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Nigeria’s

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Crippling Battle With Nutrition

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

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It’s Illegal To Leave PDP Without Resigning, Says Akinjide Says There Will Soon Be Court Cases From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado Ekiti S the National Assembly A finally resumes after the Christmas and New Year holiday, the burning issue of defections in the House of Representatives and possibly in the Senate is expected to further raise political temperatures around the country.

By the last count, the all Progressives Congress (APC) is claiming to have amassed a majority status with 174 members – up from 137, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now trails behind with 171 members, thus losing the majority status.

The game is expected to change this week, as political fireworks resume to determine where the pendulum swings.

But the PDP is seeking judicial intervention to prevent CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Protect Us Oh God… Women from Shonong community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau praying for protection in Jos …yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

PDP In Final Push For Tukur’s Successor From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja S the race for the chairmanship of the postBamanga Tukur Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gets hotter, various caucuses of the party will today meet at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa to adopt a common candidate who would be presented at tomorrow’s (Monday) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting for endorsement.

Although many aspirants have presented themselves before various caucuses, seek-

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• Jonathan In A Fix • Party Adopts Consensus Candidate Today • Wakil, Aji, Umar Top Contenders • Party To Break Defectors’ Rank ing support, it has emerged that only a few are left to further appease the most powerful caucuses: the presidency’s inner caucus, the PDP governors’ forum, the legislative caucus, party elders’ caucus, and a caucus of the party within the National Working Committee.

As at yesterday, the list

appeared to have narrowed down to current transport minister Idris Umar, who is from Gombe, former presidential adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Abba Aji, and former national vice chairman of the party for the North East, Mohammed Wakil. Both of them are from Borno State.

It was difficult to pinpoint which of the contenders will make it because the selection process requires delicate balancing of forces and interests.

While the Northeast is tipped to produce chairman, some states in the region are more favoured. In certain calculations, Borno and Gombe are ahead, but from past experience, the PDP, having become trouble wary, does not want to go to states where a PDP government would foment trouble for the national headquarters, like it happened in Adamawa. At the same time, it is feared that it could be

counter productive going to pick the party chairman from a non-PDP controlled state.

Borno seems to have an edge over Gombe in that regard.

Umar was said to have continued his campaign despite President Jonathan’s reported directive that no serving minister should be considered for the party’s number one job.

Other contenders include: former FCT minister, Abba Gana (Borno); chairman of the defunct Presidential Committee on Asset Verification, Ibrahim Bunu CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

NEWS 4

Crisis Rocks Yoruba Caucus Over NBA Presidency NEWS 4

Expect Polio Free Nigeria This Year, Says Health Minister NEWS 2

Apathy, Violence Mar Jigawa Council Poll NEWS 5

Free Medicare For Pregnant Women In Imo

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

2 | NEWS Sunday, January 19, 2014

NEWS

Kwankwaso Dares Jonathan On CBN Governor From Abba Anwar, Kano HE Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has challenged the federal government on the alleged telephone conversation between President Jonathan and the Central Bank Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, with regards to the latter’s retirement.

The governor who spoke yesterday at Government House, Kano, asked Jonathan

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to stop harassing Sanusi because of the “CBN Governor’s request for clarification of figures.”

This is coming even after the CBN governor dismissed media reports of a telephone conversation between him and the President.

Kwankwaso said: “Let me use this opportunity to call on the federal government to desist from harassing our citizens. Here I am, referring

to our son, the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.”

He later explained that the CBN governor was not just an ordinary citizen of Kano. And, therefore, called on the federal government to also acknowledge that, “he is somebody who dares to speak at any appropriate time, not minding whose ox is gored.”

“There is nothing wrong when the CBN governor says, ‘please check these figures’ to anybody. He should be seen as

a friend, not an enemy. We will continue to give all the necessary support anywhere anytime.”

Since dumping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) along with other new PDP rebel governors, the relationship between Kwankwaso and the Presidency has been unfriendly. Some see this recent challenge by the Kano governor as a subtle welcome for Sanusi to join his political camp when he finally retires in June.

By Kamal Tayo Oropo and Gbenga Akinfenwa ORMER gubernatorial FParty candidate of the Peoples of Nigeria (PPN), Gboyega Nasir Isiaka and governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), Sina Kawonise, have condemned the recent violent attack during a meeting of APC members in Ogun State.

Ten persons were reportedly shot as suspected political thugs attacked guests at the function organised by an APC Senator Gbenga Obadara of Ogun Central District, at Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area of the State.

Violence erupted when the thugs allegedly linked to Governor Ibikunle Amosun, stormed Wasimi multi-purpose hall built by Obadara.

Kawonise and Isiaka called on President Jonathan to direct the Inspector General of Police, Director of the State Security Service and other relevant security agencies to intervene in the worsening security situation in the state.

Isiaka said: “The trend of the violence is so bad that the professionals, once assumed insulated, like journalists and police were major victims. Firearms were freely and innocent residents were shot and their properties destroyed.”

“It is completely insensitive of Governor Amosun to have accused the conveners

OGUN APC: Condemnation Trails Political Attacks • Govt Denies Violence of the botched gathering of holding the gathering when they should have been attending the 75th birthday of APC leader, Bisi Akande, in Lagos.

This insensitive response reveals a man who places little or no value on human life. Politics should not be a do or die affair. The governor should give internal democracy a chance in the APC and allow the will of the majority to prevail,” he stated.

However, Ogun State Information Commissioner Yussuf Olaniyonu said there is no crisis in the state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), He said: “What crisis? There is nothing to react to my brother. Reacting to everything (coming from the members of National Assembly) will amount to admittance that there is actually crisis going on in the state.”

It was the second time in about one week that party members in the state would resort to violence to settle their differences.

The Guardian gathered that a top-notch cabinet member of the Amosun’s administration is eyeing Obadara’s seat at the senate.

Akinjide Faults PDP Cross Carpeters CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin, (left) Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and former President Nigerian Bar Association in 1992, Chief Mrs. Priscilla Kuye, during meeting of South West lawyers in Ibadan.

PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM

Apathy, Violence Mar Jigawa Council Polls From John Akubo, Dutse HE Jigawa State local govT ernment council election, held in all 27 local councils yesterday, was marred by voter apathy, especially in areas where opposition parties did not field candidates. The election was, however, peaceful, except in Hadejia, where youths protested irregularities.

One of the leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Hadejia, Malam Danazumi

Gwgarmaya, who spoke to newsmen, said four ballot boxes were snatched at Atafi ward; three at Masaro; three at Kasuwar Kofa; one at Yankoli and 11 at Yayari, while voting did not take place at Dubantu ward.

In Hadejia, the election was almost stalled by violence, as the opposition stood their ground to ensure a proper exercise.

Electoral officers in many of the polling units were at large, while reporters took

cover to avoid attack.

But the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Alhaji Mahmuda Salisu Kuit, who is from Hadejia emirate, said PDP has over 80 per cent control in Hadejia and could not have resorted to rigging.

He expressed optimism that his party would win all electable positions because it is the only one that took the pains to campaign throughout the nooks and crannies of the 27 local governments.

Earlier, Governor Sule Lamido, who cast his vote in his Bamaina village, said the local government election is the fourth that has been organised since he came to power, adding that he said does not recognise sole administrator-ship.

Up till about 7pm the electoral officers in charge of Hadejia were nowhere to be found as youths barricaded the office while security agencies tried to calm the situation. The youths also took their protest to the emir’s palace.

members who have ‘eloped’ from ‘living happily ever after’.

Opinions are still divided on whether those elected on the platform of a political party can leave their original platforms with reckless abandon.

One man who has rich experience in political subterfuge is Richard Akinjide SAN, former minister of justice and attorney general of the federation. A chieftain of the PDP, Akinjide said what Nigerians are seeing on the surface is mere political drama.

According to him, politicians themselves are aware of how sensitive their actions are to the sustenance of democracy and would not willingly crash the system.

He said he does not feel

threatened by the defections, because you cannot just walk or cross from one party to another without following the law.

“I am not bothered. If you read the Constitution properly, you cannot cross or walk from one party to another without first resigning and vacating your seat. A section that deals with that is very clear in the Constitution. A lot of things you read in the papers or hear in the radio or watch on the television is mere hypes. I have reasons to believe so because very soon, people will go to court to contest it. Those people that said they are crossing have not crossed to anywhere. I am saying this categorically; the Constitution is very clear about it and you cannot change it.”

Party Adopts Consensus Candidate Today CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Sheriff (Borno); and the former Grassroots Development Movement (GDM) chairman, Alhaji Gambo Lawan.

Former Nigerian ambassador to South Africa, Hassan Adamu; former Bauchi State

governor, Adamu Muazu; and Tukur’s main challenger in the 2012 election for PDP chairman, Musa Babayo. Alhaji Shettima Mustapha, Alhaji Idris Waziri, exPolice Affairs minister, Maina Waziri, Senator Abubakar Mahdi, Alhaji Habu Fari, Alhaji Rufa Alkali and Alhaji Aliyu Idi Hong are also in the race.

Other factors at play include the party’s desire to assuage the feelings of some aggrieved members and win back some of those who have defected. Part of the strategy is to pick a chairman who could reach out.

Apart from subtle overtures that have been made to some of

the defected governors, PDP’s top leaders, it was learnt, have resolved to break the ranks of the defectors and make it difficult for them to act in unison.

In states where the governors defected with their deputies, the party will be reaching out to the deputies, their key supporting senators, members of House of Representatives and even strong commissioners.

The fresh reconciliatory exercise, it was gathered, would be concluded before the beginning of the party’s primaries, to enable the party

give serious consideration to members who might return.

A staunch PDP member in the National Assembly said, “this time around, the party is serious at reaching out to the political strongholds of all the defecting governors, particularly those who might not want to return to PDP.” He said: “Look, there is no end to politics, and this time, I tell you that it is about who has the best political offer. If you defect just because you felt politically ignored, the party is now reaching out to you. Why do you think such a person would still want to go away, especially

when he knows he can’t get as much political relevance in the party he defected to? Just wait a few days and watch as political events unfold.

“The issue of bandwagon effect will really not work, because at the end of the day, the question that would be asked is, ‘what political gain is there for me?’ If what is politically good for your political father is not good for you, then nobody will tell you to change your mind, because that political father may not be able to get you any serious political bargain, compared to what you are getting in PDP.”

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

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NEWS ‘FAAN Never Approved Bi-Courtney’s Terminal Design’ HEattention of the Federal T Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said Yakubu Dati,

Executive Director, Finance and Administration, NDDC, Dr. Itotenaan Henry Ogiri (left); Rivers State Representative on NDDC Governing Board, Chief Ephraim Sobere Etete; and Executive Director, Projects, NDDC, Tuoyo Omatsuli, during inspection of the ongoing Otuasega-Emelego Road linking Bayelsa and Rivers States.

Coordinating GM (Communications) Aviation Parastatals, “has been drawn to a news story in the ThisDay publication of Thursday, January 16, 2014, quoting BiCourtney Aviation Services as saying, ‘the design of the terminal (MMA Domestic Terminal 2) was approved by the Federal Government and FAAN, after due consultation with their consultants.’

“The Bi-Courtney source also said, ‘FAAN was involved at every stage of the redesign and redevelopment of the project.’

In a statement, Dati said: “We wish to state categorically and for the umpteenth time that nothing could be farther from the truth! The design that FAAN approved was for a terminal costing a total of N3.9 billion.

Crisis Rocks Yoruba Caucus Over NBA Presidency

Jonathan Mourns Botmang, Adakole

By Bertram Nwannekanma HE crisis rocking the South T West caucus of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Egbe Amo Ofin, over the NBA presidency worsened yesterday, as the group held parallel meetings in Lagos and Ibadan, Oyo State concurrently.

The meetings were in furtherance of the groups’ effort to produce the next president of the NBA, to take over from Mr. Okey Wali (SAN) who will complete his two-year tenure

August 31, 2014.

Top contenders for the position are Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN); Deacon Dele Adesina (SAN), Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) and Osas Erhabor.

Another aspirant who is not from the core South West but is in the race is Chief Austine Alegeh (SAN) of the Mid West zone.

It was gathered that the Ibadan meeting was held by removed executives of the group.

The Guardian learnt that while

the Ibadan meeting was attended by five sitting chairmen, that of Lagos, which is sympathetic to Adesina’s candidature, was attended by 10 branch chairmen with other four represented by their secretaries.

Five other chairmen who could not attend the Lagos meeting were also said to have sent apologies.

It was also learnt that the Ibadan meeting ended without adopting any candidate.

But a reconciliation commit-

tee was set up.

However, the Lagos gathering christened the Central Working Committee of Egbe Amo Ofin reinforced an earlier adoption of Adesina.

Chairman of Egbe Amo Ofin, Mr. Adebayo Ayodele, who addressed newsmen after the Lagos meeting, insisted that 17 branches out of 23 that make up the South West Bar in attendance were in support of the candidacy of Adesina.

He said: “We ordered Adesina in 2008 to step down

Soriwei: Varsity Declines Reps Position On Accreditation, Safety From Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja ANAGEMENT of North M Cyprus International University yesterday faulted Nigerian House of Representatives over the status of the institution.

The House Committee on Diaspora, through its chairperson, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had, during the week, drawn Nigerians’ attention to the fact that the school was not accredited and as such, not recognised by Nigeria or any other country of the world.

It was also alleged that the location of the institution, Nicosia, is volatile and therefore dangerous for Nigerian

students.

The House of Representative was reacting to the circumstance surrounding the tragic death of Nigerian student, Mr. Gabriel Soriwei, a 20-year-old first year student of Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the university located in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.

The young man was said to have been knocked down by a female driver in July last year.

The family of the deceased had consequently petitioned the Nigerian government over alleged nonchalant attitude of the Cyprus International University authorities towards the issue.

In their own response, the au-

thorities of the school represented by the Director, Patrick Douse, refuted claims that the school was not accredited. He also gave assurance to Nigerian parents and potential students that North Cyprus International University is safe for study.

Douse said: “I turn now to another concern and that is the worry that study in North Cyprus and in particular CIU is not recognised or accredited. Those that are trying to make political gain and those that are trying to take advantage of the current negative press are happy to let confusion reign without proper investigation.

“Let me try and untangle any

confusion. CIU is a fully accredited institution of higher education. It is accredited by the Turkish Republic Higher Education Board; it is accredited by the International Association of Universities and European Association of International Education.”

Douse stated further that in the school’s 16 years of existence, it has provided high quality of education to a lot of Nigerians. According to him, the school’s inability to reveal the identity of the driver was to avoid breaching protocol, as investigation is ongoing. He however pleaded that no matter how long it takes, justice will definitely prevail.

“We are in constant dialogue

for Chief Olarotimi Akeredolu (SAN). Two meetings were held in Lagos and one at Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN)’s place where it was agreed we would adopt Adesina when it is the turn of the South West “If in 2008, Adesina obeyed us, why must we not keep to our words since he listened to us the last time. We re-affirm our support for his aspiration and charge him to continue to exploit all legitimate and realistic ways to sell his candidature.”

with the authorities investigating the case and are putting whatever pressure we can to ensure that this thorough investigation reaches a timely conclusion. However, when road accidents result in fatalities, those investigating need to be allowed the time to do their job. Any false allegations about corruption concerning investigating officers or trial by media of the driver involved in the initial collision are not helpful,” Douse said.

He also solicited the understanding of Nigerian parents and government on the consideration that accidents could happen anywhere across the world.

Woman Gets N39m For Unlawful Sack, Sexual Harassment

By Bertram Nwannekanma HE National Industrial Court has awarded the sum of N39.6 million in favour of a former Enterprise Marketing Manager of Microsoft Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ejieke Maduka, who was sacked after she complained she was sexually harassed by her immediate boss.

In a judgment delivered by Justice O. Obaseki-Osaghae, the court held that Mrs. Maduka’s fundamental rights were violated and her pride, dignity and sense or selfworth injured by the actions

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of the respondents.

The respondents in the suit were: Microsoft Nigeria Limited; Microsoft Corporation; Mr. Emmanuel Onyeje, former Country Manager of Microsoft Nigeria; and Mr. Adefolu Majekodunmi.

The claimant had in the suit said that she was sacked for refusing to succumb to the sexual advances of her immediate boss, Mr. Onyeje, as well as an insider dealing involving Mr. Majekodunmi.

She also sought a declaration that the termination of her employment by the 1st and 2nd respondents through

their agent, the 3rd respondent, was as a result of her refusal to succumb to the sexual harassment from the 3rd respondent.

The claimant further stated that the ratification of her termination by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd respondents and the subsequent conduct of the respondents constituted a violation of the applicants Fundamental Right to Human Dignity and Freedom from Discrimination, as guaranteed

by Section 34 and 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

But the first defendant (Mi-

crosoft Nigeria Limited) asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that it has a right to hire and fire the claimant, adding that her sack had nothing to do with her alleged refusal to succumb to the sexual advances of her immediate boss.

The 1st respondent stated that it was not only the claimant’s employment that was terminated but that others were also affected, as the company was restructuring and downsizing at the time.

The company also denied that Onyeje sexually harassed the claimant, while Microsoft

Corporation, on its part, prayed the court to strike its name out from the suit, as it did not employ or sack the claimant, adding that it owed her no duty of care.

On his part, Onyeje denied ever sexually harassing the claimant. His only witness, Awawu Olumide Sojunri, who testified during the trial, said she never saw him sexually harass any female staff.

She, however, admitted during cross examination that while on an official trip to Atlanta, the United State, Onyeje touched and poked her, as well as some of her col-

From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja RESIDENT Jonathan yesterP day commiserated with the government and people of Plateau State on the passing away of the former Governor of the State, Chief Michael Botmang.

The President also condoled with President of the Senate, David Mark, on the passing away of his younger sister, Mrs. Mary Onma-Adakole.

In a statement by his Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, Jonathan said Botmang, who served as deputy to Senator Joshua Dariye, and later as governor between November 2006 and April 2007, would be greatly missed by his family, friends, political associates and supporters.

The President prayed that God would receive his soul and grant him peace in eternity.

For Mark, the President wrote: “It is with great sadness that I write to express my heartfelt condolence to you, the Adakole John family, and the entire members of the Mark family of Oturkpo on the untimely death of your younger sister, Mary Onma, in the prime of her life.

Anti-corruption: ICPC Eyes Better Results With Surveillance From Abosede Musari, Abuja HE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) will from this year pursue better results in its fight against corruption by boosting surveillance.

Chairman of the commission, Ekpo Nta, who spoke during an interview in Abuja, said with the new approach, time spent on prosecution would be shorter because only the evidence of investigation will be presented to suspects. This, he said, will make them own up to the truth and not waste the commission’s time.

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

NEWS Expect Polio Free Nigeria This Year, Says Health Minister

By Chuks Nwanne

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EW days after India marked three years since its last reported polio case, meaning the country will soon be certified as having defeated the crippling virus in a huge boost for global eradication efforts, the Nigerian Minister for Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has expressed confidence in the capacity of Nigeria to exit polioendemic countries by the end of this year as collectively resolved by leading stakeholders.

Rising in Kaduna from a twoday meeting of all high risk polio Local Government Areas in the North, the participants, under the personal supervision of the Health Minister, announced the resolution after a thorough diagnosis of challenges facing polio eradication efforts in all the low performing LGAs in the Northern part of the country. Numbering 42 in all, the low performing Local Governments are spread in ten Northern States. The States are Kano with 14 LGAs, Sokoto 10, Kaduna 5, Borno 4 and Katsina 3. Others are Bauchi 2, Kebbi 2, Yobe 2, Niger 1 and Zamfara State 1.

Problems identified by the summit as critical to ending polio scourge include human resource issue, micro plans, poor training and team selection, thorough and quality supervision and the need for direct involvement of all State Governors and their Council Chairmen.

Addressing participants at the meeting, Prof. Chukwu noted that Nigeria’s impressive performance on Polio eradication in 2012 and 2013

provided a clear indicator that Nigeria would end polio transmission at the end of this year.

He recalled Nigeria’s leading performance in global eradication of smallpox and recently, guinea worm disease, which has been acknowledged by the World Health Organisation, with a certificate for the Nation as a guinea worm-free country.

The Minister assured all the low-performing LGAs on the polio eradication of Federal

NATIONAL Government’s maximum support, stressing that President Goodluck Jonathan, more than any of his predecessors, had given unprecedented support to polio-eradication by personally leading the war against polio.

While commending participants for their commitments, the Chairman Governing Board of NPHCDA, Dr. Bashari

Aminu Iyan Zazzau, urged them not to relent on their oars until Nigeria became polio free by the end of this year 2014.

In his welcome address, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Ado Muhammad noted with delight, efforts of all stakeholders at restricting the polio virus to just a few LGAs only in the 3 States of Borno, Yobe and Kano States.

The International Community

had acknowledged these laudable achievements, according to the Executive Director. He emphasised that the meeting was to afford affected Local Government Areas an opportunity to proffer lasting solutions to Nigeria’s final exit out of the polio-endemic Nations.

Dr. Ado also advocated an effective routine immunisation system in all LGAs, assuring Nigerians of adequate vaccines’ supply and commodi-

N its resolve to reduce materIcrunch, nal mortality and economic the Imo State Government has directed that all pregnant women undergoing antenatal care should be offered free medicare in all the 27 Local Councils of the state.

Giving the directive on Friday, while addressing scores of Imo people at Emmanuel College Roundabout, Owerri, after his return from the United States, Okorocha noted that the gesture as in fulfillment of his campaign promise before the 2011 governorship election, stressing that the measure would enable the women access medical services without financial hardship.

“Henceforth, this administration is offering free medical facilities/antenatal care to pregnant women in all the 27 Local Government Areas at all the General Hospital in the state.”

The governor insisted that the directive must be carried out, warning that any medical personnel that does otherwise would be dealt with.

While expressing his gratitude to the legion of Imo residents for trouping in mass to welcome him, he used the opportunity to commission two important ring roads at the New Market, Owerri, which had been abandoned for 36 years by the previous administrations in the state.

He urged Imo indigenes and residents to be hopeful for the

HENiger Delta Development T Commission (NDDC) has urged contractors handling its uncompleted projects to expedite action and make maximum use of the dry season to complete them for the benefit of the people.

The Executive Director (Projects) of the NDDC, Tuoyo Omatsuli, made the plea when he began the inspection of uncompleted projects across the region, with a visit to the emergency shore protection site at Ekerekana in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The contract was awarded in 2012 and the contractor mobilised to site with the expectation of completing it last year.

However, it was delayed due to logistics problem.

Speaking at the project site, Omatsuli expressed satisfaction at the level of work by the contractor, saying the project is necessary for the Ekerekana community. He gave the contractor six months to complete the job instead of 12 months being requested by the contractor.

Enugu Indigenes In Australia Plan Development Tour From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu NDIGENES of Enugu State in Itour Australia are planning a of the state in July this

Chairman Governing Board, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Alh. Bashar Aminu Iyan Zazzau (right); Hon. Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; ED/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Ado Muhammad, at the Polio Eradication Initiative Meeting with high risk LGAs in Kaduna State.

Free Medicare For Pregnant Women, As Okorocha Rallys Igbos for APC From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri

NDDC Solicits Contractors’ Cooperation On Projects NATIONAL

year 2014, which said would be used in commissioning all the projects he stated.

Said he further: “All the projects started by my administration would be completed and commissioned before the end of this year. No project started by me will be abandoned.”

IMO Meanwhile, affirming that he would always lead Igbos politically a right, Okorocha has urged all the Igbos to join him in embracing the All Progressives Congress (APC), in order to enhance their politi-

cal and economic emancipation in the country, stressing that it was a credible alternative for Igbo ethnic group.

He opined that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed the nation, prompting the cause to make the APC credible alternative for the

people in the country.

According to him, in his capacity as the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, he would work to ensure that the people were taken care of by ensuring that the pressing national issues were attended to.

Uduaghan Inaugurates Task Force On Property Tax Collection ELTA State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, has inaugurated a task force on Ground Rent Collection, charging residents to pay taxes promptly to sustain economic growth in the state.

Uduaghan who stated this Friday during the event said: “The state government is determined to eradicate poverty and sustain economic growth through infrastructural renewal and development.”

The governor observed that the focus of the state in inaugurating the task force is to improve the level of property tax compliance.

He charged members of the task force to genuinely collect the tax and remit all monies collected to state coffers.

He charged residents to pay taxes voluntarily, as at when due, adding that the revenue would have a multiplier effect on both the micro and macro economies of the state and boost individual prosperity.

“Since taxation is the principal source of government revenue, the prosperity of our state and our citizens depend greatly on the nature of revenue and the ef-

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DELTA ficiency of collection,” he said.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay, said revenue is the bedrock upon which government would deliver on its electoral promises to the people and sustain its growing economy. He appealed to Deltans to support the initiative.

He emphasised that the state government’s tax policy is geared towards significantly improving the quality of life of

citizens without imposing excessive burden on them, thereby creating a platform for promoting a healthier and more prosperous citizenry.

In a welcome address, the Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Urban Development, Sir Patrick Ferife, explained that the ground rents is a form of tax imposed on land users to generate revenue, stressing that the rationale behind the payments is to buttress the reversionary interest and supervisory role of government over every land resource in the state.

Ferife said that the Ministry of Lands and Survey, in collaboration with the State Board of Internal Revenue, set up the task force with a mandate to collect and pay into government’s coffers all ground rents paid by landlords in the state.

The commissioner disclosed that the rent payment is due on the January 1 of every year, adding that failure to pay within the period of 90 days would result in lawful revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy of the said land by the State Governor.

Northern Govs Condole With Mark Over Sister’s Death From John Ogiji, Minna HE Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has urged President of the Senate, Senator David Mark to take heart and be strong, over the death of his younger sister, Mrs. Mary Onma Adakole who died on Thursday during childbirth.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, in a

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statement at weekend, urged Senator Mark not to be discouraged by her untimely death, but should take solace in the fact that God gives and takes life.

The condolence message contained in a press statement signed by Governor Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo enjoined Senator Mark to be encouraged by the fact that although his late sister died at a young

age, she lived a purposeful life committed to the service of God and humanity.

“Though Mrs Mary Adakole lived a short life, she lived a purposeful life of service to God and humanity,” the statement said.

The forum prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest and members of her family, especially her husband, Mr Adakole, the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

year to access its spate of development.

Guardian gathered that the tour which would take the representatives of the umbrella body of the state indigenes to the three senatorial zones of the state would also serve as an opportunity to enable them come up with ways of assistance.

President General of the umbrella body, Mr. Pascal Ochi, who disclosed this to reporters in Enugu yesterday, said the tour would involve every sector of the state including health, education, agriculture, roads and many others.

Proposed Airport: Communities

Release Land To Abia From Gordi Udeajah Umuahia BIA State government has A taken over the pieces of land donated by three communities namely Amaba-Ime Oboro in Ikwuano, Olokoro in Umuahia South and Umuode Ikemna Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa LGAs for the recently proposed state airport.

A release from the office of the state Deputy Governor yesterday, stated that the take over was sequel to the formalisation of the lands traditional transfer rites to the government at the palace of the traditional ruler of Amaba-Ime Oboro in Ikwuano LGA Eze Nkwo Otuwa.

At the ceremony, the state deputy governor Sir Emeka Ananaba, who is also the Chairman of the state Airport Project Committee, commended the land donor-communities for “ their sense of patriotism and selfless service by not constituting a problem to the government in terms of compensations and restiveness.”

TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Cityfile

Low-fenced Beauty vs

High-fenced Security Fenced buildings in Abuja

PHOTO: ITUNU AJAYI

Can Residents Have It Both Ways?

From Itunu Ajayi (Abuja) and Ijeoma Opara (Lagos) HE government didn’t build my house; why should it tell me how to fence it?” asked Lagos resident, Chika Okemiri.

If Okemiri, however, relocates to the Federal Capital Territory, he would be compelled to tap his feet to a different music; a building approval would be out of his reach, unless he is prepared to embrace the city’s low fence policy. As Abuja estate developer, Joe Okpere, puts it: “The Department of Development Control is the one that regulates the building of fences and other structures in Abuja. So, in different districts, there are specific designs and types of fences that should be put in place. Anybody who is building in those districts must conform to the standards.”

For Okemiri and many Lagos residents, the watchwords in fencing are security and privacy. “I prefer a high-fenced building because I love my privacy,” said Okemiri, adding: “having a low-fenced house means that everyone knows what goes on within. This is Africa, you know; we have people who don’t mind their businesses. I don’t think low fences can work in every part of Lagos. It might be possible in A-Class areas, where you have security patrols and several community gates to pass through before gaining entrance to a building. I don’t think there will be a way of managing security issues, if people decide to adopt low fences.”

According to Francis Onweazu, another Lagos resident, the idea of government making low fences mandatory in the state will simply not work. He, however, noted that if the authorities decide to go ahead and impose such regulation, then there must be adequate security on ground, and people must be able to have confidence in such safety mechanism. He said: “Because of security challenges, people are no longer interested in living in low-fenced houses. They prefer to stay in buildings with high fences, with broken bottles at the top, to ward off intruders. Let’s take this as an example: why is it that when people are building a house, they are compelled to use roofing sheets to make temporary fences, to prevent access to the infrastructure? If while the house is under construction you need a high fence to secure it, how much more when the

“T

“Fencing your house would not stop armed robbers from coming in. In fact, the higher the fence, the more inviting the premises becomes, because inquisitive minds would want to find out what is behind the fence.” Alli redirected the dialogue to a “fundamental issue”. “It is social problem,” he said. “When people are idle, don’t have jobs or lack social security, if you put up a fence as high as a mountain, they will still go in. Government should, therefore, provide jobs and adequate security.” building is finished.”

He explained: “The reason for high fences is simply to provide security, so that criminals and bandits wouldn’t gain access to the house, because it will not be easy for them to jump in and out of the building. If you live, therefore, in a high fenced apartment, there is a sense of security.”

Onwaezu, however, spotlighted a disadvantage. For instance, in the event of a fire outbreak, timely intervention might be hampered. To this, Olubunmi Martins, another Lagosian agreed. “I think there are more dangers in high fences,” he said.

“I remember a case of a wife and her children who died in a fire incident; the house was all fenced up and rescuers could not reach them.”

Martins went on: “Before now, we had low-fenced houses all over Lagos. I grew up in a low-fenced house. But when the issue of security became disturbing, people resorted to building high fences. But high fences come with their own challenges; you cannot tell what goes on behind the wall. This can be a source of concern. If the government deems it fit to enforce low fences, which expose homes, then security must be in place, or else the government would complicate matters.”

The Guardian sought the view of a security expert, Mr. Eni, who doesn’t “see low fences as feasible because poverty has driven people into doing many negative things.” Eni argued that despite many of the high fences around, robbers still manage to gain access into homes. He wondered what would happen when everyone adopts low fences. “People would be exposed to all kinds of attacks and threats.” In his view, there should be, at least some form of fencing to serve as deterrent to unscrupulous persons. “Security wise, normal fences, not extremely high, with some anti-burglary wires are good to dis-

tract unwanted people from coming in. If the government decides to enforce low fences, there will be high crime rate, because even with high fences we still experience robberies,” he said.

But for Segun Alli, a Lagos-based realtor, there is more to fencing than beauty or security. He argued: “Fencing your house would not stop armed robbers from coming in. In fact, the higher the fence, the more inviting the premises becomes, because inquisitive minds would want to find out what is behind the fence.” Alli redirected the dialogue to a “fundamental issue”. “It is social problem,” he said. “When people are idle, don’t have jobs or lack social security, if you put up a fence as high as a mountain, they will still go in. Government should, therefore, provide jobs and adequate security.”

Wisdom, as the saying goes, lives among the locks of the greyhaired. And so The Guardian asked the opinion of the oldest man in Karu in the FCT, Sabo Tnubwayi, who said he has been around as far back as 1928. Tnubwayi said different areas in Abuja were fenced by people primarily for the purpose of protection from those who came to fight them and disposes them of their valuables. He said apart from the use of stones and mud to build strong and high fences round their clans, they also used forests as shield. Tnubwayi said people normally ran into the forests whenever attackers came. Other fortifiers he said included rock and swamps.

He added that fences were also handy when communities excommunicated rebels or persons involved in witchcraft or theft. The fence, he said, would prevent such people from returning to the community, as they are sold into slavery. These

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THE GUARDIAN

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CITYFILE

Mile12/Ikorodu Road

Residents Voice Fear Over Funds Diversion

By Seye Olumide OTHING good comes easy. This was the reaction from several N commuters plying the Mile 12-Ikorodu Road, currently being constructed by the Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the Lagos State government.

Despite the pains they encounter daily under harrowing traffic situations since work began in September 2012, the people are optimistic that as soon as the project is completed, their agonies would turn to joy.

The 13.5 kilometre Mile12/Ikorodu Road has been in existence for more than 59 years. It is the first road that linked the Lagos metropolis to other parts of the country through the 25-kilometre Shagamu-Ogijo-Mosinmi-Ikorodu Road, also over 51 years old.

Prior to Governor Babatunde Fashola’s decision to commence reconstruction of the Mile 12/Ikorodu Road, the rate at which life and property were being lost in accidents almost daily, due to the bad state of the road, was disturbing.

However, as road users and residents look forward to the completion of the work in 2014, as promised by Fashola, there are fears that the project might not be finished before the current administration draws the curtain in 2015.

Speaking with The Guardian, a commercial bus driver, Bashir Adisa, who plies Ikorodu to Yaba, said: “We are appealing to the government to do everything within its power to ensure the completion of the project this year, as earlier promised.”

He said: “We appreciate the fact that they are constructing the road. I have been operating on this route for the past 17 years and I can speak factually on the magnitude of disasters that have occurred due to the bad state of the road. Therefore, when government decided to construct the road, we were very happy. Even those whose properties were affected took it in good faith because of the importance of the road. But what we are hearing now is far from our expectations; we hope it is mere rumour.”

Road users said the longer the project lasts, the more their agonies would persist. They cited the hours wasted daily since the project began, particularly at Ikorodu roundabout, where heavy construction is ongoing. “We spend nothing less than three to four hours in traffic everyday. But our consolation is that the present pain is for a period of time,” said one commuter.

Meanwhile, fares have increased from the regular N100 (Ikorodu to Ketu) to N200. IKorodu to Yaba or Oshodi has moved up to about N300, depending on the kind of bus in question. In a similar vein, persons whose businesses are located along the road have expressed concern that extending the project beyond the time promised amounts to putting their health in danger because of hazardous dusts.

Bothering many people was the rumour that part of the N30bn earmarked for the project has been allegedly diverted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for political purposes, and also to other projects in the state that have dragged beyond the promised delivery time. One of such alleged projects is the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The rumour notwithstanding, when The Guardian visited the site on Friday, work was ongoing. Some portions of the road had been completed and motorists were already making use of these, thereby easing traffic.

The areas where there are challenges presently are Agric Bus Stop, Ogolonto, Mile 12 and Owode. This is as a result of massive construction ongoing.

..

Worries Unfounded, Says Lagos Govt Vows To Complete Project In 2014

Lagos

Construction staff at work on the Mile 12/Ikorodu Road (above) and traffic gridlock (below)

According to a resident at Agric, “There is nothing suggesting that this project will not be completed by the end of this year, given the rate at which the contractor is working. Although, the traffic is much, it is, however, subsiding as the project progresses.”

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Adeyemi Ibirogba, dismissed the rumour that the government has diverted funds meant for the project into politics, saying it is mere talks by busybodies “who have no job but faulting whatever the government is doing”. According to him, “Governor Fashola has promised to deliver all projects before the expiration of his administration in 2015”.

He urged the people of Ikorodu and road users to discountenance any rumour suggesting that the project would not be delivered this year, as promised.” Ibirogba also said that there is no truth in perceptions that the government has distorted the original plan of the project.

Governor Fashola’s visit to Ikorodu on Thursday to inspect the project might have also doused the fear that work could linger

‘In Olden Days, Fences Kept Back Witches, Thieves’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 fences, he said, were so high that no human being had the capacity to jump over them. He added that there were also other traditional ways of fortifying premises. These, however, he was not willing to disclose.

OVING around Abuja metropolis and its satellite towns, M one would notice that there are no high fences anywhere. Some areas have no fences at all. Others have them in the form of concrete slabs or perforated blocks, with or without barbed wires. However they come, the rule is: they must not exceed eye level. In other words, passers-by need not stand on their toes to see whatever goes on behind the barrier.

Unlike other cities in Nigeria, property owners in Abuja have little say on the kind of structure they hope to put up; the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) gives approvals and specifications for buildings in any particular area.

Yahaya Yusuf is the Director, Department of Development Control; the FCTA office saddled with the responsibility for giving buildings approvals. The organ monitors and enforces these rules, so that residents do not violate the city’s master plan. He told The Guardian: “First of all, for aesthetic reasons, fences that are low enhance the beauty of the house. Secondly, for security reasons, neighbours are able to see what is happening in the other peoples’ compound. And when they see strange movements, even at night, they could raise an alarm, especially in this age of telecommunication, and alert security agents. In fact, if you don’t have a fence at all, it is actually safer, because anybody who wants to move around the place, maybe with the motive to steal, will have to rethink because he can be seen from a distance.

“It also affords those of us in the monitoring and enforcement team to know when people are deviating from the approval we gave them. We can then monitor without waiting

for people to open their gates. For instance, if you have a compound that has a large space that is yet to be developed, the tendency is for some dubious individuals to start putting up another building, after approval has been given for the first one. So, where you have those low fences with see-through gates, we are able to look through and easily observe any such construction and so remove what has not been approved by the department.”

Contrary to the belief people have that they are safer with high fences, Yahaya said safety is more guaranteed when fences are low. According to him, with a low fence, anyone under any form of attack can easily get the attention of neighbours who would in turn draw the attention of security operatives to the situation.

He stressed that the absence of fences is best for safety, adding that different districts and areas in and around the FCT have separate specifications on the type of fences that can be erected.

“From experience, I can tell you that if fences are not there, the most likely thing is that individuals will be more conscious of their environment; they would light up their places better. And with brighter lights, you will find out that this brings out the beauty of the city. We have had to take different districts and areas in the FCT on their merits. There are some areas that are actually prone to security risks because they are isolated. We allow them to have fences for now. We have a regulation here for now that fences are temporary, so if it becomes necessary in the future and the need arises for us to remove any fence, we would remove them without any compensation.

“Then we also have commercial areas where we are deemphasising fencing. New commercial developments that we give approval to do not have fences, and we are gradually removing those fences we gave approval for in the past. We won’t allow commercial areas to have fences in front; they can have them by the sides and behind but the front must be open. The

PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

beyond 2014. The governor gave assurance that the project would be completed this year. He disclosed that the job has progressed past 60 per cent and that his administration would not toy with the welfare of his people.

He urged the people to dismiss rumourmongers and join hands with the state at ensuring the dividends of democracy go round.

The project estimated to cost N30b would feature eight lanes with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route at the middle. Other features include 15 BRT bus stations; three terminals to be located at Mile 12, Agric and Ikorodu; nine flyover bridges; seven pedestrian bridges to access BRT stations; nine pedestrian crossing points; 12 U-turns; lane markings; and streetlights.

The Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mr. Dayo Mobereola, said the project was designed to run with bilateral bus stations configured to link seven of the nine pedestrian bridges to be built on the road. He said three BRT terminals are to be located at Mile 12, Agric and Ikorodu while operation would be boosted with a total of 265 BRT buses to ferry an estimated 160,000 passengers between the hours of 6.am and 10.pm every day.

implication of this is that we now have what is referred to as fenceless frontage. The reason is the trouble it takes to manoeuvre through a gate, find a space to park, and if you don’t, you have to pull out and go looking for another place. This process makes shopping cumbersome, unlike when we have a place where the frontage of the mall is free. People move from one shop to another freely. What this means is that you are spending less time doing your transaction, unlike a situation where you have fences and gates all over the place.

“So, it means that people would be able to save more time attending to other things, instead of wasting all day in a fenced commercial area. They are able to move in and out on time and do more serious things than waste all day shopping, and that’s it. Also, where you have low fences in commercial areas just like other areas, security lights becomes a major issue for property owners. And so, such areas become a lot brighter, compared to what they would have been. It also has impact on the length of time people spend awake; people can afford to work late into the night. Social activities are enhanced and fun seekers moves around because the city is lit up. There is a lot of difference when you have everywhere fenced up and people think they are safe behind those fences.

And if any intruder jumps into that fence, it is a matter between only the people in the house and the intruder. But if the fence is not there, other people around would see that the movement in the house is not healthy, and they can alert the police. And you know that in Abuja, there is a lot of policing going on.”

Tnubwayi

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

CITYPEOPLE stay idle, he took up a job as a security guard somewhere. This he did until he retired.

He once might have been able to speak bits and pieces of the English language; but that might have also withdrawn into the depths of darkened memory. Now, at home with his Gbagyi language, he told The Guardian through an interpreter how challenging it has been getting medical help, as he has no money to treat himself.

“I have not been paid my pension from the Army. I am not well and at the same time cannot afford to go to hospital for treatment. I served in Enugu and Akwa before I was discharged” He could not remember his date of birth either. But there was a number he kept mumbling – it was the account number he drew money from while he worked as a security guard. While the interview lasted, the old soldier kept repeating how he has not been receiving his pension.

To get more information about him, The Guardian was led to the house of his brother. According to Banyigye Zokwo, Jezhi was born on a day Nigeria experienced a total eclipse. He said the country never witnessed such total darkness again. That is the only record he has of his younger brother’s date of birth. He, however, said Jezhi was enlisted in the Nigeria Army during the government of General Gowon.

The brother said the woman, mother to his only daughter, has left him and Jezhi is being taken care of by the daughter and immediate family members. But how much can a girl, probably in Senior Secondary School, contribute to caring for a man who is ill and might soon forget who he is.

It is good to celebrate men of the Nigerian Legion, but the money pumped into the yearly ritual of wreath laying and fanfare could be used to pay medical bills and provide food for people like Jezhi.

‘The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain’, says the country’s National Anthem. But unless more is done to care for the likes of Jahzi, the sweat of these men would be flushed down the gutters of history.

He could not remember his date of birth either. But there was a number he kept mumbling – it was the account number he drew money from while he worked as a security guard. While the interview lasted, the old soldier kept repeating how he has not been receiving his pension.

Armed Forces Remembrance Day Zokwo

PHOTOS: ITUNU AJAYI Inscriptions on a wall by the retired soldier

Soldier Jehzi Zokwo, Patriotic...But Forgotten From Itunu Ajayi, Abuja VERY year, governments – federal state and local – across E Nigeria roll out the drums, display arrays of fully kitted soldiers, lay wreaths and deliver speeches on how blessed the country is to have had men and women who laid down their lives for the unity of the nation. They stress how honourable it is for citizens not to forget in a hurry the sacrifices of these people, and why it is important for these soldiers to be treated well and accorded respect.

No one can say exactly how much is expended on this ritual every year, especially with the decoration of parade grounds. If government’s love for flamboyance and extravagance is anything to go by, costs could run into billions of naira. Meanwhile, many of these patriotic soldiers who fought in the Nigerian Civil War live in deplorable conditions, dying silently.

Jehzi Zokwo is still very proud to have enlisted in the Nigeria Army. He is no longer able to recount much about his past experiences, as amnesia has set in, however, he has managed to carve out unique memories around himself, leaving no one in doubt how once he served the land.

The Guardian met him in Karu, a satellite town in Nasarawa State. The only cloth he wore was a pair of army camouflage trousers. Asked to don the accompanying shirt, so his photograph could be taken, Jahzi walked haltingly to the adjoining

room. His legs could no longer endure the military drills they once marched to. Moments later, he emerged in a green army top, decorated with medals.

In the room was a brown plastic chair, which once had been white. One of its broken legs was fastened with a rope. A 6” mattress lay on the bare floor. These were the only furniture.

The helmet he used while he fought during the civil war could be seen on the floor close to where he sat. His cap and belt hung on a nail in the wall of the adjoining room.

With great difficulty, he endeavoured to remember as much as he could. He said that he joined the army in 1969 but could not now say what year he was discharged. The Guardian noticed a number he was said to have inscribed on the wall, 63/NA/88243. There was no one around who could help Zokwo reach the inner recesses of his memory to fetch information; his 15-year-old and only surviving daughter was said to have gone out. It could be inferred that ‘NA’ denotes ‘Nigeria Army’.

And perhaps, he joined the army in ‘1963’. Everything around – cap, belt and helmet – brought him memories of his soldiery days. Clearly, Jahzi is closer in heart to the institution he served; the institution though might have forgotten someone like Zokwo ever served it.

One thing Jahzi remembers well was that he fought in the war and was discharged on a particular year. In order not to

ALCON Donates To Orphanage,Rewards Staff

By Florence Utor LCON Nigeria Limited, an engineering, procurement, commissioning, installation and contracting company based in Port Harcourt, recently feted its staff at its end of year dinner and award party.

The event, which was put together to honour and appreciate clients, contractors, host communities, management and member of staff for their contributions in the year under review, was also an avenue to reach out to an orphanage.

The end-of-year event witnessed donation of N1 million on behalf of the organisation to Life Time Caring Foundation, an orphanage home located in Woji, Port Harcourt.

He said the donation to charity was part of ALCON’s corporate social responsibility policy and a way to reach out to the needy and underprivileged in the society.

The event had in attendance notable personalities, including the Amanyanabo of ancient Grand Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty King Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple, the Vice Consulate General of the Italian Embassy, Mr. Franco Facimi, among others.

The event was marked with pomp and pageantry inside the Atlantic Hall of Hotel Presidential.

In his remark, the Managing Director of ALCON Nigeria Limited, Mr. Stefano Piotti applauded people of the state and the government for providing the company with peaceful environment that enabled the company’s activities and business to thrive. He said with such co-operation, the strength and opportunities of the organisation would continue to soar and benefit a large number of Rivers’ people.

The Amanyanabo of Bonny, King Edward Pepple, commended the company for what it has been doing in the community. He, however, taxed the company to do more, especially in host communities. He urged other companies to emulate the example of ALCON and help alleviate the problem of unemployment in the state

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Backlash Abraham Ogbodo

08055328079 (Sms only) abogbodo@yahoo.com

Now That Tukur Is Gone...What Next?

HIS is not the time for the PDP to grope for T definite direction. The enemy is not only formidable, but also vicious. That the PDP could not reach quickly the simple decision of what to do with its 79-year old chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, accused of causing all the trouble in the house does not tell well of Africa’s biggest political party. Suddenly, sacking Tukur became as difficult as containing the opposition.

Yet all it would have taken to defuse the tension was for President Jonathan to come out one cool evening on national television to say something like “nobody is bigger than our great party, the PDP, and if it requires Alhaji Bamanga Tukur’s head or even my own head or both heads to save the party from sinking, they shall be presented on a platter of gold.”

The man would have been applauded as an ‘action man’ and ‘President with a clue’ by the unstable Nigerian crowd.

The President probably laid back because he did not know that the PDP had transformed to a rampaging demon, which required blood sacrifice to remain peaceful. Even if he knew, he could not have known at the same time that the choice of who to sacrifice was helplessly between himself (for refusing to decouple from the 2015 presidential election) and Tukur (for acting as a stumbling block).

Since kings are not meant to be sacrificed to enthrone communal peace, the lot fell squarely on Tukur. And that was precisely what happened last week.

After a series of false starts, Chairman Tukur was eventually decapitated. He submitted his resignation letter at a meeting of the PDP’s National Executive Council presided over by President Jonathan, and according to reports, specifically convened to ‘kill’ Tukur. With the sacrifice performed, it is hoped that the bloodthirsty demon is sufficiently assuaged and will return to its abode to allow peace to reign in the PDP household. If however peace

remains elusive in spite of the big sacrifice, it thus means that the demon has not taken enough blood.

Meanwhile the drama has been breathtaking and it is possible to forget the sequence of events. It all started when the so-called new PDP (which has since fused into the APC) was reportedly floated by the dissenting governors of Adamawa, Rivers, Kwara, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Niger and Sokoto States and their supporters to protest the continued stay of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as chairman of the main PDP. Today, Tukur is gone and the question that should follow is: will his exit translate to peace in the troubled PDP house?

Not exactly and that is because the call for the removal of Chairman Tukur is only a sub plot of the larger plot to stop President Jonathan from seeking re-election under the PDP platform in 2015. In which case, until Jonathan’s own blood is shed, the demon will not be appeased Even so, it is too early or even pessimistic to conclude that the exit of Tukur will not bring peace to the PDP. In a nutshell, Tukur’s sin was that he started rather too early to see visions about 2015. He saw grave danger for President Jonathan if nothing was done to limit the near infinite powers of the governors in party affairs. The governors held firmly the party structures at the state and to some extent national levels and they could deploy these structures to whatever purpose they wanted. Part of the things they could do so easily with their enormous powers would be to mobilise their state delegates against Jonathan’s candidacy in the all-important convention to pick the PDP presidential flag bearer for the 2015 election.

