into its task and made visits to more than 12 local councils mostly affected by the devastating flood. They include Udu, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili North, Oshimili South, Bomadi, Burutu, Isoko South, Isoko North and Patani. Aniocha South and Warri South were also affected, however, the report noted that the impact in those areas were said to be minimal. According to the report, “these areas affected by the flood have some common geographic characteristics. First, they are all located within the lower Niger flood plain, with its distributaries criss-crossing a large proportion of the land mass. They are also located within the tropical rain forest belt, and sharing similar characteristics in terms temperature, relief and soil characteristics. The impact analysis covers such areas inter alia: Extent and duration of the flood, environmental, social and health effects, agricultural and other economic activities, infrastructural, educational and other public facilities, as well as estimation of the cost of the flood damage. The committee made on sight visits to affected communities and interviewed respondents, who were usually victims of the flood; it also relied on information provided by government officials, non-governmental agencies and individuals providing relief materials to victims of the flood disaster. These approaches gave the committee a holistic view of the extent of damage the flood had on communities, which invariably informed its thorough analysis of the flood impact and eventual recommendations to the state government. The team stated in its analytical framework thus: “A major task of this study was to develop a framework that would assist the government in making decisions on the efficient and effective allocation of resources for the management of the humanitarian crisis arising from the flood that ravaged the entire flooded plain of the lower Niger River in the state between late August and October 2012. The second task was to make use of the field experience of the team to develop a strategy for disaster risk management (DRM) for the future.” Delta State is largely an agrarian society, and so, those affected by the flood suffered great losses in farm produce (yams, cassava, plantain, banana, vegetables, okro, sugar cane, cocoyam, sweet potato and groundnut), fish produce and livestock. Residential and business property was also lost including the deaths of many persons. Also, during the flood period that lasted for about four weeks that the flood persisted, both businesses, social and school academic activities were temporarily halted in the 12 lGAs that were most affected. In all, Ndokwa East, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Isoko South and Burutu were the most affected areas, as farm produce, livestock and fish produce were virtually all destroyed. Apart from this, the impact of the flood on the environment, with the attendant health implications was grave, as sanitation in the affected areas was at its lowest. Reported cases of disease infection were rampant. All these the committee painstakingly recorded with graphic charts and tables. The flood’s impact on transportation (the road from Delta to Rivers State was cut off at the height of the flooding, constraining motorists to go to Port Harcourt through Onitsha and Owerri), places of worship, elec-

Edem Duke Sells Off The National Theatre DEM Duke has started selling off chunks of the National Theatre. The E well- spoken minister of culture in the Goodluck Jonathan cabinet has asked the National Gallery Of Art, as well as other parastatals OF THE Culture Ministry, to park out of the premises. The minister has been talking of “improving the value of the space around the National Theatre”. But he hasn’t provided any alternative vision to the programming that has ensured no movie screenings, no live drama, no poetry readings, no art exhibition happening in the space, in spite of the vast improvement in the functionality of the several halls in the premises. It will soon be clear to everyone that the hotelier-minister sees “culture” only in context of an “Ocean View Mentality”, which is “let’s turn this place into where there will be Cigar Bars and Casinos, for who can afford ‘The Higher life’”. Mr Duke doesn’t want poetry, or drama, or Nollywood Movies, or Egungun Masquerades. He wishes the National Theatre could be the next Radisson Hotel. Watch this space for updates.

Jonathan’s Been Good To Us, By Onwochei HE actor and filmmaker Francis Onwochei has dismissed the popular T notion of President Goodluck Jonathan as a clueless, sitting duck head of state. “He has done more for the Nigerian Film Industry, call it

Prof. Eric Arubayi, head of the technical committee tricity and telecommunication and the number of deaths put at 30, general insecurity and social dislocation are all presented in the study. The study also focuses on the emergency response measures taken both by the state government and non-governmental organisations and philanthropic individuals to alleviate the suffering of victims. The committee put the estimated total cost of the flood on food crops at over N3 billion; N2.614 billion is for aquaculture (fish farming); poultry is put at N0.263 billion while piggery is N26 million. On the whole, N9.602 billion was lost in the flood as tangible cost! With facts and figures, bar and pie charts in all segments of the analysis of areas covered, the technical team, largely made up of professors of Delta State University, brought their research ingenuity to bear on the report. What comes through is a painstaking study that leaves nothing to chance, as all affected parts of the state, including extent of damage and cost implications are laid bare for government to act both retroactively and proactively upon. The overall aim is a wake up call to assist those most affected to enable them return to a relative level of normalcy and a strategy of action in case of future occurrence. The wider application of the report goes beyond the impact of the flood on Delta State alone. While Delta State government should be commended for initiating the study so as to enable it assist its citizens, how the state responds to the report is another matter. Given government’s penchant for committees for their own sakes, committees that easily become mere academic exercises to assuage egos of government officials, it’s indeed yet to be seen how much help government is willing to give the flood victims. Beyond the N3,000 or so that was given to some victims in some relief centres, nothing more has been heard or has been done for the victims, an indication that this report was, afterall, just another government-sponsored report that has ended up in government’s archives or some bureaucrat’s drawer. However, it’s a report that can be adopted in other parts of the country as well, and as an opportunity for government to see reason and assist the citizens for whom it ordinarily maintains a far distance in terms of policy implementation. Across the nation, billions of Naira were donated both by government and public-spirited individuals both as relief and rehabilitation funds to help cushion the effects of the flood on affected Nigerians. It would seem those billions only appeared on the pages of newspapers or have even become means of political patronage, as most of those affected by the flood are still reeling in agony and waiting for promised assistance to start off all over again. Also included in the report is Workplan on Quick Win Intervention and Post Flood Rapid Food Programme as an Intervention Measure in Addressing the Imminent Food Crisis as a Result of the Flooding Disaster in Delta State’addressed to Prof. J. Agbamu, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture of Delta State University by the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. J.N. Ochonogor. How much of this beautiful workplan has been implemented since October 24, 2012 when it was written? This remains to be seen. And until government proactively responds to its citizens that have laid prune by a natural disaster of this magnitude, such government, whether local, state or federal, would have lost any claim to legitimacy!

Nollywood, than any other president, living or dead”, Onwochei remarked at an art stampede on Funding Challenges In The Nigerian Film Industry, held at Freedom Park in lagos last Sunday. “The president acknowledges Nollywood and has so far demonstrated interest in its development by his regular interface, dinners, briefing sessions and so on”. Onwochei has been part of the performing arts scene for over 25 years, and is one of those who made the transition from the vibrant stage scene in lagos in the mid 80s to feature film production on videos in the early 90s. He said that Jonathan has more specifically created ‘You Win Benefit Scheme ’ for Female Entrepreneurs working in film, In addition to loans that can be accessed from either NEXIM or BOI (Bank Of Industry), not minding the bottlenecks. He has also introduced a three billion naira grant, which will be launched by the end of April, according to the Finance Minister”. Onwochei warns Filmmakers to be careful about applying for the loans being operated by BOI and NEXIM and rather target the Three Billion Naira grant. He says that “it’s not yet Uhuru, but compared with other heads of state that have ruled the country, Mr Jonathan has been more keen on the success of the Film Industry.

Omotoso Breasts The Tape HE novelist, playwright, and biographer of Nigeria, Bankole Omotoso, T will be 70 years old on April 21, 2013. His arrival at this significant landmark raises the flag for the generation of writers that emerged after the Achebe-Soyinka-J.P. Clark set. “The event offers us an opportunity to draw attention to and appreciate his many-sided commitment to the literary arts as well as celebrate those with whom his path has crossed”, remarks the poet Odia Ofeimum, in an emailed statement. The celebrations will take off as a Special Reading, Kole Omotoso In Person at Jazzhole, on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, in lagos on April 17, 2013 at 4.30 pm. The Kole Omotoso Exhibition — Akure to Jo’burg will be on display from 12 noon on 19th April to 21st April, 2013. A Reception, An Evening for Uncle Very Very’s Nephew will be held at the Cultural Centre, Akure on the exhibition’s opening date, 19thApril 2013. A Special Birthday lecture Radicals, Literature And Nigeria: Just Before 1914, will be delivered by Professor G.G. Darah of Delta State University, Abraka, and will be chaired by Professor Akinwumi Isola, at the Cultural Centre, Akure, on 20th April, 2013. Time:4.30pm. It will be immediately followed by Kole Omotoso’s South African play, Yes And ‘Know’ To The Freedom Chatter, directed by Felix Okolo and produced by Hornbill House. Akure to Jo’burg will be donated to a cultural establishment in Ondo state after the celebrations, in order to motivate a permanent means of attracting literary enthusiasts to the city that has featured so much in the celebrant’s many novels and short stories. Omotoso was the founding General Secretary and a former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors. “Quintessentially, there is a need to view Kole Omotoso’s achievements as a creative writer also in the context of his role as a pioneering activist in literary journalism. His literary editorship of Afriscope in the seventies, his Writer’s Diary in West Africa magazine, his travelogues in National Concord, and his Uncle Very Very series in the now defunct Daily Sketch, bear witness to his durable performances. Kole Omotoso’s especial creativity in these areas remain benchmark performances to which must now be added his continuing conversations with Nigeria - in the columns he has maintained on the pages of The News magazine and Vanguard newspapers.

Chinese Hold A Memorial For Achebe, In Beijing ITERATURE students at the Centre for African Studies at Peking lemailed University in Beijing, held a memorial in honour of Chinua Achebe and a photo of their observation of moment’s silence in the shadow of a huge projected photo of the author of Things Fall Apart. Here’s what they sent, unedited, to Professor Femi Osofisan, (italics ours): The Words of the recent death of Chinua Achebe have just come to us, and all of the faculties and students from the department of Asian & African Languages & Literature hasten to offer our condolences. As we all know, Chinua Achebe is a monument to African literature. Nelson Mandela has said “there was a writer named Chinua Achebe in whose company the prison walls fell.” Though [our] department is still very young, however, we all have read about his works and are aware of his noble personality. His works open a new door for us to the palace of Nigerian literature, which [is] the major course here in our department. His humanitarian ideals of telling the “Balanced Story” of Africa make us moved to the deep. Therefore, in the image of his glorious [life] we have made up our mind to build a “balanced” literature framework in China, not only for the sake of literature, but also for the consolidation of Sino-Africa friendly relations. Please convey our respect and sympathy to your loss of a great storyteller. Cordially yours, Centre For African Studies Department of Asian & African Languages & Literature Peking University, Beijing, China

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

38 ARTS

ARTS

THE READING NATION

Modern Nigerian Poetry — A Long Night’s Journey Into Creation Day a lady about to wed]. The heavy vibrancy of these works derives from a deeply rooted Yoruba folk art: the iremoje—the ritual celebration for a dead hunter. This celebration is made up of invocations, folk songs, chants, parables and the heady rhythms provided on the gong, the flute and the talking drum. [It is this heavy vibrancy that distances Lasisi’s works, the one from the other. The former is much more performance oriented though it is the latter that won the ANA/Cadbury poetry prize].This vibrancy fascinates me. However, I have yet to fully penetrate the mood/atmosphere which is consequent on it: the cultural curtain consistently shuts me out. This is particularly so with Fasina’s work. And I do find it significant that there is no record that the work has actually been performed. Lasisi’s works have been performed—but only by him. In other words, these performance poems stand at the end of a cul-de-sac, like Amos Tutuola’s The Palmwine Drinkard; and, not unlike the Nollywood epic genre, they are on the list of extinction. The second approach specifies a specific musical accompaniment to a specific poem. Ademola Dasylva is spectacular in this regard. In just one collection of poetry, we have the following accompaniment: [1] ‘on the iya-ilu talking drum’; [2] ‘the Ijesha Ademo music…in the background’; [3] ‘metal gongs and talking drums at the background’; and [4] ‘bata drum music at the background’. Two other notable examples: Denja Abdullahi’s A Thousand Years of Thirst and Niyi Osundare’s The World is an Egg. The problem here, for me, is that the poem and the music get in the way of each other—and, in doing that, they shove me aside.

By Hyginus Ekwuazi CROSS both the Niger and the Benue, much A poetry is being written. The rate of production is prodigious—and much of it is low voltage poetry. What is happening is simply this: quantity is fleet-footedly outstripping quality. In fact, it begins to look as if the greatest favour one can do for Nigerian poetry is to take all those potboilers, take them and their inherent capacity for mutation, tie a ribbon-decorated windmill around them and sink them into the Niger and the Benue. The Lake Chad, of course, is there: into it we can garner whatever those two rivers cannot swallow. To my mind, the problem is that to all intents and purposes, these poets seem to have all graduated from a college of poetry run by the irreverent troika of Chinweizu, Onwuchekwa Jemie and Ihechukwu Madubuike. I have this deep rooted suspicion that these poets carry a pocket edition of Towards the Decolonization of African Literature—through which they filter any and every word and idea of poetry that come to them. That should account for the rash of depoetisized poems we encounter all over the place. One specific example should suffice here; and the one that immediately comes to mind is Seyi Hodonu. Yes, every so often it does, indeed, happen: that magic does get stood upon its head. Otherwise, how on earth can one account for the fact that Hodonu’s collection of ‘poems’ [Songs from my Mother’s Heart] did go ahead to clinch one of the much coveted ANA poetry prizes? In Nigeria, it is far easier to write poetry than to read it. The evidence is everywhere—everywhere you find an anthology of Nigerian poetry or a posse of Nigerian poets. Pick up virtually any poem, and virtually every word and every line of that poem will scream at you that here is a poet who has not read any poetry. Here is the painful point I am leading to: Okigbo, Soyinka, Okara, Clark and all the grand masters and all the poets of their ilk—with everything to do with their kind of poetry—to our modern Nigerian ‘poet’, all these are anathema and best left to aging academics. I happen to be one of them—the aging academics, I mean. I love good poetry: poetry minted with the gold standard for good poetry in mind. The kind of poetry I can sink my teeth into. The kind of poetry that latches on to the mind and will not let go. The kind of poetry one chews like the cud any time one is alone. That is the kind of poetry I have a craving for. So I have to read a lot, an awful lot, of poetry of every kind, to find it. And from all this reading, I have been able to harvest the following disquieting features of modern Nigerian poetry. The theme is everything: remove the theme and there will be nothing worthwhile left in the poem—the poems are like Nollywood films: message driven. The recurrent messages: the rot that is Nigeria; Nigeria as a failed state; environmental degradation; love; rights of all kinds: human, children, women, sexual, etc. And these messages are merely held up as predictable flash cards… I tend to see this practice of poetry which insists that the message makes the poet as the misreading—largely, if not wholly, through secondary sources, of course—of Niyi Osundare and all the consciousness-raising poets who take their angst to the universe of our marketplace. If this marketplace resonates with their angst, as it really does, it is certainly not because they shout from the rooftop; not because they have managed to divine what we want to hear; and not because they give voice to our own mute anger—but simply because they know that before it is anything else, poetry is first and foremost emotion/feeling. Witness, therefore, the nail-biting frustration in Okpanachi; the hope which Odia Ofeimun’s volcanic anger still manages to convey; the barely restrained hysteria in Toni Kan…. What the poem says is less important than how the poet says it: it is feeling/emotion that makes the poet—a poem feels before it means. A poem’s theme, argument, meaning, moral, observation and philosophy are far less significant than the feeling/emotion it arouses, the mood it engenders or the atmosphere it creates. Why else has the poetry reading world remained fascinated by Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem, ‘Jabberwocky’?

ET me illustrate with JP Clark’s ‘Agbor Lpoem Dancer’. The filmed performance of this is one of the sequences in Culture in

Ekwuazi

it out. Elaborately, the poet introduced the props for the performance: a fertilized egg; a kola nut; a parrot feather; and the empty shell of a tortoise—items, according to him, used in traditional Africa in placing an irrevocable curse. These items featured prominently in the poem, which was, at least, all of ten yards long; and centred on the slave trade, colonialism and neocolonialism. The problem? That a poem, on such emotionally charged issues, read like a weather report. I am still of the opinion that in its entirety that poem did not contain even a whiff of poetry more than can be dredged from either Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa or Chinweizu’s The West and the Rest of Us. I have been hitting my head over the goad to account for this predilection of these poets to privilege theme/message over feeling. Do they do this because their poems are, in the main, occasional? Could it be because of their penchant for grandstanding because for their theme they tend every so often to tap into whatever happens to be the agenda set by civil society or by any such significant caucus? Is it all a response to what must be the new theory of the utilitarian value of poetry which has striped the art form not only of its raison d’etre but even more of its essential definition? Perhaps it is basically a failure in the creative process: the patent inability to understand, in purely practical terms, that everything in a poem—from the speaking tone of voice through the diction/figurative language [simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, imagery and symbolism] to rhythm and versification—is structured to elucidate feeling/emotion/mood/atmosphere. For otherwise, there can be no poem; or, at best, there can be only a bad poem. Feeling/emotion is at the very heart of the close affinities between poetry and music. So great are these affinities that they tend to completely erode the distinctions between both art forms. Neruda quietly captures this distinction in his collection: Twenty Love Poems and a Song. I remember sitting in a poetry class taught by the Ugandan poet, Okot p’Bitek—I remember his surprise on discovering that among some African people, poetry is not synonymous with music… When the poet taps into music, it is simply to deepen the depth of feeling/emotion OT too long ago I was at a reading/perforin his poem. mance by a Nigerian poet somewhere outOkigbo achieves this, grandly. Two of the side the country. The company was congenial. poems in Path of Thunder have musical accompaThe wine and cheese were plentiful and of niment. ‘Elegy for Slit-drum’ is ‘With rattles good quality. The poet turned up in a signifiaccompaniment’; and ‘Elegy for Alto’ is ‘With cant costume: part Nigerian, part Ghanaian drum accompaniment’. In either of these and part South African. There was only one poems, if feelings/emotions meet, collide and problem: the poem—and it left such a nasty explode in different directions like they do, it is taste in the mouth that the wine couldn’t wash because the poet’s intent, the content of the

poem, even the very title of the poem and, of course, the nature of the musical accompaniment all come together to create and exist in a tight value-added context that pushes feeling/emotion beyond the borders of containment. I wish this were even remotely so in later day Nigerian poetry. SEE two approaches to the use of music in Iapproaches Nigerian poetry. The less common of the is typified by Doutimiarieye Kpakiama’s Salute to Our Mangrove Giants and other poems. The specific poem is entitled: ‘The sun will return after the rain’ and the poet tells us that this poem is ‘To be sung with a bamboo flute in elegiac tune’. I can make sense of the bamboo flute: the setting is the mangrove territory. The elegiac tone—this I can also make sense of: the entire collection is dedicated to the memory of Isaac Adaka Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa. But the whole poem as a song to be actually sung?! The more extended and more ambitious form of this approach makes the entire collection a song/a series of songs. Significant examples include: Ezenwa Ohaeto: Song of the Night Masquerade; Ademola Dasylva: Songs of Odamolugbe; G ‘Ebinyo Ogbowei: Song of a Dying River; Remi Raji: Gather My Blood Rivers of Song; and Toni Kan’s Songs of Absence and Despair. Nice collections. I’ve read them over and over—but I still choke on the idea of any of them as a song. There is something eternally incomplete/unfinished about any song on a page: the song becomes complete/finished only when it is sung. The words of a song must be as simple, as mundane, as possible but the moment those words are sung, they approach the sublime. The tune, not the words, makes the song—that’s why music is a universal language. None of these is true of a poem…. A poem can be syncopated. It can, in fact, be melody driven. But neither of these can transform it into a song. That must be why in none of these collections do I get the impression that I have before me a lyric. Perhaps, the poets did hear the songs; but what they have conveyed to me, the reader, are—poems! The most charitable thing one can say of these poems, therefore, is that, perhaps, between the idea and the reality, like Eliot would say, falls a shadow. There is a variant of this more extended and more ambitious form: performance poetry— complete with dramatis personae, dialogue, music, movement, gesture and mime. The only examples that I have so far encountered are: Nelson Fasina [A Season of Harvest]; and Akeem Lasisi [Iremoje—Ritual Poetry for Ken Saro-Wiwa; and Night of my Flight—the poetry of

Transition, directed, I think, by Frank Speed or Wole Soyinka. In the film, Segun Olushola reads the poem, while the Agbor Dancer dances. I found the effect disconcerting—what with Clerk’s highly visual poem pulling in one direction and the diegetically present dancing Agbor Dancer pulling in another direction. If you’ve seen Shakespeare on screen you’ll know what I mean: the action and the picturesque dialogue pull in contrary directions. The effect is worse than the frustration of watching a football match on television, while listening to the radio commentary of the same match. Every element in a poem must exhibit an inherent value-added relationship with every other element in the poem and with the poem as a whole. Take Soyinka’s ‘Massacre—’66 [lines written in Tegel]’. Remove the place [Tegel] and the time [Oct, 1966] in the poem and the very bottom is knocked off everything: mood/atmosphere, thematic horizons, etc. Now take Ofili’s The Weight of Waiting where every poem is saddled with some ‘weightless’ information like: ‘Date: Jan. 22, 1997; Place: At my Fadeyi Lagos home’; ‘Date: Friday 14 September 2007; Place: on the road from Newswatch Library; Time: 4.48pm’; etc. A good number of the poems in that collection is quite promising but the appended details, of time and place of composition, build up to a nuisance value worse than a fly at siesta. If every element in a poem must cohere with the others and with the entirety of the poem, every element should be properly thought out in terms of its precise relationship with everything else. Nothing, absolutely nothing, therefore, should occur in a poem by accident. Unfortunately, this accident rears its head virtually each time I take more than a cursory glance at the architectonics of a Nigerian poem. For I find that the structure of the poem is much too arbitrary to have anything to do with the mood or theme. Examples abound; but see these three nonetheless captivating collections: Now that Dreams are Born [Ify Omalicha]; Shreds of Thunder [Chikaoha Agoha] and Bring Our Casket Home [Su’eddie Agema]. A different example is in the adoption of e e cumming’s use of only lower case letters, like we have in Tosin Gbogi’s otherwise engaging collection: tongues of a shattered s-k-y. The result here is a kind of posturing which does not accord with the atmosphere of the poems. Given that much work is being done in Nigerian poetry and that much more work of enduring quality needs to be done, we can say that for this genre of literature it is still a long night’s journey into creation day. Ekwuazi teaches in the Dept of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. ozoekwuazijos@yahoo.com

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

SUNDAYMAGAZINE 39

SOCIETY Birthdays ODEYEMI, Chief (Dr.) John Agboola will be 74 on Thursday. He was born on April 4, 1939. He is the Obasewa of Ife and Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Managing Director and Chief Executive of JKN Limited and Chairman, JAO Investment Company Limited. He serves on the Board of a number of other companies and he is the Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria Plc; Obafemi Awolowo University Investment Company Limited and UNO Foods Limited. Director, OASIS Insurance Company Limited, Multimalt Limited, Emzor Pharmaceutical Company Limited and Sowsco Well Services Limited, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NACCIMA, Ife Development Board 1995 – 2004 and Chairman, Nigerian Accounting Standards Board, 1990 - 1995. He was a member of the National Political Reform Conference, February – July 2005; National Privatization Council (Bureau of Public Enterprise) October 2004 – October 2006; Member of the Committee on The Assessment and Monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals – June 2005 – October 2006 and currently Member of the Governing Board of UNESCO Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 1965 and 1966, as a student on Sandwich course in Accounting at The College of Commerce & Technology, Wednesbury, Staffordshire England. He has won several awards. He was honoured by

Odeyemi

Mark

Oshiomhole

the Federal Government of Nigeria as Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) 2005.

Telecommunications, Nigerian Army, Headquarters, Lagos; military governor, Niger State, 1984-86; member, defunct Armed Forces Ruling Council, 1986-89; minister of communications, 1987; retired from the Army, 1993; senatorelect, 1999; member, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and currently the Senate President.

union organiser in 1975. He then studied at Risking College, Oxford in the United Kingdom where he mapped in economics and industrial relations. He also attended the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. In 1982, he was appointed General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, a union with over 75,000 workers. After democracy was restored in 1999, he became president of the Nigerian Labour Congress. The textile union elected him for a second term as general secretary, while he continued as president of the NLC. He represented African workers for two terms on the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), serving on the committee on Freedom of Association. He

MARK, Colonel David Bonadventure Alachenu (rtd), administrator, politician and Senate President will be 65 on Monday, April 8, 2013. Born in Otukpo, Benue State, he was educated at St. Francis Practising School, Otukpo, 1955-61; Nigerian Military School, Zaria, 1962-70; Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; commissioned into the Nigerian Army Corps of Signals and promoted Lieutenant, 1970; Signal Brigade Officer, Corps of Signal, Nigerian Army, 1970-71; promoted Captain, 1971; served as Officer, 3 Marine Commando Signal Regiment, Nigerian Army, 1971; promoted Major, 1974; former director,

Head, Public Relations and Event, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Tope Ashiwaju (left), some of the kids of Indomie Fans Club and its Coordinator, Mrs Faith Joshua at a celebration to mark the club quarterly birthday in Lagos

OSHIOMHOLE, Adams Aliu, politician, social critic, administrator, former president of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Executive Governor of Edo State will be 60 on Thursday, April 4, 2013. He was born on April 4, 1953 at Iyanmoh, near Auchi in Edo State and after his secondary education, he obtained a job with Arewa Textile Company, where he was elected union secretary. He became a full-time trade

Miss Nigeria, Florida, USA, Ayoyemi Ajimatanrareje with the management of Pampers Private School, Surulere, Lagos where she had her primary education

was also a member of the Executive Board of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. In April 2007, he ran for governor of Edo State under the Action Congress Party, now Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) with which his Labour Party had entered a strategic alliance. Oserheinmen Osunbor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared winner. However, the party contested the election in the court of law and on March 20, 2008, an Edo election tribunal nullified the election and declared him winner. On November 11, 2008, a Federal Appeal Court sitting in Benin City, Edo State upheld the ruling of the state’s elections petition’s tribunal, declaring Oshiomhole as the authentic governor of Edo State. He has at present won his second term bid of another four years. DANIEL, Otunba Justus Olugbenga, politician, administrator and former governor of Ogun State will be 57 on Satur-

day, April 6, 2013. Born on April 6, 1956 into the family of late Rt. Rev. Adebola Daniel of Makin, Sagamu and Madam Olaitan Daniel of Omu Ijebu, Ogun State. He was educated at Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, 1963-73, The Polytechnic, Ibadan and the school of Engineering of the University of Lagos and later became a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. Deputy Managing Director, Metal Construction (W.A) Limited, Lagos. In 1990, he founded Kresta Laurel, an engineering firm specialising in elevators, overhead travelling cranes and hoists. He was elected governor of Ogun State in April 2003, running on the PDP platform, and was re-elected on April 2007. He holds the traditional titles of Fesojoye of Ile-Ife, 1993; Otunba Rojogbuwa of Sagamu 1999; Aare Asoludero of Makun Sagamu, 2002; Okoesisi of Obinugwu, Imo State, 2003; Bobagunwa of Ghagra, Abeokuta, 2004 and Gbobaniyi of Oke-Ona, Egba, 2004.

