NJC seeks Abia chief judge’s retirement over false age From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja allegedly falsifying his age, the Acting Chief Judge of FtheOR Abia State, Justice Shadrack O.E. Nwanosike, has incurred wrath of the National Judicial Council (NJC). At its 63rd meeting, held on July 17 and 18, 2013, the NJC recommended the compulsory retirement from office of Nwanosike. This followed the NJC’s deliberation on the report of its Committee on Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of the Superior Courts of Record in the Federation.
In a statement by NJC’s spokesman, Soji Oye, he said the council constituted a five-man committee comprising its members to invite judicial officers with “Very Low Performance or Non-Performance”, to appear before it to show cause why they should not be removed from office. The statement reads: “The National Judicial Council under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar, GCON, at its 63rd meeting which was held on July 17 and 18, 2013, recommended the compulsory retirement from office of Honourable Justice
Shadrack O.E. Nwanosike, the Acting Chief Judge of Abia State. “The decision is sequel to the findings of the council that Honourable Justice Nwanosike falsified his date of birth which invariably affected his retirement age. “The council during the meeting also considered and deliberated on the report of its Committee on Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of the Superior Courts of Record in the Federation. At the end of deliberation, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Vol. 30, No. 12,633
N150
www.ngrguardiannews.com
Guardian Newspapers Limited has partnered publishers of SweetCrudeReports, Nigeria’s foremost energy publication, to provide more incisive energy news reports, information and analyses every fortnight Wednesday. This week, we present you, esteemed readers, Nigeria’s mounting economic loss to crude oil theft; how stolen Nigerian crude oil is sold freely along the West African coast, etc. You can’t afford to miss this edition. Details tomorrow.
42 Boko Haram suspects arrested in Lagos, Ogun -Page 2
Vice President Namadi Sambo (right) and Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State (left), during Sambo’s visit to Lafia… yesterday.
NEITI’s audit report jolts govt, oil industry From Collins Olayinka (Abuja) and Sulaimon Salau (Lagos) N audit report covering A the period of 2009 to 2011 which was released yesterday by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) was a catalogue of fraudulent deals in the oil and gas sector. Shocked by its findings, NEITI has recommended that key government’s agencies
should refund various amounts to the country’s treasury. Presenting the NEITI’s independent audit report yesterday in Abuja, Chairman of NEITI Board, Ledum Mitee, quoted the report as demanding that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) should return N4.423 billion to the Federation Account just as it recommended the Nigerian
. Orders PPPRA to pay N4.4b to govt . NNPC, others to refund N3.7b . Corporation owes govt N1.305 tr . Nigeria loses $10b to oil theft National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other unnamed oil firms to pay N3.715 billion being ‘over-recovery’ for the period under review
into the national account. Apart from the various sums of money the identified agencies are to return, the report blamed the lack of co-ordina-
tion of pricing methodology for most of the pricing conflicts. He added: “Our report also recommended that the PPPRA should remit all funds amounting to N4.423 billion arising from the over-recovery collected to the Federation Account. From the findings of the report, the subsidy payments made through NNPC increased from N198 billion in 2009 to
N416 billion in 2010 and nearly doubled when it rose to N786 billion in 2011. During the same period, subsidy paid through PPPRA increased from N208 billion in 2009 to N278 billion in 2010 and also increased astronomically to 2011. in trillion N1.12 “Other key findings made by the audit include poor inventory management, which ac-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
2 NEWS
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
42 Boko Haram suspects arrested in Lagos, Ogun By Odita Sunday O fewer than 42 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have been arrested from their various hideouts in Lagos and Ogun states. Some of the suspects were alleged to be among those responsible for the killing of soldiers and civilians in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. They were alleged to have
N
migrated from Borno to the South Western part of the country following the recent clampdown on their activities by the Nigerian Armed Forces and the declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states. Parading the suspects before newsmen in Lagos yesterday, the General Officer Commanding, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj- Gen. Obi Umahi, said the suspects were
NJC seeks chief judge’s retirement CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 council constituted a fiveman committee comprising its members to invite Judicial Officers with ‘Very Low Performance or Non-Performance’, to appear before it to show cause why they should not be removed from office. “Council further considered and recommended the appointment of some judicial officers in the Federal and States Judiciaries to the Executive, respectively: “I. Chief Judge, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; “II. Chief Judge, Rivers State, to the State Governor; “III. Chief Judge, Jigawa State, to the State Governor; “IV. Chief Judge, Katsina State, to the State Governor; “V. President, Customary Court of Appeal, Taraba State, to the State Governor; “VI. Two Kadis for the Sharia Court of Appeal, Kebbi State, to the State Governor; “VII. Two Kadis for the Sharia Court of Appeal, Sokoto State, to the State Governor; “VIII. One Judge for the Cus-
tomary Court of Appeal, Delta State, to the State Governor; and “IX. Two Judges for the Customary Court of Appeal, Ebonyi State, to the State Governor.”
arrested based on intelligence report which he received from the operation’s commander in the South Eastern part of the country that suspected members of the group have migrated from the North and were heading to the South. Based on the intelligence report, army officers from 81 Division carried out a coordinated raid in some major hideouts in Lagos and Ogun states. Gen. Umahi listed areas raided included Ibafo in Ogun State and Mafoluku, Alaba Rago and Ijora Badia areas of Lagos. “The Boko Haramterrorists’ influx is adduced to their plan to unleash terror in some parts of the South West, which include 81 Division area of responsibility. “The raids were conducted from July 12 to 23,
in various hideouts in Lagos and Ogun states which are fast becoming Boko Haram terrorists enclaves,” said Umahi. Umahi said all of them admitted to be members of the sect while some of them confessed to have participated in some deadly Boko Haram operations in some parts of the country. The military chief who could not immediately disclose if arms were recovered from the suspects, said they were still trying to track the weapons. He also did not say if the suspects were planning an attack in the two states before their arrest. “From investigation we cannot say if they are in Lagos to stage an attack or running for their dear lives. Investigations would reveal that,” he stated.
Principal, Babcock University High School, Timothy Adetayo (left); Guest Lecturer/Education Director, West Central Africa Division, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Abidjan, Prof. Chiemela Ikonne, and Deputy Vice Chancellor/Provost, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Prof. Iheanyichukwu Okoro, during the 18th graduation and award ceremony of the school at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State… yesterday.
Audit report orders PPPRA to pay N4.4b to govt CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 counted for the difficulty in determining depot balances for imported products. The report noted that the amount of N4.423 billion being over-recovery collected from some marketers is yet to be remitted to the Federation Account while NNPC and two other companies are yet to refund N3.715 billion being over-recovery for the period under review. NEITI also discovered a lingering worrisome situation where there is no agreed pricing methodology between NNPC and the companies for the determination of fiscal values for royalty and PPT computations.” The report said: “The Control Account shows that NNPC owes N1.305 trillion to the federation as at December 31, 2011. The opening balances in the debtors’ accounts have been reconciled to the 2008 NEITI audit report. It should be noted that the above opening and closing balances do not include outstanding payments on subsidies as these are still being verified by the respective agencies of government. “Furthermore, the funding of cash call in 2009 of N198.6 billion paid to CBN/NNPC Cash Call Naira Account was a oneoff transaction as cash calls are financed from CBN/NNPC JP Morgan Oil and Gas Revenue Account and CBN/NNPC JP Morgan Gas Revenue Account.” The report also revealed that crude oil theft, deliberate sab-
otage and vandalism resulted in the loss of over 136 million barrels which are estimated at $10.9 billion within 2009 and 2011. The lost fund represented 7.7 per cent of the total revenue which accrued to the federation in the audit period. The figure was in addition to a loss of about 10 million barrels valued at $894 million as a result of pipeline vandalism in downstream operations. Painting a further worrisome scenario, the report said the MoU for joint venture partners, which expired in 2008 and was yet to be renewed, may have cost the nation another staggering $1.7 billion between 2009 and 2011. While there has been no rapid improvement in the standard of living of the people and the ever-expanding population of the poor population, Nigeria recorded a total crude oil production of over 2.5 billion barrels, an increase of 4.8 per cent over the 2006-2008 period. Providing the breakdown, the NEITI report highlighted that this was made up of 780.9 million barrels in 2009. This figure rose to 894.5 million in 2010 and slightly declined to 866.2 million barrels in 2011. From this production, the federation earned a total revenue of $143.5 billion from equity crude sales, royalty, signature bonuses, taxes, among others. The report recommended that government must move swiftly to review, among others, the Modified Carry Arrangements in the context
of government’s adequate funding of JV operations, the allocation of 445,000 bpd to the NNPC to be refined locally for domestic consumption since the local refineries are in state of disrepair and product supply and fuel subsidy management which represented a huge cost for government. The report also recommended a deliberate policy on construction of new refineries through private sector initiatives, and privatisation of existing ones. It also underlined the need for the NNPC to speed up all cases of arbitration so that government would not continue to lose revenue due to inappropriate computation of taxes paid to government by the companies. It added: “The report equally observed that all refineries are operating below their … capacities resulting in a situation where 80 per cent of crude oil allocated to local refineries is exported for offshore processing, crude oil and product exchange. From our report, this has negative consequences on revenue accruable to the Federation Account. According to the report, the combined loss to Nigeria in the Offshore Processing, Crude and Products Exchange within the period under review was over $866 million.” Other recommendations included the need to install inlet metering devices to measure production from the flow-stations to the tank
farms as well as measures to embrace approved standard measurement in the upstream and downstream operations in the oil and gas industry. The report recommended that the Federal Government should set up a committee to review and agree on a new fiscal regime and governance frame-work for the oil and gas industry and define a clear roadmap for implementation while pushing for early passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Zainab Ahmed, revealed that the procurement process for the next NEITI industry for the year 2012 for both the solid minerals sector and oil and gas sector had almost been concluded. She pointed at the inability of government to implement NEITI audit reports as the greatest challenge confronting the organisation. Her words: “One of the challenges facing NEITI is the implementation of remediation issues. Although we have in place a comprehensive remediation plan, we are concerned that it is not enough to turn out reports which findings and recommendations will not be implemented. However, we are encouraged by the President’s promise to re-constitute and strengthen the Inter-Ministerial Task Team to implement the remediation issues contained in NEITI reports.”
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
3
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
4 NEWS
FAAN explains charges at Lagos airport
Over 9.5m children out of school, says Jonathan
By Chika Goodluck-Ogazi HE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied that it charges travellers N2,000 per luggage on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Reacting to newspaper reports on the allegation at the weekend, FAAN said the charge does not apply to all passengers but only cargo agents, who use passenger planes to transport their cargoes - often times 20 to 30 pieces of luggage unaccompanied or accompanied by proxies.
From Msugh Ityokura, Lafia
T
RESIDENT Goodluck P Jonathan yesterday lamented the huge number of the less-privileged out-ofschool children in the country, which he put at over 9.5 million, and expressed his administration’s resolve to tackle the problem. Noting that it does not augur well for a nation that is yearning for aggressive development to meet up with challenges in the modern era, he assured yesterday during his visit to Lafia, Nasarawa State, that his administration would improve on all spheres of education.
Presidency insists Jonathan not behind political crisis From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja
Ogun PDP crisis deepens, Oladunjoye joins CPC
OR the umpteenth time, Frefuted the Presidency yesterday the allegation that
HE cracks in the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples T Democratic Party (PDP) have
President Goodluck Jonathan’s perceived second term ambition in 2015 is the force behind the ongoing political crisis in some parts of the country.
District Governor, Rotary International District 9110, Nigeria, Olugbemiga Olowu (left); President-elect, Rotary International, Gary Huang; Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi; past President, Rotary International, Jonathan B. Majiyagbe and wife of the president-elect, Mrs. Corina Huang, during the official commissioning of Jonathan B. Majiyagbe House built by Rotary International District 9110, Nigeria, at GRA Ikeja, Lagos… yesterday.
‘Why Nigeria may withdraw peacekeepers from Darfur, others’ From Oghogho Obayuwana (Foreign Affairs Editor) and Laolu Akande (New York) N a move that is now interIthepreted as a fore-runner to planned review of her multilateral diplomacy, only the signals corps of Nigeria’s 1,200 troops (initially 900) in Mali is being left behind as the Federal Government withdraws its peace-keeping contingent from the West African country. The withdrawal would also affect the country’s participation in peace-keeping efforts in Darfur, Sudan, just as similar steps are being contemplated in any emerging flash-point to ensure that actions that have to do with cooperation with other nations or/and international organisations are in sync with Nigeria’s excellent peace-keeping records and pre-eminence in the region, The Guardian has learnt. And in so saying, informed diplomatic sources at the United Nations (UN) have indicated why Nigeria and the
world body’s secretariat are at loggerheads over the running of the UN peace-keeping operations and recognition of the country’s contributions in key appointments in those operations. A diplomat in New York, United States (U.S.), alleged that the current Under SecretaryGeneral in the UN Peace-keeping Department recently stopped a Nigerian Army General from commanding the international troops in Mali on the ground that he does not speak French. The interview was personally conducted by the Head of the UN Peace-keeping Department, Mr. Herve Ladsous, himself a French man. The Africa-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) includes a significant number of Nigerian soldiers, as well as other UN international troops. Nigeria has been ranking fourth or fifth in UN Troops Contributing Countries (TCC) over the years. Though the Federal Government had before now explained that the troops’
withdrawal was predicated on pressing “security issues at home,” it was gathered that Abuja was now keen on seizing the Malian opportunity to re-order its engagement patterns and chart a new peacekeeping trajectory to make it impossible for observers to continue the affirmation that “for all her efforts in peacekeeping and the liberation of parts of Africa, Nigeria has been paid in bad coin.” Besides the raised eyebrows over the appointment of the 50-year old Rwandan, Gen. Jean-Bosco Kazura, as commander of the Multi-dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the deputies of both the military and political heads of the operation in Mali are as well non-Nigerians. This means that in Mali, Albert Gerard Koenders (Netherlands) is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINUSMA while Abdoulaye Bathily (Senegal) is Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General. Sources at the Ministry of For-
eign Affairs told The Guardian at the weekend that the international politics emanating from Mali “took a worse dimension with events in the last couple of weeks…to signal the beginning of the implementation of our grand strategy that we have always spoken about.” The link between Nigeria’s participation in military missions abroad and economic realities at home would always be a recurring decimal. Since 1960, beginning with the then Congo, Nigeria has spent a whopping $13 billion on peace-keeping. Until the beginning of last year, facts from the report of the UN Department of Peacekeeping showed that Nigeria had about 6,000 peace-keepers in various flash-points, a figure only surpassed by those of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In the course of time, over 250,000 members of the Nigerian Armed Forces have participated in UN-sponsored missions worldwide, translating to 73 per cent involvement, having participated in 40 of the 55 UN peace-keeping missions. Meanwhile, observers think that with the French having already withdrawn her forces, Nigeria’s withdrawal of troops from Mali would be harder felt after the country’s elections, which were conducted at the weekend amid security challenges. Nigeria’s action goes beyond troops’ withdrawal, as impeccable sources stated at the weekend that it includes funds and logistics. As things stand now, there would be no tea party in Mali after the elections, with or without Nigeria. The head of the UN Peace-keeping Field Support Department in Mali, Ameerah Haqrt, noted: “We are unable to deploy our mobile communications system to Kidal because its sensitive components will melt. This operation would be one of the most logistically- challenging missions the UN has ever launched.”
A source at the UN explained that the head of the UN Peacekeeping Department, Ladsous, personally took charge of the interview because he was determined to oust the Nigerian in favour of a Chadian General, who is Frenchspeaking. Sources claimed that Ladsous even refused to grant Aso Rock’s request that a Nigerian General heads the UN mission since the country’s leadership of some of the UN missions have expired. According to a U.S.-based Nigerian international politics scholar, Dr. Wale Adebanwi, “this is unacceptable and another demonstration of a long-standing policy of France regarding Nigeria.” According to the University of California professor, “since the earliest years of independence in Africa, France has always attempted to play the principal préfet (senior prefect), especially in the West African sub-region. “And because generations of policy-makers in Paris have always considered Nigeria’s size, population, resources, power and potentials as constituting a threat to their country’s influence in the subregion, they have always shown their readiness to subvert Nigeria’s influence and interests. “Even though the past successes of France could be seen as a reflection of the limitations of the fumbling leadership that Nigeria has reproduced over the years, this one must not be allowed to stand. It is an insult to Nigeria, a slap in the face despite our contributions to peace in the sub-region.” UN sources said it was reasonable to have another national head of the UN troops in Darfur while a Nigerian leads the political wing. However, the USG for Peace-keeping is said to have insisted that a non-Nigerian takes charge both at the political and military departments, despite Nigeria having the largest number of UN soldiers in Darfur.
widened with one of its bigwigs and running mate to Tunji Olurin in the 2011 governorship election, Comrade Tunde Oladunjoye, joining the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). The 2008 United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace who stated this in a statement entitled, “It Is Time To Save Nigeria,” said: “As a human rights activist and along with my Nigerian compatriots like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, both of illustrious memory; Femi Falana (SAN), Bamidele Aturu, Sylvester Odion Akhaine, Segun Maiyegun, Tunde Olugboji, Dr. Dipo Fashina, Prof. Omotoye Olorode, Dr. Idowu Awopetu, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, Mr. Segun Jegede, Comrade Sina Loremikan, Comrade Osagie Obayuwana, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Barrister Olasupo Ojo, Omolade Adubi, late Comrade Chima Ubani, Comrade Luke Aghanenu, and several others too numerous to remember and list, I have fought many battles in defence of the human rights of my fellow countrymen and women. “In the process, I was arrested and detained in police cells and prisons several times and in several parts of the country. Between, 1993 and 1999, I was detained seven times in centres like, SSS Headquarters, Jos, Plateau State and at Ikotun Police Station, Idimu Police Station, Panti police Station, Barracks Police Station, Surulere and twice at Area G’ Police Headquarter, Ogba, all in Lagos. And in 2010, even as a sitting Council Chairman, I was unjustly detained at Force Headquarters, Abuja, FCT!”
Court voids de-registration of Okotie’s party From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja HE Federal High Court, Abuja Division, yesterday nullified the purported deregistration of Fresh Democratic Party (FDP) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing it as “unlawful and unconstitutional.” In his verdict on the action filed by FDP challenging INEC’s letter of December 6, 2012, which conveyed its decision to de-register it, Justice Gabriel Kolawole declared the action “unlawful.”
T
5
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
News CAN petitions Borno gov, police, others over Boko Haram threat From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri EMBERS of the District Church Council (DCC) of Ekilisiyar Yanuwa Nigeria (EYN); under the auspices of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Gwoza Council of Borno State have petitioned Governor Kashim Shettima, the Police, State Security Services(SSS)over a threat letter by Boko Haram to the communities in the area. They also complained about the killings of 15 people, destruction of 274 houses, 12 churches and 341 bags of grains.
M
Bokko is a border community with Cameroon. Meanwhile, the death toll in the Boko Haram and Borno Vigilance Youths Group (BVYG) clash at Mainok village has risen from one to four as three other youths that were admitted at the Umaru Shehu Hospital, Bulukutu for gunshot wounds died Saturday morning. The threat letter written in Hausa language and dated July 8, 2013 to Barawa, Chinne, Arbakko, Attagara, Ngoshe I and II residents reads in part: “Despite the fleeing of these
residents, we are still pursuing you, because the soldiers with you people cannot protect you as the Muslims in these communities are being killed. Your lives, farmlands and other property are also not safeguarded. By God’s willing we should not fail to tell the people of Bokko community and the listed Churches in this letter to be attacked this month (July).” The petition which was signed by the DCC Secretary, Rev. Joel Y. Ndirmbita and copied the Joint Task Force (JTF) commander, Police commissioner, Director of State Security Service (SSS)
and Gwoza Emirate Council added: “We consider it an onerous task to bring to your notice an attempt and grand design to wipe us (Christians) from the face of the universe by some unpatriotic fellows who claimed to be members of the Boko Haram sect. “This faceless group has perfected plans to launch an attack against our lives and property as contained in their threat letter of July 8, 2013; and addressed to various Churches in Gwoza Local Council. It is on the strength of their letter which they have now commenced to
implement by uprooting crops on our farmlands and spraying them with herbicides. But as a body of responsible Nigerians, we are deeply saddened at the trend despite the efforts of the government in enhancing security to protect citizens’ lives and property; as well as providing unflinching ways of strengthening peace and national unity. In view of this development, we are appealing to His Excellency, the security agencies and all stakeholders to come to our aid before the planned violence erupts.”
Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) (right) addressing residents and community leaders of Adeniji Adele Housing Estate, Lagos Island on plans to redevelop the estate during his inspection of the estate where many of the buildings have been rendered defective by the swampy terrain... on Sunday. With him are Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Olutoyin Ayinde (second right) and his Environment counterpart, Tunji Bello (third right).
Court dismisses Rivers Speaker’s suit against police From Mohammed Abubakar (Abuja) and Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcourt) RIVERS State High Court has dismissed a suit filed by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Otelemaba Amachree, to restrain the police from arresting him over the alarm he raised concerning a plot to assassinate Governor Chibuike Amaechi. Meanwhile, a suit has been filed at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt challenging the continued detention of Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd. In a related development, a peace conference aimed at ending the political crisis in Rivers State will hold on August 3, 2013. The latest effort is an initiative of the Queen Akasoba Duke-Abiola, the Akasoba of Kalabari and Chair, Akasoba Centre for Peace and
A
• Indigenes in court over lawmaker’s detention • Group holds confab to end crisis Conflict Resolution (ACPCR). The presiding judge, Justice Adolphous Enebeli, after hearing the arguments of the parties involved in the matter, said there was no legal justification to issue a perpetual injunction as requested by the Speaker to restrain the police from investigating any citizen of Nigeria for an offence. Justice Enebeli also said that the allegation of bias levelled against the Rivers State Police Command by the speaker was premature and cannot form a ground to restrain the law enforcement agency from discharging its constitutional duties. The speaker was alleged to have written an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, urging him to intervene in the political crisis rocking the
state as there was an attempt to assassinate the governor and himself. Owing to the alarm, the State Police Command had to invite the speaker and the Chief of Staff, Tony Okocha, to the Government House for questioning. Afraid that he might be arrested and detained by the police, the speaker approached the court to stop the police invitation and possible investigation on the matter. Counsel to the speaker, Emenike Ebete, had in the course of the trial told the court that there was no prima facie evidence before the court to warrant his client to answer police invitation on the rumoured plot to assassinate him and the state gover-
nor. Ebete maintained that the open letter to the president on the assassination plot allegedly written by the speaker did not emanate from his client, adding that the letter was not authored. To this end, he urged the court to restrain the police from infringing on the fundamental human rights of his client. But the counsel to the Inspector General of Police, AIG Zone 6, Calabar and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police who are respondents, Donald Deewigwe, said it was imperative for the police to investigate the matter and for the speaker to defend the allegation. Deewigwe warned that preventing the police from investigating a crime-related offence would endanger the lives of the citizens and
increase problems in the society. Justice Enebeli yesterday ruled that the police in Nigeria is constitutionally empowered to invite anyone that can provide useful information to it in the course of investigation. The suit filed by Ken Atsuwete, Godknows Forth, James Amah, Austin Igwe, Oliver Amah and Aaron Omereji, is seeking that LIoyd be produced in court. The respondents are the Inspector General of Police and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police. Lloyd is being held by the Police in connection with the bloody fracas which occurred in the Rivers State House of Assembly on July 9, 2013. Five out of 32 lawmakers had attempted to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree and in the process a free for all ensued. Lloyd was accused of hitting one of the five lawmak-
Obasanjo as a varsity student, by VC From Saxone Akhaine, Northern Bureau Chief HE Vice Chancellor of the T National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Ado Tenebe said yesterday, that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had a rewarding post-graduate career with the institution, saying that he was however a troublesome student. Tenebe stated this in Kaduna during the breaking of Ramadan fast parley with Muslim Journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) secretariat on Sunday. Tenebe, who also highlighted the activities of the university, pointed out that the former President completed his Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) successfully. The Vice Chancellor said: "When Obasanjo became a student of the institution, he thought that it was an easy thing to do. When he was given all the courses he realised it wasn't easy and so he had to differ his admission." He added: "He said I would not take part in this until I finish my tenure as President and so he never studied while he was the President until he completed his tenure, then he started the course. He did a post graduate diploma in Christian theology. He was a very troublesome student because he will not start calling until 12 mid night and keep you online until about 2 a.m." Tenebe further said, "every time he gives us trouble, we prayed that he graduates, of which he did, and his certificate is valid". In the pursuit of his studies, he explained, Obasanjo defied all protocols, insisting on sitting among the students, even during examination periods. "He would say I want to do the same thing others are doing. Obasanjo was a very brilliant student and I can tell you there were lots of controversies when his papers were being marked. I won't disclose the secret of how our papers are marked but they are marked in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri and the markers will never know whose paper they are marking. So the old man is intelligent, his certificate is valid and was done according to rules and regulations of the Nigerian University Commission (NUC)."