It is the easiest and cheapest way of killing Jonathan, who has been resisting death regarding 2015. The impression that was conveyed was Tukur was prepared, even at the stake, to save the President from that terrible

fate. If it were in Warri and much of the Niger Delta, the fallen Tukur would be hailed as Jonathan’s egbe wedger - trouble stopper. Now that the defender has been effectively dislodged, does it therefore mean that the target is completely exposed to danger and ultimate liquidation?

The answer could be either yes or no because that assertion is only a side of the coin and the dark side for that matter. The other side presents hope and the possibility of retrieving the defecting PDP politicians from the jaws of the APC. The argument to support this hope is quite simple. If Tukur was the problem, his removal should not only stem the flight to APC, but cause those that had left to return to the fold. If it does not happen this way, which is very likely, it means all the investments in terms of time; effort and resources to oust Tukur would have gone down the drain.

Needless to say that President Jonathan is strictly on his own, going forward. He has neither said ‘yes’ nor ‘no’ to 2015; but to continue to stay in reckoning, he may have to seek more creative ways of engaging the knotty issues of the day. For now, part of the assumptions is that the things, including the dissolution of party executive councils in states where the governors refused to act the central script, that Tukur did as the big boss will be undone in continuation of the pacification of the fleeing PDP members. A reversal means the governors, particularly, Murtala Nyako and Rotimi Amaechi of Adamawa and Rivers States who had been torpedoed from the party leadership at the state level, will be restored unconditionally to follow their minds. This will be most injurious to Jonathan’s plan.

If nothing changes, that is, if the governors refuse to retrace back to the PDP, it is still not good news for President Jonathan. Put differently, the defectors are not the only troublemakers in the party. If they were, the protracted business of unseating Chairman Tukur would have ended with their exit. Instead, the business continued with added intensity until it was successfully anchored last Thursday at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party. And so whether they return or not, the President is not safe After the deed, the meeting had burst into a praise song to eulogise the deposed chairman.

They all chorused: “he (Tukur) is a good fellow; he is a good fellow; he is a good fellow; and so say all of us...” If the old man was that good, why did the PDP tribe make life so difficult for him? The ‘all of us’ in that chorus included House of Reps Speaker, Aminu Tambulwa, one of those re-

HENformer president Olusegun Obasanjo W expressly wrote on President Jonathan’s political hit list, for which snipers are being

SUNDAY NARRATIVE

trained to look out for, a lot of ordinary citizens wondered what the retired old soldier was talking about. For some, OBJ could go on to accuse President Goodluck Jonathan of any other misdemeanor, but not a grave crime like training snipers in a democracy.

Initially, the entire subject matter sounded weird, like a joke taken too far, but when one gives it sufficient consideration, one discovers that it is not a new thing to draw a list of opponents and keep a close watch on their operations. It is good for planning and for plotting how to destabilise the enemy camp, not only with sticks, but also with carrots.

After all, even politicians in the United States keep political hit lists. An upcoming book on Hilary Clinton reveals that her aides meticulously kept a record of those who endorsed her and those who didn’t during her shot at the Presidency in 2008. This was revealed by Politico Magazine, a US based magazine that drives high-wire conversation in Washington. Why keep such a list? According to the Magazine, the authors think there was need to “have a record of who endorsed us and who didn’t and of those who endorsed us, who went the extra mile and who was just kind of there.” What is the purpose? They say to ensure, “that the acts of the sinners and saints would never be forgotten,” and that, “there was a special circle of Clinton hell reserved for people who had endorsed Obama or stayed on the fence after Bill and Hillary had raised money for them, appointed them to a political post or written a recommendation to ice their kid’s application to an elite school.”

To that extent of loose and hyperbolic connection, OBJ might be right in leaking the story of snipers and some men who are on a hit list.

But he seemed in a hurry to explain that there is a civilian equivalent of a political hit list that is exactly not the same as that operated by the military. He could have been merciful, to explain to ‘bloody civilians’ his frustrations with Jonathan’s style of engagement with his political hit list.

I want to contend that the unduly long years of history with the military have affected our capacity to appropriately transmute. Since we were more familiar with military leaders’ brazen use of force to suppress opposition, we are now quick to see every action of the civilian

Alabi Williams oruku35@gmail.com 08116759790 (Sms only)

Yes! There’s Always A ‘Political Hit List’ government as highhanded. In my understanding, what we think is a hit list is actually what governments since 1999 have used to reward loyalists and punish opponents. The President of the Federal Republic, as it were, is too strong and powerful to resort to any other clandestine force to hem in opponents. Also, the federal government is too powerful to want to apply physical force to deal with every political troublemaker. Such tactics, if they still exist, are not only cowardly, but spineless. There are enough instruments in the hands of the government to deal with noisemakers, not lethal instruments, but psychological and economic.

If memory serves us well, Obasanjo himself deployed both economic and psychological warfare to disorganise the opposition in the Southwest, between 1999 and 2007. Without firing one single shot, the OBJ administration dislodged the Alliance for Democracy (AD) by putting sufficient food on the table of opposition politicians. They left in drove to taste the chalice that had no ideology and depth. OBJ appointed strategic opposition leaders and descendants of regional political icons into his government and for that moment, he became the messiah. Not to mention how Obasanjo used the EFCC to chase some governors out of town and refused to license one governor’s airline. He also hounded Abubakar Atiku, his former vice president. Is that what he meant by a hit list?

The federal government could also use hunger to make life miserable for the opposition. You do not need to train snipers to asphyxiate the opposition. Imagine that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did not survive that 2003 onslaught by the PDP, where would the Southwest gain a foothold as rallying point to bounce back? It would have been total annihilation and the political landscape could never have been this way. Muhammadu Buhari has no financial muscle and he

does not pretend about it. But Obasanjo did not fire one shot. He did not need to. All he did was to empower certified election riggers and men who could fix the most difficult electoral riddle, with plum jobs in the maritime, aviation, petroleum, and lucrative board appointments; and they in turn pumped in resources to help ‘capture’ elections and weaken the opposition.

I’m sure OBJ’s anger is more with the poor deployment of resources by the Jonathan administration to annihilate the opposition and realise the vision he left behind, which was that the PDP would rule for 60 years. Which former leader will not be angry when a godson refuses to show smartness and cover up the flanks for at least a few decades, before scavengers come to unveil what had been cleverly stashed away?

When Rotimi Amaechi, the Rivers’ Governor tells the world that he is number one on the imaginary hit list, he does not say anything new.

He could not have challenged a sitting president in the manner he had done and expect to sleep with two eyes closed. And the President does not need to fire a shot to cause Amaechi sleepless nights. A governor who does not control the aviation industry does not rattle a president and expect his toy aircraft not to be grounded. Or challenge the president’s Nigeria Police Force with his tattered boys scout platoon. The president does not need any hit list to smoke any governor out. It is a long drawn, subtle enclosure and we only pray it doesn’t get messier than this.

Nasir el Rufai is very good at figures. He has allocated numbers to those who are on the President’s hit list. He claims to be on number seven, after other stalwarts of the APC. Rufai is the exemplification of how badly the Jonathan presidency failed to deploy the instruments of office to suppress, without firing a shot. When Umaru YarÁdua was our president, Rufai was on the run.

Only God knew what the two had against each other, but I suspect that YarÁdua, a very quiet

portedly programmed to clash with President Jonathan in the bid for the tenancy of Aso Rock Villa in 2015 and who saw the sinking of Tukur as an advantage in the big fight.

In any case, the Speaker as a political being has always proved bigger than his creator – the PDP. First, he had ascended the throne in spite of his platform, which had slated the nation’s number five job for another player, a lady from the Southwest called Mulikat AdeolaAkande. And since that epic victory against the PDP, Tambuwal has remained uncontainable and has been carrying on like a conqueror. Unlike others however, he has refused to quit the PDP for the APC, thus making it extremely difficult for President Jonathan to properly identify his enemies and draw a clear battle line.

With the sacking of Bamanga Tukur by forces within, the President’s enemies have become even more fluid. Precisely, who is for or against Jonathan in the PDP? For instance, at a time when the support of the Southeast for Jonathan was taken for granted, Governor Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State recklessly allowed a Freudian slip when he described the proposed national conference as a waste of precious time and resources because it would bring no changes in the end. This was interpreted as a frontal attack on the President who sees the conference as one of the star decisions of his administration. In the aftermath, the governor relocated to Abuja to explain profusely that he was misquoted by reporters.

And in much of last week, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio struggled to discharge the allegation that he was on collision course with President Jonathan on the matter of 2015. Merely denying the claim by words of mouth proved insufficient. Generous announcements were made in the media calling on the President, First Lady, the PDP and other stakeholders “to discountenance this evil conspiracy of lies and falsehood...by desperate and unscrupulous politicians.” Both men are seen within and outside the PDP as arch defender and loyalists of President Jonathan.

Clearly, these are unusual times for Jonathan and the PDP. The issues are much deeper than what gets thrown up to the surface and as the countdown to 2015 continues, what people say or do not say may not matter anymore. Rather, what will swing the tide is the unique strategy that Jonathan has adopted to engage the issues. And he must hold this battle plan very close to his chest like an ace card for the simple reason that the dividing line between his friends and enemies has become imperceptible. man did not want too much noise around himself. Rufai could be loquacious. That is the surface matter; there must be something else, but the point is that Rufai sent himself on exile.

From that distance, he wired lovely tales about Jonathan; around the time some persons did not want him on the driver’s seat. As soon as YarÁdua passed on Rufai came and Jonathan refused to identify a good talent. The man waited and waited and all appointments were concluded. Then he decided to join the opposition.

The man was available, but the administration didn’t care. The man could have done very well in any of the parastatals, but that economic sanction that was imposed on him was the first hit list where his name appeared. I want to take a guess that it is that list Rufai keeps referring to in his regular conversations. For goodness sake, why would anyone want to send snipers after this pious-looking and meek intellectual?

One fact is that some of those who worked with OBJ thought they would remain in government perpetually, so long as the PDP continued to ‘win’ elections. But YarÁdua was a gentleman, yet he was his own man and nobody’s boy. He was the one who imposed economic sanction on some of OBJ boys. When Jonathan came, they thought he was their own, but he too denied them and that is why they are so angry. Just imagine having to retire young men who are still very vibrant politically and tell me they will not run riotous.

If this is the hit list politicians are talking about in figurative terms, then it is easier for we that are uninitiated to understand. Otherwise, don’t we have enough Boko Haram to contend with?

Do we still need snipers when we have lost count of the number of small arms in circulation? No. There are enough instruments at the disposal of Mr. President to deal with opponents.

The last time OBJ set up an Oputa Panel to reconcile Nigerians; we knew what it meant to train snipers. We heard graphic tales of those who went on training oversees in order to deal with opponents of the military. We heard and saw one Sergeant Rogers. The man has disappeared. But the memory is still too fresh for any dumb person in government to want to replicate that cruel history. Any government that is not greedy will know how to protect itself. There are enough resources to keep half of those in the opposition actively busy. So busy that they will not even remember there is 2015. You do not need snipers to demobilise anybody. That’s too

TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sunday, January 19, 2014 11

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Outlook Challenges of Managing Nigeria Oil Proceeds

By Mohammed Aminu HE discovery of oil in Nigeria dates back to T the event in the small village of Oloibiri in southern Nigeria in 1956. Most, if not all of the discovered oil fields were pioneered by the joint efforts of Shell-BP. During the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970, there was a massive rise in global oil price, and for this, Nigeria was able to garner immediate riches from the oil it has produced. Soon, Nigeria would join the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and equally, the country founded its state-owned company with a mandate of overseeing the major activities in the upstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian economy. The company came to be known as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Since then crude oil production and export has played a central role in the economy of Nigeria and it has accounted for about 90 percent of the country’s gross earnings. This central role to which the petroleum industry has attained has driven other sectors of the economy, including agriculture; a sector that has for very long served as the time-honoured mainstay of the economy of Nigeria prior to the discovery of oil.

But then again, the story of oil in Nigeria has remained a two-pronged affair. On the one hand, oil discovery has yielded proceeds for the economy, but on the other hand Nigeria could not break away from the often familiar ‘Dutch Disease’. Like the Netherlands, Norway, and Britain before her, oil discovery in Nigeria have directly or indirectly hyped certain social glitches e.g. consistent industrial stagnation, and a rising unemployment figures, amongst other limited but tangible societal problems.

In an effort to curb these societal difficulties, at some point in time, governments in Nigeria have come up with pecuniary plans by establishing government interventions in the form of petroleum development funds of one kind or another. But to what extent have these funds achieved their mandates?

• Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund: Known as PTF, this fund was officially inaugurated in March 1995 by the administration of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha. It’s embracing mandate included the restoration of roads and waterways; revamping of health and educational institutions; the provision of books, stationeries, and other teaching aids, equipment and facilities in elementary, secondary, and tertiary institutions; obtaining vital drugs and vaccines for communities; provision of portable water for domestic use through the enhancement of water supply systems; reawakening the crumbling agricultural sectors of the country; linking remote areas of the country to the national electricity grid; spreading out railways and telecommunications, and guaranteeing an unfailing supply of food. Because these tasks that the PTF is bestowed with are usually tasks that could have normally be met by the federal government through its core ministries, depart-

CONversation

ments, and agencies, the PTF—seen as duplicating the obligations of established peripheral organisations of the central government—carried out its mandate with all seriousness that it became widely dubbed by society as “the alternative government.” In 1999, at the beginning of Nigeria’s new democratic rule, the PTF was scrapped by the government of the day.

• Petroleum Technology Development Fund: Also known as the PTDF, it was established in Nigeria as an agency of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 1973. Very broadly, this organisation is tasked with the development, advancement, and implementation of petroleum technology, and the development of manpower through training and research. The fund sponsors Nigerians from all walks of life to institutions of learning both in-country and overseas as graduates, professionals, craftsmen, and technicians in various fields of engineering and technology, geology and earth sciences, economics and management, and all other pertinent disciplines in the petroleum and minerals industry. It is also, particularly committed to the targets of developing Nigeria’s energy sector by controlling and balancing the operational dominance of the oil and gas industry by non-local, or perhaps foreign personnel and expertise. It inducts, outlines, and implements an effectual, home-grown research and development competence for the oil industry in Nigeria as well as the solid minerals industry. By coordinating with research centres and universities in Nigeria and abroad, the adaptation of technological advancements for the Nigerian oil industry is greatly enhanced.

• Niger Delta Development Commission: The NDDC, established in 2000 was charged with the mission of enabling the accelerated, regular and sustainable development of a geographic unit of Nigeria popularly known as the Niger Delta region. It seeks to make the Niger Delta as self-sustaining and prosperous as possible, while enhancing the stability of the region socially, economically, and politically. As well, the NDDC has a wideranging mandate that includes the formulation of policies and guidelines for the progress and advancement of the Niger Delta region; understanding, planning and executing—under ethical rules and regulations—programmes and projects that border on sustainability, including roads, waterways, and jetties, health, employment, industrialization and mechanization, fisheries and agriculture, water supply, housing and urban development, electricity and telecommunications, etc. It surveys the Niger Delta so as to determine measures that are essential to the promotion of physical and socioeconomic growth. It prepares schemes and master plans modelled to advance the physical improvement of the Niger Delta area by the government both at central, state, and local levels. It identifies factors that hamper the development of the Niger Delta area, and supports member

states of the Delta in the implementation and formulation of policies that ensures the attainment of resourceful and competent management of petroleum wealth. It assesses and reports on projects funded or executed in the region by oil companies or any other companies comprising non-governmental organisations, in addition to making sure that funds allocated for such projects are essentially utilized. It engages in tackling environmental and ecological issues that stem from the exploration of oil and minerals in the Niger Delta area, and advises the central government and the member states on palliative and control measures for oil spillages, flaring of natural gas, and environmental pollution. It liaises with a variety of oil, gas, and mineral prospecting and producing companies on every single matter of prevention and control of pollution • The proposed Sovereign Wealth Fund: This proposed fund is to be operated by the central government of Nigeria with a view to dealing with the problems springing up from the way Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) is managed. The ECA is a 2004 government-established account with the interest of safeguarding calculated budgets against deficits due to unpredictable prices of crude oil. Part of the problems associated with the management of the ECA is that since inception, the everyday administration of the account is not by any way delimited on account of any legal checks and/or balances. Against this backdrop, the SWF is going to serve as a protective approach to restraint the seemingly ostensive underperformances of the ECA. To this effect, the president of Nigeria ordered the initiation of the fund by signing into law the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Investment Act of 2011. As with SWFs elsewhere, the effective implementation of this fund will go a long way to ensure that Nigeria’s budgetary surplus is put back into the economy through investments. More so, the SWF will open avenues for economic competitiveness through Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The towering momentousness which the establishment of the fund will portend is sure to become a good index for gauging government’s dedication to universal standards of governance, among them transparency, probity, and accountability, etc., as to how natural resources are managed. It will ensure that there is prudence in resource control and management through moderating the culture of limitless disbursement of unanticipated incomes. Investments are certain to be ground on thorough, clear, and sustainable economic and financial bounds. It will make available a stock of savings for generations unborn. It will assist in softening budget vagaries in income over a time limit through ensuring prompt handiness, and through the obtainability of what could be referred to as a Counter-Cyclical Economic Stabilization Fund. Finally, the SWF will offer interventions through an Infrastructure

Fund to address critical areas of the economy.

The ultimate goal of every benign government, especially of countries so categorised as ‘developing’, and so intended for a keen march into 21st century modernity is to adopt global best practices as regards governance.

And as regards countries with huge oil reserves, the efficient management of petroleum wealth is of utmost significance for both present and future generations. Oil rich countries must understand that oil is a nonrenewable resource that will in the long run, run out. Therefore the fact of oil’s non-renewability should signal to governments on how much oil to extract, and on how swiftly or slowly this is done. It is also important for governments to decide on how much of its income from oil is enjoyed by its population in the short term, and how much could be invested for the future. These strategic controls on oil wealth management could serve as a determining factor on how long a country’s proceeds from oil is enjoyed, without being inclined to forget future generations.

In an article titled ‘Avoiding the Curse of the Oil-Rich Nations’, Tina Rosenberg wrote in the New York Times that “Every nation wants to strike oil, and after it happens, nearly every nation is worse off for it.”Rosenberg continued that “It may seem paradoxical, but finding a hole in the ground that spouts money can be one of the worst things that can happen to a country.” Likewise, in an attempt to understand the proverbial ‘resource curse’, Stanford University professor, Terry Lynn Karl, annotated that oil dependent countries “eventually become among the most economically troubled, the most authoritarian, and the most conflict-ridden in the world.” It is perhaps for reasons of trying to sidestep this ‘curse’ that countries blessed with oil, gas, and in some cases both have set up government interventionists agencies or development funds to cater for its populations.

Notwithstanding, as is shown above, Nigeria is not left out in the list of countries with these development funds. As Africa’s economy booms, and as Nigeria remains Africa’s largest oil producer with a production value of more than two and half million barrels per day, the country owes its people a duty to manage its oil wealth effectively, for the benefit of all Nigerians. The success in managing the oil wealth of Nigeria will enable the country achieve some set objectives including but not limited to assuming a prudent savings stratagem for the advantage of future generations, while down-casting the habitual splurging of proceeds realised from the country’s oil exports; stabilizing oil prices in order to avoid plummeting of such prices below the estimated sum in any financial year; and functioning as the superstructure that would aid the development of the country’s infrastructure. But by and large, whereas these initiatives are viable and worthy, its actualisation is a challenge that Nigeria must take seriously. * Aminu can be contacted at mohd.aminu@gmail.com

By Obe Ess

TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Editorial EFCC And Prosecution Of 17 Former Governors EPORTS that the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is warming up to prosecute 17 former governors for allegedly looting their state treasuries while in office should ordinarily be a welcome development but is actually unsettling given the political climate in the country at the moment.

The timing is suspicious, the announcement questions the integrity of what ordinarily should be an unbiased prosecution of corruption.

Why the agency is just waking up on these cases many years after the governors in question left office raises questions and the least the EFCC should rise beyond suspicion for it to have credibility and public trust.

Granted that Nigerians desire to see the EFCC prosecute corrupt persons conscientiously and unimpeded given the high level of graft in the country, it would be ineffectual for the agency to give the impression that it is motivated by political witch-hunt in the performance of its arduous duty. That will erode the credibility of the commission and at the same time create an escape route for corrupt persons who should come under the hammer of the law.

The EFCC has reportedly earmarked the sum of N284.6 million for the prosecution of 17 former governors. The former governors include Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia, Chimaroke Nnamani, of Enugu Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto, Adamu Abdullahi, of Nasarawa, Boni Haruna of Adamawa, Jolly Nyame of Taraba, Michael Botmang of Plateau, Saminu Turaki of Jigawa, Joshua Dariye also of Plataeu, Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, Danjuma Goje of Gombe, Akwe Doma of Nasarawa, Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo, Otunba Gbenga Daniel of Ogun, Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa and Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo. The Commissioner also said Nigeria lost at least N350 billion to fraud allegedly committed by the accused persons and their cronies.

To start with, the sum of N284.6 million budgeted may not be enough to prosecute these cases even if the EFCC intends to use government prosecutors in the Ministry of Justice. There seems to be a deliberate underfunding of the agency, which is inimical to a sound prosecution of cases as EFCC should be able to engage the right calibre of lawyers to prosecute its cases. Besides, EFCC should be diligent in prosecuting the cases by assembling unassailable evidences before going to court to avoid having the cases thrown out for lack of merit.

Having said this, reopening the governors’ cases at this material time is fraught with perils not the least being the suspicion that the exercise is geared towards the 2015 general elections. It is a disservice to Nigeria when those who are facing the wrath of the law get the chance to claim that their prosecution is a smear campaign on account of bad timing. In truth, at election time chances of blackmail are high. Eight years ago, former EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu listed some 23 governors he said had serious allegations of fraud and corruption to answer but who could not be prosecuted while in office. The cases were then under investigation. The governors were meant to be prosecuted as soon as they left office. But ever since then, only a handful has actually been taken to court.

And, to date, the EFCC has not made public the report of its investigations. The question is, if the 17 governors had cases to answer, why did their cases have to wait till now? It is noteworthy that the first batch of governors finished in 2003.

At a point, EFCC complained of lack of funds to do its job. Which is why the case is being vigorously made that EFCC should be made completely independent. The structure of its prosecution is faulty and that explains why the commission bungles many of its cases. To save costs, the Commission may wish to make use of prosecutors in the Ministry of Justice as these are lawyers employed to prosecute government cases. Yet, EFCC would need some financial muscle to hire external lawyers in some cases.

Above all, it is an institution on which the future of good governance in Nigeria depends. An appreciation of this pivotal, historical role should inform appointment of EFCC’s helmsmen, recruitment into its operations, funding and its structure. Nigeria will rise or fall on the basis of how it fights corruption.

R

LETTERS

CBN And The N5000 Note In your editorial of Syouir:Thursday December 12, 2013, vehemently opposed the introduction of N5000 note and the revisiting of Project Cure. I do not agree with you on the points you made for the position you hold.

It is not every issue on monetary policy that should be subjected to public debate. The case people have today against the N5, 000 note is the same they had when the N1, 000 was about to be issued several years back. Large denomination is not for the use of everyone, especially if you do not have a need to carry large sums of money. Notwithstanding the push for a cashless society, Nigeria will remain a cash economy for a long time to come.

The rejection of Project Cure left us with a basic five per cent inflation as the least transaction currency has remained N5.

Though we have currency values below N5, we cannot make purchases below N5 because they are not available.

Manufacturers have had to push prices to the nearest N5 or N10 and retailers have had to sell small ticket items at two for N5 or three for N10. When we purchase fuel at petrol stations or make payments at the banks, the fractions below N5 are left for these enterprises to rake in millions over a period. Today we have N5 and N10 notes, what has happened to values from N1 to N4 and N6 to N9? The CBN tried to reintroduce the usage of coins to take this problem away, but the political opposition pushed public opinion against it because they could not spray at social parties with

coins. Yet, coins have remained a major part of purchase transaction in Western economies and other African countries.

The National Assembly did not try to isolate the different aspect of Project Cure and retain the aspect of the coins issue, but instead threw the bath away with the baby because of “opposition” to the N5000 note. It is in the same sense of narrow mindedness that we handled the issue of movement of the decimal point under late President Yar’Adua. If we had moved the decimal point as Ghana did

some years back, N6, 000,000.00 would have become N600, 000.00; N600, 000.00 of today would become N60, 000.00 etc. with no loss of value. We would not only have to carry less cash, it would reduce the cost of printing more notes for the same transaction.

The print and electronic media, as major sources of information for the public should take a front role in informing the public from a much more enlightened and progressive point instead of keeping us stagnant and falling behind. Let the N5000 note come to stay and let Project Cure be revisited.

• Steve Oboh, Lagos.

State Police Not Solution To Insecurity ir: I read a feature interview SGuardian

by Chuks Collins in The of January 14, 2014 where Chief Simon Okeke former chairman of the Police Service Commission said that the worsening security situation in the country can only be tackled by the establishment of state police.

I respect his views, but humbly disagree with the submission.

The ineffective policing in Nigeria is due to lack of proper training, funding and corruption. This has seriously restricted performance of the police force. This country needs an urgent police reform if we expect police interventions to be effective and efficient instead of the clarion call for the establishment of a state police.

There should be a department like that of the internal affairs in the United States, which ruthlessly curtails the excesses of the

Federal Police. Until senior police officers are held responsible for the misdeeds of the lower ranks, the lower ranks will continue to be a burden to the nation.

The recent case in Port Harcourt where a political gathering was thwarted with tear gas is only a tip of the iceberg. Also the rate of impunity displayed

by State Traffic Controllers,who wrestle keys from drivers at the slightest excuse and sometimes engage in fisticuffs, is a pointer to how state police will be run.

State police will annihilate, infringe on rights and rail-road people into prison cells.

We are still guilty of group philosophy for egoistic interest while national interest takes the back stage. How can state police work in such an environment of mutual suspicion all around Nigeria?

• Simon Abah, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sunday, January 19, 2014

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THE GUARDIAN

Sunday, January 19, 2014

www.ngrguardiannews.com

NOTEBOOK

Thank Jonathan I’m Not Afghan Today

By Ndaeyo Uko WAS rereading a Washington Post story on the most honest man in Afghanistan when I chanced upon a blandly titled little story on Nigeria, which should have made the front page. First, let me quickly dispose of the silly little Afghan story and then sit down and share the wonderful news. The most honest Afghan is a policeman. It was not his boring name, Saboor, that struck me, but the banner behind his duty post: “CORRUPTION” written in the local language and crossed out with a red “X” to say corruption was a no-no.

What’s wrong with these people? They squander taxpayer’s money on sign writing instead of buying countless official cars and trendy uniforms for their country’s chief of police.

How do they expect to stamp out police corruption with signs rather than speeches and the show-trial of unfortunate offenders who fail to make their returns to their bosses in the office?

Do you have this odd feeling once in a while when you say something really outlandish that you might actually be right, and hope that you are just being plain stupid? Then welcome to my world, for I was already composing my next sentence on the evils of war on corruption by sign writing when the next paragraph of the story sailed into view: Afghanistan is the world’s most corrupt nation (tied with North Korea and Somalia), according to Transparency International. It’s a country where public officials have embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars, most of it foreign aid, and where petty corruption pervades daily life.

That is what you get when you pretend to be fighting things you shouldn’t fight. I bet they didn’t even award the sign writing contract to the girlfriend of the police chief. How will the police chief be able to supervise the execution of a contract awarded to someone he doesn’t ‘know’?

But here is the good part that will make our cops beam with endless vindicating delight: the man lives in a five-room house, which he shares with 28 other people. In other words, he lives in a face-me-I-face-you. Better still, his bosses are obviously mad at him for dragging the name of their so-called corrupt force in the mud with his sanctimonious behaviour.

They gave him only one minor promotion in 20 years, so he’s still a semi-constable at the age of 52. Put differently, the poor Saboor is, well, poor, as indeed he should be: a warning to all policemen and women in Nigeria and the rest of the civilised world.

The warning came from none other than Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam, chairman of the Anti-Corruption Network, who said, “If they don’t take bribes, they will suffer like Saboor.”

Thank Jonathan I am not Afghan. The newspaper was kinder to Nigeria, of course, because our dear country is not the most corrupt in the world; we are not Afghans: we know how to rig the polls! A Nigerian made me proud when he showed the British how smart we are. He was a man of about 35 and he told the British immigration who tried to put him back on the plane to Lagos that he was 15! And he got away with it!

With that background, let us all rise and observe a minute of

I

noise-making in honour of our action president Lord Doctor Goodluck Jonathan. The Washington Post article titled ‘Nigerian council investigates alleged hit squads’ will put to shame all the people behind the recent spate of letter-bombing. The newspaper tells us what the president has done and why I am so proud of him.

“Nigeria’s National Human Rights Council has named a 5person panel to investigate claims President Goodluck Jonathan is training a hit squad to assassinate opponents in the run-up to 2015 elections.” Enemies of the president might try to deny him the credit due to him by suggesting, ever so ignorantly, that the government had nothing to do with the Council. To such enemies of progress I will say on good authority that the NHRC is a federal government agency. And you know what that means.

The panel set up by the NRHC will “investigate whether there have been state-sponsored killings or assassinations in Nigeria since November 1995 and, if so, what organisations, institutions, agencies or people were or are involved in such killings.” It wouldn’t stop there. It will investigate whether indeed there does exist a hit squad and a hit list and who are on them!

I know what you are going to say: are they the police? No they are not the police, or SSS or any such thing. They are a thousand times better and more successful in investigations.

And they have a track record to show: the complex case of the purported kidnapping of Her Excellency Mrs. Clara Chime by His Excellency her Husband Governor Sully Chime of Enugu State, is one of many examples of their astonishing success.

Below is the conclusion of the “INTERIM REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED INCARCERATION OF HER EXCELLENCY MRS CHIME” written by none other but Prof. Bem Angwe, the Councils Secretary-General and posted on the Council’s website: “Both parties have agreed that the Commission assemble a team of independent medical experts to review her medical condition and advise on further steps to be taken in respect of her treatment.

“We want to thank His Excellency Governor Chime, and Her Excellency, Mrs. Clara Chime, his wife and all the persons that we interacted with during our visit for their cooperation with the Commissions team of investigators. We also want to assure all the parties and Nigerians that the Commission will continue with the investigation of this matter and take appropriate decision that will be in the interest of all the parties and the Commission will not hesitate to invoke its further mandate to mediate between the parties with a view to reconciling them.

“Finally we wish to reassure all Nigerians that this Commission is determined to be the instrument that will represent their dreams and aspirations. We wish to make it very clear that in the realm of human rights protection, there is no immunity against impunity.”

And I want to thank Commissioner Angwe and his team of detectives for cracking the Chime tough case for us. With friends like this, who needs the police?

Reading “BIITL” With Rhetorical Lenses From Adidi Uyo ESIDES proclaiming gratitude to the Almighty for ferrying B us into another New Year – this being our first outing this year, let us also thank God for ensuring that 2014 did not begin with something that convulsed the nation toward the end of 2013: that orgiastic revelry in letter writing by the extremely high and mighty in our country. That statement is certainly not a hyperbole, because, never in the annals of public communication in Nigeria have the people been treated to a series of letters from a former president to a sitting president, an erstwhile senator and daughter of the erstwhile president to her father, and the sitting president to the former president, as they were in December 2013.

I do not know whether you read the comment of a nitwit who likened the series of letters to a literary ménage a trois, but I am sure you know that a number of diehard cynics have referred to the series as nothing less than an extraordinary SOS. Don’t mind me, that is my shorthand for Show Of Shame!

However, given our singular interest on the language train, I don’t need to tell you that there is no way we can align ourselves with such cynics. Consequently, I have chosen to do one of the various things that come to us naturally on our language locomotive: Read the letters with a rhetorical lens, in order to find out whether, in their attempt to persuade members of the public, the letter writers have used any of the devices that masters and authors of rhetoric teach us to employ.

Rhetoric, as you must know, pertains to all the “means of persuasion,” and language is not only the root but also the reservoir of the means available for persuasion. The armoury of rhetoric, to put it modestly, is humongous, for it includes any communication device that you can deploy to win the battle for the mind and heart of man, and most of the devices involve language, of course.

There is no agreement on the kindred of rhetoric or rhetorical devices, but, generally speaking, we could say that the ammunition in the armoury of rhetoric finds expression in the various linguistic units, that is, words, phrases, sentences, and

LANGUAGE ON PARADE how these units are arranged and manipulated to affect minds and hearts. Its notable or more popular ammunition include figurative, idiomatic, and proverbial expressions, besides diction, special syntactic constructions, and what one author refers to as “quasi-numerical stratagems.”

Before you ask me to explain what that means, I mean, “quasi-numerical stratagems,” let us get down to business by focusing on the first letter in the series, that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Chief Obasanjo titled his letter, “Before it is too late,” but because its abbreviation sounds sweeter to me, I like to call it “BIITL.” How else could you pronounce that but as “beetle”!

As a General in war, Chief Obasanjo certainly knows what strategy is all about, and anybody who designs a strategy for a war knows that there is something known as “stratagem.”

One dictionary defines this as “a trick or plan that you use to gain an advantage or to trick an opponent.”

I don’t know whether he can describe what he did in the special language of rhetorical devices, but the first thing that struck me about BIITL was the quasi-numerical stratagem that General Obasanjo deployed at the outset of his letter. After opening with the declaration that “I am constrained to make this letter an open letter to you for a number of reasons,” he proceeded to give ten specific reasons, starting the pertinent sentences with “One, Two, and Three,” up to “Ten.” One, Two, and Three are words, but you know that they stand for the numbers 1, 2, and 3, which we cannot write as such either in prose or poetry. They are therefore referred to as “quasinumerical,” for “quasi” is defined as, “that appears to be something but is not really so.” However, what makes what the general did in the first two paragraphs of BIITL a quasi-numerical stratagem is the whole package, especially, his seeming entreaty as expressed in the words, “I am constrained to make this an open letter to you.”

You can tell that this is a trick by asking the question: “Who is constraining the general to make this an open letter?” If you

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

By Stanley Azuakola

Nigerian MINT Controversies HE feeding allocation for Aso Rock has been cut by almost half from the N1 billion budgeted two years ago, to N542.8 million in 2014. The reason for this reduction, according to our investigations was the fact that Aso Rock has replaced cassava bread with butter mint as the official visitor’s entertainment food. When Pres. Jonathan discovered that Nigeria has been lumped in a new grouping called MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), he decided that it would be nice to serve butter mint at the villa so that he could start all his speeches by saying, “Do you know why we served you butter mint today?” Then he’ll explain how his presidency has made Nigeria to be so recognised that our brand is now sweet to the world like butter MINT. Unsurprisingly, this MINT grouping has led to ‘ideological’ war between Nigeria’s two leading parties. Whereas the presidency now serves butter mint in Aso Rock, the headquarters of the All Progressives Congress now serves peppermint to its own guests. A Pinch... gathered that the APC decided to serve pepper mint so that its chairman can begin all his speeches by saying, “Do you know why we served you peppermint?” He would then go on to describe how Nigerians have been shown “pepper” since Jonathan became president, and how Nigerians would continue to see “pepper” unless the Jonathan administration is swept away in 2015.

In a related development, Aso Rock has banned award-winning journalist, Tolu Ogunlesi, from ever setting foot in the villa for “making mockery of the ongoing minty transformation taking place in the country.” A Pinch… heard from some of the president’s handlers that Aso Rock was upset over a letter written by Ogunlesi in which he told the president that “Nigerians are unimpressed that the president is only interested in MINT when all around us we are feeling the PAINS (Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria) of the government’s failures and when it seems like Nigeria is a nation where INSANITY (India, Nigeria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Israel, Turkey, Yemen) prevails.” Ogunlesi further said that he did not intend to RANT (Rwanda, Armenia, Nigeria, Turkmenistan) in his letter, but he needed to do it to stay awake because hearing the president’s countless unfulfilled promises just makes him YAWN (Yemen, Afghanistan, WestBank, Nigeria).

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Nigeria Is Not The Worst – Pres. Jonathan Pres. Goodluck Jonathan has frowned at the Nigerian media for the way it keeps portraying Nigeria “as though our situation is the worst.” At a church service last Sunday in Abuja, he said: “Nigeria is not the worst; we are not alone. For any bad thing in this country, we have our sisters and brothers in other countries in the same boat. They say we have terrorism in Nigeria but terrorism is everywhere, for instance, see how bad things are in Pakistan. They say I am clueless but cluelessness is everywhere, for instance see how clueless Mugabe is in Zimbabwe. They say PDP and APC fight too much, but political fighting is everywhere, for instance see how in the US the two political parties are fighting everyday and it even led to government shutdown. They say I pamper my Princess Oduah too much, but you need to see the way the King of Swaziland pampers his many princesses. They say my wife is too overbearing... but… anyway let’s just leave that one.”

CROWNED CLOWN (CeeCee) OF THE WEEK Some things must be out of bounds in politics. Certain topics – like tribe and religion – are too volatile to be used as weapons to win votes. That’s why despite being satisfied with the performance of Peter Obi as governor, A Pinch… still resents the man for his wicked use of tribalism and anti-Yoruba propaganda to win votes for the Igbo party – APGA – in last year’s Anambra elections. We must learn to rally our people without railing against those not like us. Fuelling hate should never be a campaign strategy. Last week, Reuben Abati, the revered former newspaper columnist and now presidential spokesman, registered his name in the book of infamy, when he used his megaphone as Jonathan’s spokesman to push the story via several new media channels that the main opposition party APC is out to Islamise Nigeria. To be clear, despite the fact that the APC has a high number of Northern Muslims in its ranks, this is hardly due to an Islamisation plot.

Jonathan knows that fact, and so does Abati. It is a disgrace that Abati, and inferably Pres. Jonathan, chose to come out without tangible evidence and make such a lousy claim in order to divide Nigerians, heat up the polity and shore up their base in the South. Who would have ever thought that Abati would one day be the sower of such corrupt seeds of division?

For his recklessness and lack of understanding about the sensitivity of the position he occupies, Reuben Abati receives the CeeCee this week. ask me, there is no doubt that the ten reasons given by General Obasanjo are all plausible, if not valid. They are grounds that any Nigerian who is abreast with the affairs of his or her nation would acknowledge, if not accept. The general knows this, and is exploiting it to the full.

By using the ten reasons that he has adroitly numbered to introduce his letter, and proclaiming that they constitute his motive for making the letter an open one, the wily general was seeking to gain a big advantage, to wit: get the public on his side and make his motive anything but personal.

We have just begun to focus our rhetorical lenses on General Obasanjo’s BIITL, the first of the three letters that convulsed

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

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16 | Sunday, January 19, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

NEWSPEOPLE OSSAI: Exuding Strong Passion For Language, Environment How will you describe the parenting you had and how did it shape your personality?

My greatest asset is my family, which is stable. We are a large family of nine children. I am the eighth. My parents are the first school of love and my home a school of virtue. My parents were very hard working. I understand my dad was strict with my elder brothers but became less strict with us, the younger children. I remember my dad refused to take gifts offered him at his place of work when people wanted favours. My parents valued education and would always encourage high academic pursuits. They led a moderate life. They had a deep Christian outlook on life, which was passed on to the children. My parents also allowed us to develop as individuals with freedom and responsibility. In this atmosphere, we were thus able Can you talk briefly about your two books? to grow and mature as responsible adults able to take our place in society HE French-English Picture Dictionary for What informed your choice of course?

Schools is a three-in-one learning and I am of the school of thought that learning, interactive dictionary. It has about 598 especially in the junior classes, should be pages specially designed in line with the from the known to the unknown, unless the national curriculum for learners of French as a method of teaching the French language is foreign language. It is based on my research by the French immersion programme. with University of Stendhal Grenoble, and Thanks to my two Alma Maters – St. Anne’s years of classroom experience on the cognitive School, Molete, Ibadan and the International language processes of Anglophone learners of School, University of Ibadan, where I did the French. The three parts of the dictionary and ordinary and advanced level— I had very the verb conjugation provide students with good French teachers. I remember them the right material for French language skills with gratitude. My French teacher at St. development. In a survey carried out, 83 per Anne’s made out time to give us extra lessons cent of students and 80 per cent of teachers on Saturdays, most especially, during reviprefer to use French-English Picture sion periods. She ensured we had a very good Dictionary in colour. foundation in the subject. The teacher at the Its uniqueness lies in its components. It is International School was very methodical. I more than a dictionary. It is a reference mateliked her classes too. In addition to these, I rial. Part I contains about 800 colourful took a trimester course at Alliance Française, images. Each French word is represented by Ibadan. I must confess that the Alliance an image, which sustains the interest of the Française has good methods of teaching and learners and enables them to think in French. learning the French language. Based on good The gender and grammatical classification of teachers and personal efforts, I graduated the word expressed through the images are with distinction in French from both given. The English equivalents of the words schools. I remember my lecturers from are given, where necessary, for further clarifiUniversity of Ibadan with gratitude as well: cation. This dictionary extends the teaching of Prof. Dada from the Faculty of Education and the words by using them in different contexts the Late (Rev.) Prof. Munoz from Faculty of within the vocabulary range of learners, thereArts. by enabling a variety of learner-types to have a I also enjoyed my course of study from the better retention of the words.

University of Stendhal Grenoble 3. However, Part II contains more entries than part one. Ossai switching to the French system of education It includes words that cannot be illustrated. was tough, but worthwhile. The French sysThis enables the dictionary to cover a wide I am of the school of thought that learning, especially in the junior classes, should be scope of vocabulary required by the learners. from the known to the unknown, unless the method of teaching the French language is by tem of education differs from the Nigerian or English system of education. Comparing The meanings are given in a simple and unambasic concepts like approach to answering the French immersion programme.Thanks to my two Alma Maters – St. Anne’s School, biguous manner. questions on a comprehension passage, for Part III has similar characteristic features; it Molete, Ibadan and the International School, University of Ibadan, where I did the ordiinstance. In the Nigerian system, different is useful to learners, who want to find the nary and advanced level— I had very good French teachers. I remember them with grati- question-types are designed to test the stuFrench equivalent of English words. dent’s understanding of the passage, wherePart IV indicates the page and shows the list tude. My French teacher at St. Anne’s made out time to give us extra lessons on as in the French system, ‘’commentaire comof over 172 conjugated verbs in alphabetical Saturdays, most especially, during revision periods. She ensured we had a very good posé’’ requires the student to do exactly the order. foundation in the subject. The teacher at the International School was very methodical. I opposite. The reader is being tested on what Part V consists of an appendix provided to was on the writer’s mind to bring about the enhance learning at a glance. An introduction liked her classes too. passage. to the culture of France and Francophone From the colours you can tell the mood of Africa is provided through maps and pictures nature clubs, students are helped to develop University of Ibadan are special. Though sepaanalytical and critical skills with regard to the writer, from the dates you can deduce rated by life, I can count on them. of monuments and historical places. A prothe historical context. There is also a sequennunciation guide in the form of an audio CD is their school grounds and finally to their com- What two or three fun memories you like to tial way of analysing and of deducing ideas also included. The audio CD can be used alone munity. They learn, based on field trips from talk about? the writer has in mind. The two systems of or in conjunction with the dictionary. This will the streets around the schools to major streets My first real contact with the French culture education are good but simply differ. The help learners to improve their pronunciation in the city to offices and institutions of higher was when my parents sent me for an internalearning. tional language summer course in Paris. It was course on Information Technology and skills.

I intend to pass the environmental message fun to learn French with my peers from other Communication was amazing. We were I had two mentors, one from the university, either analyzing language CDs or developing and the other from the Ministry of Education. of the book by ensuring that as many copies as continents. I was impressed by the fact that, scenarios for the World Wide Web. We used They ensured it was in line with the national possible get into the hands of the target audi- on the second day, our teacher knew our sitence.

The Hot Potatoes software, which includes ting positions and our names. I communicatcurriculum.

Who are your target audience? four applications like JCloze, JCross, JMatch, ed exclusively in French. I stayed in an area It took me about a decade to compile.

The dictionary is designed for ages 10 to 18.

Jmix to create exercises for teachers and stucalled ‘Quartier latin’.

However, there were other things alongside.

However, people say adults can use it too. I dents.

The Latin Quarter of Paris is situated on the First, my family commitment, next my job. showed it to some of my friends. They got The pattern of asking examination quesleft bank of the Seine, a 776 km long river, Every stage of the compilation was painstakcopies. I thought they were getting it for their which is an important commercial waterway. tions differ as well. I had to get used to writing. If I had known it would take that long, I kids. I was amused when they said it was for The Latin Quarter is also home to a number of ing three to four hour examination of just might not have embarked on it. But when I their personal use. one question, or a sentence. Or to write one higher education establishments, such as the realised I had invested so much resources, I that says that all documents are authorized Sorbonne University. It is known for its stuhad to persevere. It would not have been very Why did you decide to write them?

I liked to play with words and since the age of dent life, lively atmosphere and bistros. At the in the hall. tedious, if it were just the pictorial part. But 18, I have had the vision to compile a diction- bistros, you see people sitting in small groups Does it have an influence on the field you then, it would be only for primary schools. I needed the word index for it to be suitable for ary. And about the book on the environment, I around tables taking hot chocolate drinks and picked as a profession? was interested in The WWF Prince Bernhard I had two career pathways at the early stage a variety of coffee such as cappuccino, café au the Senior Secondary Schools, as well. of my profession. Teaching or Diplomacy, lait, black coffee with milk of different ratios.

I remember writing to Harraps, some years Scholarships for Nature, which required an most especially, as I had interacted with ago, for the word index. It was not possible to achievement with practical demonstration. I To attend classes daily, I would either walk or thought I could explore my writing skills in members of the diplomatic corps. But I love use the metro. At summer, I chose to walk obtain it, so, I had to compile over 10,000 the area of environment. From there, I devel- across the beautiful Luxembourg Garden. We to impart knowledge, hence teaching. Later, words reference one by one. But the advanalso had an educational tour of Paris. We visit- when sometimes, I enter a posh office, I say tage it has is that it skilfully eliminates ambi- oped an interest in the environment combined with the innate ability for beauty and to myself, though it looks comfortable here, ed the historical places and monuments guity. It takes only someone with the classaesthetics. including ‘Musée du Louvre.’ Louvre Museum is where the real action is, is the classroom. room experience to do it. Most teachers will agree that students in junior forms will come What was growing up like and what were your one of the world’s largest museums and a cen- There, we touch and mould lives. I remember dreams while growing up? telling my students that they have to strive to tral landmark of Paris. It has nearly up with ambiguous lexical structures from I grew up in an intellectual environment, enter marriage with chaste bodies. I did not 35,000 objects from prehistory. their dictionaries, when they want to check specifically within the university campus at know they had listened until years later At the end of my stay, my new friends wantthe meaning of certain words.

Ibadan. This has greatly shaped my life to date, ed a Nigerian night. From the Nigerian some of them came to say thank you. The The first units of the book deal with skill pieces of advice had helped and guided them development on maintenance culture starting my intellectual pursuit and love of academia, Embassy, I got posters depicting the Nigerian from the bedroom to the bathroom, to the sit- going to the library and discovering the world culture. I bought tropical ingredients from the in their relationships etc.

What is your philosophy about life?

West Indies market to prepare the Nigerian ting room, the kitchen and finally to the sur- of books.

My secondary school friends from St Anne’s, meal, though I miscalculated and added a lot My philosophy about life is to go for what roundings of the house. Next is action plan.

Molete and the International School, endures. of pepper. They ate it anyway!

Through the school environmental and

Rosemary Ossai is an educationist, environmentalist and lexicographer. The lady, who has a strong passion for teaching and research, had her education at the University of Ibadan and University of Stendhal Grenoble III. Recently, she had a public presentation of two books. In this chat with GBENGA SALAU, she gave an insight to why she wrote those two books –– The French-English Picture Dictionary for Schools and The Environmental Education and Maintenance Culture at the Grassroots – among other issues.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

SPECIAL REPORT

www.ngrguardiannews.com

P/19 COVER BlOOD ON THE PLATEAU : Killing The Living, Assaulting The Dead

P/ 23 2015: Trespassing Nigeria’s Ancient, Perilous Milestones NEWSFEATURE P/ 27 Nigeria’s Crippling Battle With Malnutrition

BUSINESS

The Odds Against Naira

AWAH

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THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sunday January 19, 2014

SPOTLIGHT

By Chuks Nwanne

HE first came to limelight as a producer with Bent Arrows, a movie on basic life issues such as arranged marriage, promiscuity and incest. Starring Nollywood stars such as Olu Jacobs (Mr. Johnson), Joke Silva (Mrs. Johnson), Stella Damasus (Ngozi), Omoni Oboli (Lola), Desmond Elliot (Udeme) and Ngozi Ezeonu (Chidimma), the movie, which premiered in both Lagos and Abuja, and made noticeable impact in the showbiz industry.