Transition •The burial of Pa Samuel Akintunde Tikolo begins tomorrow with service of songs from 3p.m, at his 2, Okitipupa St., Cement bus-stop, off Abeokuta Express-Way, Lagos. The lying –in-state would hold on April, 4 at the same venue from 7a.m to 9a.m. Immediately after the lying-in-state, his remains would be taken to his home town in Igbobini, Ese Odo Local Government, Ondo State. Wake keep would hold same day at Pa Tikolo compound, Igbobini, from 5p.m. The funeral service next day at Methodist Church, Igbobini and would be followed by interment. Entertainment of guests Igbobini home. Thanksgiving service on Sunday at the same church. He is survived by children and grand-children among who are Oluwemimo, Ibitola, Olatunji, Edamisan and Kikelomo.

Mrs. Dupe Dosumu (left), Mr. Lateef Babatunde Ajao and Lodun Olaiya, during the introduction of Mr. and Mrs. Fakoya at Ikeja, Lagos.

At Konga, We Build People’s Confidence — Shagaya By Niyi Olajide

T is a fact that average Nigerian is going through a lot hassles on daily basis in transacting his/her business. And what one needs sometime become a big problem because of access to them, due to traffic congestion and other untold hardships. The Chief Executive Officer of Konga.com, the Nigeria’s Online Megastore, Sim Shagaya and his team share this feeling as other Nigerians. That is why he believes a time has come for new things to happen to country online market in order to ease the difficulties doing business. This is if Nigerians would be appreciative enough to buy the ideas and vision of the company and key into its innovation in demands for several available items in their website. The young and enterprising Shagaya said in a recent press briefing in Lagos that: “We are here to make shopping for the things you need in Nigeria much simpler (and make you smile in the process). We offer an unmatched breadth of items to our customers through the Internet and phone, delivering products to their doorsteps and ensuring first class customer experience to all our users, all the time. The thousands of products we offer serve the needs of consumers looking for quality groceries, household, beauty and personal care, baby toys, computers, books, home appliances, mobile and electronic products, etc. He believes Nigerians are ripe to change from old way of doing business and that was why Konga.com came with new approach to provide convenient retail and shopping experiences

across the country. A frank talking Shagaya, who knows the power of customers said; “Customer loyalty is the ultimate success of a business empire. A lot of promises might had been broken in the past, but Konga.com is here to build confidence and trust in people irrespective of their past experiences. Whatever our customer needs, we provide. If we don’t have, we search for it; and if at the end we can’t get it, we help to locate where and how they could be found,“ he stated. This, to him is to build customer relationship. Technology has a way of changing the cost of business, he said. “That is why our prices are within the range, which every Nigerian can make his/her choice. We have business agreement with DHL to render our services to Nigerians. In the process of our transaction, we accept returns on any goods after seven days of supply, if owner so wish. “We deliver all items purchased free without extra cost. Also, we drop sales on special occasion such as Christmas, Sallah, Easter and we will continue to do that from time to time,” he promised. Shagaya who is also aware of security challenge in the country said, every necessary thing has been put in place to check fraud and protect customer’s goods. He stated that Books section in Konga wharehouse (inset) is Shagaya when card is used online to purchase, one per cent discount is given rather than when and customer gets contacted through his/her mo- Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and promised to extend it to other states. But despite that, the comraw cash exchange hands. Transaction could bile number at www.konga.com. pany renders services across the country. also be made with designated banks online At present Konga.com is fully operational in

You can send your pictures, birthday events and reports to: jideoojo@yahoo.com

40 SUNDAYMAGAZINE

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

HEALTH

Health And Your Mind

Tone Up The Skin By Fabian Odum

Nourishing the skin, in many instances, has been consigned to use of body cream and massage parlours but FABIAN ODUM writes that fruits and vegetables, especially cucumber holds a place in the business of making it supple. KIN lacking in lustre is a concern and an evidence of improper nourishment; a condition that leaves it prone to infection and disease. But rather than resorting to numerous hydroquinone-laden creams and medicaments that have negative side effects, the common place vegetable, cucumber, provides an answer. Though many may find cucumber a bit bland in taste, there are nutritionally compelling reasons you need to build it into your menu. Cucumber will enhance your health in many ways than one – improving the complexion and tone of the skin, reducing swellings and irritation, lowering the blood pressure, and increasing the fibre content to help better movement of the bowel. The high moisture content leaves a special moist and cooling effect, which marks it out as a thirst quencher. Skin tonic Two compounds, vitamin C and caffeic acid have been identified in the juice of cucumber that help soothe irritation of the skin and reduce swellings. But the pressure of a mineral known as silicon presents another

interesting perspective to a healthier skin; it improves the complexion and health of the skin, studies have revealed. Nutritionists have also found out that silicon is an essential component of healthy connective tissue. This involves areas such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bones. Sunburn, swelling under the eyes and other kinds of skin diseases are what cucumber has been found to handle. For instance, vitamin C and caffeic acid in this vegetable have proved to treat some cases of skin disease. Reducing High Blood Pressure By medical studies, foods high in potassium, magnesium, and fibre are known to reduce high blood pressure of patients. Cucumber has proved to assist in bringing down the systolic and diastolic pressure value, the two components that make up the reading for blood pressure measurement. It is necessary as well to add that the studies showing the benefits of cucumber also listed the consumption of other foods such as low fat dairy foods, lean meat and poultry. Fibre and water Fibre is known to aid good bowel movement and increasing the softness and volume of stool. This prevents the possibility of colon cancer and related complications. The crunchy skin of cucumber is the source of fibre while the juice assists the proper intake of the vegetable. Selection Premium quality cucumber should be firm to touch, rounded at the edge, with colour between bright medium and dark green. Yellow, puffy vegetable, with wrinkles at the tips are signs that they should be avoided.

The Issue Of Faith And The Kingdom Of Heaven (1) By Babatunde Ayo-Vaughan

HE issue of faith and the kingdom of heaven sounds like the issue of religion. I have been writing this column for about three years now and I believe that those who have been following will agree with me that it has been performing the duty that is expected of a true psychologist. Psychology is about the understanding of mental and emotional operations or simply put the understanding of the mind. The concept of mind is about the concept of mental and emotional operations. Every area of man’s operations in life whether art, science, technology, religion and what have you — all originated from the functions of the mental and emotional capacity of man. So a very good psychologist knows it well that there is a way psychology could be linked to every area of operations of man and the institutions of higher learning could bear us out in this respect. It is not uncommon to hear of areas of studies such as psychophysics psycho-cybernetics, psychophysiology and the likes. It is all in the recognition of the fact that, if we all want to face the truth of our lives, the factor of the mind must be reckoned with in all that we do. It is like a reminder of the fact that, what I have always referred to as the rule of intelligence is the pattern of operation for a sound mind and that if our minds are trained to recognise and operate the rule of intelligence, a mechanism will surface in the process of human interactions that will make for stability and peaceful co-existence and this is the essence in the discussion of the issue of faith and the kingdom of heaven. Understanding the topic sounds like a discussion on religion because both the issue of faith and that of the kingdom of heaven have always been seen as religious topics. But those who have been following this column will know how much I have been trying to bring apparent religious topics to the level of mundane understanding. I know for sure that religious fanatics might object to this because to start with, they will want you to believe that religious matters are separate from mundane matters and you cannot use one, to explain the relevance of the other. This idea is one of the major reasons why we have psychiatric religious environment around ourselves today, which is destabilising our lives into mental and emotional maladjustments. It is the typical situation of what religion that lacks the rule of intelligent operation does to a people. This is just like trying to tell you that religion has meaning when it is operated by the rule of intelligence. It is the rule of intelligence in the operational mode of religion that can clearly make us to appreciate the link between the concept of faith and the kingdom of heaven and how it could easily be seen that both the understanding of faith and the kingdom of heaven are wrapped up in the effective understanding of mind functions.

Ayo-Vaughan, a psychologist, lives in Lagos.

Curing Incurablility By Moji Solanke

N Grammar, a solecism is an incongruity or an absurdity, therefore the title ‘curing incurability’ may be deemed a solecism. If a condition has been duly accepted as incurable, then the attempt to effect a cure is futile, and an actual cure becomes, at least on the face of it, an impossibility. Yet, solecism or not, many illnesses deemed incurable have definitely been cured. Many explanations have been given, some of which are, misdiagnoses, differences in the individual immune system, spontaneous remission, and miracles. All of these explanations carry a helpless sense of unpredictability, and therefore unreliability. A more thoughtful consideration of this topic would, however, reveal something quite interesting. What if that which is deemed incurable is at best just an opinion. Granted, this opinion may be overwhelmingly held by the majority, including the loftiest of medical

intellects, yet, an opinion does not have to be accepted as the gospel truth or a life sentence, binding on any individual. Maybe it should not be absurd to expect healing of any disease, regardless of its name, and the opinions surrounding the possibility of a cure. This comment is made, based on concrete evidence over many years, of those who have experienced healing of diseases deemed incurable, by relying on spiritual healing which is intelligent, orderly and practical. Healing so consistent as to qualify as a science — the science of Christ. One of the acknowledged foremost spiritual thinkers and healers, Mary Baker Eddy (1821 – 1910), wrote in her seminal book, Science and Health with key to the Scriptures: ‘Become conscious for a single moment that life and intelligence are purely spiritual, neither in nor of matter,

UNILEVER Global Foundation Ambassador, Jade Aladewolu (left), Gender Focal Coordinator, Oxfam in Nigeria, Boyowa Roberts and Managing Director, UNILEVER Nig Plc, Thabo Mabe at the presentation of cheque to Oxfam by UNILEVER in lagos PHOTO: SUNDAY AKINLOLU

and the body will then utter no complaints.’ She completes this thought by adding that if one is suffering from sickness, one will find themselves suddenly well. A critical look at Eddy’s healing work, based on this scientific system of spiritual healing, reveals that many of the healings recorded, most of which were attested by a medical personnel, had been diagnosed as incurable. A considerable number had been given up by the medical faculty, and symptoms presented were undeniably aggressive. One may ask if the dispensation of consistent healing through spiritual means alone has ended. After all, there have been many individuals, both before the time of Jesus Christ and since then, who have had remarkable personal records of healing throughout their lifetime, with sick people flocking to visit them from far and wide. This healing ability was, however, tied to the individual

and was therefore limited in its accessibility. The good news is that Eddy discovered the system of healing, and more importantly, found it could be learnt by anyone, rather than it being a personal attribute of a particular healer. This gives hope for everyone who desires to be free of the label ‘incurability’. For all the health conscious-anyone willing to think beyond and outside the box of conventionality, willing to challenge the threat of incurability with the assurance that this inimical toga can be shed with the confidence, which comes from the expectation of a cure, Eddy’s presentation of spiritual healing is a welcome advance in healthcare. Practical proof will show to the one who dares to try, that curing incurability is not a solecism at all; rather the very term ‘incurability’ is the absurdity. The proof of course, is in healing. m_asolanke@hotmail.com

Medical Director, GlaxoSmithKline Anglophone, Bode Adesoji (left) Dean, Faculty of Dental Science, University of Lagos, Prof Godwin Arotiba, Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Nigeria, Chidi Okoro and Sales Director, Healthcare, Vaibhav Bhanchawat at the Unveiling of Sensodyne Rapid Action Dentist in Lagos PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31, 2013 41

IbruCentre Easter Messages

Hope, Pray For Better Times, Clerics Urge Nigerians By Chris Irekamba, Tunde Alao and Isaac Taiwo S CHRISTIANS celebrate Easter, clerics have held up the life of Jesus as an example worth emulating and a beacon of hope, capable of extricating Nigeria and its citizens from challenges. They also expressed concern over poverty, corruption and insecurity. The Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, called on all Christians and Nigerians to reaffirm trust in God, and in corporate Nigeria. “Let us remain resolute and resilient, having our hope in the strength and power of the Almighty God. Our prayer for our country, Nigeria, is that we shall overcome the present challenges of lingering insecurity, bloodshed, destruction of life and property, poverty and political squabbles. We should keep hope alive of a corporate Nigeria,” he said. Okoh said: “The victory we celebrate at Easter must extend to overcoming our sinful nature and habits, to enable us fight decisively against corruption in all its ramifications.” Delivering his Easter message, the Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, said the event is the focal point of the Christian religion. He enjoined faithful to remember the supreme price Christ paid and ensure they do not crucify him again by their wrongdoings. The cleric lamented the spate of insecurity in the country, particularly attacks by the Boko Haram sect. “A specific reference is the callous bombing of some South-bound luxurious buses in which several people were sent to their early graves. This is clearly inhuman, ungodly and unacceptable in all ramifications. I want to join other people of goodwill to condemn this dastardly act and to pray for the repose of the souls of the deceased,” he said. The Archbishop commended the security operation that led to the discovery of bomb-making materials and ammunition in Lagos, and appealed to citizens to be vigilant and pay attention to people and activities around them. Martins also used the occasion to fault recent pardons granted by President Jonathan. He said that while it is not out of place for the president to exercise his prerogative of mercy, as entrenched in the nation’s constitution, he should be guided by moral dictates in deciding those who are truly deserving of pardon. He noted that legal propriety is not enough and the moral implication of government’s decisions must always be weighed. He expressed hope that in the future, government would be more careful and principled in exercising such powers. He also had a word for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC): “I appeal to the Independent National Electoral Commission to be proactive and alive to its activities by ensuring that all possible legal and constitutional impediments to the conduct of a free and fair election are resolved in the shortest possible time.” He called on Nigerians, particularly those who have taken up arms against fellow men to have a rethink. “We must continue to explore the possibility of dialogue as a way out,” he said, urging more prayers for peace to reign in the land. Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) called on Nigerians to remain hopeful and grateful to God because of the message of Easter. He said: “Let me assure everyone that in spite of the seemingly difficult challenges that stares us in the face as a nation, we must hold on, because God will turn it around for our own good. Nigeria will again take its place in the comity of nations. Let us remain hopeful, as the change we have always dreamt of is becoming a reality. “As we commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I have an assurance that whatever is dead can come alive, if it is handed over to the Almighty God. “I specially call on all Christians to have a deep reflection on their walk with God and be worthy ambassadors of Christ wherever they find themselves. It is not enough to rejoice in the fact that Jesus died and rose triumphantly from the dead. It is all about emulating the worthy virtues He stood for while He walked the face of the earth. If Jesus rose, then necessity is laid on us to also rise above bickering, strife, disunity, mediocrity,

defeat and compromise in every area of life and endeavour. “I also want to use this medium to call on every Nigerian to continually pray for the peace of our nation because no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of violence and insecurity. We must all join hands together as stakeholders to ensure that we dwell together as one people in spite of our political, tribal and religious differences.” On his part, the Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde, said the season reminds faithful of the supreme price paid by the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation and redemption of mankind. “It is a season that tells us again of the love of God to us as seen in the sacrificial symbolism of his crucifixion and eventual resurrection, which is the total summation of the significance of Easter. Without his resurrection, Christianity becomes meaningless, baseless and non-existent,” he said. He regretted that the twin Easter virtues of sacrifice and love are missing in the world today. “While the masses of this dear nation continue to sacrifice,” Makinde said, “those they elected and those who forcefully selected themselves have continued to mismanage and feed fat on their God-given resources, and in the process have brought perpetual poverty, pain, suffering and untold hardship on the people.” Makinde said: “If we love ourselves the way Jesus Christ did, which was the fundamental reason he laid down his life to save us from perishing, we would not be embezzling and mismanaging collective resources given to us by God to make life meaningful and abundant for all.” He called on President Jonathan “to drop the costly idea of deregulating the oil sector without putting in place social amenities, like good roads, better aviation, well equipped hospitals, free and qualitative education, creation of employment for teeming unemployed graduates, prompt payment of workers’ salaries and pension of retired people, among others.” Ephraim Adebola Ademowo, Bishop of Lagos and Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), said commemorating Christ’s resurrection is a solemn way of declaring faith in Christ. But he also added that apart from a commemorative purpose, there is also the question of what difference does or should the resurrection make in individual and collective existence. He said: “The resurrection of Christ should change our minds and attitude. Nigerians should change their minds from despair and hopelessness, no matter how bleak things might look in our social, political and economic situation. We must see hope, we must see light beyond the tunnel. Christians and nonChristians must confess positively. “If as individuals and a nation, we press on and pursue the path of righteousness, forsaking all evils, especially shedding of innocent blood, which has become a daily occurrence, we will overcome all our challenges. “Our attitude toward human life must change. Killings in whatever disguise are condemned. Shedding of innocent blood of foreigners and Nigerians must stop. The government must not politicise and trivialise issues that have to do with the life of innocent citizens. “A nation where both the leader and the led exhibit greed, uncontrollable passion for power, position and accumulation of wealth, corruption and avarice cannot make fast progress. Nigeria is still ranked among the 35 most corrupt nations in the world. “Let us take to heart the lessons of Christ’s resurrection by doing what is right. If we do, our dear nation shall surely move forward.” The Provost of Saviour’s African Church Cathedral, Agege, Lagos, and CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) Southwest Coordinator on National Issues, Ven. Peter O. Ogunmuyiwa, called on Nigerians to make sacrifices for the country and use the Easter season to reconcile differences they have with their fellow citizens. “Let us bury our hatchets and sheathe our swords by taking the path of peace, which Christ stands for,” he said. Ogunmuyiwa said: “In the spirit of Easter, all Nigerians need to make sacrifice for our collective growth and development; enough of amassing or acquiring illegal wealth; the rate at which political office holders run after money is unbe-

CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) President, Ayo Oritsejafor

Let us remain resolute and resilient, having our hope in the strength and power of the Almighty God. Our prayer for our country, Nigeria, is that we shall overcome the present challenges of lingering insecurity, bloodshed, destruction of life and property, poverty and political squabbles. We should keep hope alive of a corporate Nigeria... The resurrection of Christ should change our minds and attitude. Nigerians should change their minds from despair and hopelessness, no matter how bleak things might look in our social, political and economic situation. We must see hope, we must see light beyond the tunnel. Christians and non-Christians must confess positively. coming; money meant for developmental projects are diverted into private pockets; we should not forget that we shall all give account of our stewardship to the creator.” The cleric pointed out Governor Fashola of Lagos State and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Godswill Akpabio, and commended them for their “determination to improve the lot of their people. I have seen a God-fearing and exceptional leader in Fashola, who has taken development to the nooks and crannies of Lagos State,” he said. Pastor Johnson Odesola, Special Assistant to the General Overseer (Personnel/Administration) and Minister-in-Charge, Province 1, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) headquarters, Ebute-Metta, noted that Easter can be regarded as a celebration of hope. He said: “Many did not believe that Jesus Christ would resurrect but He did. And no matter the assumption of many that things cannot change for the better in Nigeria, things would definitely change, as we hold on to Christ and believe that the God of resurrection is still very much alive, who can turn darkness into light, bad to good and state of hopelessness to state of hopefulness.” The Bishop of the Diocese of Isiala Ngwa South

(Anglican Communion), Rt. Rev. Isaac Nwaobia, said: “Let it occur to us that the life we live was borrowed. Therefore, live as are accountable to the owner; readjust your lifestyle to pattern with that of Christ by showing love both to friends and strangers. We urge you to celebrate this mighty resurrection with love unto aliens and brethren in God.” At the ongoing 2013 Easter retreat of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, the General Superintendent, Pastor Kumuyi, enjoined Christians to ensure they place their hope on the “accomplished work of Jesus Christ”, while those who are yet to accept Christ should realise that it is only in Christ that they can find salvation.” He said: “It is only in his blood that we have salvation, hope, sanctification, holiness, security and heaven. I urge those that are in the church to yield to this provision, while sinners have the opportunity of reconciling with God by repentance and accepting the offer made by God.” The General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, advised the nation to use the opportunity of Easter to foster peace and love, saying it is the only way to acknowledge and appreciate what Jesus has done for humanity.

The Ibru Centre is under the trusteeship of the Trinity Foundation Charity trust founded for the promotion of spiritual growth

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

IBRUCENTRE

Sunday School Perfection

...With Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Memory Verse: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” and restitution in the redemption plan. (Gen. 3:13-19). This perfect 119:89) and likened to a devouring flame, fire, a crushing hammer, (Matt. 5:48) love is covenant-fulfilling, which is why the misbehaviours of Israel a defensive weapon and probing instrument or discerner. (Jer. Bible Passage: Deuteronomy 32:1-4 5:14; 23:29; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12) It is the only food for spiritual nour-

Introduction LMOST everyone will question the attainment of perfection. Some might even say a perfect God could not have created this marred universe. Yet everything the Lord does is so perfect that no one can improve on it. Ecc. 3:14; Psalm 19:7-10 Perfect In Love God is perfect in love. (Mt. 5:48; Jn. 4:8) Out of perfect love, he created man (Gen. 1:26-29; Gen. 2:7-15) and restored fallen man. (Gen. 3:8-9; 2:7-15) God exhibited a perfect balance of discipline, wisdom

(God’s chosen race), was not beyond God’s perfect love. (Deut. 7:8) Jesus is the wisdom and power of God. (1Cor. 1:24; Eph. 2:4-5) This special love is His covenant promise never to leave or forsake us, as sons of God. (Heb. 13:5; 1Jn.3:1) God will keep it without sacrificing discipline (Heb. 12:6-11; Pr. 3:11-12), sometimes when we even refuse or fail to be fruitful. (Jn. 15:2; Rev 3:19) Perfect In Word God’s word is perfect, true and capable of converting the soul, thus making wise the simple and bringing joy to every heart (Ps. 19:7-8; Rm. 7:12). The word of God is forever settled in Heaven. (Ps.

ishment and growth. (1 Pet. 2:2; Deut. 11:19; Ps. 119:9; 11, Ps. 1:1-6; 1Pet. 1:22; Jn. 17:17) The perfect word is absolutely sure and reliable. (Eze. 12:25, Ps. 117:7) Conclusion Therefore it is foolhardy to put our trust in anyone or anything else. (Mic. 7:5-7) The Holy Spirit is ready today to help you fully understand His perfect word, love and perfection and His perfect will for your life. Trust Him!

Suicide Bombers, Paradise And Other Matters (II) By Gabriel Agbo E are still discussing what motivates people to embark on W suicide missions. We will find that there are religious, political, psychological, economical, social and diabolical links. Reli-

Parish Priest of St. Michael Catholic Church, Lafiaji, Msgr Gabriel Osu (third left) with Rev. Fr. Edwin Nwalozie and others during Palm Sunday procession.

Significance Of Christ’s Resurrection By Ernest Onuoha ‘But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.’ (Mk 16 v 7)

HE story of Christ’s resurrecT tion cannot be wished away; it’s a historical reality. St Paul says: “and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Cor. 15v14) That it happened and that it is being celebrated all over the world, today, strengthens the faith of the believer and gives him hope that Christ lives forever. His resurrection has the following key points: first, Jesus kept His promise to rise from the dead. He had told the Jews, “destroy this temple and I will build it in three days.” The Jews thought He was referring to a physical temple. But Jesus was referring to His body. On Good Friday, they dealt with this body. But His promise came to pass. We have no reason to doubt the risen Christ. More so, as He says to us, “where I am there you may be also.’ (Jn. 14v 3) Secondly, Christ’s resurrection gives us assurance that we also will resurrect. Sometimes, people feel that Bible stories are fables. No. Jesus, in His earthly encounter with Martha, the sister of Lazarus, said: “...your brother will rise again...I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.” (Jn. 11v 23,25) This is a great assurance.

By Prophet S. K. Abiara HERE are many important lessons to be learnt from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Its purpose is eternal victory over God’s enemy, Satan, who tricked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to disobey God. When they decided to follow the leading of His enemy, their relationship with Him became

Even when we die, physically, we will have a resurrection body and be with the Lord. To genuine Christians, the grave is not a final bus stop. Thirdly, the power of God that brought Christ’s body back from the dead is available to bring our morally and spiritually dead selves back to life. (1 Cor. 15v 12-14) It is very sad to observe that many who are living are dead in sin and may not be delivered, except the power of God that brought back Jesus intervenes. Recently, a woman celebrated

50 years of prostitution. That is 50 years of sin. Such, by the power of resurrection, can be brought back from the dead. The scripture warns: “the body is the temple of the living God and whoever pollutes it shall be destroyed”. Nigerians are deep in iniquity. But thanks to God, His resurrection power has come to set us free. Let us not toy with this power. Finally, His resurrection has given the Church the Gospel of salvation. Christ has mandated His followers to “go into the world and preach the good news...” (Mt.