Govt files more charges against Lebanese HE Federal Government T prosecutors yesterday widened charges against three Lebanese nationals accused of links to Hezbollah as their trial began with access to the courtroom restricted and the identities of witnesses concealed. Mustapha Fawaz, 49, Abdallah Thahini, 48, and Talal Ahmad Roda, 51, have been accused of having ties to the powerful Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and plotting attacks against Western and Israeli targets in Nigeria.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
6 NEWS
Jonathan urges leaders to boost trade relations in Africa From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja RESIDENT Goodluck P Jonathan yesterday in Abuja challenged African leaders to match their words with actions in fulfilling their often-declared commitment to improving trade and economic relations among sister African countries. He spoke during an audience with outgoing Namibian High Commissioners to Nigeria, Mrs. Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, and her outgoing Ghanaian counterpart, Alhaji Baba Kamara. Jonathan stressed an urgent need for African leaders to move beyond declarations of support for greater intraAfrican trade and act in unison to overcome obstacles, which currently hinder economic relations among the nations and people of the continent. The President said with the right political will and commitment, African leaders could speedily overcome all obstacles to intra-African trade, such as poor transportation links, and achieve a significant boost in continental economic interaction for the benefit of their countries and people. He pledged that Nigeria will continue to spearhead and support efforts aimed at promoting regional and conti-
nental economic integration, saying that existing cordial political relations among most African countries will be further enhanced by greater trade and economic relations among them. He commended AshipalaMusavyi for working diligently to boost bilateral relations between Nigeria and Namibia during her tenure as High Commissioner in Abuja and wished her success at her new post in the
Namibian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The President also lauded Ghana’s outgoing High Commissioner to Nigeria, Kamara, noting that bilateral relations between Nigeria and Ghana have been further strengthened in several areas during Kamara’s four-year tenure. “We must continue to build and strengthen the cordial relations between us. We are the same people and colonial
boundaries must not be allowed to keep us apart,” Jonathan told Kamara. Quoting the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the President submitted that of the over 200 projects registered by it last year, Nigeria had 42 with a value of almost $200 million, noting that only China accounted for more registered projects in Ghana during the period with 56 projects.
Jonathan
OTARY International R President-elect, Gary Huang, has assured that come 2015, there would be total eradication of polio in the remaining three countries of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan where cases of the disease are still being recorded. Huang, who is currently on a visit to Nigeria, gave the assurance yesterday at a press briefing at Rotary Centre in Ikeja, Lagos, where he also commissioned the new Jonathan Majiyagbe House. The Rotary boss said: “We have been after polio eradication since 1988, and about two years ago, only three countries, including Nigeria, were
still having polio cases. There was also total eradication of this disease in Nigeria before the last when more than 50 cases came up again and became wider. “However, we are putting more effort to see that this disease totally disappears from the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is involved, and as we get more money, we will fight polio in the last three countries where the disease still exists such that by the 2015, we would have totally eradicated what is called polio in the world. “We know polio may change to another form of disease and that is the reason we need more money to continue to fight the insurgence of any disease.”
Rotary established its Polio Plus Programme in 1985 and helped launch the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988, along with spearheading partners, including the WHO, UNICEF and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Since then, new polio cases have plunged by more than 99 per cent worldwide from 350,000 cases annually to just 223 in 2012 with only three countries remaining. However, every nation remains at risk for infections “imported” from the endemic countries. Rotary Clubs worldwide were said to have contributed more than $1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours towards eradication of polio. Rotary and Polio-Plus Partners alone have contributed $164 million towards ending polio in Nigeria and the nation’s 269 Rotary Clubs have also contributed countless volun-
By Bertram Nwannekanma PROSECUTION witness and A Head of Lagos Zonal Office of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Victor Chidok, yesterday told an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, that the agency did not authenticate documents submitted for payments during the fuel subsidy regime. The witness, who was led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), in the trial of three oil marketers over alleged fuel subsidy infraction, said the agency only relied on documents supplied by marketers.
Poly students protest in Ibadan
Polio to end in 2015, says Rotary chief By Isaac Taiwo
‘PPPRA didn’t authenticate documents in fuel subsidy payments’
teer hours. Nigeria has invested in its own polio eradication efforts with President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent commitments of $60 million for 2012 and 2013 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October 2011 and a commitment of an additional $40 million announced at the Global Vaccine Summit in April, this year. Regrettably, the anti-polio programme in Nigeria is still facing operational challenges such as insecurity and the current state of emergency in some areas in the northern part of the country. The situation has resulted in cases of polio in areas that had been polio-free in 2012 and yet, a polio-free Nigeria is the key to a polio-free world. There is, however, hope because, according to a report, Nigeria today is having only 35 polio cases in 2013 as against 55 the same period in 2012.
From Iyabo Lawal, Ibadan GGRIEVED students of The A Polytechnic Ibadan yesterday took to the streets in protest against epileptic power supply in the institution. As a result, human and vehicular movements were paralysed in Sango and its environs for several hours while the protest lasted. The aggrieved students, rendering anti-government slogans, reportedly barricaded all entrances leading to the school. A cross-section of the students, who spoke on the matter, accused the management of insensitivity and demanded a solution for smooth academic activities.
Court sets aside summons on Jonathan From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja N Abuja High Court yesterA day reversed itself by setting aside summons it issued on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to appear to testify in the trial of two journalists of Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Tony Amokeodo (News Editor) and Mr. Chibuzo Ukaibe (Senior Correspondent), on an 11-count criminal charge alleging forgery of presidential directive bromide published in the newspaper on April 3, 2013. The trial judge, Justice Usman Musale, held that the subpoena ad tesciticandum was applied and issued “in error” and should not have been made in the first place.
APGA crisis is over, say Obi, Umeh From Uzoma Nzeagwu, Awka WO years after a serious criT sis engulfed the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) over who controls the soul of the party, the two gladiators, Governor Peter Obi and the National Chairman, Victor Umeh, have resolved their differences. At a well-attended occasion by party members, government officials and other stakeholders at the Government House, Awka, yesterday and addressed by Obi and Umeh after a twohour closed-door meeting, the duo declared that the crisis is over. Umeh, in his statement after, noted that the crisis, which started two years ago and put the party and every member in disarray, was highly regrettable.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
NEWS
7
Veteran journalists urge govt to immortalise Odunewu From Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos HE League of Veteran T Journalists (LVJ) in Plateau State has appealed to the Federal Government to immortalise the late journalism giant who lost his life few days back, Alhaji Alade Odunewu.
Workers seek enabling law for French language village ORKERS of the French W Language Village (teaching and non-teaching) rose from a joint meeting yesterday and restated their demand for an enabling law and a governing council for the institution established over 20 years ago. Representative of the NonAcademic Staff Union, Mr. Hammed Oladapo said: “We are not happy with the fact that the institution has no enabling law all these years. We also want the tenure of the chief executive officer of the village to be five-year single term. This is important because our system should reflect what obtains in a federal university.” Oladapo also urged transparency in choice of new director.
Shelle assures of unity in Lagos PDP By Seye Olumide HE Chairman Lagos State T chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tunji Shelle has reiterated that the party remains a united family, urging the public to disregard rumour mongers who were orchestrating division and animosity among the party members. Addressing a press conference in Lagos yesterday, Shelle said: “We are aware of recent orchestration by some elements in the party, which gave the misleading impression that there is a division in the party, but we want to make it abundantly clear that there is nothing like that in our party any more.
Falana urges ICC to probe Egypt killings By Abiodun Fanoro IGERIA’S civil rights defender and former President, West African Bar Association (WABA), Femi Falana has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hague, Netherland to order investigations into alleged mass killing of supporters of the recently deposed government of President Mohammed Morsi in Egypt by elements loyal to the country’s military.
N
Lawyer flays Lagos over expulsion of non-indigenes From Charles Coffie Gyamfi, Abeokuta HE alleged expulsion of 70 Nigerians, mostly of Igbo extraction by the Lagos State government at the weekend has attracted condemnation from an Abeokuta-based lawyer, Mr. Deji Enisenyi in an open letter to the Senate, a copy of which was made available to The Guardian.
T
Students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, locked out of the institution over outage and scarcity of water in Ibadan yesterday.
PHOTO: NAJEEM RAHEEM
Govt denies endorsing gay diplomats From Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna; Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City; John Okeke, Abuja and Ikechukwu Onyewuchi, Lagos HE Federal Government yesterday denied media reports of endorsing same sex marriage and the accreditation of foreign diplomats who are gays in the country. Some media organisations had in their weekend publications alleged that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru accredited some foreign diplomats who are gays. However, the Ministry in a statement by its spokesman, Ogbole Ode stated: “For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did the Honourable Minister, either in his public engagements or private encounters, endorse or suggest the endorsement of gay marriages and/or rights in the country. The Nigerian position on this issue is very clear, and Ambassador Ashiru has, at every opportunity or forum, reiterated that foreign countries should not impose their values on Nigeria. “At his recent engagement with the diplomatic community on 19th July, 2013, the Minister made the point that whilst Nigeria is not against any country legalising gay marriages, no country should force that on Nigeria, for the reason that Nigeria and majority of Nigerians are against gay marriages and gay rights, as they are not part of our customs, religions, or laws. Meanwhile, apex Islamic organisation in the North, Jama’at Nasir Islam (JNI) has condemned plans by the Federal Government to support gay and child marriages in Nigeria, while urging all Muslims to distance themselves away from such practices. A statement by the Secretary General of JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, urged Muslims to embark on intensive prayers in the last 10 days of the Ramadan fast and lamented that the country was drifting into immoral tendencies, which may have negative effects on the nation’s social structure. Aliyu, who also called on all Muslims to engage in prayers for the nation, added, “we therefore, urge Muslim broth-
T
• JNI, group urge caution on child marriage • Edo women may recall senator ers and sisters to pray fervently, especially for the Ummah against all manner of conspiracies in the name of gay marriage, and early or under aged marriage as now being touted with seeming impunity in the country”. In a related development, Edo women based in Nigeria, Europe, America and other parts of the world have expressed shock on the decision of the senator representing Edo Central in the Senate, Odion Ugbesia to support the clause on child marriage. In a letter dated July 29 sent electronically to The Guardian, the women threatened to invoke Section 69 (a) of the 1999 Constitution, which makes provision for the recall of a lawmaker if he or she was not longer doing the biddings of his constituents. With copies addressed to the Senate President, David Mark,
the governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, two other senators from the state and several others, the women said they were appalled that the senator did not take cognizance that the controversial clause also negates Section 277 of the Child Right Act which stipulates age 18 for adulthood, a situation which made it more important that the clause be removed. But in his reaction yesterday, Ugbesia told The Guardian that he did not vote for underaged marriage as being “mispresented,” adding that there are more serious matters that Nigerians should bother about in the review of the constitution. However, Medical Consultant-General, Muslim Medical Volunteers, Dr. Haheem-Deen Ekemode, has urged Nigerians to differentiate between when a culture
allows for a man to be attached to a girl and when there is said to be marriage. Ekemode made this call, yesterday at a media briefing organised by a non-governmental organisation, Nigerian Virgin Girls, an initiative that upholds ethos of virginity among young Nigerian girls. Ekemode, who is a renowned gynecologist, said he supports early marriage, but not in the sense of girls being married off at 12 or 13 years, stressing that marriage should be from age 16 upwards. He advised that marriage should be done between 24 to 28 years, because after
this age women are likely to develop fibroid. He said: “A child can betrothed to a man at any age, even at birth, but intercourse in these arrangements should take place when the girl is 16 years. It is the ideal advice in gynecology. This is because it is at 16 that the girl is fully matured to bear a child. The 12-yearold’s body is not developed enough to tolerate child bearing. When this is done, the common complication is Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), which affects the urinary bladder. A girl-child can be attached to a man, as is in some cultures, but sexual intercourse should be when the girl is 16 years. Any thing below this, the law should be allowed to take its full course.”
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
8 NEWS
Police begin investigations into cousins’ deaths in Imo From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri ORRIED by the sad inciW dent, men and officers of the Imo State Police Command at the weekend commenced investigations into the mysterious deaths of two cousins in one room. Police source told The Guardian in Owerri that the news was worrisome, leading to a detailed investigation into the ugly issue. The duo, the late Mathias Nwoko and Miss Anjela Ihuoma Anyanwu, were found dead while naked in a building under construction in their ancestral home in Umumpe, Umuevu, Okirika-Nweke, Ahiazu Mbaise Local Council of Imo State. A family source told The Guardian that a power-generating set was on at the corridor of the house while the late duo were allegedly there. The late Mathias, in his 45th year, the source said, was a wealthy man owning many Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) and Porsche cars, residing in Onitsha, Anambra State, while Angela, at about the 22nd year, was residing in Owerri before she visited home for the ordination and mass thanksgiving of their kinsman, the Rev. Fr. Anayochukwu Onuoha.
PDP names Dikko disciplinary committee chairman From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja Republic Transport ShasECOND Minister, Dr. Umaru Dikko, been appointed chairman of the disciplinary committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). A statement issued yesterday by PDP Acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Okeke, said the committee is made up of seven members, including King A.J. Turner, who would serve as the deputy chairman. Other members are Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, Hajiya Nana Ayishat Kadiri, Mr. Hussaini Diraki and Senator Emmanuel Agboti, who serves as secretary.
Head, Wholesale Banking Finance, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Nigeria, Mrs. Lara Bolodeoku (left); Head, Credit Analysis Global Corporate, SCB, Mr. Tersoo Bossua; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Nigeria, Mrs. Bola Adesola; Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Stella OjekweOnyejeji and Chief Finance Officer (CFO), West Africa and Executive Director Nigeria, Mrs. Yemi Owolabi, during the Standard Chartered Finance Master Class 2013 held in Lagos.
‘Why Pate resigned’ • Doctors, pharmacists differ on replacement By Chukwuma Muanya (Lagos) and Emeka Anuforo (Abuja) ORE reasons are emergM ing on why the Minister of State for Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, resigned his office on Wednesday July 24, 2013, to take up appointment as a Professor in Duke University’s Global Health Institute, United States, and as Senior Adviser to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation based in Washington DC. Pate, born September 6, 1968, was appointed Minister of State for Health in July 2011 following his success as the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
However, Pate said the decision to resign followed careful consultations and was taken with the sense of utmost responsibility, patriotism and humility. “As you are already aware, I have also offered to continue supporting the work we have started in an honorary advisory role to Mr. President,” he said. Pate added: “I have accepted the position of a visiting professor at the Duke University’s Global Health Institute, U.S.A., in which capacity I will be involved in an Africa-wide initiative and will also likely serve as Senior Adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation based in Washington DC. These new roles will complement my offer to Mr. President to continue with
part-time service in support of Nigeria’s polio eradication and the Saving One Million Lives’ Initiative.” But The Guardian investigations, however, revealed that Pate has been appointed an adjunct Professor of Duke University, United States, since 2009 while he was still the Executive Director of NPHCDA, which it reported. So why would Pate resign four years later? Sources from the Presidency told The Guardian that Pate resigned due to irreconcilable differences with the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, and frustrations and bureaucracy in the country’s civil service. It was learnt that the two ministers were hardly seen together in the last one year and disagreed on so many issues concerning the delegation of duties and power in
the ministry. The cold war was quite visible during the last World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, where both Pate and Chukwu hardly sat together. Pate, however, in a telephone chat with The Guardian yesterday, denied these insinuations and insisted that he resigned to take up the appointment with Duke University. But another interesting twist to Pate’s resignation is that despite acknowledging even his driver and security aides in a statement confirming his exit, he did not give Chukwu a mention. “Finally, and most importantly, I wish to state that none of what I contributed in office would have been possible without my immediate core staff - Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, Dr. Labaran, Grace Natson, Dr. Tokunbo Oshin, Dr. Muntaqa, Dr. Saidu, Aminu Naiya, Hallah Tashkalmah, Dalhatu my protocol officer, Hallilu, my driver, Mohammed Haruna and the security detail I worked with day and night over the last two years,” he said. However, mixed feelings have greeted the development. Doctors and pharmacists are already recommending who will replace Pate.
The pharmacists, under the umbrella of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), told The Guardian: “Pate was frustrated out of the system by those in authority.” President of PSN, Mr. Olumide Akintayo, asked President Goodluck Jonathan “to be bold enough to tackle the forces that frustrated Pate out of the system by reacting appropriately.” Akintayo said Pate would be missed because he is a seasoned professional with international exposure and was leading Nigeria to the Promised Land until his resignation. “He is a perfect gentleman and did not want to fight dirty. That is why he quit,” Akintayo said. He said Pate should be commended because it is rare to see a Nigerian resign from his or her exalted position. On Pate’s replacement, Akintayo urged Jonathan to use his office and the opportunity to address the injustice in the health sector by appointing a seasoned administrator from any other professional body in the health sector other than a doctor. However, doctors, under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), disagreed with the PSN.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
9
WorldReport 64 die in bomb attacks against Iraqi Shiites CHOES of an impending E civil reverberated in Iraq yesterday after coordinated attacks mainly targetting Shiite-majority areas of Iraq killed no fewer than 54 people yesterday, while security forces killed 10 militants. With the Iraqi Interior Ministry warning of civil conflict, it was learnt that more than 800 people have now been killed in violence so far this month alone, according to Agence France Presse (AFP) figures based on security and medical sources. The figures show an average of upwards of 27 killed a day. Also, more than 3,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the year, a surge in unrest that the Iraqi government has failed to
With the Iraqi Interior Ministry warning of civil conflict, it was learnt that more than 800 people have now been killed in violence so far this month alone. stem. Yesterday, 11 car bombs hit nine different areas of Baghdad, seven of them Shiite-majority, while another exploded in Mahmudiyah south of the capital. Two more car bombs exploded in Kut, while two hit Samawa and another detonated in Basra, all south of Baghdad. A roadside bomb also killed five policemen, including a lieutenant colonel, north of Tikrit, while a magnetic “sticky bomb” killed a police captain in Anbar province.
The attacks killed a total of about 54 people and wounded at least 232. The interior ministry warned of the consequences of the bloodshed. Iraq is faced with “open war waged by the forces of bloody sectarianism aiming to plunge the country into chaos and reproduce civil war”, the ministry said in a statement. Iraq was racked by a bloody Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that peaked in 20062007, when thousands of people were killed because of
their religious affiliation or forced to abandon their homes under threat of death. The interior ministry yesterday called for the “full support and cooperation of citizens with the security forces”. Army and police forces meanwhile killed 10 militants west of Tikrit, police officers said. They also destroyed the militants’ camp, carried out controlled detonations of three car bombs and seized explosives belts, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, ammunition and explosives, they said. One of the Baghdad bombs exploded near where day labourers wait for work in the overwhelmingly Shiite area of Sadr City, killing five people and wounding 17.
Italy mourns 38 killed in coach crash TALY yesterday mourned the Icarrying 38 people killed when a coach pilgrims plunged off a flyover near Naples, the worst such accident in western Europe in the last decade. Local prosecutors have launched an investigation into possible manslaughter over Sunday evening’s accident near the town of Avellino on the busy highway between Naples and Bari in southern Italy. Relatives and friends gathered
at a nearby school where the bodies of their loved ones were laid out in the gymnasium, ahead of funerals to be held today. Prime Minister Enrico Letta also announced a national day on mourning for today. Rescuers have cleared the last of the wreckage from a wooded area off the road, where a row of beige seats patterned with blue swirls had lain, streaked with blood.
Cannes’ jewellery theft now valued at $136m ROSECUTORS yesterday P revealed that an armed man who staged a brazen heist in a French Riviera luxury hotel took off with jewels worth $136 million (103 million euros), setting record of one of the world’s biggest jewellery thefts. Undisturbed by security staff, the man on Sunday walked into the Carlton in the posh resort of Cannes – a hotel popular with film stars that was once the location of Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller “To Catch A Thief”. The thief, who was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and head covered with a cloth, proceeded to steal
items that were part of an exhibition by a group owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, escaping with a briefcase full of jewels and watches incrusted in diamonds. Authorities had initially estimated the heist was worth $53 million (40 million euros), but after an inventory of the exhibition, prosecutors in Grasse near Cannes have concluded that it is valued at a much higher $136 million. As such, it came head-tohead with what is considered the world’s largest ever haul of jewellery — valued at around 100 million euros, which took place in Belgium in 2003.
Mali lauded for successful election FTER the first election since A a coup last year led to an Islamist insurgency, Malian
Iraqi citizens and security forces inspect the site of a car bomb explosion in the impoverished district of Sadr City in Baghdad, after 11 car bombs hit nine different areas of Baghdad, seven of them Shiite-majority areas…yesterday. PHOTO: AFP
Mideast talks set to resume, U.S. urges compromises NITED States has urged U Israelis and Palestinians to work in good faith and
• Jewish official predicts ‘very tough’ negotiation
make “compromises” ahead of the first direct talks in three years chasing a longelusive peace. The call came as Secretary of State John Kerry, in a bid to shepherd months of tough negotiations that lie ahead, named seasoned diplomat, Martin Indyk, as the U.S. special envoy to the talks. However, Israeli negotiator, Tzipi Livni, said yesterday that peace talks with the Palestinians would be “very tough” but insisted they were necessary because of the growing troubles in the Middle East. “It is going to be very tough and problematic,” the Israeli justice minister told reporters after meeting UN leader Ban Ki-moon and before going to Washington for the start of preliminary talks. Livni said Israel was “hopeful” about the U.S.-brokered talks and said Palestinian prisoners would be released
during the negotiations as agreed with the United States and the Palestinian leadership. The negotiations were to start later yesterday with an iftar dinner hosted by Kerry with Livni and her Palestinian counterpart, Saeb Erakat. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has welcomed the imminent start of the talks, calling it a “promising step” forward but warning that “hard choices remain ahead.” “The most difficult work of these negotiations is ahead, and I am hopeful that both the Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in good faith,” Obama said. The U.S. was ready to support both sides “with the goal of achieving two states, living side by side in peace and security,” Obama added. Speaking just hours before the first face-to-face public meeting since September
2010, Kerry again praised the courage shown by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in agreeing to resume negotiations. “Many difficult choices lie ahead for the negotiators and for the leaders as we seek reasonable compromises on tough, complicated, emotional and symbolic issues,” he said. “I think reasonable compromises has to be a keystone of all of this effort. I know the negotiations are going to be tough, but I also know that the consequences of not trying could be worse.” Indyk, 62, who has twice served as U.S. ambassador to Israel and participated in the failed 2000 Camp David summit under then president Bill Clinton, said he was taking on “a daunting and humbling” challenge. But he insisted: “It has been my conviction for 40
years that peace is possible.” The dream of a Middle East peace deal has for decades been a chimera chased by U.S. presidents, but talks last collapsed in September 2010 amid deep distrust between the two sides. Israel and the Palestinians remain deeply divided over so-called “final status issues” – including the fate of Jerusalem, claimed by both as a capital, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the fate of dozens of Jewish settlements scattered across the occupied West Bank. After months of dogged diplomacy, Kerry on his sixth trip to the region earlier in July wrested from both sides an accord setting out the basis for new negotiations. He said Indyk had already won the respect of both sides in the conflict and that he “understands that there is now a path forward and we must follow that path with urgency.”
and French leaders yesterday praised the high turnout and smooth running of Mali’s presidential polls. There were no reports of violence in Sunday’s poll despite threats to “strike” polling stations by armed Islamists who had occupied northern Mali before being ousted in January by a French-led military occupation. The European Union’s obser-
vation mission reported that turnout was around 50 percent, putting paid to pessimism over the vote’s viability. President Francois Hollande of former colonial power France hailed the ballot for being “marked by a good turnout and an absence of any major incident”. “Congratulations are in order that the Mali elections passed off well... For France, it is a great success,” said his prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault.