However, before Isang Ubong Awah ventured into film production, she was already an established writer. According to her, she started writing at a very tender age, which informed her decision to set up Rainbow Books, an Abujabased publishing firm that deals more on children’s literature.

“Being a mother, I used to tell my children personalised stories that featured them. Way back then, it never occurred to me that I could publish these stories and give them the opportunity to see themselves in books,” she recalled.

Isang first came in contact with personalised books few years ago, while still schooling in the United States.

Amazed at the concept and packaging, she bought them for her children and friends.

“When I got back, the reception was just so amazing from children and adults and more people wanted me to bring more books. But I realised that it wouldn’t work, for a number of reasons. Not because of money, but I wasn’t actually satisfied with the kind of books I had brought in,” she said.

As beautiful as the concept looks, Isang could not find the African culture in the mix. “The book didn’t not really have to do with our own culture; most of the images were white children. Though the stories were nice, but I wanted stories that would instill right values to our children.”

With that in mind, she resolved to put her passion into action by writing her own stories. She went a step further to establish a publishing firm to actualise her dream.

“I needed stories that will be in African settings, reflect the African culture, with images that show a true African child. I wanted our children to be able to look at good and quality books and see images of them. Then, the idea is to try and export them to other countries just to boost the self-esteem of the African child.”

In most cases, when the Western world thinks about African child, the image that comes to their minds is a picture a malnourished kid. So, for Isang, aside from being a commercial venture, the project is another tool to tell the true story of Africa to the world from the African perspective.

“That was how I got inspiration to start publishing these books. Our focus is to be the leading brand of personalised books in Africa and our mission is to build the self-esteem of the African child, to cultivate a reading culture and pass on the right values into children.”

In Nigeria, setting up a book-publishing firm comes with a lot of challenges. But for a woman, who is passionate about the pride of Africa, running Rainbow Book has been an interesting venture.

“It’s been fantastic; though I had been working on this for the past two years. Few months after we started, bringing out the books, the reception has been awesome. Think about it, somebody gives you a book and you see your picture on the dedication page as the hero or the heroine of the story, and you are reading about yourself and friends, won’t you like it? So, everybody loves our books. I have had people sent text messages and calls to thank me; the reception has been wonderful,” she enthused.

On the affordability of the book, especially for children from poor homes, the publisher explained, “with the price we have set, everybody can afford it. I could have looked at it from the aspect that we have spent so much money, but we decided that we want to make it affordable to everybody.”

A single copy of the A4 book is sold at N3000, though there are rooms for negotiations. But in a situation where someone wants to add additional photo of either the child or family, or add extra message to the book, it might become a little bit more expensive.

“We also have the mini copy, which we introduced in case people want to make many copies for children’s party and we have different stories for both boys and girls,” she said.

For Isang, getting the stories done involves a rigorous process, though with inspiration from God. “First of all I believe that all of my works are inspired by God. When I get a story, I tell it to my children; I see their reactions. I ask them questions because I’m writing for a younger audience, so I wouldn’t just pick any story because I like it.”

As for the illustrations, “I allow my children and other children to look at it, and tell me their feedback. Then when the story is ready, I send it to my editor, who is a New York publisher, and she was an elementary school teacher in the US. So, with all of that, we make adjustments when necessary, before we finally get to the last

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AWAH...

Building The African Child’s Esteem stage.”

In a bid to get the initiative closer to children, the outfit has set up a partnership system, where schools are allowed to make input into the book for their pupils.

“For such schools, we give them a little discount, and if you order to your child’s school, then we have number of books schools can give to their graduating students. In such books, we allow the proprietor or proprietress to write a special message, and giving space for pictures. In addition, we brand the name of the schools in the story.”

Though she seems to have channeled all her energies into the book project, Isang Awa still have passion for filmmaking.

“At the time I started this project, I had my movie

At the time I started this project, I had my movie screened in the US; I had people willing to come down and work with me. I just knew I had the inspiration, and I knew it was time to pause movie making and stepped into this. It is pretty difficult for me to say I don’t come out to surprise people or that I would do this or not do that because I’m following a divine script. So, whatever I do, I want the Lord to order my steps; it’s not just about me, but a divine mandate.

screened in the US; I had people willing to come down and work with me. I just knew I had the inspiration, and I knew it was time to pause movie making and I stepped into this. It is pretty difficult for me to say I don’t come out to surprise people or that I would do this or not do that because I’m following a divine script. So, whatever I do, I want the Lord to order my steps; it’s not just about me, but a divine mandate,” she said.

If things work out as planned, the producer might be returning to location this year for yet another movie.

“I’m hoping to be back on set soon. For now, we are focusing on grooming the next generation of writers. I felt sad over the death of the literary legend Chinua Achebe; he’s been an inspiration to my generation and me. And one of the things we want to do is to pass it to the next generation.”

For all Nigerians, especially those, who are making efforts daily to uplift the black race, “I want to encourage everybody to dream big; don’t be afraid to pursue your dream. It doesn’t matter if it never happened before; if you hold on and you believe, it will happen.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014 19

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Special Report

A cross section of burnt houses in Kukah Village

BlOOD ON THE PLATEAU : Killing The Living, Assaulting The Dead (1) For 11 days, between December 10 and 20, 2013, ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO scoured the perilous villages of north-central Plateau State where more than a thousand people have been slaughtered in the last two years. After covering an estimated 5549km, he returns, in this five-part series, to tell the chilling story of venomously orchestrated serial killings that should worry not only the federal and state governments, but the ordinary people, including those living far away from the plateau.

ARENE Uttawal speaks slowly — sparingly. And when she does, it is with the help of an interpreter. She moves only sparingly as well. And, again, when she does, her motion is hardly beyond rotational. This is because she is paralysed in the lower region of the body.

Anyone who knew her nine months back would shudder now at how unkindly fate has dealt with her. Going on 105 years at the time, she roused from sleep at dawn everyday to take her turn on the farm like nearly everyone else in the village. Working year-round in a manner that belied her old age, she more than subsisted on the maize, guinea corn and Irish potato farm she tended.

Then came the devastating halt. In March 2013, “unknown armed men suspected to be Fulanis” invaded Mile-Bakwai Village — located in Mangor, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State — gunning down 18 people, among whom were her son and grandson. On hearing the news, Marene suffered a stroke, which resulted in partial paralysis of her lower limb. She has

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been bed-ridden ever since.

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea T is easy to curse Marene’s luck when her Iother doom is reviewed in isolation. Not so in circumstances. For sure, Felix Davou would have happily taken her place. Felix was only four months old when gunmen broke into his parents’ home in mid-November 2013 and fired at his stomach, disembowelling him and summarily snuffing life out of him before he even knew its meaning. Four other members of his family were also murdered in that raid. That was in Tatu Village, Jos North Local Government. In that attack on 26th November 2013, 15 people, mostly women and children, were executed.

Elsewhere in Rawurum Village in Barkin Ladi Local Government (9°32 00 N 8°54 00 E), another nursling was being put to death. In one of the crudest manifestations of depraved thirst for blood, invaders placed a gun in the mouth of Julius Bula and pulled the trigger! At just five months old, there was no chance Julius would live for a split-second more.

It may be hard to imagine a worse fate for an infant. But actually — and sadly — there is.

Whether David or Gyang or Rotji, no one knew what the baby’s name would have been had he/she been born. The foetus was only “seven months” in its mother’s womb when the bullets of a cold-blooded killer hurled it back to just where it was emerging from. Those who would have known — the father and mother — did not survive the attack either, the former, in fact, dying in a most gruesome manner (He was shot twice, after which his head was “scattered completely” with a big stone.). The four other members of the family breathed their last that night as well. The family of 48-year-old Irmiya Chollom Deme was — simply put — exterminated.

As the latter parts of this real-life narration would authenticate, the killings in the villages of Plateau, when weighed on the scale of brutality, are unrivalled anywhere in Nigeria since the Civil War of 6th July 1967 to 15th January 1970.

Not even killings masterminded by adherents of the Boko Haram Islamist sect rank any close.

On the gauges of consistency and casualty figures, too, the Plateau killings offer sufficient reasons for any conscientious Nigerian to be troubled. In the five months of May to September 2013 alone, 67 Beroms — one of the most populated ethnic groups in the state — were killed.

So says the Berom Youth Movement, a group dialoguing with other ethnic communities to stem the killings.

In the same period, eight people were injured, 844 cows rustled, 45 farms destroyed, eight houses burnt, and nine motorcycles burnt or wrecked. The veracity of these claims was subsequently independently ascertained. All in all, from January 2013 till 20th December 2013, at least a total of 535 people were murdered. And in the 10 days leading up to the end of the year, there is scant assurance of the stability of that figure.

tribes — believed to have advanced Hausa-Fulani interests.

Both the indigenes and the Hausa-Fulanis were seething with pent-up rage that was ultimately unleashed three years after, following the seesaw appointment (and subsequent reversal) of Alhaji Aminu Mato, a Hausa and a Muslim, as Chairman of the Caretaker Management of Committee of Jos North Local Government.

When the appointment was announced by Military Administrator of the state, Lt. Col. Mhammed Mana, the indigenous ethnic groups revolted. When it was overturned, the Hausa/Fulani community went bellicose. The fusion of this two-way aggression was a riot on 12th April 1994 that claimed five lives as well as two markets, an Islamic school and a mosque. Ever since, Jos has been soldierly in its emergence as a den of horror killings, zooming forward and never cowering in the battle of its diverse peoples for ethno-religious dominance.

National Caretaker Chairman of the Berom Youth Movement, Mr. Ryang Daylop Dantong provides an illuminating perspective to the 1991 rumpus over Jos North Local GovernThe Nosedive ment, which he says set the template for all ARD as it is to imagine, Plateau State did earn other politically motivated killings in the its epithet, Home of Peace and Tourism. state, Jos particularly, till date. He traces the While by 1985, all of Kano, Borno, Kaduna, the de- 2001 crisis, during which more than a thoufunct Gongola, and Bauchi states had each sufsand were killed, to the same Jos North tussle. fered at least one high-casualty bout of ethnicity “The Hausa community, whom we were or religion-motivated violence post-Indepenhosting here on the plateau, decided to initidence, Jos remained the bastion of peace in the ate this jihadist policy of taking over someNorth, notwithstanding its cosmopolitan ethnic body’s land. They sought ways of overtaking and linguistic atmosphere. the Jos City”, Rwang says. “So they wrote a Then Military Head of State, General Ibrahim memo to Babangida without involving the Babangida it was who upturned that order. In stakeholders, the owners of the land”.

1991, Babangida, a Hausa from Niger State, sancAccording to Rwang, when Babangida tioned the creation of Jos North Local Governgranted their request against the interest of ment in a manner that the indigenes — most CONTINUE ON PAGE 20 populated by the Berom, Anaguta and Afizere

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... Killing The Living, Assaulting The Dead CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 the indigenes, “in such a manner that he carved the Jos North to favour the Hausa community”, the indigenes revolted; because despite the creation of Jos North, they still outnumbered the Hausas in the place.

“That year that it was created, indigenes, especially the Berom, were highly aggrieved”, he adds. “It was the year of election, so we didn’t participate — out of protest”.

He would later concede that the Beroms acted blunderingly with the boycott. Its attempted reversal was accompanied by bloodshed.

With the Beroms boycotting, Ismaila Mohammed, a HausaFulani, coasted to victory at the chairmanship election. The Beroms contested subsequent elections and won; but by then, the Hausa-Fulanis already considered themselves more populated and therefore found no rational reason to lose an election.

“When we returned to our senses, we agreed to protect our land by participating in subsequent elections”, he says. “And so in subsequent elections, we outnumbered them. Each time we won, they thought they were more in number, so they resorted to violence. So, basically, from 2001, the violence in Jos has been spawned by elections”.

In recent times, though, Jos itself has lost its infamous status as a lair of bloodletting, instead ceding the ignominy to the many villages on the peripheries of the state, where the killings have been more ethnic than political.

Casualty Versus Brutality ITH the template for violence already laid in 1994, a reW currence was only a matter of time. That happened in 1998 when a Berom man, accused of plucking garden eggs without authorisation from a farm owned by a Hausa, was beaten to stupor. The Beroms rallied round their man while Hausas backed theirs, and the result was the killing of an un- A victim of the senseless bloodletting confirmed number of people. the depth of his heart — not so much for why they were On September 7, 2001 — first time the city of Jos was turned murdered, but how. to a hellhole — disagreements over the attempt of a Christian “They shot him. They slew him. They destroyed him”, he lady to navigate a road blockade by an ongoing Juma’at servsays, clenching his fist and gnashing his teeth in anguish. ice triggered a violent clash. Combined with mounting ten“They cut him with knife at the back of his neck. They cut sion over the appointment of a Hausa, Alhaji Muktar him with axe on the head. They slashed his right temple, Mohammed as Coordinator of the Jos North Poverty Eradicaand they still cut his right eyes down to his cheekbones”. tion Programme, the clashes lasted six days, leaving hunHis 22-year-old brother, Chorbis Nanan was dispatched dreds dead and several thousand others displaced.

Further crises in 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011 were either with a single below-the-belt gunshot that holed his brain from a side of the head to the other. “He was shot in the of religious, political or ethnic colouration and attracted the head”, Obadiah adds, demonstrating with his index and interest, however frothy, of the government. While the root middle fingers pointed at his right temple. “There was a bulof the clashes has largely remained unchanged, the pattern, let wound on either side of his head. They shot him when he method and the scale have. Dishearteningly, the brutality of these killings has surged. What began as a clash of groups has was hunting for firewood”.

To Obadiah, his slain 90-year-old-plus grandfather was now degenerated to the serial, unidirectional killing of a cermore than the father of his own father. Pa Abednego Nanan tain group of people.

Jilang was essentially his father, his natal father having passed on in 2001 after failing to survive a sickness. This is ‘Killing The Dead’ why he inadvertently uses “grandfather” and “father” interBADIAH Bolka Nanan pushes aside the hollow plate from changeably on the late Abednego. which he and his brother, Rotji Nanan, 21, are scooping The attackers reportedly poked fun at the two slain men, porridge. It is barely 15 minutes since his arrival from the positioning their bodies as though they were sound asleep. farm in Kukah Village, Shendam Local Government Their corpses were retrieved with the help of the Police and (8°53 00 N 9°32 00 E / 8.88333°N) — the same farm where buried some 100 metres from the main family house. his ninety-something-year-old father — was shot and hacked to death less than three months ago.

Shot, Butchered, Burnt His skin glistens, sweat streaming from underneath his EFORE the interview can start, the video must be turned hairlines to just beneath his ankles. Not only has he had a off, Grace Nansoh, 23, insists. It is not cowardice but canhard day at the farm, life has been hard for him since 10th dour. She understands the inevitability of an emotional September 2013 when he lost his father and his brother in a breakdown in the course of the interview. She is human, afsingle attack. ter all. Very few ladies whose fathers have been “killed three Whenever both father and son went to the farm, it was the times over” can survive a video interview without caving in norm to return home in the evening, at 7pm or thereabouts. to the enormous emotional drain of recounting the experiBut this time, none returned by dusk, prompting the family ence. to dispatch a search team to the farm. Two lifeless bodies Teary-eyed, Grace narrates how her ill father, 50, was were all they saw. Whenever Obadiah reflects on the double stranded at Zamchang Village in Wase Local Government tragedy, he is enveloped by sweat on the outside and tears in

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105-year-old Marene Uttawal ... Once active on the farm, now bed-ridden since the murder of her son and grandson

(located 126km south-east of Jos) during an invasion by Hausa/Fulanis, how he telephoned his wife to render real-time account of the razing of many houses, how the Hausa/Fulanis menacingly besieged the village with the sole intention of ousting the Tarohs and any other non-Fulani within reach, how he was short-circuited by ill-health and was consequently overhauled and mauled while fleeing.

“He was killed while escaping”, Grace recalls, the tears in her eyes blossoming into watery balls that inelegantly nestle on her eyelashes. “Actually, I don’t know how to say it”.

Grace soon finds a way to say it, after recovering from a twominute poignant capitulation headlined by a seven-second spell when tears unrestrainedly gushed out of her eyes. “I saw his body”, she says in a shaky, grief-stricken pitch. “First, they shot him, then they macheted several parts of his body. After that, they set his body ablaze”.

The dismembering of Mr. Nansoh did not end there. As Grace explains, one of his eyes was knifed, as well as one of his hands. “It was evident that they inflicted several wounds on him with the aid of machete and knife”, she concludes with a heave signalling resignation to an unalterable fate. “When his body was brought home, we buried him over there” — a rough-and-ready tomb prepared by burrowing through the sand to make out just enough space for a body, and culminating in a heap of sand on which a sizeable stone gives away the positioning of the cadaver.

Dying For Love N another day or perhaps under a separate circumstance, late O Chollom Irmiya Deme, a resident of Tatu Village in Barkin Ladi Local Government, might have evaded the killers’ bullets. Left with two choices — life, villainy and misery on the one hand; and martyrdom on the other hand — the 48-year-old, rather than abandon his family in the cold, chose the latter, exhibiting remarkable bravery by returning to protect his family against armed killers. For his guts, he was rewarded with death — cruel death.

“Chollom was first to escape from the house when random gunshots rent the air”, recalls Pam Adamu Jugu, chosen to speak on behalf of Head of Tatu Village on account of his fluid elocution of the English Language. “I believe that he must have come out to verify the goings-on; and when he saw the gunmen approaching, he ducked”.

The killers didn’t bother to comb the environs for the breadwinner. They instead went for his wife and five other members of his family. It worked.

“From his hiding, Chollom heard his darling wife scream ‘Daddy, daddy; we’re going to be killed”, Pam continued, his breath seizing for a moment as he approached the tragic climax. “He could not help himself, so he had to emerge from hiding to defend his family. Sadly, he was overpowered by the attackers, because they outnumbered and out-armed him”.

The assailants shot Chollom in the stomach, before crashing a mammoth stone on his head. “They broke his head into pieces”, Pam blurted chillingly. “They destroyed him completely”.

While Chollom’s “complete destruction” was ongoing outdoors, a split gang of gunmen indoors was busy bloodying the six occupants to death. After an unsuccessful attempt to forcibly enter the house, they circled it, blazing gunshots inwards from window to window. Mrs. Yop Irmiya, 37, was shot in the stomach, the same stomach housing her seven-month pregnancy. Their daughter, nine-year-old Rose Irmiya; their son, Challom Irmiya, six, Chollom’s brother, and an unidentified person all fell to the killers’ bullets.

Inexplicably dissatisfied with just gunning all seven down, the assailants then proceeded to set their bodies ablaze. Save that of the head of the family who was slaughtered outside, the corpses of five of the other six were seared. The sixth was charred beyond bodily identification. In under an hour, the entire Chollom Irmiya house-

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... Anguish Of The Afflicted CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 HIS is the first — and only time — in 11 days that the recorders roll for minutes and everyone is mum. It’s in Tatu Village, in Jos South Local Government (9°48 00 N 8°52 00 E), where little Blessing, the interviewee, is the only survivor of a near-successful extermination of a family of six.

The 10-year-old might as well have been put down alongside her father, mother and three siblings, but on the night of the attack, 26th November 2013, she slept in a relative’s house inside the same compound. While Blessing escaped unhurt, her host, Yob Eliha, a widow, survived with burns around her shoulder. Yop Yakubu, 49, a second widow in the compound, was murdered.

“We don’t know where the killers came from,” Blessing’s aunt, 26-year-old Hanatu who now looks after her, said of the attack. “All we know is that they forced their way into the compound some minutes after 11pm, and began firing gunshots indiscriminately at the house”.

Clad in a mangy, loose-fitting robe, Blessing looks away from the camera for the most of the interview, her face contorted by anguish too weighty for her infantile shoulders. She still covets the return of her family. She hopes to have them back with her someday — a day she occasionally asks her aunt to reveal.

“Sometimes, Blessing asks me if her parents and siblings are still coming”, Hanatu says, intently locking eyes with the girl as though picking the words from her nondescript eyes.

Hanatu herself buckles while the words slip bit by bit, her voice quivering beyond concealment.

“When she does, I tell her they won’t come again”, she continues, as her voice relapses into a second spell of tremble, this time thinning out like a lit candle running out of wax. Then she stares blankly, absentmindedly fiddling with her fingers.

Everyone watching understands: her despair knows no bound.

She knows there is no chance any member of Blessing’s family would return. They are all dead and buried. And they never quite had a chance: her father, Davou Yakubu; mother, Yop Davou; sister, Serah Davou (14); and brother, Timothy Davou (12) all suffered multiple gun wounds. The last, Felix Davou, who was only four months, was shot in the crotch. So, really, the possibility for survival never quite existed for them; and Blessing, now in Class Five, will have to accept life without the people in whose trusted hands her life began.

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vive. Overnight, Grace has become a mother — without copulation, conception or childbirth.

All four must continue schooling. One, who was already tottering on the brink of dropping out, recently regained his place in class after his mum ran far and wide for help, and returned with just enough to clear his mounting school-fee debt. To help her siblings out, Grace’s education has been stunted.

“I wrote my SSCE [Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination] last year and I am seeking to further my studies”, she enthuses. “But I am bereft of help”. And after her mother’s frenzied and frantic struggle to pay her younger brother’s fees, she won’t compound her mother’s woes by talking about her own school.

She says her mother has her sights on a trading business but she is hampered by finance. While her mother may “not have the means”, Grace believes “God will provide for her”. If only her dad was still alive...

“It was painful that I lost my dad, who left six children and two wives behind”, she laments. “My dad was very helpful to us.

Since he died, we have been managing. We seriously miss our dad”.

A speck of tear appears on her right eye. She dabs it and then lifts her head with sudden equanimity and confidence, saying, “We take it that God has said that will be the end of his life”.

Now, Grace is subjecting herself to the very circumstances that forced “God” to declare the end of her father’s life. That is the stark interpretation of still cultivating the family’s farm in Wase, that same farm where her father was shot, butchered and roasted to death. It is a danger she concedes, but she doesn’t know the worse danger: death by hunger or death by the bullet/machete.

“My dad planted maize and rice on his farm in Wase, so we still go there to harvest it”, she says startlingly. “We are afraid for our lives but we have to do it for our own good. If we leave the crops there to rot, who will feed us? We have to surrender our lives to do it so that we will not die of hunger”.

From Marriage To Wreckage

October 5, 2013 is a blissful day for Istifanus Sati.

SingATURDAY, The day begins with frenzied merrymaking inside the sprawlfamily compound in Ket Village, Barkin Ladi. A speaker

blares varied genres of Hausa music to an animated audience, many of who down bottle after bottle of beer, smoulder and inhale stacks of cigarettes, and gobble local dishes. It is generally a joie-de-vivre atmosphere. Sati, 26, has just taken a wife — a tender, impressionable 19-year-old whose beauty is just unfurling.

Fast-forward another five days, and Istifanus’s life is turned on its head. In the wee hours of Thursday, October 10, 2013, unknown gunmen invade their compound and begin to shoot inThe ‘Queen Of Sorrow’ “Since my son died, I have been unhappy”, Nandir Vongchak, discriminately. Everyone scampers. But not everyone escapes. istifanus, one of the unlucky two, is felled by two bullets, one in 80, says. “My life has been filled with sorrow, and this has his right thigh, and the other in his left leg. It is a grating interbrought perpetual illness upon me.

With that, Nandir synopsises her misery since the killing of ruption to his five-day-old marriage; and his wife, Rebecca has his son in June 2013. Nothing about her demeanour suggests all too soon been tested with the for-better-for-worse marriage axiom. otherwise. No smile. No giggle. No semblance of hope. Face stony and carriage emotionless, Nandir unhurriedly de-husks “My husband was shot five days after we married”, Rebecca groundnut borne by two calabashes on the floor. That is how says with a wry grin. “I am just feeling bad, because they did not she keeps company every day, waiting till the hour when mor- allow me to enjoy my husband. The bonesetters have said he will walk again but when, they themselves do not know”. tality will terminate memories of her slain son.

After a little over a week at the Plateau State Hospital, Istifanus “On that day, my son came in from his theology school to relocates to Rawhol Kasa, where traditional bonesetters have greet me”, she recalls, for once paying heed to something been working on his legs. “I have spent about N55,000 on treatother than the two calabashes. Clearly, the groundnuts are her most valuable possession, the source of livelihood for her ments”, he moans, “and I have only seen my wife a few times since the shooting”. and the three fatherless grandchildren whose upkeep has Istifanus’s father, 55-year-old Sati Yaroh, was even unluckier, now become her responsibility.

After mother and son exchanged pleasantries, son made for his groundnut-and-maize farm in Zamchang, a village in Wase Local Government. On his second day on the farm, he was hacked to death. According to Vongchak, it was a maliciously intended killing.

“They killed him purposely”, she says, “not that the killers were robbers or that they wanted anything from him. His life was all they hungered after”. This, she is convinced is the intention, because “Wase people do not want to see Taroh people around them. That is why they are hunting and killing Taroh people”.

Vongchak considers it a shame that having been racing away from “Wase people” for much of the last decade, she has finally stumbled. After sacrificing her land in Wase, she was unwilling to sacrifice anything else — especially not her son. Now resident in Dipbong Village, Langtang Local Government, she laments the consequence of her son’s death on the survival and education of his children. Pro tem, she puts up with proceeds from the family’s groundnut-and-bambara nut farm.

But she reckons the farm’s support for livelihood will be ephemeral, given its size.

“Land available for farming over here in Langtang is inadequate”, she says, raising her head to let slip a luxuriant patch of white hair on her skin. “So we are just managing. We need help to guarantee the survival of my grandchildren and their education”.

‘We Don’t Want To Miss Our Dad’ RACE Nansoh hates to remember her father who was slain at 50. Of course she has fond memories of him. But when she remembers him, she misses him sorely — a punishing activity she refrains from engaging in. Missing him will not restore his snuffed life, she understands it offers nothing more than temporary escapism: it won’t ease her pains; it won’t lessen her burdens.

“We don’t want to miss our dad; but actually, we miss him”, she says in a low, mournful tone, tenderly whirling the length of her arms round her four siblings positioned two aside.

These four children — aged 15, 10, eight and seven — are her latest encumbrance. As their mother is unemployed, Grace, it is, who must now feed and clothe them. It is her worry how the quartet will continue their education, how they will sur- Alone in the world? Blessing (L) and her aunt Hanatu (R)

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giving up the ghost after suffering gunshots in the neck and the waist. His mum, Laruba Sati is inconsolable: her husband is dead, her son is down-and-out, her daughter-in-law is forlorn, and the education of five of her seven children is in jeopardy.

Life, she says, is now cheerless.

“Since I lost my husband, I have been sick”, she laments. “I am idle, helpless and hopeless now”. Her hopelessness, she says, stems from the arduous task of funding the education of five of her eight children who are in school. She doesn’t see herself making a success of this challenge.

“There is no other means by which I can support their education now that my husband is gone”, she adds, tears of regret welling up in her eyes. “When my husband was alive, he trained the children; he paid their school fees; he took care of me whenever I fell ill; he did everything. But now, everything has been thrown into disarray”.

The only child who would have been assuaging her worries is the same one languishing at the bonesetters’. “The only boy who was supporting me is the one whose legs have now been broken. Isn’t it clear that I am finished?” she yelled into the air, querying no one in particular.

Madness And Death Better Than Living

“When I think about it, I feel like it is better for me to die than to live without my parents and my siblings.”

On word count to interview time ratio, Serah Dung scores least of all victims of Plateau killings who agreed to voice their feelings. But this is a record that will be immaterial to her, considering that life, itself, has lost its importance. Whenever she remembers her slain family, death is the only elixir that crosses her mind.

Serah had left Kungte Village in Jos South Local Government in the morning of Saturday August 31, 2013, only to be welcomed home in the evening by the corpse of five of the six people she left behind. She did see and examine the corpse of his late father, but that was just the farthest she went. All five corpses had been assembled at the “front of the house” but she was too distraught to look.

“They shot my father in both legs, in the chest and in the forehead”, she recalls, her breath multiplying in intensity. She averts the camera, patently at the return of mental footages of the blood-soaked bodies. “I didn’t really look at the corpses of my mother and my younger ones”.

Serah continues to miss her father, Peter Dung; mother, Rose Dung; and siblings Sati (20), Teiyei (17) and Samson (7), even though his father has three children from a second wife. “I feel bad ... like it is better for me to die because”..., she says and then stops momentarily. A tenuous attempt to complete the sentence ends in tears, a gush of tears that bring the interview to an abrupt close.

Of Serah’s preference for death and Solomon’s battle with madness, it is hard to separate the worse. But what is easy to decipher is the similitude of their pains: both have lost their dear relatives, and both are inclined to think there has to be an insane or immortal remedy for their agony.

Like Serah, whose only surviving nuclear kinfolk is her sister, Solomon Pagyang Gwom of ket Village in Barkin Ladi is left with a solitary brother. All others, as well as his parents and his nephews, have been eliminated in an attempted annihilation of his family.

On Thursday October 10, 2013, his septuagenarian father, Pa Tsok Gwom was killed in the company of his wife, son, daughter

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... Agony, Agony, Agony Everywhere CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 in-law, two children and two grand children. In all, eight members of the family were wasted in one night. Losing them all in one fell swoop could truly be maddening, but Solomon must be helped before he runs mad.

“All of them were in their rooms when they were killed”, he recollects through an interpreter, his face tightening in a stirring revelation of anguish. “They shot my father in the knee and in the ribs. They shot his wife in the rear of the head. They shot my brother in the ribs while his own wife was shot in the head. All others were shot in the head”.

Solomon’s methods of conveying his sorrow are mannish. No tear. No abrupt end to the interview. No shying away from the camera. But it is clear he is not less-bereaved than the many others who have lost their kinsmen. He stares stonily — almost blankly — face stationary, hands immobile.

“It really pains me”, the 30-year-old says, his entire body still motionless. “I am in pains up till now. I am still mourning”. These people who were murdered, he emphasises, are the people who were supporting him. And to lose them is cruel. “I feel so lonely”, he adds, gnashing his teeth and squashing his lips against each other as though to say he has said everything in his mind. But he adds rather scarily: “Anytime I think about it, I fear I might run mad”.

Agony Everywhere “No! No!! No!!! You cannot leave yet”, a voice yelled from deep inside the hut. “This woman in here says she is very hurt; she desperately wants to speak with you”.

Jumai Adamu, the woman in question, is a daughter-in-law of Marene Uttawal, the 105-yearold woman who was active on the farm but has Burnt yam barns been plagued by partial paralysis of her lower limbs since learning of her son’s and grandson’s very strong on the farm. He often worked hard. murder. Marene’s losses are Jumai’s as well: her And that is why since his death, we have made son and grandson are Jumai’s husband and son, very little from the farm, so little that we barely respectively. No sooner had the interview com- survive”.

Elsewhere in the same village, Yakubu Maki — menced than her insistence on speaking became perceptible. Her husband, the only person only a decade younger than Marene Uttawal — lost his 20-year-old son, “his helper”, to the she was accustomed to “talking with”, is gone.

Now, the 40-year-old needs to talk to someone killers. So selfless was boy to father that a day hardly passes without the father remembering else, even if he is a reporter — a stranger.

“Whenever I think about it, I lose my conscious- the tragedy.

“He was my helper, my messenger”, says Pa ness”, she says. “I no longer understand what I am doing. He was the one who helped us in the Maki. “He was the one who ran my errands anywhere, even outside the village. There is no sinhouse. He took care of us”. gle day that I do not miss him”.

By “us”, Jumai intended herself and her husband’s first wife, Lami Adamu, 45, who — more Marene-like in orientation — was laconic. “I hate When A Man Cries T is three months since Rotji Nanan has not to remember that my husband is dead,” Lami known what he is doing. Since his father, lamented. “I feel sad every time I do. He was the one person I could talk with, so I feel so lonely”. Abednego Nanan Jilang, 90, and brother, ChorIn addition to sharing in Lami’s loneliness, Ju- bis Nanan were murdered in Kukah Village in mai has yet to overcome the loss of her son. “To Shendam, Rotji has yet to come to terms with lose my son in the same attack is heartbreaking,” returning from farm without anyone to banter she adds, her effort to restrain onrushing tears with. This, he says, is the hardest-to-take upshot of their slaying. futile. “It is difficult to forget it just like that”.

“Since the death of my grandfather and Although Jumai can take solace in mothering brother, I have not been myself”, Rotji cries, two other sons — Magit Adam, 22, and Marion making no attempt to impede the tears Adams, 19 — beneath that blessing is another streaming down his cheeks. Why would he barsting: successfully bankrolling Magit’s educaricade the tears, anyway, when this is what he tion at Government Secondary School (GSS), Gawarza is an improbable prospect without her does every day?

“I cry everyday”, the 21-year-old resumes weephusband. “To pay his school bills, I take up menial jobs in the market, in addition to farming. ily, wiping the tears off his face, this time. “I am a very sad man. I am used to greeting my father But what problem will this solve”? and my brother everyday when I return from Someone else with an identical plight in that the farm, but they killed both of them; that is same compound is 67-year-old Anatu Sunday, really bad”. whose son was put down few weeks before his longed-for commencement of fatherhood. This is the boy who, months earlier, promised A Narrow Escape Hanatu that her days of suffering on the farm FTER Rose Iliya heard a boom, she blacked were numbered. He had just finished building out. In a pool of her own blood, she rehis house, and his mother’s welfare was next on gained consciousness at the Plateau Hospital. the cards. So for Hanatu, not only has her son’s Only then did the images reconvene in her life been ended, the then forthcoming end to memory: an armed gang had invaded her her sufferings on the farm had been disrupted. house; one of them shot her in the pelvis; they “The pain of his death is still jarring in my thought they “got” her but they were wrong; heart. I think about him all the time”, says the she made a lucky, narrow escape. Only that all farmer of Irish potato, tomato, guinea corn, and three children in the house on the night did maize. “He just finished building his house and not benefit from that luck. They were felled by hadn’t moved in when he was killed. He had as- the unknown men’s bullets. sured me that very soon, I would stop farming.

Narrating the attack, Rose, 27, recalls that the He promised to take good care of me”. killers broke into the compound, raining bulHanatu further discusses the piercing pain of lets on the first door. Seeing that no one cried, burying his son just before the birth of his baby. they knew they had drawn a blank. So they “His wife was pregnant at the time he was moved to the next door, the parlour, where two killed”, she says curtly, disseminating annoyinnocently snoring children were fired off. ance rather than sadness. “His killers didn’t al“After that, they came into my apartment low him meet his baby”. where one of my children was sleeping with Nevertheless, she is grateful to now have a me”, Rose says, her voice weak and her face grandson, the reincarnation of his slain son. “My bleak. “They shot my baby and shot me too, misery has been halved since his wife put to thinking they had killed me”. bed”. A glimmer of smile perks up her face. But it In the four days that followed, she would soon evaporates. “I miss him very much”, she spend more than N20,000 at the hospital. Afcontinues. “He used to advise me a lot. He was terwards, she has stuck with the doctor’s advice

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of dressing the wound regularly at a nearby clinic if it must heal fast.

“The leg is healing”, she says without the positive demeanour that should ordinarily accompany such news. In truth, there is little to be grateful for. Not only is her walk still wobbly, she is haunted still by the loss of three of her five children: Gideon (seven), Jack (five) and Elia (10). However, she understands that she will have to move on sooner than later.

“To be sure, it is not easy to lose three of my children in one night”, she says. “I am just taking courage because I know [that] God is aware of what happened. Anytime I recall this incident, I lose my sanity momentarily. But the fact is that God is in control”.

ment that frequency of the attacks had grown to confer an element of normalcy on the deaths. “His intestine was out. They shot the woman in the forehead. They scattered the penis of the husband, and destroyed him everywhere with bullets. This place was full of bullets; I’m sure they expended more than two magazines”.

But what ill have the people of Rawurum committed against the Fulanis? “Nothing”, he exclaims. “Nothing, because we have never gone to attack them. Never! We are innocent people. We have wronged no one.

The Fulanis just come to attack us in the night. They have just taken us as bush meat that must be hunted to death”.

Blood On The Wall

The Rich Also Cried

NSIDE the house of the Bulas in Rawan Neighbourhood, the walls tell a story. It is already six weeks that the walls have been visited with the most irreverent desecration possible, yet the blood patches refuse to fade, clinging on tenaciously as some sordid memento of the extermination of the entire Luka Bula family.

It happened on November 9, 2013. At a little over midnight on the day, some gunmen arrived to overrun the neighbourhood, located in Rawurum Village, Barkin Ladi — beginning from the Bula family.

“I started hearing gun shots at exactly 12:14am”, begins Dayak Solomon, 27, a neighbour who is himself lucky to still be talking.

“But I could not come out because gunshots were fired at my door and at my window”. Although he remained indoors, he monitored the siege on his neighbours, all ears. At the end, Luka Bula; his wife, Ladi Luka Bula; and five children were put down. A second neighbour lost two children, aged 11 and eight.

“After they broke into Bula’s house, I heard a baby scream ‘Mummy, mummy’”, Dayak adds with unimpeachable precision. “Subsequently, gunshots were indiscriminately fired all over the house”.

He expressed disgust that the crying child did not receive the sympathy of the killers, who continued shooting nonetheless. “They shot all of them. They finished their operation at exactly 1:05am”, he says, nodding assuredly as the words flew out. “Then they started calling one another. I heard someone say, ‘Milei, Milei, Mutari’. Then they went”.

While Dayak admits that he does not know the killers, he “believes they are Fulani” having heard their voices. He laments that the attacks have become normal but wonders how long government would continue to watch as they die like “bush meat”.

“They killed Julius, who was five months old, shooting him through his mouth”, he says almost casually, confirming his earlier state-

I

HERE are very few late Nigerian public ofT fice holders whose deaths can be remembered to have occurred during their service to fatherland. Gyang Dalyop Dantong is one.

More than 300 people in Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Governments had been murdered by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

On Sunday July 8, 2012 when 63 of those were to be mass-buried at Matse Village, Gyan turned up. It turned out to be his valedictory public appearance. Gunmen believed to be Fulanis invaded the burial, and everyone scuttled. Even the soldiers fled. In all, more than a hundred mass-burial sympathisers were killed. Among them was Gyang, the senator representing Plateau North constituency at the National Assembly.

His immediate younger brother, Rwang Dantong thinks it is a death that could have been averted. “If there was peace, nothing like that would have happened”, says Rwang, a soft-spoken man who generally comes across as too calm to support the ongoing belligerence. “But I saw my brother as a sacrificial lamb to the Berom Land, a person who can die — and he ended up dying — for a cause to help his people”.

Rwang is happy with the equanimity with which his parents have dealt with the death.

His 87-year-old father being a retired pastor, all members of the family have taken the calamity in their stride.

“All the way, we have been walking along God’s path. We have been relying on God’s biblical teachings to leave vengeance to him”, he says solemnly. We completely accept my brother’s death as the will of God, because nobody can take the glory of God”.

If God didn’t allow it, he concludes, Gyang would never have fallen. “And since He allowed it to happen, He knows how to take care of us”.

To Be Continued

TheGuardian

Sunday, January 19, 2014

www.ngrguardiannews.com

23

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Cover

Jonathan

Abubakar

Amaechi

2015: Trespassing Nigeria’s Ancient, Perilous Milestones

By Leo Sobechi HEN every arrow points the way back, the path does not lead to anywhere new! As such, two things are involved.

Either the journey has been futile or the navigator is a scalar quantity: having magnitude but lacking direction. Sadly that could be the lot of Nigeria or what political actors make it to be. Intriguingly, all these are happening at a point in time in Nigeria’s history when the act of amalgamation has witnessed a centennial.

But the happenstances in the national polity beggar the celebration of Nigeria’s ‘unity’. Yet, they also subtly interrogate the actuality, not the necessity of the amalgamation: was the relationship conjoined in 1914 emblematic of a forced statecraft?

By going back the way we came as a nation with concerns for the politics of who gets what, Nigerian politicians show that the lessons of history make no sense to them.

When erstwhile military head of state and former president, chief Olusegun Obasanjo, wrote incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan complaining that the nation was fast emulating a regress to the Sani Abacha days, he saw the arrow of national progress pointing backwards. Even when Mr. President penned a reply, he also noted the people’s fears that ‘Baba’s’ letter was pointing towards a replay of the Alhaji Shehu Shagari era when ‘fellow countrymen’ happened. It has indeed become a season when everything is imitating yesterday. Accusations and allegations of corruption still make headlines. The nation’s number one banker, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi did not want the memory of late Senator Olusola Saraki, to lie in peace. Reminiscent of the former Senate Leader’s shocking revelation on air in a Nigeria television programme that the sum of N2.8 billion was missing from the accounts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Malam Sanusi shocked Nigerians with his grave allegation that the same NNPC failed to remit the whooping sum of $49.8 billion into the nation’s coffers.

Whether the blue-blooded CBN Governor saw the fact that the mind-boggling sum could service two years of the country’s budget is out of the question. But when the first letter salvo was fired by Mr. Obasanjo, there was the speculation that the ‘expose’ must have formed the basis of some small hours discussion. May be Sanusi, unlike Saraki, wanted to embarrass or diminish the federal government of president Goodluck Jonathan, but his unschooled out-

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burst caused the same outrage that Saraki’s mistaken slip caused in the 80s. Though the NTA presenter, Ifudu, lost her job for her role in the embarrassing claim, Sanusi capped up his delivery with braggadocio, declaring before the whole world that he is a super stud that cannot be disciplined or made to face the consequences of outright baloney. And recalling that the same Malam once sought to put down the nation’s legislature, it would be only in Nigeria that such a piece of tendentious behaviour from a public officer could escape censure!

But censorship becomes only the less fortunate. Former chief executive officer of Nigeria Breweries PLC, Dr. Festus Eze Odimegwu, happened to be one of such less fortunate players.

He was axed for opening his mouth so wide to state what was the obvious about Nigeria population censuses. May be Odimegwu did not learn how to grandstand, but what Sanusi had going for him is a holier-than-thou attitude.

Yet it was in such holier-than-thou attitude that the military chased Shagari and his group out of civil rule in the claim that his regime was festering with corruption. Perhaps, the hullabaloo over the purchase of armoured vehicles by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) equals in stridency to that of the 53 suitcases. After all, everything is replicating yesterday! And still about yesterday, did a prominent chairman of the ruling party not import hot drinks branded in his name at a time most Nigerians were finding it very hard to smell two square meals? The contest has always been between the haves and have-nots, the ruling party and the opposition. While the ruling party carries on like bullies, the opposition adopts underdog status as they enviously plot for adventitious advantages through conspiracies and combines.

Conspiracy and Combines NIGERIA has always lived with the reality of conspiracies ad combines in political expression. In the First Republic, the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC) later became the National Council of Nigeria Citizens (NCNC). NCNC had to forge a political understanding with the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) to secure Nigeria’s post-colonial selfrule. On the flanks was the Action Group (AG).

And it was the AG that brought about the first real action into Nigeria’s political evolution. It would be recalled that while NCNC held sway in the Eastern part of the country, AG and the NPC had the South West and monolithic North as their catchment areas respectively. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the leader of the AG and

his deputy was British trained lawyer, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola. Just at the nick of the nation’s independence, AG adopted a strategy of bringing down Akintola from his position in the federal parliament to become premier of the Western region, while Awolowo goes to the parliament as leader of opposition. But not long after allegation of betrayal and attempt to supplant Awolowo were bandied against Akintola. Crisis erupted in the Western House of Assembly, leading to a big breach in AG. A state of emergence was eventually declared by Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Briefly, the point of departure between Awolowo and Akintola was the direction of merger talks. Akintola’s faction, which became Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP) went into alliance with the NPC. The fusion of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) seems a replay of yesterday. Going further, the crises in the Rivers State House of Assembly including the fracas, the budget session in the Government House as well as the recent police abortion of a rally by the Save Rivers Group, could also be seen with the prism of yesterday.

The peculiar mess in Western House of Assembly, which led to the state of emergency, varies a little from the Rivers State show. In Police commissioner Mbu, there is also a prototype in Bishop Eyitene. In the Second Republic, it was not easy distinguishing whether the old Anambra State Police Commissioner, Eyitene was acting in lieu of the defunct ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN). The young and charismatic Governor, Jim Nwobodo, adopted the schemes of a cowboy while trying to contain Eyitene’s excesses.

Nwobodo and Eyitene continued the wrestlemania until NPN captured the state and the Khaki boys capsized the democratic boat.

Like NPN, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by becoming synonymous with the federal government it controls, applies state agencies to advance its causes. This in turn inspires the opposition to conspire and combine. The APC, in a hurry to form the federal government seems to be glossing over the essential ingredients of party formation. What would be the effect of forging members along former groups? Why the emphasis on big guns instead of the voting masses? Only time, will tell whether APC has disposed itself to a replay of similar crisis that played between Awolowo and Akintola, which led to the factionalization of AG. For instance how would Asiwaju Bola Tinubu feel if situation and circumstances

throw up one of his former colleague governors that lost their second term ticket in 2003?

Is it possible for the duo of General Mohammadu Buhari and Tinubu, to allow new leaders to drive the APC quest for power at the centre? What process would throw up these new leaders and what would be their relationship with the founding fathers of the merger?

In the membership harmonization, could the ACN that inspired the merger sit back and watch one of the other legacy parties like ANPP or CPC, to gain ascendance? Who occupies the position of national chairman of APC? Whose candidate is s/he going to be?

And talking about chairmanship, the PDP has allowed history to repeat itself by allowing another national chairman kiss the dust. Alhaji Bamanga Tukur seems to have executed his mandate so quickly and had to be sacrificed.

Like Dr. Okwy Nwodo before him, Tukur sought to curb the excesses of the state governors but ended up looking stupid before the very governors who insisted on his ouster.

Tukur’s achievement should be seen in the exit of the five rebel governors of Adamawa, Kano, Sokoto, Rivers and Kwara. The five governor’s exit seemed to have lessened President Jonathan’s headache for a second term ticket.

But the governors that remained pointed to the exit of their colleagues as Tukur’s leadership poverty when in essence, they wanted the old man out of the way so that their plans to plant successors and walk their way to the Senate could be easy.

The internal contradictions in PDP would still manifest in the states when attempt would be made by some of the governors to hand pick successors and control the party structures.

Who are the haymakers to lead the President’s reelection campaign? Would the choice of the next national chairman open the party to new intrigues? Has Jonathan played into the hands of his traducers and opponents to his second term? The public letter writer, Obasanjo has enjoined Nigerians to fast and pray for 2015.

Has the former president become prescient that 2015 may end up like that of Ondo State in 1983? Akin Omobriowo was returned as winner of the governorship, but he needed soldiers to move about and forgot any talk of accessing the Government House. The injury time in the polity simulates a travel across the sea. Sailors know that to keep their boat or ship afloat, any cargo can be jettisoned into the sea. Tukur has become the first excess load. The call to prayer therefore may be for God’s intervention against a torpedo!

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

24 Sunday, January 19, 2014

COVER

RIVERS: Theatre Of Crisis In A Democracy From: Kelvin Ebiri Port Harcourt IVERS State has become a dangerous place to ply the political trade. In a progressive manner, the situation gets messier as 2015 approaches. A few days ago, while signing the 2014 Appropriation Bill into law at the council chambers, Government House, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi labeled the State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, a political police officer and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“The commissioner of police is completely not a policeman, he is a known PDP politician who attends meetings with them and carries out illegal action but yesterday, you were able to assert that democracy is about people and that when you talk about democracy it begins with the legislative arm of government for the reason that you represent each unit of our people and you actually go down to the people.”

Amaechi’s accusation is predicated on the fact that the Police have consistently have been misled into taking partisan decisions and actions that do not portray the force as being neutral.

Last November, armed security forces invaded the Omuma Local Government secretariat premises in a bid to pave way for members of the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike political group, Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI) to launch their local chapter there.

This spurred the federal lawmaker representing the Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency, Mr. Ogbonna Nwuke, to describe the role played by the security forces as despicable and unacceptable.

“We are further amazed that serving soldiers and policemen would allow themselves to be used to unlawfully force open the gate of a council premises in order to encourage the use of council grounds for the launch of a partisan group such as the GDI. It is evidence of the abysmal use of security personnel in Rivers State since the arrival of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu to distort law and order and create tension and crisis,” he said.

Nwuke added: “This is a clear affront on our collective sense of decency; our understanding of society’s preservation of public order and public security; and what is proof of the growing threat to whatever is left of our sense of public morality under the watch of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu.” Just last month, the police invaded the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area at Isiokpo, and used tear gas to disperse supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) who had gathered to sensitise and rally support for the new political party. The policemen who stormed the council were alleged to have destroyed canopies, chairs and public address system.

An APC chieftain Mr, Chidi Wihioka said the party had earlier informed the police in writing that the Ikwerre Local Government Chapter of APC would be visiting wards to hold rallies and to further sensitize the people about the party’s activities. He said it was disturbing that the Police in Rivers State could resort to unlawful practices of shooting tear gas at a lawful gathering by a registered political party and its supporters.