28v 20) Christ is risen! It is pertinent we accept Him as Lord and Saviour. His resurrection power is still at work and is capable of delivering us from every sinful situation. It is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will guide and guard us, so that we would not falter in our heavenly race. Happy Easter celebrations! Onuoha is Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Retreat Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, www.ibrucentre.org

Hosanna Today, Crucify Him TomorBy Msgr. Gabriel Osu WANT to use this opportunity to felicitate with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and wish them a happy Easter celebration. This is a very special season in the life of the Church; a time when we thank God for giving us his only begotten son, Jesus, who died to save us from sin. But we should ask ourselves what effort we are making to appreciate God for giving us this wonderful opportunity to be reconciled with Him? Having undergone 40 days of fasting and prayer, are we going to allow the spiritual gains of the Lenten season to continue to bear fruits or are we going to backslide to our old nature of

sin? More importantly, what are the lessons to learn from the drama of Christ’ betrayal, trial, conviction and eventually crucifixion? The activities surrounding the Palm Sunday, which saw Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a colt, are instructive. The crowd were ecstatic. (Mark 11:8-10) This must have been a very sad experience for Jesus who knew the hearts of all men. He must have worn a bemused look, seeing how enthusiastic the people were because of the things he had done for them. They knew he was imbued with so much supernatural gifts. As such, they heralded him as the muchawaited messiah who would save them from the tyranny of

The Blessings In Jesus’ Death

Roman domination. But then the strange twist! Few days afterwards, the same crowd began to call for his head. They ganged up with the Pharisees and the Chief Priest to hurl false allegation against him. This is the inconsistency of men. Beware! Those who readily praise you today, when all is going smoothly, are the same persons that would gang up against you when the tide changes. How ironic! As we celebrate this Easter, may we strive to remain faithful to our Lord and Saviour; and may we not hesitate to turn to Him whenever we go astray. Very Rev. Msgr. Gabriel Osu is the Director, Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos

this way, God disarmed evil authorities. He shamed them pubfor Satan and his agents. On the licly by his victory over them on severed. the Cross. (Col. 2:13-15) Satan thought he had done his other hand, the resurrection of God did not ask us for anyJesus gives anyone who believes worst because the situation left assess to freedom from sin and thing before Jesus came to permankind hopeless. Neverthefect the work of salvation. After less, God had His plan, which is all satanic bondage. According He declared, “it is finished”, on to Apostle Paul, you and I were eternal salvation for dead because of our sins. God, in the cross, we are expected to mankind. At the right time, come to term with what He did His never-ending wisdom, deJesus came to do the Father’s by faith. The resurrection of cided to make us alive with will. Christ has to be appropriated to For that reason, the death and Christ. He forgave our sins assess all it contains. the resurrection of Jesus Christ through His beloved Son. He nailed them to Christ’s Cross. In skabiaraofciem@yahoo.co.uk spelt eternal doom and defeat

gious: because people are fed with satanic teachings that encourage them to hate or kill others who do not share their beliefs. Political: because sponsors of these missions hide under religion to advance political and economic interests. Unfortunately, they succeed in deceiving naïve young men and women into believing that they are fighting for the religion or ‘working for God’. Psychological: because the bombers or attackers are, first, thoroughly brainwashed. They are systematically fed lies about would-be victims. Socially: because most times, the sponsors carry out these attacks out of envy. They envy the prosperity of their targets. And diabolical: because a lot of sorcery, hypnotism, charms, drugs, etc, are involved. I believe you read the part one. But we want to comment further on the religious aspect. If it weren’t manipulation, how would a sane man believe that by killing himself and others he would receive heavenly rewards? In fact, everything about suicide bombing goes contrary to the will and word of the Almighty God. From murder, suicide, false hope, forceful conversion, hatred, envy, inordinate ambition, deceit, lies, covetousness, crime, immorality to polygamy. As I write, there are tens of suicide bombers being recruited for these demonic missions all over the world and the greatest reward being promised them amounts to a false hope. There are current intelligence reports in international circles that these terror groups are low on bombers, and are on a mad drive to recruit people for these ‘missions of no return’. Some have had to kidnap kids for training. The Internet and personal links are some of their platforms for recruitment. Our security and intelligence agencies should watch out. They must begin now to initiate and share actionable intelligence with other countries that have vast experience at combating terrorism, especially Israel and the United States. We also need the cooperation of neighbouring countries from where these elements sneak men and materials into our country. Our national orientation and information agencies have not done enough to dissuade youths from becoming victims of these manipulations. The government MUST begin to censor and monitor all religious preaching, activities and organisations in order to check the menace of these terrorists and their pro-terrorism clerics.

Rev. Agbo is of the Assemblies of God Nigeria, gabrielagbo@yahoo.com

Biblical Diagnosis Of The Heart (II) By Seyi Ogunorunyinka ANYpeople do not want others to make progress. It is so bad; even some mothers do not want their daughters to make progress in life. God is patient and just; He does not destroy the wicked as quickly as Man would have done. In Genesis 15:13-16, He told Abraham, “...Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” God knows that some people will never change; if we have such in our family, we should separate from them. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34-36, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” If there is no separation, members of a family will perish, as parents pass on wickedness to their children. Read also Jeremiah 15:1-4.If you have a wicked father or mother, whom you are associating with, it is better for you to ask them to desist from evil, and if they persist, separate from them; so that when the punishment will come, you will not partake in it. One thing is certain; the punishment shall come because God will not allow wickedness to go scot-free. Pastor Seyi Ogunorunyinka is the General Overseer The Promisedland Restoration Ministries, Surulere, Lagos.pastorseyiogunorunyinka@gmail.com

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

IBRUCENTRE Springs Of Wisdom By PASTOR W.F KUMUYI

It’s Easter, You Can Be Free! HERE is so much doom and gloom in the world that defy soT cial status and barriers. Everywhere you turn, you are hit with news of the most distressing kind. Many people are, therefore, gripped by despair and despondency. But this is not a new phenomenon; the situation has only continued to worsen from the day man willfully disobeyed God and pandered to the whims and caprices of the Devil, in the Garden of Eden. But God does not condone deceit in any form, nor does He excuse those who are deceived into disobedience. In Eden, He pronounced His judgment on man who was deceived, and Satan, the deceiver. God told Satan that He “will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” That promise was fulfilled at Calvary when Jesus Christ died on the Cross. Jesus was indeed, “the Seed of the woman” because no other human being was ever born of a virgin, in this case, Mary. A part of the Messianic prophecy affirmed, “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil.” This is the message of Easter. Easter then is a watershed in the history of humanity because it is a period when Christ died on the Cross for the salvation of all men, and rose from the dead for our justification. His words, while He hung on the Cross, reflected His agony: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Calvary was where He “bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” He endured pain, humiliation and shame so that humanity might be reconciled to God. Religious leaders of His day spoke reproaching words against Him. But they didn’t know that they were acting in line with Biblical prophecy, to authenticate Christ’s redemptive work. Jesus bled until He gave up the ghost. Two malefactors, one on both sides, were crucified with Him. Whereas the criminals were suffering for their heinous past, and justly so, Jesus “was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.” The malefactors were thieves and, had, for all practical purposes, come to the end of their criminal career. They had broken the commandment of the Lord: “Thou shalt not steal.” Their crime had reached such an intolerable level that they were condemned to die through crucifixion. But as sin was about to terminate their lives, there emerged divine disposition at work. Now, to start with, they could have been crucified any other day, and thus shut out from the mercy of God. But by divine intervention, Christ was crucified the same day as them; He was even placed in their middle. Their fate teaches very important lessons to men in all generations, including ours, today. One, both thieves were equally guilty: none had a lesser disposition to crime. The same truth holds for all mankind, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We are all guilty before God because our sins “have separated” us from God; our guilt is the same and so is the judgment. Second, they were equally condemned to die. Again, the whole world of sinners has been condemned to death, “for the wages of sin is death.” But notice that the two criminals had equal opportunity to be saved. They had similar problems as much as similar privileges. Yet, while one of the thieves repented, the other did not. One acknowledged his sin and asked for pardon and mercy, but the other did not. One was saved while the other perished. “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” In saying, “if thou be Christ…” It means that long before this time he had heard of Christ’s fame and power, and His willingness “to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.” Now on the Cross, this chance meeting would have been a great opportunity for him to secure his future, get closer to Jesus, and be saved. But he missed the opportunity. Instead, he only wanted temporary reprieve from the pangs of pain, from his physical punishment. Therefore, he taunted Jesus: “Save thyself and us.” You should carefully note that he did not say ‘save me’. Here again, he missed the point. Salvation is between an individual and his Lord. God does not save people as a group; it has to be the seeker, alone with God, the moment he realises the awfulness of his sin. This man also took sides with Christ’s enemies who were to later mock Him: “He saved others, let him save himself, if he be Christ.” In doing so, he pitched his tent with the scoffers and hardened sinners. He did not have true faith in Christ, hence he doubted His ability to save. Though he knew the name of Jesus and His mission on earth, he did not accept Him as His personal Saviour and Lord. What’s more, his request was selfish, and contradicted the plan and purpose of salvation, because were it to be granted, it will mean that Christ should not die for the sins of the whole world. In essence, he was saying to Jesus: “Save yourself and us and forget about the rest of humanity; let them die and perish in hell.” Many religious people today manifest the same selfish spirit. When they plead “save us,” they are not asking for salvation from sin but from their temporary pains, sickness or the consequences of their evil deeds. They are not concerned about the kingdom of God, nor are they interested in righteousness. The great redemptive work at Calvary should, ordinarily, be good news to humanity. But not everyone believes as predicted by Prophet Isaiah when he asked: “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Repentance and faith in Christ’s substitutionary death guarantees pardon and redemption from sin. Jesus Christ indeed, “was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” We can rejoice today because Satan’s authority over us has been weakened by Christ’s accomplishments on the Cross at Calvary. Calvary then spells the doom of Satan and the liberation of mankind. References: Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 2:14; Matthew 27:46; 1 Peter 2:24; Mark 15:27; John 19:17,18; Isaiah 53:5; Exodus 20:15; Romans 3:23; 6:23; Luke 23:39; Hebrews 7:25; Luke 23:35; Isaiah 53:1; 1 John 3:5; (All scriptures are from King James Version).

Archdeacon of Victoria Island Archdeaconry, Ven. Ife Okupevi with Lay Readers, Mrs. Jumoke Lambert-Aikhionbare, Mrs. Janet Ige and Mrs. Grace Alege, during the dedication of the new Anglican Church of the Resurrection, 1004, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Group Seeks Pope Fracis I’s Visit To Nigeria By Bertram Nwannekanma

Non-governmental organisation, Centre for Societal Values and Development (CSAVD), has requested the visit of Pope Francis I to Nigeria, saying the move would bring peace to bear on crises rocking the nation, particularly the northern parts. In a statement signed by

Chairman, Silas Udoh, and Director Foreign Affairs Services, Bukola Bello, the body said request for the visit is a matter of urgency because of frequent attacks by the Boko Haram sect and the Jama’atu Ansaru Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (JAMBS) on innocent Nigerians and foreigners. The centre congratulated the new Pope, saying the

warm reception that greeted his pontificate is indication that he is an epitome of peace. “Our organisation rejoices with Pope Francis I and his family on his new position and wishes him a global success in his service to humanity and God. It requests that the new Pope visit Nigeria to bring his heavenly peace to

bear on the crisis rocking the nation, especially the northern part of Nigeria.” While sympathising with the families of foreign nationals who lost their life through activities of the sects, the organisation called on Boko Haram and JAMBS to cease fire for the sake of peace and development in the region.

Emulate Christ’s Sufferings, Pastor Tells Christians HRISTIANS have been enC joined to emulate the sufferings of Christ as they commemorate Easter. The advice was given by Pastor of St Dominic’s Catholic Church, Yaba, Lagos, Rev. Fr. Felix Onemheghie, during the parish’s Good Friday procession. The procession, which drew a large turnout of Catholics

and non-Catholics, took off from St Denis Catholic Church, Bariga to St Dominic’s Catholic Church, Yaba, both in the Mainland Deanery of the Lagos Catholic Archdiocese. The highlight was re- enactment of the Passion of Christ at the Garden of Gethsemane by the Young Christian Workers group of the parish.

In a speech, at the end of the procession, Onemheghie said the season of Lent, which lasted five week, is a period for repentance, conversion and reconciliation. “It is a season of penance, self denial, fasting and forgiveness of one another and alms giving to the poor and needy. The climax of this season is the Holy Week, which

begins with the Palm Sunday. It is a period we are shown the suffering Servant, when the Christian faithful get into the paschal mystery of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are called to behold the Lamb, the Saviour of mankind, the Redeemer of His people, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Prince of people,” he said.

Adeboye Backs Church Cup Championship, To Pray For Pregnant Women By Isaac Taiwo

HE General Overseer, ReT deemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has thrown his weight behind the Church Cup Championship tournament, a non-denominational youth soccer league in Nigeria. The league is organised by

Real Soccerfest with the aim of promoting grassroots sports and unifying the body of Christ. Adeboye is the league’s new Grand Patron. Adeboye commended the effort of the organisers, which consist General Overseer, Guiding Light Assembly, Pastor Wale Adefarasin; Senior Pastor, Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo and Pastor

Adeolu Adeyemo, among others. Adeboye spoke at the official presentation of the 5th Church Cup Championship league Winners Cup, won by RCCG, Kingscourt Parish, Victoria Island, Lagos to Adeboye at his residence. He said: “I am particularly happy at the Church Cup Championship League which is not just aimed at support-

ing grassroots sports but is also playing a vital role of rescuing jobless youths and collaborating with government to gainfully engage them. “As a lover of sports, I promise to do my best in creating awareness on the league among believers. Our church is solidly behind the success and growth of this innovation.”

Commissioning Of Cathedral On April 6 HE new cathedral of the T United African Methodist Evangelical Church, Abule Ijesha, Lagos, will be dedicated and commissioned on April 6, 2013, under the chairmanship of Chief Arthur Eze. Royal Fathers for the day are: Oba Adedapo Tejuosho, the Osile of Oke-Ona Egbaland; and the Alaye of Odogbolu, Oba Adedeji Onagoruwa. The Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde, will deliver the sermon at the event, which will be coordinated by the Baba Ijo, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya (rtd); the Iya Ijo, Chief Mrs. Mabel Kehinde Komolafe; the Otunba Baba Ijo, Chief Folorunso Oladepo; the Otun Iya Ijo, Chief Mrs. Patience Olarewaju Adeleke and Senator Anthony Adefuye, among others.

Coordinator, Real Soccerfest, Pastor Adeolu Adeyemo (left); RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Senior Pastor, Trinity House, Itua Ighodalo, during Adeboye's appointment as Grand Patron of Real Soccerfest.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

IBRUCENTRE There’s More To Playing Music Than Talents, Says Kenny By Femi Alabi Onikeku HEN the Easter W concert of the Lagos Mainland Community Choir (LMCC) ‘Celebrate the Risen Christ’, kicks off at 5pm today, it would have Seyi Kenny as Music Director and Conductor. And there is good enough reason. The native of Oyo State is “naturally endowed with musical talents”, a trait, which he says, “runs in the family because my parents were great singers; my dad was an organist and a choir master.” Speaking further about his musical abilities, he says: “Being a versatile musician, I play or perform with different bands. I have released two albums in the past. I have also played alongside renowned musicians, such as Daddy Showkey, Sunny Nneji and Onyeka Onwenu, and some bands that have been nominated for KORA Awards in the past. But there is more: Kenny would be bringing to the concert a distinct musical capacity, being first to clinch a Ph.D in Music from the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Asked what fresh perspective acquisition of a Ph.D in Music would bring to the way it is played and enjoyed, Kenny says: “There are a lot of talented musicians in Nigeria but their talents can only be enhanced and refined by the standard of their theoretical knowledge in music. It is this theory that will help in the interpretation of music during rendition.” He therefore notes: “Practice precedes theory and theory suggests the trends in practical development. Relatively, there is a link between theoretical knowledge and practice of music, which reflects the level of musicianship of any music performer.” Armed with a scholarship by the University of Lagos to carry out part of his research in America, Kenny had opportunity to relate with other academia who are experts in Musicology at the University of Texas, Austin, and Western Carolina University. He explains: “Everyone needs to understand that scholars embark on ground breaking research at the doctorate level. The efficacy of the Ph.D findings is put to test at every stage of the research because it has a direct link to the development of a society or community. The end result of earning a Ph.D in Music provides a platform for disseminating and proliferating our cultural values in music.” The musicologist, who says his vision is to affect more lives positively through music education and performance, appraised the country’s music industry. He notes that while there has been improvement during the last 15 years, the sector still has a long way to go. “Most musicians, artistes and producers are myopic in their sight for creativity,” says Kenny. “Music education should be improved and promoted in Nigeria. This must start with the primary level of education and progress to the tertiary institutions by improving the quality of teaching, upgrading musical facilities and employing certified music teachers.” According to him, “That will bring the best out of an average student in all levels of education and thereby improve all aspects of the industry such as music performance, marketing, management and technology.” Kenny could have missed the fulfillment of his musical passion “because my parents wanted my to be a doctor or an engineer.” But he made up his mind: “I just followed after the footsteps of some of my mentors in music. There is this saying that if you do what someone has done, you will get to his level. So, I had to study the profile of some of my mentors that I admired so much and followed after their tracks. More so, I decided to be the best in whatever profession I would want to choose.” As he goes to the podium of The Capstone Church at 360, Muritala Mohammed Way, to lead the choir in celebrating the risen Christ, Kenny says of his doctoral feat: “I feel great and fulfilled. I learnt a great lesson that there is nothing impossible for God to do against all odds. All credits go to the God Almighty.” By Moji Anjorin Solanke ASTER is the central theme E of Christianity. It is the foundation of the Christian faith, and its most important and oldest festival. In its deepest meaning, Easter is God’s gift of the Christ, a gift that unquestionably proves the immeasurable love God has for man. The well-known and often-quoted scriptural verse of John 3:16 attests to this loving gift. The significance of this divine gift is seen in the consummate exam-

Bishop Moses A. Adedipe is the Presiding Bishop and General Superintendent of Universal Christian Missions International (TUCMI), Ejigbo, Lagos. For 40 years, since April 2, 1972, he has preached the gospel at home and abroad. He tells CHRIS IREKAMBA the importance of Easter, how it should be marked and the challenges of disciplining young pastors. Easter celebration ASTER is all about commemorating success of the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth. If he had not come, we wouldn’t have been born. If he had not come, we wouldn’t have grown up for His ministry. And if His ministry had not been a successful one, He wouldn’t have gone to the Cross to die for us. If He had not died, He wouldn’t have resurrected. If he had not resurrected, He wouldn’t have ascended to heaven. If He had not ascended to heaven, He wouldn’t have been the soon coming King of kings. What the Church is doing is in preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Easter is like when we celebrate our birthdays, wedding anniversaries, special days. It’s a period of consciousness and awareness for people and our good selves to keep our ways in order, so that we can confidently tell the world that Jesus Christ came, died on the Cross, went to the grave, and on the third day, as He had said, He resurrected. It was a successful mission here on earth. So, it must be celebrated, not just on Easter period alone. I see everyday as Easter. It should be celebrated with full joy and expectation, to help us put our ways in order, spiritually, physically and otherwise. In a period like this, we have put together programmes for families. We also have outreaches. We go out to clean gutters, reach out to neighbours and show God’s love. The joy of Easter is that Jesus Christ came into the world, humbled Himself, was born in a manger and grew up, not in a president’s or governor’s house. He taught us how to humble ourselves. So, it is the joy of salvation Easter brought that we should propagate, not the joy of eating chicken and turkey. You had seven churches but only three are functioning. Why? The spirit of servanthood is no longer in the Church. There is bound to be a period of training for the young ones to grow. At a stage, the reports I received from some of these branches were not very encouraging. Some of the pastors sent to head these churches were playing pranks. Some saw it as running a business centre. We don’t run a church as a business centre. God has not told anybody to do such. There must be passion for souls; there must be desire to take people beyond where we met them. There must be training. The vision of this ministry is to reach out to the world with His word and develop people. So, in building there must be love. But people are not like that. When an offence is committed and a panel is set up, and such offenders are disciplined, they feel too big to undergo discipline. Chastisement is not meant to destroy; it’s to humble you. But most of these people are not willing to be humbled. Once they behave this way, there is nothing we can do. If we cannot get a replacement, we close the place and march to other places for vibrancy. And we’ve never regretted closing some of these

assemblies. Right now, we have three very solid branches here in Nigeria. What was the offence of these pastors? Some are private, and I would want to keep it at that. When you expect a certain level of development from an appointed pastor and they are not up to the task, especially when you see them having a different vision… There is a vision given by God to a particular ministry. The moment you see a pastor, trained or ordained in the ministry, doing something contrary, there is a division already. And after several cautions have been given and you don’t see any change then you discipline that person. Should pastors own private jets? There was a time when a jet was given to the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa and he said: “Well, I’m receiving it, but I’m going to sell it and use the money to take care of the gospel.” For me, running a private aircraft… I don’t envy anybody in this country. But if you analyse the maintenance of a jet, if you analyse the risk, if you analyse the parking rate, you will discover that it is wasteful. I don’t see any sense in it. An aircraft, by the manufacturer’s analysis, whether small or big, must work all the time. That is why as it is taking off, they are refuelling, they are rechecking and so on. If you park any aircraft more than is necessary it starts getting bad. It will require airworthiness again. You have to pay the pilot. Maintenance is serious. The First Class is there; one could patronise that. The Business Class is there with comfort. Turbulent winds trouble heavy aircrafts; what are we going to say about all these small jets? So, there is security risk. It’s expensive. One should look at the churches; there are people who are really suffering. So, many members of our churches are suffering. Can’t we do something to help these people? I’m not against any man of God.

By Paul Adunwoke

‘I Never Wanted To Become A Preacher’ I have never regretted.” There is no ministry without a vision. For Omoniyi, the thrust is changing the mindset of people. “The vision is to lead people from whatever current reality they are in, through a mentality shift, gospel, others, like Paswith the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, because no man can contor Yemi Omoniyi, run from the responsibility, vince another without the help of God,” the cleric said. According to him, “When God called me, he said, ‘Son, the hour until they are ‘arrested’ has come to lead people from their current realities.’ If you are by God. The first son of late Pas- poor, by God’s grace, God can lead you away from that poverty. If you are corrupt or sick, God can lead you from that place to a retor James Omoniyi of Christ Apostolic Church, sponsible life. “When you give someone N10m naira, if you fail to give him the Yemi Omoniyi is Senior mentality of a millionaire, he would run into problem. Pastor and Founder of “I don’t think Nigeria would solve the problem of Boko Haram by Christ Church Internause of force. It is about changing the mindset of people. If you can tional Ministry (CIM) change the mindset, everything would work. The problem of Egbeda, Lagos. “Initially, I did not like Nigerians is mentality. People believe that they cannot be successto do this job,” he said. “I ful unless they are corrupt. Mindsets should be changed.” Asked what he hopes the ministry would look like in the next 20 was trained as a Comyears, Omoniyi said: “In the next two decades, we want to be puter Scientist. My major aim was to be a Computer Analyst. I known for five things. When people want to see God, they will did my mandatory youth service with NEPA (now come to us. Another thing is integration of excellence; being curPHCN). I was given an appointment letter after the service. But rent with reality on ground. We want to be known for heavenly God said, “No. Move ahead and begin to do my work.” Incidentally, when he was at the secondary school, colleagues consciousness. No matter what we achieve in this world, heaven is our last hope. We want to reach members of the public for them nicknamed him ‘pastor’. “But I did not allow it to take over my to know that God has been kind to us. We want people to know mind,” he said: “because I hated this job.” He said: “In 1990, I began to have encounters with God. I began that there is a place where you can achieve ultimate inheritance. We are more concerned about adding value to the society. to have extraordinary experiences. I went to a man of God who “We have started to help people within our locality. We have an told me it must be a call from God. arrangement to give education to people, offer free medical servIn 1992, I had another experience that almost ran me mad. God warned me through His servants that if I did not answer the call, ices and empower unemployed graduates. There are people that need only N50,000 to fulfill their vision. If we know that such vithings would not be well with me. “I loved to make money; I loved success. But at last, I answered sions are genuine, we are ready to help. These are the values we the call. I said, “Lord, have your way.” I thank God that since then want to achieve.” HILE some people W look forward to becoming ministers of the

‘Everyday Should Be Easter’ ple of Christ Jesus – the life he led while he walked the earth, the incomparable healing work he did, and especially his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. These last three events are what Easter symbolises. The mission of Jesus Christ is to give man a higher sense of who God is; and by his words, and especially his works, to teach man what his relation-

Why PastorsThink They’re Too Big To Be Disciplined, By Adedipe

tenet is deeply rooted in the spiritual import and Christian significance of Easter. It states: ‘We acknowledge Jesus’ atoneship to God is. Jesus shows that Easter, man learns that there is ment as the evidence of divine effithe heritage of man is Goda Way of salvation from sin, as cacious love, unfolding man’s given dominion, not sin-inwell as disease and death, and unity with God through Christ duced subjection. He reminds that he is divinely empowered Jesus, the Way-shower; and we acman of the statement from Gen- to do the healing works of knowledge that man is saved esis 1:26 and 27, that he is the Christ, provided he walks along through Christ, through Truth, Life spiritual image and likeness of the footpath which Jesus and Love as demonstrated by the God, and therefore a joint-heir mapped out. Galilean Prophet in healing the with Christ. This glorious realiOne of the tenets of the sick and overcoming sin and sation is really a new way of Church of Christ (Scientist) can death.’ thinking, which changes lives be found in Science and Health If Easter symbolises our unity so radically that Jesus calls it with key to the Scriptures written with God, if it shows us that our being ‘born again’. Because of by Mary Baker Eddy. This fourth

heritage is dominion, not subjection, if it encourages us to do the works of Jesus, thus enabling us to overcome sin, disease and even death, and if it gives God the honour due His holy name, then, even though it appears but once a year on the Gregorian calendar, surely Easter should be celebrated in the life of a Christian every day. Solanke is of the Christian Science Committee on publication Nigeria - West (NigeriaWest@compub.org)

TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31, 2013 45

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Business

Pains of oil.