10
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Politics Internal crisis not peculiar to PDP, says Arise Senator Ayodele Sylvester Arise, who represented Ekiti-North senatorial district (2007 to 2011) on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is one of the party’s governorship aspirants in the 2014 election in Ekiti. The former chair of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and a member of several other committees spoke to Seye Olumide on how PDP plans to change the face of the state and the need for people to vote for change. HAT chances has your party W to oust the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ekiti, in the face of the crisis in the Southwest zone of the PDP? Nigerians must understand that a party, as big as the PDP, will always have challenges. However, the good thing is that as a family, the party has always looked for a better means to surmount it crisis. The challenges confronting PDP at present are nothing new; they have happened and I am sure they would soon subside. A few weeks ago, the Southwest zone held a reconciliation meeting in Lagos, where a committee was set up to further work on the way forward. I am optimistic this noble move would yield necessary result. As politicians, our expectation is to see Nigeria progresses. The ACN is also doing all it could but we felt there are certain areas where we
can do better. The crisis in the Southwest PDP zone is not peculiar. The problem is more pronounced here because of the strategic position of the region in the politics and administration of the country. Southwest is very key, and that is the reason we are doing everything possible to put our house in order ahead of the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti and Osun; and above all, the 2015 elections. What are your chances as an aspirant of winning your party’s gubernatorial ticket? The chances now have suddenly gone beyond arithmetic and politicking. There is a discussion already on how to choose a consensus candidate. I am not yet sure how it will happen but what is important is how we are going to bring about a positive development in the state. Like I said, the progress of the state and the welfare of the people are paramount. What do you think is responsible for the tensions in the polity today? I have always maintained that the most lucrative job in Nigeria is politics and until we change that inordinate perception, we would always have that serious contention and tension whenever election is approaching. Look at it this way: If anybody becomes the chairman of a council today, within a year, such a person suddenly becomes wealthy and turns better than his peer group. If you become a governor, you suddenly have access to funds and so on. Until we begin to have more
Arise professionals coming to participate in politics and ensure that the dividends of democracy take effects right from the centre to the state and down to the council level, things will not change. I strongly believe that professionals, who have other means of income, should come into politics; that is the only way to eradicate the present system where politicians rely solely on public
funds. When we begin to have professionals in government, with time, things will change. Are you implying a system overhaul? This is going to take a gradual process because nothing happens overnight. We must begin to get creative and then find means to empower our youths and ensure that they are able to stand on their
own. There is also the need to encourage hard work, recognition of merit and not mediocre; and we must cultivate the idea of trying to add value to other people’s lives. For now, the only available avenue for quick wealth is politics. If you become governor, you award contracts to your friends and party members but that is not the only way to make wealth. We need to begin to change our orientation in politics if the country must move forward. We should also develop the courage to question public officers on their performance when they are in office. If you have the chance to rule Ekiti, what would you do? I know Governor Kayode Fayemi is doing his best but I can do a lot better. To me, it is not the issue of whether Fayemi is performing or not; there are so many things I would have done differently. Anytime I come into politics, people know that it is not about money but to render quality service to the people. Do you consider the yet-to-be registered All Progressives Congress (APC) as a threat to the PDP? Any opposition is a threat, and there is no way we can say they are not a threat. Otherwise, we are deceiving ourselves. It is the responsibility of the PDP to sit up and ensure we defeat our opposition. As for Ekiti State, the ACN is in power; so, the issue of seeing them as a threat or not is not the bone of contention. We are the ones seeking to unseat them through democratic means.
‘We want to operate Ekiti like a business enterprise’ Jeremiah Adebisi Omoyeni is the former Group Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc. He also served as Deputy Governor to Mr. Ayodele Fayose for two months. The former polytechnic teacher bared his mind Odita Sunday on some issues in Ekiti State’s Peoples Democratic Party and his ambition to become the state governor in 2014. OU were in politics before and you left to Y join the banking profession; why are you coming back? Every human being is a political animal. We play politics either as a professional politician or a corporate politician. I refer to myself as a corporate politician. I was a deputy governor in Ekiti State for two months before the bank came to beg for my release because it was the era of consolidation. I went back to Wema Bank, and within 18 days, we were able to consolidate. What new ideas are you bringing into Ekiti State politics, to better the lives of the citizens? The problem we have had in Ekiti State is that people, who have been occupying the governorship position, didn’t know how to fix the state. You cannot give what you don’t have. There is a saying in Business Policy that, “Action without knowledge is foolishness.” Knowledge without action is equally useless. We know how to industrialise Ekiti State and we want to do it.
Politicians, who hear us say we want to industrialise the state would think we would spend government’s money to do so. Government has no business in business. Government needs to provide the enabling environment for business to strive; that is what we need. We want to bring back hope to our teeming unemployed youths. The bank was not considered as viable before we came in. We brought WEMA Bank back as a very good brand and we are ready to do it in Ekiti State. In government, you create wealth; you don’t distribute it. We must be able to multiply wealth. We are blessed with natural and human resources in Ekiti State. We want to operate the state like a business enterprise. The government in Ekiti today will not agree with you that the youths of the state have no hope… In politics, it is good to discuss issues and not people. Go to the streets of Ekiti, as a journalist and carry out your investigation. The state has become poorer than before. In Ekiti, the debt we own might create problem for generations yet unborn if we don’t take care. How could you borrow to carry out Elephant projects? Borrowing is not a bad habit, but you borrow to create business activities; you don’t borrow for consumption. That is what we are doing in Ekiti State and it has serious implication. In the Southwest, people are saying that Lagos is doing very well; I agree with them, but my own state, Ekiti, is not doing well;
Omoyeni there is much poverty in the land. The youths are not happy; the teachers and civil servants are not happy. I have managed human beings for many years and we have never recorded strikes. The workers in Ekiti are not happy and there is no way any government can succeed when the workers are not happy.
I didn’t have any political ambition. I am a busy man; I have works that occupy me in Lagos. But we cannot just leave our people to be so hungry and angry all the time. They have never really enjoyed the dividend of democracy. I have always assisted governors that ruled Ekiti State irrespective of the political party. I worked with Governor Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose and others. I did that to contribute my own to the good of our people. On which political platform do you intend to fulfill your ambition? I intend to contest under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is the only democratic political party in Nigeria today. How do you intend to succeed during the election, knowing very well that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is holding sway in Southwest? If you have God as a father, any other godfather has no power. God is my father and he would make sure I succeed. The Bola Tinubu-led ACN did not get Ekiti State through the polls; they got it through the court judgment and the judgment was controversial. In Ekiti, we don’t vote for political parties; we vote for individuals. If our people believe in you, they will support you. Do you see the PDP as a viable party, considering the unending crisis bedeviling it? Politics is crisis resolution. There is no political party without crisis, but we manage our crisis well. We are managing our crisis; the ACN is managing its own, and PDP will come out stronger. The crisis in our party would make us stronger.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
11
12
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
TheMetroSection ‘My son was killed in the full glare of policemen’ •Schoolboys murdered in their prime in Badagry By Odita Sunday HE family of Ifechukwude Gabriel Nwainokpor, a graduate of Geology and Mining at the Delta State University, Abraka clubbed to death with his friend at Badagry area of Lagos, has urged the Lagos State Police Command to ensure that there is no sacred cow in a bid to unearth the mystery behind the death of their son. Ify as his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Nwainokpor, natives of Onicha-Ugbo, Aniocha North of Delta State fondly called him, was allegedly lynched by suspected members of vigilante group in Badagry in full glare of members of the Nigeria Police attached to Badagry Police Division. Just like the Alu Port Harcourt incident, the duo of Ifechukwude and Kazeem were returning from a friend’s house when they were accosted by the group of vigilante men who tagged them suspects and took them to the home of their leader, one Dele Asiribo. Asiribo was said to have handcuffed them immediately having threatened them with a locally made shotgun. It was said that while he was trying to return the gun to his pouch, it triggered and blew him up. He died instantly. Out of anger, the youths allegedly descended on the two friends and sent them to their early grave. According to his father, Samuel, who spoke to The Guardian amidst tears: “ Ifechukwude is my first son. He was born on 5th September 1988. He is a graduate of Geology and Mining from Delta State University, Abraka. We live in Badagry, he was born in Badagry. Since he was at home waiting for his National Youth Service Corp, we decided he should go through tutelage under a friend of mine who a is freight forwarder in Apapa. That he has been doing.” “On May 2, 2013, he saw me off to the airport to Accra, just last Monday, July 21, I was informed by my in-law in Delta State about the incident. I took the next available flight from Ghana,” he said. Narrating the story, he continued: “The story I was told was that a freight forwarder friend invited him and his friend to their house. As they were returning, some people accosted them and said their faces are strange and immediately tagged them suspects. My child and his friend started arguing, asking why they should be referred to as suspects. They took him to the house of one man whom they called the head of the vigilante group in that area.” “He came out from his house with a locally made
new set of project management courses beginning this month. Omololu said it was in response to the requests by clients for increased competence and the need to improve the country through improved services. The new courses include: International Certification in supply chain management from the Institute of Supply Chain Management, United Kingdom; Masters Certificate in Advanced Project Management; International certification in I.T software and network training and International Association of Six Sigma Certification among others.
Anthony Akinwolere, 59, for burial Friday HE death has occurred of T Mr. Anthony Ayodele Akinwolere. He died died on July 23, The late Ifechukwude hand-gun and a hand-cuff. It was the gun he used to intimidate them and handcuffed them. In an attempt to return his locally made gun to his pouch, it triggered and blew him up; he died instantly. Immediately he died, the youths suspected to be members of the vigilante group mobbed my son and his friend in the glaring view of policemen and they died.” “The video of the atrocity is on You Tube. My son was wailing and begging that they are innocent. Police took their bodies and called them armed robbers. The Divisional Police Officer, (DPO), Mr. Dankoli Mohammed told us that he was not around when the incident happened. He informed us that his lieutenants told him that they have shot two armed robbers in the area. He said the father of my son’s friend came to him (DPO) and urged the police to give him his son’s body, and they quickly released it to him for burial without autopsy after such heinous crime had been committed.” “The DPO even insisted that it was a case of armed robbery until the video was played for him. After
His father, Mr. Nwainokpor
watching the video, he knew the bubble had busted and told us that the matter was now beyond him. He immediately took us to the office of the Area Commander. The Area Commander felt very bad after watching the video. He urged him to go to the scene and invite all the suspects involved.” “My second son was in coma for two days after he saw his brothers’ dead body. It took the intervention of Doctors to revive him. My request from the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police is to ensure that justice is done on this matter. I cannot get my son back, the only thing I want now is justice and it must not elude us. The matter is already on the Internet and the police should do the right thing and deliver justice to us. I have only two sons and I cannot be alive to see this happen to me and my family.” The Lagos State Police Command, however, has swung into action over the matter. The Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Umaru Manka has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department to unearth the mystery behind the killings.
Pregnant woman, seven others die in Gbongan-Osogbo Road crash T
JK Michaels introduces new management courses MANAGEMENT Consultant, A JK Michaels, Dr. Bello Omololu has introduced a
T
From Tunji Omofoye, Osogbo RAGEDY struck yesterday in Osun State as eight persons, including a pregnant woman, lost their lives in an auto crash along the dualised portion of Gbongan-Osogbo Road. The victims were said to be traders travelling from Ede to Owode Market, a suburb of Ede, when the accident occurred at about 6.40 am. The Guardian learnt that the multiple accident involving three vehicles occurred when a Blue Gulf 3 car
Briefs
with Reg. No AG 19 EDE from Gbongan somersaulted and landed on an Ash KIA car with Reg. No. KUJ 74 AJ and a white Toyota Hiace bus with Reg. No. XR 930 ABC on the other side of the road. Eyewitness said the bodies of the victims were smashed while broken parts littered the area until officials of the Osun Ambulance Service and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) tidied up the scene. The accident caused traffic snarl in the area while some traders report-
edly returned home as a mark of honour for the dead. The state Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Imoh Etuk, who confirmed the incident, said the deceased had been deposited at the morgue of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Osogbo. He said officials of the FRSC, in conjunction with the Osun State Ambulance Service (O’Ambulance) and the Police, did their best to rescue the victims.
Etuk said identities of the victims could not be immediately ascertained, noting that officials of the FRSC were making frantic effort to contact relatives of the victims through the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). He also warned drivers against excessive speed just as he charged them to observe all precautionary measures while on highways. He said Command would do its best to ensure that road accidents were reduced in all parts of the state.
Akinwolere
Commonwealth University honours Nwokeafor OMMONWEALTH UniverC sity, Belize, has honoured Senator Levi Nwokeafor with a honorary doctorate degree for his outstanding contributions to national development, public administration and management. A statement by the Coordinator of Dubai Leadership Summit, Prof. David Ironem, said: ''This is a recognition reserved for those who have made outstanding contributions in management, business, national development or in other forms of outstanding contribution in their communities.''
Mbang, others get award FOREFRONT Catholic A school, Adiaha Obong Secondary School, in Akwa Ibom
Photonews
Immediate Past President of Rotary Club of Ikoyi, Damisola Matti-Balogun decorating Kevin Ofili as the new President (2013-2014) PHOTO: ISAAC TAIWO
2013 at the age of 59. A Service of Songs holds on Thursday, August 1, at 5.00p.m. at his residence, 2, Silifatu Abioye Street, off Ayo Alabi Street, by Ajayi Road, Oke Ira , Ogba (Temitope Bus Stop), Lagos. Funeral Service / interment will hold on Friday, August 2, at 10.00 a.m. at the same venue.
Special Guest, Mohammed Dahiru Dantani of the Nigerian Customs Service (left); Chairperson, Mrs. Sunny Igboanuzie, and the Principal, Loral Int’l Secondary Schools, Mrs. Mariam Uzoegbunam, during the schools’ 18th Graduation and Prize Giving Ceremony at Igbesa, FESTAC Town…recently
PHOTO: CHARLES OKOLO
State, has given an award to an upcoming artiste, Brandiny Mbang, son of the former Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Mbang, for his contributions towards the growth, dignity and education of the girl- child. Mbang, also known as the Prince of ‘Rock n Roll’ was awarded alongside four others at an event that was attended by over 1,500 people. The Principal, Obongawan Ime Ubong, said that the recipients were carefully selected because of their support and encouragement toward the education of the female child. Brandiny thanke the school for the award and the government for handing over some schools to the missions.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
13
TheGuardian
14 | THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Conscience Nurtured by Truth
FOUNDER: ALEX U. IBRU (1945 – 2011) Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it. Uthman dan Fodio 1754-1816
Editorial AU and Africa’s deadly diseases HE summit of African heads of state in Abuja on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) T and malaria the other day, will have meaning once the pronouncements made are backed up with actions and agreements reached are implemented. Until then, the applause should be muted. Several of such meetings have been held in the past without action plans, while the scourge of these diseases persists. At the moment therefore, concrete action and not rhetoric is needed to curb the diseases. African leaders had converged in Abuja to review progress and work out a more impactful universal framework for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria scourge in Africa. Tagged African Union Abuja + 12 Special Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the objective was to review achievements and challenges in managing the diseases. Citing a report jointly prepared by AU, UNDP and African Development Bank (AfDB), AU Chairman and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegu, said about 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced new HIV infections by more than 25 per cent and made considerable reduction in AIDS’s mortality. He cited Ethiopia among the few countries that have reduced cases of HIV/AIDS by more than 50 per cent. Chairperson of the Permanent Representatives Commission on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, Ambassador Kongit Sinegiorgis also said encouraging achievements have been made over the past decade on the diseases through the joint efforts of governments, development partners and communities. The success stories, he said, should inspire other African countries still lagging behind to scale up their efforts in the coming years. President Goodluck Jonathan used the occasion of the summit to launch a new initiative on HIV/AIDS, designed to achieve universal access to the prevention, treatment, care and support for all Nigerians living with HIV. The “President’s Comprehensive Response Plan” (PCRP) initiative was to demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to the Abuja Declaration 2001, which mandated African countries to take measures to halt and reverse the progression of the infection in Africa. Accordingly, the programme was developed “to promote greater responsibility and accountability for HIV/AIDS responses at national and sub-national levels”. Notwithstanding what appears to be a glimmer of hope in the fight against the three debilitating diseases, a lot still needs to be done. For instance, with regards to HIV/AIDS, it is important to note that gaps still exist in terms of prevention, treatment, social protection, care and support, as well as resource mobilisation and strengthening the system of service delivery. The call by President Jonathan for African leaders to exploit local means of tackling not only HIV but also TB, malaria and other infectious diseases would require a strong financial backing by states, for scientists to research on these diseases. It is pertinent to ask how many African countries are willing to give such support. How many centres in Africa are well-equipped with research laboratories where in-depth research on the diseases is going on? In Nigeria where there is little research activities due to poor funding, how would this objective be met? Exploiting local cures would require increased funding by African leaders. The point must be made that while the authorities are doing their best to tackle HIV/AIDS infection, the populace must be enlightened to change lifestyles that predispose them to infection. The enlightenment should come from not only the government but schools, religious institutions and social organisations. Self-discipline is key to HIV/AIDS prevention. At present, one in 20 adults live with HIV in Africa. This is very bad news. In the case of malaria, it is remarkable that despite the endemic nature of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa and the efforts so far made in tackling it, the disease’s prevalence remains worrisome. Statistics show that every minute, a child dies of malaria. This is in spite of the fact that malaria deaths in Africa have reportedly fallen by one-third, compared to the year 2000. More than a million lives have reportedly been saved since 2000. The Roll Back Malaria partnership programme has contributed in no small measure. Experts say a malaria vaccine might offer the greatest hope of achieving significantly improved malaria control in Africa, where ecological habitat has made mosquito control a difficult task. Developing a malaria vaccine will be a major breakthrough. The Global Malaria Programme recently disclosed that a trial of malaria vaccine is on-going in 11 sites in seven African countries. This is a good starting point. Finally, there has been the rising scourge of TB in Nigeria, which experts blame on inadequate and ineffective compliance to treatment. Many sufferers are uninformed, which complicates the matter. This scenario is not different in other African countries. The burden of dual epidemics of HIV/TB in Africa is a growing concern. Some 13 per cent of all TB cases are reportedly infected by HIV, particularly, in Africa, where rates of HIV infection are high. Incidentally, treatment for TB has been made free through the Global Fund, an international financing institution that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. African countries should, therefore, take advantage of the Fund. The continent cannot make progress when a large proportion of the population is unhealthy. The significance of the Abuja summit would be how to re-energize all the programmes and actions aimed at combating these diseases.
LETTER
NCC investigate Multichoice/DSTV Between June and July SdueIR:2013,diligence I carried out a simple on the billing and customer relationship activities of Multichoice/DSTV and came to the sad conclusion that the company has been ripping Nigerians patronising it of their hard-earned money. This is apparently due to false or crude accounting by Mutichoice. It is also clear that the authorities who should know, are ignorant and do not also know what to do because there has been no oversight function. I am one of the first generation customers of Multichoice. Last year, they changed their account numbers and gave me a new number 42657698967. I used this number for some months when suddenly the system could no longer scan. After several texts and calls, I was asked to go to the nearest DSTV dealer on December 15, 2012 who asked that my decoder was now obsolete and that I should buy a new one, which I did. I then asked to be credited with my outstanding credit on the old decoder – I had over three weeks of unused time – but they insisted that my former subscription had lapsed with the old one! My new decoder number is 4258457986. In early May 2013, my assistant mistakenly paid a renewal subscription into my old account for a new subscription (for May 17 to June 16), as my subscrip-
tion was then due to expire on May 17. It was only when I was disconnected that day that I realised that the payment was wrongly paid into the old account. It took several calls and text messages to Lagos and South Africa before I was reconnected on May 22, which made my subscription to be for the period May 22 to June 21. On June 19, at 12.20:27 pm Multichoice 30333 sent me a text on my MTN line as follows: “Ur subscription is due 2moro. Pay b4 ur due date & enjoy 10 per cent instant discount. Renew via http://www.eazym o n e y . c o m . n g / ; http://www.mypaga.com/ or http://m.quickteller.com/dstv”. Because I had renewed my monthly subscription on June 14th for the subscription that would lapse again on July 20, I ignored this June 19 text. But on July 11, i.e. nine clear days before my subscription would lapse, the mighty Multichoice disconnected me. I have again sent several text messages and made phone calls but they won’t budge. On July 13, Multichoice 30333 again sent me a text on my Airtel line that “Ur account is due 2moro. Kindly renew @ Plot 19 Libreville Str., off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2 & @ banks, ATM or @ http://www.quickteller.com/. Ignore if payment is made.” Up till now I have not been reconnected. Should we continue to accommodate this type of impunity in
21st century Nigeria? I strongly appeal to those concerned at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology as well as the Nigerian Communications Commission to investigate this sordid state of affairs and nip it in the bud at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps it would not be out of place for relevant Committees on Communications in the Senate and the House of Representatives to show oversight on this issue. The authorities should compel Multichoice to upgrade its crude or fraudulent accounting system in these days of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Nigerian consumers benefitted when per second billing was pioneered by GLO. Competitors were forced to follow and we now talk per second, which others thought was then not possible. The government should compel Multichoice and others to introduce and charge Nigerians on a per second, per minute, per hour, per day basis for its service. The monthly charge is 720 hours, i.e. 24 hours of 30 days. Since the average Nigerian does not enjoy electricity for more than 40 per cent utility time per month (i.e. 288 hours each month), it is only logical that we should be charged for actual viewing hours in the interest of fairness. The IT technology, which drives the cellphone industry is virtually the same as that which drives Multichoice and others in that service industry. • Patrick Emerhana, Emerhana2000@yahoo.com.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
15
Business Appointments P27 Combating counterfeiting through human capital development
‘Nigeria saves N119b through e-govt’ Stories by Adeyemi Adepetun HE Federal Government T have saved about N119 billion from various eGovernment initiatives within the last two years, the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has disclosed. However, despite the various moves by the government, Johnson said that reports have indicated that Nigeria was yet to really explore the benefits of Information and Communications Technology
(ICT), to solve major challenges confronting it. The minister, in her keynote address at the just concluded Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) 11th International Conference in Iloko, Osun State at the weekend, said that further validation of Nigeria’s assessment was borne out by its low position on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Networked Readiness Index (NRI) for 2013. Johnson explained that this index could be viewed as a proxy for the level of a country’s ICT uptake and support
for growth and jobs. According to her, in the current survey, Nigeria is ranked 114 out of 144 countries with an aggregate NRI score of 3.27out of seven. She stressed that the country scored particularly badly in the Readiness sub— index, which aggregates scores on “Infrastructure and Digital Content”, “Affordability” and Skills” where Nigeria ranked 123 out of 144 with an aggregate score of 3.02 out of seven. Furthermore, Johnson disclosed that Nigeria again scored poorly in the Usage sub— index where scores on
“Individual usage”, “Government usage” and “Business usage” are aggregated and the country scored 3.04 out of seven and places it 108 out of 144 surveyed countries. “Our slightly better score of 3.66 out of seven in the Environment sub— index, which aggregates scores on “Political and Regulatory Environment” and “Business and Innovation Environment” places us at 94 out of the 144 surveyed countries. “Finally, the Impact sub— index aggregates “Economic Impact” and “Social Impact” of
Deputy Governor, Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),Tunde Lemo (left); and Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Alhaji Suleiman Barau; Director, Legal Services, Simon Onekutu; Director, Corporate Communications, Ugochukwu Okoroafor and Director, Risk Management, Folakemi Fatogbe, at the Senate Joint Committee Public Hearing on the Nigerian International Financial Centre Bill and Office of the Nigerian Financial Ombudsman Bill, in Abuja, yesterday.