“We had to converge at the Ikwerre Local Government council to observe the arrangement of canopies, chairs and tables before I started getting calls here and there by a group, but, we decided not to get worried because we had earlier informed the police of holding rallies in the various wards and sensitization. We also expected a written response from the police. We have the right to freedom of association, but, in this case, our liberty and rights were violated by the police. When the Grassroots Democratic Initiative, (GDI) hold their rallies, sometimes it is without police permit, but, it is most surprising that, we were embarrassed, while police gave GDI and PDP police permit and protection,” Wihioka said.

On his part, the Ikwerre Local Government area chairman, Mr. Welendu Amadi, decried the high level of impunity meted out by the Police in dealing with members of his party (APC) and law-abiding citizens in the local government area.

On his part, the chairman of Isiokpo Council of Chiefs, Chief Nwobodo Amadi, who described himself as an ex-police officer, expressed outrage at the way and manner policemen shot tear gas at random at his palace while he and other chiefs were waiting to receive APC chieftains in the area.

“Before police invaded my premises, I asked

R

the APC leaders and they confirmed that they wrote the police. Some elders and myself confronted the police when they came to my premises and we told them that we were fine.

But, it didn’t take long when the police started shooting teargas at us. I just came back from surgical operation. I see people play politics but it is not this violent type. I was once a police officer, we don’t carry guns anyhow, we used batons. I called the DPO Isiokpo to find out where they came from and he said, the police came from the state headquarters, before one of the police officers told me that I should not be bigger than Jonathan. But, I am sure, President Jonathan will not ask you to do that which is not right. I want the police to do what is right,” said Amadi.

The frosty relations between the Rivers’ government and the Police appear not to favour the growth of democracy and development.

Amaechi and his government have persistently accused Mr. Mbu of meddling in Rivers politics. Mbu, who has refuted the allegation severally, has accused the governor who he once described as a tyrant, of wanting to pocket him.

Policemen in 2013, used tear gas to disperse the 13,000 teachers newly recruited by the Rivers State Government, who had converged at the Liberation Stadium, Elikahia, Port Harcourt, to pick up their posting letters. The police alleged that the teachers had been mobilised to protest against the administration of President Jonathan.

Due to the police attack on teachers, the Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) said it was very concerned that the Rivers state commissioner of police, instead of being the guardian of effective law enforcement, and of good behaviour, is overzealously teaching impunity, anarchy and chaos, and fully guided and funded by the authorities that designed his heinous agenda.

NDCSC chairman, Anyakwee Nsirimovu, said the action of the police has become increasingly worrisome owing to the fact that on July 30, 2013, they used armoured personnel carrier to stop a national peaceful protest put together by the NDCSC in defence of democracy, because the State police authorities had interpreted this protest to be against Jonathan.

He has appealed to the President to show leadership by reaffirming faith in fundamental human rights of Nigerians as one of the highest purposes for his office, and save the present and succeeding generations, who may suffer the scourge of inhumanity, if the commissioner of police remains in office.

According to him, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) declares that human rights are the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace.

The recent disruption of Save Rivers Movement rally by the police, during which Senator Magnus Abe, representing Rivers South East senatorial district was allegedly

shot, would only exacerbates an already toxic relationship with the State Government.

Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari has accused the police of bias and unprofessionalism.

“The Rivers State Government condemns the disruption of the rally especially since the disruption is selective, seeing that the police do not only allow members of the PDP Grass root Democratic Initiative (GDI) to hold rallies, but indeed provides them with protection. The Rivers State government believes in the freedom of association and freedom of expression guaranteed to all Nigerians by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” she said.

But the grand patron of the GDI and leader of the PDP in the state, the minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the government’s claim that the Police is meddling in Rivers State politics.

“They want a commissioner of police that will arrest you anytime they call on him to arrest you. But we are not interested in whoever that comes here as commissioner of police. All we are interested in is to have a person who will not be partial. Let them bring whoever they want to bring. We want somebody that will allow democracy to be practiced in Rivers State. They say it is one man, one vote, now, they don’t want one man, one vote again” said Wike.

Presently, the judiciary in Rivers State is polarized over the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge of the State. And for this reason, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), Port Harcourt Chapter, has urged the state governor to at least appoint acting Chief Judge for the state judiciary, which is said to be in a sorry state.

BOSAN observed that as leaders of the Bar in Rivers State, its members consider that this does not augur well for the administration of justice, and the maintenance and enforcement of law and order in the state.

Chairman of SANs in Rivers State and former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, Onueze. C. J. Okocha SAN, said the appeal to the governor became imperative after the body had reviewed the current sorry state of affairs with regard to the judiciary in Rivers State, where, since the 19th day of August 2013, there has been no legitimate head for the High Court of Rivers State.

It would be recalled that Governor Chibuike Amaechi had in August appointed the President, Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Peter N.C. Agumagu, as acting Chief Judge of the State following the retirement of Justice Ichechi Nwenenda Ndu, whose valedictory ceremonies was shunned by state officials including Governor Amaechi.

Just a few days ago, explosives rocked the Ahoada High Court, while suspected arsonist torched a court at Okehi and destroyed several sensitive court documents. Both courts are

We are further amazed that serving soldiers and policemen would allow themselves to be used to unlawfully force open the gate of a council premises in order to encourage the use of council grounds for the launch of a partisan group such as the GDI. It is evidence of the abysmal use of security personnel in Rivers State since the arrival of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu to distort law and order and create tension and crisis. presently handling sensitive political matters in the state.

The Ahoada High Court presided over by Justice Charles Wali, was due to hear a motion seeking to vacate a court order which restrained the lawmaker representing Ogu-Bolo, Evans Bipi, from parading himself as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Both the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressive Congress have accused each other of wanting to turn Rivers State into a theatre of violence and lawlessness.

The Rivers State Government said the bombing of the Ahoada High Court has the imprimatur of the GDI. Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Worgu Boms, said the bombing of the Ahoada court and the burning down of the Okehi court were actions designed to instill fear in the judiciary.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the State PDP chairman on Media, Jerry Needam, on his part, has accused the Rivers government of being behind the bomb blast. He alleged that the aim of the blast was to further create a state of insecurity, to justify the continuous call for the removal of the state Commissioner of Police.

“The PDP condemns Rotimi Amaechi’s desperation for power and assures that Amaechi would be held responsible for any break down of law and order in Rivers State. PDP urges Rivers people to remain calm and continue to pray for an end to Rotimi Amaechi’s government that has brought so much pains, shame and disgrace to a people he swore to govern,” he said.

With the mounting political tension in Rivers State, most residents are afraid that the seeming politicization of the police and judiciary would further fuel the crisis and endanger democracy.

Sunday, January 19, 2014 25

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

COVER

AKINJIDE: Politicians Are Educated And Will Not Be Foolish To Put Their House On Fire Chief Richard Akinjide SAN, a foremost politician and former attorney general and justice minister, told MUYIWA ADEYEMI(Head Southwest Bureau, Ado Ekiti) that the political crisis in different parts of the country cannot do the kind of damage witnessed in the First and Second Republics.

S a politician who participated in the First A and Second Republics, don’t you think the current political crisis could threaten democracy?

I think the politics of today is totally different from the politics of the Tafawa Balewa era. I have been asked this question before, but in my opinion, many are getting the arithmetic wrong; they are getting the mathematics wrong. I entered politics in the colonial days, and I entered parliament before independence.

At that time the dominance of the imperial power was total. There was enormous poverty and there was lack of education. In fact, the Federal Government had only two universities; that is, the University of Ibadan and that of Lagos and the Military was very small at that time. The critical areas for military at that time were Kaduna, Ibadan, Lagos and Enugu. But that Mathematics has changed completely.

When I entered parliament in 1959, though I came back from England in 1956, we had few politicians at that time and many of them were not educated. In fact, majority of them were in abject poverty. Even for many of us in the parliament then, few had university education; majority in the parliament at that time had secondary school education and some attended teacher training colleges. Even some had only Primary School certificate and the domination of political powers and commercial interest by the colonial masters were total. So the Mathematics of politics at that time is quite different from what obtains today.

When the Military came in 1966, I was in Parliament and also a member of the cabinet, the Military coup that took place at that time cannot take place now, because we now have many enlightened Nigerians. If you look around, you will notice that we have hundreds of universities, millions of graduates, but at that time majority in the North were uneducated, but North is now very educated like other parts of Nigeria.

So, the causes of political instability at that time are no longer there, I mean lack of education, poverty and other reasons that propelled military intervention at that time are no longer there. You will also agree with me that a lot of people who are interested in coups in those days are now extremely wealthy. That is the fact of life. I won’t go into details of that, but these people are no longer interested in coups or change of government violently.

Don’t also forget that in the global politics of today, coups are no longer infectious, the Americans, the British and other major World powers are no longer interested in coups, so also African countries. So anybody thinking of military intervention in Nigeria is not only getting it wrong, but he is living in the past, because most wealthy Nigerians today are former military leaders or those who have connection with them, the equation has changed, the Mathematics has changed.

When I entered Parliament in the First Republic, I was in my 20s, but now my grandchildren are old enough even to enter Parliament. So people should be careful the way they read the Mathematics of Nigerian politics.

Things have changed and have changed for better.

If you consider the lawlessness in Rivers State today, doesn’t it remind you of the crisis that precipitated the fall of the First Republic?

You are wrong. I have been practising Law in Rivers State for about 50 years, there was no Rivers State at that time, what we had were three regions. Rivers State people are very sophisticated and educated. They are part of the Delta that produced the wealth of this country, so if anybody thinks the politics of Nigeria is very infectious because of the political crisis in River State, it is very wrong. Recently I was in the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt and there was a demonstration on the major streets, but

Akinjide

I am not bothered, if you read the Constitution properly, you cannot cross or walk from one party to another without first resigning and vacating your seat. A section that deals with that is very clear in the Constitution, a lot of things you read in the papers or hear in the Radio or watch on the Television are mere hypes. I have reasons to believe so because very soon people will go to court to contest it. Those people that said they are crossing have not crossed to anywhere. I am saying this categorically. The Constitution is very clear about it and you cannot change it it was very peaceful. The Police were orderly. I was not unhappy about Nigeria as you notice in some people because there are indices that Nigeria is going to be a great country. In fact, if you read the World Bank report and that of International Monetary Fund (IMF), they acknowledged that the Nigerian economy is growing very fast that in the next few years our economy will overtake that of South Africa and Nigeria will have the best economy in Africa, and this is a statement of fact.

Are you saying the Rivers State political crisis has not assumed any semblance of wetie of the old Western Region?

I assure you that the problem in Rivers State will soon be over. It is an internal crisis and I won’t want to go into more details than that.

You will be surprised to hear before long that Rivers State has become stable and the people are happy. There is so much money in that state and they need it for the development of their state, there are a lot developmental projects going on there and I will not want Nigerians to look at the crisis there from the press angle, which sometimes is exaggerated.

Will you say that Nigerian politicians have learnt lessons from the events that terminated previous republics?

The politicians of today are more educated than before and I know they will not be foolish enough to put their house on fire. I don’t want to go deeper than that.

How will you react to the fears that Nigeria is drifting towards precipice?

Those who are thinking in that direction are unreasonable and there is nothing on ground

to support such fears. Many Nigerians in different parts of the country have businesses scattered around states and these are not indices of instability. But what I see is a better future and stable polity.

What is your impression of the endless crisis in the PDP that led to the defection of some governors and members of the House?

I will not describe the issues in PDP now as endless crisis; I will rather describe what is going on in the party as politics. And I have reasons to believe that very soon all these crises would become things of the past and peace and stability will reign supreme in the party.

There are some steps the President is already taking, some known to the public and the public may not aware of some, which will bring peace back not only to the party but to the country. Before long there will be election in some states and 2015 is also around the corner, I can assure you that these elections will be peaceful.

Are you not threatened by the soaring profile of the All Peoples Congress (APC)?

I am not. That party cannot threaten the PDP? I had always been a loyal party man. I was loyal to the NCNC, loyal to Akintola’s party, to the NPN and very loyal to the PDP. I have always been loyal because the origin of my politics is British, as a student in England. I attended the meetings and conventions of the Labour Party, Conservative Party, the Communist Party, just to learn and those things I learnt have impacted on my political agenda.

Are you not bothered that APC will soon be calling the shots at the National Assembly?

I am not bothered, if you read the Constitution properly, you cannot cross or walk from one party to another without first resigning and vacating your seat. A section that deals with that is very clear in the Constitution, a lot of things you read in the papers or hear in the Radio or watch on the Television are mere hypes. I have reasons to believe so because very soon people will go to court to contest it. Those people that said they are crossing have not crossed to anywhere. I am saying this categorically The Constitution is very clear about it and you cannot change it.

But these Governors have hoisted APC flags in their offices?

I repeat those defections are just on the pages of newspapers or to entertain people watching Television. It is far from being a reality. As far as I am concerned they are still in the PDP and I won’t want to develop this further. Wait and see what will happen to show that they are wrong.

Are you not concerned that the PDP is gradually drifting into oblivion?

I disagree with you, the PDP is extremely strong and the PDP will win the next presidential and governorship elections.

How will you assess the performance of the judiciary and police in stabilizing the polity?

From the facts available to me, they are doing wonderfully well, I think the police have been doing extremely well, so also the judiciary and if you have problem you call the police, if you have problem you go to court. If the police and the court collapse, what is left? So we have to be extremely careful the way we share propaganda, otherwise, we will throw the country into problems.

Many think the Rivers’ State Police Commissioner of Police is partisan and very unprofessional in handling the crisis in that state; do you share this opinion?

I don’t accept that, if it is the same policeman I know. He was somewhere before, he worked in Ibadan for some time before he was taken to Port Harcourt, and I met him personally, if it is the same gentleman, I don’t believe he would behave irresponsibly.

The National Assembly will soon resume, what should we be expecting from them?

I think they will do very well, yes you will see what is going to happen. I don’t want to preempt them.

What do you expect the politicians and other stakeholders to do to safeguard this democracy from collapsing?

We must be loyal to the country and the constituent authority. We should encourage stability and peace throughout the country. We should de-emphasize the influence of money in politics and that is very important. The greatest politicians we still reverence today were not wealthy, but we still acknowledge their contributions to the development of this country.

Where is the wealth of Sardauna of Sokoto, where is the wealth of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Azikwe, Balewa and many others. The whole world stood for the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela who died recently, he served only one term, without money, he is one of the finest human beings the world ever produced. I think that is what we should emulate.

Would you suggest the same to President Goodluck Jonathan to serve one term?

I wouldn’t say he should serve one term. He has served only one term and he should serve at least one more term again, that is if he wants to stay further. But the choice is his, but if he wants to stand again I would support him hundred percent and ensure that he wins.

What has he done for this country to deserve such support?

He has done fantastically well, the infrastructure is far better now, there has been enormous development in oil and gas and I hope people appreciate that. There are a lot of road construction and reconstruction going on, he is doing his best for the country.

Many see you as President Jonathan’s supporter because he gave you daughter appointment?

They are wrong. As a loyal party man, who should I support; even when my party has produced a president that is performing creditably well? My daughter got her appointment on her credit. This is a lady of a first class brain, schooled in Oxford and Harvard. Is she not qualified to be a cabinet member? I have 10 lawyers in my family.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

COVER

AGBAKOBA: The NJC Will Not Tolerate Judicial Misbehaviour Of Any Kind Olisa Agbakoba SAN, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) told GBENGA SALAU that for there to be a smooth 2015, stakeholders should explore the opportunities provided in the new Electoral Act. There is tension as 2015 unfolds; Nigerians are looking up to the judiciary to intervene, ensure a fair process and douse tension?

WILL speak as an NJC member and we aware of the abuses by judges. And we are well prepared for all the eventualities that may happen in the event that there are evidences to show that a judge has abused his powers, in respect of any case at all, not just election cases.

The NJC will take the abuse of judicial power henceforth to have very grave consequences for the judges, who behaves in a way that desecrates their oath of office.

There is nothing wrong with injunctions; it is the abuse of it that is wrong and that is the problem, as an injunction may be granted for an appropriate cause. The problem is when it is abused. If there is evidence, that the judge has abused his position in relations to judicial powers, then it would have great consequences for that judge. It could also mean that whatever he decides lack effect because there is a process. If, for instance, a judge declares somebody who ought not to have been declared governor, governor, and it is clear that he had abused his powers, everything he has done would have no effect because otherwise, you will punish him but you will leave the issue and the person who has abused the system would go scot-free.

As a Nigerian, that is why I prayed that the Uwais panel was fully implemented, as there would have been an Electoral Offences Commission. When people do bad things and they are not punished, they keep doing it. If the Uwais recommendation that an Electoral Offences Commission be instituted and INEC unbundled to focus on managing votes, we would have had a stronger electoral process now. So, people who commit electoral offences by rigging, stealing votes or abusing the courts, once Nigerians begin to see them, and there is a very strong sanction for misbehaviour, things would change. But unfortunately, our politicians, using the Anambra case, I was surprised why cases concerning Anambra gubernatorial would go to Port Harcourt, Kano, Lagos, Abuja and judges would take it. It does not make any sense at all. Why would the judges not tell them that there are judges in the area, there is a Federal High Court in Enugu, Akwa, and Asaba.

So you can see that politicians used the court to do what we call forum shop, they look for areas where they feel they may have an advantage. So judges must be very conscious about this.

At the end of the day, the NJC will take very serious action against judges who abuse their judicial powers. You can see that the CJN has continued to emphasise the need for a strong judiciary; zero tolerance for corruption and actions had been taken, as can be seen in the last six months. Judges were sanctioned, dismissed and queried. And I am sure in the not too distant future, you might hear of further strong sanctions against judges. That is the only way judges would be called upon not to abuse their oath of office, because I feel that if judges do not abuse their oath of office, it would send a strong signal to anybody not to come close to them to try to tamper with the judicial system.

How does the NJC intervene when judges from different jurisdictions accept cases from other places?

The NJC is not an appellate court; it is the highest judicial body in Nigeria that sets policy, part of his works and mandate is the discipline of judges. So, if a politician that wants to abuse the process goes to Port Harcourt in the night and consults with a judge, it is when the judge has abused its power and it comes to light, that NJC will intervene, not before. NJC will not be able to take preemptive action, but I can see the NJC issuing strong guidelines and it has started to do that, that there would be zero tolerance for judicial misbehaviour of any sort, not just election petitions. And there would be sanctions and that has been the policy of the NJC, it started with the immediate past CJN and the current one has continued it, that there would be zero tolerance for corruption. Once the NJC knows about it, though it is not a magician as it is also limited in what it can do. NJC in the last three years had done very swiftly with cases dealing with proven cases of corruption against judges. I agree entirely with you that towards

I

not be afraid of loosing his job. When he is not afraid, he can then be independent in how he deploys his men and material. But the Police in the coming election would need to be absolutely neutral and do their work in ensuring a peaceful environment for elections across Nigeria.

Besides the NJC, what other steps do you think would help the judiciary function well?

The President of the Court of Appeal is the head of the body that appoints members of panel for election petitions. So it will be important that judges with experience, knowledge and maturity are appointed. Judges who have proven themselves to be above board, as we need to get the best judges in, because the election cases are very sensitive, especially looking at a state like Anambra, that is the worst state in Nigeria, when it comes to political infighting. So, we need the best judges, it is like a football team; put in your best eleven and you have a chance to win.

If the judiciary must do a great job, then it must put in the best eleven. The President of the Court of Appeal, a very strong lady, one hopes that in the various appointments she is going to be making for the judicial panels across the states, for local, national assembly, gubernatorial and presidential election petitions; that the judges when we hear their names, we would say yes, these are judges that we have confidence in and would deliver judgment according to their conscience, without fear or favour.

What will you want INEC to do to make the job of intervention easier for the judiciary?

What causes the problem is that INEC may need to be stronger this time in monitoring. In the new Electoral Act, the Uwais Committee made recommends after looking at the 2007 Elections.

What it found was that the biggest problem was the Abuja mafia in political parties, who are causing a lot troubles. What they do, without caring what is on the ground is for instance, if I become the gubernatorial candidate of a party in Anambra State, and my name was forwarded to the party at the national office, if the mafia in my party in Abuja do not like me, they will cancel my name and put another person’s name, that is the biggest source of the problem.

And the new Electoral Act said that INEC must monitor every party’s primary elections, they must be present, but they have not done that.

And the court unfortunately, has not understood the meaning of the power in the Act that INEC should monitor primaries. After monitoring, INEC would write a report that it came to the election primaries, it witnessed the election between A and B, it then can confirm that A was the winner. Once that is signed and returned to INEC, nobody questions it. The Abuja mafia cannot remove the name of the man who won at the state to put another one. So, if we can use the monitoring procedure in the Electoral Act properly and educate the people, because part of INEC work is to educate. I like to see INEC have some workshops with the judiciary so that they take the judiciary through what the law is. I like to see NBA and leading lawyers play a role so that everybody understands what the law says. You will be very shocked that even in INEC itself, they do not understand what the law is. And a man who The NJC is not an appellate court; it is the highest judicial body in Nigeria that fully does not understand the law cannot do his work, it is very important to call on the chairman of sets policy, part of his works and mandate is the discipline of judges. So, if a so INEC, Jega, that a critical aspect of his work is elecpolitician that wants to abuse the process goes to Port Harcourt in the night tion education. You should know your role as a journalist, I should know my own as a lawyer, a and consults with a judge, it is when the judge has abused its power and it voter should know his, the judge should know comes to light, that NJC will intervene, not before. NJC will not be able to take what he should do, same for the Police and so on. when everybody knows, it will be very easy to preemptive action, but I can see the NJC issuing strong guidelines and it has So avoid confusion.

If for instance a judge knows that this is what started to do that, that there would be zero tolerance for judicial misbehaviour INEC power is under the Act, immediately he sees of any sort, not just election petitions.

INEC certificate, that is the end of the case. If any is not happy, then he should go to sue INEC. We must use the mechanism in the Electoral Act to 2015 and given the do or die attitude of Nigerian Political parties, the whole gamut of Nigerians, reduce political tension; that is vital, very, very must be at alert. It is not just to single out the politicians, who wants power at all cost, many vital.

NJC and expect that the NJC will be the one to things could happen. And the reason they want And there are a lot of pre-election activities, salvage Nigeria. The Police have a role to play; power at all cost is that it can propel them from which sometimes INEC does not fully carry out. a penniless vagabond to a billionaire; that is the there is the security angle. Everybody must do So the pre-election activities, under the Act, mean his or her best, if we want this thing to come reason for all this. that the election period will open in July. When it and go in a smooth and peaceful way.

Concomitant with this, is the need to have a opens in July, everybody should know, like what strong anti-corruption framework that makes it How can we assure a Police without bias? they do in Ghana, there is a forum where all the For me that is why I am happy about the impossible to go into politics to steal. And when it is certain you cannot do so, then only genuine national conference. And my own contribution electoral actors and parties meet and agree, those to the national conference is to say that we need parties that are not qualified under the Act will be people will be in politics. In America, England told to their face, ‘you are not qualified because to have strong independent institutions. and elsewhere, it is only people who are comOne thing you can say about the judiciary is, in you did not have the relevant political structures mitted to doing something positive that come and you will be excluded from taking part in the spite of the weaknesses, is its independence. It forward. But in Nigeria, anybody who feels he does not take instructions from the executive. I election.’ All these must be done now, so that we can make money from politics; jumps in. do not have a situation where one party will run like to see a number of national institutions Politics has become a trade; the desperation is to court three days to the election to say, ‘my logo doing things independent of anybody, not out terrible. is not on the ballot paper, so stop the election.’ of fear or favour.

And the Police are one.

I like to So, this 2015, in order for it not to have negative INEC then postpones the election and starts see the Inspector General of Police outside the consequences, our national institutions must thinking, causing confusion all along. We have control of the executive; that means he would be on the alert; the Police, judiciary, EFCC, enough time now to plan, so let us use it.

And there are a lot of pre-election activities, which sometimes INEC does not fully carry out. So the pre-election activities, under the Act, mean that the election period will open in July. When it opens in July, everybody should know, like what they do in Ghana, there is a forum where all the electoral actors and parties meet and agree, those parties that are not qualified under the Act will be told to their face, ‘you are not qualified because you did not have the relevant political structures and you will be excluded from taking part in the election.’ All these must be done now, so that we do not have a situation where one party will run to court three days to the election to say, ‘my logo is not on the ballot paper, so stop the election.’ INEC then postpones the election and starts thinking, causing confusion all along. We have enough time now to plan, so let us use it.

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NEWSFEATURE

Malnutrition... a scourge waiting for solution in Nigeria

Nigeria’s Crippling Battle With Malnutrition

By Gbenga Salau any country to compete globally in FtheOR terms of its human capacity or resources, people must be mentally and cognitively healthy. For any country’s human resources to be mentally alert and contributing meaningfully to the global economy, the nutritional level of her people must be satisfactory. Malnutrition must not be a problem such a country should be grappling with. This is because a malnourished country would be populated by people not mentally and physically developed.

When people talk about malnutrition, it is usually about lack of adequate nutrients in the body system, which is not limited to that, as malnutrition is also about inappropriate nutrients. The definition of malnutrition by Wikipedia substantiates this. It defines malnutrition as “the condition that results from eating a diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess (too high in intake), or in the wrong proportions.”

However, Chief Philip Asiodu, as the Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, vividly captured the negative impact of malnutrition, when in his forward to the document on National Policy on Nutrition and Food in Nigeria, produced by the National Planning Commission, (NPC), in 2001, stated that malnutrition has long been recognised as a consequence of poverty and lack of basic nutrition education.

According to him, over the years, the close relationship between malnutrition and under-development had continued to be emphasised, particularly at the various international summits aimed at improving the welfare of women and children.

After the policy was formulated, Nigeria has signed two international documents on nutrition. Surprisingly, the policy was formulated to serve a 15-year action plan, but two years to the expiration of that policy, there has not been much improvement on the people’ nutrition level, especially children.

This is so, if the recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health is anything to go by as the report showed that at least 41 per cent of Nigerian children under the age of five suffer stunted growth as a result of malnutrition.

The ministry said the survey was conducted in all the 36 states of the federation, but with children below the age of five in northern Nigeria and three states in the south are at risk of acute malnutrition, a condition, which it claimed, has led to stunted growth among children of that age category.

Though there had been steps to make Nigerian children live healthily through the implementation of some international protocols on nutrition, Nigeria has signed, it has, however, not yielded fruit. It seems Nigeria needs to take the game further through legislation, copying countries such as Brazil and United State of America with laws that promote better nutrition among children.

President Truman, in 1946, signed the National School Lunch Programme (NSLP) Act, officially, authorising the NSLP take-off, although funds had previously been appropriated for it over a decade without specific legislative authority. The programme was expanded with the 1966 Child Nutrition Act, besides adding the School Breakfast Programme (SBP) on a pilot basis, which was made permanent with the 1975 legislation, while a 1998 legislation expanded the NSLP to include reimbursements for snacks served to students in after-school educational and enrichment programs.

India is also not left out, as findings revealed that the country has a long tradition of school feeding programme dating back to the 1920s, though largely by the state governments with some external assistance.

At a point in its history, the Indian Supreme Court directed the state governments to introduce school feeding programme in all government and government assisted primary schools, a product of a petition from the People’s Union for Liberties, a large coalition of organisations and individuals, which led to the Right to Food Campaign.

Also, for Brazil, the school feeding programme is a constitutional matter, and part of government’s Zero Hunger Programme.

The programme, implemented by the National Fund for Development of Education (FNDE), an independent institution, created in 1997 and responsible for the disbursement of the financial resources for school meals in each municipality, claimed to be

the biggest in the world, as it is said to cover nearly 37 million children each year.

Commenting, Professor Rotimi Olajide Abidoye, of the Department of Community Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, noted that the negative effect of malnutrition among children in any society would lead to high incident of sickness and child mortality, because their immune system is very low due to malnutri-

A malnourished child

tion.

He said this is besides mothers at reproductive stage not being able to carry pregnancy through, which could also lead to high maternal mortality.

For him, the importance of a well nourished society starts from childhood, which could help the child to have high productiv-

CONTINUE ON PAGE 28

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NEWSFEATURE

... Fighting The Malnutrition Scourge CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

gets into our body, they are broken down and so many types of chemical are extracted into the blood system, which carries and circulates it to the parts of the body where they are needed.

“For example, when we talk of the development of the brain cells, there are certain nutritious foods that are necessary for the effective development of the brain cells. If these are not available, then the full development of the brain is affected. Some of the diseases that affect children like Down syndrome is due to shortage of the required food nutrients.”

He noted that when a nation or a family fails to feed its young ones well, it negatively affects the quality of the brain cells.

“When we say somebody is intelligent or is a moron, idiot or an imbecile, we are simply referring to the quality of his brain cells. Your intelligence is a reflection of the qualitative form of the brain cells and these brain cells are fed from the food we eat.

“So, when we do not make available to our children the right type of food, quality and quantity, they will develop stunted brain cells, which will affect their level of intellectuality.”

Fagbohungbe observed that as adults, these children will not be able to cope with certain demands and requirements of the environment, especially intellectual activities like their counterparts that are well fed.

According to him, if there are no concerted efforts to check the growing trend of mal nutrition in the country, it means the country will keep producing human beings that lack the capacity to appreciate the development that the society needs, as they will not be futuristic or engage in abstract thinking. “It is already affecting the society. If you look at the thinking pattern of the Nigerian youths, you will discover that they are patterned towards aesthetic values. They are not prepared to stay longer in the library; they want quick things, cut corners. Yes, the economy is bad, but there are so many things in the society they could lay their hands on. But they could not appreciate towards that direction and think abstractly and deductively to bring out something positive.”

To him, it is also why many cannot think of providing solutions to societal problems after graduation, but looking for white-collar jobs that are not available.

The university lecturer argued that those who transform the society are not conventional thinkers, but people who look away

ity in school, as he will be able to respond in class because he is well nourished. This, he said, has positive ripple positive effects.

He disclosed that researches have shown that a malnourished child does not pay attention in class, which means he cannot put up a good performance in class. “The same child, who is malnourished will grow up to become an adolescent, who probably goes to the university with an empty stomach; obviously he cannot perform in class.

“An employee who is not well nourished will not be able to perform his task adequately and ensure high standard within the work place. But in a society that is well nourished, the productivity is very high.”

According to him, most policies on nutrition in Nigeria were not successful due to lack of national interest, which often negatively rubs off on every programme by the government, as the implementers are always pursuing personal and selfish goals. “A nation with national interest, an individual in that nation will always fight to uphold the national spirit because wherever he is assigned, he will make sure that national goal is the most important. Everything we planned fails as a country because everyone is seeking his own gain. Corruption is so high that it makes every programme useless and a nation where there is corruption, the treasury is empty.

“The nutrition and food policy, how are you going to implement it, is it not through fund, where is the money, is it not going into individual pockets?” Abidoye queried.

The Community Health and Primary Care expert disclosed he was part of the committee for the implementation of the national nutrition policy. He said besides corruption, the policy failed when the foreign partners pulled out to go to Ghana because the Ministries of Health and Agriculture were competing to implement the policy.

“The Ministry of Health wanted it, agriculture said no, it would be the ministry to implement it; if there was national spirit, the two ministries would work together for the interest of the nation, especially the children because they are the ones mostly affected by malnutrition.”

For him, there is urgent need for intervention, which could be through supporting farmers with low interest rate loan and subsidizing the farming chain processes, besides providing adequate security in the land.

“This is because for food security in the nation, there must be security for the farmers to operate. Farmers in the north are running away from the farms now because they are afraid of being attacked by Boko Haram.”

He also believes the state governments could use the vast expanse of land in their domain for agriculture since the country is blessed with good climate and arable land.

On a law to promote better nutrition among the populace, he fears funds to implement the project would be diverted into individuals’ pockets. “If a law is made for a child to have a good meal a day, the money will go into individual pockets, how can such a law work, it cannot work.”

He, however, said besides the policy or law, families must be orientated on preparing balanced diet, noting that even if a family is not rich enough, it should be able to feed the child with beans, vegetable and protein; not just starchy foods always.

He, nonetheless, maintained that corruption is a strong obstacle in having a nourished nation, because it is the major reason the Federal and state governments cannot sponsor free meals for children.

“We can do it, the money is there. This is besides encouraging farmers through subsidy and low interest rates, which will empower the youths; jobs would be created and the people will feed well.

“Electricity is another issue. In the US, you can eat whatever you want to eat fresh because there is constant electricity. It is due to lack of preservative facilities that farm produce are seasonal, which should not be.

Most times farmers cannot store their excess produce,” Abidoye said.

An industrial Psychologist and a senior lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Dr. Oni Bamikole Fagbohungbe, argued that the implication of not taking the right quantity and quality of the food required for the body’s development is very grievous.

Mother and child... fighting a battle for survival “The food we take are synthesised when it

from the general to the peculiar. “They are the ones that can move the society forward.

So, if we continue this way, it will continue to affect the quality of those who graduate from primary schools, those fed into secondary schools from primary schools, and then, we gradually discover that those who get out of the university are just paper graduates and conventional thinkers.”

Fagbohungbe maintained that the development of a society is the aggregate development of the people that make up the society and the quality of the development of those people is a function of their intellectual capacity, which is a product of the brain.

A developmental psychologist and senior lecturer, University of Lagos, Dr. Kehinde Ayenibiowo, said malnutrition affects the brain development of the child, which implies that cognitive development and the ability to learn is hindered.

“This also means that the ability to learn is reduced, and by the time it is reduced, the personality of the child is affected because if a child is not measuring up to his mates in terms of performance, it has a way of affecting the way the child feels about himself, so it affects the self concept.

“If a child is not well developed, it affects the child’s self esteem, he may feel inferior to his mates or feel inadequate. So the child may have organ inferiority, which affects the way he or she sees himself or herself.”

She also disclosed that as a result of this, social anxiety might come in, as the child feels inadequate, not feeling confident in relating with other children because they may be functioning at a level higher than him.

“It also affects them emotionally, the way you feel about yourself is important because when you compare yourself with other people and you discover that there is something wrong somewhere, it has a way of affecting you, emotionally. As a result of this, people begin to label or call them names, which can affect the child’s emotion, becoming aggressive or depressed, depending on the temperament of the child,” Ayenibiowo stated.

On her part, the President, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Ngozi Nnam, argued that beyond policies or law, the attitude of the people must be worked on, as farmers who produce the food often do not eat nutritious food.

“It is not the policy that will make us eat balanced and nutritious food. The major problem is that our people are not well informed on what they should eat and how they should eat it.”

To her, the most important step now is getting people educated on what to eat and how

to eat it. Even if the policies or laws are good, and the attitude to the policy is bad, then it would not work.

“I can tell you as an expert that this is what the policy says, you have the option not to do it and I cannot not take you to court. So it is our attitude and dietary habit that is the problem.”

She substantiated her view with the exclusive breastfeeding policy where the percentage of women that breastfeed their children is dropping. “So it is still that attitude to convince mothers that the best thing for their babies is to exclusively breastfeed the baby for the first six months of life. And the press should help to inform the people about the correct dietary habit.”

On the report of the Ministry of Health that 41 per cent of Nigerian children under five are malnourished, she said it means the country is moving towards becoming a stunted nation.

“One of the effects of children being malnourished is that it affects brain and mental development and it is the brain that controls all human activities. If somebody is able to conceptualise, it is an intelligent ability, which are products of the development of the brain and the brain development starts from conception. For malnourished children, their brain will never develop well, and this harm is usually not reversible. Any child with poorly developed brain will likely not actualise his or her potentials in the society. And if there are no efforts to avert malnutrition, it is going to affect the development of the country.”

She, however, believes that the negative trend of malnutrition could be checked through paying more attention to nutritional issues. “As it is now, nutrition does not get the attention it deserves. When nutrition is mentioned, people think it is just cooking and eating. Nutrition starts from what an individual eats and the impact it has on the development of that individual.

Another way forward is to give more support to nutritionists so that we can reach out to all segments of the society to get people informed on the correct dietary habit.”

She noted that though some states are practicing the school feeding programme, which is a very good intervention, if well implemented. But the programme needs to be managed by nutritionists so that they can give appropriate diet, not just providing meal.

“The goal of the school meal programme is to ensure that those children get at least one adequate diet in the school that will supply most of their nutrient needs. My worry is,

TheGuardian

Sunday, January 19, 2014 29

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Junior Guardian Rotary Club Of Ikoyi Metropolitan Donates To Pacelli School s a way of reaching out to the less A privileged and giving them sense of belonging, the Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metropolitan has donated a number of items to the Pacelli School for The Blind and Partially Sighted Children in Surulere, Lagos.

The item donated, which ranges from typewriters to toiletries, foodstuffs, groundnut oil, rice, chicken and beverages were to help improve their learning.

According to the President of the Club, Mr. Kelvin Ofili, the items donated were what the school needed in reference to their assessment. He said, “We are happy that the donation would go along way in helping the pupils in their studies and art of learning. We (the club) will come back again after six months to see how far the donation has helped, how they have utilised them and know what else should be done for the school.”

The School Principal, Rev. Sister Jane Onyeneri, who was thankful to the club said they are always happy to see people come to bless the school with learning materials, food and drinks, adding that the items will be used for their respective purposes, even as it would go a long way in helping the students.

However, the blind Basic Six, Head Girl, Pamela Inyagbe, who led appreciation songs for the club, prayed that God would keep the club’s members.

— Chijioke Iremeka

Pacelli School’s pupils and staff during donation by the club’s representatives

Nigerian Pupil Wins Drawing Competition In UK IGHT-YEAR-OLD Melissa E Nwakalor, a Nigerian, and pupil of St Joseph’s School in

SOLUTIONS TO BRAIN TEASER (14) MOTORIST CUSTOM

SECURITY NEPHEW

DEBATE COMPRESS

MARRIAGE COURTIER

Nottingham recently won Cool Milk Christmas design cards.

She won £50 voucher in the national competition where children at schools and nurseries across the UK participated. The children were asked to design a Christmas scene incorporating milk, which the leading school milk provider Cool Milk could use in the front of its corporate Christmas cards.

Over 4,500 children aged between two and 11 entered the competition. Melissa’s winning design, featuring a robin and a bottle of milk, was handpicked by Cool Milk’s Managing Director, John Sedgwick.

Paul Kitson, Cool Milk Marketing Manager, presented Melissa with a £50 WHSmith voucher for her winning design. “One of the reasons we run the competition every year is to encourage the children to think about the benefits of drinking milk as part of a healthy diet in a fun and meaningful way and Melissa’s card really encapsulates that,” said Paul.

Winners Emerge At Blue Band National Growth Challenge AVID Imafidon of Fred ceremony for voting at the D Williams Nursery and PriSheba Hall, Ikeja, Lagos. mary School, Iju, Lagos has Speaking at the grand finale,

Tea and Spreads Category Manager, Unilever Nigeria, Ms. Vivian Ihaza (left), some of the winners and Enugu State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Henrietta Ugwu during the gifts presentation.

emerged winner of the Blue Band National Growth Challenge. He emerged best with 31 votes, while Adegbite Adejire of New Gate Primary School, Ikorodu and Oyinkansola Bada of Lyncrest Primary School, Ikorodu tied up as runners up with 17 votes each.

The winners smiled home with bicycles and stationery, while their schools were presented with laptops, printers, stationery and blue band margarine.

The winners were part of the 15 nationalists of the art competition, whose paintings were displayed at the closing

Tea and Spreads Category Manager of Unilever Nigeria, Ms. Vivian Ihaza said: “We are so delighted at the success of the campaign, particularly with the fact that Blue Band has touched the lives of people through improved access to nutritional knowledge. The challenge was a learning and exciting platform for parents and children, who learnt about proper nutrition and its implication to their overall health.”

According to Ihaza; “Margarine provides essential vitamins needed for growth and proper development. Blue Band is nutritious with main

meals as well as with snacks to enliven children’s lunch boxes.”

Similarly, the Enugu State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Henrietta Ugwu called on Nigerians to embrace healthy living right from childhood as it will form part of habits that will be passed on from one generation to another.

The programme was launched in October 2013 with the objective of helping pupils between ages 6–12 across 400 primary schools (both public and private) in Lagos and Enugu states imbibe good feeding habits.

—Gbenga Akinfenwa COMPILED BY KIKELOLA OYEBOLA

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

IBRUCENTRE

Clerics Speak On The Use Of ICT In Churches THE cleric are upping their game, downloading the Bible from the Internet, preparing sermons and preaching the word, using their phones, iPad and other electronic platforms. Some observers, including church members are beginning to ask if this approach to homiletics is godly, especially as some of the clerics see these devices as something extraordinaire. OMIKO AWA, CHRIS IREKAMBA, ISAAC TAIWO and PAUL ADUNWOKE spoke to different cleric on this development.

It Makes The Work Thorough And Easier USE an iPad and as I carry it, I’m carrying a complete Bible. I have about 50 versions of the Bible in my iPad apart from about five or six concordances. I also downloaded Bible dictionaries into it. IPad makes things easy for me, I write my notes with my iPad. There are a lot of things I can easily do with my iPad that I can’t do with my hard copy Bible. Technology can be used for good and bad purposes. Today, you can download your Bible in the phone; I have different versions of the Bible on my phone. I downloaded King James, NIV and so on. However, to avoid distraction, I keep my phone on silent mood; but my members have the options to use their phones as their Bible. ICT is useful; it makes the work thorough and easier for me.

Pastor Wale Adefarasin, General Overseer, Guiding Light Assembly, Ikoyi/ former National Secretary, PFN.

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It Enriches And Enhances Message Preparation PAD, phone, laptop and others are only tools a pastor, who knows how to use them, may employ to facilitate, enrich and enhance the preparation of his or her message. Every pastor is expected to preach the word of God, as contained in the Bible. Symbolically, for our age, the Bible comes in book form; in earlier times, God’s word was in scrolls. The 10 commandments were written on tablets of stone, but now there are electronic Bibles. All of these are just vehicles to convey God’s Word to humanity in a form that can be understood.

Only God, who sees the heart of man, knows whether a pastor values an ipad more than His word, or mounts the pulpit to show off his or her status instead of preaching the word. It is best to leave that judgment to the all-seeing creator. The power of God’s word is not in doubt. God’s power does not reside in any material device. Power is an attribute of the Almighty God, and He does not give His glory to any other thing, Isaiah 42:8.

Moji Anjorin Solanke, Christian Science Committee on Publication, Nigeria West.

Akinde

Musa

Ajayi

Ndukuba

Olumakaiye

Odubogun

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The Use Of Ipad Is A Sin T is very wrong, iPad is not good for born again Christians or any preacher because the contents are ungodly. The word of God says we should not add or remove, so, there is no ‘downloading and uploading’ in word of God. The use of iPad is a sin. God does not approve the use of it to preach. Many people go to Church because of anointing; anointing is not Holy Spirit, anointing can use iPad, but Holy Spirit cannot use it.

Anointing performs magic, but Holy Spirit performs miracle, anointing is cash and carry which is iPad, but Holy Spirit is wait patiently and carry.

Present-day church is a church of anti-Christ; no body wants to preach salvation, because most of the people are interested in magic. IPad adds no value to the people, who want to run the race.

Pastors, who are using iPad, handsets and other gadgets to preach the word, are not living a genuine life because carrying the hard copy of the Bible would keep you alive to sin, you will be conscious of it and then avoid it.

You can use your gadgets at home, but do not use them on the pulpit or to preach to the people. You are to preach the word of God, but do not take iPad as a Bible; iPad is an imitation while Bible is the original voice of God. Bishop Adol Paul Obinwaogu, President and General Overseer Redeemed Pillar Of Fire, Lagos.

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someone through the Internet? There are too many pornographic sites on the Internet and when a young man starts visiting all these sites, naturally his sexual urge will increase. Do you observe that cases of rape are on the increase in the country? For me, I see a linkage of the Internet and ICT with the rise. I have cried for many years on the negative aspect of computer and now that I am fully in the ministry, as a professional, I am exposing the negative side of ICT. He that would hear let him hear. I have all the electronic gadgets you can think of, including iPad, laptop, Notebook and others, but I rarely bring them into my ministrations. I prefer to keep to the conservative way. I want the old time religion more than anything else. The old time religion, I would stick to.

The Most Rev. Adebayo Akinde (Professor of Computer Science), Archbishop of Lagos and Bishop of Lagos Mainland.

Hold Onto The Tradition, Use The Printed Bible THINK we should go back to the root. The Bible is the Bible. The printed Bible, even in our contemporary times, has its advantages over and above what the modern world vis-a-vis ICT has to offer. We should always be proud to carry the printed Bible anywhere we are going, including the Church. Electronics are good, but the printed Bible is our standard. We need to keep to the tradition. We need to hold onto the old-time way.

Rt. Rev. Paul Zamani, Bishop of the Diocese of ICT Gadgets Are Good, But Should Be Used With Kwoi, Kaduna State.

Caution AM among the early ministers that used the Electronic Bibles Aid Worship Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) projector to preach OME of these things have their advantages the word of God. But then, I did not go too far beand disadvantages; I have spoken at some fora fore I stopped for a very cogent reason. I realised about them. However, as much as they are good, that we need to be careful of modernisation in we must not allow them to hinder us from bringthe Church of God. I wish to say that one of God‘s ing our printed Bibles and hymn books to greatest gifts to mankind in the 20th century is Church. Electronic Bibles only aid worship, but computer, but every believer must be careful in if we lay emphasis on them, the danger is that the use of it. I am saying this as a professional and people will begin to come to Church without as a child of God. their printed Bibles and hymn books; and when Computer is a veritable device for the fulfill- this happens, then the Church begins to diminment of the Beast according to the scriptures. The ish in terms of identification. It is a dangerous benefits of computer to mankind are unlimited, trend, which personally I do not support. but again, it has a great and enormous way of de- The Most Revd. Joseph Akinfenwa, Bishop of the stroying mankind. There are too many positive Diocese of Ibadan things about the computer, but at the same time, there are many negative aspects of it. Do you Carry And Meditate On The Printed Word Rather know that witchcraft can be administered to Than ICT Gadgets

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N as much as we are in computer age, we must not encourage laxity in the Christian faith. Despite the opportunity ICT affords us to own computer or electronic Bible, we should still have the print Bible, hymn books and even bulletin of the Church and always go through them for meditation. Our brains are wonderfully created by the Almighty God to have more capacity than computers in their functionalities and cannot be compared with man-made computers. We should not allow computers to replace our wonderful gift. ICT can only aid, but not to replace the Bible, so, we should not be ashamed to carry our Bibles. The Bible is the word of God and when we proudly display it by carrying it and meditating on the contents, the Devil will run from us.

Churches that are gluing themselves to ICT gadgets in whatever form should create a balance because we are getting into the perilous time. It is quite encouraging to use the Bible for the furtherance of the gospel and we should further encourage it in the Church.

Rt. Rev. Isaac Chijioke Nwaobia, Bishop of IsialaNgwa South, Owerrinta.

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Electronics Bible Tends Towards Laziness APTOPS and some ICT devices are good, but I have been telling people that the idea of using electronic Bible is tantamount to laziness.

There are some people you would like to tell a particular book of the Bible and there would be need for you to tell them the page. If such people are not carrying the printed Bible you are carrying, how then do you refer them to the page? I re-iterate that using electronics Bible will only encourage laziness, as the idea of searching the scriptures as of old will eventually be eroded.

During conferences, laptop and other items could be used, but using electronics Bible in the Church is laziness.

Rt. Rev. Sunday Timothy Adewole, Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Jebba.

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ICT Gadgets Are For Our Advantage HE world is gradually becoming a global village and I do not see anything bad in the use of ICT gadgets, including electronics Bible and laptops. When we look into the Bible, we see the root of modern technology and, so, all we are experiencing today, have their toot in the scriptures.

They are things that had been predicted that would happen and form part of God-given wisdom to mankind. It facilitates the perusal of the word of God. We can see some people carrying

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their electronics Bible and their handsets everywhere they go, they can have their quiet time anywhere and at anytime. It is something that one should encourage, but at the same time, we should not overdo it. We should try as much as possible to regulate it in such a way that it would not constitute a nuisance in the Church. We should use it wisely for our advantage.

Rt. Rev. Humphrey Olumakaiye, Bishop of Osun North ICT Gadgets Are Good Means To An End ATHER than be an asset in its entirety, some of these things have their drawbacks and one can be messed up through over reliance on these devices. Nevertheless, most of these products of technology, which are meant to pass on information, can be effectively used to witness Christ.

If you get into a Church and you have your iPad with you and you also have your laptop through which you can project your message, you enhance the capacity of your audience‘s comprehension of your message.

As long as this equipment are deployed to edify God and enhances communication, they are good means to an end. I have always made use of projector in my Synod and as I pass on the message, the audience concentrates without necessarily seeing my face and the message sinks.