PHOTO: glichy.com

Oil Curse: So Much Money... So Much Poverty By Marcel Mbamalu LTHOUGH government would debunk it, a leaked report, commissioned by oil minister to probe the financial side of the sector, said $29bn was lost in the last decade in an apparent price-fixing scam involving the sale of natural gas. The document also claimed that the country loses $6bn a year to oil theft. Four months after the report from a committee chaired by Nuhu Ribadu, the former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), former World Bank Vice President, Oby Ezekwesili, stoked a new debate at her University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Convocation Lecture, when she alleged that two administrations alone frittered $67 billion reserves, part of which were accruals to the Excess Crude Account (ECA), in the last six years. These “allegations,” for several weeks, remained issues of public discourse, eliciting statements from US’ bill Clinton and western governments over the way Nigeria’s oil wealth were managed over the years. Even after moderating for time value of money, there is no doubt that Nigeria earned far more from oil, in the last 10 years, than was the case within the 20-year stretch of between 1979 and 1999. Going by official figures from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), exclusively procured by The Guardian, the country, in the last 31 years, has raked in about N51.50 trillion as proceeds from oil. Between 2000 and 2011, it earned N48.40 trillion, as against N3.10 trillion it received between 1979 and 1999. Further analyses show that, except for some evidence of volatility, revenue from the sector had maintained an upward swing, from N724.4 billion in 1999 to well over N4.4 trillion in 2007. The trajectory of growth continued, with N6.5-trillion revenue in 2008, (dropping to N3.2 trillion in 2009 and picking up again to N5.4trillion the following year) to hit N8.8 trillion in election year, 2011. The 12-year revenue of N48.40 trillion, going by the nation’s average budget strength (capital and recurrent) of over N4 trillion in the last six years, could comfortably fund 12 years of annual budgets — recurrent and capital expenditures — without any deficit (borrowing).

Worries Over Infrastructure Decay

OWEVER, many Nigerians believe that the H state of physical and social infrastructure would have been pleasantly different if the huge revenue from oil and non-oil sectors were judiciously utilised for the good of “one and all;” it

Although independent statistics show much more, conservative estimates from official quarters indicate that Nigeria has earned some N51.50 trillion (about $332.5 billion) as oil revenue since 1979; yet, poverty reigns in the land would have, for instance, done a lot of good for the nation’s road network of 193,200km — 34,123km (federal), 30,500km (state) and 129,577km (local government). The huge budgetary allocations made for road construction and rehabilitation in the last 13 years notwithstanding, over 70 per cent of the 34,123km federal roads still remain in wretched state. Mr. Godwin Nkwegu, an Abakaliki-based auditor, alluded to this in a telephone chat when he observed that, apart from few road dualisation and maintenance projects, no new Federal road has actually been constructed in the last 20 years. Probably prompted by the avalanche of complaints, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of National Planning, in May 2011, released a two-year ambitious plan to “bequeath better road infrastructure in the next two years.” It promised a road construction and rehabilitation spending of some N700 billion between 2011 and 2013; meaning that, by the turn of this year, the ugly issues of carnage on bad roads would have petered into thin air. The document specifically said that N461.8bn would be spent on rehabilitation and expansion of Trunk ‘A’ roads across the country, while N5.5bn would be used in dualising the Onitsha-Owerri Road, and the Onitsha Eastern Bypass. Under the plan, N2.6bn would go for the dualisation of the Section 1 of the IbadanIlorin Road; N6.97bn on the construction of the Kano Western Bypass; and N565.3bn on routine maintenance and strengthening of road failures. But how much of the N700 billion has been specifically expended for that purpose remains a matter of public conjecture. At least, 61 projects, valued at N214bn, were, at the time, awarded under the zonal intervention programme of the Ministry of Works; the majority of the projects remain not completed. The plan, for instance, envisaged that the entire road network would be kept in useable condition through the activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) across the various locations in the country by 2013. Independent checks reveal otherwise. For instance, the long-stretch Ibadan– Ilorin Road, which is divided into three seg-

ments — Ilorin-Ogbomoso, Ogbomoso-Oyo and Oyo-Ibadan roads — was awarded to three different contractors by the Obasanjo’s administration but is yet to be completed. Out of the three segments, only two —IlorinOgbomoso (completed by the Yar Adua government) and Ogbomoso-Oyo roads— have been dualised. Although the Ogbomoso-Oyo Road is appreciably completed, it has not really been put to use, as motorists still ply alternative old road. Indeed, the Oyo-Ibadan (third) segment of the road appears abandoned, as the contractors are scarcely seen on duty. For the Onitsha-Owerri Road dualisation project, the Federal Government has recorded appreciable progress using Julius Berger and the RCC as contractors. But the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road remain death traps, taking no hostages, even though they are being slowly rehabilitated by the Federal Government. Reacting to widespread discontentment over infrastructure decay in the last 20 years, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, however, said the country would need a yearly investment of $10 billion over the next 10 years to address the staggering infrastructure deficit, as well as check deterioration. The number one banker was quick to add, “government cannot really provide this amount.” Admitting that the current infrastructure situation poses significant “problem”, Sanusi, at a recent forum in Abuja, agreed that the challenges of development in the country were hinged on provision and maintenance of “adequate infrastructure.” EGRETTABLY, the oil sector — the goose that R lays the golden egg — shares a very big chunk in infrastructure decay, its current technology having been adjudged incompetent and obsolete by foreign experts. Seventy-year-old former British Minister, global investment advocate and coordinator of the Honorary International Investment Council (HIIC), Baroness Lynda Chalker, in a recent interview with The Guardian, added her voice to the debate on mismanagement of oil revenue. She said Nigeria would have an impressive record in Foreign Direct Investment, especially in the energy and financial services sector,

only if it reviewed extant policies and think of modernising its oil infrastructure, among others. Of particular concern to Chalker is the yawning gap between existing oil technology in Nigeria and global expectations. She observed that the country, having been producing oil in the last five decades, needed a holistic overhaul of its production technology and to make the upstream really efficient for competitiveness. “No industry, she said, “carries on succeeding unless it maintains the equipment and...update their their systems. In the upstream, there are things that can be done to make it more efficient,” Chalker said. Chalker also emphasised the need for the country to lay more emphasis on sustenable energy and work to “technically” overcome the twin challenge of oil bunkering and gas flaring, which, according to her, “pull” the country “down.” In the same vein, there have been several issues concerning the maintenance of the Abuja National Stadium complex and Games Village, which construction contract was approved by the Obasanjo’s civilian administration on July 18, 2000, in preparation for the October 2003 All Africa Games. Taken over by weeds and rodents, the dilapidated state of the Abuja sports complex, last week, came into focus, forcing the government to send Julius Berger on an ad hoc maintenance mission. The neglect of the N54 billion world-class stadium was the reason national football teams — the Super Eagles and the Golden Eaglets — abandoned it for the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar, even as the Flying Eagles still wander from one state to the other in search of “football nests”. The poor (or lack of) maintenance culture for the Abuja edifice becomes even more significant considering the fact that the National Stadium in Lagos, the most populous and industrialised city in the country, that was built for the 1972 All Africa Games, has come to fall below international standards, at least, in terms of facilities and “environmental friendliness.

Politicians as Oases of Plenty in Desert of Need CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

HE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

BUSINESS

...The Dangerous Alchemy Of Soldiers And Oil CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 HY then has the colossal revenue done far W less for the country in terms of infrastructure? The answer, many would argue, points to corruption and the constraints in the obvious shift towards a political class economy — a recurrent expenditure economy — where the amount of money used in maintaining politicians, public office holders (and their assistants) and civil servants is so much more today than was the case in the past. “Most of our monies are going more to recurrent expenditure, travels around the world by Senators, attendance of all kinds of seminars all over the world by senior civil servants than in infrastructure and capital expenditure,” says Pat Okedinachi Utomi, a Professor of Political Economy and Founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL). Most regrettably, the activities of political and economic managers of the Nigerian state, the very ‘giant of Africa’, now depends largely on oil proceeds. From the Aso Rock to the National Assembly, the underlying motive for every political altercation is who really determines how the oil money is distributed. Only recently, the 2013 Budget almost suffered a stillbirth over whether, or not, the per-barrel benchmark price for expected oil revenue would be $70 or $75. Outside of the characteristic horse trading and settling of scores between the Presidency and the National Assembly, the crude oil matter became the biggest singular reason for the delayed implementation of the N4.9-trillion budget. Now, President Jonathan has reportedly sent back the Budget to the lawmakers for “amendment,” demanding they rescind their decision on superintending over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) budget as well as reduce capital votes. Beyond the 2013 budget, the lawmakers, weeks ago, took on the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and provided unsolicited entertainment for their passive global audience over what Okechukwu Unegbu, a former banker and public affairs analyst, would see as an unnecessary display of arrogance and indifference to the plight of helpless oil-bearing communities, whose means of livelihood is already torn to shreds by activities of oil companies. The staged fight, coming from an emergency coalition of Northern Senators, was unleashed on the PIB-proposed 10 percent fund for oil-bearing communities. Battle-ready, the distinguished senators opposed the provision, alleging, instead, that governors of the Niger Delta (they actually meant ‘oil-producing’ states, which enjoy special 13 per-cent derivation fund from the Federation Account) had squandered N11 trillion since the start of this dispensation in 1999. But pro-Niger Delta senators would not take any more of that. Led by Ita Enang, they returned vitriolic for vitriolic; and reeled out statistics to prove that Northern oil merchants exclusively own 83 percent of oil blocks located in the very communities they are denying the 10 percent revenue gesture. Nothing else was heard on the matter after the President of the Senate, David Mark, a retired General, intervened to take the Bill to the crucial Second Reading. Those, who make policies appear to have come to a self-defeating view that oil prices will always stay high; hence, the usual altercation about oil price benchmark for national budgets. Of course, crude oil prices have stayed high beyond what is natural, following the traditional volatility and the cycles, and the reason is very simple: India rising; and China rising. The beginning of the rise of the Indian economy, when Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister, as finance minister, began to open up the country resulting in a new surge of investments into India; and, of course China rising, meant that there was a global commodities boom (because India and China needed as much crude oil as they could find to power their great economies). Consequently, there were unseasonal high

Scene from fuel subsidy protest of January 2012.

prices that now affect Nigeria’s policy makers, especially lawmakers, who keep arguing about oil benchmark for budgets. Perhaps, the failure to be sensitive to price volatility and having a major stabilisation account remains the tragedy of Nigeria’s leadership in the last 10 years. Across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the country is dotted with abandoned projects worth several billions of dollars due to failure to make savings in times of abundance. Major projects were abandoned as oil prices fell; and this was reinforced by rapid change of governors in the states during the many years of military interregnum. ADLY, oil has continued to push to the fore a Slicculture of complacency so much so that pubdiscourse on resuscitating agriculture, enhancing small-scale enterprises or local manufacturing and boosting non-oil exports have become mere exercise in futility.

How The Distraction Began: A Historic Perspective

IGERIA’S history and destiny was to take a N dramatic twist when, suddenly in 1956, commercial quantities of oil was discovered in Oloibiri in present-day Bayelsa State. Its exploitation and subsequent exports had waited for a while, a waiting period similar to Ghana’s current experience, meaning that the revenue did not really start coming until the early 1970s. In fact, there was a legendary commentary from a Federal Minister from the North, many years ago, about the day (in 1963, in the days of true federalism) it was announced at the council of states meeting with the Premiers of the Regions that the then Eastern Nigeria would begin to export oil. The legend goes that a very excited Sadauna of Sokoto returned to Kaduna after that meeting and summoned a cabinet meeting that same night to happily announce that Eastern Nigeria would begin to export oil “soon”. “Why the excitement”?, he was asked by one of the cabinet members, when his regional ministers gathered that night. “Well, today, it was announced in Lagos that Eastern Nigeria would begin to export crude oil,” the Premier of the Northern Region told his cabinet. But one of the Ministers wondered why it should make the Sadauna happy, especially as the Eastern Nigeria, in line with the practice of true Federalism, would keep most of the proceeds, paying only a little into the Federation account. And the Sadauna’s response was instructive: “You mean it’s not obvious to you the advantage that we (the northern region) have? Once they (Eastern Region) begin to earn money from crude oil, they will begin to mismanage what they do well and they will begin to be more dependent upon us for food. It is important for us now to set in place a strategy to become more dominant in agriculture so that when the money comes into Nigeria, it will flow to us.”

This legend became the platform on which the legendary groundnut pyramids was built and reinforced in the north. In fact, the policies that made the North the breadbasket of Nigeria, it is claimed, began during that period. But, Bad enough, the nation currently grapples with the dangerous alchemy of the convergence of soldiers and oil. The Military has a way of centralising authority, which is the very reason the Eastern Nigeria never got to export the crude that was celebrated by Ahmadu Bello, the Sadauna: Soldiers took the reins of power in 1966, created “divisive” states aimed at “unifying” the country. The Prime Minister, in the fist Republic, had very little power over the all-powerful premiers. Anambra State-born renowned economist, the late Pius Okigbo, in his unofficial description of events during the time, painted a vivid picture about the awesome powers of the premiers over the Federal Government when he unofficially told the story of how the premiers, in having their say, unwittingly scuttled the project of steel development in Nigeria. According to the economist, the Alhaji Tafawa Balewa government had wanted to build a steel mill and had introduced the idea to the Council of States meeting. When he announced it, the premiers were said to have argued that the Federal Government could not build steel mill just in one region: If it wanted to build steel mill, then, it should build one in every region. A heated debate had ensued following Balewa’s insistence that government at the centre could not afford to build one steel mill in every region. The debate, according to Okigbo, got so hot that, at a point, technocrats, including Okigbo himself, were asked to withdraw from the meeting, leaving the Prime Minister and the Premiers to continue the debate. When Okigbo and his colleagues were called back, Prime Minister Balewa announced that the Federal Government would then build steel mill in every region. Dr. Okigbo said he looked at Balewa, knowing it was impossible, especially as the country could not afford it; and the Prime Minister simply looked away from him. After the meeting, the surprised economist walked up to the PM and Balewa reportedly said: “ Dr. Akiigbo, the powerful premiers have had their say; we will have our way.” “Mr. Prime Minister, what is our way?,” he inquired. “We will do nothing,” Balewa responded. That was how Nigeria missed the steel age when it was important, due to the quibbling among the premiers. A very important lesson about Nigeria’s federalism!

Mismanaging oil revenue

HEN the military rule came in 1966 and Wcentralised authority— and the

Brigadier General at the centre sent out small Colonels to go and become governors, the kind of challenge that the premiers gave Balewa on steel could not happen anymore. The nature of policy making was such that the impact of oil revenue was not the problem of one region anymore; it became the problem of the entire country. First of all, oil revenue meant that the government of the day did not need to collect taxes from the people to do anything; hence, government stopped bothering about taxes anymore, which also meant that the people lost interest in holding government to account because, in their mind, public officials were not spending their money anymore. It is, therefore, argued that the disconnect between the leaders and the led, due to oil, became Nigeria’s first major fracture that led to economic mismanagement. Colossal revenues coming from a mineral commodity, like oil, tend to create a lot of distortions in patterns of expenditure. With plenty of money, the Federal Government, at a time could afford to start building stadia— like the Tafawa Balewa Square — and more Army barracks, among others. Such expenditures started to boost the non-tradable goods sector of the economy, the outcome of which projected the Julius Bergers of this world as dominant companies and de-emphasised agro-based and export-oriented organisations. The first shock is that when such revenue does not come quite as often as it used to come — and it happens with the volatility of oil prices — the government immediately stops paying the Julius Berger, or whoever that is constructing things; and the construction company lays off workers that it hired to build the stadia, as the case may be. The workers, in the first place, used to be cocoa farmers, who took up the positions because of impact on exchange rates: the more easy money comes from oil, the stronger the currency becomes in terms of exchange rate, and it means that the farmer exporting cocoa would get far less Naira than he or she used to get. And that was how being in the cocoa farm became far less attractive than being a messenger at the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), or being a bricklayer for the Julius Berger construction company. Again, abandoning the cocoa farm, for example, meant that the quantum of cocoa that would be available for export had declined; which, perhaps, became the template for the gradual collapse of Agriculture in the country. Sometimes, the exchange rate was so poor that it was not in the interest of the farmer to actually harvest the cocoa — as the trouble of harvesting, processing and eventually moving it to Lagos for the Naira he would get, would not be attractive enough. Consequently, they (the farmers) began to abandon the farm, a situation that added up to the “Dutch disease” syndrome. Similarly, the era of Cement Armada, in the 1970s, has remained indelible in the annals of commercial events in Nigeria. So much cement

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

BUSINESS

...How Nigeria’s Agric Sector Suffered Loss was imported into the country just to construct all of those stadia, barracks, among others; and the cash was available to do all of those. The result was that all the ports were congested, forcing the government of the day to create task forces for decongesting the ports. Indeed, that era brought the current PDP Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, to limelight, as he reportedly handled the part of the port clearance business at the time. In fact, cement-laden ships had to wait for months to berth on Nigerian ports. The situation became so bad that demurrage to be paid by ship owners became so huge that it was probably more profitable for them to empty the cargo into the Atlantic and return to base; it was, indeed, cheaper to do so. Of course, managing the situation became another racket of its own, forcing the country to sacrifice a vey brilliant Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence at the time, Ibrahim Damcida, who recently died in the Dana plane crash in Lagos. Accused of complicity, those, who ordered the cement importation, allegedly used Alhaji Damcida as the sacrificial lamb. Asked to comment on the era of Cement Armada, Professor Pat Utomi painted a rather graphic picture: “ If one were able to fly in those days and look into the water, ships were lined up for miles into the Atlantic, waiting to enter our underdeveloped harbours.”

him to the effect that Nigeria had money and the only problem was how to spend it. In fact, a veteran politician, who used to share his jokes with young adults in Onitsha, sometimes in 1999, said Nigeria, at a point, had so much money coming into its coffers that its leaders could afford to stand on the streets,

handing out Naira to Nigerians. Truth is that the government, at the time, needed to find somewhere to spend the money, because, left on their own, the soldiers would simply keep building more and more barracks and buying military hardware. It was also argued that excess revenue from oil accounted for the Udoji Awards and the prob-

OIL REVENUES YEAR

1979-1999 OIL INCOME

…And then corruption set in UBSEQUENTLY, most government officials SYork; dumped money in Western banks in New and the banks — trying to make sure they got some value for the money — turned to these same countries, including Nigeria, with the mantra of being “under-borrowed.” Using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, the ‘Maths,’ soon, gained ground on the global stage. Even though the country was basking in money at the time, it appeared so impressed by this logic in 1976/1977 that it sent off General J.O.J Oluleye, as Federal Commissioner for Finance, to go for jumbo loan because the government thought the country was ‘under-borrowed.’ The loans basically put Nigeria in what many considered a debt trap because the facilities were subsequently mismanaged. F COURSE, the Buhari/Idiagbon coup of O 1983 instituted a lot of probe of the Shagari men; and the verdict was that the loans taken by quite a number of governors did not really get to Nigeria to develop anything. Perhaps, it is important to note that oil prices, then developed a character of volatility — rise and crash — but the next major leap after the Yom Kippur war, came in 1979, during the Iranian revolution: Shah Mohammed Rheza Palhvi, a friend of the West, sitting on the Peacock throne of Iran was toppled in a revolution led out of Paris by an old Muslim cleric — Ayatollah Khomeni, who brought down the Peacock throne. The moment the Americans found that the Iranian ground was boiling, they allegedly shifted grounds from supporting the Shah, who incidentally died in the US while on medical treatment. The revolution, which cut off Iran, as major source of crude oil to the world, also shot up oil prices such that it hit a mind-blowing $40 per barrel in 1981, causing the Time Magazine and Newsweek to cast the historic uniform headline —The World Over A Barrel.

Flow of Oil Revenue

LOBALLY, oil revenues were modest for a G very long time. It was, by the way, very low in the 1960s, prompting the emergence of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to force additional revenue for oil-producing third world countries at the time. Shortly after the death of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, few weeks ago, international TV host and CNN journalist, Fareed Zakaria, tweeted a question about how difficult it would be to find his (Chavez’s) replacement. And part of the response, as trailed by The Guardian, was that the same forces that brought Betan Court — economic justice — would bring someone else. That response, no doubt, evokes a reflection on history — the fact that a barrel of oil in the 1950s cost far less than a gallon of water; even though it kept the economies of the West running at the time. They (western governments) paid very little for oil. But a pro-American Venezuelan, Betan Court, who ran for president and won the election, then flew into Washington for a bargain. In line with US’ interest, he needed to fight Communist insurgency but could not do so without improved revenue. So, western governments should pay more decently for oil, he requested. Disappointingly, the US government gave the new Venezuelan President hard lessons on Economics — using the concept of Demand and Supply as the take-off point: Simple Economics made a barrel of oil worth about $1 at the time. The guys, who produced the oil, were in the third world; the guys, who use it, were in the First world; so, it was in US’ interest to pay so cheaply for it. Pained by the treatment he got from his American friends, President Betan Court, in 1960, got on a plane to Bagdad; and that was how OPEC was founded. The cartel that was OPEC, miraculously forced prices up, even though the hike was historically not too significant. But, as more countries joined the cartel, the prices gradually crept up, until Nigeria joined much later in early 1970s. Perhaps, the major turning point in this scenario was in October 1973 when the Arabs and the Isreali nation fought the Yom Kippur war. The Arabs decided to use oil as a weapon against the West and this led to the quadrupling of oil prices. Hence, Nigeria became so rich that it did not know what to do with oil money. But the major factor after the war ended, and the issues were resolved, was that so much money was being paid for oil by Western nations that a country like Nigeria and the Arabs had so much money that they hardly knew what to do with it. Economics is all about incentives, and Nigeria, at a point, had all the incentives to spend its huge wealth. For instance, those who like to taunt the former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, during the heyday of the “oil boom” in Nigeria, would often remember a statement allegedly credited to

lems of how it was distributed.

Oil at below $10 per barrel

UT oil prices continued its pattern of cycliB cal volatility before going into “the deep freeze” in 1997/998, during the years of General

2000-2011

Source: Nigeria Bureau of Statistics

Sani Abacha, as Nigeria’s Military Head of State. Interestingly, oil prices, at the time, went below $10 a barrel, about $9.5 at a time. Although many, to a reasonable extent, would argue that Abacha deserved to be called names, it is interesting to note that the Nigerian economy was more tightly, if not better, managed with less than $10 a barrel of crude oil than it was in 2002 when prices was over $100 a barrel. “Quality of life in 1997 under Abacha, I am willing to bet, was superior to the quality of life of Nigerians in 2002. This is the tragedy of Nigeria. Because they are not educated, they believe in wild, bombastic statements; and we do not have the rigour of analysis, patiently understanding things,” Chibuzor Okeke, an Onitsha-based public affairs analyst, said. “The story about Abacha is that he stole a lot and did not allow others to steal. Whatever that means, the bottomline is that, at less than $10 a barrel of crude oil, Nigerian economy did not collapse,” said Utomi. “This is why I have continuously argued that this joke in the National Assembly about benchmark for crude oil is a treachery that will only be judged by history because the country does not need to put more than $40 a barrel into its budget. “Everything above $60 should go into a stabilisation account and future fund because we managed the country well enough with less than $10 a barrel. Whatever is happening now is a function of lack of patriotism by a political class that is consuming the wealth of its children and their grandchildren.” Arguably, the country experienced several challenges between 1986 and 1993. Although the policy thrust was, in the main, aimed at the bottleneck in the economy, some critics, including General Obasanjo alleged that the era was challenged by “the four A’s” – Abuja, Ajaokuta, among other gigantic projects— that were funded from dedicated accounts. Although he later got a spiteful reply from the late Admiral Agustus Aikhomu, Obasanjo had attacked the Babangida regime with that controversial commentary at a presentation of Major general Joseph Garba’s book. Obasanjo’s allusion to “Four A’s,” including the war in Liberia, that were funded through the “first-charge” Dedicated Account, was in

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

EASTER

BUSINESS

At Ikeja sShopping Mall... last Wednesday.