Gray mobile phones’ shipments may slide by 38.2b units HIPMENTS through mobile dwindle to 133.9 million units. helped greatly to stem the ficked through Hong Kong to SNigeria, phones’ gray market to The report noted that gray- scourge. avoid valued-added taxes (VAT) South Africa and the market handset shipments Furthermore, the IHS report Middle East are expected to decline by 38.2 billion units going by the July report from IHS. IHS, an Electronic and Media Market Research Company, based in the United States (U.S.), informed that the gray market for cellphones will contract for the second consecutive year in 2013, with worldwide shipments dropping by 12 per cent as both makers and buyers of these handsets turn to branded products. The IHS report said shipments reached their peak in 2011 with a total of 250.4 million graymarket cellphones, but that beginning last year, the market began to shrink, contracting to 221.5 million units. It added that the deceleration will continue this year to 194.6 million units, followed by another steep fall to 173.8 million units in 2014. The decline will continue at least through 2017, when shipments will
this year to the Middle East and Africa will decrease slightly to 38.2 million units. Central and Latin America together represented the third-largest gray-handset market, with 37.3 million units forecast to be shipped in 2013, adding that countries in Eastern Europe, such as Russia and Ukraine, also are major target markets. The report noted that the market will contract in Nigeria and other African markets due to awareness from the brands and most especially as buyers turning to purchase branded products. Indeed, in an interaction with journalists in Lagos, Samsung Nigeria’s Director, Handheld Products, Emmanouil Revmatas, confirmed the decline in gray market activities in the country, especially on the Samsung brand, stressing that campaign against its usage has
disclosed that the gray market overall is impacted by an accelerated decrease in the sales of lower-end handsets known as feature phones. It noted that while the ultra-low cost handset (ULCH) and smartphone segments of the gray market will continue to grow until 2014, expansion in these segments won’t be enough to counteract the drop in the feature phone sector. Gray-market handsets, as defined by IHS, include counterfeit products like fake iPhones as well as white-box cellphones on which any logo can be readily imprinted. White-box handsets often are illegal despite sporting a logo because they use smuggled chips, lack official certification from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), use fake International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) codes and usually are traf-
from being imposed on the devices. Director of China Research at IHS, Kevin Wang said; “A combination of supply and demand factors is causing demand to decline for graymarket cellphones. “On the demand side, the consumers in emerging markets who used to be the major purchasers of gray-market cellphones increasingly are preferring brand-name handsets. On the supply side, some graymarket handset makers have become branded manufacturers in order to promote their own names in developing countries.” Furthermore, Wang said it is becoming harder for grayhandset makers to differentiate their products from a sea of counterfeits and remain profitable, stressed that with the Chinese currency appreciating
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
ICT in Nigeria. Here, our aggregated score of 3.34 out of seven places us 79 out of the 144 surveyed countries”, she stated. According to the minister, collectively, these indicators paint a grim picture of the current quality of the country’s ICT infrastructure as well as the existing utilisation trends in ICT, which are also of great help to both government and the private sector in developing effective policies and strategies to move the industry forward. Indeed, to move the sector forward, she said that the ministry’s turn around would centre on four major pillars including; connecting Nigeria with ICT infrastructure; connecting Nigerians by ensuring the populace have affordable access to the infrastructure; by increasing local content participation of local firms in the sector and increasing the supply of local skills and talent to the sector and ensure adoption and use of ICTs in government for transparency, efficiency and productivity in governance and citizen engagement. The minister, who described e-Govt as the use of ICTS by government agencies to transform (and improve) the tradi-
tional government to business or government to citizen interactions, stressed that using ICTs this way can result in more efficient delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, improved document management and archiving, citizen empowerment through access to information, and more efficient government management. Johnson informed that the Integrate Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), a key Government to Government (G2G) service gives much better news about the work that has been done in e-government. “IPPIS has discovered about 46,000 “ghost workers” and saved the government approximately N119 billion so far. 215 MDAs have been captured onto the IPPIS system and another 321 intended to be added by year- end with more savings expected”, she stated. In addition, the minister said the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) manages the budget execution process and helps identify and address sources of leakage in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
16 BUSINESS
Consumers groan as prices of cooking gas, kerosene escalate By Roseline Okere ESPITE assurance from the D Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria last week, consumers were, as at yesterday, paying as much as N6,000 for 12.5 kilogramme cylinder of LPG (cooking gas). The association had earlier assured that the price of the 12.5 kilogram of the cooking gas would slide to N4,000. The Guardian gathered at the weekend, that consumersí switch to the use of kerosene has also resulted to an increase in the price of the product by over 100 per cent. For instance, a litre of kerosene, which was selling for N95, has risen to between N120 and N150. It could be sold for over N170 per litre from local retailers. Alternatively, some smart businessmen have resulted in the smuggling the product from Niger Republic, which they considered far more cost effective than purchasing the product from the country. The price of the cooking gas rose by almost 20 per cent at most retail outlets in the country following the face-off between the major supplier of the product in the country Nigerian NLG Limited, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, which lasted for weeks. The Guardian gathered that many of the off takers, who had paid for the product, were yet to receive their consignment. Before the face-off, a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG was selling between N2,800 to N3,500, depending on the part of the country, but escalated to between N5,000 and N6,000. Though the Nigeria LNG
Chairman, Oando Plc, Oba Michael Adedotun Gbadebo (left); Group Chief Executive, Adewale Tinubu; Chief Financial Officer, Olufemi Adeyemo, during 36th yearly general meeting of the company, in Lagos. PHOTO: GABRIEL IKHODION
Limited has resumed the supply of gas both locally and internationally, the price of cooking gas has remained on the high side. The National President, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers Association of Nigeria, Michael Umudu, told The Guardian yesterday that the increase in the price of the commodity could be as a result of market speculations, fuelled by the nation that the retailers have exhausted their stocks and that there may be scarcity if they do not get more product before this week. He stated: ì There was rumour on Friday that the price will go up by Monday (yesterday) due to non-availability of the product after the first consignment from NLNG. I can assure you
‘Nigeria saves N119b through e-govt’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 budget execution. She informed that while only about 60 per cent of the Federal budget is currently being managed by the platform, GIFMIS has so far identified and recovered about N34 billion from illegal accounts. “IPPIS and GIFMIS are a clear
demonstration of the transparency and cost reduction benefits of egovernment. What is now needed is a more holistic and comprehensive approach to delivering e-government and reaping the full benefits for businesses, for government and for citizens”, she added.
that the price of the product has gone back to N4,000 in Lagos and its environs. The price may still be high in Benin and other states due to the cost of transporting the product from Lagos to other states. ìIn fact, it would have been more expensive in the Northern parts of the country if not for the importation of cooking gas from Niger Republicî. He said the same volume of the product was still selling for N5,000 in Benin because product circulation was yet to get to the state and the entire SouthSouth and South-East regions. ìI can confirm to you that the retail price is now N4,000 in Lagos and Ogun. We sold 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas at N5,000 last week. The product has not circulated, but the situation is getting better in Lagos and Ogun. ìThe product has not reached Benin, the South-South and the South East, but we hope that the situation will improve by the weekend. What we are experiencing now is due to the scarcity caused by the NLNG/NIMASA face-off; so, it is not a planned increment. The increment is due to low circulation. The product is available but circulation is still low.
Many LPG plants are yet to get their allocations from the product supplied.î A retailer at Ago, Okota area of Lagos, Dickson Uzoma, told The Guardian that he decided to continue to sell the product at N6,000 due to the high cost of purchasing cooking gas from the gas plant. ìI bought my product from a major plant at N5, 500 and I have to add the cost of transportation and other expenses. The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company limited (KRPC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has however blamed the high cost of kerosene on hoarding and illegal movement of the product to unapproved destinations. Manager, Public Affairs of Kaduna Refinery, Abdullahi Idris made the disclusureat the flagging-off of sale of kerosene at N50 per litre to the host communities in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state. Idris stressed that the Kaduna refinery loads not less than 60 trucks of the product to marketers on daily basis and wondered why marketers do not make the product available to the masses.
Gray mobile phones’ shipments may slide by 38.2b units CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 in value, the gray handset business is no longer as profitable as it once was. The report noted that AsiaPacific, including China, is the largest gray-handset market in the world, and the devices have a strong presence also in India, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The region, however, is not immune to decline, and the Asia-Pacific gray-handset market will contract this year to 103 million units, on its way to 53 million units by 2017. The Middle East and Africa in 2012 surpassed Central and Latin America as the second largest gray handset market, driven by increasing demand from countries such as Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt and Iran. IHS further said in China, the world’s largest handset market, total cellphone shipments from Chinese companies will grow to 840 million units in 2013, up two per cent from 2012. However, shipments will begin to decline starting in 2014.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
17
18
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Olam trains 1,900 farmers on sesame seed production From Abba Anwar, Kano ORE than 1,900 farmers M were trained by Olam Nigeria Limited in agricultural development programme that took place in Bauchi State, as part of their corporate social responsibility project. Besides, it is in fulfillment of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the company and the Bauchi State government to boost the production of sesame farm product in the state. The programme, which was in its fifth year, was said to be targeting at thousands of farmers in the state and others across the nation. In a press briefing by the company’s manager in Kano, Mr. Adamu Bello, said the company has launched the distribution of free sesame seeds to farmers on July 6th, 2013 in Bauchi at the headquarters of the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP). Assuring that “2,000 farmers have benefitted from the 4kg bag each of free sesame seeds in different sesame growing areas of the state.” He revealed that, farmers were given inputs like fertiliser, herbicide and pesticides on loan basis only to pay back at the end of the harvest period. According to him, “the company engages in by payback arrangement with farmers. In which the farmers are to pay back their loans by selling their products at existing market prices”. He further disclosed that in out-grower programme in Miya Village of Ningi Emirate in Bauchi State where 100 farmers were registered in modern agronomic practice in cultivation of sesame was demonstrated. With the collaboration of BSADP, some farmers were sponsored to go and be trained on the modern method of sesame farming, according to the manager. He added that, “the essence of the demonstration plots is for the farmers to see the difference between the traditional system of farming and modern agronomic system which entails maximum use of land, and later translates into higher yields in premium for the farmers.” On the part of the beneficiaries the manager said one hundred farmers have benefitted from the out-grower programme. While in the free sesame seeds distribution, more than 1,900 farmers across the state benefitted with four kg bag each of improved sesame seeds for free. “Olam Nigeria Limited is a leading integrated supply chain company of agricultural products operating in 56 countries globally including Nigeria, and the company has boosted production cotton, rice, cashew, cocoa and ginger among others in different states of Nigeria.”
BUSINESS
19
20
BUSINESS
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
21
22
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
BUSINESS
23
Airtel, FirstBank launch Firstmonie Payment Solution By Adeyemi Adepetun ELECOMMUNICATIONS T Service Provider, Airtel Nigeria, has gone into a partnership with First Bank Nigeria (FirstBank) Plc to offer Firstmonie Talkmore; the all-new, revolutionary mobile payment solution, to the public. The strategic partnership, which was sealed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), in Lagos makes it possible for Firstmonie Talkmore to run essentially on Airtel platform to make mobile payment services easy and accessible to a broader spectrum of Nigerians. The partnership is the first major collaboration between leading operators in the nation’s banking and telecoms industries to provide a first class mobile payment solution to Nigeria. Specifically, subscribers on Airtel network who sign up to Firstmonie will be able to send and receive money, buy airtime, pay bills and carry out other forms of transaction on their mobile phones
without operating a bank account. In addition, any duly registered subscriber on the Airtel network who signs on to Firstmonie will automatically receive N100 evalue and will be eligible for N240 bonus airtime. Speaking on the special offering, the Director Regulatory Affairs and Special Projects, Osondu Nwokoro, observed that Firstmonie could not have been better timed in view of the current drive by the Central Bank of Nigeria to entrench a cashless economy in the country. Said he: “As pioneers in the GSM sector and leaders of innovation in the industry, we have no doubt that Firstmonie will definitely revolutionise the mobile payment industry and further endear the Airtel brand to the Nigerian people.” According to Nwokoro, Airtel has been a leading driver of innovative mobile payment solutions across Africa having singularly planted Mobile Money platforms in 16 countries across the continent.
Mr. Raj Magtani (left); Mr. Oladimeji Alao; Dr. Raymond Obieri; Mr. Abi Allison Ayida, all directors of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc); Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedo Nebo; Director, Berger Paints, Olawale Akinpelu; Chairman, Clement Olowokande; Managing Director, Tor Nygard; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Boladei Igali; and Director, Berger Paints, Musa Danjuma, during a courtesy visit to the minister by the board of the company, in Abuja.
24
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
BUSINESS
CBAN urges caution on privatisation of Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange From Abba Anwar, Kano HE President of Commodity Brokers Association of Nigeria (CBAN), Altine Shehu Kajiji, has called on the Federal Government to exercise caution on the privatisation of Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange so that the agency would not fall into the hands of nonindigenous private hands. Speaking in an interactive session with journalists in Kano: “We want the Exchange agency to be owned by Nigerians, so that we will not fall into the trap of foreigners that will be milking our people for their (foreigners) continuous benefit.” He said that government should not just go ahead and sell the agency without proper recourse to the interest of Nigerians before any other consideration. According to him, CBAN had expressed their interest to buy the agency for the benefit of Nigerians and as an avenue to further strengthen the public private partnership philosophy in the nation’s economy. He maintained that Nigerian farmers should always be encouraged by government so as to help in the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. On the issue of foreign domination in the agricultural sector, the president charged that the system should evolve ways to see to
T
the progress of the local farmers who toiled very hard and lost to foreign firms at the expense of local businesses, at a far cheaper price. He cried out how some Nigerians were fronted for some foreigners to bastardise the hard labour peasant farmers were engaged in. Kajiji further revealed that CBAN got some backing from relevant quarters in their bid to buy off Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange, during the privatisation exercise. Called on other stakeholders to also come up and assist CBAN in buying off the agency for the benefit of Nigerian farmers. With the privatisation of the Exchange agency, CBAN president disclosed that their association was trapped as to what would the agency looked like after privatisation. Due to the reality on ground currently that the agency was less impactful in matters of commodity business on the floor of exchange market. “Ethiopia established their commodity exchange five years after it has been established in Nigeria, but Ethiopia has gone a long way in commodity brokering and exchange. They have achieved a lot in this area. Nothing is taking place in Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange. And Nigeria is left far behind. We are therefore urging that our
system should be strengthened,” he charged. The association according to the president needed warehousing and receipts for that. Adding that the federal government should make a policy that farmers should be taking their products to warehouse and get something out of that to benefit them in the post-harvest period. As proposal for improved security in the north and the provision of employment, Kajiji advised that northern governors should concentrate on agriculture. While calling on the minister for agriculture to also make the participation of necessary stakeholders in the agricultural sector part of his policies to boost the sector in the country.
25
26
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
27
Appointments Combating counterfeiting through human capital development
Chukwu
Jonathan
From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja HE management of the National Agency for food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said that it was rethinking its leadership style in its quest of safeguarding the health of the nation. One of the major challenges being faced by regulatory agencies around the world is the counterfeiting of regulated products. According to NAFDAC, a counterfeiting could apply to both branded and generic products and might include products with the correct ingredients, with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging. Decree No. 15 of 1993 to control and regulate the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and packaged water, including drinks (referred to as regulated products), established the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC). NAFDAC added that it was retooling its strategies by placing human resource capacity development, upgrade of its laboratories and continuous training of officers to strengthen its regulatory capacity top on its priority. In an interview with The Guardian at the weekend, Director, Special Duties at NAFDAC, Mr. Abubakar Jomoh, stressed that the agency had changed its approach to accomplishing its mandate. He also listed support to the local pharmaceutical sector and working to build appropriate capacity to produce drugs that meet international standards locally as one of the new approaches to a new NAFDAC. He laid emphasis on a change in leadership style, which he said the manage-
T
ment had adopted. “Former Director General of NAFDAC and former Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili did wonderfully well in taking NAFDAC to limelight. When the current DG, Dr. Paul Orhii came on board, the very first major task he undertook was to consolidate on the successes that Akunyili achieved. He recognised that one major threat to development in Nigeria was the disconnect between the past and the present. When a leader takes off, he abandons the projects his predecessor embarked upon and begin to initiate his own. That is why we have so many white elephant projects littering Nigeria. “But Dr. Orhi said no this is not going to be and then decided to consolidate on the policies and programes of professor Akunyili. He is also making a lot of difference in the areas where he thinks there should be a paradigm shift. This includes changes in the method of doing things and also in times of solution to contending problems that he met on the ground. “One remarkable difference as opposed to what has been obtainable in the past is in the area of introducing cutting edge technology and also re-aligning NAFDAC regulatory activities to international standard. We believe that there can only be one standard all over the world because the world has become a global village. There cannot be two standard. Science is one. Science speaks one language all over the world. You can’t set some basic guidelines for drug manufacturing companies in Nigeria, local companies and also another for international companies. No! There can’t be different standards for local or international firms. Even some stakeholders have taken strong exceptions to being labelled local manu-
facturing drug companies or food companies because it is one international standard and the human system is the same. “That is one remarkable area to which the new administration brought a radical change. There is a major shift in the way we think, in the way we work at NAFDAC and also the method of achieving results. There has been a kind of paradigm shift in that respect. Let me begin with the introduction of cutting edge technologies. Before this administration came on board, it got to a point where the counterfeiters almost matched us wit for wit and action for action, to the extent that some of the things we usually told members of the public to look out for like NAFDAC in products almost became defeated. “The usual information about registration number, labelling requirement consisting of date of manufacture, expiry date, location address and also some other technical details that we normally educate people to look out for became meaningless to a large extents. The counterfeiters perfected their act in this area. Printing technology has become so sophisticated that any security can be counterfeited. We used to tell people how to look out for the difference between a genuine and a counterfeit product. “We used to tell them to look at the package, the difference in colour between the original and counterfeit, the spelling mistakes may be there. Also the NAFDAC registration numbers used to be copied in a wrong way that tend to give the fakers away easily. The counterfeiters could easily be detected but now the counterfeiters have perfected that end. Those who are counterfeiting regulated product have become more educated and sophisticated. They have even become international play-
Orhii ers. They are perfecting the acts day in. They want to stay ahead of the game. We got to a point where we were almost at out wits end before Dr. Paul Orhi came. “Our registration number used to be sacrosanct, but it has become almost meaningless.” He stressed how NAFDAC had to resort to introducing
cutting edge technologies as a deliberate change in style and approach. His words:” We started with Truscan, a handheld device used for on the spot detection of counterfeit medicines. The introduction of the technology has achieved remarkable progress. Before then we used to draw samples and take to laboratories.
It usually took one week or two weeks before we could make a scientific pronouncement on the status of a regulatory product coming into the country. The importer was already on edge because they could have borrowed money from the bank. Businesses used to be tied CONTINUED ON PAGE 33
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
28
Peoples’Digest
Published in association with
Time for performance management audit By Aruosa Osemwegie GPHR, SPHR Introduction HE performance management process is central to how an organisation manages itself. It is the confluence of strategy execution, organisational culture, corporate performance, and leadership effectiveness. So, is your performance management process performing? If you have any shade of doubt then it’s time to conduct a Performance Management Effectiveness Audit (PMEA). This is a less known type of audit, I would admit. A financial audit is better understood and commonplace. One of the things being looked out for in corporate and financial audits is the money trail. The reason NGOs/Foundations are being asked to undergo special registration with the EFCC is because a ‘money trail’ has shown that NGOs can be, and have been, conduits for money laundering and tax evasion. Likewise, the performance or under-performance that shows up on financial reports can be trailed to mismanagement or under-management of the performance management process. Herein lies the importance and urgency of the Performance Management Effectiveness Audit (PMEA). If you ask the CEO or HR Manager if their PM process is performing, you may hear an uncertain sound. If you ask middle managers or frontline officers, you may get a more uniform answer but certainly, a kaleidoscope of explanations why the PM isn’t performing, and a coat-of-manycolours bouquet of what should be done. Whereas, a PMEA is an independent objective assessment of your process based on exemplary service. We are doing just fine Have you seen that movie, Everybody’s fine? When the father stayed at home making phone calls to find out about his kids and he was told, “Everybody’s fine?” Upon proceeding to assess the situation by paying them a visit, he found out they were far from fine. For some other organisations, the mismanagement or under-management of the PM process may not yet be apparent on the annual reports or balance sheet, but their emotional balance sheet (or work climate) might have begun to show it. The hemorrhaging through the performance management process doesn’t have to continue if we can utilise a PMEA to identify and isolate these leaks. But if the foundation be weak… There are some foundations to having an effective performance management process. While you get ready to conduct a PMEA, permit me to share areas you might need to sort out before you can proceed. The world’s tallest skyscrapers are first built on solid foundations. They are also built, adhering to basic principles of construction – it is sophistication based on principles laid on a solid foundation. To start with, there are misconceptions or archaic ideas regarding the essence and purpose of performance management. These misconceptions continue to upend our chance at deploying a PM process that actually helps us to deliver sustainable and inspiring performance. What is sustainable and inspiring performance? Sustainable means the type of performance that continues to grow into the future from decade to centuries. ‘Inspiring’ is that element that speaks of fairness and equity, thoughtfulness towards customers and employees, excellent corporate governance and regulatory compliance, as well as great corporate citizenship. So what are these foundational misconceptions or outdated notions impeding PM effectiveness? And the Misconception A-list … 1) Everyone knows but no one knows. This is the assumption that if you have been working for some time then you know about performance management. True? Very false. Just as being in a bakery doesn’t turn you into bread or a baker, so the knowledge of performance management doesn’t come by mere involvement. It comes by open minded studentship – which is the desire to ask questions, query assumptions and push for answers below the surface. Humility is required for learning Remember,
T
woe to a king that cannot be entreated. We all should start by admitting some amount of ignorance about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of this process, then and maybe then, we would begin to ask the right questions, which is a prerequisite to getting the right answers. Misconception: It is a separate standalone activity 2) Some people treat performance management as a standalone process whereas, like we said at the beginning, it is the confluence of strategy execution, organisational culture, corporate performance, and leadership effectiveness. It is through performance management that strategy is executed. Our organisational culture is defined and fostered by the tenets of our PM. Christopher D. Lee puts it this way, “culture is the most important factor that regulates individual performance. The culture, values, and belief system of a company may drive or limit performance based on how the organization conducts daily business.” Corporate performance is the cumulative performance of individuals and teams and it is the PM that codifies, captures and manages the performance of each of these entities. What about leadership effectiveness? Leaders are effective to the extent that they are able to prime sublime performance out of, or through, their people and teams and that is the whole essence of performance management. We would not be able to elicit the kind of inspiring performance that we seek if we continue to treat performance management as a standalone process distinct from the corporate management processes like strategic planning, budgeting, corporate governance etc. Misconception: It is a Human Resource process 3) My earlier point naturally brings me to this view that performance management is an HR departmental process. You know the fact that the bank keeps your money doesn’t now make them owners of the money, or does it? It sure doesn’t. Let’s spell it out here: human resources are mere facilitators and subject matter experts of this process. It is actually owned by all. Line managers and executive management most times have more influence over this process than even HR. Human resources departments do not set goals for you, neither are they the ones that qualify what performance represents from team to team. This is why line managers must be carefully trained in the art and science of performance management. Misconception: It is an annual event and its other name is appraisal 4) It is inaccurate to consider or treat performance management as an annual event. That is one of the clear hallmarks of an ineffective use of a priceless process as this. It is actually not an annual event but an ongoing all year round process. Performance management is much more than performance appraisal. The essence of performance management isn’t evaluation or assessment. The essence is to elicit predictably higher performance in and through people, teams and groups. Performance Management is a deliberate process for enabling higher performance from the organisation and individuals. It is a mechanism for creating shared understanding of what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved. It is also a language and process for identifying and measuring employee, team, unit, and departmental contribution that include other critical activities beyond just the appraisal. Eg is the fact that supervisors need to know how to set goals and targets. But what type of goals need to be set even? Supervisors also need to know how to train, coach and guide their employees to achieve the desired performance.
Performance management is a confluence of all these Misconception: Supervisor versus Employee 5) Some organisations design their performance management process such that it unwittingly pits supervisor against employee. But isn’t it said that a city divided against itself cannot stand? So how did we arrive at this unintended practice? It is rooted in the Theory X style of management which naturally creates a ‘them versus us’ situation within the workplace. The wisdom of teams is that a leader and his teammates are all tied at the hips – they swim or sink together and so PM processes should be designed to foster that relationship and not otherwise. It is tough enough to get talented people to work together as one and no need for performance management processes that further make it harder. Remember that together each achieves more. Misconception: It is all about filling forms 6) Unfortunately a lot of efforts are channeled into the content, designing and filling of forms, almost as though it is all about forms. It is pertinent that we highlight this misnomer because if our focus is on the forms then maybe we have dropped the ball on more important things, for ‘where your treasure is there your heart is’. The forms are intended as a physical representation and documentation of certain activities. The main activity that these forms represent, which is grossly overlooked is the dialogue that goes on between supervisor and employee. Here, organizations go through great expense creating and redesigning performance management forms and processes but leave untended the supervisoremployee dialogue. Dr. Franca Ovadje was the one who told some of us at the Lagos Business School in 2004 that those conversations are the most important part in the performance management process. Professor Thomas Delong echoed the same thing to us at the Harvard Business School in 2007.
Source: kpiinstitute.org Tony Manning in his book, Making Sense of Strategy, referred to organisations as ‘managed conversations’. It is by managing conversations that supervisors/team leaders share and sell visions. It is also through dialogue and feedback that focus, progress and motivation for goal attainment is maintained. Conclusion: Jack Welch recommends a PMEA In the book, Winning, Jack Welch, after listing some characteristics that good PM processes should have, then said this: “even with all these characteristics, no evaluation system is first-rate unless it is constantly monitored for integrity. Someone has to have the responsibility – and the accountability – to ask if the evaluation system is capturing the truth, just as a good audit team does with the numbers”.