Rt. Rev. Oluranti Odubogun, Bishop of the Diocese of Ife, Osun State

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ICT Gadgets Must Not Take The Place Of The Printed Bible HE Church must not lag behind, but at the same time, one must not replace the searching of the scriptures with visiting the Internet to download materials. The use of ICT is good, as the Church is part of the modern world. If a leader in the Church says he does not understand what the modern gadgets are all about while his members do, it then means that the congregation is ahead of the leader. This means that the pew is higher than the pulpit and as such the leader would not be able to meet the needs of his congregation. Pastors should be familiar with modern gadgets, but it must not take the place of searching the scriptures, as well as personally making research to equip oneself instead of relying on downloaded materials from the Inter-

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Sunday, January 19, 2014 31

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

IBRUCENTRE Dikko: ‘Breaking Up Is Never A Solution To Our Problems’ MAJOR GEN AHMED DIKKO is retired from the Nigerian Army in 2007. He is currently the National President of the Hausa-Fulani/Kanuri Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). He spoke to NKECHI ONYEDIKA in Abuja on the security challenges in the country, the proposed National Dialogue and why Nigeria must remain as one.

Security situation in the country HE security situation in the country today calls for concern, but I am happy that the Federal Government is doing its best, with the assistance of state governments to address the problem. The security challenge has so many aspects; we have Boko Haram issue, which is the most disturbing aspect up north; we have armed robbery, kidnapping, crude oil theft and others. The Federal Government is actually trying, but I believe there are more things to be done to nip the problem. When you talk of security issues, Nigerians always think that it is only the Army and the police that should be involved, but the truth is that everybody is a security agent; it is through information given to security operatives that they can contain any situation.

When you see unusual movement or faces you don’t know in your community, it is your duty to alert the security agencies.

All these people that perpetrate crimes whether Boko Haram or armed robbers live among us, some of them are our relations, but we don’t want to expose them may be for fear; but if we continue this way, there may never be peace in the country.

Do you think the State of Emergency declared in some states in the North East has helped to improve security situation in the area?

When the State of Emergency was declared, I was neither here nor there, but after sometime, I saw the value because I know that these people are well trained; you can see that the blackout on communication in the areas has worked. State of Emergency allows government to operate freely, had it not been there, soldiers cannot get to some places freely because people will say, this is my territory, don’t come in; so, state of emergency is the best thing that ever happened in this circumstance.

Could the problem of insecurity not be blamed on poverty and unemployment?

I agree that poverty and the high level of unemployment in the country today are part of the reasons for the high level of crimes in the country, but they are not 100 per cent responsible for the problem. Poverty and illiteracy are Nigeria’s biggest problem, however, poverty and unemployment can make you do anything. It is very easy to entice anybody with money if he or she is unemployed. If just N200.00 will make people change their minds during elections and vote for another candidate, imagine what they will do if you offer them N1000.00 or feed them like in the case of Boko Haram. So, unemployment contributes more than 80 per cent to some of the crimes we are witnessing in our country today. However, the problems of armed robbery and kidnapping persist because people see a lot of Nigerians with so much money without knowing how they come about it; you see people who are virtually doing nothing flaunting wealth and it takes somebody with strong will to resist reacting negatively. Also, high usage of drugs in the society is another point. I know government has a lot of areas begging for attention, but something drastic should be done to reduce unemployment to the barest level. A country like India has a very high population, but over 300 million of its citizens are in the agricultural sector; so, agriculture is an area

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Dikko that can employ a large number of youths, whether educated or uneducated, if we keep them busy, provide necessary infrastructure in the villages, the crime rate in the country would reduce drastically.

National Dialogue This is a laudable idea because it will give every group that is aggrieved, marginalised or oppressed an opportunity to express themselves; but the fear is, how to get all the agitating groups to be part of the National Dialogue. I am not talking of high level agitators like those asking for state creation, but the down trodden masses, who are marginalised, may be due to their smallness in their areas, for example, the Hausa-FulaniKanuri where I belong. We feel marginalised not because we are a minority, but because of our faith; we are regarded as minority because in our community, over 95 per cent are Muslims and less than five per cent are Christians, so, how do we ensure that people like us, who are minority by faith are represented at the national dialogue. Federal Government has to look out for the minorities whether they are tribe, religion or land areas, who are usually marginalised and have nobody to stand for them. Unless this National Dialogue is done in such a way that they can be allowed to come out, it will be of no use to them.

Also, the time frame for the committee on national dialogue ought to be longer than the time given to them by government.

The National Dialogue committee should have been given enough time to do a thorough job. The way we are doing it now, it may be rushed and at the end, a lot of people will be disappointed because they will not be heard. I also hope that it will not be hijacked or made a political affair and the ordinary people will not benefit from it. It should be done in such a way that all Nigerians will be convinced that Nigeria belongs to all of us, no individual tribe, religion or group has the monopoly to be

A group photograph of the Bishops of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, at the yearly Bishops’ Retreat held at the Ibru International Ecumenical Retreat Centre, Agbarha-Otor Delta State.

in charge of the country and that every individual can aspire to be anybody. It should be done with all fairness and not for selfish ends.

How should representatives to the National Dialogue be selected and what should government do with the outcome of the dialogue?

I thought that was why government set up the National Dialogue committee to work out how to go about it. We have over 500 tribes in the country and government should ensure that all are represented. I feel it is left for the government to make it an all-inclusive dialogue so that everybody can be listened to.

However, the outcome to me should be subjected to a referendum instead of taking it to the National Assembly. If you can take it back to the National Assembly, then you can as well leave the National Assembly to work on it since they are representatives of the people, but if they are there and you say there should be a National Dialogue, that means they have been put aside.

Talking about being a minority by faith, did you make any presentation to the committee on National Dialogue?

Yes, we made a presentation and because our minority issue has to do with faith, most of our presentations centered on faith — freedom of worship and religion. We also stated that local, state or Federal Government should not make religion a state affair. We should be given our rights as citizens of the states our people are found like any other person because we pay taxes. We should not be denied our rights because we are of a faith different from the majority. If you are qualified for a job, but you are not given promotion or employment because of your faith, it is then persecution. What we want is respect for everybody’s religion, the Holy Quran and the Bible have not changed, if the teachings in these holy books have not changed, it means it is we human beings that have changed and we need to retrace our steps and allow each other to live in harmony.

Therefore, religion should not be used by the state to marginalise, neglect or suppress some people.

How do we sustain unity in diversity?

India is more diverse than Nigeria in all ramifications; it has about 1.2 billion population, but does not have the kind of problems we have in Nigeria today. As long as we continue to talk about state, tribe and religion, unity will be a very difficult thing to achieve. But if we look at ourselves and say, we are just a geographical expression and have lived in Nigeria for the past 100 years, if we could not disintegrate then, why should we disintegrate now that we are more educated, now that we are in a digital age and can communicate very easily. We need to look at ourselves from a national perspective instead of saying I am Efik, Tiv, Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba, or I am a Muslim, I am a Christian, I am Redeemed, orthodox or Living faith. If we remove all these sentiments and consider ourselves first as Nigerians, we can achieve lasting unity, but if we think that breaking up will help us, we are looking for a more serious problem. Breaking up is never a solution to our problems, because we will end up regretting what has happened. Look at the USSR, the smaller states are not finding it easy, they were much more comfortable when they were with the Soviet Union than they are today, look at the former Yugoslavia that has scattered all over; they are not finding things easy, it is the same thing that would happen to us because all these minorities that are fighting, if you give them that country, they will still be minorities within the minority.

My experience in the military was the greatest training I can ever get in life. When we entered the Armed Forces, nobody cared about your religion, tribe or state, we saw ourselves as one; they are virtually the only establishment, today, that has all the tribes in Nigeria, but till today they are still one, so, if it can be done in the Armed Forces, why can’t we replicate it in every strata of the society.

What kind of nation do you envisage after the centenary celebration?

I want to see a Nigeria where nobody will look at you and say you are from this tribe or this state. All we should look up to is one Nigeria, where people feel comfortable wherever they find themselves, where leaders are chosen not because of their tribes or religion, but because they are qualified. If we separate, we will go more than 100 years backward. I don’t see our amalgamation as a mistake, but even if it is a mistake, let us correct it and to correct the mistake is not to separate. Incidentally, my wife is Yoruba, if we separate, what is going to happen to her? Do we divide the children? If any mistake has been made, let’s correct it.

It is in an effort to correct whatever perceived mistakes that we increased from three regions to six regions and to 36 states we have today.

NSCIA Speaks Against Insurgence, Lauds N’Ass For Law Against Same-Sex Marriage

By Omiko Awa HE Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is becoming worried by the trend of violence and mass murder in some parts of northern Nigeria, especially in Borno and Yobe States.

The incident of last Tuesday’s bombing in which over 43 people have been declared dead is particularly worrisome. The persistent re-occurrence of this disturbing situation despite the vivid presence of human and material security arsenal in that region does not

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only constitute national embarrassment, but also confirms that military force alone cannot bring a lasting solution to the insurgency.

In a statement signed by Femi Abbas, chairman, media committee, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the group advised that the best security is not necessarily ensured by the gun or bayonet, but one which guarantees comfortable existence of the populace through the pro-

vision of the necessities of life such as education, jobs, housing and feeding.

NSCIA stated that it had severally suggested the positive engagement of the youths of this country, so that they will not be used as tools.

“It is not enough to condemn the youths’ restiveness and blame it on any real or imaginary sponsors as often done without proffering effective solution.

“Boko Haram elements of the North and their kidnapping counterparts

of the East as well as the youthful vandals of the South-south would not have had any market to recruit from if the government had taken the necessary action in ensuring the effective engagement of those youths. If only half of the budgetary amount of money earmarked for curbing insurgency and other crimes had been expended on needed social and economic provisions, perhaps Nigeria would have long overcome what is now a national threat.

“We therefore advise once again that the same zeal with which the Federal

Government is currently fighting insurgency should be used to fight poverty, ignorance, corruption and joblessness in the country with a view to tackling the real causes of insurgency,” the group stated.

NSCIA also commended National Assembly for passing the bill forbidding same-sex marriage or any illicit sexual relationship of man-to-man and woman-to-woman.

“The law is a further confirmation that Nigerians will hold on to the chord of God at any time, no matter whose ox is gored,” the group said.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

IBRUCENTRE

By Ernest Onuoha

From The Rector

‘And he preached, saying, after me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptised you with water, but He will baptise Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor you with the Holy Spirit.’ Mark 1v7-8

HE gospels carried the story that John was a T messenger sent ahead to prepare the way for John The Baptist: An Archetypal Of Servant Leadership Jesus: Matt. 3: 1v12, Mark 1v1-13, Lk 3:1v17, Jn. 1:9v28. As a messenger, he did not steal the show or take the place of the person he was announcing His coming.

Indeed, John was a big time preacher of all times, a crowd puller and fire spiting too. In Mark 1v5, we read: ‘and all the country of Judea and Jerusalem was going out to him and were being baptised by him in the river Jordan confessing their sins, Mark 1v5. I think in our own time, with this type of flourishing ministry, people may be booking to have access to him. Yet, he was simple, rugged and down to earth. Principally, he was conscious that he was only a messenger and that revealed much of his humility – after me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie… He said elsewhere, I must decrease that He may increase. He was not a competitor.

Part of the danger of today’s ministry is that those who are called to serve the Lord humbly, sometimes engage in competition to outdo one an-

other. When God called us, He had a specific purpose and programme for us. We don’t need to engage in competition. Saint Paul will say: ‘What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him. I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For we are God’s fellow-workers: ye are God’s husbandry, God’s building, I Cor. 3v5-9.

Jesus observed: ‘that the greatest among you shall be your servant,’ Matt. 23v11. It is expected that from time to time we re-examine ourselves in order to ensure that we are in line with this requirement. Servants, not masters, but those who should in all humility serve the flock. We are not to lord things over the flock (intimidation, boasting of our background,

achievements, etc). Rather, we are to take a cue from our master Jesus, the Holy writ says: ‘Then he poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded,’ John 13v5. Those who serve should note that humility causes nothing, but wins a lot.

Referring to Moses, the Bible recorded that he was a humble and great servant of the Lord. ‘Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth,’ Num. 12v3. No wonder when he died, Israel mourned him for 30 days. Deut. 34v8.

But today, how humble are our leaders both in the Church and in the government? For those of us in the ministry, if our members hear that we are going on transfer, do they rejoice or do they weep? I think we can better assess ourselves; whether we qualify as humble servants of God. But John the Baptist was and he could say: ‘after me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of

Springs of Wisdom Love And Unity In The Church

By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi NE of the most outstanding characteristics of the Almighty God is the deeply intense bonding among the three personalities that constitute the Godhead. Though, they retain their respective personalities, yet, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost are intrinsically and inseparably bound together in all divine operations. And if there are traits the Lord recommends to His children today, it is that we exemplify such love and unity. But these characteristics can only come about through conversion from sinful habits to saintly life. It is to willfully lend oneself to be captured by Jesus Christ and be brought under His Lordship. Thereafter, such a person cleaves to the Lord, the same way a bride is bound to her groom. He also experiences crucifixion of self and is shun of the bloated ego that causes friction among brethren. His self-will is crushed and conquered by the word of God. Such conquest becomes evident as the Lord deals with the natural, self-opinionated and unyielding personality that poisons relationships and hinders the work of God. This way, the person is able to live wholly in conformity to the image of Christ.

Therefore, whether as husband and wife, parents and children, Christian leaders and church members, you must allow the Lord to plant these spiritual qualities in you, if you are to experience genuine love, unity and fellowship. We should realise the importance of these principles of the Christian faith and opt to exalt love, unity and fellowship in the church above our personal desires.

True and pure love is transforming; but venting of neg-

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ative emotions will inevitably engender conflict, and destroy the fabric of love and unity in the church. Believers and Christian leaders should allow God to work in their lives so they can love Him fervently with a pure heart. Indeed, Christ’s command is for us to ‘love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.’ It will be love that exists between God and His children, between Christ and His disciples, between husband and wife, parents and children, among members of the church, between friends, neighbours, strangers and even enemies, as well as love between the government and its citizens. The Lord expects us to manifest intelligent and influencing love. It is love that is scripture-based: “That ye love one another, as I have loved you… that a man lay down his life for his friends”.

The early believers demonstrated Christ-like love by laying down not only their possessions, but also their lives. We are also called to do the same today. Such love is unpretentious, sincere and transparent.

Rather than complain, we ought to pray in faith and show love to believers in par-

ticular and all men in general. Since there is no fear in love and there is no love in fear, we must maintain dispositions that will instill trust in others. It is only in an atmosphere ruled by love and openness that obedience to the doctrines of Christ can be made easy. Building a relationship based on perfect love will make us approachable as representatives of Christ.

Similarly, the Lord wants us to live in unity so as to prosecute the war against moral corruption with united mind, focus and will. As the Israelites were united in enthroning David as king, believers must not allow any form of politics in the church of God, but rather be united in doing His will. If there must be revival in the Church, the care of Christ’s flock must be our collective concern. Our priority then becomes to attract people to Christ through the power of the gospel, even as we successfully handle weighty, controversial matters through a common, united front.

True fellowship always has to be demonstrated in practical terms. Believers in the early church were found

whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.’ We need to ask God to deal with the spirit of pride, arrogance and selfishness as its being noticed in the ministry of today. In fact, we need to underline the fact that the ministry of today is not for show, but for men and women who are humble enough to stoop low and serve the Lord in His Church. We earnestly pray that the Holy Spirit may help us in this New Year and in the years ahead to remember that the greatest in the service of God is one that serves humbly.

Ven. Ernest Onuoha Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State. www.ibrucentre.org

You Are Created For Success Prophet S. K. Abiara

“…continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart…” No matter how intelligent, wise and versatile a believer may be, there are things others possess that he does not have, which he needs for his life and ministry to be fulfilled.

Therefore, ‘in honour’ believers should love and respect one another, as our lives and ministries will be incomplete without the acceptance of others.

The purpose of fellowship is to love one another, ‘teaching and admonishing one another’ without any ulterior motive. When members of the church know that we have their best interest at heart, they will be open to our admonitions. True fellowship also requires that we bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Bearing one another’s burdens will make it possible for those weighed down by challenges and adversities to pick up the pieces of their lives and courageously make progress in their endeavours. Believers are to forbear one another in love. We also need to consider one another’s frailties and shortcomings since it is by God’s grace that we live.

Rather than overrun others, we must be ready to co-operate with, and accommodate them. Then, we will stand as a united force to be reckoned with. We will no longer just criticise others, but exhort one another daily and care one for another.

References: Ephesians 4:1-6,1116; John 13:34; 15:12,13; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 4:16-19; John 17:20,21; Judges 20:1; 1 Chronicles 12:38; 2 Chronicles 30:12-14; Nehemiah 8:1; Acts 2:46; 8:6; 15:25-28; Acts 2:40-47; Romans 12:10; 13:8; Colossians 3:16; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:2; Hebrews 3:13; 1 Corinthians 12:25 (All scriptures are from Kings James Version).

VERY human being E yearns for success. And that is also the mind of God for us all for this reason.

Every individual, no matter our differences in environment, sex, gender or academic, has the prospect to succeed in life. The differences become basically noticeable because of how individuals use the opportunity that comes their way.

This means, whatever you do with every opportunity that comes your way goes a long way to determine your success in life. The word of God tells us to do good with every opportunity that comes our way – Galatians 6:10. Life and accomplishment is about opportunities.

What am I saying? Out of numerous examples in the Bible, the picture of Joseph quickly comes to mind. Remember, he had the opportunity to have illicit affair with his master’s wife, but turned it down. Every circumstance surrounding that opportunity seemed glowing, yet he rejected the free offer from his madam. His decision that period led him to another phase (prison) that actually directed his path to greatness and glory – Exodus 39.

Aside from using opportunities wisely, it is also advantageous to act fast, as they come. Do not postpone any action. Continuous postponement of your opportunities will only amount to loss of them, you need to take fast and positive steps at every given opportunity.

Do you know that every born again child of God, gave their lives to Christ at a particular given opportunity, probably, you have had such grace yet you rejected it because you think there is always another time to do so.

One of the men I love in the scripture is Zacchaeus. The step he took towards his salvation is to challenge and encourage you. His quick, bold and wise stride

brought salvation to his household. Zacchaeus was a man who knew what he wanted in life. Immediately he found the opportunity to grab what he desired, he took creative steps to achieve it.

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name, Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today…Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham …”-Luke 19:1-10.

Jesus Christ personally saw his determination, so, He encouraged him. Don’t remain self-satisfied about life, your work, career or past achievement; such attitude cannot get you prepared and positioned for success.

Above all, do not live this Year 2014 godless, give your life to Christ. Confess your sins, be honest before God, and tell Him you are sorry. Ask Jesus to wash you with his precious blood and invite Him into your life. Believe this in absolute faith. That’s all!

skabiaraofciem@yahoo.co.uk

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sunday, January 19, 2014 33

IBRUCENTRE

Sunday School Earthen Vessels (1) Bible Passage: Ephesians 2:4-9 Memory Verse: “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:and great grace was upon them all,”Acts 4:33.

Introduction: God formed man from the dust. He chooses foolish things to confound the wise, and weak things to confound the mighty, 1 Cor. 1:27b. He is rich in mercy, Eph. 2:4-5.

Grace is an act of undeserved kindness from the greater to the smaller. God is full of grace, mercy and compassion, Tit. 3:4-5. So, then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God that shows mercy, Rm. 9:16.

Categories of Grace There are different types of grace, Great grace, Acts 4:33 Abundant grace, Rm. 5:17 Much more abundant grace, Rm. 5:20.

Glorious grace, Eph. 1:6.

The Wise Won’t Compromise OU must not allow sentiments, emotions or what you are going through to hinder you from your goal in life.

If you do not put away the things of the flesh, the Devil will use them to destroy you.

Matthew 10:28, “and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Jesus did not come to bring peace. In Matthew 10:35, states, “He has come to set son against father and daughter against mother.” If we choose to do the things that Jesus expects of us, we will come into conflict with the worldly expectations of our family members and those who are close to us. We have to give up the worldly things that we think is life because they are fake. We should turn to Jesus because from Him is everlasting life.

Daniel 3 taught us of the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon built and ordered all his subjects to worship. The penalty for not worshipping the image was death by burning and, so, everyone in the land including treasurers, governors, judges and other important men fell down and worshipped it. Only the three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused, despite being threatened with death by burning. In Daniel 3:17-18they told the King, “if that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace … we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

The three men operated in wisdom and refused to compromise their obedience to God because they had insider information on how God operates. They understood God’s faithfulness and His ability to deliver them once they walk in obedience to His words; they honoured God and God blessed them. For you to re-

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ceive God’s blessings, you must operate in wisdom. The biggest mistake that you as believer can make is to compromise the word of God because of the situation surrounding you. When you do this, you give Satan the opportunity to prevent you from walking into your inheritance. Romans 8:37 states, “yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” When you possess inside information on God, on His wisdom and on how He operates and you walk with this information, then the Bible says you will always be a winner.

When you compromise God’s word, you will settle for something less than the wonderful things that He has in store for you. The Devil will present the counterfeit to lure you away from God’s plans, but if you are able to overcome him, you will enjoy the good God has in store for you. However, you must be patient and fight for it; unless you are willing to do battle against all the forces standing in your way, you will never get the blessings that the Lord has purposed for you. There can be no victory without a battle.

Don’t settle for less, because if you do, you will be short-changing yourself. If sickness attacks, do not accept the doctor’s report; instead apply the word of God to the sickness or any other unwholesome situation, including your lack. The word of God is the medicine you need for your infirmity.

Psalm 37:5, “commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass”. Your situation will not remain the same if you commit it into God’s hands.

All you need to do is to stand still and you will see that God is the Lord.

Pastor Seyi Ogunorunyinka is the General Overseer, The Promisedland Restoration Ministries, Solution Ground, Surulere, Lagos. pastorseyiogunorunyinka@gmail .com

... With Pastor Enoch Adeboye Rich grace, 1 Cor. 15:10.

Sufficient grace, 2 Cor. 12:9.

Purpose of Grace It is to draw sinners to God, Mt. 9:11-13.

Grace gives you what you do not deserve, Eph. 2:5, Rm. 5:7-8.

It transforms you into what you could never have become, 1 Cor. 15:9-10, 1 Tim. 1:15, 2cor. 12:11.

It enables you to do what is humanly impossible, 2 Cor. 11:27, 12:15.

Purpose of Great Grace Draws in great sinners, Rm. 5:20.

Makes great, Ps. 18:25, Mk. 10:46-52. Jesus was called the son of David in spite of David’s serious character flaws and errors of judgement.

Will give you what you do not deserve, 2Sam. 12:24.

It makes you excel, 1 Cor. 14:18, 15:9-10, Acts 19:11-12.

Breaking Protocol (3)

By Gabriel Agbo HIS rain will surely fall!

Nothing can stop it.

When haven opens, it pours. Nothing holds it back. The haven has opened for us this year. Yes, it may not look like it’s our season, but this shower of blessings will certainly come. God, our Lord, is the maker and breaker of seasons. He does what pleases Him at any time. Hope you’re ready for it? As you read this message, may the rains of blessings begin now to pour on you in Jesus’ name! Can we go quickly to 1Samuel 12:16-17, “now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do... I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today.” Wow! Yes, this rain of blessings will surely soak you for coming in contact with this message. And not just the rain, it will also come with thunder — a bang! So that people will see and hear what the Lord has done for you. You will not just give testimonies, you’ll be a testimony yourself. Prophet Samuel told the Israelites that they will see the great thing that the Lord will do.

He was very sure of it. And what was that? He will bring down rain in dry season! Are you there? Now, It is normal for rains to fall in rainy season, but for the dry seasons it is quite unusual. Even the so-called rainmakers dare not try it.

But Samuel said, ‘yes, I know that it is against the time, against the season and protocol, against the expectation of all, against nature and process, but I will ask Jehovah; the maker and breaker of seasons to

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do it. Seasons are for men and not for God. True! As you read this message, the Lord will do that which will defy all human expectations, expressions and explanations in your life this year — in the mighty name of Jesus! The rain and thunder came just as Samuel declared.

This is just what breaking protocol is all about. It is about God breaking into the usual, the expected, to give you the unusual, the unexpected. That drought; dryness, sorrow, famine in your life has ended. Though, everything is saying that it is not yet time, it’s not possible, it’s not yet your season, your right, your turn, against all these, I command the rain of blessings to fall on you today! O yes, this is our year and every procedure hindering our breakthrough shall be broken!

You also remember that Elijah called down rain after defeating the 850 at Mount Carmel. That was after three and a half years of scorching drought in Israel. Look at what he told King Ahab, “Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”

He had already seen the rain coming in the spirit. Are you not hearing this deafening sound of abundant rain that is coming? Listen in the spirit. The wind that will bring this terrific rainstorm is already blowing around you now. Praise God! For those of you who already have my book Power of Midnight Prayer, go to Chapter Four and read more about this ‘Battle of Mount Carmel’.

It is very interesting.

Rev. Agbo is a minister with the Assemblies of God Nigeria.

Tel: 08037113283. E-mail: gabrielagbo@yahoo.com

Grace is a lifter, Gal. 5:4.

Our Choice Grace is ‘God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense’, (GRACE). Grace can be refused, Pro. 1:20-28. Received, but not utilised, 2 Cor. 6:1.

Can be abused, Rm. 6:1-2. Can be frustrated, Gal. 2:21. Appreciate it. 1Cor. 15:10.

Divine Reaction Our choices have heavenly consequences: Grace refused will lead to destruction, Pro. 1:32.

Grace abused becomes a curse, Hosea 4:17; 5:9.

Conclusion No one knows when the grace will end. Samson had enjoyed abundant grace, but when the light went out, it went out permanently. However, when grace maximised enriches. In Mt. 25:15-30, the servants that maximised their talents were adequately rewarded. Do not take His grace in vain.

Living Waters

By Pastor Lazarus Muoka

What God Has Determined (2) AVING told you that God’s purpose and decree cannot be H frustrated, His desires are always accomplished at the appointed time. God predestines things according to His will and none of the devices of His foes can frustrate them. Man’s desires could be blown to and fro, but the divine purposes of God are firmer. His purpose for all generation has been determined and will surely come to pass.

Isaiah 43: 10 says: “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me” We are all witnesses to the fact that the Almighty God is the true God. There is no being before Him nor shall any continue after Him. The Lord is God from everlasting to everlasting. He is the beginning and the end. He is the first and the last, and beside Him there is no other God. He originated the whole plan of salvation, blessing and curses, and He alone will determine their closure. He determined the formation of the world, and He alone will wind up its affairs.

Beloved, since God determines man’s destiny, it is prudent, therefore, we submit in totality to Him for our good. We cannot do anything without Him; neither can we own anything without His permission.

John 15: 4- 5 says, “abide in me, and I in you… I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

As all spiritual fruitfulness is under God, it is essential that we keep this vital connection to continue in flourish. We must abide in Him by keeping His words, living a holy life and having all our conversation right. We are dead, fruitless branches, without Christ. The whole history of the world demonstrates that fruitfulness is only found in union with Christ. When we submit to Him, we will receive every help that our souls require to be saved.

As a branch, no matter your quality, you cannot bear fruit without the main body of the tree. As the branch partakes of the nature of the tree, nourished by its juice, and lives by its life, so shall we partake of His Divine nature, be wise in His wisdom, powerful in His might, and pure through His holiness.

Jer. 29: 11 says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

God has a good thought for you this year. He has determined to save, deliver and bless you. This deliverance will not be on your merits, but on His mercy, thoughts and purposes.

Cleric Speaks On The Use Of ICT In Churches CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30 net.

Rt. Rev. Joseph Musa, Bishop of Ida Diocese Use Modern Technology To The Glory Of God T is a new development, but the most important thing is

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that we are to use them to propagate the gospel. We cannot kick against these innovations because they make life easier. God has given them to us to facilitate communicate, but we are also aware of the enemies using these gadgets for negative purposes, for example Al-Queda uses the Internet

and other ICT gadgets to carry out its nefarious activities.

Whatever is the case, we are to use modern technology to the glory of God. Rt. Rev. Henry Ndukuba Bishop of Gombe

OU cannot divorce yourself Y from contemporary technology age. There is nothing wrong

in using it to preach and teach the Bible or the words of God; they facilitate references. Science and technology are gifts from the Almighty God; it is like ICT Is A Product Of Modern Age medicine. If anyone says, he does not want medicine; it

means he wants to die.

For instance, a women who has small pelvic and cannot deliver a baby is asked to undergo operation for the baby to have enough space to come out and she refuses, it then means she is prepared to die. Many people adduce their naivety to the work of witches and wizards.

The book of Daniel tells us that at the end of the age, in which we are, ‘knowledge shall increase’ and knowledge is increasing according to that prophecy. ICT helps the dissemination of information, but we cannot divorce it from the printed Bible.

Pastor Adesoji Ajayi, President, Christ Apostolic Mission

TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

34 Sunday,January 19, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Business The development agencies measure what they see. Their figures are usually what they get from us. We must admit that we have better figures today than at any other time. The problem is that poverty is worsening with over 60 per cent of the population classified as poor. I understand why people don’t believe the growth figures... The Nigerian economy has a very large informal sector which is also a major distortion of what is really happening. Until we have major reductions in unemployment and poverty, the economy will always reflect growth that is not inclusive

A survey by International Finance Corporation (IFC) shows that the proportion of commercial banks’ loan portfolio to MSMEs dropped from 7.5 per cent in 2008 to 0.14 per cent in 2012. This is a complete meltdown for a sector that accounts for 32 million jobs and 46 per cent of the country’s nominal GDP. Although CBN has responded by promising N220 billion MSME intervention fund; we hope it will choose appropriate onlending vehicles to deliver it at single-digit rate Coordinating Minister of the Economy/Minister of Finance, Oknonjo-Iweala

Growing Economy And Its Many Contradictions

By Geoff Iyatse DUBISI Ifeanyi Nwokoma, a professor and head of the department of Economics, University of lagos, might have spoken the mind of an average Nigerian when he classified Nigerian economic growth as a rare paradox.

Commenting on Federal Government’s argument last year that the economy, with growth rate of about seven per cent, is promising, Nwokoma observed that the positive macro economic outlook has no bearing with the reality of the micro segment, which, in reality, is a litmus test of the capacity to create jobs and transform lives.

Similarly, Dr. Ken Ife, a lead consultant to the Economic Community of West African States (ECoWAS), said the economy grows, without doubt, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

However, he noted that the growth rate could be faster if it were driven by critical sectors that have impacts on a larger number of the population.

He said: “If the power sector grows to its full potential, it could add five to 10 per cent to the GDP. The fact is that the growth of the sector could increase the contribution of manufacturing to GDP from the current 5.77 per cent to say 30 or 35 per cent. Modernising the retail sector could heavily impact on agribusiness supply chain with possible integration of small producers into national and regional supply chains.

“None of the 20 private refinery licences given out since 2007 is producing. The same applies to petroleum, gas and petrochemical downstream industries. The same goes for many other sectors, notably mining and extractive metallurgy.” often, people question the relationship between actual performance of an economy and the growth figures generated by development organisations. If, by stroke of chance, a single sector that employs less than five per cent of the total workforce boosts the GDP by 50 per cent while other sectors tumble, does it still amount to growth? Does GDP — which the government relies on as evidence of good performance — necessarily define the health of the economy?

Ife, who spoke from london, the United Kingdom, said robust GDP does not precisely show the wellbeing of the people even though it captures the productive capacity of the economy. He said what is witnessed and recorded as high score is defective because of “lack of inclusive growth. This is why they call it paper growth as inequality is worsening and poverty is getting out of hand, thus pushing the people to the edge of social upheaval and political violence.

“These are closely related to the high level of unemployment. Unemployment is a direct conse-

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• Why Country Is Failing In Wellbeing Indices • Only Unbroken Double-digit Growth Can Create Jobs attributed mainly to the trouble in oil production, which has come under pressure, with production currently under two million barrel per day (bpd). The tight liquidity and higher interest rate situation will further put pressure on businesses, as credit to the economy slows even further this quarter. Borrowing cost will also continue to go even higher; and that will further depress the economic outlook.”

According to him, the question is not whether the performance figures are real but whether they actually touch the people in positive way.

He said: “That problem is that the current single digit growth rate hardly touch on the difficult areas like unemployment. We will need to have five to 10 years of double-digit growth to make any appreciable impact on youth unemployment and poverty reduction.

“The development agencies measure what they see. Their figures are usually what they get from us. We must admit that we have better figures today than at any other time.

The problem is that poverty is worsening with over 60 per cent of the population classified as poor. I understand why people don’t believe the growth figures.” ogiemwonyi stressed that GDP should reflect the health of the economy where there oMPARATIvEly, the trade expert said exis broad-based growth. But where the periences by different African countries growth is very small and major components are similar. He, however, admitted: “Cape far from day-to-day economic engagement, verde is the best in access to finance; South he said, GDP becomes just official figures.

Africa economy is among the most finan“The Nigerian economy has a very large incially leveraged, diversified and industriformal sector which is also a major distoralised; Kenya is doing much better in the tion of what is really happening. Until we export of agro-produce to the European Union market while Ghana is more transpar- have major reductions in unemployment and poverty, the economy will always reflect ent.” growth that is not inclusive.”

And victor ogiemwonyi, an investment expert, agreed that the economy, with a growth He indentified full (or near full) employment as the most validating parameter for rate of 6.8 per cent at the end of the second assessing the health of an economy. Full emquarter, is staggering. ployment, he said, gives everybody opportu“The growth is slowing down compared to nity to participate in the economy, a the average of seven per cent it has done in possibility that, in turn, leads to higher agthe last five years. There is also the issue of a non-inclusive growth. With unemployment gregate disposable income, higher standard so high and getting worse, the economy will of living as well as poverty reduction.

Notwithstanding the odds, ogiemwonyi, a need to grow faster to be able to help address council member of the Nigerian Stock Exthe numerous challenges,” he said. change (NSE), said Nigeria’s economy, in adogiemwonyi pointed falling inflation, which swings around 8 per cent as the most dition to the size advantage, has better prospects than its regional rivals. cheering news. “It is at its three-year lowest.

“The resources and the large population “The slowing down of the economy can be quence of many factors but the key is depriving the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which create over 80 per cent of the employment, funding. This subjects them to intolerable and unfavourable investment climate and high transaction costs. Multiple taxation and extremely high input cost also make them uncompetitive.

“A survey by International Finance Corporation (IFC) shows that the proportion of commercial banks’ loan portfolio to MSMEs dropped from 7.5 per cent in 2008 to 0.14 per cent in 2012. This is a complete meltdown for a sector that accounts for 32 million jobs and 46 per cent of the country’s nominal GDP. Although CBN has responded by promising N220 billion MSME intervention fund; we hope it will choose appropriate on-lending vehicles to deliver it at single-digit rate.”

Ife, who is also co-chair of the EU–AFRICA Business Task Force Summit Group, said growth in investment in the productive capacities and value addition that creates sustainable employment and boost disposable income is what the country needs to reduce poverty. “If you are processing agro raw materials or minerals, you are also creating upstream jobs in food production, mining and tertiary sector.

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constitute a great advantage. But it can also be a burden as we have experienced. That happens because we have not taken advantage of it. The biggest problem is that we are poorly organised compared to some of our African neighbours.

“Income disparity is also a major problem for us. Ghana for instance, is a more egalitarian — just the way we were in the 1970s. We are far more advanced in certain areas such as banking and capital markets. But, it is haphazard development.”

HIEF Executive of lambeth Trust and InvestC ment Company limited, David Adonri, described Nigeria’s economy as one of the fastest growing in the world amidst reputation as worst public sector corruption country.

“The major parameter for measuring growth is GDP, which has been on increase. Increases are apparent in some sectors like telecommunications, cement manufacturing and agriculture.

However, several other sectors, especially manufacturing, energy, power, metallurgy, education, aviation, roads and rail infrastructure, security and housing, are either stagnant or declining,” he noted.

A major defect of GDP is its wholesale approach to measuring growth, which is the reason many have called for a more realistic barometer. Adonri admitted the challenge, saying: “It does not reflect the inequality of income distribution. Nigeria’s disparity of income distribution is possibly the highest in the world.

“An inclusive economic development will aim at poverty eradication through mass technical education, employment generation and combating corruption. The best parameters for assessing economic development are poverty index, unemployment rate, crime rate and inflation rate.” like many others have noted, Adonri said Nigerian economy is possibly the highest growing in Africa but regretted that much of the proceeds into the coffers of few public officials and businessmen.

“Some other African countries like Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Angola, Morocco, Ethiopia and Algeria have better income distribution, lesser destitution, lesser corruption and lower unemployment rate than Nigeria.”

In 2005, Nigeria raked 171st in GDP per capita but dropped to 176th in 2012 assessment with an estimate of $2,700. The country’s performance in purchasing power parity (PPP) and human development index (HDI) is also abysmally low.

And these are becoming more relevant in determining the welfare of a people than the traditional growth indices.

Sunday, January 19, 2014 35

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

BUSINESS

The Odds Against Naira

By Geoff Iyatse NCE upon a time, naira prided itself as one of the highest currencies, even though there is something else more intrinsic about currency valuation than its mere exchange rate. In 1980, few years before the historic Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), a dollar traded for 55 kobo while pound was a little above the green pack.

Naira, indeed, gallantly held its own against benchmark currencies to the admiration of Nigerians. While naira enjoyed strong exchange rate, it was cheap for teething industries to take off since importation of machines and raw materials was done at little cost. Little wonder that a gargantuan company like the Delta Steel Company (DSC), conceived in the late 1970s, was designed to rely on ore from Brazil when it could source the same from near-by Itakpe, Kogi State.

Importation, for any company or individual, was not more expensive than buying from a downtown shop. But lo and behold, those days have gone forever. What very few people could barely hallucinate about just about 30 years ago is holding the entire economy tight in fist.

Today, a dollar trades for N160 officially, just as the odds against the currency are stronger than any factor that could potentially stop the free fall or reverse the tide.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has, in the past few months, ducked the pressure to devalue the naira, albeit officially, the currency rarely trades within its band in the past years.

As the pressure and speculation that it would yield to the surging demand continued last year, Ugochukwu Okoroafor, the apex bank’s spokesman, said: “We have the resources to meet demand.”

Okoroafor’s defence exposes the inherent weakness in the campaign for stable exchange rate. The spokeman’s usage of “resources” points to the country’s reserve that has been used to synthetically defend the value of naira, historically.

Still in the heat of debate on what constitutes the smartest choice, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi insisted: “As far as naira is concerned, we have always said we are committed to its stability…

My view and that of the CBN is that if we need to tighten money, use some of our reserves to support the economy, we will. No central bank governor will say he will support the currency at all cost.

“But we want to be very clear that there is no country that allows its currency to be determined by the market. We are not looking for a stronger currency neither are we looking at a weaker one. People want to pay fees and investors want to know if they will have returns on investments. We will use the reserves; we will use interest rates… Hopefully, the next few months will not be difficult. We will not allow naira to be weakened and we are committed to that.”

Sanusi’s argument is not far from the truth — no country leaves its currency to the mercy of market claws. The United States, the United Kingdom and even China do not. Indeed, China has faced much stiffer pressure to unbound renminbi. The Chinese currency manipulation has developed into a scholarly subject at global market.

But while Nigeria spends its reserve to strengthen naira, the Peoples Republic of China makes it a national target to suppress its currency from attaining its market value.

China’s desire to keep weak renmini is neither here or there. But the United States and others threatened by China’s rise allege that the Asian giant manipulates the currency to boost export and undercut American workers, especially those in the manufacturing sector.

Nigeria also faces a groundswell of blackmail over currency valuation reminiscent of that of Chinese, which will continue for as long as the world second biggest economy continues to hold trade advantage. In the run-up to 2011 elections, the global community led by the overbearing International Monetary Fund (IMF) mounted pressure on Nigeria to devalue the naira. Sanusi did say there was no logic in the IMF recommendation, but capitulated some months later. He yielded and set a new band at N150 to N160. The hitherto malleable naira has since become softer, trading as high as N175 to a dollar at the parallel market.

The Financial Times of London suggested that “Nigeria devalued the naira… as

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falling reserves, caused by weak oil revenues, forced its hand.” While the move against weak renminbi is motivated by the need to catch up with China or, at least, trim down its monopolistic influence on world trade, the blackmail against stable naira cannot be straightly deciphered. What is clear is that those who want a flagging naira know when to launch their attack — when the reserves are tumbling.

Last year, oil theft hit the country’s production. As a result, a report says the country may not meet its 2014 target. In December 2013, the foreign reserve dropped to $44.519 billion, its lowest in the year. It was not surprising that the CBN reiterated the end of the year its readiness to resist external pressure to devalue the currency, promising to adopt the trite and hard methods the country has relied on for years.

Dr Godwin Owoh, an analytical economist, said the smae approach adopted by the apex bank to shield naira portends more danger to the economy than it seeks to gain. He added that corruption and low technical capacity of those managing the foreign exchange market also adds to the woes that bestrides the local currency for years.

icy has further increased the preference for hard currencies to naira. He explained that since those who transact in foreign currencies do not pay the penalties imposed on large cash transactions, businessmen are finding domiciliary accounts increasingly meaningful.

“You should also take note of the fact that foreign currencies are easily convertible. Today, you cannot withdraw above N500, 000 across the counter without paying penalty, which is high. Meanwhile, you can withdraw any amount from dollar account and covert it at ‘black’ market almost immediately to pay for your order. That makes huge difference,” he noted.

As elections approach, more of political transactions will be done in naira. This will come with surpluse on the two axes — supply and demand. A number of office seekers will flood the market with imported dollars while others will go with plenty of naira in their hands looking for dollars to mope up. That has been the tradition; it happened in 2003 during the People Democratic Party (PDP) presidential nomination in Abuja.

Dollar went through the roof at popular Wuse Zone Four where most of the FCT bureau de change operators do their businesses.

ITH the gap between the official rate So much money was distributed to the deleand that of the parallel market gates a night before the nomination, which stretching to about N15, Owoh also ac- was weekend, that the only sensible option knowledged that the unwholesome movewas to shrink the spoils for easy shipment. ment of bills between official and ‘black’ And dollarisation of the currency became irmarket fuels the pressure on naira. He noted resistible option. With the pluralization of pothat the gap is artificially designed to create litical options, Owoh said there would be opportunities for individuals to make formore pressure on naira in the next one year. tune at the expense of the wellbeing of the Sanusi could not have been more honest economy. when he said no country leaves its currency Dollar and pound accounts have gained pop- to the vagaries of demand and supply withularity in the last few years as a result of inout invoking some artificial measures to creasing desire to keep cash in foreign strike balance. But what many people are not denominations. Owoh said the cashless pol- comfortable with is the consistent and near

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Nigeria also faces a groundswell of blackmail over currency valuation reminiscent of that of Chinese, which will continue for as long as the world second biggest economy continues to hold trade advantage. In the run-up to 2011 elections, the global community led by the overbearing International Monetary Fund (IMF) mounted pressure on Nigeria to devalue the naira. Sanusi did say there was no logic in the IMF recommendation, but capitulated some months later. He yielded and set a new band at N150 to N160. The hitherto malleable naira has since become softer, trading as high as N175 to a dollar at the parallel market

predictable interventionist approaches of the apex bank. Owoh sad the regimented interventions give room for insider trading and information merchandise.

“We should have regulated processes where the amount of intervention per quarter is known and insisted upon. After that is established, the regulator should make sure that what determines intervention is the quantum of genuine requirements needed for normal transactions. This is better than using supply mechanism to manipulate results to give advantage to those who have access to privileged information. Intervention is not bad but it should be regulated. When you tell some students that there will be unscheduled test, the results you get will be different from when you walk into a class and set impromptu test; the results will also be different when all the students are aware.

“So, all the economic agents should have pre-knowledge that there will be intervention so that bidding will make more sense.

What is currently obtained is that some people will bid very high to qualify while some, based on more accurate information they have, will bid very low and still get offer.

Some other days, the innocent people will bid low but those who have information that the amount coming from CBN is small will bid high. Eventually, they will sweep everything and begin to sell at profits to those who lose out,” he noted.

AST October, the apex bank reintroduced L the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) in place of the previous Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS). Owoh said RDAS should not have been contemplated by CBN, which he said, does not have the capacity to correctly review all bids. He noted that WDAS, which transfers retail bid review risk and responsibility to banks, offers better merits in a highly politicised and fraudulent environment like Nigeria Many might not like the hard stance of Sanusi in the defence of the naira in the past four years. But in fairness, his measures have kept the home currency relatively stable.

Whether the current N160 to a dollar is false or otherwise is a different question altogether. The market, of course, is not strange to the ‘Sanusi manipulation’. What remains a mystery today is the tactics whoever leads the CBN from June introduces, wherein lies the heart of foreign exchange volatility.

Within African market, naira has not also fared well in relation to other currencies in recent years and in the context of its robust

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

36 Sunday, January 19, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

BUSINESS

Rising Political Risks Threaten Economic Growth

By Geoff Iyatse EIGHTENED political risks H seem to cast substantial shadow on the huge prospect in the country’s investment market, investigations have showed. And, as the year progresses, concern about the possibility of weathering the obvious storms without major distortion in the economy is likely going to halt the robust growth enjoyed in recent years.

Last week, a capital market source revealed that foreign portfolio investors, in dark of how the political intrigues could affect the country, are currently reviewing investment decisions. Another source said they might not offload their holdings but that they have started consulting local experts, with big players commissioning experts to do “thorough study” on the perceived political risk.

In November, foreign participation constituted 46.59 per cent of the total market activities against the 50.96 per cent 12-month average. Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) opened the year with less than 40 per cent and climbed up to over 60 per cent on the back of soaring optimism in second and third quarters.

But Victor Ogiemwonyi, a national council member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and chief executive of Partnership Investment Plc, said there is yet not “serious reactions” to the political tension that could shake the market. He said true situation could only unfold in due time.

Previously, Ogiemwonyi maintained that the market would perform above average in 2014, just as it did last year, except there is a major political upset. He observed that the country would survive the 2015 election build-up like 2011 and 2007. Besides, he said what people categorise as foreign investments are actually

returning capital flight.

The expectation of business community is that the country will leverage the concluded privatisation of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to increase penetration into vast opportunities in the real sector to drive the push up the growth indices. With gross

domestic product expansion rate of about seven per cent, the country ranks as one of the fastest growing economy. Economists say the 20:2020 targets appears realistic if the growth drivers are expanded to include the real sector.

With political intrigues kicking off two years ahead the general elections, Jide Akintunde,

convener of the yearly Nigerian Development and Finance Forum (NDFF), observed that foreigners might have adopted waitand-see attitude. Investors, he said, are concerned about President Goodluck Jonathan’s position in 2015 polls and whether the ruling party will retain power, as

these will determine the fate of existing obligations.

Akintude said foreign companies are not likely going to make serious business commitment till after the elections because of the concern, saying precedents in Africa have further worsen the situation. He, however, warned politicians against undermining “the

Nigeria project”, which he said has grown wider “stakeholding” beyond the shores of the country.

He predicted rapid growth of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, which he said, will be buoyed by improved power supply that might result from the sale of PHCN.

Former Minister of Industry, Mrs Onikepo Akande (left); Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Taxation and Revenue, Mr. Abimbola Shodipo; and Gov. Babatunde Fashola, at Lagos State’s yearly Taxation Stakeholders’ Conference at Alausa, Lagos... Thursday.

Why Nigeria Remains Toast Of Investors, By Survey Oxford Business Group, (OBG), has revealed.

IGERIA would remain an attractive The findings of the report was disdestination for investors in 2014 closed in a statement by the CEO of because of its continuous economic OBG, Mr. Andrew Jeffreys, recently, growth, dynamic population and when he said, “As our new report indiabundant resources, a research by the

By Gbenga Salau

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cates, Nigeria remains an attractive option for investors, supported by consistently high growth rates, a dynamic population and an abundance of resources.

“With both infrastructure and social development plans requiring foreign input, investors have plenty to think about as Nigeria’s economic landscape continues to evolve.”

“However, without approval from billion, nearly 10 times the approved The OBG boss, who noted that while FAAN, Bi-Courtney went ahead of its cost. There was no way FAAN could rolling out new reforms and attractown volition, to build a terminal dif- have approved a terminal at a cost of ing investment for infrastructure ferent from the one originally apN38 billion for a 12-year concession would lead the government’s efforts proved, the cost of which it put at N38 because it did not make sense.” to diversify Nigeria’s economy, maintained that the spending policy, as the 2015 elections draws nearer, is expected to remain a priority.

Also, commenting on the findings of tation ceremony held during the OR being loyal customers, the report, the Regional Editor, Robert Unilever has rewarded some of its week.