ATMs, PoS: Not Friends Of Holiday Makers used to, as long as they don’t have compelling reasons to embrace change. I think EW years back, the Central Bank of Nigeria that is the challenge the cashless transaction (CBN) rolled out programmes expected to faces generally,” she observed. change Nigeria’s deep-seated love for con- The fact that Halima Rabiu, Amakpe’s next tact with the Naira and everything the touch shop neighbour, is in charge of one of the connotes. Critical to the programmes was the machines assigned to her cosmetic shop issuance of guidelines for the point of sale does not becloud her opposing position. She (PoS) service. While the operators regularly argued that the cashless programme was reel out figures that give the impression that pre-mature and hasty, noting that the chanthe initiative has recorded huge success, find- nel should have been allowed to evolve natuings, last week, show that not a reasonable rally. number of the public have embraced PoS or The Fulani lady continued: “It is difficult to even understand what value the much-publi- force things on people and record good recised payment option adds to their comfort at sult. When you force people to do certain payment counters. things, you are actually inviting them to a Many retail outlets in Lagos State have the battlefield. That is exactly the problem with fanciful PoS machines installed in their shops. the cashless policy. You wake up and say peoFor instance, at Ikeja Shopping Mall, an averple cannot withdraw certain amount of age shop attendant has one or two machines money from their accounts; you went ahead placed in front of him or her. The same thing to tie the statement with PoS system. You applies to The Palms Shopping Mall, Lekki; The should expect them to resist if they have Arena, Oshodi and several uptown shops in choice. Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Ikeja. But the sup“That is the reaction one gets from people. posed easy-payment channels are not more This morning (Wednesday) a customer came useful than other gadgets on the table. to buy an item. He discoverred its cash would As individuals shopped for Easter last week, not sufficient. That was even at the point of The Guardian, went to town to assess the depayment. Immediately I suggested he should gree of patronage recorded by the smart mause PoS, he flared and said ‘they should go to chines. At Ikeja Shopping Mall, Elizabeth hell with their cashless economy and PoS. Chukwunedum, a boutique attendant, said no They can’t continue to cow us as if we don’t customer settled his/her bills with her via the deserve any respect.” PoS in “the past one week. “The reason, I think is because many people T The Arena, a private shopping complex are yet to know how the machine works. Some at the army barrack in Oshodi, Kemi Ayocustomers, when they run out of cash, even dele, a jewelry trader, said she charged a cusdrop the items they purchase and go out to tomer N125 each time he uses the PoS use Automated Teller Machine (ATM) before “because the bank changes me for every they return to pay for purchased items. I think transaction that is below N160,000. Above they will get used to it in a matter of time. And N160,000, the charge is actually very small. I believe when more awareness is created peo- When the transaction is below that benchple will begin to adjust.” mark, I pass the charges to customers; otherAnother shop attendant in the same centre, wise, I will bear the charge, which is not good Grace Amakpe, attributed the low patronage for the business.” to historical culture that seems to align more Ayodele said, as at Thursday morning, the with cash. She argued that adequate awareonly two customers cleared their bills using ness has been created about it but that many the cash register machine. That was after she people had found it difficult to switch from made frantic effort to convince the custraditional cash-tendering culture. tomers that “there was nothing fraudulent “What else do people need to know about it about the process.” that they have not heard? There is nothing Another salesperson at the Army Shopping technical about the process. And even if there Complex, who indentified herself as Shehu, is, is it not the responsibility of the shop atten- said he charged N200 per transaction bedants to give direction? Almost everybody cause “my money will not be complete if I uses ATM machine, which is similar to PoS; so don’t do that.” He said he was billed for each why can’t people change easily? The only transaction completed using the e-payment thing you need is your card and pin. Yet, cusplatform; hence, “I collect the money from tomers simply tell you they are not interested. customers.” People actually pay via the medium but if over But a user at an Oando petrol station at the 99 per cent of those who come to buy things Ketu axis of Lagos, who said the low attention still pay cash, I don’t think we are advancing given the electronic payment means should fast. not bother anybody because it is “a matter of “Sometimes people want to stick to what they choice”, said she does not charge customers are used to. They still want to feel liquid cash who decide to use it. “I don’t think anybody before they believe they can make commitshould charge customers for using the servment. They don’t want to try what they are not ice. We don’t charge; if others do so, it is their

By Geoff Iyatse

business,” she noted. The CBN had earlier said the cost for use of PoS would not be borne by customers but the service providers, which would pay 1.25 per cent of the transaction fee. It said the fee would be distributed to different parties that play different roles in ensuring that the system works effectively. The fees, according to a statement by the apex bank, would enable parties recover the costs, support maintenance and connectivity among others. Nigerians may have questioned why they should pay more than the face value of their transactions because they choose to pay electronically. Still, there are deeper issues that might have taken the shine from the system originally designed to make transaction more convenient and reduce the cost of cash management. Only one out of 18 Easter shoppers said he ever used PoS to pay his bills. That is bad enough. And it is worse to know that the user, Hope Peters, who lives at Ojodu, Lagos, has long reverted to cash payment because of poor service he got from previous transactions. “I succeeded in paying through PoS three or four times. In subsequent occasions, the network was either bad or my pin was not acceptable. I kept trying but it seemed the service was not improving; I had to revert to cash. I don’t even think about PoS any more when I want to shop. Maybe, when the service improves in the future I will patronise it. But I am quite convenient with cash transaction pending when there is improvement,” noted Peters. The basketball player said he spent an average of 30 minutes for past transactions he was able to complete. He queried the rationale for wasting such valuable time when he could have sorted himself out in less than two minutes using cash. When asked why she moved over N100,000 from her Egbeda residence to Ikeja to shop when she could pay via PoS, Chioma JohnOwoh, a media professional, simply asked: “How does it work?” She said she never experimented the platform because “I don’t think I do big transactions that call for e-payment.” Similarly, Akin Adelabu, said: “I am a struggling individual. When I am buying things I have the habit of confirming how buoyant I am at every point. That means I need to know the amount I have in my wallet. When you consider this, you will agree that somebody will find it easier to manage spending when liquid cash is involved.” Yet, Samson Irabor, who was at ATM machine to pick money to shop for his family, said: “I have more trust paying in cash. I don’t have confidence in PoS; I don’t think it is secured. So I just continue the old habit of cash payment. You might think it is out-offashion but I am more comfortable with it.

Just as many retail users lack sufficient knowledge about how PoS works, many shop attendants see the devices from far distance (even when they hold them in their palms). They cannot educate customers who show willingness to use it. A sales attendant at The Arena told the reporter the machine installed in her textile store was not charged until she was probed further. She eventually admitted that only “my madam who comes once or twice a week knows how to operate it.” ETWORK failure has been a major comN plaint against the innovation. And Country General Manager, IMB West Africa, Taiwo Otiti, said this would continue for as long as power supply remains epileptic. In an interview, Titi, whose employer serve 70 per cent information technology needs of Nigerian banks, said because over 80 per cent of PoS run on telecommunications services, any congestion on cell sites affect them. The congestion, he said, is majorly caused by indiscriminate service rerouting as a result of power outage that grounds some cell sites. “Once there is a delay for a long period, transaction will be rejected. ATM is slightly different from PoS. You put cash in ATM; if there is no cash or experts who will quickly fix faults when service is not available, there will be problem,” he noted. The assumption that more sophistication in the use of PoS will automatically solve the prevailing challenges is as accurate as the efficiency of ATM technology. As thousands travelled to celebrate with relatives last week, four, out of five vacationers said they had gone to banks to withdraw the cash they needed for their journeys. Ajibade Olowu, who was at Jibowu Park, to board a bus to Kogi State, captured the underlining fear: “I don’t trust ATM service will be there for me. Even in Lagos, at some critical times, it fails me. What assurance do I have that those in the village will be better? Yesterday (Wednesday), I had to queue in banking hall to withdrawal the money I need for the journey; I could not even make use of the ATM. I have been disappointed many times and I have learnt lessons.” Situations at banking halls and ATM points on Thursday, the last working day before Easter, seemed to announce another period of pains and disappointments, which has become a trademark of celebrations since the introduction of new form of technology into the banking systems. Endless queues crammed the few ATM points that were dispensing while the banking halls themselves were filled to brim. Customers without much cash to gamble with chose the option of counter-withdrawing because of fear that they might not have fun celebration if they had their cash trapped, a problem Otiti said is on the increase because of the challenge around cash sorting.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

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BUSINESSAGRO Elemo Canvasses Intensive Advocacy For Cassava Bread Policy From Gbenga Akinfenwa and Kehinde Olatunji, Ibadan

N a bid to ensure the overall acceptability of the cassava bread policy in Nigeria, more priority should be placed on intensive advocacy campaign and awareness creation targeted especially at status conscious elites in the country. This was the position of the Director - General/CEO, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Elemo at Niser Research Seminar Series (NRSS) tagged ‘The Prospects and Challenges of Cassava Bread and Confectioneries in Nigeria’ held at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo state on Tuesday. Elemo, who lamented the absence of a legal framework to drive the cassava bread policy in Nigeria is a big challenge for the implementation of the policy, called on the National assembly to pass legislation on compulsory use of cassava in bread and confectioneries. In her paper, Elemo expressed the need to form strong advocacy and lobby groups towards realising the objectives. “Despite all the potential benefits of the cassava bread and confectioneries policy, the nation is still struggling with the policy to give it appropriate legislation and

legal framework,” she lamented. She recalled that in December 2009, FIIRO and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture sent separate memorandum on a bill for enactment into law on the 10 per cent cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour in Nigeria to the House of Representatives but the bills suffered serious setbacks. She however, noted that some other challenges still affect the successful implementation of the policy. On challenge of acceptability by consumers, Elemo observed that there was still a little cloud of doubt by the public on the consumption of cassava bread. “Even though all scientific evidences including sensory evaluation had proved that cassava bread was safe for human consumption.” Elemo added that “20 per cent inclusion of high quality cassava flour in bread and confectioneries would save Nigeria N127 billion annually, generate three million jobs and reduce cost of bread by 15 per cent. On political challenge, the Director-General said that put together, more cassava was grown in the Southern part of Nigeria than in the North. She said the North also had comparative advantages in some crops such as rice, sorghum, and millet.

TATA In New Partnership To Boost Mechanised Farming By Fabian Odum HOUGH TATA is known for the manufacture of motor vehicles T and trucks internationally but now, in Nigeria, it is making forays into agricultural machinery in a bid to boost food production and support the nation’s Agriculture Transformation Agenda. In that respect, the company has secured distribution rights for John Deere tractors and farm equipment in Nigeria. Mr. Sudeep Ray, TATA’s Executive Director, Nigeria and Regional Director, West Africa revealed this is coming at a time when food security is crucial to the economic development of the country. Ray, who said the John Deere brand is a world known product, believes the deployment of the machines in farms would do much to improve the lot of farmers and farmers’ cooperatives in terms of increased production and profitability. Ray said the plan to get the brand into the country has been on and the consummation of the distribution agreement came in October 2012. He added that the first set of shipment is due at the end of April 2013 while the formal launch is due in May, first in Lagos and then Abuja. For TATA, the Federal Capital Territory came into reckoning because according to Ray, the area is strategic as it is in the middle of the nation’s farming belt. He said Lagos is important as well because the State is committed to her farmers and opens the door to the kind of market the company is looking at. He said TATA is dedicated to the promotion of agriculture with the injection of service inputs to reach different parts of the country. The Director said it intends to put these products in the hands of farmers at affordable prices, knowing the cost implication of acquisition. The machines and implements are being packaged to reach farmers through individual stakeholders and cooperatives by different kinds of financial plans, Ray disclosed. For now, the equipment are to be marketed in two categories of 55HP and 75HP after having assessed farmers’ need and for efficient deployment in their farm activities. Ray said the back up for the farm machinery would not only be in the form of technical expertise but farmers are to get farm extension support in the course of the company’s customer relations. “John Deere would give back up staff to Nigeria and help with credit line as well. We understand that buying on cash-and –carry basis would not be in the best interest of resource-challenged farmers, therefore these arrangements are being made,” Ray said. He revealed that John Deere manufacturing plant in India, from where TATA would stock its Nigeria inventory, would have products that are very competitive in pricing while not compromising quality. Due to the top rating the machines enjoy, the Executive Director said it would do everything to keep the place well stocked and accompanied with spares supply and matched with real service. He said farmers should expect Disk harrows, plows, rippers, selfpropelled and drawn sprayers and sugarcane loaders (for those in the crop line). Tractors, tipping trailers, harvesters and planters are lined up in the array of implements TATA intend to put out in the market in Nigeria.

Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Dr. (Mrs) Gloria Elemo (r) in a warm handshake with Dr. Taiwo Awoyemi of University of Ibadan (l), while the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Prof. Olufemi Taiwo (2nd left) and Head, Dept. of Food Science Technology, Bowen University, Iwo, Prof. John Akingbala looks on during the NISER Research Seminar Series (NRSS) held at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan...Tuesday

“The FGN should promote simultaneously development of a crop of comparative advantage in the north like sorghum with cassava as a way of addressing potential challenge that could result from this issue” she said.

She also recommended the adoption of a standardised national recipe for cassava bread and confectioneries. Elemo called for government incentives for flour millers for possible plant reconfiguration and acquisition of additional equip-

ment if necessary. “Government also should give incentives to bakers to expand their bakeries and set up new bakeries. Elemo called for intensive public advocacy and awareness creation on the benefits of cassava bread in the coun-

try. NISER’s Director-General, Prof Olufemi Taiwo, Prof. John Akingbala from Bowen University, Iwo and Dr Taiwo Awoyemi from University of Ibadan were among the personalities at the seminar.

Increasing Dual-purpose Cowpea Production In Nigeria’s Semi-arid Region By Shimfe Martina N the semi-arid zones of Iandsub-Saharan African, crop livestock farming, form the source of sustenance for resource-poor farmers. But dry season is usually marked with food scarcity, reduced food availability, and lower village level economic activities. Dry season farming is the production of crop during a dry season, utilising the residual moisture in the soil from the rainy season. Dry season farming works to conserve soil moisture during long dry periods primarily through a system of tillage, surface production, and the use of drought resistant varieties. The production of some of the finest wines and olive oils in the world is accomplished with dry farmed fruit; dry farming is not a yield maximisation strategy, rather it allows nature to dictate the true sustainability of agricultural production in a region. Dry farming is more than just the absence of irrigation. Rural families, which make up the larger part of the population of west and central derive from its production, food, animals feed alongside cash income. Its grain, which is nutritious and inexpensive, serves as a source of cheap protein for both rural and urban consumers. The cowpea grain contains about 25 per cent protein, and 64 per cent carbohydrate. Its potential in the alleviation of malnutrition among resource-poor farmers is unstable. Cowpea also contributed to the sustainability of cropping systems and soils fertility improvement on marginal

lands through provision of ground cover and plant residues (which minimise erosion and subsequent land deterioration), nitrogen fixation, increasing soil fertility and suppressing weeds. More than eight million hectares of cowpeas are grown in west and central Africa. Nigeria is the largest producer with nine million ha; other producers are Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal. The production trend of cowpea in Nigeria shows a significant improvement with about 44 per cent increase in area planted and 410 per cent increase in yield

from 1961 to 1995. This development within decades is attributable to the significant advances made on cowpea seed improvement in the dry land. The major constraints to the adoption of dry season dualpurpose cowpea include pests both in the storage, insufficient water, land and seed. The magnitude of these problems also varies with location. There is the need, therefore, for the development of varieties that are resistant to nematodes and storage insects. Seed multiplication and distribution systems also need to be

improved, so as to enhance farmers’ access to improve varieties. Government can support this by buying more farming equipment, herbicides and other implements, to ensure sustainability of the scheme and ensure increased agricultural activities with the objectives of encouraging farmers to take advantage of irrigation project to boost food production in the country. SHIMFE MARTINA is of Mass Communication Department, Taraba State University, Jalingo.

Genetic Centre Urges Greater Attention To Livestock Sector ROF Jerome Gefu, the P Executive Director, National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Zaria has called for a national Livestock Breeding Policy to regulate and develop the livestock sector in Nigeria. Gefu made the call in Ibadan during the meeting on the resuscitation of the National Technical Sub-committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Livestock Breeds organised by its secretariat, the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB). Gefu, who was inaugurated as the chairman of the sub-committee by NACGRAB’s Director, Mr Wasiu Odofin at the occasion said such policy would create an enabling environment for the sector to excel. Gefu said the policy would also bring sanity to the Nigerian livestock sector by regulating the operations of stakeholders and practitioners. The NAPRI chief executive said with the policy in place, indis-

criminate importation of all types of foreign livestock would be checked. Gefu also called for appropriate fiscal policy to be woven into the livestock policy to facilitate easy financial access for operators of the sector to oil their business. He recommended that the policy should be such that would transcend successive administrations in the country and last for decades in order to give room for efficiency through sustainability. Gefu noted that for long the National Crop Varieties and Livestock Breeds Registration and Release Committee had focused on crops while neglecting livestock. Inaugurating the sub-committee, NACGRAB’s chief executive, Odofin observed that while the National Varieties Release Committee (NVRC) had been meeting twice a year, its deliberations had been mainly on crop varieties it registered and approved for release to Nigerian farmers.

Odofin said he, therefore, considered the resuscitation of the livestock sub-committee as he was bowing out of service, a great achievement of his tenure as head of NACGRAB. NVRC Chairman, Oladosu Awoyemi, urged the newly inaugurated sub-committee members to encourage researchers and animal scientists to generate materials that would lead to constant release and approval of livestock varieties to Nigerian farmers. The occasion also featured a workshop on Genetic Characterisation of Locally Produced Poultry Breeds organised by NACGRAB and West African Agricultural Productivity Programme. About 548 crop varieties developed by Nigerian researchers and scientists have been officially registered and released by the NVRC in the country to date while the Shika Brown hen from NAPRI, a product of 15 years of research, remains the only livestock breed registered and released so far.

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31, 2013 53

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Opinion Chinua Achebe: Larger In Death JOIN the world in bidding Chinua Achebe the wordsmith we lost nine days ago, goodbye. Several things distinguished this famous Nigerian. The best-known and most celebrated was his ability to tell a compelling story. When Achebe told you a story, you became his messenger, re-telling that story in one way or another forever. That magic was Achebe’s passport to travel through time and space. Using it, as we all came to know, he sold himself to the world, eliminating any need to repeat his name or to raise his voice that he may be heard. When he cleared his throat to speak to a crowd, Achebe did not need a microphone: the crowd fell into silence so deep it was almost in a trance, raising his roof to the rafters. But he was not your normal storyteller in the tradition of a circus performer whose entertainment ended when you left for home. That was why, if you were not sufficiently careful, you missed the most important truth about Achebe: he was a man who dispensed fiction so he could disburse truth. That, I am certain will become clear when he is laid to rest and men and women of all kinds try to claim a part of him for themselves in the words of a decent goodbye. To say goodbye, especially in a Nigerian funeral, is not easy. We often celebrate in death what we denied in life. That is why, to say goodbye to a decent Nigerian of the quality and symbolism of Achebe by a society as indecent as ours would be a Nollywood tale that even Achebe could not have penned. To bury Achebe among his people is the right thing to do. I believe that is what he would have loved, even if he did not make that decision himself. But that will throw up all kinds of questions about his people if that happened to be defined less tightly than his immediate family. It would be fascinating to hear some of those who will want the microphone by which to say “a few words.” A few words.

In Achebe’s final two decades on earth, God seemed to have given him two thrones to say whatever he wanted. The first was the global fame that his fiction had earned him. From Ogidi, his village, to the farthest corners of the earth, he came to symbolize the power of great writing. The world sought him wherever he rested; wherever he went, so did the world as it sought his voice. The second throne, alas, was a wheelchair. Following his widelyknown road crash in 1990, Achebe recovered into a wheelchair, from where he cast his considerable wisdom far and wide. At the foot of that chair, a worldwide horde of admirers came to hear him say whatever he wished. But a few words were often all he said. A skillful, power user of language, he was a man who got a lot of mileage out of every word and every nuance. His was a deep well of wisdom, but some of those words, especially when he turned his attention to Nigeria, were angry ones, especially when he identified the trouble with Nigeria. His book of that title was published 30 years before his death. In it, he bluntly declared that “trouble” to be “simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” When Achebe brought home the glories and accolades of foreign lands, he was the hero of every Nigerian, including its leadership, but when he turned his attention inwards, that leadership was resentful. It would rather claim him and own him. That was why, in 2004 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, and again in 2011 under President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria offered Achebe the National Honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic. In his rejection letter in 2004, Achebe cited his “alarm and dismay” over developments in Nigeria,

using as an example the chaos in his home state of Anambra, “where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places.” That clique, he said, seemed determined to turn the state into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. “I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency,” he said. Despite that, Achebe again found his name on the National Honours List nearly two years ago. Again, he refused to accept, as “the reasons for rejecting the offer when it was first made have not been addressed let alone solved.” It is remarkable to recall the response of Nigeria’s leadership to Achebe’s rejections. In 2004, the government bitterly disowned him, declaring that if the award was not good enough for him he was not good enough for Nigeria. In 2011, he was accused of ignorance, and invited home on his wheelchair to come and see how things had “improved” under President Jonathan. Things have “improved” so much under Mr. Jonathan that mediocrity and official dubiousness have become pronounced principles of public life; the so-called National Honours are now increasingly given to friends and their friends. Things have “improved” so much that such top government officials as the President, VicePresident and the President of the Senate do not in their speeches refer to such values as integrity, example, character, or honour. Things have “improved” so much that President Jonathan told the country he “does not give damn” about declaration of assets, and routinely appoints to office men of poor charac-

ter. Only two weeks ago, he offered State pardon to Dipreye Alamieyeseigha, one of Nigeria’s most reviled symbols of corruption. All of this will form the background when Nigeria honours Achebe by means of a state burial, as has been proposed, or in “a few words” of tribute. To say a few words is the most difficult things in the world when those words are dishonest. Achebe mastered the art of saying a few meaningful words because his agenda and the prism through which he viewed his country never rotted. His views on right and wrong did not shift so that he might obtain a federal contract. His views did not change in the new budget year because he wanted to smuggle one of his children into a job at State House, as many two-faced Nigerians do. The same heart that was beating in the heart of Achebe, the Nigerian, beat in him until the end. He advocated a country of excellence, one in which leaders led the people with patriotism, honesty and determination, not with self-interest and greed and corruption. This is why his words and his advocacy never will die. He leaves behind a country that makes up what it lacks in heroes with historic levels of mediocrity and hypocrisy. He leaves behind the same “alarm and dismay” about which he spoke in 2004, of a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places…that has run Nigeria into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom…” He leaves behind the same shameless, lying, effeminate, unpatriotic and deceitful leadership that remains the trouble with Nigeria. Achebe’s achievements as a writer will always inspire the world. In his home country, it will accomplish considerably more than that, forever casting illumination on the army of locusts that has taken Nigeria hostage and made her an under-developing country. His voice will be larger in death than it was in life. Goodbye, Warrior. sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

For Chinua Achebe: Writing Is Easy By Tunji Lardner HE transition of Chinua Achebe on March 21 this year at age 82 signalled the passing of a great African and a global man of letters. Widely acclaimed as the father of the modern ‘African novel,’ with the debut 55 years ago of his timeless classic ‘Things fall apart,’ Chinua Achebe can rest easy, and gaze proudly from his celestial writing desk at the many children he has spawned. The richly deserved avalanche of glowing tributes and readings that will be held in his honour will no doubt speak to the man’s literary genius, but might not fully capture the sage humanity of his personage that only a direct interaction with this great man might impress. My own tribute to the man is borne out of intermittent contact with him over the last three or so decades beginning with this essay fully reproduced below, and written as a preface to a cover story about the man and his work. After working feverishly to pen the said essay titled ‘Writing is easy;’ I was over the moon, when word got back to me that he liked it. Me....? Chinua Achebe liked my essay? Wow...unbelievable! As young journalist, this was to be my bragging rights for the rest of the year. Now fast-forward to the early 90s in the US, when a handful of us rode up to meet him then at Bard College, not too long after his road accident. We were welcomed by his ever so gracious wife Christie and his son Ikechukwu and as I recall it, the sounds of Fela wafting in the background and emanating from his study. When I tentatively inquired about the music, he was to remark that ‘Fela was the sage of our times,’ clearly genius recognises genius. Sitting in the modest campus issue living room and enveloped by the love and attentiveness of his wife and son was the great man in a wheel chair, warmly dressed and a blanket draped over his knees cascading to the floor. His quiet, yet powerful presence had us acolytes awe struck; there was a luminous sadness and a sober happiness, coexisting side by side, without friction or contradiction. Like his writings, there was a measured, balanced, and weighted series of conversations that we had, mostly about Nigeria, (these were the darker days of the military as opposed to the present dark days of ‘democracy’) writing, and our sense of our place in the world. Each point as I recall was carefully gestated before being delivered in a slow deliberate cadence, freighted with considerable moral authority and punctuated by his wry wit interlaced with deeper meanings that occupied my mind on the long drive back to New York City. Here was an advanced and enlightened soul, whose humanity and spirit had fully embraced the wholeness life in its entirety, the good, the bad and the ugly. I next met him at Wesleyan college during the joyous celebration of his 70th birthday surrounded by a large crowd of family, friends, and well wishers all enveloping him with love and admiration. The high point for me was when he lovingly embraced my then young daughter and somehow managed to cradle her for quite a little bit in spite of the hubbub of activities around him. Given the timelessness of his work, his spirit will undoubtedly live on, the man might be gone but his soul and spirit embedded in his wise words live on.