FEEDBACK COLUMN We believe these articles contain great information that policy makers, business leaders, human resources practitioners and the general public can use for quality decisions. Your own reaction, positive or critical, can shed more light, in practical ways, on the body of knowledge that we are sharing. As such, your feedback is important to us. Please mail us at peoplesdigest@peopleprime.net to respond or expand the body of knowledge on any of our treated topics, including past publications. We appreciate your feedback. Please include the topic, date of publication along with your observations, questions or comments plus your contact information in the email.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
PEOPLES DIGEST
29
Women’s leadership style By Allison Shirreffs
Do women have a unique style? As co-authors Sally Helgesen and Julie Johnson collected research for their latest book, The Female Vision: Women’s Real Power at Work, they noticed a trend: Women were leaving jobs that, at least from the authors’ perspective, looked desirable. They wondered why. “The women were all saying the same thing,” Helgesen recalls, “It’s not worth it.” HAT did that mean, “It’s not worth it?” W And why were talented, highly skilled women dropping out of the work force at a faster rate than men? To find answers to these questions, Helgesen and Johnson set out to quantify how men and women perceive, define, and pursue satisfaction at work. While they found many similarities between men and women, they also discovered, Helgesen notes, “a certain disconnect between what organizations expected and what women, at their best, had to offer.” For instance, Wall Street culture may not deliberately discriminate against women, but it may reject leaders whose values aren’t focused on money and power. “If you want that, you sacrifice everything else,” Helgesen says. “Is it a surprise that you end up with a culture that promotes the greediest people?” Conflict between feminine and masculine qualities in business Lately, much has been written about the benefits of leadership traits that are typically regarded as feminine (such as a collaborative, democratic approach that rewards rather than reprimands) and whether or not organizations whose leaders possess these feminine qualities are better off. According to Alice H. Eagly, professor of social psychology at Northwestern University, the answer is, “It depends”, and added, “I don’t want to say it’s not true. It’s slightly true.” In her book Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders, Eagly and co-author Linda L. Carli, associate professor, Wellesley College, explore why the number of women in power remains rare and why their presence in leadership positions still evokes a sense of wonder. “It’s not a good argument [to say] that women have a better leadership style than men,” Eagly states, adding that it’s also not factual to say women make worse leaders than men. It is, however, accurate to say that women have a more difficult time towing the line between being assertive and being demure. According to “Diversity and Leadership in a Changing World,” an article co-authored by Eagly and Jean Lau Chin, dean, Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University, female leaders are expected to take charge – just like their male counterparts. But they’re also expected to “deliver the warmth and friendliness that is culturally prescribed for women,” the authors write. “Simultaneously impressing others as a good leader and a good woman is an accomplishment that is not necessarily easy to achieve, and common pitfalls involve seeming to be ‘too masculine’ or ‘too feminine.’” Women are usually transformational leaders Twenty years ago, Helgesen published, The Female Advantage: Women’s Ways of Leadership. She wrote the book in part because she felt women were getting bad advice. They were being told, essentially, to leave their values at home and conform to the workplace. Women were finally making it into the executive suite, but once there, others had expectations about how they should behave. But meta-analyses of men and women’s leadership styles don’t show a dramatic difference between genders. What the data illustrate is that transformational leaders – leaders who stand for what’s good about the organization and behave as such; who are good teachers
and coaches, care about their employees as individuals and can inspire and motivate them to do their best, are optimal to lead today’s modern organizations, Eagly says. “To a small extent, women manifest these qualities more than male managers,” she adds. Promotion for women leaders is scarce If that’s the case, why aren’t women being promoted as often as their male counterparts? “Women have something to overcome,” Eagly says. She blames this on the often small, but insidious, prejudices and stereotypes that women and other minorities must cope with. This is especially true in the corporate world. In its recent 2010 poll, only 28 of FORTUNE 1000 companies had women as their CEOs. “There are a lot of women doing a lot of leadership but in the corporate culture? Not so much,” Eagly notes. “It doesn’t make sense except by tradition – people tend to reproduce themselves.” Since men – specifically white men – hold the majority of executive positions in corporations, this tends to work against women and other minorities. Top notch leadership resists change Some corporations are organized more around networks, but many remain tied to a culture of position and power, and are run from the top down. “I don’t see large and powerful organizations making significant changes if the people at the top are blocking change or inhibiting change,” Helgesen says. “We need to expand how we define leadership – how leaders develop and how organizations do or do not take advantage of that.” An idea that’s gaining ground and “that’s good for women,” Eagly notes, is that leadership is ultimately androgynous. There is also a push to have modern leadership theories in corporate diversity considerations – not just of gender, but of race, sexual orientation, culture, and the like. “If [leaders] are from different social groups, backgrounds, and have the right training, they tend to be able to come up with more creative solutions,” Eagly explains. And if there is more diversity in a company’s leadership ranks, there will be a better understanding of its customer/client base as well. “There are a lot of arguments for diversity – not just in leadership style,” Eagly adds. Support should be strategic Most companies have learned to make the business case for women in leadership roles, but they don’t always back up their rhetoric with structure and strategy, Heglesen says. She’s also disappointed in how few forums – internally and externally – women have to connect and share in productive ways. “Women have a capacity for noticing the details of human relationships,” Helgesen says. “There need to be ways of bringing that info into the strategic planning sessions.” Any employee who wants to be a leader and effect change is best served, Helgesen says, by honing those skills most valued by today’s companies – such as line management and international experience. In addition to a good skill set, potential leaders must also be able to articulate their value, make themselves visible, build “social capital” within the organization, and create a network of peers who will provide support throughout their careers. “Women have to understand what the criteria are for rising [in organizations],” Eagly says, “and figure out how to help one another to meet those criteria.” Allison Shirreffs is a writer and photographer who has worked with The Coca-Cola Corporation and Fortune Magazine, among others. Find out more about her at http://www.womenetics.com/How-ToLead/womens-ways-of-leadership
Women Leaders thinning out in corporate world
HUMAN RESOURCES
Source: mqup.ca
30
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
31
32
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
APPOINTMENTS 33
Combating counterfeiting through human capital development CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 down in the process of trying to check the quality before they are released from the port and give them a clean bill of health. Now the check is done instantly at the port. We instantly check each containers and determine if it is going to be given a clean bill of health or if it contains any counterfeit product. That is the work of Truscan hand held device, technology that we got from the United States of America.” He spoke of the agency’s Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) using Short Message Service ( SMS) describing it as another remarkable revolutionary approach the administration had introduced. On the progress of the technology, he stressed: “So far so good. We have over 100 million phone users in the country and we are riding on the back of all these communication companies. With the text messaging system, we have succeeded in putting the power of detection of counterfeit drugs in the hands of over 100 million phones users in Nigeria and consumers of regulated products including drugs particularly. This is an effort that is being celebrated all over the world that NAFDAC through the efforts of Dr. Paul Orhi has become the global champion in the fight against counterfeit drugs. “Last year alone, the United States of America (USA) Council on Foreign Relations, in recognition of our pioneering effort in the use of cutting
edge technology, invited the DG NAFDAC at least four times. He has made several presentations to US Council organized conference where various countries gathered to discuss the problem of counterfeiting, which used to be problem of only developing countries. The issue is beginning to rear its ugly head in the developed countries themselves and they are tak-
ing it seriously. All the countries involved have recognized NAFDAC as a leader in this area and are willing to partner for knowledge sharing, among others.” He said NAFDAc had adopted a holistic, multifaceted, diverse and coordinated anticounterfeiting strategy that transcends local, national and international boundaries.
34
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
35
36
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
APPOINTMENTS 37
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Oil workers protest alleged exclusion from Senate public hearing on PIB By Yetunde Ebosele EMBERS of the Petroleum M and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have condemned what they described as the ways and manners the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) conducted and ended its public hearing without allowing “critical and strategic
stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to present their positions”. They noted in a protest letter that the action of the Senate committee to allegedly exclude some stakeholders including PENGASSAN and NUPENG was deliberate and not in the interest of the nation. They, therefore, demanded that their request to make their presentation through a “properly conducted public hearing” be granted in the
interest of industrial peace and harmony and also to rekindle their confidence, and indeed that of other Nigerians, in the PIB legislative process. In the protest letter jointly signed by the General Secretaries of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, Bayou Olowoshile and Isaac Aberare respectively, “which was submitted to the Secretariat of the Committee located at the basement of the Senate Building and received by a
staff at the secretariat”, Mr. Lucas Jonah, the two workers’ unions said that the letter sent to them indicated that they would present their positions on the second day of the public hearing. Part of the letter reads: “We refer to the letter of invitation dated 3rd July 2013 and the subsequent news and advertorial in the Newspapers for the Senate Public Hearing organised by the Joint Senate Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill
BOI woos Nigerians in Diaspora to manufacturing sector From Itunu Ajayi, Abuja HE Bank of Industry (BOI) T has expressed determination to support Nigerians in Diaspora to invest in the manufacturing sector in Nigeria. Principal Manager, Strategic Planning of BOI, Mrs. Betty Obaseki stated this at a capacity building workshop for Diaspora Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at the sixth Diaspora week in Abuja recently. The bank said that it was considering setting up a special desk in Lagos and Abuja to attend to the needs of Nigerians in the Diaspora especially to enable them invest in the manufacturing sector. Obaseki said: “We consider setting up a special desk in collaboration with the ministry of trade and investment to attend to the need of the Diaspora. The same products that are available to them are available to other Nigerians. “There will be no special consideration because we have a dedicated desk to meet their need. We have a window in the sense that there are some recent activities that inspired a lot of Nigeria from abroad to come home and invest. We consider setting up a special desk in collaboration with the ministry of trade and investment to attend to the needs of the Diasporas but the same products that are available to them are available to other Nigerians. “There will be no special consideration, because we have a dedicated desk to meet their needs. We fund mostly manufacturing sector because that is where we get the value because trading does not bring any benefit to Nigeria. We will never go into funding trading except if there is any fund brought by any partner with directive to manage it to fund trade.” The manager said that the bank had shifted focus from funding large entrepreneurs to small medium entrepreneur to enhance the growth and development of the economy, adding that the Bank is mostly interested in the funding equipment. “The bank used to support large enterprises but in the past eight years the bank has a paradigm shift and has been focusing on the development of Sees. The shift is from funding large enterprises to funding SMEs.” According to her, the bank encouraged initiatives that transformed raw materials to finished products. She said that the best way to grow and develop Africa and Nigeria’s economy was to add value to
their natural resources than exporting it as raw materials. “You have to be involved in manufacturing before being able to have access to the fund. This is to engender growth and the GDP. So you must
engage in something that transforms the raw materials to finished products because what is common in Africa is that we have the raw materials in abundant but we lack the technology and this
where the rest of the world is. So, to ensure growth in Africa and Nigerian economy we have to ensure we enable and strengthen our entrepreneur establishment to take what we have.
(PIB) which was initially scheduled for Tuesday July 16, 2013 and Wednesday July 17, 2013, in which NUPENG-PENGASSAN was scheduled to make presentation on Day 2, that is, Wednesday July 17, 2013. “We however learnt through the news that the Public Hearing of the Joint Senate Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill has been rescheduled to Thursday July 18, 2013 and Friday July 19, 2013(2-days) which follows that NUPENG-PENGASSAN shall make presentation on the second day of the public hearing which is on Friday July 19 2013. “To our shock and utter disappointment, we got to the Senate as early as 9a.m. on Friday July 19, 2013 and found out that the Committee has hurriedly concluded hearing on the bill on the first day (Thursday July 18, 2013) con-
trary to the advertised schedule of the Committee. “From the way and manner the Senate Joint Committee on PIB conducted the Public Hearing, it is obvious that key stakeholder like NUPENG-PENGASSAN was specifically targeted to be denied the opportunity to make presentation at that public hearing because of our critical position against all unpatriotic interests in the bill.” According to NUPENG and PENGASSAN, the PIB had suffered several stillbirths indicative of the intrigues and obscure agenda of some powerful individuals and organisations, which the unions strongly believed were targeted to achieving some already established selfish goals and objectives for perpetual exploitation of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resource endowment and continued impoverishment of the ordinary
38
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
39
40
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
41
42
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
43
44
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
45
46
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
47
48
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
49
50
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
51
52
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
53
54
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
55
56
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
57
58
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
59
60
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Focus Coping with hepatitis epidemic It is described as a ‘silent epidemic’ because most persons do not realize that they are infected and, over decades, slowly progress to liver disease and death. Viral hepatitis has cut down many Nigerians in their prime and recent studies have shown that it kills as many people as Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In fact it affects over 20 million Nigerians and causes thousands of deaths each year because less than 500,000 of them have access to treatment. However, many countries, including Nigeria, are only now realizing the magnitude of the disease burden and devising ways to address it. By Chukwuma Muanya EVERAL studies have shown that hepatitis virus A, B, C, D and E are responsible for acute and chronic infections and inflammation of the liver that can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. It has been shown that while hepatitis virus A and E are transmitted faeco-orally and largely responsible for acute hepatitis, hepatitis virus B and C which are blood-borne are majorly responsible for chronic hepatitis. According to stakeholders, these viruses therefore constitute a major global health risk with around 240 million people said to be chronically infected with hepatitis B and about 150 million people chronically infected with hepatitis C. The stakeholders include the World Health Organisation (WHO); the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN); the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA); and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). Available statistics show that millions of people world-wide are living with viral hepatitis with millions at high risk of being infected. Most people with chronic infection with hepatitis B or C virus are unaware that they carry the virus, and are therefore at risk of developing severe chronic liver disease before they are clinically diagnosed. They also unknowingly transmit the virus to other people because of their lack of awareness. According to the Global Burden of Disease study released last year in the Lancet, viral hepatitis was responsible for almost 1.45 million deaths in 2010, the same as HIV/AIDS and significantly more than tuberculosis or Malaria. The WHO in the first-ever country hepatitis survey, covering 126 countries, released last week reported that 63 per cent of countries including Nigeria are ill-equipped to tackle the disease. The WHO “Global policy report on the prevention and control of viral hepatitis in WHO Member States” showed that only 37 per cent of the countries have national strategies for viral hepatitis, and more work is needed in treating hepatitis. It also highlighted that while most of the countries (82 per cent) have established hepatitis surveillance programmes, only half of them include the monitoring of chronic hepatitis B and C, which are responsible for most severe illnesses and deaths. The report identified successes as well as gaps at country level in the implementation of four priority areas. The priority areas are raising awareness, evidence-based data for action, prevention of transmission, and screening, care and treatment. However, stakeholders, on the World Hepatitis Day (WHD), urged governments to act against the five hepatitis viruses that can cause severe liver infections and lead to 1.4 million deaths every year. They called on the government to declare the disease a public health emergency in Nigeria. The stakeholders said some of these hepatitis viruses, most notably types B and C, can also lead to chronic and debilitating illnesses such as liver cancer and cirrhosis, and in addition to, loss of income and high medical expenses for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. July 28 was chosen to mark WHD in honour of the birthday of Nobel Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg, the discoverer of the Hepatitis B virus.
S
Thus, every year on July 28, WHO and its partners mark WHD to increase the awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the diseases that it causes. This year’s theme, “This is Hepatitis, Know it, confront IT” emphasizes the fact that hepatitis remains largely unknown as a health threat in most parts of the world. The NMA President said about one million people die each year from causes related to viral hepatitis, most commonly from liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Enabulele said though viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B and C remain largely underreported and under-diagnosed in Africa, SubSahara African region has about the highest prevalence of hepatitis A globally, with around 90 per cent children in the region being exposed to hepatitis A before the age of 10. “Hepatitis B prevalence is estimated at eight per cent in West Africa, while prevalence of Hepatitis C is about 10 per cent in parts of Africa. Indeed, about 20 to 25 per cent of Africa’s population are chronic hepatitis carriers with liver cancer prevalent among affected individuals, with men in the 30 to 45 age group severely affected with almost 100 per cent mortality, as well as great economic and social impact, he said. SOGHIN President, Prof. Olusegun S. Ojo, in a statement ahead of WHD said the Society is disturbed that so many Nigerians vulnerable to hepatitis infection lack quality information to protect themselves while millions of Nigerians living with hepatitis B virus still lack access to treatment. Ojo called on government to prioritise hepatitis B response in the country by first having an established goal of eliminating Hepatitis B and declaring the epidemic as a national public health emergency. “That is exactly what it is! Or how else can we describe a virus that has affected over 20million Nigerians and causing thousands of deaths each year?” The SOGHIN President said out of the over 20 million Nigerians living with the virus, less than 500 thousand of them have access to treatment including quality treatment literacy hence the Society’s demand for publicly funded Hepatitis B treatment programmes across the country. The Society demanded that treatment subsidy programmes be initiated by the Federal and state governments as a way of reducing Hepatitis-B related mortality and the rate of infection. “The time to act is now as delay means more needless loss of lives,” Ojo said. Formed in September 2007, SOGHIN is a professional body made up of Nigerian physicians, surgeons, pathologists and allied health professionals dedicated to the advancement of knowledge on the recognition, prevention, investigation and treatment of liver and digestive diseases. NMA urged governments at all levels to ensure greater investment of funds and resources for regular conduct of national surveys/researches to determine the burden of hepatitis in Nigeria. NMA in a statement released as part of activities to mark the 2013 World Hepatitis Day, also
called for the subsidization of the high cost of treatment of people with liver cancer and liver failure in Nigeria, especially through the National Health Insurance Scheme. The Association in the statement signed by the President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, thanked the Federal Government for including Hepatitis in the list of routine National Programme on Immunisation (NPI)- driven vaccinations and strongly urged government to expedite all actions in the process of domestic vaccine production or more effective collaboration with partners in ensuring greater availability of vaccines at much reduced cost. The NMA also called for: development of a sound and updated national policy and strategy for combating viral hepatitis in Nigeria; increase in Hepatitis B vaccination coverage; carrying out of massive awareness campaigns; provision of adequate housing, food supply/nutrition and clean potable water to Nigerians; and enforcement of Environmental Sanitation and Public health laws. Enabulele said the goal is moving from awareness to commitment and action to address the ‘silent epidemic’ of viral hepatitis, hence the World Hepatitis Day provides an opportunity to focus on specific actions, such as: strengthening prevention, screening and control of viral hepatitis and its related diseases; increasing Hepatitis B vaccine coverage and integration of the vaccine into national immunization programmes; and coordinating a global response to viral hepatitis WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Security and the Environment, Dr Keiji Fukuda, said: “The fact that many hepatitis B and C infections are silent, causing no symptoms until there is severe damage to the liver, points to the urgent need for universal access to immunization, screening, diagnosis and antiviral therapy. “Many of the measures needed to prevent the spread of viral hepatitis disease can be put in place right now, and doing so will offset the heavy economic costs of treating and hospitalizing patients in future.” President of the WHA, Charles Gore, said: “Viral hepatitis is the 8th leading cause of death worldwide, killing as many people as HIV/AIDS every single year. 500 million people worldwide are chronically infected. In the face of these numbers how is it possible that viral hepatitis receives so little priority across the world?” Director, Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases at WHO, Dr Sylvie Briand, said: “Many of the measures needed to prevent the spread of viral hepatitis disease can be put in place right now, and doing so will offset the heavy economic costs of treating and hospitalizing patients in future. “The findings underline the important work that is being done by governments to halt hepatitis through the implementation of WHO recommended policies and actions.” To effectively limit the spread of viral hepatitis in Nigeria, the NMA said there is need for a comprehensive strategy. The statement reads: “In this regard, the following proposals are worth considering: Huge investment in public awareness campaigns to
close the information gap with respect to the current low level of awareness of Hepatitis and its devastating consequences amongst Nigerians. “All stakeholders, including the relevant ministries and agencies of government must show increased commitment in this direction. “In this regard, the NMA shall continue to create awareness and sensitize Nigerians on the reality of this silent killer, Hepatitis. More public health enlightenment campaigns shall be organized by NMA. “The NMA shall also contribute to research efforts on Hepatitis, especially the conduct of surveys to establish the burden of Hepatitis in Nigeria. “The NMA shall continue to constructively engage policy makers on the need for formulation of a robust Hepatitis policy and strategy for Nigeria. “We also encourage Individuals to take steps towards ensuring that they are not infected with Hepatitis B, C and D through abstinence, being mutually faithful to a sexual partner, not sharing skin piercing instruments, ensuring that blood products are properly screened before a patient is transfused. “Individuals are encouraged to ensure that they drink clean potable water and eat well cooked food to prevent infection with Hepatitis A and E.” As part of activities to mark this year’s WHD, the WHA has launched a mass awareness campaign under the theme “This is hepatitis. Know it. Confront it,” to encourage people to find out more and to confront the silence around the disease. The Alliance is also coordinating a global Guinness World Record attempt for the number of people performing the ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ actions at the same time, actions chosen because in the same way the Three Wise Monkeys ignore the world around them, so the world has been ignoring viral hepatitis. With 58 teams from 25 countries around the world taking part, this is a considerable challenge but with a clear message: viral hepatitis is a silent epidemic. Know it. Confront it. WHO is currently developing new hepatitis C screening, care and treatment guidelines, which will provide recommendations on seven key areas such as testing approaches; behavioural interventions (alcohol reduction); non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis; and the selection of hepatitis C drug combinations. The complexity of hepatitis disease lies in the existence of different types of viruses. Hepatitis A and E are foodborne and waterborne infections which cause millions of cases of acute illness every year, sometimes with several months needed for a person to fully recover. Hepatitis B, C, and D are spread by infected body fluids including blood, by sexual contact, motherto-child transmission during birth, or by contaminated medical equipment. Hepatitis B and C have a greater health burden in terms of death because they can cause life-long infection (called chronic infection), which can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer. In fact, chronic hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer. WHO-approved vaccines are available to prevent hepatitis A and B, while screening of blood donors, assuring clean needle and syringes, and condom use can prevent bloodborne and sexual transmission. Hepatitis B can be prevented by reaching every child with immunization programmes that include hepatitis B vaccine. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. In addition, infections can be prevented by protecting against mother-to-child transmission of the virus and ensuring the safety of blood, transfusion services, organ donation and injection practice (treatment can include antiviral medications if needed). Hepatitis A and E can be prevented by avoiding contaminated food and water; in addition, there is an effective WHO approved vaccine for hepatitis A. Hepatitis medicines are now included in the WHO Essential Medicines List, which Member States are encouraged to adopt. Essential medicines are selected based on disease prevalence, safety, efficacy, and comparative cost-effectiveness. The WHO Model List can be used by countries as a guide for the development of their own national list.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
61
62
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
63
64
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
NigeriaCapitalMarket NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at Monday PRICE LIST OF SYMBOLS TRADED FOR 29/07/2013
65
66
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
CAPITAL MARKET
NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at 29/07/2013
PRICE GAINERS
LOSERS
UBA posts N125.98b gross earnings, N33.2b profit in half year operations By Helen Oji NITED Bank for Africa Plc has posted of N125.98billion gross earnings in its half year operations, against N107.91 billion achieved in same period in 2012. Its profit also increased from N30.4 billion to N33.2 billion, which represent an increase of 9.2 per cent. According to a statement by the bank, operating income rose to N88.45billion, up 17.1 per cent compared to N78.67billion recorded in the same period under review. Other Income earned by the Bank showed an increase of 17.1 per cent from N34.09 billion in half year 2012 to N37.357 billion in
U
current year. On the Balance sheet side, deposits rose by 13.5 per cent from N1.77 trillion in June 2012 to N2.01trillion in June 2013, just as total assets recorded a 6.9 per cent increase to N2.42 trillion by the end of June 2013. Net loans and Net Assets, according to the statement also achieved considerable percentage growth, while net loans for the period amounts to N761.18 billion, an increase of 10.7 per cent compared to N687.43 billion recorded at the corresponding period of last year, net assets grew by 7.9 per cent to N207.60billion. With the liquidity, adequacy and loan deposit ratios of 53.5 per cent, 22.3 per cent,
and 37.7 per cent respectively, the bank achieved considerable improvements, ahead
of regulatory and industry by 14.6 per cent from N664.4 benchmarks. billion in first quarter 2013 to Specifically, net loans grew N761.2 billion in first half
2013, in line with management’s guidance for financial year 2013.