Tashima, acknowledged that key Ebele, who won a prize in the first consumers who participated in the second phase of the Close-up Herbal round of the competition, disclosed question marks hang over Nigeria, such as the passage of the Petroleum that being part of the first round Naija Smile Competition. winners was an inspiration for her to Industry Bill (PIB), and heightened seTwo higher institution students curity risks in some areas. aspire to aim bigger since there are smiled home with a car each as the “However, we have also witnessed bigger prizes to be won in the secstar prize winners of the second the country take important steps forond round phase of the contest. ward over the past twelve months, led She said it was a huge task getting The two students are Obi Olivia by the long-awaited privatisation of her friends to vote for her. Obi, who Ebele, a student of Biochemistry at the electricity network and a loosenthe University of Nigeria (UNN) and got over 1500 votes, said it was the ing of pension fund investment rules, most difficult thing she had ever Idowu O. Habeeb of the Lagos State which ought to increase trading activPolytechnic and were at the presen- done, telling people to vote for her.

FAAN Denies Approving Bi-Courtney’s Terminal

By Chika Goodluck-Ogazi HE Federal Airports Authority of T Nigeria (FAAN) has denied giving approval for the design of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (Domestic Terminal 2) by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited Lagos.

In a statement yesterday, FAAN’s spokesman, Yakubu Dati, said: “FAAN’s attention has been drawn to a news story quoting Bi-Courtney Aviation Services as saying that the design of MMA Domestic Terminal 2 was approved by the Federal Government and FAAN after due consultation with their consultants.

“We wish to state categorically and for the umpteen times that nothing could be further from the truth. The design that FAAN approved was for a terminal costing a total of N3.9 billion.

Unilever Rewards Consumers F

ity on the stock exchange,” he said.

“These, and other recent reforms, combined with the country’s long term-fundamentals, provide Nigeria with an encouraging outlook,” Tashima noted.

The report titled Nigeria 2013 contains a contribution from the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, together with a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors besides analysing the country’s bid to overhaul its oil production infrastructure, which is seen as key to sustaining output and boosting downstream processing and pondering over the challenges facing Africa’s number one oil producer, while documenting new initiatives, such as plans to channel funds into deepwater reserves exploration.

The report also includes a wide range of interviews with leading political, economic and business representatives, including the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast and the former president of Brazil and Honorary President of the Lula Institute Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Attitude, Official Lapses And Other Deficiencies That Plunge Naira CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 economic growth. Though a country’s currency has little or nothing to do with the size or strength of its economy. Otherwise, the British economy should have been considered stronger than that of the United States. Yet, when an economy grows its productive capacity, the value of its economy consistently adds more bargaining power.

Owoh observed that naira lags behind because the country engages in lots of non-productive expenditures on account of political and social peculiarities. “And most of the hardwares have foreign exchange implications. Many other African countries are not facing similar challenges. The Ghanaians, for instance, are not investing in military equipment the way we do. The bomb detectors and telephone tracking devices we use to combat crimes are imported and paid for with foreign currencies.

Abuja where all inflow and outflow transactions are discussed and executed in dollar without any recourse to the naira equivalent.

This grew to national prominence some years ago when the late Gani Fawehinmi sued the Obasanjo administration for paying ‘expatriate’ ministers in dollars. Still, in what look ERHAPS, the biggest test facing naira today is the dollariza- like more validating stamp, the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSWF) is fully dollarised. Like foreign reserve, savings tion of the economy. Uptown shops in major cities quote their prices in dollar. Contracts at both public and private sec- and investment are made in the prime currency. Its act as dully passed by the parliament specifically puts the seed intors are valued in dollar. Leasing of properties in prime disvestment at $1 billion, an act many people considers derogatricts of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are negotiated and paid in dollars while expatriate staff of multinational compa- tory to the local currency.

To reverse the odds and enhance the dignity of the naira, nies earn dollars.

Owoh suggested expatriate quota, foreign trainings and The next phase of dollar mania will see companies dollarizother areas that expose the country to substantial foreign exing all their operations from gardening to core areas; this is change costs should be more regulated. said to have commenced in earnest with some schools in

“The corruption issue also adds to the pressure. There is so much spending to sustain corrupt activities. The actual economic component of what makes the foreign exchange spending is very small; it may be less than 30 per cent. The rests are political, social and ego-oriented spending.”

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JANUARY 19, 2014

Sunday, January 19, 2014

38 | www.ngrguardiannews.com

COMMUNICATIONSWEEKLY

UNILORIN Admits 8,587 Out Of 103,211 Candidates

By Daniel Anazia HEUniversity of Ilorin, Kwara State has admitted only 8,587 out of 103,211 candidates that applied to the university for admission in the 2013/2014 academic session.

According to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdul-Ganiyu Ambali, 26,442 of the candidates

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met the minimum requirement school and warned the students of 180 benchmark score in the against indulging or involving in Universal Tertiary Matriculation cult-related activities. While statExamination (UTME). He added ing the varsity’s zero tolerance for that 16,123 candidates passed the cultism, he said the university institution’s Post-UTME. would not hesitate to expel any The VC made this known during student found to engage in such the institution’s matriculation in nefarious activities. He also cauIlorin last week. He lamented the tioned the students against indelimited admission space in the cent dressing.

“The university has its rules and regulations. This university, which many of you (the matriculating students) have heard so much about before your admission, has zero tolerance for indiscipline as the university is passionately committed to taking your generation to greater heights.

MONDAYS–FRIDAYS IN THE GUARDIAN

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2014

FUO Matriculates, Parades F Scholars

By Daniel Anazia

OUNTAIN University, Osogbo held her matriculation ceremony on December 19, 2013. At the event which was attended by the principal officers, including the Deans of the two colleges, the Vice Chancellor, Prof.

Bashir Ademola Raji, told the matriculating students that the oath they took formally sealed their admission into the university and obliged them to always abide by the university regulations as contained in the Students Handbook throughout the duration of their programmes.

The VC stressed that Fountain University, has a twin vision of producing graduates with great academic excellence and standard Islamic moral values. He, however, charged the students to engage and always participate in socio-educational activities like literary and debating clubs, Man ‘O’War, Writers Club

Biochemistry/Nutrition, 4.63), Oni Omobukola Azizat (100L Biochemistry/Nutrition, 4.78), Odusote Olumide Ridwan and the Fiqh Forum.

(200L Computer Science, At the event, 10 students of 4.64), Bakare Rashidat the university, who distinIkeoluwa (300L Microbiology, guished themselves with 4.55), Kabiru Ahmed Opeyemi exceptional performance of (300L Computer Science, 4.57), 4.5 CGPA during the 2012/2013 Abdul-Azeez Idris Olayemi academic session were hon- (300L Biochemistry/Nutrition, oured as ‘Fountain Scholars’ 4.71), and Adeboyejo Yusuf and rewarded with scholarOlawale (300L ship grant for the remaining Biochemistry/Nutrition, 4.55). period of their undergraduAlso, the staff and members ate education in the universi- of the university community ty. rejoiced and commended the According to the Registrar, Vice Chancellor of the instituAlhaji M.O. Olanrewaju, the tion, Prof. Bashir Ademola Raji, students include Adebayo for the developmental efforts Ibrahim Ayodeji (100L his administration embarked Accounting, 4.76), Osinowo upon in the last one year as he Yusrah Yewande (100L celebrate his one year in office.

Accounting, 4.64), Jempeji To celebrate the day, a short Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju, Vice Chancellor Caleb University (left), Dr. Christopher Kolade, Prof. Olukunle Iyanda, Dean College of Post Abdul-Baqui Adebisi (100L prayer session was organised Economics, 4.50), Bello and well attended by the prin- Graduate Studies, Mrs. Folake Okor, Ag. Registrar, Mr. Adesina Abubakre, Ag. Bursar, Godwin Jibodu, Member of the Governing Council of the school and Prof. S.O. Ajai, Dean COPAS. Mulikat Opeyemi (100L cipal officers of the school.

Caleb Varsity Leadership Summit

By Damilola Adesanya EDNESDAY, January 15, is a date both the staff and the students of Caleb University, would always remember. The institution hosted its Chairman Board of Trustees and former Chairman SURE-P, Dr. Christopher Kolade, during its leadership academy.

Dr. Kolade in his paper, ‘The management of Leadership Opportunity’, looked at leadership as the driver of good performance and involves some level of discipline, self-confidence, courage, intelligence and decision making.

While analysing the Nigerian leadership, he said a good leader of today must be skillful and must know the real objective of the group, and should be able to achieve its goals. “The performance of current leaders is not a basis to discuss leadership.

Leadership is everyone’s business.”

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“It is important to note that management of any leadership opportunity is the joint endeavour of two distinct parties. First, there is the organisation or community that offers the leadership opportunity by appointing the individual to a position of responsibility. The second party, of course, is the individual who takes up the responsibility.”

He added, “Clearly, it is the task of the organisation to make sure the individual has the potential to carry the burden of responsibility that is being thrust upon him or her.

However well or badly that has been done, it is the job of the individual to make the best of the opportunity that he is being offered.”

Kolade, noted that leadership starts from the family.

“Small as the family is, it is the place where we can learn what we do later in life.

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The Truth About JOHN COLTRANE

LAFETTE /40

Etisalat Cloud 9 Bringing Together, The Old, The New Music EMPOWERNIGERIA /35 Global Entrepreneural Leader

VINNYS’ GYFTTO THE WORLD

Youth & Graduate Jobs Powered by Jobberman.com / 31

ABUAD Hosts CIPM Education Sector HR Forum

Ekiti people. Ekiti State is the Fountain of Knowledge, and indeed, education is one of the most important industries of the people of Ekiti State; hence Daniel Anazia By with the intent of beaming the people are in the forefront search light on critical sectors, of educational development,” FE Babalola University where known subject matter he stated. experts are invited to dissect (ABUAD), Ado Ekiti, Ekiti The guest speaker, Prof. Biyi challenges and proffer appropri- Daramola, in his lecture, examState, was agog recently as ate solutions for the attention of ined and explained a number of Chartered Institute of policy makers and critical stake- concepts and issues such as Personnel Management holders.

(CIPM), Ekiti State Chapter Labour, Education, Nigerian Famuyibo, explained why the Education Policy and STEM hosted CIPM Educational institute chose to focus on edu- (Science, Technology, Sector Human Resource cation in its 2nd Human Forum.

Engineering and Mathematics), The event was well attended Resource Forum for 2013 with Benefits of STEM Education, by personalities both within the theme: The Role of Science and Human Resources in Science Technology in Human Resource and outside the educational and Technology, Professionals sector. The Deputy Governor of Management. “This is because and Technicians employed in education is the greatest force STEM Occupations, Senior Ekiti State, Her Excellency, Professor Modupe Adelabu, as that can be used to bring about Human Resources in STEM, Special Guest of Honour was change. It is also the greatest Women in STEM and investment that a nation can represented by the International Perspective on Commisioner of Education in make for the quick development STEM. the state, Honourable Kehinde of its economic, political, socioHe maintained that the role Ojo. Others are the Chancellor logical and human resources,” of STEM in the management of and founder of the university, he said. human resource is germane to According to him, the forum the issues of efficiency and proAare Afe Babalola, who douwas designed to help prepare bled as Chairman and chief ductivity in every sector of the the audience with human host of the day; Vice Nigerian economy. “The STEM Chancellor, Federal University resources skills, both functional enterprise is critical to the of Technology, Akure (FUTA), and management including sci- future of our nation, particularProfessor Biyi Daramola, Guest ence and information technolo- ly in the HR sector. This is true gy required to work effectively at because part of the productivity Speaker, members of CIPM, a professional level in a continu- and performance enhancing and invited guests as well as ally changing human resource strategy is the use of computthe general public. environment.

President/Chairman of ers, smart phones in the manHe further explained that the agement of human resources.

Governing Council, CIPM Nigeria, Mr. Victor Famuyibo in choice of Ekiti State as host for Also key, is the use of computerhis opening remark, reminded the education sector forum was based test (CBT) for screening of not just mere coincidence, but numerous applicants through all of the Institute’s commitan obvious reason. “Education aptitude tests. There is also ement to contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable economic and Human Capital administration through which development, which they regu- Development is the first and memos can be circulated using larly do by organising HR fora most enduring attribute of the Microsoft outlook,” he noted.

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40 Sunday, January 19, 2014

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Uwaifo (right) and Nyra

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Communication, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Enitan Denloye said: “The Etisalat Cloud 9 is our contemporary music platform designed to bring together high net-worth customers, individuals and businesses with the objective of showcasing the works of Nigerian music legends, as well as new and upcoming talents, celebrating musical prowess and providing exclusive content to our customers across Nigeria.”

According to him, “Cloud 9 is one of our numerous ways of showing appreciation to our customers. We want them to know that the network is all about them and we will continue to create platforms that connect with their life in general.”

The Lagos leg of the concert saw Sir Shina Peters strutting his stuff to the delight of the audience, alongside upcoming and rising R ‘n’ B star, Seyi Shay. If the Lagos audience were ecstatic, nothing could have prepared the Abuja residents, especially customers of the network, for the “invasion” by Etisalat. Enter Sir Victor Uwaifo, the icon popularly known as ‘Guitar Boy,’ and rising pop star, Emma Nyra. The artists, though ages apart, came across as a smooth blend of the old and the new school. And did they thrill the audience?

You bet!

In the two artistes, the old and new generation collaborated and created a very convivial atmosphere of ecstatic fun. Uwaifo and Nyra brought a level of professionalism that is both commendable and seldom found in quality music delivery on a live stage. The two left many in awe with the seamless way they synchronized their performances, so much that many among the audience could not hide their excitement as they took to the dance floor.

Whether an audience is at home with a performance is often measured by the level of crowd response to the performance. On that score, Sir Victor Uwaifo scored big. The music legend was barely minutes on stage when the crowd keyed into his tune and sang along with him as he belted one of his most popular tracks, Joromi.

It was unbelievable how fast Sir Victor Uwaifo name but a few.

These legends, it must be noted, still hold sway as had the audience hooked to his tune and got their music rules the airwaves across the country, them singing along with him. The energy appealing to a much older generational audience. seemed to build with the intensity of the lyrics, and it became obvious, this group of heavy hitWith such rich talents, both old and new, one cannot help but wonder what the reaction will be ters was no stranger to crescendos. The mix was heavy but not overbearing and the dynamics when these two generations of music acts are within the set bore more of a resemblance to a brought together to perform. high profile musical show than any of the recordThanks to Etisalat Nigeria, Lagos and Abuja residents were recently given the rare opportunity of ings many Nigerians have grown accustomed to seeing two of these Nigerian music icons perform hearing on the radio.

The energy that pervaded Blu Cabanna live, alongside some upcoming acts in a concert Restaurant, Abuja, venue of the concert was not that evoked feelings of nostalgia and ecstasy.

The event was the Etisalat Cloud 9 concert, a con- only convivial, it was bursting and thick in the air temporary music platform developed by Nigeria’s so much that many thought it would last the most innovative and fastest growing telecommu- entire duration of the show. How wrong they nications network, Etisalat, to celebrate the works were!

In fact, the tempo increased when the duo of the country’s music legends and upcoming retuned on stage to do a joint performance. The artistes. crowd responded too.

The company’s Director, Brands and

Etisalat Cloud 9:

Bringing Together, The Old, The New Music HERE is no doubt that the Nigerian music industry is going places, transcending beyond the country’s shores to other places on the continent. Today, Nigerian artistes are celebrated around Africa, most of them sell-out concerts in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, to name just a few.

Some of the established music actssuch as hiphop stars D’banj, P-Square, Olamide, et al are also known to have a huge following across Europe and the US. Today, the Nigerian music industry is a multibillion naira industry. And there are many more joining the fray.

But the trend didn’t just start yesterday. Blessed with a very diverse audience, Nigeria has produced so many music stars in the past that are today icons in their own right, many of them still living. They include Ebenezer Obey, Sunny Ade, Sir Victor Uwaifo, and Sir Shina Peters to

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Aiyegbajeje In Prophetic Message Of Nigeria’s Doyen Status

By Bayo Ogunmupe HIS book Nigeria, the Doyen of All Nations (Livingstones Publisher, Lagos; 2013) is a herald of the prophetic destiny of the church in Nigeria by Pastor Adeyemi Aiyegbajeje. It is a compendium of divine revelations on the church in Nigeria. Here, the mystery behind the enemies of the church is laid bare. Indeed, Aiyegbajeje has shown the indignation of the Almighty whose intention has been to save Nigeria through the redeemed church.

According to Apostle Aiyegbajeje, since 27 August 1996, the sovereign Lord had inundated him with visions and dreams concerning the true state of the church in Nigeria vis-à-vis the corruption-laden leadership in the country. God also revealed to him how He will bring both the leadership and the church to judgment. God revealed this to Aiyegbajeje with a view to engaging the church and the Nigerian state in some unique ways in the course of Jehovah’s judgment with regard to the future of the church and the nation.

However, the clarion call for penitence isn’t just because the future portends grave dangers, but because of the dire consequences to the people and the country.

He says, “I know that whatever God doeth, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him,” Ecc. 3: 14.

Similarly, Aiyegbajeje continues, “let the wise hear and comprehend what the spirit is prophesying, that because it pleased Jehovah to choose the foolish and the inconsequential Nigerian church to foretell the mighty things to come as well as bring to naught the things of the world in favour of the church and the Nigerian state. The dramatic transformation of the nation is now in the womb of prophecy. Lo, Nigeria shall be the safe haven for the weary and the city of refuge for the hunted”.

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According to Apostle Aiyegbajeje, for 17 years running, God told him in August 1966, “It is for an appointed time. In time, He whose faithfulness endures for ever, shall raise a man He has prepared for the hour, in order to accomplish these divine proclamation, Isa 46: 9-11”.

Some of his visions were in riddles and dreams.

Thus by discernment, he made expositions of them.

Nigeria, the Doyen of All Nations took 17 years to prepare; hopefully it will impact positively on the spiritual wellbeing of the country. Like a thread of white wool in a multi-coloured fabric, prophecy is the theme running through this volume and is meant to regale and inform the reader.

The book is replete with biblical quotes. In the first quarter of the book comprising chapters one to three, Aiyegbajeje espouses the given prophetic mandate, how the house of God has now been turned to the house of agitation. The writer notes how sexual immorality has become the most widely committed transgression in the church. Also, God warns His people after their deliverance from their Egyptian slave masters that: “You shall not misuse the name of Jehovah your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuse His name,” Exodus 20:7.

That is the seventh commandment that God gave to Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai. The name of God is glorious and awesome, Deut. 28:58. He who lives forever, His name is holy, Isaiah 57:15. He declared long ago that His temple would be built for His name. But alas, it is with exact opposite that Christians have treated Jehovah’s name.

Indeed, in the midst this idolatry, this writer avers that a President like no other shall yet emerge from Nigeria. That President shall be a true child of God and shall have the mandate of heaven to shepherd the divine transformation agenda which Jehovah will begin to implement during the tenure of that President, and that President shall have the support of the North, for by then they themselves will be the true children of God. Nigeria will thereafter become

the darling of all nations.

The second quarter covering chapters four to six talks of the stalemate in Nigerian prophecy stretching between 2007 and 2015.

During this period, SouthSouth and South-East indigenes take over the oil wells and refineries with foreign collaborators culminating in no exportation of crude oil. According to Apostle Adeyemi, after sharing that revelation with the authorities, appropriate measures were put in place to avert the looming crisis.

Around and about...

Online Presence For WapTV HE award-winning cable TV chanT nel, wapTV, is now streaming live on the channel’s website through: http://thewaptv.net/tv.php. According to Wole Adenuga, managing director of the TV station, “our decision to stream live is to ensure that our teeming viewers in the world over do not miss a minute of wapTV.” He also encouraged them to join its facebook community on: www.facebook.com/wapTVs where they would have a chance to win prizes, interact with the channel’s presenters, send shout-outs and interact with other viewers from all over the globe. The channel was recently awarded ‘Cable TV Channel of The Year’ at the 2013 edition of Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Award (NBMA) because of its top-notch programmes — Dramas, Home Videos, TV Comedies, Music, Children’s Programmes, Cooking Shows, a unique morning show with groundbreaking skits and segments, and lots more. In addition, wapTV will continue to air on StarTimes Channel 116 across Nigeria and other African countries including South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Central Africa Republic, Burundi, Democratic

Black Up Launches New Products

By Ijeoma Opara LACKUP, the upscale professional makeup brand for ethnic skin, has B introduced three new products to the market — Matifying Fluid Foundation, 8hr Correcting Primer and Lip Lacquer.

The ingeniously innovative formulas coupled with the chic and modern designed packaging re-echoes the signature of the brand.

The Matifying Fluid Foundation offers an 8-hour long lasting hold and ensures an immediate matte effect upon application; to meet every dark skin needs, leaving the consumer with a perfect even complexion.

The New 8hr Correcting Primer provides optimum level of correction to oily skins needs while getting rid of extreme shine, acne and blemishes.

While the Lip Lacquer offers a coverage and colour of a lipstick and the ultra vinyl shine of a lip-gloss. It comes in 12 highly pigmented colours.

The brand’s ambassador, Georgina Adeoti, who is part of the creative minds behind the formulation of these new products having brought on board 13 years of experience, describes the BlackUp woman as stylish, triumphant, modern and elegant. “This serves as the motivation and inspiration of the products created by the brand,” she said.

Founded in Paris in 1999 by a professional makeup artist of African ancestry, the first premium brand to enhance a woman’s look.

Nuggets On Pitfalls To Destiny Fulfillment denly nose-dive at their prime. His thesis is simple; there are pitfalls that truncate fulfillment of our destiny and they usually have nothing to do with the devil.

Chock full of Christian exemplars and The 100-page book, broken into eight quotes, this book, his fourth, published by chapters, identifies the pitfalls and Trendy Publishing LLC, is not one of your explains with copious scriptural allusions regular Christian books.

This slim volume stands shoulder to shoul- and practical life illustrations ways in which to avoid them. der with the very best of motivational tomes on our bookshelves from the likes of The book, which will be taken on a road Zig Ziglar to Myles Munroe, Mike Murdoch show of Nigerian universities, is a mustread for the young and upwardly mobile, and Taiwo Odukoya.

In Pitfalls to Destiny Fulfillment, Oyeyemi pin- the Christian and the non-believer and anyone with an aspirational bone in his points reasons why many lives never rise above average and why highflyers can sud- body.

IGHFLYING corporate mandarin and H pastor, Kola Oyeyemi, has released another book, Pitfalls to Destiny Fulfilment.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

BY SHAIBU HUSSEINI

shaibu70@yahoo.com

Revolori in the lead roles, the film also features F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody and Owen Anderson’s The Grand Wilson. The Grand Budapest Hotel is an Co-Production, proBudapest Hotel To Open Anglo-German duced by Grand Budapest Limited (UK) 64th Berlinale and Studio Babelsberg (Germany).

Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales RGANISERS of the yearly Berlin and Jeremy Dawson are the producers.

International Film Festival have The film was shot on location in announced Wes Anderson’s The Grand Germany (mainly in Gorlitz and other Budapest Hotel as the opening of the parts of Saxony, and also at Studio 64th edition of the festival, which Babelsberg in Potsdam). begins on February 6. The world premiere will hold at the Berlinale Palast in Berlin, Germany. Festival Director, Lescure Is New President Dieter Kosslick, said he was delighted Of Cannes Film Festival that Anderson’s gripping movie will open the 64th Berlinale. “This comedy OLLOWING the notice given by promises to kick things off in a big Cannes President, Giles Jacob, that way,” says Kosslick. The Grand Budapest he would be leaving the presidency of Hotel (UK/Germany) recounts the the yearly international film festival, adventures of Gustave H, a legendary its Board of Director met in Canes to concierge at a famous European hotel elect a new president that will succeed between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, Jacobs after the 67th edition of Cannes. the lobby boy who becomes his most The new president is a former journaltrusted friend. The story involves the ist, co-founder and former head of theft and recovery of a priceless French pay-TV operator, Canal Plus, Renaissance painting and the battle Pierre Lescure. The 68-years, according for an enormous family fortune — all to a formal statement from the organagainst the backdrop of a dramatically isers of the festival, would take up his changing continent. Anderson has pre- responsibilities as from July 1. He viously presented two films in the would from that date support Thiery Berlinale Competition — The Royal Fremaux, who is festival director. with Tenenbaums (2002) and The Life Aquatic the artistic side of the festival. The with Steve Zissou (2005). In addition to board has, However, appointed Jacob starring Ralph Fiennes and Tony honorary president of the festival.

Republic of Congo and Guinea.

O

F

A scene from The Grand Budapest Hotel Gilles been serving as president since 2001. The 67th Festival de Cannes will be held from May 14 to 25.

AMAA Out With Guidelines For Media Recognition Award HE organisers of the yearly African T Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) have released guidelines for the special media recognition award, which the award body introduced as part of

do not have published works or who want to submit two fresh stories can submit stories written from December 1, 2013 to February 28. The features stories, among other things, must capture the essence of AMAA as a continental award system, its impact in promoting Africa Cinema, Promoting regional and continental integration. Entries must be published in well-known national newspapers, journal and or magazine, and in the case of broadcast and online media, such reports must be from reputable radio and Television and online medium from the originating African country. Also, all entries must have verifiable date of publication and day of broadcast, while all newspapers, magazines or journals report must be a scanned copy of the published work. Similarly, all broadcast media must carry evidence that the material was aired on recognised radio and television station. At the close of entries on February 28, a fivethe 10th anniversary diet. The award, member panel of media professionwhich is open to print, broadcast and als from the print and broadcast online journalists from Africa and in media will assess and evaluate all the Diaspora, aims at rewarding jour- entries to determine the winners. nalist working in and outside the con- Winners will be announced and tinent, who have covered and pubrewarded on the day of the AMAA lished significant reports about the awards in April 2014. Further more, AMAA’s in the last nine years. To be eli- the organisers expect all links to the gible to compete for the award, which Online Media entries should be subattracts a cash prize of $5000, $3000 mitted on the letterhead of the and $2000 respectively for the first Online Media Organisation. The letthree winners, a journalist will be ter must also be scanned and sent to expected to submit two original feamedia@ama-awards.com and to ture stories on AMAA done in the last tope@portionconsult.com. nine years. However, journalists who

All That Jazz

BY BENSON IDONIJE benidoni@yahoo.com

The Truth About John Coltrane IKE beauty in the eyes of the beholder, the appreciation of artistic creativity is a matter Lof individual opinion. This phenomenon is informed by the ‘selectivity’ theory which postulates that as humans, we perceive things differently through different eyes, from different perspectives.

However, this absolute freedom to exercise individual discretion can be abused especially by critics and reviewers of music and art without the thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, to be able to pronounce authoritatively on issues; and more importantly, without objectivity, to be able to communicate the reality of the situation to the reader.

Both prerequisites are completely absent from Clive Davis’ “Gospel according to John,” a review in which he took a hard look and swipe at Coltrane’s profile, 30 years after the saxophone legend’s death.

Published by The Culture magazine, a pull out of the Sunday Times of London, Clive Davis is not happy that 30 years of Coltrane’s death was celebrated with excessive veneration and extra-ordinary claims by his recording companies, musicians, fans and contemporaries.

He, however, admits that Coltrane was an innovator, the greatest after Charlie Parker, but does not understand why three decades after his death, his shadow should continue to loom everywhere.Part of Davis’ grouse is the fact that all the young saxophonists including Britain’s classically trained reeds player, David Jean Baptiste have been influenced to the core

by John Coltrane.And why not?

Of Coltrane’s spiritual sounds beginning from A Love Supreme in 1964 all through to Ascension, Infinity and Interstellar Space, Davis thinks little or nothing as he puts them down as “bombastic and tortuous monologues,” on the one hand, and “a club bore metamorphosed into a pair of bag pipes,” on the other.

His impression of Coltrane himself is that of “a reformed heroine addict and alcoholic, who channelled his spiritual awakening into A Love Supreme”.

Allowance can be made for these comments as being naive and misconstrued, unable to understand the avant-garde nature of these spiritual sounds which were technically referred to as ‘sheets of sound’. Actually, they can confuse the uninitiated as well as the well informed devotee who has failed to avail himself of the true essence of Coltrane’s music and his inner vision. Obviously, Davis allowed his racial bias to take the better of him when he

41

referred to Coltrane’s conventiaonal solos in Kind of Blue with Davis in 1959 as “garrulous.”He’s the type who, swayed by racial discrimination, would place alto saxophonist Paul Desmond of the Dave Brubeck Quartet or tenor man Stan Getz ahead of Julian Cannon ball Adderley and George Coleman.

The entire story is lacking in objectivity and, like a popular melody deliberately made unappealing with discordant notes, the review is characterised by racial prejudices and lack of the proper understanding of John Coltrane and all that his music represents. Coltrane’s saintly status is well deserved. Clive Davis’ review is unprofessional; and does not advance the cause of art in anyway. It is a shame!

Through playing with pianist Thelonious Monk and later trumpet player Miles Davis in the late fifties, Coltrane evolved the ‘modal’ technique of improvisation. Called the Great Quartet, his group won all the jazz polls including Down beat in 1961 as the greatest Jazz Combo.

By the time of his death in 1967, he had accomplished his mission as the leading conventional jazz musician and moved deeper into the avant garde, arrving at a level of self-communion with the ‘Creator’ - a spiritual awareness more akin to speaking in tongues.

Coltrane’s musical vision was sincere. All his life, he embarked on a quest for self expression and perfection that carried him beyond mere polytonality into the realm of mysticism, using the instrument to create human sounds.

I’m sure Clive Davis knows all about Coltrane, but he’s being prevailed upon by the forces of racial discrimination from telling the truth.

However, Alber Ayler, a frontline saxophonist and associate of Coltrane in the sisxties pays this honest tribute to Coltrane: “John was like a visitor to this planet, but during his time here, he kept trying to reach new levels of awareness, of

peace, of spiritually. That’s why I regard the music he played as spiritual music - John’s way of getting closer and closer to the Creator.”

Coltrane assumed the status of a saint through his music and life style in his last days, preaching peace, love and hope in recognition of the fact that the Almighty is in absolute control.

And he lived an exemplary life of holiness, purity and complete surrender to his Creator.

Saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders, who was on the same spiritual level with Coltrane in the same “Love Supreme” group and crusade is still alive.

Pharaoh Sanders has personified Coltrane, his mentor and spiritual idol, painting his thought process in a tribute that typifies Coltrane’s spiritual essence in relation to his Creator: “The Creator my Father, the Divine Principle which flows through me is All. All that the Creator is I am. We are, We are. We are. I thank the Creator for undivided faith, for to have undivided faith in the Creator is to have undivided faith in yourself. Self love, self love, self love, is love for the Creator, love for the Creator is love for all your brothers, and sisters. It is so easy to love your brothers and sisters when you have love for self, for you are, we are all one. Look

within, there is no need to look back, or forward. Look within, you contain the knowledge of all times. I thank the Creator for universal intelligence and Dividne Wisdom. I ask.

I give thanks, and I receive, for I am.

“We are, we are. I will direct only positive vibration toward all my brothers, and sisters. I will not accept negative vibrations, for to do so would dim the light within me, which is the light of the Creator I am, we are. I have no energy to give to negativism. To give energy to negative thoughts and actions is to receive negative thoughts, and actions. To give to receive, to give is to receive. We are all one.

Stop, stop stepping back. Step in and be still and know God. The Creator is all love and harmony. There is no fear or doubt in the Creator.

All we do is before the Creator. For we are, the Creator is all lone.”

John Coltrane took jazz from its conventional status in the fities to an avantgarde level where he no longer played to please the world but to edify his spirit for the purpose of magnifying his Creator. Such is the hallmark of a genius.

As an art writer, Clive Davis’ perception of John Coltrane is, without doubt, completely devoid of objectivity, an approach that is unethical.

42

Sunday, January 19, 2014

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Sunday, December 19, 2014 CAREER 43

44 CAREER Sunday, January 19, 2014

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Sunday, January 19, 2014 CAREER 45

46 | SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2014

FROM THE DESK OF THE CEO

National Development ence, and that is that peace is a very necessary ingredient for National Development. In fact I will go further to say that if there is one single thing you should have first before you can even start planning for development, I would say you must have peace. Peace in the family, in the community, in the State and in the Country, are all imperative for development.

Once there is no peace there will be no development. Students that never do well on their exams will always say that learning was not peaceful in the classroom and that is why they did badly. A nation that is at a state of war cannot develop no matter how determined the leaders are. A married couple that is constantly fighting cannot turn round and plan out a fantastic life, there needs to be peace in the family or in the land for any meaningful development to take place.

Nicholas Okoye founder EMPOWER NIGERIA Initiative, CEO Anabel Group, and Convener Nigeria Leadership Summit E-mail: anabel@empowernigeria.com

HE PRESENT political environment in Nigeria Is currently charged and it is so difficult for Chief Executives to remain focused. However our leaders must find a way to keep their eye on the job as the millions of Nigerian youths are depending on them to address this National issue of unemployment so that more of our young people can find a means of lively hood that is sustainable.

Sometimes I wonder what the Political Leaders in Borno State do on a day to day basis, when bombs are going off almost everywhere. How can you design and implement a development program in an atmosphere of violence. I can say the same for Rivers State that has descended into an orgy of violence which is guaranteed to distract the administrators and the business people alike. I can just see the faces of the business people that are going to these areas to conduct business with the State authorities, no Government official in any of these two states mentioned above will be interested in discussing any sophisticated strategy or meaningful business for development of the citizens of the state. If you are heading to these areas you better be selling security apparatus, crowd control or bullet proof cars, because that is the only thing that violence and trouble demands.

T

The lesson that is loud and clear that is coming out of the Borno or Rivers State experi-

So we need peace first and foremost if we want to develop our Nation. And so what are the issues that are necessary for peace? Well anyone that has been reading this column will know that I am committed to youth empowerment and entrepreneurship which is designed to create millions of jobs. You cannot have peace when millions of young people are out of work and turning to crime.

And for many of the young people that do have work, they are not interested in serving their employers honestly and diligently and so they soon lose the job or lose interest in

the job. I can tie youth unemployment to almost every major social ill Nigeria is currently suffering today from terrorism to armed robbery to kidnaping. Every Nation must have a strategy for dealing with Youth Unemployment and youth restiveness, that is the only way to guarantee peace. In Europe they have the welfare States, in the United States they have Social Security and many other Nations have their own versions. One size does not fit all, so before anyone runs away with the idea that I am advocating an introduction of welfare or social security in Nigeria, then please hear me out.

I am not saying we should set up a social security system in Nigeria, because the guidelines and the design will take us another ten to twenty years and in the meantime the young people will continue to suffer. What we need is a short term, a mid-term and a long term solution to youth unemployment. As this is the single most important element for peace for which I have already established is most important ingredient for National Development. The fact that all the suicide bombers are young people, all the militant fighters are young people, all the armed robbers and kidnappers are young people, shows that if we focus on the young people and get them engaged on a large scale basis then we will be on a path to bringing peace to Nigeria and subsequently we can expect a fundamen-

I believe there are nine drivers of National Development in which all Leaders, all students and all citizens must understand and position themselves to support and push forward if you really want to enjoy National Development. I will outline the Nine drivers next week and then take each driver one y one in an effort to stimulate the debate by you readers on how we as a people can contribute to Nation building using the nine drivers as a back drop.

EMPOWER NIGERIA VISION To be the most effective, efficient and successful network of Entrepreneurial Leaders in Africa, growing the ranks of entrepreneurship by converting the unemployed youth into micro, small and medium business operators.

EMPOWER NIGERIA from Chairman, SEPLAT, Dr A.B.C. Orjiako(r) and CEO, First Bank, Bisi Onasanya with Nicholas Okoye

heated corn (maize). Popcorn is a snack above all snacks! It is tasty, high in fibre, affordable, suitable for most occasions and a commercial goldmine. Commercial large-scale popcorn machines were invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. The original method used to pop corn was to hold and shake a wire basket filled with raw corn kernels over an open fire. The result was a hot, dry, unevenly cooked, and often burned snack.

The Cretors machine automatically popped corn in a mixture of butter, oil, and salt. The result was a machine that popped corn in its

A

Nicholas Okoye’s Nine Drivers of National Development

Support for

Popcorn Machine

POPCORN MAKER (also called a popcorn popper) is a machine used to pop corn or make popcorn. Since ancient times popcorn has been a popular snack food, produced through the explosive expansion of kernels of

tal increase in our economic growth as a direct result. The solution to peace is Youth Empowerment and that is why EMPOWER NIGERIA is so important. There are so many other requirements for National Development but none of them can be carried out with peace.

own seasoning – uniformly for the first time.

The profit potential for a popcorn business is amazing because the demand is very high.

The popcorn business thrives in any economy because people still budget for fun even in the worst of economy. You can earn basic income in the popcorn business but to make your company competitive, you will next need to experiment and come up with secret recipes. As is the case with most any food business, the quality and taste appeal of any food product differentiates winners and losers in this market. The barriers to entry in a

popcorn business are fairly low which means there is a lot of potential competition. To differentiate from others, one needs to think of other competitive advantages outside of popcorn production. Customer service, name recognition, and unique packaging are some additional and important considerations.

Popcorn machines have the advantage of being mobile because of its size, which means that one can set up shop anywhere. This affords proprietors a level of freedom, flexibility, and mobility they would be hard-pressed to find in any other line of work.

In Nigeria the growth of the Movie Industry has been synonymous with popcorn, the more movie we watch the more we eat popcorn. So Nigerians have developed a habit and a taste for popcorn. You can therefore take this product to the communities and you will be in the money.

To find out about this and other business ideas, visit our showroom at W2, THE ARENA Army Shopping complex. Bolade Bustop. Oshodi Lagos, or contact our sales rep at 012771388 .

Sunday, January 19, 2014 | 47

EMPOWERNIGERIA

www.ngrguardiannews.com

GUIDE TO PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

By Charles Ebirim: Member, EMPOWER NIGERIA Guide to Personal Development In the Guide to personal Development we have outlined three levels in which every young person must be able to improve. That is for your personal development to be complete and for you to achieve success and happiness you must somehow cover these three levels.

Personal Mind Set. You must have made up your mind that you will succeed and that you must succeed. You must therefore develop a positive attitude towards your life even if it is over bearing and there is no hope insight.

When adversity hits find a way a laugh about it.

We always say “ONE DAY WE WILL ALL BE LAUGHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM: right and in all cases once time passes we do laugh about it, a problem we had once thought would consume us all. So here is an idea why don’t we laugh about the problem now, and see how much better yon will feel. Don’t way for a few months or a few years laugh now and you would have succeeded in developing a positive mental attitude.

Activity. What you do, what you say, who you say it to and where you go, are all a part and parcel of your success plan. You must act in order to succeed. You must choose your business or your profession and you must dedicate all your energy towards its success and possible global domination. Your choosing a business idea from the EMPOWER NIGERIA line up, your action to raise the money you need from friends and family first and then subsequently from one of the EMPOWER NIGERIA partners if your friends and family are not forthcoming.

Activity is key. Nothing happens without ACTION. The fact that you have eaten this morning is because either you or someone else has taken the time and the effort to prepare the meal. The meal did not prepare itself. So if you really want to be a successful man or woman loo deeper at this level of activity.

Environment. And yes we are talking about the Nigerian environment. So it is very important that our Leaders create an environment that is business friendly. We are working on this and in some cases they are listening. Some States are getting it more than others. And some Ministers on the Federal level are getting it more than others. I understand Nigeria has slipped again on the Global “Doing Business in” Index prepared by the World Bank. This is unacceptable. We should now examine ourselves deeply and find out why we are slipping like this. If it is a matter of personnel then we need to et the right personnel into Government to make the changes that are required. We are all in this struggle together and that is what our civil servants and politician need to understand. So the more we make it difficult for business to operate the more peace will elude us and we will not reach our goals.

Join the EMPOWER NIGERIA initiative and let’s change Nigeria together

GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURAL LEADER Entrepreneur for his venture incuBeta, an investment holding company that engages in the ownership, management, and support of online marketing companies in various stages of development, with offices in the US, UK and Cape Town which has quickly grown into one of the world’s leading affiliate marketing companies serving all-star clients such as Yahoo!, eBay and Expedia.com. Also in 2003, Lingham founded Clicks2Customers, a subsidiary of incuBeta that provides search engine marketing software and services. Lingham served as the CEO of both companies. In 2006, incuBeta was named “South Africa’s Top Technology Company” and received substantial investment. Vinny has sold the majority of incuBeta to concentrate on Yola.

The serial entrepreneur has since gone on to start and become the CEO of Lingham Capital, a South Africa-based venture capital firm with investments in startups such as Skyrove, a Wi-Fi Hotspot provider.

He serves on numerous international advisory boards for search engine and affiliate marketing, including Commission Junction and Yahoo!, speaks at conferences around the world and is frequently cited on Web 2.0 trends. Vinny Lingham was selected as an Endeavor (non-profit) Entrepreneur in 2006. Endeavor (non-profit) is a global non-profit that selects and supports High-Impact Entrepreneurs in emerging markets. He was chosen as a Young Global Leader Honoree 2009 by the World Economic Forum. He has been recognized as a high-impact entrepreneur by Endeavor Global and awarded the 2006 Top Young IT Entrepreneur.

Linghman serves on the boards of ChessCube, SkyRove, and Personera and previously served on marketing advisory boards for Nasdaq-listed companies ValueClick and Yahoo. Although born and educated in South Africa, Lingham now lives in the Bay Area with his wife and son, where he serves as an angel investor and board member of multiple tech companies. A vocal proponent of entrepreneurship, Vinny is an active spokesperson for the power aging rock bands, Vinny has always had a knack INNY LINGHAM is a South African of technology and entrefor thinking big.

Internet entrepreneur who is the copreneurship, which His vision, drive, and leadership have propelled founder & CEO of Gyft - a mobile gift he seeks to foster his success as a young tech entrepreneur in card company, backed by Google Ventures. in his home He was also previously the founder and CEO South Africa. In 2007, Lingham founded Yola, country of Yola, Inc. (formerly known as SynthaSite), a an online platform that allows people without through the programming skills to easily develop websites San Francisco-based Web 2.0 start-up that Silicon Cape through a simple drag-and-drop system. Yola provides free website building, publishing Initiative, currently has over three million users worldand hosting services. He is also the cowhich he cofounder of SiliconCape.com, an NGO based in wide, and last December the company signed a founded distribution deal with HP to pre-install Yola on South Africa that aims to turn Cape Town with a fellow all HP computers—approximately 60 million into a technology hub. Lingham was previhigh-tech per year. Yola also signed a recent deal with AOL ously the founder and CEO of the global entrepreand was selected by Google to serve as the search marketing firm incuBeta and its subneur. He default web host for its new “Get Your Business sidiary Clicks2Customers. aims to Lingham was born on 7 February 1979 in East Online” initiative. Lingham also successfully turn the positioned the company for growth, receiving London, South Africa. He finished high Western $20 million in Series B Financing in 2009. school at the age of 17 and went on to study Cape into Under Lingham’s leadership, Yola has garnered Information Systems at the University of a highCape Town but did not complete his studies a plethora of accolades, including being named tech startthere. He studied Information Systems at the one of the “Fast Fifty Reader Favorites” in 2008 up hub.

University of Cape Town and graduated with and one of BusinessWeek’s “Fifty Tech Startups You Should Know” in 2009. The same year, an honors degree in Electronic Commerce from the University of South Africa. From his Lingham was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. kindergarten days, when he made money Yola is not Vinny’s only enterprise. Vinny was selling stickers, through his college years, when he helped defray tuition costs by man- originally selected as an Endeavor

Vinnys’ Gyft To The World

VINNY LINGHAM

V

To be a contributing writer or to inquire about any of our machines or Business Ideas, Please feel free to contact us: EMAIL: info@empowernigeria.com, chiugo@empowernigeria.com WEBSITE: www.empowernigeria.com TEL: +234 1 277 1388; +2348033028638 www.facebook.com/empowernigeria

@empowernigeria

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48 Sunday, January 19, 2014

Birthdays BELGORE, Justice Modibo Alfa, jurist was 77 last Friday, January 17, 2014. He was born on January 17, 1937 in Ilorin, Kwara State and educated at Okesuna Elementary School, Ilorin, 1944-48; Middle School, Ilorin, 1949-51; Ilesha Grammar School, Ilesha, 1952-56. He received his professional training at the Inns of Court School of Law, London and the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple. He was called to the Outer Bar at the Inner Temple and after completing his qualification from the Nigerian Law School, he was appointed as Associate Magistrate in the Judiciary of Northern Nigeria. He served there in various capacities as a Judge for more than a decade. In 1977, he was appointed Chief Judge of the Court of Appeal.

After serving in this office for nearly 10 years, he was elevated to the Supreme Court Bench in 1986. He was the Chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission until he returned in 2007.

AKANDE, Chief Bisi, administrator, politician, former executive governor of Osun State and Interim National

Development Authority, CBDA, Maiduguri. He is a member of the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN.

Belgore

Akande

Chukwumerije

Adeleke

Chairman of the All Proressives Congress (APC) was 75 on Thursday, January 16, 2014. Born in Ila-Orogun, Osun State, he was educated in Nigeria and worked at British Petroleum for several years. He was deputy governor of Oyo State between 1979 and 1983 and also former governor of the state between 1999 and 2003.

at the Methodist Central School, Isuochi, 1943-1952; Our Lady’s High School, 19531957 and University College, Ibadan, 1958-1961. He was the director of propaganda in the defunct Republic of Biafra and secretary for information in the Interim National Government, ING, headed by Ernest Shonekan. He was publisher of African Scope magazine and presently a senator representing Abia North in the National Assembly.

tionist and administrator was 75, January 14. Born in Akwa Ibom State, he was educated at Lutheran High School, Obot Idim, Akwa Ibom State; Methodist College, Uzuakoli, Abia State; Hull University, Yorkshire, England and University of Leyden, Holland. He was the secretary to the government of Akwa Ibom State, 1993-1994 and resident electoral commissioner, Nassarawa State Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, 1998.

He was conferred with Knights of St Christopher,

KSC, of the Anglican Communion of Nigeria and Order of Federal Republic by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.

CHUKWUMERIJE, Uche, journalist, politician, administrator and publisher was 75 on January 11. Born in Isuochi, Abia State, he was educated

UDOH, Etim Nyong, educa-

Recently, former Miss Oluwaninsola Osisanya got married to Ejiga Opaluwa at De Kulture Hall & Event Centre, Ikorodu, Lagos. The couple was flanked by the groom’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Opaluwa.

Special Apostle Dr. Daniel Adewale Adesanya (left), being presented his instruments of office by Most Rev’d Dr. Samuel Adetila Abidoye as the Chairman of Cherubim & Seraphim Movement, Palace Of Grace District, Arigbajo, Ogun State.

Chairman, Crops Commodity Farmers Association and Processors, Chief Adebayo Ajayi (left), presents book on Cassava Transformation Agenda to the Director-General/CEO of FIIRO, Dr. (Gloria) Elemo; while President of NCAPMA, Ayo Olubori; representative of the BoI, Idris Oluwa and others look on with keen interest during the meeting.

MUSA, Bunu Sheriff , engineer, administrator and former minister of power and steel was 67 on January 15.

Born in Maiduguri, Borno State, he studied in Nigeria and Britain. Musa was a Hydrological Assistant in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Inland Water Way Division, Lokoja. He later became the General Manager, Chad Basin

ADELEKE, Senator Isiaka Adetunji, businessman, administrator, industrialist and politician was 59 on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. Born on January 15, 1955 in Ede, Osun State, he was educated at Alafia Institute, Okoya, Ibadan; Ogbomosho Grammar School, Western Kentucky University, Kentucky, USA; Jacksonville University, Alabama, USA. He was a director, Pacific Merchant Bank, Lagos; Pacific Drilling Company, Lagos and Thorley International. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. He was Chairman Governing Council, Nigeria Export Promotion Council and Chairman Governing Council, University of Calabar, Nigeria. He was the first civilian governor of Osun State, 1992-93. He was elected Senator for Osun West in 2007. He is the chairman of Tadel Investment Limited, Lagos.

Compiled by Gbenga Akinfenwa

Mr. Emeka Lawrence Ndukwe with his wife, Uzoamaka Joy during the church wedding at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ikenga, Ogidi, Anambra State.

Supervising Minister of National Planning, Amb. Bashir Yuguda (left); General Director, Globalisation Development and Partnerships, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Descotes and Deputy Director, Development Cooperation Directorate, Mr. Serge Tomasi, PHOTO: NAN at the Leading Group on Innovative Financing for Development 12th Plenary Session in Abuja on… Friday.

Chairman, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government, Comrade Ayodele Adewale (left), Hakeem Adesina Agbelega, his counterpart from Oriade Local Council Development Area, Wasiu Bello and Chairman, Oriade LCDA, Ibraheem Tunde Sanusi at the joint presentation of Year 2014 Appropriation Bill “Budget of Fulfillment” by Amuwo-Odofin Local Government and Oriade Local Council Development Area in Lagos.

FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

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Sunday, January 19, 2014 49

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50 Sunday, January 19, 2014

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POLITICS

Jonathan Needs No Horsewhip • Says Govt Deserves Kudos On Anti-terrorism • PDP’s ‘Weight Loss’ Healthy For Party • Dares Opposition To Debate On President’s Achievements While some Nigerians have chosen to portray President Goodluck Jonathan as ‘clueless’ and ‘weak’, minister of Information and supervisory minister of Defence, Mr. Labaran Maku, thinks contrary. In this interview with ALOYSIUS OMO, he comes all out to defend the President and even takes the media head on. The former University of Jos Students’ Union Government president thinks there is everything to celebrate about the Jonathan years.

What is your assessment of the insecurity challenges and how government has responded so far?

ODAY, with consistent law enforcement, as well as intelligence gathering, we have been able to largely contain the insurgency to Borno and Yobe States. People may not really see the significance of this. If you take a lot at country, like Pakistan, that has been under this kind of environment for almost eight years, you take a look at Iraq and even Afghanistan that have been under this kind of situation…even to a certain extent, we can look at Russia, which is even more highly sophisticated than we are in terms of capacity, you will find that they are still having lingering problems. Only last week, there was a strike in Russia. But in the case of Nigeria, our armed forces have risen very rapidly to the occasion. We have increased intelligence capacity, as well as the deployment of forces across the North. And today, I can confidently say that by the help of God, the cooperation of citizens and the hard work of our security agencies, this insurgency, today, has been confined largely to Borno and Yobe States.

Before the state of emergency, there were some regular strikes in Adamawa, particularly in Mubi, which is at the boundary between Adamawa and Borno.

So far, I must say that we are proud of what our armed forces have done, and would continue to work with them to give them leadership, direction and support to fight this insurgency.

Like I said, if we look at what we have achieved in Nigeria in these two years, in my opinion, it is far better than what many countries have done facing this kind of situation. There was a lot of delay in deployment because of politics, because people said it is not a place the army should go. You would remember how difficult it was. Even when we made the initial effort, it was like we should withdraw the armed forces.

But today, everyone has come to accept that this insurgency is a real threat to the security of life and property of Nigerians, and also, a threat to the nation’s stability and we needed to confront it with high capacity, which we are deploying.

Part of it is ignorance; part is politics. People want to use it to measure the success of government or its competence or capacity. The reality of every insurgency of this nature is that it is a protracted struggle; it is not something you give a date to. If it was a conventional war, and the insurgents stand on one side and our army on the other, I can tell you that our armed forces will finish them in 30 minutes. But it is not a conventional war; the enemy is hidden. It is a lot of strenuous work of intelligence gathering, and sorting the enemy out in densely populated areas, and ensuring that when you strike, innocent people are not killed. These are the complications and that is why you find that up till today, the Americans are still pinned down in Afghanistan. It is because of the nature of the war, not because America does not have the capacity to bomb and clear the entire place.

If you do that, you are going to kill a lot of innocent people, and that is why you see the protraction in Afghanistan, where you see some elements still striking. It’s the same in Iraq, and even in Russia, where the Chechnya thing has not fully disappeared. It is the nature of the war that is making it protracted, not lack of capacity. And this has been demonstrated, not only in the case of the Nigerian Armed Forces, even with forces that are from super power coun-

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tries.

Again the issue of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, would have to come up here; do you now have concrete information on Shekau and the Boko Haram leadership? It is said that if you want to kill a snake, you must go for its head. How much does the government now know about the Boko Haram leadership?

The media still needs some education to be given to it on the nature of this struggle, because a lot of times, when I see some newspaper headlines, it gives me the impression that they think that the insurgency should have been over. The mere fact that we have been able to clear much of Maiduguri does not mean that you cannot have a surprise attack, because it takes just one person strapping a bomb to his chest, and coming to the street to detonate it. You will find cases of suicide bombing in this insurgency, although it has largely been curtailed, you cannot rule out any surprise in a terror network of this nature.

So, it is not correct for the media to think that when we are making successes and progress, and something then happens, you now say, “ah, maybe government or the armed forces is not doing enough.” That is not the issue; compare what we are doing with every other country with similar situations. It is not an exclusively Nigerian development; it is a global phenomenon and I am saying that the armed forces of Nigeria have done much better than those of other countries in dealing with this insurgency, in terms of how we have been able to largely contain the situa-

“But what does he (Jonathan) get in return, people saying the President is weak, he is not courageous, and he is clueless. What do we want? Do we want dictatorship or democratic governance? There are many who still believe that for a President to look strong, he should go about with a horsewhip. What is this weakness that they talk about? Is it because he does not shout at people or because he is tolerant of those who criticize him? Then we all condemn him, including the media; I see columns written, and if somebody does not abuse Jonathan, it is like he is not yet a journalist. If we really want the country to run properly, we should judge a leader on the basis of what he is doing, and what we think is good enough for our country.” tion. This is tremendous work, but the way we report these things discourages the armed forces at times. You would have to look at it from a position of understanding the nature

of the war, the great successes and the challenges. Then, the citizens will understand. But when you keep reporting in ways that suggest that no progress has been made, it is what the terrorists want you to do. They want sow panic and create confusion. And that is why I have kept on talking for a long time that the way we have been reporting the insurgency, it is as if it is a football match between terrorists and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We do as if ‘oh, they have scored a goal, and we should clap for them and give them the front page.’ No, that is not what it is, and I honestly think that our attitude must change.

All over the world, when you have this kind of situation, the media must align with the armed forces. I know that negative news is a good story any day for any media around the world, and that was how Osama bin Laden was advertised to us, and he became a role model for criminals around the world. And that is my position; that liberal democracy is yet to know the nature of terrorism and how to handle it. With this kind of reporting, terrorists are now using the media to sell their ideology to innocent people.

It is because of the free publicity that we give them.

Now on Shekau, we have always said it…Is Shekau dead? We believe so, but it is not confirmed. Until we see the grave of Shekau and verify that here lies the remains of Shekau, we cannot make a declaration that he is dead. We have quite a great deal of information to the effect that he may have died. But at the same time, because the armed forces, the defense headquarters has not been able to confirm, and confirmation in this case must be defi-

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To Prove He’s Strong — Maku nite…When Osama bin Ladin was killed, the Americans were in a position to confirm it. So, long as we don’t have that confirmation, we will work with the theory that he may have been killed. However, the issue is not about Shekau; Osama is dead, but Al Qaeda is not dead. So, the mere fact that Shekau is alive or not is not the issue. Well, maybe if you kill the leader of a criminal gang, you will have a psychological victory to the effect somebody has been taken away.

The issue, however, is that you are dealing with a network, not an individual because the organisation can also produce a next set of leaders to replace Shekau. So, I am not looking at the death of Shekau as the death of Boko Haram. Shekau could die, and Boko Haram would not necessarily die, because it must have a network of leaders that can replace him. So, we are dealing with it as a network, and as a group, not just the leadership. We are studying the network, how it operates, and how we can then eliminate it. By the time we take this larger war in that direction, we will be able to focus our strategy to deal with it as a network of members and leaders. If we go on thinking of removing the leadership alone, then we will have something like what the Americans have done by using drones to remove a lot of leaders of terror groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it has not necessarily eliminated the threat. So, we are going beyond that.

A section of Nigerians find it difficult understanding the image management challenge of the President and why it is the way it is; as Information minister, what is the cause, and what would you be willing to admit as failings on the part of government?

Thank you for that question. I cannot say that any government or leader is perfect; we are all human beings with our weaknesses. But you would want to assess a government based on what it has done, and the environment in which it is doing it. Sometimes, we have a good government that is doing a good and great job in a very bad environment, and that environment continues to impact negatively on the leadership, which is exactly what has happened in the case of the President. I continue to tell people, not because I am in the government, I am also a journalist in this government. If I take a look at what the President has done so far, in terms of his mission and his development programme, and the actual deployment of policies, I can just say look at the indices internationally. When he came to power, it was in controversial circumstances because of the long drawn ill health of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He also came to power in a period of a polarised polity over the issue. The moment he came in and settled down, he unfolded a transformation programme.

I have continued to say it that I am ready to debate with anybody. Within the last three years, if you look at what the President has done with the Economic Management Team, the Transformation Agenda and his policies, you will find that in terms of the macro-economic management of the Nigerian economy, we have never had it better than what we are having now in the last 20 years. And we are seeing the results coming; the deep reforms that he has unfolded, which are about converting deficits into opportunities for investments through creative policies that would attract investment to generate more goods and services in those areas. …But that went down recently.

The truth is that foreign exchange is not constant; when you place orders for services such as construction and deployment, of course, it will come down, but somehow even if it goes up and down, we have moved from $33billion to between $45 and $48 billion. It is not that it must remain a constant; no country’s foreign reserve is constant. What I am saying is that we have grown it, in spite of all of the activities in the economy; we have grown the foreign reserve of this nation. That is a landmark; then when you look at the capital market, those of us who are buying shares, we all know that about 2008, it was a complete crash, a total crash.

Nigerians should ask themselves what has happened in the last two years that the stock market, which was so down has today, grown by more than 80 per cent between 2012 and now.

Today, the capital market has recovered and capitalisation has come to over N13 trillion from

about N8 trillion in 2010 to 2012. That growth is significant; it is the same thing with the money market. Also, you have… the highest influx of Foreign Direct Investment has come to Nigeria, rather than countries that don’t have insurgencies or the other problems we are having... It is because the economic policies of the President has attracted those investments and made people develop confidence in the economy, because they look at the ratings from Standard and Poor’s. The rating agencies consistently found that the macroeconomic management of the Nigerian economy under the President has been such that it gives the global players and the international community the confidence to invest.

So, we have been receiving the highest Foreign Direct Investment, in spite of Boko Haram.

Some say government is intolerant of opposition and wonder at the manner you manage inflammatory comments by politicians Part of the problem we have is our politicians.

If a politician can say if the President contests election, there will be violence... True, it’s a power game, in which people are supposed to struggle with one another, but it should be

about the country first? In the current debate in Nigeria, I have increasingly seen bitterness and hatred, based on section and geography, and the whole mantra of ‘it is our time to rule.’ The debate in this country needs to improve. I don’t know how the media would help us improve the debate. But this problem comes from the political class, which is too fractious, divisive and sentimental. This political class is not grounded in realities about what the future of the nation should be.

Who remembers that in no state in this country is any election properly held? They stage elections in states that are supposedly now claiming to offer an alternative because they are saying they have a new way of running Nigeria. That is good; but they hold elections and everybody that wins from councilor to local government chairman are from the party of the governor, whether he is progressive or not, that is the trend. Only president Jonathan could have allowed free and fair election in this dispensation because he believes there is a need to clean up the electoral atmosphere to give Nigerians confidence in the democratic process. In addition

to what is in the constitution, the President further opened up the media by signing the Freedom of Information Bill. But what does he get in return, people saying the President is weak, he is not courageous, and he is clueless.

What do we want? Do we want dictatorship or democratic governance? There are many who still believe that for a President to look strong, he should go about with a horsewhip.

What is this weakness that they talk about? Is it because he does not shout at people or because he is tolerant of those who criticize him? Then we all condemn him, including the media; I see columns written, and if somebody does not abuse Jonathan, it is like he is not yet a journalist. If we really want the country to run properly, we should judge a leader on the basis of what he is doing, and what we think is good enough for our country.

It seems there is disconnect between the people and what the Presidency is doing; how are you bridging the gap?

Talking about the perceptions of the Presidency, we Nigerians must really ask ourselves an important question; what do we CONTINUED ON PAGE••

“When you lose a member of your party, it is not something to celebrate and be happy about. We would wish that everyone were in one place, because that gives us numerical capacity. But like I keep explaining to people, sometimes, over time, you lose weight to gain strength. As you grow older, you will find that putting on weight can also weigh you down. I think what has happened in the PDP in this period is that after 14 years; the party is losing some weight to gain strength. It may not look so to you now, but you wait and see. By the time the party resolves its internal crisis over the leadership, it will be less overweight than it used to be. But once it unites behind the leadership and a mission, it will do well. If you look at some of the elements that have left, they are the most rancorous, petulant people in the party, who created the problems that made the PDP look so bad… Some of the tissues we have donated to the opposition will start causing problems in those places before long. I am sure you are beginning to see already the tempers in the places they have gone to and the kinds of problems they are causing in the places they have gone to.

Some of them cannot stay in one room with other people until daybreak, without the roof blowing up.”

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Jonathan Needs No Horsewhip To Prove He’s Strong — Maku CONTINUED FROM PAGE••

want from the Presidency? It seems to me that we are so used to dictatorship so much that we are unfortunately unable to recognise a democratic leader.

It was the same problem we had in the second republic when people were always attacking Shagari; as a young schoolteacher back then, we almost believed that Shagari was the worst leader ever produced in this country. But as I grew up, and saw the progress the second republic was making when it was being condemned, I came to the conclusion that if that coup didn’t take place, this country would have gone far ahead and perhaps we would be on the same spot as some of the Asian Tigers. But we celebrated the coup in the press, with some even saying that God was a Nigerian when Shagari was overthrown.

But I never knew what Shagari was fully doing until I went to Ajaokuta. And you can go to Ajaokuta today. He laid the foundation stone for Ajaokuta in 1980. By the time he was overthrown, that project was 87 per cent completed. He built the main steel mill, the workshop, and the rolling mills. The only remaining thing was to develop the mines and connect with the railways and power, so that when you start the plant, it would work for ten years nonstop. And that plant is subSaharan Africa’s first and largest steel plant. Today, if Shagari was not overthrown, we will be making cars and all sorts of machines in Nigeria. This economy would have been a highly industrialised one. But what happened, the man was run down by the media and overthrown. He was run down because of the negative politics of geography, and those who took over said their priority was not Ajaokuta. Look at what Jakande was doing in Lagos; I stayed in Jakande Estate in Isolo when I was a journalist, and virtually in every part of the city, shelter was being provided for the people in the city.

So, because of this constant pollution of the atmosphere with partisan allegations, today, it has become the greatest immunity against prosecution. The best way to be safe in this country, today, no matter the crime you commit in government, is that immediately you leave, join the opposition and start abusing the government. And if anybody tries to touch you, it will be said that the President is fighting the opposition. So anybody in the opposition today is clean; he is a saint, no matter what he did yesterday, and the media quickly forgets this completely, as if this country has no records of everybody, and what he has done in the past.

I think we have an attitudinal problem as a nation in transition, from long drawn dictatorship into a democratic dispensation, and we don’t know what yet to expect of a democratic leader. I think the President has demystified power, because there is a need to do that, and he has tried to make us understand that the leader is one of us, and not a masquerade that people should see and run from. That becomes a problem and he is described as being weak. Even illiterates will write in newspaper columns saying the President is clueless. This is a man that is a PhD holder and has worked across different levels with concrete achievements as President of Nigeria.

Even if you look at foreign policy, since the President came to power, look at the way he has run the foreign policy of Nigeria.

Today, Nigeria has exercised more influence in this continent than it did previously. In Cote d’ Ivoire, the President said the election results must be announced, and that there would be no annulment. Gbagbo left and we were able to restore democracy in Cote D’ Ivoire. There was a coup in Niger and the President made it clear that no coup would survive in West Africa. The people left. There was a coup in Mali, the people left because of the posture of the Nigerian leadership. Even in Central African Republic, Nigerians are already being airlifted.

This is the first time when we are talking about citizens’ diplomacy, where government is deploying its resources to rescue its people from trouble spots. We did that in Libya, and now in Central African Republic. These are things we didn’t use to know. Three times in this dispensation, this country has been at the UN Security Council.

Jonathan is abused by politicians who think he is not from

their own part of the country, and that he must leave now. So, from the economy to sports, to power, this President has scored a record that no President has in the period he has spent, which I can remember, and so politicians continue to abuse the man, and the media continues to reflect those abuses to Nigerians. But for the insurgency and negative politics, tell me why the President should be so abused, in spite of what he has done. It then means that if we want to move Nigeria forward, we must also redefine the debate. If a politician makes slander the basis of his politics, I believe the media should also make him account for it. If a politician makes violence and threat the basis of his politics, I think he should be held accountable.

Because of our attitude to this democracy, we are not holding different levels of authority responsible for national problems. We just see it as the President’s fault because we are used to one military dictator always sitting in Abuja or Dodan

Jonathan is abused by politicians who think he is not from their own part of the country, and that he must leave now. So, from the economy to sports, to power, this President has scored a record that no President has in the period he has spent, which I can remember, and so politicians continue to abuse the man, and the media continues to reflect those abuses to Nigerians. But for the insurgency and negative politics, tell me why the President should be so abused, in spite of what he has done.

It then means that if we want to move Nigeria forward, we must also redefine the debate. If a politician makes slander the basis of his politics, I believe the media should also make him account for it. If a politician makes violence and threat the basis of his politics, I think he should be held accountable.

Barracks and giving orders. This democracy is different; power is dispersed. What we are doing now is that we just lump everything together, and we think everything happening in this country is about the President, no. Presently, everybody is hiding, and it is the President everyone is concerned about, so any other layer of responsibility is overlooked. Looking at Goodluck Jonathan, is he a perfect President? No, but he has been a very good President.

What is your take on the crisis in the PDP, as well as the one in Rivers, where tension is growing by the day?

On PDP, it has been a largely very successful party; the only one that has been able to run a central government for 14 years.

The First Republic lasted six years and the Second lasted four. But the PDP has mustered the muscle to sustain our democracy for this period, which is a record for the party. It has been so, because PDP is a multi national party in a highly diverse environment. PDP is the only party that was able in 1999 to put together all the various factions of the ruling elite including the former UPN, Action Group, NPP, NEPU and PRP. All of them collapsed into the PDP in 1999. It is really an experiment of how political factions can coalese into one group to run the country. It stabilised the system and allowed us to overcome the kind of early challenges that the Second Republic faced. Now, after 14 years, we are beginning to see tendencies in the party. These tendencies also have to do with the nature of the party; sometimes, ideological issues don’t disappear overnight. What we are beginning to see, today, is that there are elements in the party that have placed regional politics above national politics, and they think it is time for them to have power, and they have decided to attack the party. No matter the good it is doing for the country, that doesn’t matter to them. This is again part of the problem with negative politics because usually a party would celebrate its successes.

But what you hear, today, is somebody in PDP attacking the party. Like one who lead it until the last convention, and now he says PDP is a failure. He discovered PDP is a failure only in the last few weeks that he left, and nobody challenges him to explain further.

My attitude to it is this, yes; some have left and gone into the opposition party. When you lose a member of your party, it is not something to celebrate and be happy about. We would wish that everyone were in one place, because that gives us numerical capacity. But like I keep explaining to people, sometimes, over time, you lose weight to gain strength. As you grow older, you will find that putting on weight can also weigh you down. I think what has happened in the PDP in this period is that after 14 years; the party is losing some weight to gain strength. It may not look so to you now, but you wait and see. By the time the party resolves its internal crisis over the leadership, it will be less overweight than it used to be. But once it unites behind the leadership and a mission, it will do well. If you look at some of the elements that have left, they are the most rancorous, petulant people in the party, who created the problems that made the PDP look so bad. Some of the tissues we have donated to the opposition will start causing problems in those places before long. I am sure you are beginning to see already the tempers in the places they have gone to and the kinds of problems they are causing in the places they have gone to. Some of them cannot stay in one room with other people until daybreak, without the roof blowing up.

We are all worried about Rivers because we don’t want to see political disagreements go violent. The President has said it during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day church service that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian and he has proved consistently that he is very civil, and he respects human life because that is the first reason why he is President anyway. So, we are appealing to all politicians in Rivers, no matter their party affiliations, to understand that the greater peace of the state is beyond the ambition of any politician. We must have an attitude that shows that despite playing from opposite sides of the political game, we are not enemies.

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Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Opinion OBJ Quitting PDP, A Gargantuan Ruse HE curious story that was disseminated T last week is that Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former leader, has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

My message: if you actually believe that, I would like to sell you the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

He wrote: “…Politics played by any national political party must have morality, decency, discipline, principles and leadership examples as cardinal practices of the party…Since I stick in my practice of party politics to the hallowed and cherished principles enunciated above…I will consider withdrawing my activity with PDP at local, state, zonal and national levels until the anomalous and shameful situation is corrected.”

The “situation” to which he was alluding is the presence and advancement in the part of Buruji Kashamu, who is wanted in the United States.

Obasanjo’s “I Quit” tantrum came less than one month after he preached a different sermon in his open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan. “The so-called crisis in the PDP can be turned to an opportunity of unity, mutual understanding and respect with the Party emerging with enhanced strength and victory,” he wrote. “It will be a win-win for all members of the Party and for the country. By that, PDP would have proved that it could have internal disagreement and emerge stronger. The calamity of failure can still be avoided.”

Three weeks later, citing “morality, decency, discipline,” the same man is sneaking away in the dark? Let us rewind the tape to happier times in our lives when we heard a similar sermon.

At his inauguration in May1999, Obasanjo pledged to provide the “forthright, purposeful, committed, honest and transparent leadership” Nigeria needed.

“All the

impacts of bad governance on our people that are immediately removable will be removed, while working for medium and long term solutions.”

None of that was true; as we all now know, in the four years that followed, all those evils were consolidated.

Worse still, following the rigged elections of 2003, Obasanjo returned to Eagle Square for his coronation and declared that all Nigerians had to do to improve Nigeria was to stop asking “What’s in it for me”, and instead ask “what’s in it for Nigeria.”

“This is the ultimate solution for combating such negative social tendencies as corruptibility, ethnicity, lack of patriotism, lawlessness, inefficiency, diminished sense of justice, and lack of dignity and mutual respect for fellow citizens,” he preached.

It probably is, but in the four years that followed, Obasanjo did not follow his own prescription, and we lost all four years to him.

Had Obasanjo listened to himself, it is most unlikely, among other things, that Mr. Jonathan would be President today.

Obasanjo’s task force on corruption had indicted him as Governor of Bayelsa for false declaration of assets, and he was to have been prosecuted by the Code of Conduct Bureau along with such Governors as Bola Tinubu, Atahiru Bafarawa and Achike Udenwa.

There was none of the “forthright, purposeful, committed, honest and transparent leadership” Obasanjo promised.

And then, his exit staring him in the face, he imposed his own irresponsibility on a committee upon which he had squandered national resources. With the collective cowardice in the PDP in full display, Obasanjo inflicted Umaru Yar’Adua and Jonathan on us.

If Obasanjo cannot tell what is good for Nigeria from what is good for his ego, we can.

Today, it is not difficult to see why Jonathan is

petrified to declare his assets publicly; or why he comfortably grants state pardon to some of the nation’s most egregious offenders; or why he sees nothing wrong with his filthiest Ministers.

It is called: Don’t Rock The Boat (DRB), and it was all put in place by Obasanjo. DRB explains why Obasanjo’s story about quitting the PDP is the biggest ruse since he set up anti-corruption bodies to hunt down his opponents.

But before I fully explain DRB, let me clarify I do not pen this article to criticize the former President. I have said everything I need to say about him in that regard. I write this only because the past is the only compass we have for navigating the future.

Obasanjo has made it clear once more that what he speaks of as being “good” refers only to what is good for Obasanjo who never sees anything wrong with his own betrayal of Nigeria, and of morality, decency and discipline.

Obasanjo could not move Nigeria forward because he could not summon the manhood to implement those great principles. A true leader leads, he does not preach. Obasanjo knew he needed to change the way Nigerians think about Nigeria, but he failed to rise above his own small-mindedness so that people would rise with him.

In that regard, the one person who should not blame Jonathan is Obasanjo. Jonathan did not want to be President, and now we know he lacks the preparation, the character or the ability.

That blame goes to Obasanjo, which is why when he says he is quitting the PDP because of Jonathan’s shortcomings, we must all refuse to go to bed.

It is a trick. Even Jonathan knows Obasanjo did not select him for vice-president in 2006 because he numbered among the brightest or the strongest.

On the contrary, he selected Jonathan, like Yar’Adua, because he wanted people who

sonala.olumhense@gmail.com Twitter: @Sonala.Olumhense could guarantee the criminals continued to manage the jails.

This is why anyone who believes Obasanjo and Jonathan are really at war does not understand strategy. Were they truly to go to war, the PDP would certainly surrender the presidency, and many of the thieves who run the PDP would go to jail. Mr. Jonathan may not appreciate this nightmare but Obasanjo fully does. He knows where he does not want to spend his final days.

The overriding objective, DRB—to keep the PDP in the presidency— unites both men. It is powerful enough to cause Obasanjo to pretend to be out of the party as some kind of free agent.

What does a free agent do? He smiles at prospective suitors. He keeps them guessing, he negotiates, he infiltrates. He might join, but that does not mean he will not destroy from within. He might not join, but that does not mean he will not destroy from the outside.

Still, we must give Obasanjo a chance, as all politicians have sinned. If we are to do this, however, the first move must come from Obasanjo himself. His main problem is not with Jonathan; it is with the Nigerian people, and it is to them he ought to issue a categorical apology, and negotiate the future.

In the absence of such a pass, Nigerians must lookout: there is gargantuan mischief afoot.

Obasanjo is PDP, and PDP is Obasanjo.

Violence Against Women

By Francis Ogunbowale T was indeed very horrible and in fact a gory sight watchIwicked ing the video clips in a social media of the beastly act of the men who masqueraded as members of the Vigilante group, engaged to secure the market in Ejigbo, against the poor wife of a wine tapper and Nike, her step daughter, in February 2013, on a mere allegation of stealing pepper in the market.

This incident again reminds us that one, Nigeria is a failed or failing state incapable of providing food, security and other basic necessities of life, to its highly impoverished citizens. Two, that the Nigeria police and in fact the other security agencies, are ineffective when it comes to responding to crisis, averting violence and nipping crime in the bud. This is notwithstanding the highly improved and fabulous allocation from successive budgets and Three, that as a nation, we are suffering from bad leadership and bankruptcy of followership, as shown in the delay from February to December, before the incident becomes public knowledge.

Before now, men are not perceived to be as heinous as they had exhibited in the Ejigbo saga. The stripping of women naked in the open market and the insertion of broken bottles in their vagina, an ordeal that took about one whole hour, where all sort of Special Police and combined Team of Police/Army Patrols are supposed to be stationed, are not only murderous, but crude, brutal, disgusting and very excruciating.

We need to thank Dr. Joe Odumakin and her NGO and in fact all other NGOs that brought the incident to the open and challenging all the three arms of government to ensure justice against the strange, horrific and emerging form of violence. However, the press statement granted later by Hon Kehinde Bamgbetan, Chairman, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), left no one in doubt that justice may be far from Nike and her step mother. According to him, he had reviewed the incident with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and it may be difficult to make any impact considering that the crime took place nine months earlier and that the victims may have relocated.

One would have expected the DPO or the Commissioner of Police to refute the claim and assure Nigerians that the police would rise to the occasion and unravel the terrorists.

The incident may just go to the archive like the case of Franca Ogbu who was bathed with acid by her boy friend in 2010 and Chika Egbo, the 25 year old student of Enugu College of Education, whose fiancé poured acid and defaced her face.

Or the widely publicised case of Yerima and his marriage to an under-age girl or that of Mrs Chime against her husband who is still a serving governor, in the country.

It is the hope of every well-meaning people to see that the criminals are arrested, prosecuted and sentenced. In other places where government shows no strong interest in matters of public concern, private investigators usually spring into action and unravel the case. In the case at hand, apart from the solidarity by discreet and un-publicized condemnation shown by public, only Janet Fashani, a New York based Attorney and her partners, show financial commitment, by offering N25,000 for information that can lead to the arrest of the culprits of the Ejigbo violence. It is not that Hon Kehinde Bamgbetan cannot afford more, but the problem is, if he insists that the culprits must be brought to book, who are those that will ensure his re-election bid or future political careers?. Majority of those who would be very happy by the arrest of the vigilante men don’t vote. They cannot afford to languish under the scorching sun only for the politicians to upturn the ballots.

So the problem here borders on lack of political will to do the right thing. It goes beyond problem of masculinity or feminism. It has to do with state apathy and deficiencies in the execution of law and order. In fact, violence against women is driven by complex socio political factors.

Patriarchal ideas about men and belief that this is indeed a man’s world, is not only held by men, but also women. In some cases, raping a woman is seen as a means of asserting power and energy and show that man is stronger.

Due to this, there is need for an effective, very holistic method and social revolution to readjust the wide conception of feminity, redefine masculinity, empower women and create a Welfare Centre at every police station or Local Government Areas or Wards, to manage and report of all

sorts of violence against women including domestic violence, stalking, dating violence, sexual assault and the rest.

Dr. Joe Odumakin’s NGO and other NGOs should be strengthened to be able to do beyond publicizing human right abuses. In Philippines, The Bathaluman Crisis Centre Foundation, established in 1991, doesn’t only publicize violations, it helps women victims and survivors by providing psycho social support services, group counseling and Referral Centres, to deal with physical and emotional trauma of victims.

The Nigerian government should be more challenged to combat violation of rights of women. In US, government set up The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The OVW Act, enacted in 1995, renewed in 2005 and 2013, enabled OVW to reduce violence against women, administer justice and strengthen services for victims of violence against women.

Through government funding, OVW has so far awarded federal grants of about $4.7 billion to communities across the United States.

Furthermore, Nigeria as a country needs to tap maximally from the succor provided by International Organizations and multilateral agencies such as the Amnesty International, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations that has declared 25th November of every year, as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women. While the police needs to evolve a more result oriented method to arrest and investigate violence cases against women, the prosecutors and the lawyers should co-operate with the courts, to seek redress for the victims of violence against women.

Justice delayed is justice denied. The ordeal of the two women in Ejigbo happened about 10 months ago and yet no arrest or investigation has taken place. In India, it took barely 10 months to arrest, investigate and prosecute the 6 men who gang raped Jyoti Singh Pandey, the 23 year old lady, in a bus in New Delhi. The lady died as a result of the injuries she sustained barely 13 days after the incident. The court convicted four of the six men and sentenced them to death.

Justice must not elude Nike and her step mother. Long Live Nigeria. *Ogunbowale is an Attorney in Lagos.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Opinion Mr. Trouble Delivers Corruption’s Open Letter now, the open letter is closed. But those who are privileged to have had a peek at the open letFter,OR including Mr. Trouble have made the following comments. But before we get to the comments, Mr. Trouble has been able to see this letter because of his opportune delivery of another letter, to wit ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s open letter to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo recently.

According to Mr. Trouble’s researchs, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo had written in all, over the years, seven letters to serving heads of State of Nigeria. Not all the letters were delivered to the addresses. Two in particular are missing: the one to Chief Shonekan and the one to General Abdulsalaam Abubakar. It could be that these letters were misdirected, returned to sender or otherwise thrown away not because the address and addresees were unknown but that the writer was in prison. But we are talking now about Corruption’s open letter to President Jonathan.

In this letter Corruption explains ‘eatself’ (surely I mean ‘itself’?) and asserts that President Jonathan and his party might be in power at the federal level, Corruption was in control. It is one thing to be in power and have all the motorcades scuttling all over the bad roads of the country, but it is quite another thing to be in control. And that is what Corruption has – control. Corruption is the final decision maker in anything and everything that happens in the federal republic of Nigeria, as at now. The buck, as the Yankees would like to put it, stops at Corruption’s table. You want to fight Corruption then take control and the decisionmaking authority from ‘eat’ (I mean ‘it’).

Corruption reminds the President in this letter about a number of decisions pending, which usu-

ally ensures that the in-tray in front of the President and the in-tray in front of his ministers, the in-tray in front of the Governors of the thirty-six states brims and overflows while the out-tray is empty. The reason, as the President knows well, and all the Governors know, is that Corruption had not made ‘eat’s own’ (I mean ‘its’ own) in-put into the process. Just one example would do to illustrate the fact that all these fast moving personalities might be in power, they are feeble in front of Corruption who has control. The example has to do with rice, our local rice in competition with imported rice. A competent consulting local firm was employed to look at the problem and make recommendations to the appropriate organisation of the civil service in charge of rice production and distribution.

It took the consulting firm some time to research and study the problem, make comparisons where useful with best practice overseas and come to their conclusion. They wrote their report and submitted same to those who had engaged their services. This is not the place to deliberate on how they came to get the consultancy in the first instance. Such a deliberation would delay this short summary of the open letter of Corruption to President Jonathan.

Sufficient to say that the officials of the consultancy firm knew some mates who knew that such an expertise could help solve the problem and so recommended for the job. Their report detailed the evil effect of using large milling machines in an environment where a mediumsized milling machine would do the job wonderfully. The large milling machines needed

more than the present growing amount leading to waste at different levels of the work that needed to be done. Medium-sized milling machines on the other hand would adequately do the job, save waste and encourage a gradual process of improvement on rice quality and increase in rice quantity as time goes by. In conclusion therefore, the consulting firm recommended that from henceforth the ministry responsible should buy only medium sized milling machines for use in the rice producing industry in Nigeria.

The consulting firm was paid and thanked for its professional job. Thereafter, the report lay on the table of the boss in power for fifteen months.

The boss in power had looked at the voluminous report with its graphs and statistics and illustrations and references and confessed that he was not used to reading any memo longer than one page! How was he going to read a report that is two hundred and fifty pages long? The summary, in one paragraph, recommending medium sized machines instead of large sized ones was good enough for him and he would apply his mind to that recommendation.

In the meantime, Nigeria was spending billions and billions on the importation of rice from China, from South Korea, from the United States of America. Local farmers of our rice were becoming better contractors for the distribution of imported rice. Its status had moved to essential commodity level, like air and water. Rice had become awaari, kori-kosun, if you find it please

come and tell me so that I too can have some.

Rice fields stood neglected. Seedlings became mouldy, grew inefficiently, withered and dried. Between those who eat rice and those who eat from the proceeds of rice, whose ‘eat’ is more important?

The process of milling rice benefits from medium sized milling machines. The process of buying medium sized milling machines carried no ‘eating’ possibility for Corruption. On the other hand, the process of milling rice does not benefit from large sized milling machines but the ‘eating’ from the process of procuring large sized milling machines was large. It thus happened that having read the report and deliberated on its recommendation, those in power asked for the Thing in control to give them ‘eat’s’ (it’s?) decision. Corruption recommended that the ministry continue to buy and distribute to non-existent farmers the large sized milling machines. Mr. Trouble was particularly tickled by the conclusion of the open letter to President Jonathan: “I don’t know about you Mr. President, when the buck stops at my table, I Corruption, take it and put it in my personal account.” Mr. Trouble waits to take President Jonathan’s reply back to Corruption. Perhaps one of the church leaders would advise that President Jonathan apologises to Corruption and beg ‘eat’ (it) make he no vex! He, President Jonathan would never again claim that he is fighting Corruption.

Misadventure of 37 Federal Legislators

By John Ainofenokhai ERMIT me to go straight to the point by calling on Nigerians, P in the light of the recent defection of 37 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives to the All Progressive Congress (APC), to draw attention to Section 68 (1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended which states: “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if - being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected; Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”

Nigerians should also note that on Friday, October 18, 2013, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by His Lordship, Justice Elvis Chukwu, had ruled that there was no division in PDP and thus restrained the self-styled new PDP from using the colour and logo of the PDP under the chair of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Recall that the Court had also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to refrain from recognizing, dealing and relating with the new PDP. It should be further noted that prior to the ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Friday, October 10, 2013, expressly declared that it did not recognize the now defunct new PDP, thus putting paid to the factionalisation plot being orchestrated by members of the group. The Commission, in a letter with reference number INEC/LEG/PDP/19/111/245 signed by the Acting Secretary, Mr. U.F.

JAW JAW By Didi Onu

Usman, addressed to the National Secretary to the now defunct new PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, had acknowledged receipt of his letters dated September 1 and 23 wherein he had requested for the Commission’s recognition of the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led NWC. The Commission had noted in the letter: “You will recall that the Commission monitored the National Convention and Special National Convention of the PDP held on March 24, 2012 and August 31, 2013 at the Eagle Square, Abuja, after notices to the Commission. “A National Working Committee (NWC) was elected at the two conventions with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the National Chairman. The Commission will not withdraw recognition from the leadership of the PDP elected at the conventions duly monitored by the Commission. Be guided accordingly.”

Now that these 37 members of the House of Representatives, in defiance of the provisions of the Constitution and pronouncements by relevant bodies- the Court and INEC- that there is no division in the PDP leadership, have left the party for the APC, I ask: where is the division in the PDP or in its leadership? Are they saying that the Court and INEC were incapable of determining the presence of a division in the party? I concur with the court and INEC that there is no division in the party leadership.

So, on what basis have they left the PDP and now keeping their seats in the House? To answer the question, it was on the basis of an interlocutory injunction purportedly granted them by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 that they hurriedly effected their defection plan. The injunction had purportedly restrained the PDP, its chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the INEC, Senate President and Speaker of House of Representatives from declaring vacant the seats of the defecting federal lawmakers to the APC. The leadership of the PDP had gone

to court praying that the seats of its members who defected to the APC should be declared vacant, which was the right to do in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

Now, which ground is provided in the law: is it not the condition for defection, to wit: division, which is absent, in the PDP leadership? Or, is it the restraining injunction granted by the court, which can be vacated? What will happen tomorrow if the injunction is vacated?

Without a division in the PDP, their defection will be legally flawed, standing on nothing. In that circumstance, they would be expected to do the needful: leave the House so that INEC can also do the needful: organise new elections to fill their seats. They can then decide to re-contest the seats on the platform of their new found APC. Flowing from the above, I expect that men of integrity and honour should not be involved in political fraud by appropriating what is not rightfully theirs. What these legislators have done is immoral: taking the mandates given to them on the PDP platform to the APC. Understandably, the APC is happy to harness the fraudulently acquired mandates which it knows it did not get, directly, from the people.

It is, indeed, in the light of the above that I call on well-meaning Nigerians to urge the INEC to do the needful within the ambits of the law and call for elections where necessary. If the electoral body needs the pronouncement of the court on the issue to enable it act accordingly, the court should discountenance technicalities and other political shenanigans to rein in and sanitise the political process and system by acting strictu sensus with the provisions of the extant laws.

• Ainofenokhai sent this piece via Jonny4deals@yahoo.com

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POLITICS

BAKARE: You Will Never Find Me Wh In life if you don’t choose you lose. I believe very strongly that a destructive means cannot bring about a constructive end. If we are going to sweep clean the polity, and bring righteous standard to bare upon how we serve our people and run our nation, God forbid that I be found anywhere where everything I stood against in my life, now becomes acceptable norm. He who preaches equity must not be equitable. He who comes to equity must come with a clean hand. I am not calling anyone dirty, but there are some issues we oppose in our lives and we have made those issues the cardinal principles of our struggle for national rebirth.

seeking for any position or seeking for a role to play. Whatever the Almighty has given me, you don’t need to be pushing for anything, so, I decided not to pass any comment because it was not my character to speak anyhow.

Do you mean that some people were taking unilateral actions towards the formation of all these smaller parties, not in terms of quali- the party, so you decided to remain silent? ty, but smaller in terms of coverage should No. There are several ways to look at the join hands. For instance, General issue. You have to be pragmatic when it Muhammadu Buhari had12 million votes in comes to the issue of politics. In life if you the 2011 presidential election, you cannot rub- don’t choose you lose. I believe very strongly bish that party. He was second at the national that a destructive means cannot bring about election, but we said that Labour Party alone, a constructive end. If we are going to sweep CPC alone and ACN alone fighting their single clean the polity, and bring righteous stanbattles against the PDP could never dislodge dard to bare upon how we serve our people the PDP. The spirit behind it was, let’s form a and run our nation, God forbid that I be merger between ACN and CPC, so that the found anywhere where everything I stood North West and the South West can shake against in my life, now becomes acceptable hands for the first time in a very long time of norm. He who preaches equity must not be Nigeria’s political history. equitable. He who comes to equity must Personally, and I say personally because I like come with a clean hand. I am not calling anyto be quoted personally, at that point in time, one dirty, but there are some issues we we did not consider the All Nigeria Peoples oppose in our lives and we have made those Party (ANPP), but somehow before the whole issues the cardinal principles of our struggle thing was concluded, ANPP and a faction of for national rebirth. the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), For example, the restructuring of Nigeria according to the leader of ACN (Bola Ahmed along true federal principles, any party that Tinubu) and even some other organisations belittles that, any party that says the constituthat were not named, became part of the tion of Nigeria as currently constituted is merger. At that point in time, some had even okay, you won’t find me in that party. No gone to be speaking on behalf of the new matter the name or the label, because that is group, I wasn’t given that responsibility to be the enabling instrument, more or less the speaking on what I am not mandated to speak manifesto of such a party. God can bring peoabout, because that would be tantamount to ple to power with or without election. We

Tunde Bakare is the senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, and vice presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in the 2011 presidential election. In this interview with SEYE OLUMIDE, he bares his mind on why he has been silent since the historic merger of the All Progressives Congress (APC); and why he distanced himself from an arrangement that seems to portray desperation for power.

OU have been silent after the completion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) merger, could this be interpreted to mean a stylish disengagement from politics?

NO, I can never stop commenting on political issues. When I was very young, I took absolute trust in Egungun masquerade. I was a Muslim then, I wasn’t born a Christian. We have different types of masquerades then, but there is this particular one called Danselewa, it was a small masquerade and it usually goes about begging alms and using sticks to fight and then scared people away. But when the big masquerade (egun agba), that is, the masquerade meant for the older ones comes, it usually comes out once in a year or once in three years, among such bigger masquerades we had the Oloolu and when they speak, the ground shakes.

One cannot be speaking anyhow, there are people who speak because they have something to say and there are those who speak because they have to say something, but that does not take the shine away from those who are constantly speaking, because if they don’t keep on speaking, they (the politicians) will grind this nation into a hole.

I choose to speak when God speaks to me, or whenever I have something important to say.

Therefore, I am not shying away from political commentary.

You did mention a point, that since the amalgamation of the parties into APC, I have not said much, does that mean I am shying away from politics; or stylishly running away from political participation. I will take that question head on.

By the grace of God, I am not the type who stylishly does something. I say what I want to say when I want to say it by the grace of God. No one can make me to say what I don’t want to say and no one can also make me to say what needed to be said, but there is a noble silence.

Publicly, I moved the motion for the merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). The spirit behind that when we were deliberating, was

Y

I am a Christian and I speak from scriptural point of view; the moment David, as powerful as he was – the one who killed Goliath, and under whose leaderships all the giants in the land were killed - the moment he compromised by sleeping with Bathsheba, and killed Uriah, her husband, he became weakened in his kingdom. The head of his army, Joab and other strong men around him began to cage him. One day, David got up and said, ‘I am King in Israel but these sons of Dehula are too powerful for me.’

These are what you get when you go into alliances with people of no value.

No matter how clean you are, when you jump into a sewage tank you cannot come out clean again.

prefer the electoral process, but if they think they can hold on, fight and feed their greed on Nigerians by hook or crook, God rules in the affairs of men. I said here publicly, I would never loose sight of God and the side of those who work day and night for the progress of this nation. You will never find me in the company of those whose greed motivates their alliances and what they do.

Don’t you see the APC as credible alternative to the PDP, particularly with the type of people the party is currently fraternizing with?

Let me go this way, if you take on a Sango (god of thunder) worshiper and tell him he is an idolater, he might not agree with you. He could tell you he is also worshiping God, but going through Sango.

If you go to an Ogun worshiper (god of iron) or someone who derives inspiration from Ogun and say, ‘you are a heathen,’ he will tell you, ‘you think so, but I don’t think so. I know what it is worth for me and that is why we still have among Yoruba today some names like Ogundele, Ogunbiyi, Ogun this and that.’

If you go to someone who is a Christian, he will also tell you there is only one way to God and that is what I say about belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but to a Muslim, he will describe the way he worships God. I am using that as illustration.

Politicians don’t think like statesmen. Some of them are in politics and their belief is, ‘let us secure power first and then we start thinking of how we correct anything.’ They say until we secure power, we cannot change politics, so, whomever we will fraternize with, let us fraternize with them.

Whatever the objectives are when we get there, then we shall be able to change things, that is the way politicians think.

But there are nobles who know that by the time you gather power by hook or crook, the people you surround yourself with would create and impose a particular direction that you do not subscribe to. But two cannot work together except they agree.

Let me tell you where I am and get it clear. There are magicians in Babylon, there are astrologers in Babylon there are Chaldians in Babylon, but Daniel and his company are uncommon nonconformists.

At the end of the day when God was going to show whom He trusts, the king had a dream he could not remember, talk less of seeking interpretation.

But Daniel, through the mercy of God, was not only able to recall the dream but he gave the interpretations to it and at the end of the day the lives of the magicians went for it. Let the politicians keep on politicking, let them continue to make the connections and joining all the wires, at the end of the day, the will of God will prevail.

If the objective, as they said is simply to take over power and they have not shown us - I am talking of all the parties now - exactly what change they would bring, then I will rather counsel you not to expect any change. It would be business as usual.

I am a Christian and I speak from scriptural point of view; the moment David, as powerful as he was – the one who killed Goliath, and under whose leaderships all the giants in the land were killed - the moment he compromised by sleeping with Bathsheba, and killed Uriah, her husband, he became weakened in his kingdom. The head of his army, Joab and other strong men around him began to cage him. One day, David got up and said, ‘I am King in Israel but these sons of Dehula are too powerful for me.’ These are what you get when you go into alliances with people of no value. No matter how clean you are, when you jump into a sewage tank you cannot come out clean again.

You have always mentioned the will of God and

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here Greed Motivates Alliances And What People Do predicted what would happen, but some of these are yet to come to pas.

Is God still interested in this nation?

Absolutely! God rules in the affairs of men. God does not abandon His responsibilities over the earth. Jesus is the Governor among the nations.

The human representatives merely represent Him and the Bible makes it clear God appoints kings. God is interested in Nigeria. As I have said He will still have mercy upon this nation.

How would you rate the Goodluck Jonathan administration in terms of delivery of good governance?

Let me backtrack as I answer this question. I have had the opportunity of saying this to the President and to the Presidency in the past and in recent times. When Jonathan was the vice president, before he became the acting president of Nigeria, Nigeria was in a serious crisis and by the grace of God we mobilised under the banner of Save Nigeria Group (SNG).

Many people would not know that when we marched in Abuja that was the first time I came close to Prof.

Wole Soyinka.

Men of Goodwill rose up without any reference to religion and ethnicity to insist that the Constitution be followed. The same day we were marching the streets, the likes of Gen. Buhari, Balarabe Musa and Atiku Abubakar went to the floor of the Senate to give a joint letter that the Constitution must be followed.

At the back of my mind and in terms of those who were in the NGO movements, if a leader could emerge from the minority group without godfatherism to get the highest position in Nigeria, then the future would be bright for this country; because, then anyone with enough mental capacity who is fit and competent can aspire to contribute meaningfully to the development of our nation. It was that spirit that drove us eventually to close ranks in the protest.

Then, all that have happened since then, some, you could say, Mr. President haba! Why this, if you are coming from a background of degradation, why are you not trying to make life better for the poor? We said that. I have also read all kinds of scorecards from the people, those who used to be part of the government and those who are not in government; all is that the man had performed woefully. But he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches.

If I look around also, I see other things that we begin to thank God for. Firstly we can complain about the electricity, but it did not start with Jonathan, corruption did not start with him. We can point at Boko Haram insurgence, but the crisis did not start with him. So, the failure of government in Nigeria is very systemic. Tree has fallen upon trees and it will take years of continuous rebuilding to fix the problems of the country.

That he has done so well, I never said so; I expected him to do more, but I cannot condemn him for the problems he inherited because we have to look and examine the administration of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who spent eight years in office, the extremely powerful cabinet he was able to build with the characters he attracted to himself. Can we say that he performed exceedingly well? Yes, he left some money in the foreign reserves; I think Obasanjo caused the crises we found ourselves today in the country.

How would you react to the letter Obasanjo wrote to Jonathan?

The content of the letter is the mirror of Obasanjo himself. We cannot blame all the woes in the country on Jonathan, as if he is floating and fluctuating. I passed a commentary recently when cows were distributed; I got from the federal government, from governors and from the Director of the State Security Services

There is one area where Jonathan seems to be scoring a high mark with those of us who fought for the restructuring of Nigeria. If he could go through and be focused and ensure that the National Dialogue he is proposing, if he sincerely focuses and attracts more people with good intention to sit down on the table of brotherhood to discuss the future of our nation, perhaps that would be his greatest legacy.

(SSS), I thanked them for the cows, but I did say that what Nigerians need today is good governance.

I think they are coming out to show us what they have done and what they are doing, and we need to look at the opportunity Jonathan has, the available resources and the issues of good governance side by side.

There is one area where Jonathan seems to be scoring a high mark with those of us who fought for the restructuring of Nigeria. If he could go through and be focused and ensure that the National Dialogue he is proposing, if he sincerely focuses and attracts more people with good intention to sit down on the table of brotherhood to discuss the future of our nation, perhaps that would be his greatest legacy.