My own little tribute is, therefore, to go back in time to uncover a past tribute that in my mind remains a timeless homage to a truly great man, who could and did write. On the pale uninspiring walls of our rather prosaic newsroom is this acerbic epithet credited to Red Smith, an American sports reporter: “Writing is very easy. All you have to do is sit in front of a typewriter keyboard until little drops of blood appear on your forehead.” Peering unremittently from strategic positions in the newsroom, its message at various times elicits various attitudes. In the somewhat relaxed atmosphere of post-production recuperation, its sardonic wit can be laughed off. Of course, ‘writing is easy,’ after all we have just put to bed another excellent issue of Newswatch. But in the pre-production madness, with the horrifying spectre of implacable deadlines — personified by the unsmiling countenance of any of the four big editors, the import is anything but sanguine. Sanguinary it might be, if a crucial deadline is not met, but whatever the reasons, the writing must be done. “A bad book is as much of a labour to write as a good one: it comes as sincerely from the author’s soul,” Aldous Huxley wisely observed. True, and no less truthful, regarding a copy. After the expenditure of so much calories, a bad story in the end is perhaps twice as laborious as a good one. But what drives men to such torture? Obviously the need to communicate in a more permanent fashion must have been the catalyst of this unending agony. Although evidence for the original alphabet is scarce, it is widely upheld that the first alphabet came from the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, including ancient Canaan and Phoenicia circa 1700-1500 BC. The creationists, on the other hand, are typically quick to remind us that “in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God” (John chapter 1, verse 1). If so, man at some point in antiquity must have stolen the WORD Promethean-like from the gods, and like Prometheus, who allegedly stole fire from the Greek gods to give to humanity, writers have to perpetually suffer the retribution of the gods. Prometheus was chained to a rock by an enraged Zeus, with an eagle sent to eat his immortal liver which constantly replenished itself. A tale akin to the agony a writer feels when his pen is willing but his inspiration is weak. And a fate many would readily prescribe tor writers, having suffered the toxicity of a poisoned pen. But Prometheus has since been unbounded. In his epic lyrical drama, Prometheus Unbound Shelly, the British poet and philosopher, captured the universal theme of the principle of good (Prometheus) triumphing over the universal principle of evil. And although the poetic licence validated by the writer’s muse permits the amoral, and even the immoral, the enforcement of poetic justice has been the ethical responsibility of the writer. But this is a responsibility that has oftentimes been abdicated for reasons too wide for ready discourse. “The fact that many people should be shocked by what he writes practically imposes it as a duty upon the writer to go on shocking them,” Aldous Huxley again observes. But the shock and the bizarre themes explored by some

writers, for example, Kafka, Tutuola, Fagunwa and Soyinka, are even more shocking when it is realised that although the writer might draw his inspiration from deep within his soul, his expiration is necessarily part of his environment. Writers with varying degrees of refraction mirror the foibles of man, which are considerable. It is this irksome and self-indicting reminder issued relentlessly by writers that, although we might be god-like, we must certainly have feet of clay, that more often than not gets the writer in trouble. Writers have been beaten, imprisoned and quite routinely killed for putting the word to paper. And their baffling stubbornness to recant, even in the face of death, has often times been their very end. “The moving finger writes, and having written moves on; nor all thy piety and wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line. Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it,” remarked Edward Fitzgerald in the Rubbaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It is the permanency of the written word that has encapsulated existence. Where would history be if the word was not put down in whatever language? And what would you read if somebody had not sat down to write it. But writing it, and writing it well, is the big problem, which the opening quote by Red Smith addresses so wryly. “Of all those acts in which the wise excel, nature`s chief masterpiece is writing well,” John Sheffield enthused in his Essay on Poetry, 1682. And the British man of letters, Francis Bacon, had about five decades earlier advised that “reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man.” Going by such wholesome advice, it is clear that a great many men are not “ready,” “exact” or “full.” Very few people can creditably sustain an idea through one or two paragraphs, and indeed anybody who can, should be warmly congratulated. Chinua Achebe is a man who has driven his soul through many paragraphs. “Language has not the power to speak what love indites. The soul lies buried in the ink that writes,” John Clare profoundly observes. The soul of Achebe`s literature, unobscured by quaint Euro-centric literary appreciation, is organically entwined with his society, But his art and craftsmanship has successfully elevated indigenous themes to the heights of universality. His books speak of a man as a homogenous commodity in a society that is universal. For although Umuofia and Mbanta, the principal villages in Things Fall Apart, his monumental debut, are intensely Igbo homesteads, the clash of cultures, the nationalistic pride of Okonkwo (the protagonist) and his tragic end, have world-wide currency. Man is often times caught in the cross-fire of change, the shifting sands of time, and the rain storm of fate. To capture all these, for better or for worse, one has to write well. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe writes well.

Originally published as the ‘Preface to Cover’ of NEWSWATCH Magazine MARCH 24, 1986 Comments can be sent to: me.tlardner@gmail.com

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday March 31, 2013

Backlash Abraham Ogbodo

Amnesty For All By 2015 most perfectly elastic. It can be adjusted anyhow to fit all descriptions. It may have a definite meaning in the English dictionary but that definition does not seem to meet the purpose for which it is required in the polity currently. It is not as if the word is completely new in that strict sense of time. It was introduced about three years ago when President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua applied it in engaging armed fighters who were purportedly fighting to draw attention to the issues of under development and environmental abuse in the Niger Delta. The fighters hit at oil production in order to get government to listen to them. Daily production of crude fell to an all time low of less than one million barrels per day from 2.5 million. It is a sweet new word. It reminds me of my elementary school days when my teacher introduced the word “obnoxious” in describing the transatlantic slave trade. The word sounded so high and beautiful in my ears that I had to immediately adapt it for all purposes. At home, every question or statement that required my response had only one word – obnoxious. ‘Come and eat’ ‘obnoxious.’ ‘Have you done your assignment?’ ‘Obnoxious’ ‘Is your father at home?’ ‘Obnoxious.’ ‘Wash those plates’ ‘obnoxious.’ ‘Mummy is calling you,’ ‘obnoxious.’Everything, and not only the inhuman slave trade was obnoxious! This is where we are with the word AMNESTY. It has been adapted for all purposes. It is the magic answer to all geo-political tensions in the country. It is attractive because it has successfully repackaged violent agitation or even bare face criminality into a most profitable vocation. In the rush to settle the amnesty deal and increase oil production to optimum, comrades and criminals were loaded together as freedom fighters. Heads of the militant groups who accepted the amnesty and turned in their weapons have been fully accepted back in society. In fact, they are now very serious stakeholders assisting government to maintain peace and order in the region. They are more effective in the surveillance and protection of oil facilities than the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps or even the armed forces. The ex-warlords are today very successful businessmen and very important personalities (VIPs). The young ones in their different localities are looking up to them as role models. The amnesty package has really done wonders. People get paid for doing nothing. Others are sent for training outside the shores and they return as pilots, engineers, mariners and such other skilled persons. It is the answer to unemployment, hunger, illiteracy, etc. The Amnesty Office is managed by the special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on the Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku. The fellow has been up and doing and has been roundly praised for spending the amnesty money running into billions of naira wisely to reform the repentant militants. He is in the air most times, flying to connect locations around the world where these ex-fighters are being trained and retrained to meet specific purposes. He probably has more air time than the busiest British Airways pilot. On one occasion, he stepped down so low and allowed himself to be flown around on a test flight by one ex-militant turned pilot. It was a most laudable move which was dutifully captured by aides for a big media feast. On the whole, Mr. Kuku has made both his office and the amnesty programme look very attractive. The programme, which officially closed enrollment on October 6, 2009 following the expiration of the 60-day (From August 6) grace offered militants by the Federal Government to turn in their weapons and embrace peace, became open ended. It started running in phases with the first phase enrolling 20191 fighters and another 6200 added under phase two. Phase three accommodated about 3600 more bringing the total to about 30000 even as a greater number of youths across the region protested violently to be included. Mr. Kuku has however managed to name a terminal date. He told journalists in Lagos recently that the bazaar would end in 2015. But it cannot be so fast anymore. The good times must go round. Kuku just narrowed down the context to the Niger Delta as if he is unaware of the call for

Alabi Williams williams.alabi@ngrguardiannews.com

08055328079 (SMS only) abogbodo@yahoo.com

HERE is a new word in the poT litical lexicon. It is called AMNESTY. Its application is al-

SUNDAY NARRATIVE

the amnesty programme to move up North where there are perhaps more fighters waiting to be recreated as pilots and engineers. The northern campaign is taking a little longer because the technicalities have not been properly worked out. The Northern fighters are behaving differently from their Niger Delta counterparts. They want omelets yet they do not wish to break eggs. Instead of unmasking and then come to the table with their true faces for the frank talk, they want to remain behind their masks and engage the Federal Government, the giver of amnesty. It does not work that way unfortunately. There is due process and those who wish to benefit from the bazaar must follow the procedures as follows: Show up with specific demands, stop the shooting of guns and detonation of explosives, surrender all weapons to the JTF for destruction and then assemble in camps to start effectively the process of demobilization, re-orientation and reintegration. This has not been met by the Boko Haram insurgents, which is why their proposal for amnesty is not enjoying a national consensus. Hopefully however, the parties, the Federal Government and the fighters that is, will before long come on a common page so that the amnesty can finish with the North quickly and move to other parts of the country where it is needed badly. It is needed in the Southwest for instance to rehabilitate NADECO and OPC fighters who battled the military to ensure this democracy we all, including President Jonathan are enjoying. Since the deal is infinitely elastic, it can also be extended to rehabilitate the surviving members of the agbekoyas, the peasant revolutionary group that staged Operation Wetie to maintain electoral sanctity in the First Republic. One Yoruba elder who witnessed all of these and was part of the Afenifere Renewal Group that visited President Jonathan recently to show solidarity with the President over his (President’s) decision to hold back amnesty for the Boko Haram for the reasons already stated, warned against reckless issuance of the amnesty package. His plea is that things should be wisely managed to avoid creating impression that the amnesty is a reward for violence and also stop people from picking up arms against the state in anticipation of mouth- watering amnesty largesse. It is a good counsel that is however coming a bit late. All over, the new word is ‘amnesty’ and it is in the lips of everybody. It has been deeply ingrained in the national consciousness within a relatively short time as part of the so-called national cake, which must be equitably shared among all stakeholders. Only last Friday, the Northern Traditional Rulers Council headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III rose from a crucial meeting, insisting on amnesty for Boko Haram members without conditions. The Southeast, which has been shouting marginalisation now has further reason to shout louder. Among other things like the presidency, key federal infrastructure, appointments into the federal bureaucracy, etc which they always asked for, the zone is impatiently waiting for its own amnesty package to settle MASSOB and other freedom fighters. It is a legitimate demand. Even within the favoured Niger Delta, the matter is yet to be fully rested as sundry groups allege exclusion from the package at both the giving and receiving ends. They say what has been given and received so far is, at best, an Ijaw version of the package. Youths from other ethnic nationalities who claim to have also fought to get the Federal Government to focus on the issues in the Niger Delta are waiting to be reached with their packages. There is a very good opportunity here for President Jonathan to reap enormous political capital. In fact, this should interest more his handlers who have been seeking in vain a Unique Selling Point (USP) to market the President for a re-election in 2015. They should simply re-activate the Neighbour-To-Neighbour propaganda machinery and go to town saying only one line: ‘Amnesty For All By 2015’ and the deed is done. Believe me, that arrangement will effectively contain the threat of the yet-to-be determined APC (Aspirin, Paracetamol and Codine) which conjures images of headache and body pains and inch the PDP closer to its dream of a 60-year unbroken reign at the centre. I can wait till after the 2015 Presidential election when the battle must have been won and lost to collect my consultancy fee.

WADATA: Pray This House Does Not Crash! HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in a T make or mar situation and it is time to slow down and critically consider one or two options – get ready to transform into a really democratic formation that is useful to citizens, or go down slowly. The party has been very lucky. It was formed, grown rapidly into the biggest party in Africa and has given three generations of leadership to the world’s largest black population. What else? But what are the gains for the people, lovers of democracy who had been promised heaven on earth? Have their lives been transformed; are they safer now than they were; are people’s lives more meaningful to enable them hope for a better tomorrow? Or will the PDP remain stiff-necked and refuse to mend its ways and allow democracy work for the people? The party appears to be making frantic attempts to mend broken fences all over the place. There are issues in various state chapters; there is misunderstanding between governors and party leaders; there is distrust among leading members because of greed and ego. And it doesn’t look like the party is making any headway. And the opposition is gathering, looking at options it could leverage on to move into centre stage. How did PDP get to this muddy ground? Like everyone knows, the PDP was formed in 1998/99, by politicians who had been out of job for many years, due to military intervention in civil administration of the country. After they (politicians) had been tossed up and down by the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s government, a regime that lied about its commitment to democracy, some of them were made to file out forcefully behind Gen. Sani Abacha, who also did not want to handover to anybody; until it came to a point where the soldiers became coup shy, because all eyes in the global community were focused on Nigeria’s putrid rigmarole. So the soldiers became benevolent and allowed political activities to resume under Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Thus, Empire PDP was formed. At formation, the party was a coalition of different political associations and it was huge, modestly, at the beginning. It had the fortune of having many retired generals, many of whom were former coup experts as patrons. Not minding being outside power they (soldiers) still exerted a lot of influence and commanded respect from the political class. They also had plenty of money because nobody searched them when they were forced out or voluntary abdicated. They gave money, either directly or by proxy for initial party activities. They also gave the PDP its first presidential candidate, Olusegun Obasanjo, who was also a soldier and former Head of State. Many of those initial governors were endorsed and sponsored by the retired generals. In 1999, the PDP had more clout and resources to win more governorship slots in more geopolitical zones than the other two parties - Alliance for Democracy (AD) and All Peoples Party (APP) put together. So, how well did the party consolidate those initial gains for the battles ahead? It did fairly well in the manner of fledgling empires, looking for more conquests. To ‘sanitise’ the party for its expansionist campaigns, Obasanjo, who became the PDP leader in line with party rules, sent the interim chairman of the party, Solomon Lar on early retirement. He worked vigorously to deny late Sunday Awoniyi, who was a sound technocratic and one of the best at that time, the opportunity to give the party proper grounding on internal democracy. The party leaders installed a man they thought would be amenable to their whims and schemes, Barnabas Gemade. By 2003, the party had grown stronger and more daring, spreading its tentacles from far away Abuja to overrun the Southwest and put a tottering AD permanently out of reckoning. Only Lagos State under Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu managed to escape that invasion. The PDP went to the North-central and created some confusion in the camp of the opposition. It snatched Kwara and Kogi States from the APP. In the South-south, the standard bearer was Chief Anthony Anenih, also known as Mr. Fix It.

He went with a stern warning for the opposition to stay clear, as according to him there was no vacancy in his jurisdiction, not because the governors were outstanding in terms of performance, but because they were loyal to himself and the party. And his word was law. Never mind, that three of those governors namely; Lucky Igbinedion, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and James Ibori had been successfully charged and convicted for corruption. Peter Odili has not been tried at all, because he was able to procure perpetual immunity for himself. Victor Attah and Donald Duke are still okay for now. In the Southeast, the PDP was not too sure of the man who was on ground in Anambra, Chinwoke Mbadinuju. So, for it not to be an issue, a Chris Ngige was shopped to temporarily stand in. And the coast became clear in all of Southeast. In the North, the PDP consolidated its position, did well on all sectors, but lost Kano to Ibrahim Shekarau of the ANPP. Kano was tricky and the leader, Obasanjo made reference to that not too long ago, at a symposium organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was more of confession time, when he recalled that he was called upon to intervene as the votes were being counted in Kano, but he decided to let go. Perhaps, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who was at the receiving end in that election did not level with the leader, so he decided to punish him. Meanwhile, Obasanjo scored the required numbers at the presidential polls in the same Kano State. The second term for PDP had a lot of things on the table. The President wanted to institutionalise reforms that would make corruption less easy for politicians. He proposed reforms in the financial sector, to provide a solid background for that sector. There were also plans to amend the constitution and also for a national dialogue. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) came on board and got to work. It ran corruption checks on all the governors and opened files for them. Because they enjoyed immunity while in office, they could only be investigated after leaving government house. So, EFCC laid wait for those who were found wanting. But because of that immunity clause, some of the governors did not mend their ways. They were still looting and carrying their states’ federal allocation to European and American banks. Obasanjo lost his cool and decided to facilitate the process of exposing corrupt governors. That was how Joshua Dariye, Alamieyeseigha and Ayo Fayose were smoked out of their hiding. The fight against corruption appeared to be working, but it was perceived that the President then was using it to hound his political enemies. When Third Term failed, Obasanjo decided that 2007 would be a ‘do or die’. The PDP went all out to steal more states from the opposition, but it had problems without the Southwest. It had problems with two states in the Southeast, but still coasted home with a good overall victory. Orji Uzor Kalu, decided to run his own show in Abia. He formed a party and used it to secure the state. Imo was problematic and PDP was willing to sacrifice the state. But the judiciary intervened and reversed gains the PDP had acquired fraudulently in Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun. 2011 was not that easy because the rigging trick of the PDP had been exposed. Now 2015 is coming but the PDP is becoming clay-footed; many insurrections are chiseling at the sides of the behemoth. The candidacy of Bamangar Tukur for leadership of the party did not enjoy sufficient consensus among stakeholders. The governors, a critical bloc, never wanted him, but he was foisted on them all the same. The man appears colourless and after one year in office he has not achieved anything substantial, except deepening the crisis in the party. He has not resolved the situation in the Southwest and Adamawa. More latent contentions will begin to unfold across the states as 2015 draws closer. To add to the party’s woes, the presidency it foisted on the people is lame duck. For 13 years, the federal government had earned huge revenues, but it had grown poverty in like manner. The only explanation for this paradox is that the political system is too parasitic and of very little use to Nigerians. If the PDP does not rally the political class for real transformation, and the opposition is unable to depose it, then this House could collapse. Soon than later!

TheGuardian

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013 | 55

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Cover

Mark By Saxone Akhaine Northern Bureau Chief EARLY all the people of Nigeria have, one N time or the other accused the Federal Government of marginalising their zones and

Sambo

Tambuwal North. The National Security Adviser is a Muslim from the North. The Chief Justice of the Federation is a Muslim from the North. There are more Northern Muslim Senators. There are more Northern Muslims in the House of Representatives. There are more Northern Muslim Commissioners of Police. Most of the people who own Petrol Stations in the North are Muslims. “Most of those who have been Executive Directors from the North are Muslims. Most of the Vice Chancellors of Universities and Rectors of Polytechnics in the North are Muslims. Most of the owners of articulated vehicles in the North are Muslims. All who have ever been Vice Presidents of Nigeria from the North are all He continued: “the North has not said it has been singled out for marginalisation as qui pro Muslims. What have the Christians done in the North to cause poverty in the North that warquo. Only the Northeast cried out that it had rants these plans of total annihilation? They are been abandoned by the federal government. But the North occasionally, draws attention to attacking the wrong people.” Be that as it may, there seem to be a new thinklapses for purpose of keeping the government ing among the political class and northern opinon its toes for national interests and public ion leaders on the need to abandon the belief good.” “Mr. President has told the nation that while in that the North is being marginalised under President Jonathan. his precinct in Bayelsa State, he used to complain of marginalisation of his people, but now Leading this perspective to ensure that the that he is president, he has found that every sec- North is repositioned and reconstructed, surpristion of the country complains of marginalisa- ingly, are the former military leaders under whom the country’s economy nose-dived. tion. He wonders marginalisation and by Former military president, General Ibrahim whom?” Recently, the Northern Christian Elders Forum Babangida, at the recent Special Convocation and (NORCEF) also criticized those crying foul about launching of 50bn naira endowment fund for marginalisation of the North without reverting Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), said the plight of back to the historical account of wasteful spend- education in Nigeria, especially in the Northern states is too well known to warrant any repetiing and mismanagement of the nation’s resources by leaders from the zone, who were in tion. According to him, “the current practice of releposition of leadership at the national level. gating education to the back burner in priorities Chairman of NORCEF, Evangelist Mathew Owojaiye said: “Northern states have produced of government and individuals is no longer tennine Heads of State. Only one (General Yakubu able.” He explained that, “without according to educaGowon) is a Christian. What did these eight Head of States, except Sir Ahmadu Bello do for tion the necessary attention it deserves, our quest for peace and progress as a nation would the people? How come the people are poor simply remain elusive,” adding that “it is hardly when their own people have been in power most of the time? Most of the Governors in the an exaggeration to say that the security and North are Muslims. How come their people are developmental challenges Nigeria is confronting today are in many ways attributable to the so poor? How come they are the ones selling water in jerry cans? How come they are the ones declining fortunes of education sector.” He commended the former Minister of Defence, doing ‘shoe shining?’ How come they are the ones breaking firewood into pieces? How come retired General Theophilous Yakubu Danjuma for leading the initiative in ensuring the revival they are the ones doing maiguard, (security of education and the economy of the North, just guard)? These Northern leaders have cheated as he urged other prominent northerners to join the Northern masses too much.” Owojaiye argued further: “most of the Federal the train. Ministers from the North are Muslims. What did “I am in particular calling on my friends and their people benefit from them? Almost noth- younger brothers and sisters, such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Alhaji Abdussamad Rabiu, Colonel Sani ing. The Northern States have far more Local Governments. None earns less than N100 mil- Bello (rtd), Alhaji Muhammed Ndimi, Alhaji Umaru Muttallab and others to follow and suplion a month from the Federal Government. port General Danjuma on pushing this new What did they do with it? The Federal vision,” Babangida added. Government pumped billions of Naira into After all said and done, the belief of the ordinary nomadic education. Where is the result? “Most of those who are Ambassadors from the Nigerians is that those that matter in the North, North are Muslims. The Governor of the Central including Babangida should ensure that a new Bank is a Muslim from the North. The Minister vision of returning the region to progressive development is arrived at, by making all hands to of Education is a Muslim from the North. The Inspector General of Police is a Muslim from the be on deck instead of championing politics of marginalisation.

Marginalisation:

Understanding North’s Disparate Claims

interests, either by way of resource distribution, physical development or assess to political offices. The North has had its share of pointing accusing fingers at the Federal authorities, with regards to the sorry state of affairs in the region, particularly in relation to poor state of its economy, poverty level, low level of educational development and the insecurity pervading parts of the region. Besides, the founding fathers of the Nigerian who pursue personal gains instead of the general interests of the region. nation, like late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief The National Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Obafemi Awolowo, the Sardauna of Sokoto Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr. Anthony Sani, while and former Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, dur- reacting to the ground-sweeping accusation of the Jonathan administration said, “I am not aware of ing the First Republic pursued purposeful development plans for their regions and peo- such allegations by the North, except the Northple, without any one crying foul that they had East zone, which has cried out to that effect.” According to him, “I said this because the North is been marginalised. It is generally acknowledged that the era of number two, three, four and five in this government,” just as he noted that, “but the North has regional governments marked in relative terms, robust policy initiatives that brought complained that more attention is being paid to the South-South, by way of projects and major concompetitiveness in the economic agenda of the regions, and there were records to point at. tracts to the chagrin of other sections of the country, and not the North alone.” There were the groundnut pyramids in the North, palm oil plantations in the East and the Sani also spoke on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is being opposed by most legislators cocoa production in the West. The revenues from these sources were applied in the devel- from the North in the National Assembly, pointopment of various sectors in the regions and ing out that “the areas of PIB that we are not comfortable with are many; for example, the unbrithere were no cries of marginalisation. dled power being proposed to reside with the oil However, the concept of marginalisation began to engage the nation’s attention imme- minister, the total privatization of the oil industry diately after the military ascended the central and the provision for Petroleum Host Community Fund, which is put at 10 percent of profits from stage of politics, leading to the mismanageboth onshore and offshore production, to be paid ment of hard-earned oil resources, which monthly; and that the components of the offshore should have been applied to transform be removed and paid to the littoral states, as if litNigeria. Curiously, the North, which has joined in the toral states have environment of their own sepablame-game of marginalisation, had produced rate from those of oil producing communities.” He said: “We believe this provision can only more of the military officers who ruled the increase the already wide disparity between country from 1966 until 1999, and those are the regimes that were said to be responsible incomes among states, which is not very healthy for the collapse of the nation’s economy and for the unity and harmony of the nation. This is against the backdrop of agitations by non-oil prothe disruption of development plans. The evolution of the Fourth Republic has con- ducing states that abolition of on shore and off shore dichotomy be revisited in order to reduce tinued to witnessed shouts and fits from the wide disparity between incomes. It is not northern leaders who accuse the Federal Government of using policy of deliberate mar- about the North alone.” The Arewa chieftain however noted; “there are ginalisation to deny the North of access to power, thus exacerbating conditions of pover- agitations by oil producing communities that their 13 percent derivation be paid to them directty, stunted educational development, poor ly because the said money was being used by the economies and general insecurity in. littoral state governments to construct airports, One of the vocal elders of the North, Dr. flyovers and five star hotels in state capitals at the Junaid Mohammed is the arrowhead of a school of thought that is hell-bent on the posi- expense of the development of the host communition that the Jonathan administration has not ties.” benefitted the North. But liberals in the North Sani insists: “The North is not opposed to derivation with a proviso that it is to reward efforts or see the position of Mohammed as being too critical, believing that the present plight of the compensate for environmental degradation. zone was not created by President Jonathan, Offshore exploration and exploitation of oil does rather it an accumulation of bad leadership in not fall into these criteria, and so should not be the North, which had produced selfish leaders calculated into derivation.”

THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

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YAKASAI: Obasanjo Laid Foundation For North’s Marginalisation From Adamu Abuh, Abuja AS far as elder statesman, Malam Tanko Yakasai is concerned, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo laid the foundation for the hard times the people of the northern part of the country are going through today. Speaking to the Guardian, he stated that the introduction of several policies, including the banking reforms that were skewed to favour Nigerians of southern extraction systematically took away economic activities from northerners. According to him: “Undoubtedly, there is the marginalisation of the North and it started a long time ago. I say this in terms of the quantum of northerners that are officials in the public service at the federal government level and at the level of parastatals. If you go to the federal character commission, if they can give you the ratio, you would be able to see the proportion of the population of northerners in the public service. “If you come to the formation of the mega banks, you would find that all the banks, with the exception of one of them that the North has been totally marginalised and even in that one which is the Unity Bank, the northern stake in it are very limited. The southern stakes in unity bank is greater than the northern stake. The way we should understand this sort of marginalisation is that all the money deposited in Nigerian banks – whether at the 774 local councils, the money deposited in the banks by the 36 states and Abuja, the money deposited in all the banks by business organisations and individuals are all kept in Lagos and therefore the totality of our Nigerian deposits is kept in the South. “In that regard, the North is almost totally side-lined. This is because why you don’t own the capital of the banks, you also don’t own those who own the capital and the employees of these banks and what this means therefore, is that, they are the ones to dictate credit facilities granted by the banks. If you go and analyse credit facilities

“I was told recently that the six Niger Delta oil producing states – I prefer to call them oil-bearing states because in my opinion, there is no oil producing state in Nigeria. We only have oil-bearing states because none of them produced the oil; everybody was born to find the oil put there by almighty God. The oil didn’t come as a result of the effort of anybody and so nobody should have an exclusive claim to the oil. “If you work out the figures from the 13 per cent derivation, you add the budget for the Niger Delta amnesty and you add the budget for the Niger Delta ministry and you add the budget for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), if you add all these figures, you would find that the amount of money that goes to the six states in the South-south is more than the total amount of money that comes to the entire 19 northern states plus Abuja. We can check the figures and I stand to be corrected and all these happened during the Obasanjo era.” Continuing, Yakasai said the situation has been compounded with the absence of Obasanjo Yakassa patronage going to northerners since the in Nigerian banks to individuals, state govern- the federal government and where the North demise of late president Umaru Musa YarÁdua. hardly gets up to 10 per cent, you don’t need ments, business communities, you find that He noted: “Looking at it politically, we don’t the percentage given to the North is not up to anybody to tell you that the North is totally have the presidency. Our constitution vested marginalised. There are other areas but I am 15 per cent and therefore in that regard, the the entire power in the country on the presijust citing this as example. North is totally marginalised. “We are talking of the current situation. This dency and therefore it goes without saying “Now if you go to the major economic activithat going by the Nigerian attitude, the peoproblem was created largely after the emerties in Nigeria, according to the public progence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the pres- ple who enjoy patronage in terms of governcurement Act, no company can qualify to bid ment appointment and contracts are largely ident of this country. The situation was not for any contract, either supplies or construcnon-northerners.” that bad before Obasanjo became president. tion at the federal government level except if Yakasai said there is little northerners in You cannot blame the previous leaders of the such a company is capable of boasting of N5 billion turnover. This is apart from the require- country because they tried as much as possi- the National Assembly can do to reverse the ble to be fair to all. They did not show selfish- situation since quite a number of the issues ment of qualified personnel, equipment, like behind the marginalisation of the North are ness in terms of showing preference to the bulldozers and the rest of them and also the North as against the rest of the country. They constitutional matters that require twocapacity to obtain credit from the banks. third of majority support of legislators. “To the best of the information available to me, tried to be fair in sharing the patronage. On the way forward, he said: “People should the companies from the North that can qualify “It was the North that voted Obasanjo into think about it; I don’t have the answers to be awarded contract by the federal govern- power but he did not carry along the North when he was in power. Obasanjo created the because I am not God. All I have done is to ment are not up to 10 per cent of the entire highlight the imbalance in the country so mega banks that created the enabling envicompanies awarded contracts by the federal that people should begin to appreciate them government in Nigeria. In that regard also, the ronment for the marginalisation of the to see how we can overcome the problems North is totally marginalised because the main North. He knew that northerners had no sooner or later.” economic activities in the country come from money to pay N25 billion to float a bank.”