Reporting accountants optimistic about market development By Bukky Olajide HE Nigerian capital market will ultimately expand in depth and spread to accommodate capital requirements of big and small and medium companies, thereby creating immense opportunities for participation by all stakeholders. Chairman, Association of Reporting Accountants in the Capital Market (ARACAM), Ayodele Othihiwa, who disclosed this at the second yearly general meeting of the associa-
T
tion yesterday in Lagos, said Nigeria’s development lies in the development of a dynamic capital market that can meet financing needs of all shades of companies. According to him, the capital market will ultimately be made to work for both large companies and small and medium enterprises for the country to truly attain the status of a developed nation. He noted the lingering effect of the capital market recession in 2008 pointing out that the level of medium to long term fund
raising activities has reduced considerably to lowest level. Othihiwa, a partner and head of financial services industry at KPMG, said the relatively lack of depth at the Nigerian capital market has adversely affected the full operations of reporting accountants. “However, we are hopeful that as the regulatory authorities work on the development of a strong capital market with depth and capacity to provide alternative sources of raising funds, our activities and
involvement will begin to expand,” Othihiwa said. He urged reporting accountants to invest in capacity development by improving their skills and knowledge in order to be in tune with global best practices and developments. According to him, with expansion of activities in the capital market, small and medium enterprises would need the services of small and mediumsized accounting firms, thus the need for them to be adequately equipped in terms of skills and resources.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
67
Opinion ASUU strike: A systematic destruction of Nigeria By Luke Onyekakeyah HE return of the Academic Staff Union of UniT versities (ASUU) and the Federal Government to the trenches after a short truce shows that the incessant battles of the two parties that have practically ruined Nigeria’s tertiary education system is not ordinary. There is something that more than meets the eyes behind it. It seems to me that there is a systematic design to destroy Nigeria by way of “strikes” in the education sector. This design is being implemented consciously or unconsciously by both the Federal Government and ASUU. Otherwise, how is it that Nigeria is constantly under threat of strikes? Between 1988 when ASUU was formed and 2013, (a period of 25 years), ASUU and the Federal Government have battled ten (10) “strikes”. Cumulatively, about two academic sessions have been lost! The impact of the “strikes” on scholarship is enormous. The university calendar has been permanently distorted. No public university in Nigeria today has a calendar. The institutions run on ad-hoc basis as the next day is unpredictable. Students no longer graduate on schedule. Above all these, the socalled graduates of these ill-fated universities are half-baked. Today, in Nigeria, most university graduates can’t write simple application letter for job! The situation is so bad that even most “first class” graduates are unemployable! They can’t stand job interview in their field of study. That is the extent this madness has taken Nigeria and still government and ASUU don’t seem to appreciate it. If I may ask, if ASUU is a manufacturer of industrial products (in this case graduates), that are not on demand, how would it feel? If a factory keeps producing goods that are unsalable in the market, wouldn’t the factory close up? So, why is
ASUU doing as if it is doing the system any good by churning out thousands of half-baked and unemployable graduates? Why can’t the body persist in making sacrifice in the interest of the students and the country at large? For instance, reports say the latest round of ASUU “strike” was embarked upon over non-payment of a meager N12,000 academics earned allowances, which is part of the 2009 agreement reached between Government and ASUU. It is unthinkable that ASUU should down tools over an allowance. Allowance is allowance; it is not the main wage. The music maestro, Stephen Osita Osadebe, in one of his hits said, if one’s salary is not enough to meet his needs, is it allowance that will do? Why should payment of allowance be brought to the front burner this time around to disrupt semester examinations and other academic activities all over the country’s public universities? The other demands such as upward review of the retirement age for professors from 65 to 70; adequate funding to revitalize the university system; progressive increase of budgetary allocations to the education sector by 26 per cent; transfer of federal government property to universities; setting up of research and development units by companies; payment of earned allowances; and renegotiation of the signed agreement, are long-standing issues that should be tackled systematically over time. There is no way any agreement reached between the Federal Government and ASUU this time around would be binding on government given its penchant to renege on host of similar agreements reached in the past. Government, as the economic owner of capital has proved to be insincere in its dealings with ASUU. It is important to stress, however, that ASUU has always been forced to embark on “strikes” be-
cause of the failure of government to honour agreements it consciously reached with ASUU. If government had for once abided by the terms of agreements it reached with ASUU, most of the “strikes” would have been avoided. For instance, the declaration last week by the Minister of Labour, Chukwuemeka Wogu, which the agreement government consciously reached with ASUU using experts in its fold is impossible to implement, is disappointing. It shows how government has been fuelling ASUU strikes and by extension destroying the universities and Nigeria’s future. How could Wogu say that he inherited the agreement as if government is no longer a continuum? What about the money and other assets he inherited? Did he throw them away because they were put by the previous government? Why should he infuriate the lecturers the more instead of finding solution to the problem? Each time there is this battle called “strike”; both parties are adamant, unyielding and unconcerned about the damage that is visited on the education system? It is not that Nigeria is so poor that government has no money to fund the universities to the required standard. Nigeria is very rich and has what it takes to equip the universities and pay lecturers commensurate remuneration. The wealth of the country is being wasted while education upon which a brighter future is built is being destroyed. I am no longer interested in who is right or wrong in this matter. Both parties have contributed immensely to the impasse we’re facing. Every now and then, there is a “strike” that is followed by agreements that are not meant to be kept by government. Once education, the bedrock of modern civilization is destroyed, the country is finished. What would be left is mediocrity - a citizenry bereft of knowledge needed to
pilot the affairs of the country. This is already happening in many sectors. The country will be unable to manage itself. And because nature abhors a vacuum, foreigners will naturally flock into the country, to take over the positions that Nigerians can’t fill. The foreigners will preside over and direct how the huge untapped natural resources of the country are exploited. Nigerians will be sideliners, with no power to dictate how the wealth of their nation is exploited or used. This is already happening in the oil sector. It gives insight into where the assault on education will lead us to. There may be no end to it. It would be naïve for any right thinking person to think that these “strikes” are ordinary. Far from it. The country is being blindfolded not to see the light. And the only way to do it is to destroy education. There is nowhere in the world where the sort of “strikes” occurring in Nigeria have been witnessed. Worldwide, strikes are part and parcel of social reengineering that workers employ to get their dues when the controllers of economic capital fail to be sensitive to their plight. The controllers could be foreigners, national governments or indigenous capitalist entrepreneurs. Elsewhere, when there is strike, the owners of the capital, being aware that they stand to lose if the strike lingers, would do everything to address the workers’ demands so that production can continue. Most of the time, they will give in to the demands as a way of assuaging the aggrieved workers, if possible on permanent basis. That is how strikes are handled in sane climes. I must stress that the owners of the capital, would, at no time, pretend not to be sensitive to the workers’ demands, not to talk of engaging workers on long and frequent strikes while production suffers as it is done in Nigeria. Government should stop this ignominy by abiding with its agreement with ASUU.
A case to abandon centenary celebration (2) By Ben Nwabueze Continued from yesterday. HE significance of the establishment in Nigeria of the state, strengthened and consolidated by the 1914 Amalgamation, which was itself anchored on the state as an organism already in existence, lies first and foremost in the fact that it wrought on the country a change so radical and far-reaching as to have fundamentally and permanently altered the course and character of its history, both for good or ill. European colonial rule has changed the course and character of Nigeria’s (and the rest of Africa) history mainly because, in its territorial extent, its power, especially the power of law-making by legislation in written form, its institutions and structures for the exercise of power, its personality as a full member of the comity of nations with capacity to exercise rights under international law and to exert diplomatic pressures, its organised coercive force in the form of a standing army, police, prisons and their personnel and other coercive instrumentalities, etc, the state transplanted to Nigeria by British colonialism is not an organic growth from the country’s past. It is rather an entirely alien organism with no roots in Nigeria’s past, no “Nigerian substructure”, no “autochthonous base”. The establishment of colonial rule with its kind of state system marked a radical transformation of an entirely new beginning in Nigeria’s history, a change so radical, so drastic and profound that what was said of the impact of the European slave trade in Africa, can and must be said of it, with even greater truth, that “henceforth one would have to think of two Africas: the one before and the one after the Holocaust”. We already acknowledge this in the use of colonialism as a landmark, a dividing line, marking off three different phases of Nigerian history; pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial. The change certainly ranks, in its profundity and violence, as a revolution, even in the strict sense of the word as referring to “the great overturns in previously stable political societies in the past; the English Revolution of the 1640s and its sequel in 1688, the American Revolution, the French Revolution and its nineteenth century sequels, the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its twentieth-century sequels” – Crane Brinton, The Anatomy of Revolution, revised edition (1952), p. 2. Certainly, we are no less justified in speaking of it as a revolution than we are in the current application of the term to the de-colonisation process. Indeed, it is more than a revolution, because of its accompanying institutions, laws, principles, processes, procedures, ideas and values, unknown in the past and which have so radically and profoundly transformed the country for better or for worse. In itself, therefore, the establishment of the state was, as was said by the Court
T
of Appeal in England, “a catastrophic change, constituting a new departure” – Salaman v. Secretary of State for India (1906) 1 K.B. 613 at p. 640 – per Fletcher Moulton L.J. (later Lord Moulton). From the legal standpoint, the event has the same consequences as a revolution. For, as authoritatively laid down in the decided cases, the establishment of the state by European colonisation annuls the pre-existing politico-legal order, except what the colonising power chooses to recognise and retain. Professor Ade Ajayi seems to have ignored or overlooked this staggering fact, this brooding reality, when he argues that “in any long-term historical view of African history, European rule becomes just another episode,” and that “in relation to…the rise and fall of empires, linguistic, cultural and religious change and the cultivation of new ideas and new ways of life, new economic orientations and so on, in relation to all these, colonialism must be seen not as a complete departure from the African past, but as one episode in the continuous flow of African history”. – J.F. Ade Ajayi, “The Continuity of African Institutions under Colonialism” in Emerging Themes in African History: Proceedings of the International Historical Conference held at Dar-es-Salaam (1965) ed. T.O. Ranger, p. 194. With perhaps a few exceptions, nothing in Africa’s past, neither kingdoms nor empires, is remotely comparable in its ideological foundations, its structures, its organisation of force and violence, its powers and resources, its procedures and processes, its influence and prestige, to the state transplanted to Africa by European colonialism, and no internal changes in pre-colonial times in whatever sphere, linguistics, culture, religion, way of life, economy, political ideas, etc were anything remotely like those that accompanied the transplanted state. The changes brought about by the establishment of the state are so totally different in character as in no way to be regarded as representing a continuity with the purely internal changes in pre-colonial times. The advent of Christianity and Islam and the imposition of European and Arabic languages, all serving as powerful instrumentalities of colonialism, have impacted upon the lives and thought processes of African peoples in a way no internal religious and linguistic changes before their advent had done. – Ali Mazrui, The Africans: A Triple Heritage (1986) gives a detailed exposition of this, especially at pp. 32 – 38, 52. Nor can we begin to equate or link the cash economy, another incident of the transplanted state, and its impact on the economic life and outlook of African societies with any economic changes that had taken place in Africa in pre-colonial times. Viewed in terms of territory and people (i.e. apart from its governmental or political forms), the transformation of Africa into 50 entities (Ethiopia, Egypt and Liberia not included) which took
place consequent upon the transplantation of the state has meant that the various peoples comprised in each entity, 389 groups in the case of Nigeria, became formed into one society (though as yet not one nation) and one economy, characterisd by certain common social and economic interests and dynamics different from those operating before in each of the component groups. The bringing together of disparate social groupings to form one social and economic unit must necessarily create amongst them certain common interest and common social and economic dynamics. Thus, what is today known as the Nigerian society and economy is a new unit different, in its social and economic interests and dynamics, from the aggregate or sum total of the separate societies and economies of all its component groups. The creation of these new societies and economies in Africa is a significant aspect of the new realities arising from European colonialism, and of which account must be taken in evaluating its consequences. And today, studies focus mainly on the social and economic problems and history of Nigeria, and only occasionally on those of its 389 component groups, thus showing quite clearly that the creation of Nigeria by British colonialism, a non-existent entity in pre-colonial times, marks “a complete departure” from the past. The establishment of colonial rule in Nigeria, with its state system, is thus indisputably a revolution. A revolution may merit being celebrated, but certainly not when its effect is, not to liberate, but to enslave, you, as was the case with the revolution arising from the establishment of colonial rule in Nigeria. There is thus no justification for celebrating the establishment of British colonial rule in Nigeria, with its state system, as strengthened and consolidated by the 1914 Amalgamation, just because of the revolutionary changes it brought in the life and history of the country. Apart from the significance of the establishment of colonial rule and the state as a revolution, it would be idle to deny that it did do a great deal of good in bringing certain artifacts of civilisation and modernisation to Nigeria and to Africa – education, writing, modern laws, the cash economy, modern health care, tarred road and vehicular means of transport, better housing, electricity, urbanisation, modern technology, etc. These benefits are the reason why statism, i.e. the establishment of the state, has been described as “Europe’s supreme gift to Africa.” Yet these benefits must be set against the deleterious consequences of the establishment of colonial rule with its state system which have largely stultified its benefits, making it unjustified to celebrate it. These deleterious consequences must now be examined. • Nwabueze is professor of law and author of several books and articles on constitutional law.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
68
Opinion Am I my brother’s keeper? By Cornelius Omonokhua often ponder and wonder why a friend Ibrother should kill “a very close friend”; why a should kill a brother and why a sister should kill a sister. I have reflected on the gospels, especially Matthew 10, 22 that a “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. I have loved literature from childhood and I have tried to see if I can find the answers there. All I have seem points to the human pride to subject others under his or her ego. William Shakespeare also battled with a similar problem of the ambitious nature of the human person in his drama of Macbeth and Julius Caesar. Macbeth killed King Duncan to fulfil the prediction of the three witches that he would be king while the incumbent king was still on the throne. Lady Macbeth who wanted to be a “First Lady” and Queen by all means persuaded her husband to commit the horrible crime, thereby staining their hands with human blood. Act 2, Scene 2, of William Shakespeare; Macbeth captured the repercussion of this evil in a moving dialogue: Macbeth I thought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more! Macbeth has murdered sleep” Lady Macbeth What do you mean? Macbeth Still it cried, “Sleep no more!” to the entire house. “Glamis has murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more! Macbeth shall sleep no more.” Lady Macbeth could not sustain her brave-
ness and her whim to conceal the guilt in Act 5, Scene 1. She confronted her guilt in the depth of her being and was tormented in her conscience. In her mental agony, she cried in her sleep, “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand!” The doctor who was attending to her said, “This disease is beyond my practice.” On March 15 (the Ides of March), 44 BC, Caesar was attacked by a group of senators. He was able to resist until when his best friend Brutus stabbed him. He resigned himself to his fate with the cry of anguish “Et tu, Brute?” That is, “Even you, Brutus?” In both dramas, Shakespeare has demonstrated the truth that love and friendship can be sacrificed by some people who have made power and position their idol. In Genesis 1-11, the inspired author delved into this urge of the human person in a cultic/religious context. The first murder that portrays the emergence of evil became a gateway for the philosophical question about a good God permitting evil in his name. This question reechoes throughout the bible. The story of Cain and Abel is a symbolic explanation of the inclination of the human person to kill for a selfish reason and then impute the motive for killing on religion. I do not know the sense we can make of a situation where some one is killing another human being created by God either with physical weapons or psychological weapons and claims he or she is doing so in God’s name and at the same time chorusing “God is great”. You can imagine the energy some “power famished dictators” exert on ceasing power from a legitimately elected person who is really called by God to serve the people and is doing his or her job well. Why are the
righteous leaders who serve the good of all including the common people targets of some “malicious vultures”? Cain and Abel in Hebrew are Qayin ( ) and Hevel ( ). They are referred to as the sons of Adam ( ), in the Qur’an. In the narrative of Genesis 4:1-16, Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the LORD. Abel also presented an offering of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord accepted the offering of Abel who was a cheerful giver and rejected that of Cain who offered the worst produce of his farm. Cain was furious, and he was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why are you downcast? If you do right, won’t you be accepted? Instead of Cain to take the advice from God by making a better offering, he tricked his brother, saying, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. God reacted and asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain replied, “I do not know: Am I my brother’s keeper?” After this, God said to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you farm, the ground shall not yield good crops to you! You shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth! If Cain desired to kill Abel for a cultic/ religious reason, common sense would attain the fact that it would have been easier for Cain to look for another item or better alternative to sacrifice in order to win God’s favour than to kill his own brother. Perhaps the rotten yam offered by Cain represented his rotten mind and fatal envy. In Cain, a curse is placed on whoever kills an in-
nocent person for egoistic reasons. People with guilt do not find rest when they sleep and when they die. A warring community cannot expect good development and progress for a sustainable length of time. Today, we see so much rivalry (intra and inter) within many religious groups. The fight to become the head in a church and in a mosque is no longer news. A Nun once recommended that to do a good job in inter-religious dialogue, the adherents of the various religions should first do a proper intra-religious dialogue so that they can live in peace and harmony within their religious community before inviting others to share in their intra community peace. You can only give what you have. You cannot offer the peace that does not exist in your community to others. This is the central idea behind ecumenism. This suggestion is relevant today more than ever before given that we now live in an era when “parasites of power” and “seekers for prestige positions” are making religion a serious object of ridicule. The story of Cain and Abel is an analysis of what is happening in the world today. There is nothing wrong with religion; it is some people who claim to dwell in the cult of God and claim to understand the mind of God better than anyone else that needs transformation and a change of attitude. Can’t we really get along as brothers and sisters? Wherever brothers and sisters dwell in unity there is peace, love and joy. Then we can really understand that God is good and God is great! • Fr. Prof. Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City.
Good night, my friend Pius Ewherido By Chidi Oguamanam UR paths crossed. We were friends but our bond was brothO erly. He was a senior and ever counselling brother. He was always ready to make the age argument. Hence, it was his entitlement at some point when we shared a room in Fajuyi Hall, OAU, Ife, to sleep below while I slept atop our double bunk bed. We entered the University of Ife together, did all our 101s, 102s and all 100 level courses together. We attended all the great Jingo (Dr. Dipo Fasina) lectures, the Dr. Geoff Tangwa lectures, etc. in philosophy. Pius left the university earlier than me, graduating in B.A. Philosophy; I followed shortly with LL.B. We graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), even though we were admitted into the University of Ife by JAMB. Our times together, which continued after Ife, were great and memorable. We were Catholics and did share many other bonds beyond books, politics and academics. He was highly cerebral; articulate, focused, organized. A role model; a great strategist and a futurist. A philosopher, indeed and in truth. We did “practice” and certainly had some stint in Campus journalism as freelancers. We “anchored” at “The Bee” (a campus newspaper), did our pranks, stung, bugged and buzzed in accordance with the best ethics of campus journalism. This was during the anti-intellectual Buhari-Idiagbon military dictatorship when our teachers were hounded as those who were “teaching what they were not paid to teach”. At that time, even our rival and perhaps more known publication, “The Cobra”, was catapulted into national limelight by the military junta which described it as “a subversive publication” in a nationwide broadcast. Pius went ahead and won election into the Students Representative Council (SRC) where he distinguished himself as a great debater. He cut his political teeth in the Great Ife tradition. Activism was in his blood; responsible and purposeful activism, that is. He took time to equip himself for service. He obtained a law degree at Uniben after graduating from Ife while cutting his teeth as an entrepreneur. He made his entrepreneurial debut modestly in the entertainment, catering rental and hospitality services. Plying his trade in business and services his contacts spread quickly, fuelled by his public spirited disposition to clients and patrons. He lived with his peoples in the Warri axis and got to know them extremely well while serving them. Whenever he visited me in Little Road, Yaba for Lagos weekends, he was the same big brother, humble, full of vision and passion for service. We reminisced over our days in Ife. We were most pained and challenged by the injustice of June 12. He admired my occasional newspaper commentaries on the raging subject of June 12. We said “never again”
together. It was hardly surprising that when the opportunity beckoned for him to run for the Delta House of Assembly to represent his native Effurun, no one else stood a better chance. He had warmed himself to his peoples’ hearts. He knew them, they knew him. He was genuine and generous, caring from the heart of service and not out of opportunism. A politician with non-severable bond with his constituents was born. It is rare in Nigeria, but Senator Ewherido demonstrated that such a genuine connection was possible. That was the very secret of his strength as a legendary politician. That was why; he was able to “kill” giants and became a cat with nine lives. But it is a lesson that those who kept courting and who are presently mourning him would not learn. His infectious personality, charm and charisma had no hiding place in Delta State House of Assembly. Rather, they came to public affirmation from that Chamber, where he served for eight years, and spread across the state. While officially the Deputy Speaker, he was the Acting Speaker for most of his tenure, owing to the ill health of the substantive speaker and to all the impeachment dramas that marked his tenure. As a speaker, he steered the Delta State House of Assembly into a forum for constructive debate. He did not miss the opportunity to draw from the wisdom of Nigeria’s genuine patriots (even our own WS) whom he occasionally invited to address the House. I had opportunities of personal visits to him in Asaba at the height of his provincial legislative career. Being a strategist, pragmatist and confident, he already had a clear vision of his political career after the House of Assembly. I was struck through one of the nights we spent together on how he talked with genuine concern and sympathy about the ill health of his boss, the then speaker. After the speaker’s death, he ably survived all the intrigues and banana pills of his office and did not hesitate to play the game of survival whenever that was inevitable. This was the time when James Ibori called the shots in Delta State. Ewherido was truly a Deltan, a true Urhobo son and lover of Urhobo language, an Isoko grandson, and a worthy Ijaw in-law; at home with the Itsekiri and a good friend of the Anioma peoples. He was always conscious of his broad support base. His desire to rule Delta State was motivated less by ambition than by a sense of duty and a commitment to right wrongs; to empower the weak. But such motivation was a wrong one in the eyes of PDP. A sense of duty, service, merit, justice and competence proved too ideal to thrive in the Party Senator Ewherido then belonged. Those were the reason that the PDP could not trust him with the governorship of Delta State. Having been denied the opportunity to serve from the State House in Asaba, Ewherido bid
his time. He was not manifestly bitter and was hardly malicious. He spoke no ill of his adversaries. At the right time, he mobilized his people and got their consent to serve them in Abuja as a Senator. But he kept his eyes on the State House. He believed in the power of the executive to make tremendous and lasting impact on the people. Only the unknowing was surprised that even upon defecting to a little known DPP he was able to defeat the PDP and secured his place In Nigeria’s Senate. It is instructive that the PDP did not contest his crystal clear victory at the Tribunal. The record of his short-lived service at the Senate speaks for itself. Beyond his silent and under-advertised legislative footprints at the Senate, what appears to have captured much of the public’s attention and speculation is the recent political unfolding ahead of 2015; his relationship with the DPP; even with the emergent APC; and his old party, the PDP. There has been no dull moment for this whiz kid of a politician, whose most recent steps, moves and body languages have been a beehive of speculation. Instructively, not very much has been heard from the horse’s mouth through it all before the very tragic unfolding of Thursday, June 27 that climaxed in his eventual death on Sunday, June 30. Gogorogo: I wish that your death and the tributes and the sense of desolation and heart break it evokes throughout the land will be a lesson for your political colleagues, to reflect on the meaning of genuine service and love for the people. I wish also that it would be a lesson to all other mortals who operate in the tension soaked murky waters of politics to become conscious of their health, to slow down occasionally and to remain constantly conscious of their mortality. I as well wish that your death will provoke a national sober reflection on the rank and file of Nigerian political class, beginning from President Goodluck Jonathan and his junketing wife downward, enabling them to quit their fixation on 2015 because no one knows who will live to that date. I wish they will see the need to render the best services they can while they can. Now. I wish that your death will awaken the hidden warriors across the land, especially among your Ewhu kinsmen and the Urhobo nation, to rise to the challenge of service which you have thrown to us all. It is my prayer that your wife, Doye, your children, brothers, Anthony, Francis, Ufuoma and your mom and all members of your immediate family in direct line of bereavement will receive divine help to go through this challenging time. Akpor, the song writer says it is not how long one has lived but much one cared in life. If she is right, you lived richly, even if shortly, because your cared sacrificially. Rest in Peace. • Prof. Oguamanam wrote in from Ottawa, Canada.