That in his time, Nigerians were able to sit and make a new constitution that is the people’s constitution, restructure the country and allow true federalism to prevail and then each of the regions eventually begins to operate so that we bring this situation of monopoly or what I will call monostructure economy to an end and each one would begin to look at the resources within their domain to compete and to serve their people better. I do not know the indices we can use because I am not in a place to see everything, but I do know it can be

If I look around also, I see other things that we begin to thank God for. Firstly we can complain about the electricity, but it did not start with Jonathan, corruption did not start with him. We can point at Boko Haram insurgence, but the crisis did not start with him.

So, the failure of government in Nigeria is very systemic. Tree has fallen upon trees and it will take years of continuous rebuilding to fix the problems of the country.

That he has done so well, I never said so; I expected him to do more, but I cannot condemn him for the problems he inherited.

better.

But the president said the outcome of the conference would be passed to the National Assembly for debate as part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution?

Jonathan is a Nigerian, if tomorrow there is election, the President would only have one vote. Let us wait, if all men of goodwill now say let us fix our nation, and change the conference; that Mr. President’s opinion is not the way forward, sovereignty is with the people and they have the final say. The government itself cannot use arbitrary power to say no to the will of the people, and if decides to do otherwise, he might be undoing everything that would be his legacy.

What Mr. President said was his opinion; it does not have the force of law.

Let us look at some of your predictions, of course we are still expecting some of the things you said about governance in the past to come pass, but what do you see about 2015; is Nigeria going to disintegrate as predicted sometimes ago by the United States?

The prediction of America is not the sayings of God. I did not actually know whether the American government said that, it wasn’t the opinion of the President of America, nor it

was that of the American Congress. It was the views of some experts and some people who had interest in the country, who, looking at the way things were going said what they felt about the situation. I do not see us separating, but I am not also rubbishing that prediction.

If you recall, the SSS paid me a courtesy visit and invited me to their office after I gave a public lecture in the church during one of our Sunday services on how to change government peacefully. I gave a four- way suggestion that will possibly lead us out of our dilemma as a nation. One of the things I said then was that I cannot see 2015, but that I saw 2014.

Two years after, the great man of God, Pastor Adejare Adeboye, had also said 2014 would determine the future of Nigeria.

This year is loaded, with the elections coming in Ekiti and Osun states, those elections would tell the future of Nigeria and perhaps the greater need of those who differ in their opinion as to whether the national conference should come before the 2015 elections or vice versa. Some say the conference is a diversionary means.

The question is what has the previous elections produced in Nigeria?

Let us go back to 1979 Elections; it was a military handing over to civilians. Obasanjo handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shagari and he did say then that the best candidate will not win that election. What did the 1979 elections produce? It produced the Shagari that took us back to the military and then military succession and the Brigade Commander on the day Obasanjo handed over power to Shagari, (Abdulsalam Abubakar), who was the Head of State later handed over power to Obasanjo in 1999. One election after the other has not been better since then.

I would have respected the present government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), if Justice Salami’s order that the documents used for the 2011 elections be brought for forensic investigations was heeded. But they did not heed the order of the Justice. I would have said Jonathan won the 2011 elections if they did what the Justice said and we wouldn’t have been where we are today; some people won’t be challenging his authority to preside over our affairs.

Nigeria has never had credible elections. Fine we had credible voting sometimes, but not credible elections. The only time we had credible election was in 1993 when Nigerians got completely tired of military rule and that election was also annulled by the military.

So if past elections did not produce any tangible result or quality candidate for Nigeria, that would bring the best of the North and the South and the brightest of the future among us, the implication is that the present constitution we operate can never produce quality election, so we need to sit down and talk first. Those who differ have their opinions as well. But if we put the cart before the horse one more time, we would be singing goodbye. God forbids that Nigeria scatters.

You said the same thing in 2011 and here we are in 2014; is anything wrong with your predictions?

There is a difference between what I am saying and what God is saying.

God’s words will not go unfulfilled.

You will see that I am careful, when God speaks or I speak directly through prophetic anointing concerning our situation, I will tell you thus says the Lord, but when it is my opinion based on what I see that are going on, I don’t think it will augur well to say thus says the Lord. But let me tell you one thing I believe very firmly, Nigeria will survive, Nigeria will flourish, Nigeria will not disintegrate but to avert this disintegration, let us sit and talk. Two cannot walk together except they agree.

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POLITICS Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Interim Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), is of the opinion that the challenge confronting the party is not a big issue as it is normal for people to compete for positions in a new political setting like APC. In this interview with TUNDE AKINOLA, Mohammed clarifies some of the salient issues that have revealed the other side of the mega party.

There are speculations that the APC is shopping for a presidential candidate for 2015, but that has become a headache because your former party the ACN does not have a tradition of holding seamless primaries for the emergence of candidates; is that true?

HE danger when a lie is repeated and it is not contradicted is that people start believing it. It is absolutely not correct that there is no internal democracy in the defunct ACN. You see; people’s understanding of internal democracy differs. Internal democracy is about adhering to the rules of the party, either in the constitution or the guidelines. It goes beyond rules and constitutions. It is also about equity, justice and fairness.

In many instances, we look at the guidelines and the rules, to see if these might work against equity, justice and fair play. I will give an example, a particular local government that consists of two or three distinct ethnic groups and they have only one slot for House of Representatives.

Probably over the years there had been unwritten rules among those communities as to how rotation will take place. We must respect that convention if there is going to be stability in that area. So in many instances the party would adapt its constitution and guideline to respect that unwritten convention.

Secondly, those who complain about that lack of internal democracy in our party are those who have also benefited before from the system, but when it does not favour them they turn round to accuse us of lack of internal democracy. I have been in this party from the days of Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), ACN and APC and I can attest that there is no party that has the ebullient and robust internal democracy as our party.

Now, as to the question that you have heard that the APC is facing challenges in the area of choosing a flag bearer because of our antecedents, which of course is nonsense. The truth of the matter is, as of today, at no fora of the party has the issue of who will fly the party’s presidential ticket ever been discussed. So why would that be a problem for a party that is yet to commence registration, congresses and convention.

Let me educate these armchair critics, it is only after the national convention, at which national officers are elected, that we start talking about guidelines for nomination into elective offices.

It is the national executive committee that will now work out guidelines in accordance to the constitution of the party and if there is need to amend any part of the constitution, it will only be done at that convention. So the issue of having difficulties over who will emerge, how he will emerge has not even arisen at all. Our constitution still remains the guiding principles for such issues.

What sharing formula should we expect because there are a lot of speculations out there?

You see, Nigerians have the most creative minds. As of today, there is no sharing formula known to me; there is no sharing formula known to our constitution and party. Like I told you, the guideline will be according to our constitution and it will not be tampered with. The guidelines are just ways of realising what we have in the constitution.

How would you respond to media reports that APC will be fielding General Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Bola Tinubu as the party’s flag bearers?

That is absolute bunkum. As a matter of fact, not only have they chosen that presidential candidate for us, they have also chosen the running mate. At times, I wonder whether it is the media that is running APC, but I am telling you very frankly, it is not true because we have not gotten to that bridge yet. If it is true I should know but there is no iota of truth in this statement.

There are also reports that your party is having problems in states like Kano, Kwara, Adamawa and others because the leadership handed the party platform to new entrants. Why would you do such a thing?

What is happening in our party today is to be expected. Everybody today has smelt victory in our party, every Nigerian knows today that the APC will form the next government at whatever level. Naturally, that would lead to jostling for positions but fundamentally, what is responsible for these crises is because the moment we went out of our ways to merge the defunct parties, we had already agreed that we would alter all political permutations, calculations and aspi-

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MOHAMMED: APC Is Yet To Shop For Presidential Candidate

rations of people. Now when the defecting five governors joined us it made competition even keener. So what you are calling crisis is just competition and I can assure you that the team we have set up is up to the task to resolve such crisis.

Kwara State is particularly interesting because some sectors keep wondering why the party would give its platform to Senator Bukola Saraki who joined the party not quite long and expect Dele Belgore not to bear grudges?

I think people are making this mistake, that the moment ACN merged with ANPP and CPC to become APC, the political calculation has changed. It would have been preposterous for us in ACN to impose it on CPC and ANPP that, take it or leave it, this is our candidate. What we would have done would have been to lobby and see whether we can get more people on our side. With the governors coming in now it is very simple, if the national guide-

lines, that wherever we have a governor, he would be the driving force of the party until congress, then Kwara State cannot be an exception.

But more importantly is that, all these interim arrangements will cease to exist as soon as we have congress. So whomever thinks he has the number, there is a level playing ground to contest for party offices and eventually for primaries nomination. I believe that what has happened to us in Kwara State is the best that can happen to us politically, but naturally it will affect our personal aspirations and ambitions. But if the whole purpose of this whole exercise is to rescue Nigeria and not for the promotion of personal ambitions, then I think what is happening to us is the best.

What would you say about the labeling that the APC is a party of strange bedfellows?

This was the same allegation they have

I think people are making this mistake, that the moment ACN merged with ANPP and CPC to become APC, the political calculation has changed. It would have been preposterous for us in ACN to impose it on CPC and ANPP that, take it or leave it, this is our candidate. What we would have done would have been to lobby and see whether we can get more people on our side. With the governors coming in now it is very simple, if the national guidelines, that wherever we have a governor, he would be the driving force of the party until congress, then Kwara State cannot be an exception.

raised before. Remember they said we would never agree not to talk of succeeding in the merger because we are strange bedfellows. But our leaders were able to show the level of sacrifice they were able to make for the sake of this country. We had the merger eventually and I can tell you that the merger was more difficult than what we have now.

That we were able to achieve that merger makes whatever it is we are facing now a walkover. At merger we agreed at a new name, logo, constitution, executive and manifesto, yet we did all these without casting one vote. I must give credit to our leadership in achieving this. We went into this merger with one single mind to succeed and in the process we made enormous sacrifices. ACN went into the merger with six governors, ANPP with three governors while CPC had one governor.

Yet, when nomination was to be made to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ACN, CPC and ANPP nominated the same number of interim officers. We did not say because we had six governors we were going to have six times the number of people on the party executives.

APC is not about the North, South or Middle belt, but about Nigeria. That is why I gave you an example that if the South West wanted to hijack the APC, we had the wherewithal from the beginning. Like I told you, we have six governors with about 18 senators and 70 members of the House of Representatives, but to show you the single-mindedness of our leaders across board, we decided to throw all these advantages away. We went into our merger bearing in mind that nobody is a senior or junior partner and that was why we were successful.

Your party has been criticised for meeting with former leaders, some of who are believed to be responsible for the country’s deplorable situation…

This is interesting, couple of years ago when we were still in the AD, it was criticised and called an ethnic party because all our governors came from South West. When we rose from the ashes of defeat and we had six states we were criticised as a oneman party under Tinubu. Today we are expanding our frontiers all over Nigeria but they are criticising us for meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, why? Is there any limit to seeking goodwill? Where is it written that a political party cannot reach out to other stakeholders in the country?

What we have done is that we have decided that the mission before us is not about winning elections only but to rescue this country. We did make trips to former heads of state. The first person we visited which was under-reported was General Samuel Ogbemudia. We visited General Ibrahim Babangida and the same day, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, which was widely reported. So if we visited those other former heads of state why should we not visit Obasanjo? Was he not a former head of state?

What is starring us in the face now is how to rescue Nigeria from the brink of collapse that this inept government has pushed it. So in that process we will meet with anybody that has the same passion as we have to rescue Nigeria.

Are you saying your party shares the same passion to rescue Nigeria with these past heads of state?

Well, unless you know better, but to the best of my knowledge they are passionate about rescuing this country because many of them had put down their lives to make sure this country remains united. But, maybe you know more than I do on if they love Nigeria or not.

The PDP brought a religious dimension into the game, how would you disabuse the minds of Nigerians on this scathing allegation?

I think it is a mostly irresponsible allegation on the part of Nigeria. In the history of this country, the PDP is the first party to play the religious card in politics and I am happy it is boomeranging. It is causing them more followership. It is irresponsible, reckless and absolutely false. I was a guest on a television programme earlier this week and the presenter asked if it is true that over 90 per cent of the officers in the interim committee are Muslims.

I was shocked a journalist can believe that. On the contrary it is a religiously balanced committee. We have 18 Muslims and 17 Christians. We have enough Christians in our fold but unfortunately this kind of nonsense is what the PDP feed Nigerians with and Nigerians are at times, very gullible. The fact that our prominent leaders like Tinubu and Buhari are Muslims does not make the party a Muslim party. I was going through the newspapers recently and I saw the picture of the President, senate president, chief of staff to the president, chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), all in a thanksgiving party. Why didn’t we say PDP is a Christian party?

Or when the President went to the Wailing Walls in Israel or when he went to kneel down in front of Pastor Adejare Adeboye we did not comment. We were seeing all these pictures but we did not utter a word because we believe he has the right to participate in his religious.

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OPEN FORUM

SOKOTO APC: Bafarawa, Wamakko Battle For Soul Of Party For the existing leadership in the Sokoto chapter of the APC, the party did not come to be on its own.

It belongs to a group of people. For them then, it is wrong for anyone to think that the party in the state belongs to no one. They are insisting that the constitution of the party remains supreme and must be respected by all members.

In the light of the foregoing, the leadership of APC in Sokoto State has warned that any attempt to dissolve or tamper with the current executive of the party in the state owing to the entry of Wamakko would spell doom for the party in the state, as there would be mass exodus of the party’s faithful from the party.

The APC leadership in Sokoto State says it is further worried by Wamakko’s track record. They have drawn attention to his activities in the state PDP, which have been condemned by the party.

They do not therefore see why someone who has no democratic credentials should be the one on whose behalf the party will be dismembered. They are insisting therefore on the respect and right of the APC within the mainstream of Nigerian politics.

All things considered, analysts are of the view that the national leadership of the APC is courting trouble in Sokoto State. The argument here is that the party ought to have taken into consideration the rivalry between Bafarawa and Wamakko and tread cautiously. Indeed, it is argued that the leadership of the party should have taken steps to reconcile them before bringing Wamakko into the party.

It is also being pointed out that Bafarawa who was once Wamakko’s boss and the leader of the party in the state ought to have been consulted when Wamakko wanted to join the party. But this was not done. It was handled as if Bafarawa has no say in the matter. This is partly responsible for the crisis that is brewing within the party at the moment. Ordinarily, the entry of fire-spitting PDP governors into the APC ought to help the new party. That is, if things are properly handled. But the national leadership of the party is working towards making the entry of the governors a huge liability. If they destabilize APC in Sokoto State on account of Wamakko, the party would have gained nothing. APC’s gain may therefore turn out to be its ultimate loss.

By Ifeatu Dickson HE lingering political rivalry between Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, the Governor of Sokoto State (1999-2007) and Alhaji Aliu Wamakko, the current Governor of the State, is set to take a turn for the worse with the battle of supremacy that has commenced over the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State. Until Wamakko, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor defected to the APC, Bafarawa was the leader and arrowhead of the party in Sokoto State. Bafarawa was and is still a frontline member of the legacy parties that formed the APC. In fact, Bafarawa played a leading role in the drafting of the party’s manifesto and constitution. Back home in Sokoto State, he was the rallying point of the three political parties, namely, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), while the merger talks were going on.

As an astute political organiser and mobiliser who led the people of Sokoto State for eight eventful years, everyone looked up to him. With him, the party was set to reclaim power from the PDP, which grabbed power in questionable circumstances in 2007.

But the groundwork and political mobilization which Bafarawa has been doing for APC’s expected victory in the state appears to be facing a disruption with the entry of Wamakko into the party. The bone of contention here is that APC in Sokoto State, as in most of the other states, was already made before Wamakko joined. The interim Executive Committee had been constituted and approved by the national leadership of the party. The officers and members were equitably drawn from the legacy parties- namely, ANPP, CPC and ACN. The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) was co-opted into the arrangement with the permission and approval of the national leadership.

This being the case, the expectation is that any joiner, no matter how highly placed, should respect the arrangement that was in place before he joined.

But this is not being done in the case of Wamakko.

The governor who just left the PDP wants to take the lead in the APC with Bafarawa and other leaders queuing behind him. Not only that, Wamakko wants the national leadership of the party to dissolve the interim executive committee of the party in the state so that he would constitute a new executive.

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Wamakko

Bafarawa

Certainly, Bafarawa and other leaders of the party in the state are bound to find Wamakko’s demands provocative. They have therefore written the interim national chairman of the party, chief Bisi Akande, drawing his attention to the danger in doing Wamakko’s bidding in this matter. They have warned that to allow decampees, such as Wamakko to dictate the tune is to instigate crisis within the state wing of the party. As believers in the party’s constitution and its supremacy, they have drawn the attention of Akande and the national leadership to Artide 7 of the constitution, which provides for promoting and upholding the practice of internal democracy at all lends of the party’s organisation. It was on the basis of that that the APC, Sokoto chapter, was given the nod to constitute the state interim Executive Committee and the five posts given to them at the national level were distributed among the legacy political parties, and the action was communicated to the national headquarters of the party.

However, the Sokoto chapter of the party received a huge shock recently when the National Executive Committee on state structure headed by Amninu Bello Masari, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, submitted a reviewed report of the Interim National Committee on state structure. The report says

that wherever there is a sitting APC governor, he is to produce the chairman of the party at the state level. The existing APC leadership in the state finds this disconcerting and has argued that its executive committee was constituted when there was no sitting governor from APC in the state. They argue that Wamakko is a decampee regardless of his status. They have therefore rejected any arrangement that will make Wamakko the leader of the party in the state.

They further argue that there is no established guideline within the party that whenever there is an already established state executive committee, same is to be dissolved when new members come in. They have therefore rejected the situation where Wamakko would be allowed to take over the party, arrogate powers to himself and assign roles to whoever he wishes. This, they say, is against the party’s constitution. They have specifically referred to Article 9.4 of the constitution of the APC, which requires that Wamakko or any other decampee should register personally at his ward. They therefore want Wamaklco to join the APC through the process of internal democracy rather than by executive fiat. By the provisions of the constitution, an already constituted state executive committee cannot be substituted by an act of an individual decampee.

Dickson, a Public Affairs Consultant, writes from Abuja.

The Opposition And Colours Of Desperation Funso Adeolu LTHOUGH the preface to today’s bitter political rhetoric began several months ago, it didn’t seem evident to many because apart from the fact that the principal actors who scripted the plot worked hard to put a veneer of altruism on their intentions, the public has long grown cynical about their leaders and matters that concern the state. That mindset has conditioned the public to applaud every action that assails the reputation of those in power - no matter how ludicrous such may be. So it didn’t matter, for instance, that some politicians were using the tragic aftermath of bomb blasts as props to burnish their career as long as the darts were aimed at the president.

Indeed, if it wasn’t that the masses had become so susceptible to silly populist posturing, the veil would have since fallen off the supposed “rescue mission” launched by some politicians desperate for validation, from the ill-conceived call for amnesty for Boko Haram insurgents by APC chieftain Bola Tinubu even as he paid a condolence visit to victims whose lives had been all but snuffed out by the extremist group’s bombs, to the irresponsible jaunts by some northern governors for whom events in Rivers State apparently had more importance than the dire situation in their home states.

Today, all pretensions have been thrown overboard and each day the “rescue mission” morphs into a desperately sinister plot that is anything but selfless. Put simply, the aim is to scuttle President Goodluck Jonathan’s supposed bid for re-election in 2015. Of course, political parties are established with the goal of forming a government through which their ideals would be concretised. But there is a huge cause for worry when the strategies for attaining that goal are hinged

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on unabashed subterfuges, which expressly negate the philosophy that gives such parties their essence, or could potentially result in a pyrrhic victory.

Not even in countries like Israel, Germany and Italy, famous for governments formed mostly by a coalition of parties with hardly any unifying vision has the sort of unholy alliances that have emerged in Nigeria been seen.

Nothing could be more farcical than seeing some of the most reactionary figures Nigerians have ever seen among politicians that pride themselves as progressives. What sort of “progressive” credential can possibly be ascribed to politicians such as Senator Sani Yerima, who as governor introduced Sharia in Zamfara State, which inevitably became the launch pad for its introduction in other northern states? It’s important to note that its introduction was in large part a violation of the country’s secular status as enshrined in the constitution.

Such are the times that we live; a time when it doesn’t matter to some politicians that the constitution guarantees incumbents the right to seek re-election if they wish to do so. The notion, that Jonathan had consented to an agreement, which forbade him from seeking a second term in office, is increasingly becoming a popular refrain that the opposition finds irresistible. Assuming Jonathan had indeed agreed he would be content with a single term but today reneges on the terms of the supposed agreement, does it make him any less scrupulous than the politicians who carried out such negotiation with him in the knowledge that he came to the negotiating table from a position of apparent weakness, and that such discussion actually undermined both his rights and the ethos of democracy?

Needless to say, it is the president’s presumed interest in that project that has spawned the surprising hatred

APC leaders

that has caused otherwise courteous individuals to spew unguarded outbursts like Mallam Nasir el Rufai’s allegation that he his name was on a watch list of some politicians said to have been compiled on the orders of Jonathan. El Rufai tweeted last week that other opposition figures like Tinubu, General Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Chief Bisi Akande were on the watch list as well. “I am number seven on the GEJ (Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) sniper list, so I will only worry when GMB (General Muhammadu Buhari), Asiwaju (Tinubu), Amaechi, Akande, etc, are killed,” he alleged on his Twitter account.

One does not actually have to be well versed in security matters to know it sounds improbable that the identity of individuals considered “persons of interest” by the state would be listed in such a manner that will be obvious to everyone who chances on the watch list first referenced in an open letter written by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to Jonathan. Never mind its many inanities, the letter struck a resonant chord in

even greater degree of the disagreeable qualities it says exist in the current administration it hopes to succeed?

The sense of entitlement with regard to the presidency is the sentiment that has fuelled much of the divisive rhetoric; a feeling that some should have a bigger say in the country’s politics than everyone else. Typically, this comes with a subtle hint of violence in the event the throw of the dice yields an outcome contrary to their expectation. There is some deja vu here. In the months before the 2011 general elections, some northern politicians echoed similar sentiments about the presidential contest, with an even brazen reference to an unpalatable end if Jonathan did not heed “wise counsel” and withdraw from the presidential race. The outcome is well known.

Jonathan triumphed and his victory in part derived from the fact that gang-ups tend to unwittingly inspire bulwarks of support and sympathy for the individual running the merciless gauntlet. It’s almost certain there would be a repeat of the 2011 political template in 2015.

So the gang-up is essentially selfdefeatist. It has to be so with the key actors in the alliance dumping worldviews that reflect their true identity for the politically convenient. Just how can Tinubu and his co-travellers in then ACN rationalise their sudden contempt for national conference - an unrelenting demand they have made since 1999?

There is nothing edifying in simply seeking to make a government seem murky without a corresponding attempt to espouse an alternative that offers a nobler path to governance.

What one finds rather, is a squabble to control the reins of government with a curious strategy that seems to suggest serious thoughts on governance would commence only after coming to power.

This is the tragic path the APC is walking.

the opposition with the claim by the former president that Jonathan had told him he wasn’t interested in a second term. That is consistent with the devious plot apparently contrived with one purpose - use subtle and brazen blackmail to make Jonathan jettison his supposed interest in running for president again in 2015, in addition to hurling missiles repeatedly to discredit him.

The letter, also, proved to be a sufficient incentive for the APC stalwarts to pay a courtesy visit to Obasanjo, which, to all intents and purpose, is a clear denunciation of all values that have defined the political career of the party’s prime mover (Tinubu). For sure, it is said that there are no eternal foes in politics, but only in regard to interest. Yet, it does not make an unscrupulously desperate action any less abhorrent. Why should the opposition have no qualms visiting a man of whom nearly all its top members seldom made any remark that could Adeolu works in a communication outfit in Lagos be deemed complimentary, and whose government epitomised an

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61

INTERNATIONALPOLITICS

An Egyptian woman casts her vote on referendum for constitutional amendments

By Oghogho Obayuwana ACK in August, the country fabled as the cradle of civilisation was on a dangerous cliff, today however, with the conclusion of the Egyptian watershed referendum, a new dawn appears to be on the horizon.

The world is now witnessing the final lap of the battle to sanitise Egypt. The biggest Arab nation on earth had become starkly polarised along religious lines, tense politically and embittered socially! It is in fact, badly in need of a social contract.

Heavy months rolled into years as the world witnessed a most distressing mass movement and protests, which bordered on the revolutionary. And now, the quote by the famous 19th century French romantic writer Victor Hugo that “No army can stop an idea whose time has come” appears to now bear an Egyptian face.

Even though Hugo’s postulation appears a refinement of some of the Ideas of the 18th century Franco-Swiss philosopher of enlightenment - Jean Jacques Rousseau, who had written gloriously about the “Noble Savage” and whose thoughts influenced the French revolution, both the army and the revolution-weary people of the land of the Pharaohs appear to have now won the battle of wits in the real sense of it.

A New Beginning

BY Thursday, Egyptian officials were speaking of a high turnout in the draft referendum, with voters expected to endorse the removal of deposed President Mohammed Morsi who belonged to the Islamic brotherhood. The brotherhood party had turned down the invitation to participate in the referendum, and expectedly, low turnouts were recorded in the areas they control.

Yes, there had been clashes, which again led to some deaths and arrests, senior election official Nabil Salib told state TV that the referendum voter turnout was higher than in previous poll that brought Morsi (now under trial) to power.

Unofficial sources said more than 90 percent of the votes were in favour of the new draft constitution, which is expected to put into the shade, the country’s 1971 and 2012 constitutions.

But what is the Egyptian referendum supposed to bring about? After all, in December 2012, a constitutional referendum held while Mohammed Morsi was in power. No fewer than 33 per cent of Egypt’s 53 million voters took part in the ballot that was approved by 64 percent of voters.

Drafted by a committee of 50, the draft constitution contains core principles - Gender equality, press freedom as well as freedom of religious beliefs. So when the referendum endorses it, presidential and parliamentary elections are expected to follow. Diplomatic watchers think the army needs a strong turnout to

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Egypt: Moving Towards A New Dawn endorse its own political powers and pave the way for its leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president.

About half a million people have reportedly been exiled, thrown in prison or have their assets frozen since the people’s revolt started in 2011, reaching new heights with the populist coup that toppled Morsi in July last year.

The World Has Not Forgotten SUDDENLY, international relations experts, scholars and diplomats were asking the same questions football buffs used to ask before the introduction of the goal line technology. Did it cross the line? Was it a goal or not? Also in Egypt, following the action of the military which worked in tandem with people power, the question being asked was: was that a coup? Or was it not?

Why? Last August, Egyptian security forces moved in on protesters who had massed on Tahir Square, demanding the reinstatement of deposed Mohamed Morsi and by the time the clatter of guns stopped momentarily, about 95 people laid dead. A month long state of emergency has since been imposed in the Arab nation of some 84million people as violence swept across the land. The interim cabinet, installed by the military to guide Egypt to fresh elections in around six months, also announced a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. in several provinces including Cairo and Alexandria.

As the bubble burst, the world was treated to a spectacle by global TV cables relaying the sights of tear gas hanging in the air amid frenzied citizens, while burning tires sent plumes of black smoke into the sky. So diplomatic watchers must be asking the emerging leaders in Egypt whether their old social structure can survive the increasing polarization of the country brought about by the unending street demands.

The fear then was revolved around who was the custodian of the philosophers’ idea that has come in Egypt? The citizens who brought down the government of Hosni Mubarrak through people power? The dissatisfied Egyptians who took to Tahir square

asking for the sack of the democratically elected Islamic Brotherhood mentored government of Morsi? Or the democracy-loving citizens who were then beaten and dispersed in the old fashioned brutish way?

There were also fears of a big social backlash owing to the difficulty in drawing the line as it felt then like the people pushing more than they can legitimately defend by taking to the streets and trying to force through their positions on every matter and on a “problem” they could have solved with a little patience and through the expression of their suffrage? Today, that suffrage has now come!

What The Referendum Means To Egypt And Her Friends Trying to demonstrate what the referendum signifies for Egypt today, Ahmed Maher of the Egyptian Press and Information Bureau disclosed to The Guardian during the week that “The referendum on constitutional amendments in Egypt is the first step in the way of democracy restoration in the country, and if it passed, Egypt will hold the elections, and will go forward to complete the road map.”

According to him “millions of Egyptians coming out for the referendum confirms that they are determined to move forward and seek stability and progress of their country. Their determination to vote on the constitutional amendments is a testament to their love for their homeland and their attachment to the democratic path.”

But even as the Muslim Brotherhood have bottled up feelings and sentiments, Egyptian Catholic Church spokesman Fr Rafiq Greich, in an interview by AsiaNews says the “Yes” votes in the referendum might just mean a reinforcement of the military agenda in Egypt. For the clergyman, ordinary Egyptians “voted primarily against religious extremism, sharia and attempts by the Muslim Brotherhood to Islamise the society.”

Despite the large deployment of police and military forces, several attacks in the Sinai and elsewhere have shaken the country. In the capital, a bomb blew up outside a court-

house a few hours before voting got underway.

Still, for the priest, “the large voter turnout is a show of defiance against Islamist threats, and a signal that the population has confidence in democracy.”

“Such attacks did not prevent people from voting,” the clergyman explained. “I am impressed by the large turnout of women, who until a few months ago, under the Morsi government, were in danger of oppression by the increasing Islamisation of society.”

Broadly speaking however, the birth of stable democracy in Egypt means opening that country of destination to the business opportunities.

Egypt and Nigeria can also return to the days of win-win diplomacy especially now that Nigeria has made economic determinism the bedrock of its foreign policy.

Not too long ago, in recognition of the growing economic ties between Nigeria and Egypt, the country’s premier air carrier-Egypt Air is unfolding a comprehensive business package which was expected go a long way in also addressing the tourism and health needs of Nigerians.

Nigerians mostly go to Cairo and other Egyptian cities for educational pursuits, medication, business, tourism as well as when in transit. Currently, there are more than 20 thousands Nigerians in Egypt. And this fact according to travel tourism expert reflects the much sought after growth in people-to-people interaction.

Diplomatic watchers think Nigeria needs to strengthen the current partnership between it and Egypt at all levels; looking at what it has been through as a political entity and as a large economy. The big picture has to be of two large economies in Africa. The government needs to work with the private and the public sectors in both countries as well.

For the past two and a half years, global eyes have been on Egypt. The country being a regional Maghreb power, is also strategically located; a key gateway to the Arab world and the West apart from it being a strategic partner to the United States (US). Now with the successful referendum, attention may have to be less intense.

In a way, Adly Mansour, the country’s acting president who had been head of the supreme constitutional court, would have also just made history.

62

THE GUARDIAN www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sunday, January 19, 2014

FOREIGNNEWS

Security Probe After Kabul Restaurant Raid That Killed 21 AFGHANISTAN NUMBER of Afghan officials A have been suspended as an investigation is carried out into a suicide bomb and gun attack in Kabul that killed 21 people.

The Taliban has admitted targeting a Lebanese restaurant, leaving 13 foreigners and eight Afghans dead.

Among the victims were a local IMF head and Canadian, American, UK, Lebanese, Russian and Danish citizens.

The Afghan interior minister has warned security officials in the capital that negligence will not be tolerated.

Mohammad Omar Daudzai told Afghan TV that the head of the precinct in which the attack took place, and two other officials had been suspended. “They will be investigated as part of a probe into the incident that took place last night.”

A suicide attacker detonated his explosives outside the gate of the heavily fortified Taverna du Liban, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi said.

Two gunmen then entered the restaurant and started “indiscriminately killing” people inside, he added.

Wabel Abdallah, the 60-year-old Lebanese head of the International Monetary Fund’s

Afghanistan office, was killed, along with the restaurant’s popular Lebanese owner, Kamal Hamade.

His restaurant, in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan area, had come under attack before and was considered a favourite destination for foreign nationals, diplomats and aid workers.

A Taliban statement indicated the restaurant had been targeted because it was frequented by highranking foreigners and served alcohol.

Mr Hamade had deployed a number of measures to keep pace with security requirements from foreign and Afghan organizations.

Among the other victims were three UN civilian staff from Russia, the US and Pakistan. The Russian national was said to have been working on kick-starting peace talks with the Taliban.

Two Britons; Labour Party candidate for the European Parliament elections Del Singh and Simon Chase, reportedly serving with the EU police mission; A Danish woman also serving with Eupol; Two Canadians - it was unclear who they were working for; At least one other American, according to the US embassy;13 Afghan nationals UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned “in the strongest terms the horrific attack”, his spokesman said.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said: “Our hearts go out to

Funeral Stampede Leaves 18 Dead In Mumbai T least 18 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a stampede in India’s western city of Mumbai.

Local officials say the incident happened when thousands of mourners gathered at the home of a Muslim spiritual leader who died on Friday.

Reports suggest people were crushed after the gates of the house where the body of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin were kept were closed.

The leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community died aged 102.

The community are Ismaili Shias.

A

INDIA Hundreds of people across India have died in similar tragedies in recent years.

In October, 115 people were crushed in a stampede at a Hindu festival in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.

In 2011 more than 100 died at a festival in the southern state of Kerala.

Inside Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort, more than 220 people were killed in 2008 in a stampede at the Chamunda Devi Hindu temple.

Iran Diplomat Dies In Gun Attack Near Embassy YEMEN N Iranian diplomat has been killed in a gun attack in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

He was shot as he was leaving the Iranian ambassador’s residence in the southern Hadda district by car.

The diplomat, named as Ali Asghar Assadi, was taken to hospital but died from his wounds.

Iranian state TV said he had been hit in the chest and stomach while driving. It said Mr Assadi, described as Iran’s economic attache, had been “martyred”.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said: “Around noon today (yesterday) a group of terrorists attacked a diplomat from

A

our embassy in one of the streets of Sanaa attempting to kidnap him. But, because the diplomat resisted, the terrorists opened fire on him.”

A Yemeni police source told AFP news agency that the attackers were in a van and fired on the diplomat three times.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns this incident and will follow up on the case with the Yemeni authorities,” the foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

Attacks on foreigners in Yemen have intensified in the past few months.

Last July, another diplomat at the embassy was kidnapped by suspected al-Qaeda militants and is thought still to be held captive.

Wabel [Abdallah’s] family and friends, as well as the other victims of this attack”.

“I was sitting with my friends in the kitchen when an explosion happened and smoke filled the kitchen,” Abdul Majid, a chef at the restaurant, told AFP news agency.

den and unnatural death”, an autopsy has found.

Doctors said there were “injury marks” on Sunanda Pushkar’s body, but did not say if they were linked to her death.

Mr Tharoor, who was earlier admitted to hospital with chest pains, took his wife’s body away for cremation.

The couple became embroiled in a row on Wednesday after Twitter

AUSTRALIA messages suggested he was having an affair.

Dr Sudhir Kumar Gupta, one of the three medical staff who carried out the post-mortem examination, said full results would be released in the next two days.

“There were certain injury marks on the body of Sunanda Pushkar, but the nature of these cannot be revealed,” he said.

Dr Gupta added that initial results

the blast and gunfire from at least two kilometres away. He said the gunfire went on sporadically for about 10 minutes.

Security continues to be a major concern in Afghanistan. The last remaining contingent of Nato-led forces is due to leave by the end of the year, having handed over security to Afghan forces.

Muslim civilians prepare to board trucks in the P12 district of Bangui to flee the Central African Republic capital… yesterday. Fresh fighting has broken out in the conflict-torn Central African Republic, witnesses said, as the deadline closed for candidates to register for a vote by the transitional parliament for a new interim president.

PHOTO: AFP

Aid Enters Besieged Damascus Camp Of Yarmouk ID has reached the besieged the humanitarian situation SYRIA A inside Yarmouk was “worsening Palestinian camp of Yarmouk dramatically”. in the Syrian capital Damascus for the first time in months, Palestinian officials say.

Some 18,000 Palestinian refugees in the camp have not seen an aid delivery since July.

It is not clear how much aid has been allowed in the camp.

Reports from inside Yarmouk say at least 40 residents have died from hunger and lack of medical care.

Anwar Raja, a Palestinian official,

told AP news agency that much of the material was carried “on the shoulders’’ of members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLPGC), whose militia has been allied to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The PFLP-GC has previously clashed with the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) over control of the camp.

Earlier this week the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) warned that

Yarmouk was once home to Syria’s largest population of Palestinian refugees but most have fled since the conflict began. A community of 160,000180,000 now numbers around 20,000 or less.

Aid officials in Damascus recently told the BBC that “the gates of Yarmouk” were slammed shut in July and almost no aid has been allowed to enter since then.

Referendum: '98 Percent Back New Constitution' EGYPT GYPT'S referendum on a new E constitution has been backed by 98.1 percent of people who voted, officials say.

Turnout was 38.6 percent of the more than 50-million eligible voters, the election committee said.

The draft constitution replaces

one introduced by ousted President Mohammed Morsi before he was toppled.

The referendum is being seen as a vote on the legitimacy of his removal and of the army, which toppled him in July last year.

The vote, which took place over two days last week, was boycotted by members of the Muslim

Brotherhood, the political party which Mr Morsi comes from and which wants to see him returned to office.

Several people died in clashes involving Mr Morsi's supporters on the first day of voting.

There were further clashes with the security forces on Friday in which four people died.

Key Town Of Bor Recaptured From Rebels OUTH Sudan's military says it Stownhas recaptured the strategic of Bor from rebel forces.

The Ugandan army said it had helped in the operation, while a spokesman for the rebel forces

Minister Tharoor Wife Died ‘Unnatural Death’ HE wife of Indian minister Shashi T Tharoor, found dead in a Delhi hotel room on Friday, died a “sud-

“A man came inside shouting and he started shooting. One of my colleagues was shot and fell down. I ran to the roof and threw myself to the neighbouring property.”

The attackers were eventually shot dead by the security forces when they arrived at the scene.

The BBC’s correspondence heard

showed no sign of poison in her body, but more tests would be carried out.

Tharoor’s aide, Abhinav Kumar, had earlier told reporters that Ms Pushkar had appeared to be asleep.

“There were no signs of any foul play or any struggle. She had no sign of poisoning or anything,” he said.

A public row broke out on Wednesday when seemingly private messages between Mr Tharoor and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar were published on his Twitter feed.

SOUTH SUDAN said its troops had made a tactical withdrawal.

Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, has changed hands several times in a month-long conflict that is believed to have left thousands dead.

Meanwhile, talks to try to find a ceasefire are continuing in Ethiopia.

The conflict between rebel and government forces broke out on December 15. President Salva Kiir has accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup - an accusation he denies.

The dispute has seen killings along ethnic lines - Mr Kiir is a member of the Dinka community, the country's largest, while Mr Machar is from the Nuer ethnic

group.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting.

On Thursday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni confirmed his country's troops were now fighting alongside South Sudanese government forces against the rebels. A spokesman for the Ugandan People's Defence Force said its troops had helped retake Bor. "There was a lot of resistance but our force was overwhelming," the spokesman, Paddy Ankunda, told Reuters news agency.

South Sudanese army spokesman Philip Aguer said the fight for Bor had left "many dead", without giving figures.

Brig-Gen Lul Ruai Koang, a military spokesperson for the opposition in South Sudan, said its troops had withdrawn to reorganise.

TheGuardian

Sunday, January 19, 2014 63

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Sports

It’s my ball….This Super Eagles player seems to tell his challenger from Mozambique in their second group game on Wednesday.

South Africa’s Siphiwe Lawrence Tshabalala controls the ball in their second group match against Mali on Wednesday. They need a draw to scale through in today’s match against Nigeria.

CHAN 2014: ‘No Hiding Place For Bafana Bafana’ From Adeyinka Adedipe, Cape Town OdAY’S crunch tie between host South T Africa and Nigeria in the on-going CHAN 2014 will open another chapter in the rivalry between the two African powerhouses. Past encounters have been dominated by Nigeria.

The venue this time is the Athlon Stadium, Cape Town, which will come alive, as the home fans have vowed to cheer their team to victory.

Though both have had contrasting fortunes over the years with Nigeria winning the last African Nations Cup played in South Africa last January, the Bafana Bafana are yet to add to their sole cup winning feat of 1996. despite this, there is no doubt that both countries have formed a tense relationship on the football pitch while bringing out their best whenever they get the chance to play against each other.

Outside the football pitch, relations have also been tensed, which resulted in the withdrawal of star-packed Nigerian team from the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted in South Africa, with the Nigerian government, led by late General Sanni Abacha, concerned about the security of players due to a political problem between the two countries.

However, on the pitch the Super Eagles have maintained dominance over Bafana Bafana, with South African suffering heavy loses against their illustrious rivals. It is right to say that since readmission into international football, Nigeria has been South Africa’s nemesis.

Nigeria won the last Nations Cup despite the odds against her and Coach Stephen Keshi immediately became a hero after the feat.

The ex-Eagles captain, who led a pool of talented players to USA ‘94 World Cup, would be the centre of focus today, as the world would glue to their television set with keen interest to see if he can score another victory against the South Africans.

The Super Eagles have continued to produce gifted players, as their new stock is brimming with promise and skill. But the current players at CHAN 2014 are yet to prove that they have the confidence to go all the way to the final.

On the other hand, South Africa’s reserves have not been as successful, with the country experiencing a dearth of world-class players since the turn of the century.

Bafana’s future is changing as new talents emerge, but Nigeria’s current group of players is arguably on a different level.

In their last seven clashes, Nigeria has won five, while Bafana Bafana have only been victors on one occasion. Their lone victory came in 2004, a 2-1 win against Nigeria in the Nelson Mandela Challenge. South Africa has conceded 10 goals against Nigeria and had only scored two. Their most recent meetings in 2008 saw the Super Eagles triumph both home and away.

South African fans would rather want their team to avoid Nigeria at all costs. But the two teams will meet today in what promises to be a fierce battle with the quarterfinal ticket at stake.

Nigeria will go into this match as one with the lesser chance of qualifying, though the team cannot be ruled out in the competition because of the patriotic zeal shown by the players, especially when their ability is being doubted.

It’s a must win game for Nigeria, while a draw will be enough for the host to book a place in the quarterfinal. The Super Eagles

have always worked their way out of difficult situations in the past and they will have to replicate such performance to move on in the championship.

However, the South Africans, who trained hard yesterday, have vowed to win this one by starving the Nigerians of the ball and using defence splitting passes to destabilize the Nigerians.

Keshi must work on the team’s psyche, while it is not clear whether out-of-form Chigozie Agbim, the skipper of the team, will continue in goal.

Nigeria has scored more goals (five), while the South Africans scored four, but has done better in defence, conceding two goals as against the Super Eagles four.

Today’s game would go in favour of a team that comes out steaming from the beginning of the game.

Yesterday, Nigeria received a major boost after injured Benjamin Francis and Ugonna Uzochukwu returned to full training. Both players trained fully with the rest of the squad on Friday and now look good for today’s showdown against South Africa.

Media officer Ben Alaiya said Francis and Uzochukwu are ready to face South Africa.

“Both players trained fully with the team on Friday and look good to play against South Africa. Only Ikenna Paul didn’t train.

The medics will still have to give clean bill of health on them,” Alaiya said.

He also said hosts South Africa will be the team under pressure to do well at home, having failed at last year’s AFCON. “We are not under pressure, but the South Africans being the hosts are. They are expected to win as the hosts, but we are going into the game to maintain our dominance over them,” Alaiya noted.

Coach Stephen Keshi admitted that he was wary of the threat South Africa’s trio of Siphiwe Tshabalala, Itumeleng Khune and Bernard Parker would pose in today’s game.

Keshi is afraid that the Kaizer Chief stars, Tshabalala, Khune and Parker, who have been in sparkling form for their country in the championship could deny Nigeria a ticket to the quarterfinals.

The trio is the most experienced in the team and Keshi said the Eagles must give everything in the encounter to keep hope alive. “We’ll see what happens on Sunday (today). Bafana has a very good team,” Keshi said. “The three players are experienced and they can change the game any time. So it’s going to be a very difficult but we will try and do our best.

“I have watched their games, and they have what it takes. So we must be very, very focused. The concentration level of our team needs to be high to withstand them.

And they have a very good coach as well.

That’s my problem,” Keshi added.

For South African coach, Gordon Igesund, his side must not lose today’s decisive against Nigeria in Cape Town, though he expects the Super Eagles to fire on all cylinders.

“We now have to apply our minds for the Nigeria match, but we will go back to work and prepare well for that game,” the 57year-old stated.

“Every game we play, we play to win, even if we need a draw we will play to win it. This is a very tough group and all the matches haven’t been easy.

“Our result puts pressure on everybody in the group because it is very close. I think people underestimated the quality in this competition and we certainly have to get a result against Nigeria,” Igesund said.

TheGuardian

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder, Santi Cazorla (middle) celebrates scoring the opening goal with teammate Olivier Giroud (left) during their match against Fulham at the Emirates Stadium in London…yesterday

PHOTO: AFP

Mixed Fortunes As Eagles, Bafana Bafana Clash HEAD of today’s all-important clash between the A Super Eagles and their South African counterparts, Bafana Bafana, in the ongoing African Nations Championship, both teams appear to be enjoying

contrasting fortunes.

While the Eagles’ camp received a major boost after injured Benjamin Francis and Ugonna Uzochukwu returned to full training Friday night, the South African team was

saddened by the loss of firstchoice keeper and team captain, Itumeleng Khune for the decisive clash.

Francis has been nursing a knee problem, while Uzochukwu had an ankle

complaint. Both players were back in training after they being certified fit and looked good for today’s encounter.

According to Eagles’ media officer, Ben Alaiya, both Francis and Uzochukwu are

Carzola Keeps Arsenal Top, Man City Wins ANTI Cazorla scored twice Ssecure as Arsenal beat Fulham to a fifth successive topflight win to remain top of the Premier League.

Fulham had frustrated the Gunners and went close when a Steve Sidwell half-volley was smartly saved.

But Cazorla slotted in after an intricate one-touch passing move to break the visiting side’s resistance.

The Spaniard latched on to a clearance and drove in a low 20-yard strike to seal the victory.

“Don’t take anything away from Fulham as they had their moments in the first half. Arsenal weren’t great and Fulham weren’t terrible but the result was what everyone expected.”

Premier League Results Sunderland 2 - 2 Southampton

Arsenal 2 - 0 Fulham Crystal Palace 1 - 0 Stoke Man City 4 - 2 Cardiff Norwich 1 - 0 Hull West Ham 1 - 3 Newcastle Liverpool 2 - 2 Aston Villa

The Gunners had initially been frustrated by Fulham but were rewarded for their patience and persistence as they continued their impressive home form.

Arsenal have dropped just four points and conceded just three goals in 10 home league games since an opening-day 3-1 defeat by Aston Villa.

The Cottagers are a point off the relegation zone and, after a 4-1 home loss against Sunderland last week, can take some encouragement from a performance, which contained a greater degree of defensive resilience.

The omens had not been promising for Fulham heading into the match against the league leaders as they had the fewest clean sheets and had conceded the most goals in the top flight.

Elsewhere, Manchester City passed the 100-goal mark for the season as they saw off a determined Cardiff side to stay one point behind leaders, Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Edin Dzeko’s opener brought up City’s century of strikes in just 34 games in all competitions, the quickest that landmark has been reached in the Premier League era.

But, despite the final scoreline, the game was not simply a celebration of their attacking verve.

Cardiff, who fall to the bottom of the table after their second straight league defeat under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, worked hard throughout to stop this being the kind of free-flowing victory that City have enjoyed so often during

this campaign.

The Bluebirds levelled through Craig Noone’s neat finish and although Jesus Navas quickly restored the home side’s lead, the three points - and City’s 100 per cent home record in the league this season - were not secure until Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero added late goals.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men were not at their best but they began well enough, going close in the first minute when Kevin McNaughton’s last-ditch challenge denied Dzeko, before Navas turned the loose ball wide.

City continued to dominate but they had to wait until the 14th minute to score their opener - and even then they were unsure at first whether it would count.

up for selection and, “Both players trained fully with the team on Friday and look good to play against South Africa. Only Ikenna Paul didn’t train. The medics will still have to give him a clean bill of health.

Alaiya insisted that the South Africans were the ones that were under pressure being the hosts. “They are expected to win as the hosts, but we are going into the game to maintain our dominance over them,” Alaiya said.

Captain Khune who told newsmen yesterday, “I was really looking forward to this match as it is one that will decide our fate in the tournament,” expressed sadness at being ruled out of the match saying, “I am very sad and disappointed that I will not be playing. It is not nice missing

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such an important fixture for your country, but I believe Moeneeb Josephs and Siyabonga Mpontshane are capable of doing a great job.

“These things happen injuries are part and parcel of the game and hopefully I will be back in the side for the following match.”

Khune suffered an ankle injury on Wednesday night and underwent scanning the following day.

Consequently, he trained away from the rest of the team at their final training session at the Clyde Pinelands grounds having being ruled out of today’s match at the Cape Town Stadium.

Meanwhile, Coach Stephen Keshi stayed positive ahead of the clash, as he said he was more concerned about his team doing well than any other thing, even though he respects the South Africans.

While hoping his team comes out tops at the end of the day, he stressed that both countries were fast becom-