Jonathan Is Fair To The North –– AFOLAYAN appointees in one area. But there are some that have to do with overt career progression system. If the latter is breached then HE Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara you can be talking of a just shout of marginalisation.” He added, “in Kwara we are not regretting voting for the State, Yemi Afolayan has described the government of President. Our tested women and able men are occupying politiPresident Goodluck Jonathan as fair to the people of the state and by extension, the people of North Central geo political zone, cal and career positions under this administration and they are making us proud. under which Kwara falls. “Look at the Minister of Sports (Bolaji Abdullahi). He inherited a Afolayan, speaking with The Guardian said people of the state crisis-riddled ministry, but he reconciled all the warring facwould be stigmatised for being ungrateful to Jonathan if they should join those accusing the President of marginalising them. tions. We all saw the result of a rancour free ministry when Nigeria recently won the most prestigious trophy in African footAccording to him, “in Kwara State, we are very grateful to ball. If we therefore want to cry out, we can say that since we are Jonathan for giving to us our own fair share. What else should doing well, Mr. president should give us more responsibilities.” we have expected from him that he has not done? Even where Afolayan listed two other citizens of the state who are at present there are such things, we will not go on air to make it known to him. He runs an open door policy, we will simply go to him and in Jonathan’s administration, just as he reminisced on others who had in the recent past held political offices. table such before him.” He noted, “the nation’s Ambassador to Holland, Nimota Akanbi According to him, “there are posts that are strictly given out at is from Kwara. The incumbent chairman of the Federal discretion. If he likes, he can so decide to concentrate his Character Commission, Professor Oba AbdulRaheem is also from

From Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin

this state. They are simply doing well. “Even when one considers the role played by our political leader in Kwara (Dr Bukola Saraki) while serving as the chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum, we can say that he brought life into the forum. Again, when Abubakar Baraje was the acting national Chairman of the PDP, he did very well.” Speaking on some of the present political offices held by people from North Central geo-political zone, he said: “we have the offices of the Senate President, the Information Ministry, in fact, all the states forming the geo-political zone have their respective ministers. So I can say that we are not marginalised.” On whether the emergence of the APC was a direct response to marginalisation in Nigerian politics, the PDP leader said the new party was not “in existence in any North-central state, so you can see that we are all PDP fanatical supporters.” He added, “North-central is the heart beat of Nigerian politics, so APC can’t be a threat to us here. It will surely crumble if it tries to raise its ugly head here. You see, those fighting for positions among the partners will kill the party.”

Shuluwa, Waku Slam Jonathan, Vow To Vote Him Out in 2015 ITIZENS of Benue State have accused Mr. C President of forgetting easily the support he got from the zone during his election in 2011. Elder statesman chief Abu King Shuluwa in his lamentation said the current administration only favours the Ijaw and people of the South-South; noting that all other people have been marginalsied. Shuluwa maintained that the northerners have been abandoned as they wake up on daily bases to see denial of infrastructures, appointment into choice positions in government; adding that key sectors in the economy in the north like education, Industry, health etc are being deserted, while the people are left to wallow into abject poverty. He said; “Jonathan, I’m sure is not the kind of president Nigerians need now. He is a minori-

ty, but has forgotten his route too soon; he is not working for the minority outside his people- the Ijaw and the South-South. To him, anybody from the minority North is not worth giving any choice position in government as you can see in his appointment in the key areas of Petroleum, Finance and Defence.” Shuluwa, who is also the founder of PDP in Benue said the desperate desire of President Jonathan to wangle himself into the 2015 presidential race and his administration’s marginalisation posture would cost him a price of rejection for anther candidate that would change the fortune of the North and all Nigerians, irrespective of where the come from. The party chieftain maintained that rather than contest the 2015 election, Jonathan

should resist the temptation so as to save the party (PDP) from a revolution that would lead it into final collapse; even as he denounced insinuations that the current security challenge in the North is not occasioned by marginalisation but poverty among the people. Shuluwa described the recent granting of pardon by Jonathan to his former boss, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha as a high point of marginalisation and questioned while people like Major Gideon Orkaa, Al-Mustafa etc were not included on the list. Also irked is erstwhile Senator and an elder statesman in Benue, chief Joseph Kennedy Waku, who stated without mincing words that even as Mr. President has the right to appoint any body to serve in his cabinet, such right should not be misapplied, but

must be in tune with the political system and practice. Waku expressed disgust over the unfair distribution of the nation’s resources, particularly to the North. “I wonder, every body is now complaining of President Jonathan’s leadership posture; but for me ever before, I know he would not make a competent president; and he has no agenda for the people; he is overwhelmed by the office. “How can he be President of Nigeria and only favours a particular tribe or people of a particular village; then, he should better be a traditional ruler, wearing a traditional toga rather than being a president. What he is doing makes him more of an Ijaw chief, rather than the President of Nigeria.”

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COVER MUSA: States Are Hiding Behind Marginalisation To Promote Laziness Balarabe Musa, former governor of old Kaduna State and opposition leader thinks it not correct to say the president marginalises any section in a presidential system. He told Northern Bureau Chief, SAXONE AKHAINE that based on the Nigerian Constitution; it is difficult to marginalise any section. How real is the allegation of marginalisation of the North by the Jonathan government? ELL, as far as I am concerned I am not aware of any marginalisation of the North as such, and if there is marginalisation of the North, those northerners in the Federal Executive Council should know. They should come out and say it, because under the Constitution of Nigeria Jonathan alone cannot marginalise any section of the country. Particularly, because of the federal character commission which is now a legal institution. There are those who say government has not done enough to improve the economic fortune of the region. No. The issue is that he has not done anything throughout Nigeria. If there is any disadvantage of any section, it is something that the state governments can deal with. For instance, let us take the issue of industrialization. If there is any marginalisation of any section of the country by the federal government, the state government is capable of taking care of that. For instance, take the industrial development of the first state in Nigeria, that is Lagos; it is only five years gap between Lagos and any other state. Any serious state can breach the gap in industrial development within five years. Take for example, Kano State, this is the most industrialized state in the North, as Lagos is to the South. The different levels of industrialization between Lagos and Kano is five a year difference. Within five years, a purposeful government of Kano State can breach the gap. After all, what is special in the industrial development of Lagos? The state doesn’t produce any industrial undertaking, which is competitive even in West Africa. Can you mention a single industry in Lagos, which cannot be established in Kano by the state government and the entrepreneurs within five years? I mean this issue of marginalization is being taken too far. Actually, people are now using this concept of marginalization to promote laziness. The point is this; the PDP states in the North are indifferent to the development of their states, just as the federal government is indifferent to the development of the whole country. So, I think we can have temporarily significant marginalization, and if this is proved, then changes should be sought out immediately. For stance, if there is any evidence of marginalization in the recruitment into the civil service or promotion in the public service, or leadership of a public service parastatal, the evidence should be made public. I think this general claim of marginalization is outdated and we should have outgrown this by now. There was a time the northern governors cried out against the revenue sharing formula from the federation account, saying that it was to their disadvantage. They saw this as part of the marginalization we are talking about. To buttress this point, we need the facts and figures. We know that definitely the oil-producing areas get more federal allocation than the non-oil producing areas. But, so far

Musa as the distribution of the revenue is concerned there is no marginalization in the process. In any case, let there be a motion by our representatives in the National Assembly who approved the federal allocation through the Constitution, which they can amend at any time. So, at least, let us go specifically to issues that are real and that can be identified immediately, so that action can be taken. For instance, if there is a recruitment exercise and more people are recruited in one area than the other, then we can point this out and it must be redressed. What will you say about the backwardness of the north in education; is it self-inflicted or a process of marginalization? No, no, no. It is a direct result of the socio-economic system controlling all development in the country. There is one area where it is quite obvious, but I think you can’t call that marginalization, it is the problem of the system. For instance, there is a 20-year gap in education development between the North and South, which means the level of educational development in the Southern part of the country is 40 years ahead of the level of educational development in the North. Which means even if there is an act of God to stagnate education development in the South, it will take the North 40 years of purposeful action

to bridge the gap. You know that this is obvious; nothing can stop the South from developing educationally. But, unless something is done fundamentally, this problem will continue and the North will stand in the way of peace, and even development in the country. This is because the Northern people cannot agree to bring such problem of backwardness to an end themselves in the North, and to also participate in the affairs of bringing development to Nigeria equally. And the only solution is to bring about free and compulsory primary and secondary education throughout the country and free post-secondary education throughout the country, to be financed directly by the federal government, because the situation now is beyond the capacity of the states to bridge. As a solution to the problem, free and compulsory education should be established. And because of the peculiar situation in the North, what should be done is to blend Islamic and Western education together, as it was during our time in the 40s. This was abandoned and you cannot blame the federal government or any person for this. Rather, you should blame the Northern leadership, because by 1960s, the gap between the North and South in education development was a gap of 10 years only, which should have been systematically bridged, even by 1990. It was because of the selfishness of Northern leadership who looked for oil blocs, they looked for juicy contracts, appointments, commissioned agents and so on, and neglected the education development of the North, which is the root of all problems in the region. This is simply because of their selfish thinking. I think I should say this, whatever you may think about former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whatever the Northerners would say about him; you know that I am one of those who castigated him, but we have to accept the fact that Obasanjo tried in his own way to bridge the gap in education development between the North and South, through his policy on education when he was a military president and when he was a civilian president. But, instead of the North to concretize this policy, the Northern leadership did not bother; rather, they were engaged with their own self-interests. Do you think the present insurgency in the North by Boko Haram could be traced to the marginalization theory some people are talking about? I don’t think Boko Haram has really made this an issue. But, in any case, even if they make it an issue, Boko Haram has nothing to do with marginalization. Even if the sect is a legitimate and credible organization, up till now it has not been found to be a truly Islamic movement. But, it is more likely that it is an agent provocateur, established by others for political reasons; and the others of course include, the federal government. It may have established Boko Haram just for the purpose of diverting attention from its bankruptcy or diverting attention from its inability to solve the security problems, or as a plan to deal with its own political opponents. It is quite clear that Boko Haram is organised and it is a real threat and, it couldn’t have just been established by merely aggrieved people. I think it is more than that. And the statement of the President makes it quite clear to those who are informed and patriotic, that Boko Haram is a set up; that is why Federal Government is still neglecting it.

Kwara Is Favoured But There Is Discrimination Here At Home – OLOLA-KASUM Alhaji Abdulkareem Olola-Kasum, former governorship candidate in Kwara State on the platform of the defunct People’s Redemption Party, (PRP) is a product of the Kwame Nkruma political school. In a chat with The Guardian in Ilorin, he told BIODUN FAGBEMI that the internal marginalisation against the Afonja is worse than that in the federation. Is Kwara State margnalised by the Jonathan administration? ET me start by a way of looking at what discrimination is all about. It is a practice of treating one person or group differently from another in an unfair way because of sex, tribe, religion or race. In Kwara State, people from outside are often carried away by the mantra of it being a state of harmony. It is like a beautiful sepulcher full of rotten bones but with colourful walls of marbles. We know how it is and we need to put it in its rightful perspective. We are suffering from internal marginalisation in Kwara; our people, the Afonja Descendants have been reduced to Second Class Citizens in this state. It is sad, because by all standards we are the most populous in Kwara. In fact, there is hardly anywhere you get to today in our state that you will not find our people. But as it is, we are a people reduced to puppets and empty vessels. When appointment is to be made at the national level, our people are not considered. You seem to be too sectional with your approach to this topic; may we know the reasons for this attitude? Our forebear Afonja started Ilorin, tell me where an Afonja man is today, whether at the state or federal level? The fact is that people outside are being fed with lies. To remove discrimination, we must first identify the number of tribes that make up Kwara State and see those who often plant themselves in power. You have the Igbominas with a com-

Olola-kasim mon history; you have the Nupes also with a common history. Again, you have the Ilorins, but with different histories. So to pick an Ilorin man for any federal appointment, this factor must be taken into the consideration if we must be seen as fair and equitable. Could the alleged marginalisation you are talking about be a product of dearth of qualified personnel for appointment? Please get me right; on the surface nobody will see Kwara of today as being marginalised. If you look at some of the appointments truly, you will hastily conclude that Kwara has its own fair share already. The present Chief of Defence Staff is a Kwaran. (Admiral Ola Sa’ad). A Kwaran is also the Minister of Sports; (Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi); a Kwaran at pres-

ent is the nation’s Ambassador to Holland, (Nimota Akanbi). Even a Kwaran, professor Oba Shuaib Abdulraheem is at present chairman of Federal Character Commission (FCC). Besides, don’t forget that Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, a Kwaran once occupied the office of the Acting national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). With all these and many others I think Kwara as a state has been favoured. But the point I am making is that only a section of the people of Kwara are in such positions. Some people are being marginalised they are afraid of the rise of another within the state. We have tested hands in the Afonja’s dynasty. I will cite only one instance; see the case of the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami. Salami, an Afonja descendant is one of the best brains in the nation’s judiciary. He was booted out of office and all efforts to put him back to power so far have been futile. But the recent past history of Kwara shows that late Mohammed Lawal an Afonja man was once a Governor. How do you juxtapose this with your allegation of internal marginalisation of the Afonjas? Lawal was a broad-minded man. He spread all the political appointments across the state during his tenure as governor. Everybody got his/her own fair share. But moments after his regime and till date, the story has changed. A group to the exclusion of others dominates appointment to federal positions for Kwaran. The statistics are there for anybody to controvert; the cabals in Kwara State have hijacked the Biblical manna under the Jonathan’s administration. To remove this toga of marginalization, Jonathan must look the way of the Afonjas in Ilorin whenever there is a need to make other appointments. The Yorubas are not being

considered in the scheme of appointments in Kwara; that is our own version of marginalisation in Kwara state. Kwara has a fair share in the citing of some of federal parastatals. You have the Federal University, Teaching Hospitals, Agric institutes, labour Institute and so on. Who occupy the headships of these institutions? Again, we will still go back to my position on marginalisation in Kwara. While you could say that Kwarans dominate the headships of most of these institutions or parastatals, from where are they in Kwara? If they are Ilorins, which area in Ilorin are they from? The fact that a portion of a settlement is flowing with milk and honey does not eradicate hunger from the entire land. This statement suits us most in kwara. At Unilorin for instance, a federally owned university, how many Afonjas are there either as senior or junior staff? You must first be seen as belonging to a particular group in Ilorin before you are offered employment. But the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin is not a Kwaran; so how could your allegation hold water? I challenge anyone in this respect to publicly present the employment list at the University for us to see. You will see how marginalised our people have been. We need to face the reality on ground to avert any major disaster in future. Look at the issue of the core North, when the region was producing Heads of State and Presidents for the nation; they never planned for the future of its youth. I could remember the different forms of riot and violence being sponsored against people not of their ethnic group. Innocent people were killed, maimed and all manner of atrocity committed in the name of religion. The reactions were usually in one way: the Almajeris were behind it.

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THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, March 31, 2013

COVER

SHILGBA: Political Class Marginalises All Of Us Professor Leonard Karshima Shilgba is a renowned Professor of Mathematics at American University of Nigeria (AUN) Yola and social critics. He spoke to EMMANUEL ANDE on allegations that the North is marginalised. Do you agree that the North is marginalised? HANk you for giving me the opportunity to speak my mind on these recurrent allegations. First of all, what do you mean by marginalisation? When you have a notebook, there is a red vertical line from the top of the book down the bottom. Now the small column on the left is what we called Marge. That means there is no enough space to write in. So when you use the word marginalisation, what you mean is the people are being restricted, the people are not allowed to express their energy, to express their skills, to express their potentials the way they should do. So that means certain advantages are not coming to them, certain benefits are not coming to them. That is marginalisation. Now if some northerners are making allegations

about the North being marginalised, they should tell us how and when. Who are the people making such allegations? Some of those people had political capital before Goodluck Jonathan came; there are some advantages that accrued to them whether financially or politically. They have certain influence, which now are not there or have been reduced, so they can make the claim that they are marginalised, but for them to hide behind the whole North and claim that the Shilgba North is marginalised is completely a false claim, fabricated to fight a private battle. If they are been persecuted, they said the whole North is persecuted, I feel that is wrong. Now let’s look at political appointments. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is from the North, the Senate President is from the North, the CBN governor is from the North, the

Chief Security Adviser to the President is from the North, the controller of Customs is from the North, the data of northerners in top government offices is very heavy. So I think that those traditional, few politicians in the North want the position of the president to be given to them. And when they did not get that position, they now say the North is marginalised. It does not bother them that people in the North ran behind other regions in terms of GDP, in terms of human development indices such as infant mortality, literacy, life expectancy and the rest, they don’t care because they have got the position of the president. So when they get there the North is no longer marginalized, even though those human indices don’t improve. The north has always been marginalised, so long as basic social amenities such as

potable water, good health services, good roads, good educational facilities are not available to ordinary people; I’m referring to those working on the streets, without jobs. As long as those basic amenities and opportunities are not there whether a northerner is a president or not is of no use, the North remains marginalised. So also, people in the South, who don’t have access to those social amenities can also claim to be marginalised. So what I will say is that all the people – North, West, South and East are all marginalised. Only a few people in Abuja and in the headquarters of the states and local governments who control the resource of the people are not been marginalized. When you remove those few who are less than five percent in a nation of 170 Million people, the rest of us are marginalised and we are the ones helping our selves in our various communities. Government doesn’t provide potable water, so we sink our boreholes and provide water to those that cannot afford boreholes; we buy our generators because government cannot provide us with public electricity, we help to build our schools because government in this country has collapsed.

We are Working To Overcome Our Present Challenges –Tijjani Comrade Isa Tijjani (mni), former national vice president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and former national deputy president of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), engaged ABBA ANWAR on issues of marginalisation of the North.

coming together to challenge President Jonathan? The challenge is not going to be against President Jonathan as a person. No, the challenge is going to be of organisations of democracy. We are talking of democracy, freedom of choice, freedom of association, freedom of coming together to make sure that you champion your yearnings and aspirations. If you mention Jonathan as a person I think you are narrowing the scope of the whole thing. People are going to make sure that the scope is widened. There are hangers-on in the North, who think that the only way they can survive is to continue to beg whatever, either from the Some people in the North say the zone is marginalised; do you government or whoever is in power. They can even roll on the agree? ELL in all honesty, what I will say is that, the issue of margin- ground and tell all the sweet things that you can think of for the sake of getting attention. alisation is even an under statement. What we are facing People doing this that are within us must be weeded out. today in the northern part is outright hatred. And of course just Is it true you and the like minds are trying to put heads togethlike you know, there are attempts to bring down the North to its knees. So that we can be subdued, that when President Jonathan er to chart a new course for the region? The security challenges are getting very fearsome. What I mean wants to go for second term we will not be in the position to counter what he wants to be. But I think that is going to be a capi- by fearsome is that initially, this thing was happening in Borno and Yobe, gradually it is spreading to other parts of the north. It tal mistake, an outright failure in unmistakable terms. is our understanding that these troubles may not be limited We have people who have had grudges over time. And today only to Boko Haram. There are things that are happening and they are manifesting it in clear terms. When the time comes, we the northerners will come out and tell Mr. President, in spite of all unseen hands are compounding the already aggravated trouble the troubles that we are facing, that we are up to the task and we of insecurity. Now kano is the centre of commerce, if kano is brought down have the right to decide who should be what at what time and at its knees commercially, of course the ramifications and after what point. We cannot in any way be intimidated. effects of this is going to be widespread. Do you have some specific scenarios of marginalisation to talk Before now, not less than 10 vehicles come from each of the 36 about? states to kano for commercial purposes. Today this number is The North is hated, that is the truth. Go back to the Federal dwindling. The convergence of people in kano for commercial Executive Council, the weekly meeting they do and find out the activities is dwindling. kind of contracts they announce. Compare what goes to the South-south and the northern parts of the country. So if the inten- We don’t want anything that will threaten that configuration. When people say Igbos are being targeted in the northern parts, tion is to cripple us. Sorry we are going to wake up, we are going in kano in particular, I laugh. I say these are people that don’t to rise up and we are going to do everything possible and make know anything. There are Igbo people who grew up in kano. We sure that our region is back to normal, peaceful state. were born together and grew up together. So despite the hatred as you put it, how do you see the North

Tijani We see the insecurity as a challenge for us to come out and see what kind of contribution are we going to give in order to reverse the situation. If it can be as bad as attacking the Emir of kano, you know something is wrong. We are going to sit with people that are concerned about the peace in kano and the North in general, to see how we can chart a new course. Some northerners are against the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Having worked in the oil sector do you have a different understanding of the issues? In the first place, I have problem with the bill, because I don’t know which is the actual version before the National Assembly. It is multi-faceted, which one is which? But coming to what you have said, people are playing with the unity of this country. Governments will come and go Nigerians would remain. If you say for example that I come from kano or Borno where I don’t have access to the sea, that I am going to pay petrol price higher than the man in Lagos or Ogun because you had destroyed the refineries, I think you are not only playing with my intelligence, you are challenging my very existence.

TARABA: Nothing To Show For Being PDP From Charles Akpeji, Jalingo N Taraba State, citizens lament the absence of the federal government in all sectors. The deputy Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly, Daniel Ishaya Gani observed that despite being entirely a PDP state, there are no appointments and physical structures, to show for it. “With the way and manner our people came out en mass to vote, not only for President Jonathan but for all the past PDP Presidents, one thought that by now our state and the region should be smiling in terms of growth and appointments,” Gani said. Gani, who is also the chairman of the Information committee of the House made particular reference to the deplorable condition of the federal government roads in the state, wondering why the central government has not thought it wise to work on these roads. He said; “I join my weight with those that said the North has been marginalised by this administration because if you look at the key positions, they are zoned to the either South-south, Southwest or South-east. “Apart from appointments which we have not been given, there is nothing to show in the area of

infrastructural development. Take a look at all the federal government roads in our state and some parts of the North; they are nothing to write about” “Unlike in other parts of the country, where government has made both human and material resources available, the reverse is always the case in most parts of the North” “You will agree with me that most of our governors use their meager resource from the federation account to rehabilitate or construct most of the federal government roads and then go ahead to fight for the refund of the amounts” Corroborating Gani, the state chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) Hammidu Suleiman, said the North would have been catapulted to the height but for the refusal of President Jonathan to tread the paths of his predecessors. Suleiman, who is also the state chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), made known that key positions which include Finance, Aviation, Foreign Affairs, were given to “other parts of the country and none was given to us (north),” an action which he said amounted to the “marginalisation of not only our people but the northern region at large.”

Also commenting, the former chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) Taraba State, Alhaji Danjuma Munga, joined those who condemned the President for deliberately refusing to make the North happy. President Jonathan, according to him has “not been responsive to the plights of the North especially the threat posed by Boko Haram,” he said. Pointing to the era of late President Umaru Yar’Adua, when amnesty was granted to Niger Delta militants, in spite of the massive destruction they carried out, Munga wonders why Jonathan has not done same for members of the Boko Haram. “The President throughout the period the Boko Haram held the North, especially the North-east hostage, he never visited the areas. Even when he recently deemed it fit to visit, he made no promise to the people concerning amnesty, but said they (Boko Haram) are faceless.” On his own part, the Gombe State chairman of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Barrister Abdu Baba sees no reason why the security situation in North is not addressed if the present administration means well for the

region. Baba is miffed at the lukewarm attitude towards the Boko Haram, which he claims is a sign of how marginalised the North is. But on the contrary, northerners, as observed by the former CPC governorship candidate in Taraba State, chief Ezekiel Afunkoyon “are to blame for their plight and not President Jonathan.” Afunkoyon, said, “I hold a contrary view to that because it is the North that is oppressing the North. To be fair to Mr. President, he is doing his best.” He expressed sadness that northerners, if given appointments, turn around to attend to only their immediate families, rather than the entire people. Minorities in the North, he observed often suffer under the leadership of northerners, especially those placed in position of authority. For the North to attain the much-needed height, he suggested as a matter of urgency that they thread the path of the late Sardauna, whom according to him carried everybody along irrespective of religion and tribe. He beckoned on those crucifying President Jonathan for the woes of the North to desist and go back home to mend their leaking thatches, stressing, “it is the North that is oppressing the North and not Mr. President.

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MADAKI: Nyako Is Cause Of Problems In Adamawa PDP Chief Joel Madaki, Adamawa State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose position is recognised by the national secretariat of the party, spoke Northern Bureau Chief, SAXONE AKHAINE, on the internal squabbles in state branch.