69
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Quote of the week
Law
What the oil producer gets paid is about 16 percent. The majority of it is tax, which in fairness to the government of this country they have accepted and admitted. ———-Olusegun Obasanjo judicialeditor@yahoo.co.uk/ 08033151041 Desk Head: Ibe Uwaleke
Profile By Joseph Onyekwere LU Daramola (SAN), the deputy O managing partner of Afe Babalola & Company, as well as the head of the Lagos office of the firm, believes that the implementation of the Land Use Act, which was a noble idea, has been abused by the respective state governments. According to him, what obtains in the implementation of the Act amounts to ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. “Many people in government have used the opportunity afforded by the Act to rob the original land owners such that we now have a new class of landowners. Traditionally, they don’t belong to the land-owning family but they go to government and say they need land for agricultural purpose. They take plenty of land only to fence it and speculate with it in future. And that is the reason why government seems to be losing legitimacy”, he declared. In his views, it is despicable for government to acquire land from landowners in the pretext that it would be used for public interest, only for the same land to be allotted to firms where the governor has his interest. He explained that the attitude impoverishes the poor in the sense that government pays compensation on lands where there are developments such as structures or economic trees. “It is assumed that the land belong to government to be used for the benefit of everybody. So, the only compensation you are being paid is in respect of development of the land, like you have planted something on it and it needs to be uprooted or buildings. So, there is serious abuse. “Government at various levels now introduces all manner of levies. One of them is the governor’s consent where you pay as high as 20 or 25 per cent of the value of the land if you want to transfer. If it is an area where government has not done anything and you want to sell your own land, government now says you must pay 20 per cent consent fee just because Section 22 of the law says you must seek the consent of the governor before you can alienate your land”, he bemoaned, adding that various state governments had turned the governor’s consent into money-making venture whereas that section of the law did not envisage such. He said that governments are abusing those provisions of the law to extort money and to take away land from people without adequate compensation, only for the same land to be allotted to their cronies. He maintained that the Act has been badly implemented and, therefore, needs urgent review, adding that the conflicting decisions coming from various courts in respect of the interpretations of the sections of the law have not helped matters. “The courts have placed different interpretations of the law that
Daramola
‘State governments are abusing the Land Use Act’
today, nobody can tell you; and he is was not easy. My father died when I sure of what he is saying - that this is was five and my family was thrown what the case law is saying on this into serious poverty because my particular issue”, he declared. father was the bread-winner. My Interestingly, Daramola, while in mother was engaged in petty trading secondary school, had wanted to and that could not sustain us. When study International Relations. But my father died, she had enough probthat did not eventually happen. He lems to cope with, so I was not botherrather studied Political Science. This ing her for money while I was in is how he captured those experi- school. ences: “On leaving secondary school, Daramola was born in Ilawe-Ekiti, in I stayed at home for one year. While June 1965. He began his primary eduwaiting to secure admission, I got a cation at Baptist Primary School, Adojob in the Ministry of Health Akure, Ekiti and completed it in 1976. Ondo State. The Ministry of Health Thereafter, he proceeded to the C.A.C then was sharing a fence with the Grammar School, Efon-Alaaye and High Court. Rather than stay in my passed out in 1980. He also attended place of work, any time I had free the Corpus Christi College, Ilawetime, I would go and stay at the Ekiti, in 1981. He subsequently gained court. Gani Fawehinmi and Rotimi admission to the university and Williams were coming to court fre- earned a degree in Political Science quently then and political activities from the University of Ibadan in 1987. were on. That was when Omoboriowo Having gained his B.Sc (Hons) in versus Ajasin struggle was going on. Political Science and completed his “I observed the way it was going on National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in the court and concluded that that he got a fantastic job at the local govwas what I wanted to do. I wrote the ernment as an administration officer admission examination but did not with an official car. Despite the pecks meet up with the cut-off point for of that office and the temptation of law and ended up studying Political losing his only source of income, Science. After studying Political Daramola still wanted to live his Science, I was still determined to dreams. He had wanted to be a lawyer study law even though I was a poor before studying Political Science. student. I saw myself through in my Even though he had every reason to first degree and I can tell you that it settle for the job he had already secured instead of resigning and going into uncertainty (unknown Government at various levels now introduces all manner of future) of returning to the university levies. One of them is the governor’s consent where you pay as to study law, he chose against all from concerned friends and high as 20 or 25 per cent of the value of the land if you want to advice relatives to return to the university. transfer. If it is an area where government has not done any- And he is better off today, enjoying he is doing - lawyering. thing and you want to sell your own land, government now what As a result of his resignation, he applied and secured admission into says you must pay 20 per cent consent fee just because University of Lagos to study Law. Section 22 of the law says you must seek the consent of the the He completed his studies in 1992 with a LL.B (Hons) degree. Subsequently, governor before you can alienate your land.
he went to the Nigeria Law School and finished in 1993. That same year, he was called to the Bar and enrolled as a Solicitor and Barrister of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Not done with academic pursuits, he, in 2001, obtained a Masters Degree in Law from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Prior to this, he had acquired plethora of other certificates. They include Advanced Diploma in Commercial Law and practice from the University of Lagos and masters in Maritime Law from the University of London. He got those in 1996 and 2012 respectively. Daramola is also a member, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London (MCI.Arb), associate, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (ACIT), as well as fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria. A Deputy Managing Partner in Afe Babalola & Co. since 2012 and Head of the Lagos office 2002, Daramola who is vast in general litigation, company and commercial law such as maritime law, banking, taxation, aviation, oil and gas and
arbitration, was conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) in 2008. He has made modest contributions to the development of law in Nigeria by way of the various court victories and submissions made in his professional career. He joined the chambers of Afe Babalola in 1994 as an associate after a brief stint in the chambers of Tayo Oyetibo & Company. A member of various local and international professional associations, Daramola has role models who in one way or the other have inspired him. He said late Chief Obafemi Awolowo leads in the political front for his political sagacity and forthrightness. On the area of law, Chief Afe Babalola leads the pack. According to him, chief achieved greatness and continued to blaze the trail to maintain the greatness. He described Chief Babalola as a model of industry. Also, he holds Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and late Chief F.R.A Williams (SAN) in high esteem in the profession. The learned senior advocate said the reason partnership in law firms do not work in Nigeria is due to greed on the part of principal counsel and impatience on the part of the juniors. According to him, law profession would grow bigger and better if firms are run as partnership, allowing many other lawyers with experience in other areas to be in the same firm. He lamented that the growing decline in the profession could be attributed to the situation where individual lawyers, without adequate experience and skills, hurriedly open up small offices as chambers all in the bid to be independent. He submitted that such chambers could not be compared with firms with over 2,000 lawyers, out of which 400 are partners as it obtains abroad. “However, many principals believe that they can spend their own time and still spend your own time. That is the reason people go and establish small firms all over the places; firms that cannot even handle serious legal works. If you are working alone, you will not have colleagues with whom you can brainstorm. If you make a mistake, there will be nobody to correct it. There is nobody to give you a second opinion for anything,” he declared. Daramola advised young lawyers to cultivate the habit of patiently learning the necessary skills needed in practice from experienced seniors, if they wish to excel in the profession instead of being in a haste to make money. “Be under somebody for at least two years and learn the rudiments”, he admonished. He is not very choosy when it comes to food but he enjoys local rice (Ofada) and fruits a lot. Daramola is married with children.
Do you know… “Developed land” [in section 51 of the Land Use Act, 1978]: This means “land where there exists any physical improvement… that may enhance the value of the land for industrial, agricultural or residential purposes”: See Sunday Obasohaan v. Thomas Omorodion [2001] 13 NWLR (Pt. 729) 206 @226, [S.C.]; [2001] 38 WRN 88, [S.C.] interpreting the termas used in Section 51 0f the Land Use Act, 1978.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
70 LAW
LawReport Where a contract is ex-facie illegal, courts must refuse to enforce same (2) In the Court of Appeal, In the Lagos Judicial Division, Holden at Lagos, On Friday, March 22, 2013, Before their Lordships: Amina Adamu Augie, Justice, Court of Appeal; Chima Centus Nweze, Justice, Court of Appeal; Chinweze Eugenia Iyizoba, Justice, Court of Appeal; CA/L/362/97 Between University of Port Harcourt—Appellant And Kraus Thompson Organisation Kraus Thompson Periodicals —Respondents. E canvassed the view that the sections, clearly, H dealt with buying or borrowing foreign currency or gold. They would, therefore, have no application in a case such as this, which was based on the supply of books, periodicals and or journals on credit, even though foreign currency was involved. He noted that the appellant had argued that the contract of purchase of books, journals and periodicals contravened the provisions of the Exchange Control Act 1962, which non-compliance made the transaction in question ex-facie illegal. He observed that the appellant entered into the contract well aware of the terms and conditions of the contract of the supply of books, journals and periodicals. It was, therefore, too late to complain of illegality and rely on the Exchange Control Act, 1962. In reply, counsel for the appellant contended that the respondent’s submission that the “Exchange Control Act 1962 does not cover the purchase of books, journals or periodicals…” was a gross misconception of the basis of the appellant’s argument and the intendment of sections 7 and 8 of the Exchange Control Act 1962. He re-iterated that the purpose of these sections of the said Act of 1962 was to prohibit payment of money by any person resident in Nigeria to any person outside Nigeria, without the permission of the Minister had and received. He canvassed the view that it was immaterial that the appellant raised the issue of illegality as the court could suo motu raise it, Sodipo v Leminkainen OY (supra) We propose to preface our resolution of this issue with an observation for the avoidance of doubt.
We wish to acknowledge the fact that the Exchange Control Act No 16, 1962 (on which counsel offered extensive arguments in their respective briefs), has since been repealed by the Exchange Control (Repeal) Act of 1995. As a corollary, we observe that the said Exchange Control Act No. 16 of 1962 was remarkable as a piece of legislation, which fecundated the evolution of an admirable corpus of case law Sodipo v Leminkainen OY (1986) LPELR-SC.149/1983. These decisions, considerably dispelled the obfuscation of thought, which hitherto, characterised the general understanding of the obligations of parties in contracts, which are ex-facie illegal. What emerges from a conspectus of these decisions is that where a contract made by the parties is expressly forbidden by statute, its illegality is undoubted and no court ought to enforce it or allow it to be used for the enforcement of alleged obligations arising there under. This is as much the position of English Law, Boissevain v Weil (1950) AC 327; Shaw v Shaw (1965) 1 WLR 537 as it the position in Nigeria, Alao v ACB (supra). As noted earlier, learned senior counsel for the respondents acknowledged that the appellant raised the issue of illegality of the contract between the respondents and itself for being in contravention of the Exchange Control Act 1962. He submitted that the appellant did not specifically plead and particularise the fact of the illegality or contravention of the Exchange Control Act 1962 in its Statement of Defence. With respect, this submission did not tally with the preponderance of authoritative views in binding decisions. Thus, there are authorities for the view that where a contract is ex-facie illegal, whether illegality has been pleaded or not, the court would not close its eyes against the illegality. The reason is simple: it is the duty of every court to refuse to enforce such a transaction even when illegality has not been pleaded, Sodipo v Leminkainen OY (supra); Alao v ACB (supra). The respondents’ counsel could not, therefore, have been correct in his contention that the Act exempted contracts for the supply of books, periodicals and or journals on credit, even though foreign currency was involved. We have not found any judicial endorsement of such a touted exemption. We are, therefore, under obligation to overrule that submission. In all, the lower court was wrong in its conclusion. We resolve this issue in favor of the appellant.
Justice Bulkachuwa Acting PCA Counsel noted that the defendant/appellant was created by a statute, which defined its objects, constitution and powers. It has own corporate personality, a right to sue and be sued with the powers to hold property in its own name, citing section 1(1) and (2) and 8 of the University of Port Harcourt Act, Cap U13, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. He explained that the defendant has the offices of its principal officers and campus sited in Port Harcourt, River State of Nigeria. He submitted that that was the domicile of the defendant/appellant and was thus important in the determination of the questions as to which court had jurisdiction over it, citing the Halsbury’s Law of England (4th Edition) Volume 7 paragraph 124. He maintained that the proper place of residence of the defendant would be the main campus where the Vice Chancellor also works from, which is at Port Harcourt, Rivers State. In his view, by the rule of court and the above-cited finding of the Supreme Court, the defendant’s residence is thus, Rivers State.
Learned senior counsel for the respondent, first pointed out that the appellant has a liaison office in Lagos where its operates a branch office and as such, could be sued in Lagos Judicial Division, citing Kossen (Nig) Ltd v Savannah Bank (Nig) Ltd (1995) 9 NWLR (pt 420) 439, 442. He observed that the appellant participated in the proceedings at the lower court. He submitted that it had waived its right to complain more so when it is not complaining of any miscarriage of justice. Counsel for the appellant derided the above submissions of the respondent as woven around against all principles of law regarding the determination of venue for the institution of an action based on contractual relationship. He contended that the issue in question in this case was that of territorial which is constitutional or statutory. He finally cited Makinde v Ojeyinka (1997) 4 NWLR (pt 497) 80 as authority for the view that it was proper for a party on appeal to raise the issue of jurisdiction without obtaining the leave of the appellate court. Be that as it may, in the determination of this issue, we are bound to rely on the position in University Press Ltd v I. K. Martins (Nig) Ltd (supra). Now, the appellant took the view that the action should have been commenced in Port Harcourt where it carries on its business. There is considerable force in the contention. We have perused the processes. We agree with the appellant that the action ought to have been commenced at the Rivers State High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt. In Arjay Ltd v Airline Management Support Ltd (2003) 2-3 SC 1, the apex court held that an action for breach of contract can be commenced in any of the following places, namely: • Where the contract was entered into; • Where the contract was performed or was to be performed; and • Where the defendant resides or does business; First Bank of Nig Ltd v Abraham (2008) LPELR- SC. 397/2002; (2008) 18 NWLR (pt 118) 17. Against this backdrop, we agree with the appellant that the lower court wrongly assumed jurisdiction over the case. It was not right in so doing, University Press Ltd v I.K. Martins (Nig) Ltd (supra). I all, we find that this appeal succeeds and we allow it. We hereby enter an order setting aside the judgment of the lower court. Costs assessed and fixed at N30,000 in favour of the appellant.
Court will intervene where there is a breach of contract, the UBN case LAGOS High Court, Tafawa Balewa entire sum is liquidated. ment for the claimants for the sum of A Square (TBS), has ordered Union However, the court refused the USD 217, 381. 05 or its naira equipment at Bank of Nigeria Plc. to pay the sum of claimants’ claim for pre-judgment the prevailing exchange rate being the US$ 217,381.05 or its naira equivalent at the current exchange rate to one of its customers, Prince Nwokocha Ezikpe and his company, Felimex Nigeria Limited. The amount represents the total sum of money debited from its account by the bank and not remitted to its foreign business partners. In the judgment on Suit No LD/1092/2008, the trial judge, Justice Morenike Obadina held that the claimants had established their entitlement to the reliefs sought as the funds which were debited from their account with the Union Bank, meant for remittance to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and on to their foreign partners, were not remitted. The money was supposed to be payments for the series of transactions between the claimants and their foreign business partners. In addition to the claims, the court also awarded to the claimants the sum of N3 million as general damages against Union Bank for breach of contract, adding that the claimants are entitled to the statutory post judgment interest. She therefore awarded 10 per cent interest on the judgment sum from the date of the judgment until the
interest at the rate of 19 percent per annum from May 1982 until final liquidation of the debt on the ground that the claim was not pleaded and there was no evidence to back up the claim of interest. Justice Obadina held that Union Bank did not supply any documentary proof from its own record on the remittance of the funds to the Central Bank of Nigeria. “No bank entries, email correspondence, letter, fax messages or any document to trace the movement of the funds from the defendant to the CBN was pleaded or tendered”, she stated. She noted that contrary to the submissions of defendant’s counsel in his address, the claimants were not relying on the weakness of the defence in establishing their claim, asserting that the burden of proof of the remittance was on the defendant but the defendant failed to discharge that burden. The court also observed that the defendant’s evidence of re-financing, issuance of Promissory Notes and other steps allegedly taken by the bank shows that the foreign suppliers of the claimants were never paid. “It is my finding that the claimants are entitled to judgment. I enter judg-
sum of money debited from the claimants’ account held with the defendant, which the defendant did not remit as expected as payment for series of transactions between the claimants and their foreign business partners. “The claimants are entitled to general damages for the breach of contract and for money received since 1983. I award to the Claimants N3 million general damages,” the judge ruled. The case of the claimant was that Felimex Merchantile Nigeria Alliance and Sobatex International operated an account with the Aba branch of the defendant in the name of Felimex Merchantile Nigeria Alliance. Later, the two enterprises were merged and incorporated into a limited liability company known as Felimex Nigeria Limited. In the course of normal banking relationship, the claimants’ account was debited in the sum of $217, 381.05 in seven installments for remittance to Justice Phillip the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for In its defence, Union Bank contended goods imported by Felimex that the suit is statute barred, adding Merchantile Nigeria Alliance. that the cause of action crystallized on It was further alleged that the funds May 21, 1987 when the CBN forwarded a were not remitted to CBN as agreed and debtor summary status report to the the claimant requested for proof of claimant. remittance as CBN denied receiving the The bank also contended that the remittances. account of the claimant with it was,
indeed, debited with the naira value of the sum required for remittance to the claimants’ foreign suppliers, adding that the funds were transferred to CBN but never provided the foreign exchange applied for, as the funds were later returned to the bank.
LAW 71
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Nigeria adopts WIPO’s Copyright Treaty for visually impaired persons Workshop By Ibe Uwaleke NIGERIAN delegation on June 27, 2013, joined A other International Negotiators at a Diplomatic Conference convened by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to adopt a Treaty to facilitate access to published works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities (Beneficiary Persons). The Treaty-making event was hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco and chaired by the nation’s Minister of Communications and Government Spokesperson, H.E. Mr. Mustapha Khalfi. The Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) Mr. Afam Ezekude, who was head of the Nigerian delegation to the Conference held at Marrakesh, Morocco, from June 17 to June 28, 2013, said in a document released in Abuja, that the Treaty as adopted symbolises the first ever Copyright Treaty on Exceptions and Limitations for the Blind, Visually Impaired or otherwise Print Disabled Persons. He added that it is also a culmination of efforts that commenced 2009 in WIPO to redress the book famine that excluded over 300 million beneficiary persons from access to literary and artistic works, 90 per cent of which live in developing countries and of these, 27 million in Africa. Mr. Ezekude noted that the Marrakesh Treaty is a landmark achievement as it symbolises the first ever Copyright Treaty on Exceptions and Limitations for the Beneficiary Persons, since the adoption of the first multilateral international Copyright Instrument (Berne Convention) in 1886, more than 227 years ago. He further stated that the Treaty, adopted after more than a week of intense debate, is a real triumph of negotiation for the Nigerian delegation that successfully balanced various delicate issues such as interests of Copyright owners, Beneficiary Persons and the Sovereignty of the nation, as well as harmonising Copyright international best practices.
Other benefits of the Treaty as highlighted in the document include: • The Treaty enshrines a more egalitarian system that will facilitate fuller access to published works and audio text for Beneficiary Persons, as well as others; • Enhance their Mohammed Bello inclusion and participation in culture, society, literature, research, education, economy and knowledge systems of the world; • The Treaty establishes basic standards that provide an enabling framework for addressing the full spectrum of the declared aspiration of visually Impaired persons; • Contracting parties of the Treaty may adopt domestic law provisions that permit the reproduction, translation, distribution and making available works in accessible format copies through Exceptions and Limitations to the rights of copyright owners; • The Treaty also permits cross border exchanges and direct distribution between authorised entities and beneficiary persons; • Other aspects of the Treaty indicate that it does not prescribe to governments as national governments are at liberty to determine what exception and limitations are permitted to implement the Treaty in accordance with their national laws, practices and systems in consonant with international copyright laws; and • The Treaty is also designed to provide assurances to authors and publishers that the system will not expose their published works to misuse or distribution to anyone other than the intended beneficiaries. Mr. Ezekude explained that the Treaty will be
useful in bridging the literary access to knowledge and capacity gap that exists between Beneficiary Persons in the developed and developing economies, stressing that the Marrakesh Treaty is “a Copyright Treaty, a human rights Treaty, and a humane Treaty”. He gave assurance of Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring the swift ratification and effective implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty. Director-General of WIPO, Francis Gurry, in his declaration, stated that “This treaty is a victory for the blind, visually impaired and print disabled, but also for the multilateral system. With this treaty, the international community has demonstrated the capacity to tackle specific problems, and to agree a consensus solution. This is a balanced treaty, and represents a very good arbitration of the diverse interests of the various stakeholders.” President of the World Blind Union, Mrs. Maryanne Diamond, while thanking stakeholders for their different roles in seeing to fruition the adoption of the Treaty, stated that “you gave us a Treaty, better still, you gave us a good Treaty, one that will change the lives of millions of people...” Popular Visually Impaired legend, Steven Wonder, who performed during the closing ceremony of the conference, commended the momentous adoption of the Treaty, opining that the very act has “taught many governments and peoples that business and good can be done at the same time”. He also called for swift ratification of the Treaty. The event had over 600 delegates from 160 countries including an expert Nigerian
Delegation, and 60 inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations. NCC secures 40 piracy convictions The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has secured 40 convictions against different copyright offenders between January 2011 and June 2013. The pirates were sentenced to various terms, including imprisonment, in some instances, without the option of fine. Director General, NCC, Mr. Afam Ezekude, who disclosed this in a report at the Commission’s Headquarters, Abuja yesterday, revealed that the Commission secured three convictions against pirates in 2011, 26 in 2012 and 11 between January and June, 2013. Also, the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, convicted and sentenced three pirates to various jail terms, including imprisonment, in some instances, without the option of fine for the infringement of the book: The Accidental Public Servant, written by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai. Justice Idris of the Federal High Court Ikoyi, Lagos, on May 6, 2013, in charge No: FHC/L/159C/13 sentenced Nwoke Israel to one year imprisonment, without option of fine, on a two-count charge of having in possession and selling pirated copies of the book. Justice Yunusa also of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, on May 10, 2013, in Charge No. FHC/L/158C/13 sentenced another book pirate, Ifeanyichukwu Nweke, to six months imprisonment with an option of N1,000.00 (one thousand naira) fine for each count on a similar two-count charge of infringing the same book. Similarly, on a two-count charge of having in possession and selling pirated copies of the book, Justice Saidu of the same court, on May 22, 2013, sentenced Akamu Chibueze to three months’ imprisonment, in charge No: FHC/L/149C/13, for both counts without any option of fine to run concurrently. The convictions were sequel to anti-piracy operations carried out by operatives of the Commission in major outlets in Lagos, following complaints earlier received from the right owner. TO BE CONCLUDE
Transfer pricing in Nigeria: The utility of Advance Pricing Agreements (2) Continued from Tuesday July 9, 2013 By Olamide Akinla
Commercial Law XAMPLES of critical assumptions E include assumptions as to: (a) the functions performed, assets used and risks assumed (exchange rate, market, reputational risks) by the parties to be bound by the APA; (b) exchange rates, interest rates, capital structure and credit ratings; (c) market conditions, price and volume of trade; (d) the state of domestic law including tax laws and other legislation that may have a bearing on the controlled transaction; (e) foreign tax laws and the laws of other States that may have a bearing on the controlled transaction; (f) other governmental regulation, import and export duties, tariffs; and (g) any other fact or condition; economic or otherwise of the taxpayer, administration or any third party that may substantially affect an APA if there was a change in such fact or condition. Since they form the basis on which parties agree to enter in the APA, critical assumptions should be explicitly stated in advance and included in the terms of the APA so that parties are at ad idem at the time of contracting. Eligibility for an APA Under the Regulations, a connected taxable person is eligible to request for an APA provided ‘the cumulative amount resulting from the transaction in every year of assessment (sic) not less than N250,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) of a connected taxable person’s total deductible costs or total taxable revenues’. Timeframe of an APA The life span of an APA is limited to three years. There are no provisions for renewals of an APA, nonetheless, it is suggested that where an APA is successfully executed, it may be renewed by consent of all contracting parties.
The Regulations are, however, silent as to the period of time it would take to conclude an APA from the time a formal request is received. The likely reason for this may be because of the diverse issues that may arise in an APA with the result that it may be difficult to project a timeframe. It is however advised that a period be fixed and allowances be made for extension of time to conclude an APA. Preparation for an APA – what the taxpayer should do In making a formal application for an APA, the taxpayer must make sure that its house is in order, otherwise the FIRS may, as empowered by regulation 7 (3), reject the request. It should: (a) maintain robust documentation: this cannot be over emphasised because the documents presented to the FIRS constitute the case of the taxpayer justifying the reasons why the FIRS should enter into an APA with it and upon terms favourable to it; (b) decide what documents should be shared with the FIRS; (c) make sure that the documentation and transfer pricing policy are in consonance with economic/commercial reality; (d) in the case of bilateral or multilateral APAs, ensure that the taxpayer and its related party present a consistent case to the relevant competent authorities, (e) in the event documentation is maintained in a foreign language and or in a foreign jurisdiction, translation should be carried out, (f) ensure that the taxpayer adheres to its own commitments under the mutual expectations, (g) have a contingent plan in the event APA is not successful. This includes anticipated litigation. This list is by no means inexhaustible. They are only meant to act as a guide to the taxpayer as the strategy to be adopted is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. What the FIRS should do The FIRS is also saddled with certain
responsibilities in attaining the success of an APA, chief of which is introducing APA Guidelines. Although the Nigerian Regulations provide the framework of an APA, they are silent on the procedure which inter alia include how to lodge a request and whom to address it to, the time frame within which to conclude an APA, the APA case plan and the scheduling, making provisions for appeals at every stage of the APA process or at the end of an APA. What a concluded APA should contain Although there are no general rules, a concluded APA should, amongst other things, contain the following information: (a) the identities and place of business of the taxpayer and the related parties, (b) the transfer pricing methodology to be adopted, (c) the number of years that the APA would be applicable for, (d) the critical assumptions, mutual
Okonjo-Iweala
expectations and any collateral issues and (e) a definition of the terms to be adopted in the APA It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive as the contents of a concluded APA would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. For example for transactions involving intangibles or financial instruments different items would be included in the APA. Post-APA Once an APA has been concluded, it becomes necessary for the FIRS to ensure that the taxpayer has honoured its obligations under the APA. How is this achieved? Along with filing its annual returns, a taxpayer must file an Annual Compliance Report (ACR) for each year of the APA containing sufficient information showing the actual results of the APA and demonstrating compliance with the APA. By so doing, the FIRS is assured of the compliance of the taxpayer to the APA. It is
expected that the ACR would be accompanied by supporting documents which include the audited financial statements of the taxpayer and all other documents which would demonstrate compliance with the APA. The ACR aids the FIRS in carrying out audits in respect of the years in which the APA was applicable. A question which is bound to arise at the post APA stage is, ‘What happens where the actual results of a controlled transaction differ from the expected projections under the APA?’ This could occur as transfer pricing is not an exact science. When this occurs, compensating adjustments are made to harmonise the actual results with the APA. A compensating adjustment is made to bring the actual results of a controlled transaction within the range of the APA. An APA prescribes the range, point or result to which a compensating adjustment should be made in so far as the difference in the actual and expected results is within the critical assumptions. It is to be noted that the Nigerian Regulations do not make provisions for the compensating adjustments, nonetheless, recourse should be made to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines as contemplated in regulation 11 (b). Conclusion It is to be noted that because the Regulations are barely nine months old there is yet to be any reported concluded APA between a taxpayer and the FIRS. It is for this reason that the FIRS is expected to promote APAs by enlightening taxpayers on the benefits of entering into an APA. Entering into APAs ensures that taxes are remitted promptly, reduces tedious audit exercises and prevents the adversarial nature of litigation or audit process. It is therefore hoped that the use of APAs is encouraged among all stakeholders. • Akinla is a Lagos-based legal practitioner.