• APC Will Have No Chance Here In 2015

HAT is infighting between Governor MurW tala Nyako and PDP officials all about? The problem is actually very simple; it is about the Nigerian Constitution and the PDP constitution. Nigerians care very much about Federal Character and therefore, this is enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And there can never be any approval of a political party if its constitution is against that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Even in our constitution, we also talk about Federal Character. Since I left the PDP, Alhaji Mijinyawa Kugama was my deputy chairman. He was out of the scheme because election was fast approaching; that’s 2006 and there couldn’t have been any proper election in the state. But I was given a mandated letter by the then National Secretary of the PDP, Ojo Maduekwe, and endorsed by the then National Chairman, that a new chairman should be elected from the zone, which I, Chief Joel, led. But when I came, our elders observed that elections were very near; so, they gave Kugama an acting position: that he should act pending the conduct of proper election. But fortunately or unfortunately — I said fortunately for him because they have gotten the governor from his place (town); not only that, the governor came from his zone; the governor is also from the same local government, and to crown it all, they are from the same ward. You can see how this is in breach of the constitutional provisions that deals with Federal Character. The governor should have ordered zoning and then, the acting chairman should have remained in that capacity, and later revert to his deputy position he was holding. And then the chairmanship should have come to my zone or any other zone because we have three zones. But the governor insisted on Kugama for all these years. Since 2006 that I left that position till date, there was no proper election to elect the chairman. What is proper election? It is in ensuring that some important posts, like the position of the governor and the state chairman of the party — those people should not come from the same ward. Now, those are the problems. Many people are saying that Bamanga Tukur is fighting Nyako. He is not fighting Nyako. Even before Tukur became the national chairman of PDP, he was leading us in trying to see that the present position of having the governor and chairman of the party in the state from the same ward was not tolerated. But Governor Nyako still insisted that Kugama should be the chairman of the party in the state. He invited many governors into this issue. But the governors felt that the national chairman of the PDP is just fighting the personality of Mr. Governor in the state. This perception is not correct, and it is not and can never be correct. The party national chairman wants things done in the right way. And before he became the national chair, INEC, in its wisdom, tried to see that since it is the monitoring body, it

Tukur hinted the national secretariat of our party that things were not going the right way in Adamawa State. When Bamanga Tukur assumed office as the national chairman, he observed the situations, and he was also being careful of what people would be saying he was fighting the other person. They sat down at the national secretariat and took a simple decision by saying, ‘Mr. Governor, change only Kugama.’ Not because they hated Kugama, but just because they don’t want the two positions (governor and state party chairman) to come from the same place. They wrote a letter, and the governor ignored the letter. They wrote another letter on the same subject to the zonal chairman of the party, Mallam Girigiri, in Bauchi, to ensure

that Kugama was changed and a person from another zone in Adamawa State replaced him. But Girigiri overlooked the letter and that cost him his position as the zonal chairman later. If democracy is all about rules, then the rules must be followed. And following this disobedience, instead of Kugama to advise the governor, ‘sir, since we are from the same ward and local government, you can give the position of the party chairman to any other person and allow it go so that we don’t enter into this local squabbles,’ he continued to stay there and believed it would be of special interest to the governor. That cannot be; we are all politicians. Everybody wants to be part of government. Therefore, that position must be decentralised. This

is what brought all the problems. That was why the party executives were dissolved? The disobedience of the party brought the dissolution of the executives in Adamawa State, which brought about the appointment of Ambassador Damagu and his team to come and run the affairs of PDP in the state. And he was given the specific mandate to come and do it. The national secretariat of our party told him, ‘go there and harmonise all the various registers of PDP, plan it and go into congresses.’ And he came, he worked with the people and the congresses were organised very well. You know that the man is a diplomat. He

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PHANUEL: The Governor Is Closer To The People Mr. Elisha Phanuel, factional State Secretary of the PDP in Adamawa State endorsed by Governor Murtala Nyako, fielded questions Northern Bureau Chief, SAXONE AKHAINE, on the party crises in state.

was another re-run on technical ground, and he won that one as well. But from the beginning, you had nine gubernatorial aspirants, who could not agree, and at the end of the day, Nyako was brought in as a consensus candidate in order to bring peace and sanity into the party. HAT is the genesis of the intra-party prob- Based on the efforts of the former President, lems in Adamawa State? Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; also Colonel AhParty problems, yes. But I always say this: madu Ali (rtd), the then national chairman of that if you do not have a credible opposition, the party and with the support of elder statesinadvertently, there must be intra-party crimen, like Professor Jubril Aminu; they did a sis. If you have a formidable opposition, the good job. And at the end of the day, Nyako PDP in the state would have been battling to emerged as a candidate and won the election see what it could do in order to thwart the ef- in the state. forts of the opposition. However, in between, you know as the saying But virtually everybody is clamouring to goes, in politics, you don’t have permanent come back to the PDP and there are divergent friends or enemies but permanent interest. interests within the PDP itself and therefore, Some people felt may be their interests is not you have to get intra-party issues. to be in support. And not only that! As you went, beginning But I would say that this is the best adminisfrom 2006 when the revalidation exercise tration I can ever think of. This is because I took place, all was well up to the time Admihave been in Yola since 1964. I have been part ral Murtala Nyako was made the gubernato- of the validation exercise since 2006 up to rial candidate, and he won the election. There

date. The congresses conducted on the 25 of February 2008 went on very well; there was no problem. But as I said, some people felt what they were expecting was not what happened. I am not praise-singing; Governor Nyako is closer to the people, and he runs a government of the people. He is only interested in what the masses can gain. He has engaged himself in the improvement of rural road network, and the township roads in Yola, and youth empowerment. In the field of education, we won the third place in the UBE business; we were given prizes. Our primary schools have improved and we are no longer reading under trees. There is improvement in the SSCE examinations, from about two per cent to the present 48 per cent. In the health sector, you will see the improvement in the German hospital. You can be scanned when you are here in Yola and it is being observed in Germany. The most impor- Phanuel tant is that people don’t seem to look at that. Before the coming of Nyako, we had a situa-

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‘Nyako Is Cause Of Problems’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 59 made sure that everything was approved from the national secretariat of the PDP. He was given approval to conduct ward congresses on the 27 of December, last year. He was also given approval to conduct local government congresses, and state congresses on the January 3 and 8, 2013, respectively. So, these are the things that happening; but people afar may think they to fight the governor for one thing or the other. No, it is never like that. It is all about effort of the party trying to correct what had been wrong that brought about all the issues in the state. HE governor has been in the midst of the political crises in TI want the state; how will you rate his performance so far in office? to tell you that what Governor Nyako has done or is doing is against the interest of the PDP. He is a PDP governor, but he is against the principles of PDP. If you have planned to do 20 things and you were able to do five, then you have tried. You would inform people that this is what you have done. If you should go to the manifesto of the PDP vis-à-vis the performance of the governor in the past five years; actually, in as much as I want to defend my party, I may not be able to defend it for so many reasons. If the opposition parties are talking loud on the performance, it is not the performance of Governor Nyako alone in the state; it is the overall performance of the PDP. And you cannot blame Governor Nyako alone on this issue; you blame the leaders of the party in the state. This is because the leadership of the party is not just there for the sake of being there; you draw the attention of the elected people to the programmes of your party. We have a manifesto, if there are not local promises. This is because, as we go about canvassing for votes, you also make some promises and those promises are part of the manifesto. But you go into government and you decide to turn you back on the manifesto, and the promises you made and you don’t even try to pick one or two things for execution, and you begin to do what you feel is right. Therefore, we now feel very sorry for ourselves, and our government. But we believe that the governor will turn a new leaf, with a view to making amends at any stage of his tenure. The past five years, if they have not been very fruitful, he can make amends for another one year and people will say, ‘yes, these people have realised their problem very late, and if he is given another

Nyako chance he may have performed better.’ But whereby he refuses totally and closes his eyes and says that he cannot make any amend, then there is a problem. Only God is perfect. We want our governor to think twice and remember that he made promises; have those promises been achieved? Are what the people saying about him wrong? If it is wrong, what then is the true position? We are here now as the true representatives of the party, we would guide him to do the right thing. Don’t you think that your party may play into the hands of the opposition during the 2015 general elections? I don’t think we will play into the hands of the opposition parties in 2015. It will not happen. There is no any Exco of the PDP in Adamawa apart from the one recognised by our national secretariat in Abuja. If I were the person recognised by Nyako, as against that approved by the national secretariat, I should have opted out because it’s the party that makes a gov-

Atiku ernor, and not the governor making the party. And he still plays a very important role in nominations, and those going into elections, depending if he performs his roles and activities as leader of the party well. If he is disobeying leaders of the party from above, how can he be a leader here in the state? Those are the questions he should answer. I have told members of the party executives here in the state and our supporters that the merger of opposition parties in forming APC, in order to fight PDP in the country, is a healthy situation for the people of Nigeria — a healthy situation because it will help the ruling party to tighten its belt. And if we had been going slowly in our action in providing the dividends of democracy to Nigerians, we should now be fast. But let me make it clear that here in Adamawa, the APC will have no chance in the political space in 2015; we are still going to win the elections hands down.

We Are Closer To The People — PHANUEL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 59 tion where contracts were awarded and abandoned, while mobilisation fees were paid. We now have a situation where the governor is using established contractors. In most cases, contracts are done and payments made later. The issue of kickbacks is no longer there. That, of course, is not what they had wanted. I always say this: Take the about 15,000 youths that have been taken out of the streets; each of these youths is given N10,000 per month, and that is about N150 million that is going into the nooks and crannies of the state through the farm centres that have been established. If that money had been given to those people shouting, and saying all is not well with Adamawa, certainly, there wouldn’t have been this cry. The genesis of this political crisis in the state can be divided into immediate and remote causes, which has its roots in the 2008-2010 nominations when we wanted to produce candidates for the chairmanship election. Once you lose, automatically you become aggrieved. So, those party primaries and delegate elections for the nomination of the gubernatorial candidates played a vital role in the present political crisis in Adamawa State. Secondly, there is this ethno-religious coloration in the whole issue such that whoever is excluded will become aggrieved. Besides, the recent conduct of local government elections in the state also played a vital role in the crisis; the emergence of candidates led to a lot of acrimony. But some argument is that the governor and the PDP factional chairman are from the same ward. How would you reconcile this? I disagree with that. You see, when the fallout from the party nomination, the winnertakes-all syndrome were exhausted by those people aggrieved, then the next thing they said was that the governor and the party chairman came from the same ward. What is the essence of having a party? The

PDP executives in Adamawa under Kugama won the first governorship election. The election was nullified on technical grounds; it won the re-run election. Let us forget the 2008 and come back to 2010 and 2011. We won the governorship election and we won it for the third time. Of the 25 members in the House of Assembly, we won outright 20. Of the eight members House of Reps, we won five. We won all the three senatorial seats in the state. If the executive function is to see that it manages the party, and it becomes victorious at the polls, we have already done that. The fact that they come from the same local government and the same ward, I don’t think that is material enough. Let us look at the provision of the constitution; it says the sharing of positions should reflect federal character. Now, we have three arms of government: the party, the executive, and the legislature. You find out the governor is from the South of the state, the deputy governor is from the North, the state chairman is from the South, the deputy chairman is from the North, and the secretary, I, is from the centre. And that is how all the 27 positions in the state executive were shared. Each local government has a representative in the state executive council (Exco). So, the federal character is maintained, and the sharing is also done. What I want people to understand is that Alhaji Kugama was the state chairman of the party well before Admiral Nyako was elected as the governor of the state. Certainly, the fact that you elect a governor from the same place with the chairman of the party doesn’t mean you have to remove the chairman in order to meet the zoning system, which, in fact, I don’t think is acceptable. You should understand that they were not occupying appointed positions; the people elected them. Let me make it clearer: Before the last election, which returned Alhaji Kugama as the chairman of the party, consultations were held. There was a caucus meeting on the 31st of August. In fact, key people were asked to deliberate because Admiral Nyako put it to the caucus. It was asked, could Kugama contest? He

asked that particular question. The governor, deputy governor, the Speaker, Hassan Adamu, Senator Girei, Senator Barata, Senator Bello Tukur; elders like Umaru Aliyu, Buba Yerima and General Zidon — about 14 of them deliberated on this issue. And they came back and said that since it was under Alhaji Kugama that there was no acrimony in the party and they had won elections during his tenure, nothing should preclude him from presenting himself for election. That was how the decision was taken, and I took the minutes of that meeting. Despite that, when the state electoral panel came from Abuja, the chairman insisted that in spite of the consensus, the provision of the constitution is that the person has to be elected. And so, we went for election and Kugama was elected. So, if he had been elected, I think the power of the electorate is more than a written document. I agree that the constitution is a guide, but everything is fairly represented. Despite what you have said, why is it that the National Secretariat of the PDP decided to recognise Chief Joel Madaki’s executive council of the party in the state instead of the your Exco? I would not like to agree with that particular statement. I think people in high authority in the party are just deliberately misinforming people. Even the National Chairman of the party is fully aware that it is completely wrong. And I repeat it, without any apology at all, to say that Chief Joel Madaki is the recognised chairman of the party in the state, unless, of course, if people don’t go by election again. Our executive was elected and we started the congresses on the 3rd of March, when we had the ward congress; we had the local government congress on the 10th of March and the state congress on the 17th of March. The zonal congresses we had on the 21st of March and we ended up with the convention on the 24th of March, last year. Several meetings were also held at the national secretariat that endorsed the congresses that were held in Adamawa State. The

national convention also endorsed our congresses. But the problem, as I can say, is from the party primaries for the council elections. Well, they gave us the guidelines and the forms. The only error committed by the state chapter of the party — and in good faith, too — was in the submission of the names. Section 50, sub-section 1 of the PDP constitution, 2010, as amended, states that it is only the National Working Committee (NWC), which has the authority to formulate the guidelines, regulate elections and submit the names to INEC or any other authority in charge of elections. So, we wrote them and unfortunately, they were not prepared to respond. And if we failed at that material time to submit the names, it means PDP would be out of the polls. Thus, we took the step in good faith and submitted the names. And we did this in the overall best interest of the party. At the end of the day, I do believe that our apology was accepted. Following those developments and after due consultations, we had a 12-member national committee of the PDP; this particular body is in charge of the day-to-day running of the affairs of the party. If you go to section 29, sub-section 3 of PDP constitution, it states that the NWC is supposed to meet at least once every fortnight, and a meeting could also be convened at the instance of the chairman or two-thirds of the members. Now, we have 12-member committee here, we were dissolved on the 17 of October last year after due consultations. On the 8th of January 2013, 10 out of the 12-member NWC committee met and resolved to re-instate the Kugama-led executive of the party. And if you go by that constitution, as I said, they have the right to come under that particular meeting. And if it were not legal, the national chairman, Tukur, wouldn’t have come out to say it was a betrayal. He said he was attending a function at the Villa when the meeting was convened. He said it was a betrayal of trust, but he didn’t say it was illegal. So, a decision taken by them is binding.

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‘League Diadem Remains Our Ultimate Goal’

Erinfolami

are here to win, so, we must work hard to keep our aspiration intact. Erinfolami, who is a former national team player, said that the women game needed competitions to put the players in good shape. He noted that playing more games would help them compete better at the continental level. “The female game can improve if we have a system that encourages the teams to play more games and invite teams from other countries for mini championship at least once in a year. This will enable us learn from them (the invited teams) and study their styles with a view of countering them when we meet at continental championship. He lamented that the new league format, which has seen the team divided into groups, meant that they would play fewer games and his team might not meet its major rival, First Bank Basketball Club until the stages of the playoffs in Lagos. “I must commend the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) for bringing in more teams to the league to make it competiATEEF Erinfolami’s team may have started slowly in the first But the new arrangement, which has the teams dividphase of the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League currently tive. into two groups will make us play less games than last going on in Abuja, he is, however, optimistic that his players will ed My team rise up to give First Deepwater its fourth consecutive title at the season. may not get to play First Bank until the play off, which is end of final phase in Lagos. not good. Erinfolami’s conviction is based on the fact that his team has “What makes the league exciting is the capacity to improve as the league progresses. However, that you get to play a team three or results have shown that the improvement may not come in times and you can conveAbuja, as his team recoded yet another low score victory (57-23) more niently beat your chest as true over AHIP Queens of Kano on Friday. champions when you win the The players had earlier responded to the coach’s criticism by league. This time it is not so mauling Coal City Queens 107-28 in their fourth game on and I don’t see how this will Wednesday before Thursday’s rest day. However, the low score the playing standard,” victory over AHIP has shown that the Oil and Gas girls were still improve he added. struggling to be at their best and still have a lot to do if they The coach said that the prepahope to win their fourth title in a row. ration his team had before the Despite the fluctuating form of his team, Erinfolami told The would come in Guardian that his players would peak at the right time. He said: championship when the going gets tough. “It “My team may not be as impressive as it use to be but that does handy was a long pre-season and we had to prenot mean that we are ready to relinquish our title. My players as hard as we could. We also played in a compeare a little bit slow off the block but we have done well to main- pare tition Cotonou to put ourselves in shape for the tain our 100 per cent record, which is very important so that we leagueinand I am sure we will reap the benefit as the can top our group and take that form to the final play off in competition progresses. Lagos.” “We are the defending champions and we hope to He said the team took the game against AHIP easy to avoid our title playing hard and approaching our injury as it prepares for the crunch tie against Sunshine Angel of retain games with tactical and Akure today. “We just decided to take things easy against AHIP. efficiency. We have beefed up the team We have been in blistering form over the past three seasons and technical with four new players with one of them coming what we are doing right now is to avoid any defeat. All the clubs

Having won three consecutive titles in the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League and currently toping Group A in the first phase this season, First Deepwater Basketball Club is poised to hit the top again. However, the team’s performance has not been convincing but Coach Lateef Erinfolami told ADEYINKA ADEDIPE that winning this year’s title is the team’s ultimate ambition.

Akashili

First Deepwater after last season’s victory

from ABC of Abidjan while we have a young player from Warri that I am sure will become big in the near future.” He also called on teams to get private sponsorship that would help them improve their financial status and help them motivate their players with financial incentives. He also commended Zenith Bank for bankrolling the league. “Zenith Bank has done well by sponsoring the league for many years now and that has really helped the players while the young ones coming through the ranks can also be sure they have professional clubs that they can develop themselves,” Erinfolami added. Nkechi Akashile also echoed his coach’s conviction and stated that winning the title again was dear to her. Akashili, who has won the Most Valuable player (MVP) award since 2010, said training hard would help them in their quest to deliver the title to the company’s management, First Deepwater Oil and Gas. She said: “We started our training programme in January and we are already putting most of what we learnt into practice here in Abuja. Our parent company, First Deepwater Oil and Gas takes our welfare seriously and this would definitely spur us to victory. We also won a tournament in Cotonou as part of our build up to the season and we can only hope for the best.” Akashili stated that she had set no personal target for herself but she would be happy to win the title again. First Deepwater Basketball Club came into existence in 2008 after buying over the slot of defunct Dodan Amazon and registered for the league in 2009. Though parading quality players, the team finished second in its maiden season behind First Bank Basketball club. It, however, gave an indication of what to expect in the coming seasons with its good display on the court. Success was not long in coming as First Deepwater won its first of three titles in 2010. It repeated the feat in 2011 and last year, wrestling the title from First Bank who have been the champions for over nine years. It also made its entry into the continental scene in 2009 winning the FIBA Africa Zone 3 and came 7th in the finals of Africa Champions Cup for Women in Cotonou, Benin Republic. The management of the team headed by Engr Babatunde Babalola warmed its way into the hearts of FIBA Africa officials by hosting the 2011 Africa Champions Cup becoming the first Nigeria women clubside to do so and finished 3rd. Last year September, the team came second in the 2nd FIBA Africa Zone-3 and 7th finals of Africa Champions Cup. Multiple MVP award winner, Akashili is the team’s most successful player, while experienced campaigner, Julie Onyelugo is the club’s captain, Mary Chinweukwu, Atosu Upe, Rashidat Ahmed and Magdalene Ukato have also been in impressive form for the team while Ijeoma Uchendu currently in the U.S. passed through the club. With everything to fight for, the club is upbeat that it has the strength to pull through and emerge champions at the end of the season. However, the team has to travel to Asaba on Tuesday to continue the search for the league top prize.

TheGuardian

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Team Nigeria Battles Pharaohs For Top Spot, As Warri 2013 Ends From Gowon Akpodonor, Warri hE Pharaohs are everyT where winning medals, but Team Nigeria has vowed to do

everything possible to stop them in the battle for the top spot this afternoon, as the maiden Africa Youth Athletics Championship ends in Warri, Delta State. Some top officials of Team Nigeria accused Egypt of playing ‘unnecessary’ politics in their bid to win the championship. The Egyptians were said to have pulled out of the 400metres low hurdles event for boys yesterday to prevent it from holding because it affected the required number of countries needed to start the event. A member of Team Nigeria and former Delta State Director of Sports, Seigha Porbeni, told The Guardian that the withdrawal of Egypt from the 400meters low hurdles was a ploy to prevent Team Nigeria from winning the gold medal in the event. “This is one area we are very strong and Egypt knows that very well. Their pulling out stopped the event from holding because it affected the required number of countries needed to start the event. “But that won’t stop us from winning this championship. We still have some areas where Team Nigeria is very strong. The 110m hurdles for boys, triple jump for girls, 4x100m relays and the 4x400m are areas we expect to pick some gold medals tomorrow (today). There were strong indications yesterday that Team Nigeria may pull out of men’s hammer as well as the girls’ javelin events. Egypt picked three more gold to maintain its lead on the medals table with seven gold medal, Nigeria has five, Kenya four, Ethiopia two while Morocco and Gambia have one apiece. The Pharaohs won in the girls’ 1500 meters race ahead of Morocco and Nigeria. They also won in the female hammer event, shot put and girls’ heptathlon while Ethiopia picked the gold in the boys’ javelin. Team Nigeria is looking forward to picking the two available gold medals in both the male and female 200m races today. In one of the male semi final race yesterday, Africa’s fastest young athlete, Divine Oduduru of Nigeria strolled into the final of the 200m in a time of 21.72 seconds, while Adedeji Yusuf, also of Team Nigeria made it to the final in a time of 22.15 sec. Two Nigerian female athletes also qualified for the final in their respective semi final races. Meanwhile, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs in Delta State, Moses Odibo, has said that the hosting of the African Youth Athletics Championship has broken the siege mentality in Warri and wants Governor Uduaghan to sustain it. Speaking with journalists in Warri yesterday, Odibo said prior to the event, it was like Warri was under siege, but the competition has removed that fear. Odibo, a former board member of the Nigeria Rugby Football Union (NRFU), described the hosting of the Warri 2013 AYAC as an assurance to outsiders that Delta, and indeed the city of Warri is safe to do business.

Southampton’s Japanese defender Maya Yoshida (right) and Chelsea’s Nigerian striker Victor Moses at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

Chelsea Falters Again, As Man Utd Closes In On Title Gervinho opened the scoring after 11 minutes and Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud increased the Gunners’ lead keeper Kelvin Davis to deny before hal Robson Kanu gave Victor Moses. the visitors a glimmer of hope Former Chelsea boss, Andre in the 68th minute. Vilas-Boas watched another But Arsene Wenger’s men superb display by Gareth Bale sealed their win in the 77th inspire Spurs to a valuable win minute when Adrian Mariappa in Wales. fouled Alex OxladeBale set up Jan Vertonghen for his seventh minute opener then Chamberlain in the box and Mikel Arteta stroked home the flicked home a superb 21stresulting penalty. minute effort to increase his Manchester City kept up their side’s lead. Michu gave Swansea hope with a 71st-minute header. increasingly futile chase of city Nigel Adkins’ debut as Reading rivals United with a 4-0 cruise boss turned out to be one to for- over Newcastle at the Etihad get as his side were sunk by the Stadium. Manchester United had temresurgent Gunners and porarily gone 18 points clear at dropped to the bottom of the the top after Titus Bramble’s table on goal difference.

AFAEL Benitez saw his hopes might boost as they clung on for the points thanks to a R of steering Chelsea back superb save from substitute into the Champions League suffer a serious blow as Southampton claimed another prize Premier League scalp. Rickie Lambert’s 35th-minute free-kick proved enough to seal a 2-1 win at St Mary’s after an early opener from Jay Rodriguez had been cancelled out by a header from John Terry. Chelsea’s shock loss allowed Tottenham to leapfrog into third place with a 2-1 win at Swansea, while Arsenal narrowed the gap behind them to just two points after crushing Reading 4-1. Mauricio Pochettino’s men gave their survival prospects a

27th-minute own goal secured a 1-0 win over sinking Sunderland in the lunchtime kick-off at the Stadium of Light. But City responded by doing their bit with Carlos Tevez and David Villa giving Roberto Mancini’s men the first-half advantage before Vincent Kompany and an own goal from James Perch completed their easy win. Roberto Martinez’s Wigan moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a potentially priceless late strike from Aruna Kone to beat Norwich 10 at the DW Stadium. Wigan had laboured for much of the game but Kone fired his 10th goal of the sea-

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

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son with nine minutes left to give his side a huge boost in their battle to avoid the drop. Andy Carroll scored twice as West ham eased their own relegation fears with a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at Upton Park.

Results EPL Sunderland 0 – 1 Man Utd Arsenal 4 – 1 Reading Man City 4 – 0 Newcastle Southampton 2- 1 Chelsea Swansea 1- 2 Tottenham West Ham 3 – 1 West Brom Wigan 1- 0 Norwich BUNDESLIGA Augsburg 0-2 Hannover 96 Dusseldorf 1- 4 Leverkusen Freiburg 2- 0 Monchengladbach Mainz 1-1 Werder Bremen Schalke 04 3-0 Hoffenheim Stuttgart 1- 2 Borrusia Dortmund