72
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
73
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
74
Sports WCL Division Six Championship Fall-out
After Nigeria’s promotion, Adegbola wants early camping for Division Five tourney By Christian Okpara HE Nigerian team took over the Grainville turf in Jersey in celebration of a sweet victory over Argentina, a feat that bought them promotion to the Division Five of the World Cricket League (WCL). Before ecstatic scenes, the day seemed so far away after the final game was washed out by rain prompting the International Cricket Council to move the final games of the WCL Division Six Championship from Saturday to Sunday. But the Nigerians, led by Adekunle Adegbola, would not be denied their day in the sun. The victory fetched Nigeria second place behind hosts, Jersey, but it was enough to point them on their way to Malaysia early next year for the Division Five Championship, which first and second placed finishers would make the step up to the Division Four. After the backslapping and gyrations that followed the last captain, an elated skipper, Adegbola in the post match conference, ‘it is a great thing to be in Division 5 and I am highly privileged to be the captain of this side, which has been victorious throughout this tournament. “The team did brilliantly today – Seye Olympio and Saheed Akolade were both excellent with the ball and then Segun did a fine job with the bat. We are all in high spirits. “I hope we do well in Malaysia and we will be looking to be promoted to Division 4. We are going to prepare well because we know it is going to be a tough task and a step-up in quality but we’re going to come hard
T
in
Division 5.” Now that the country has gone beyond expectations to win promotions, Adegbola hopes that the National Sports Commission (NSC) would rally round the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) as they plot the country’s next move in the league. Nigeria won four games and lost one to place second behind Jersey, which won all their matches, while the country’s hottest rivals, Vanuatu, placed third after losing their second game of the competition to the hosts on the final day. Nigeria had earlier beaten Vanuatu in the early rounds of the competition and went into the final game knowing it had to avoid defeat to pick the Division Five ticket despite what happened in the other games. In Sunday’s game against Argentina, fast bowler, Oluseye Olympio, tore through Argentina’s batting line-up to return figures of 623 in 9 overs, finishing as the tournament’s most prolific bowler with an overall wicket haul of 19, as Nigeria dismissed the South Americans for 185 in 46 overs. At one point, the Argentines were 26-6 and facing an embarrassingly low total as Olympio wreaked his havoc, but Lucas Paterlini (48), Bernardo Irigoyen (39) and captain Esteban MacDermott (34) came to the rescue down the order. With half an eye on their Net Run Rate, Nigeria then came out all guns blazing in their run chase, with opener Segun Olayinka smashing an unbeaten 94 from 73 balls, including eight 4s and six 6s, as the Africans cruised home in the 30th over.
Nigeria’s Kunle Adegboola (left) takes a bow after taking a wicket in their World Cricket League (WCL) Division Six Championship game against Argentina…on Sunday. PHOTO: ICC-CRICKET.COM
Ahead South Africa 2014 CHAN
NFF plans early camping for home-based Eagles • No decision on Super Falcons’ coach yet From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it will soon take the home-based senior national team to camp for early preparations for the January 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN). Nigeria at the weekend lost 02 to Cote d’Ivoire, but still qualified for their debut in the CHAN, which third edition holds in South Africa. The federation, which described the Eagles’ qualification for the first time in the championship as a land mark achievement, disclosed that the team’s early camping would give the players the
T
opportunity to train together for a long time in order to blend and understand themselves better. Speaking on plans for the CHAN, NFF President, Aminu Maigari assured that the federation would encourage the team to do well and replicate the main team’s feat of winning the last Nations Cup, adding that the federation would be happy if the homebased team won the 2014 CHAN at first appearance. Maigari disclosed that the NFF technical committee would soon meet to, among other things, deliberate on the CHAN programme expected
from Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi, and plan for early preparation. “We are very happy with this landmark achievement of the Super Eagles… after failing to participate in the past two editions, we are taking part in CHAN for the first time. This is the first of its kind and the players understood the big passion Nigerians have about football. “When this board came in place, we decided to do away with short time and medium time planning for the national teams. This is because we believe in putting the teams together for adequate blending and understanding of each other.
Proactive budget releases, early preparations panacea for no medal syndrome, says Igali By Eno-Abasi Sunday recent times, Team IartNNigeria has perfected the of returning from international sporting events without medals after spending millions of naira to make appearances. But former world wrestling champion the newly appointed Technical Director of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Daniel Igali says a holistic approach, which among other things include early preparations and proactive budget releases can return the wind to Nigeria’s sail. Igali, in an interview with
The Guardian said, “the issue of performance and winning medals at international events needs to be holistic. The issues of early preparations go beyond the sports ministry and the Nigeria Olympic Committee,” adding that, “proactive budget releases are very necessary for planning to achieve performance.” Even though he maintained that the issue of budget was a matter beyond him, Igali opined that, “the issue of budget releases needs to be futuristic…my position as the chairman of the technical commission of the NOC for the most part, is
advisory. “However, I do believe that when the structures are properly put in place, we would be in a good position to influence policy as it relates to our high performance programmes in Nigeria.” The former world champion stressed, “for Nigeria to be reckoned with in various sports disciplines in which I believe we have enormous potential, there needs to be some patience. It will require at the minimum, a complete Olympic cycle of four years for changes to start trickling in. “For sustained perform-
ance, especially if funding is appropriately maintained, we should be really looking at 2020 to reap maximum benefits. But I do think that if we get going now, by the next Olympic Games, we should be returning with at least a few medals. The colours, I cannot say, but medals, for sure we can achieve,” he stated. Igali, who thanked all including the Minister/NSC chairman, presidents of national federations etc, for the enormous recognition and responsibility, maintained that his immediate task and indeed the job of all presidents of national sports
federations, (who in my view are all extended members of the technical Commission of the NOC), would include working in harmony with the NSC to harmonise our sporting goals and targets and coordinate the efforts of the different federations that have been targeted as Olympic sports to perform to their best potentials. “As a sportsman, who in my active competitive days was exposed to virtually all the sporting systems around the world, my job would, among others, also be to advice on the best way forward.”
Teslim Balogun the greatest centre forward Africa ever produced, says Onigbinde ODAY is exactly 40 years T since the demise of Nigerian football legend, Teslim Balogun, and the football world have continued to extol his prowess and contributions to the development and promotion of the game. In a tribute to the soccer icon, FIFA/CAF Technical Instructor, Adegboye Onigbinde described him as “a fantastic footballer with bullet shots on both feet. He had the speed and could dribble. Ghanaian newspapers once described him as the greatest centre forward that Africa has ever produced.” In the same vein, former Lagos Island East Council Chairman and a close relation of the Teslim Balogun family, Nosiru Kadiku revealed that Teslim was nicknamed “Thunder” particularly because of his spectacular performance in the Nigerian Challenge Cup finals of 1949. Kadiku recalls, “the match was between Nigerian Railways and Marine football club. Marine was leading Railways 3-0 until it was about eight minutes to the end of the game when Teslim Balogun burst loose and netted three goals within seven minutes to level for his side. His shots were like lightening. When he scored two goals, the fans stood on their toes.
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
SPORTS 75
Countdown to 14th IAAF World Championship
Okagbare has a duty to lead Team Nigeria’s success in Moscow, says AFN By Gowon Akpodonor MIDST growing concern A that Team Nigeria’s brightest medal hope in Moscow 2013 IAAF World Championship, Blessing Okagbare might burn out before the event, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has explained why it is difficult to stop the athlete from competing in various Diamond League events in the build up to the championship. Okagbare smashed the African women’s 100m record twice on her way to victory at the London Anniversary Games at the weekend. She first erased the 14 year-old mark of 10.90 seconds, set by compatriot Gloria Alozie (now of Spain) with a 10.86 run in the heat before posting a stunning 10.79 seconds to overhaul the entire field that included the Olympic champion, ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce in the final. The Sapele-born Okagbare thus became the first Nigerian and African woman to duck under 10.80 seconds in the women’s 100m dash. Before her stunning performance at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in London at the weekend, Atlanta ’96 Olympic gold medalist, Chioma AjunwaOpara, had advised that Okagbare should stop competing in every competition so that she could concentrate her energy on the task of getting a medal for Team Nigeria at the Moscow 2013 14th IAAF World championships, which begins on August 10. However, the Technical Director of AFN, Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama explained in an interview with The Guardian during the flag-off of the IAAF Nestle Kids’ Athletics programmes in Lagos, that the country stands to reap from Okagbare’s participation in many athletics events before the World Championship. Nesiama said, “a lot of people have complained that Okagbare might get burnt
out before the World Championship because of her participation in many races. For us at the AFN, we don’t see it from that angle. “People should know that Okagbare is taking part in three different events (100m, long jump and the 200m). For her to be in good shape and compete for medals in all the events in Moscow, she has to give it a trial in the various Diamond Leagues. “As you can see, Okagbare is very mindful of what she is doing going by events she has competed in so far in the Diamond League. If she competes in the 100m in one event, she registers for either the long jump or 200m in another Diamond League. It is good for her. Okagbare knows she has a duty to perform for Team Nigeria in Moscow. She normally informs us of what she intends to do at any particular competition and we have to give her the approval,” Nesiama stated. To avoid the risk of the country’s athletes burning out before the Moscow Championship, Kenya Athletics Federation withdrew its athletes from the London Diamond League at the weekend.
Athletics Kenya was criticised last year when Kenya could not meet the people’s expectations at the London Olympics. Many of the critics said the runners were burnt out after racing in many events ahead of the Olympics. “London is too close to Moscow and this may burn out our athletes,” Athletics Kenya (AK) President, Isaiah Kiplagat said in a statement as he withdrew the Kenyan team from the London Diamond League. To the AFN technical director, the step taken by Kenya was in order. “They (Kenya Athletics) have their plans ahead the World Championship and we have ours. Part of our plan is to open a two-week camping in one of the countries close to Russia so that our athletes can gather and train together before hitting Moscow. But things seem not to be working out fine due to funds constrain. “Athletes like Okagbare need financial support to do well in the championship. We are doing our best at the AFN and we hope things work out fine for the country this time around at the World Championship,” Nesiama stated.
WNBA legend, Bolton, for Lagos camp NITED State’s Women’s U National Basketball Association (WNBA) legend, Ruthie Bolton, will visit Nigeria to spearhead a fourday camp for girls between August 21 and 24. The camp, which will hold in Lagos, will see 60 girls under the age of 17 from all over the country gathering for basketball, leadership training, sexual abuse mentoring and key programmes that will help the overall positive development of the girl child. The programme is put together by Hope for Girls (H4G) Africa and will also
include an all-star basketball game on Saturday, August 24th at Rowe Park in Yaba where fans can also win prizes. Bolton, who is making her first trip to the continent, was invited not just because of her wealth of knowledge of basketball, but her energy and the inspiring message that she will pass on to the young girls as an inspirational speaker. Organisers say that girls under the age of 17, who are interested in being part of the camp, should visit H4G’s Facebook page where details would be posted in due time.
Telecom Games: Airtel wins, MTN consolidates IRTEL Nigeria made a fairy A tale debut in the Nigeria Telecommunications Games
An MTN attacker outwits his Alcatel opponent during their Nigeria Telecoms Games football match held at the Unilag Sports Centre…at the weekend.
D’Tigers will win Afrobasket Cup, NBBF promises HE Nigeria Basketball finish third. Umar said that financing T Federation (NBBF) on “Now, the team has moved the national team to meet Sunday in Abuja said the sen- the camping site to Orlando, ior national basketball team, D’Tigers, is set to bring the Afrobasket Cup to the country. The NBBF President, Tijani Umar told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the federation never stopped working on the team after the 2012 Olympic Games to prepare it for the continental championship. The 2013 Afrobasket Championship is billed for Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire from August 20 to August 31. “We never stopped working on that team right after the 2012 Olympics, we have been constantly in touch with the players. “The hard work showed when we took the national team including new players to China for the Stankovic Cup, where, in spite of all the challenges, we were able to
Amazing Blessing…Okagbare beats the pack top win the London Olympics anniversary Diamond League’s 100 metres…at the weekend.
and I can tell you that, of all the players that were in China, only five of them could make it to Florida. Seven have fallen by the way side. “This is to tell you that we have better skills at that level because the competition is getting keener. This time, we are determined to bring the cup to Nigeria to show what we have been doing to Nigerians and to the government,” he said. The NBBF president said that the federation was not getting financial support from the government, but had relied on its ingenuity. “This is part of the price we are paying for being autonomous. So far so good, it has been difficult and stressful, if we are not ingenious, our team will not be in the U.S. today,’’ he said.
standards had not been easy, but noted that, with support from its sponsors, NBBF had been able to effectively manage what it had.
(NTG) with a surprise 2-0 defeat of LM Ericsson on Match Day 3 of the 2013 edition, which also saw MTN Nigeria consolidate their push to retain the title they have won in the last two editions. While Adeleye Tejuosho of Airtel waxed confidently about their performance and chances to win the competition, Tosin Agbetusin blamed their defeat on the absence of some key players and insisted that they still stood a bright chance of challenging for the title. Osuyinka Gbenga nicked a brace in the encounter to join the race for the Golden Boot award having also been voted the Most Valuable Player of the match.
Ubong Idiong of MTN was the MVP in the match against Alcatel, but it is Alichie Iheukwumere that celebrated most having increased his goals tally to five, one more than Tekena Orugbani of Etisalat Nigeria. Frankline Akwara netted a brace with Kunle Kunyinu completing the goals register for MTN, who now have six points from two games. But MTN Captain, Joseph Akpata despite the victory lamented that their finishing was not excellent which resulted in their not scoring more goals. “Our finishing wasn’t satisfactory, it was rather poor because we could have scored more goals but Alcatel was no push-over also and we must give them credit for an improved performance,” remarked Akpata.
Nigeria’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, celebrating a win at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The NBBF has tipped the team to win its first continental championship at the Afrobasketball Championship slated for Cote d’Ivoire…next month.
ARS zonal tournament begins in Kaduna, Abuja the successful FwideOLLOWING completion of the nationregistration of participants for the season three of the Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) national U-17 Tournament for boys and girls, the zonal championship of the competition kicked off yesterday in Kaduna and Abuja, two out of the six centres slated to host the inter-state matches. The zonal championship will run till August 9 across six centres. Over 4000 registered youngsters from secondary schools and academies will feature in the championship slated for Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and the FCT, Abuja. According to Airtel’s Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director, Deepak Srivastava, the registration exercise was hugely successful as thousands of youth indicated interest in beginning their journey to football stardom through the ARS tournament.
Squashstival ends in grand style at Ikoyi Club HE third edition of the T two-week Squashstival, a squash development programme featuring 40 children at Ikoyi Club, will end tomorrow. The programme, which started on July 15, is for children between ages five and 18, with instructors taking the children through the rudiments of squash with the hope of moulding them into future champions. Chairman of the Ikoyi Club squash section, Tokunbo Ogundipe, and one of the instructors, Yinka Durosinolorun, said the programme would develop squash from the grassroots. “It is a talent-discovery programme, and it will develop future champions. We observed that the children’s interest in squash is declining in Nigeria so we have to come up with a way encourage them to love the sport. Besides, the programme will engage them productively in the period,” Ogundipe said.
76
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
77
78
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 30, 2013
79
TheGuardian
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Conscience, Nurtured by Truth
By Tayo Demola HE political atmosphere in Nigeria has T always been dramatic and full of intrigues. In several instances, political actors throw caution to the wind and exhibit a most unpleasant, shocking and condemnable behaviour which could have a disastrous effect on the Nigerian polity. At such times one wonders the type of people these overzealous political actors are and if they are truly fit to occupy public office. It beats one’s imagination that a blessed nation like Nigeria can throw up some clowns who call themselves legislators and whose behaviour only but bring untold embarrassment to the image of Nigeria. The nation and the world got a rude shocker on Tuesday, July 9, 2013, when the crisis at the state’s chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) precipitated a commotion at the House of Assembly Chambers. The video clips of the fracas on TV and online were not only disturbing to an average mind, but showed how desperate some people could go in order to vent their anger. Members of the state House of Assembly which should ordinarily comprise honourable men of timber and calibre and men of integrity were seen openly attacking each other with dangerous objects which left some of them injured and hospitalised. We are aware that five of the legislators are opposed to Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi but in democracy there must definitely be opposition and different shades of opinions in politics but must we allow our political differences to propel us into acts of hooliganism in the name of politics? The five legislators opposing the governor had surprisingly made an announcement purportedly impeaching the Speaker Hon. Otelemabala Amachree, and, therefore, presented Hon. Evans Bipi as the new Speaker. The 1999 Constitution made express and unambiguous provisions on this issue. For the impeachment of any elected official to be constitutional and valid, there must be a two-thirds majority vote of the members of such House. Specifically, by virtue of Section 92 Subsection (2)(c) of that Constitution, a Speaker of a state House of Assembly can only be removed from office by a resolution of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of the House. In the case of the Rivers House, this mandatory constitutional provision was breached and therefore a valid impeachment cannot be said to have taken place. Can five members validly constitute twothirds of 32 members in law? Is this not simple arithmetic which requires that 22 members
Please send reactions and feedback for YOUTH SPEAK to:
editorial@risenetworks.org and 07067976667- SMS ONLY
Rivers crisis and political expediency constitute the valid two-thirds required of 32 members? The grievous assault perpetrated on some members of the House which is not only barbaric in these modern times but also condemnable. If this crisis is not properly handled, it can snowball into a national tragedy that
could leave a sour taste in its trail. Nigerian politics has been characterised by theatre of the absurd and we have not forgotten the 2003 kidnap saga of Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State by the powers that be for their own parochial and selfish political gains.
Amaechi
Similar political machinations are gradually being covertly deployed in Rivers politics and I dare say that we should, by now, be more politically matured to learn from history and realise that this type of antics can never do us any good. If this type of political shamelessness and rascality by our legislators is not immediately halted, it will only show to the outside world that we are still politically immature thereby making us an object of caricature in the comity of nations. It is worrisome that many politicians in our country still believe in and practise the culture of impunity. Why would a legislator who is supposed to be a shining example to the upcoming generation of youths be seen on national television exchanging blows with a fellow lawmaker? Are these people really law makers or law breakers? In saner climes, these clowns would have been put behind bars or recalled from office for such national embarrassment. Why would a sensible person hold a big stick of that nature and forcefully and violently assault his fellow law maker in the name of political disagreement? Are there not better ways to resolve whatever impasse there are or grudges they may have against each other? The role played by the police is not clear since despite their presence, the crisis persisted and it is uncertain if they came to douse the crisis or to add to an already aggravated situation. We have all been aware of the political issues in Rivers State for some time now and even the governor himself had raised an alarm on security and safety but what have the security agencies done to forestall any breakdown of law and order? The role played by the police on that day is not only questionable but leaves much to be desired. This should be investigated by the Senate and any police officer found culpable should be made to face the law. The members of the House who took part in such show of shame by assaulting their colleagues should likewise be investigated and properly sanctioned. The culture of impunity must stop in Nigeria. People who break the law must be made to face the law and be punished for their offences if found culpable. This is very vital if Nigeria must move forward. We cannot continue dancing round the same circle all the time without learning from our history. The only way to stop impunity is to punish offenders without minding whose ox is gored. It will be impossible to do this without the co-operation of everyone concerned. Demola is a public affairs analyst and director/CEO, Book Editors Nigeria, in Lagos.
The use of a mace, murder of Alu 4 and a nation’s reputation (1) By MacDonald Amaran ANY years ago I read a book in which I learnt M the following: Sow a thought you will reap an act, sow an act, you will reap a habit, sow a habit, you will reap a character, sow a character you will reap a destiny. I believe I got it right pulling it out from my head after all these years. The book is titled 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. His father, Stephen Covey, wrote the famous ‘’7 habits of highly effective people.’’ A mace is a ceremonial staff of office: a stick or rod, usually with an ornamental head, carried by officials on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of authority. In medieval times the mace could also be a weapon as in addition to the rider wearing armour. The jousting rider’s horse was also protected by a faceplate. A steel mace, a formidable weapon, is heavy enough to crush an opponent’s skull. (Remember how one of the Alu 4’s skull was crushed and his brain popped out; that is what a mace can do on an unlucky day which a stick did to the Alu 4, how much more a rod in the name of a mace). There is a principle of law I read in the library in my university days, ‘the egg shell principle.’ You take your victim the way you see him. If you smash someone’s head and he dies the argument that he would not have died if his skull was strong is hollow and immaterial for, if you did not hit his soft skull, he would have lived. Little wonder in law generally, particularly in criminal law, the position is that a man is responsible for the probable consequence of his actions. The history of the civic mace (carried by the sergeants-at-arms) begins in the middle of the 13th century, though no examples from that period remain today. The oldest civic mace in England (still remaining today) is that of Hedon. It was granted, along with an important charter, in
1415. At the time, ornamented civic maces were considered an infringement of one of the privileges of the King’s sergeants, who alone deserved to bear maces enriched with costly metals, according to a House of Commons petition of 1344. However, the sergeants of London later gained this privilege, as did later those of York (1396), Norwich (1403–1404), and Chester (1506). Records exist of maces covered with silver in use at Exeter in 1387–1388. Norwich bought two in 1435, and Launceston others in 1467 and 1468. Several other cities and towns subsequently acquired silver maces, and the 16th century saw almost the universal use. (See Wikipedia). The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official’s authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon. Processions often feature maces, as on parlia-
mentary or formal academic occasions. My worry here is the kids, the future of Nigeria. I expect the adults to comport themselves in a civil manner. In a situation where we are smashing people’s heads with a sacred tool which can be used for academic purposes how do we go back home to challenge our kids to come first? Don’t be surprised if they begin to smash their teacher’s head for coming second. My point is simple with due respect: The conduct of a principal officer in Rivers State House of Assembly, who assaulted his colleague with mace, is totally unacceptable. It is barbaric, cruel, uncivilised, life threatening, misleading to our kids and absolutely disappointing, a complete desecration of the great ‘white’ as a colour. You don’t put on white and do that, your attire if nothing else should restrain you. He is the man I expect to know better the reason being that people stood under the sun to vote for him. It was a conduct
The YOUTHSPEAK Column which is published daily is an initiative of THE GUARDIAN, and powered by RISE NETWORKS, Nigeria’s Leading Youth Development Centre, as a substantial advocacy platform available for ALL Nigerian Youth to engage Leadership at all levels, engage Society and contribute to National Discourse on diverse issues especially those that are peculiar to Nigeria. Regarding submission of articles, we welcome writers‘ contributions by way of well crafted, analytical and thought provoking opinion pieces that are concise, topical and non-defamatory! All articles (which are not expected to be more than 2000 words) should be sent to editorial@risenetworks.org To read the online Version of this same article plus past publications and to find out more about Youth Speak, please visit www.risenetworks.org/youthspeak and join the ongoing National Conversations’’. Also join our on-line conversation
RISE GROUP
@risenetworks
21676F3E
Published by Guardian Newspapers Limited, Rutam House, Isolo, Lagos Tel: 4489600, 2798269, 2798270, 07098147948, 07098147951 Fax: 4489712; Advert Hotlines: Lagos 7736351, Abuja 07098513445; Circulation Hotline: 01 4489656 All correspondence to Guardian Newspapers Limited, P.M.B. 1217, Oshodi, Lagos, Nigeria. E-mail letters@ngrguardiannews.com; www.ngrguardiannews.com
Editor: MARTINS
OLOJA
.
ABC (ISSN NO 0189-5125)
certainly not fit and proper. Whatever disagreement you have or are having in the Rivers State House of Assembly please in the Lord’s name resolve it among yourselves. You are the ones who ran for elections. Politics is who gets what, when and how. There will always be lobbying in politics. It’s the reason why some stay out of it. If it favours you today be happy; if it does not favour you tomorrow still be happy because it may just favour you the day after tomorrow. Just imagine, it’s all over the internet. The little ones and teens are doing their homework. These children hear people discuss these issues. They are intelligent in some areas than some of us are. They may check these videos out. I bet you it’s the reasons why some children are terribly negatively stubborn. People are sowing wrong seeds here, there and over there. We must desist from these kinds of dishonourable acts of smashing people’s head with an object that may be used in the procession of a formal academic ceremony. Some of us can do better. As farmers we have bought corn seeds by going to school and allowing the school go through us. We return to the farm with our hoe and cutlass to clear weeds and till the soil. As lawyers whose tools are books in the form of case law, statutes, Articles, journals, treatises, legal encyclopaedias, etc. we pursue our client’s case to a logical conclusion. As doctors, who use thermometers and scalpels, the wellbeing and good health of our patient is our goal. As engineers with the aid of Area Plan meters, callipers and micrometres, inclinometers laser measurers, measuring rod, rulers, measuring tapes and measuring wheels, we are hardworking enough even if we have to use our Lazy Tong Riveter. We want to be able to ensure our work lasts the test of time as an architect, having acquired a decent parallel bar. To be continued.