Tue 09 July 2013 by The Guardian Newspaper

Controversy over alleged killing of 51 Morsi’s loyalists in Egypt GYPT again descended into turmoil yesterday with E medical workers claiming that 51 loyalists of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, were killed while demonstrating against last week’s military coup. With conflicting reports emanating from the army and Morsi’s supporters over what necessitated the killing, an Islamist uprising call heightened yesterday, dashing the army’s hopes for an interim civilian administration in the politically-divided country. Amid widespread condemnation, Egypt’s interim

leader, Adly Mansour, has expressed sorrow over the death of at least 51 people near a barracks in Cairo. Mansour also said he had ordered an investigation into the tragic incident. A spokesman for the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy supremo, Catherine Ashton, said: “We condemn and we regret the violence”, and urged rival militants to “return to the democratic process as soon as possible.” The spokesman, Michael Mann, added that the 28-nation bloc was keeping the billions of euros it has pledged

to the country “under constant review” although he stressed there was “no plan to change our aid regime”. “We are doing all that we can through talking to everyone on the ground to make sure everyone understands the need for peace to be maintained,” said Mann. Also, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he “strongly” condemned what he termed a “massacre”, expressing his country’s “solidarity with the Egyptian people”.

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‘How Nigerians insisted on removal of immunity, others’ From Lemmy Ughegbe, Adamu Abuh and Terhemba Daka, Abuja

AR from being a decision Ftatives, of the House of Represenit is Nigerians’ insis-

President of Rockefeller Foundation, Judith Rodin (left); President Goodluck Jonathan; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwunmi Adesina and Finance Minister, Ngozi OkonPHOTO: STATE HOUSE jo-Iweala, during their arrival for the opening of a summit with the theme: Realising the Potential of African Agriculture, in Abuja… yesterday.

tence that has led to the proposal of the lawmakers that the immunity clause be removed from the constitution. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, who disclosed this yesterday, noted that the House had evolved a genuine process at producing a people’s constitution country. the for He described the process adopted by the 53-member committee that made the proposal and others as “open, fair, all-inclusive and people-driven.” At a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Review of Proposed Amendment to the Constitution organised by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Ihedioha said the personal opinion of the members of the committee CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Boko Haram agrees to cease fire, Britain bans group From Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna), Muyiwa Adeyemi (Ado Ekiti), Azimazi Momoh Jimoh (Abuja), Tope Templer Olaiya, Bola Olajuwon (Lagos) and Emmanuel Ande (Yola) MONTH after the Federal A Government proscribed Jamaatu Ahlis-Sunna Liddaawati Wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, the terrorist group agreed to cease fire yesterday . The government had equally banned Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, also known as Ansaru. The ceasefire deal is com-

• Army reviews curfew in Adamawa ahead of Ramadan • Muslim body doubts effectiveness of emergency rule • Fresh outrage at Yobe killings ing on the eve of the Muslim Holy month due to begin today throughout the country. The Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki announced the ceasefire deal

on Radio France International Hausa services monitored in Kano yesterday afternoon. Turaki who is the chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee on Dialogue and

Peace Resolution on the security challenges in the north-east, spoke in Yola, the Adamawa State capital in north-eastern Nigeria yesterday, while fielding questions

from journalists. Turaki said that his committee had contacted some top leaders of the group and there was a positive response from the gang lead-

Jonathan moves to repeal Land Use Act - Page 3 Four AIGs, 191 other senior police officers face disciplinary panel -Page 7

ers that they would drop their arms for peace and unity in the north-east region. The chairman of the committee who pointed out that the members of the committee were in Adamawa State to meet with the stakeholders and security chiefs to discuss the way forward on how to resolve the security crisis in north-east zone, called on the entire people of the area to support the presidency in tackling the crisis. This is coming as Britain banned Boko Haram and Minbar Ansar Deen, a United CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

NEWS

‘How Nigerians insisted on removal of immunity, others’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 did not count at all when it came to what the Nigerian people wanted. He said to allow for a transparent process and forge a conducive atmosphere for the majority view of Nigerians to prevail, all members of the House declined to chair any of the public sessions and in some cases, they even allowed members of the opposition parties to preside over the process. “I am in PDP. But in my own constituency, I called on an eminent lawyer, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), to chair the session. He asked me, ‘Emeka, are you sure you want me to do that? Okay, what are the no-go areas?’ And I told him, there are no no-go areas, he can touch everything. And you know I am in PDP and Mike is in CPC and now APC. That is how free and open the process was and I have not got any report to say any member of the House chaired any session”, Ihedioha stated. He also said although he was averse to any aspect of the immunity clause which protects the president, vice president, governor and deputy governor being tampered with, his personal opinion which he never canvassed at the public sessions was over-ruled by the majority of Nigerians who said criminal immunity for these chief executives should be removed completely. Explaining the process adopted by his committee in arriving at its report, the deputy speaker stressed that it was allinclusive, thorough and painstaking: “As has been clarified on many occasions, the work of the committee was designed in such a manner that it relied on the input of Nigerians to arrive at its decisions.

And the civil society organisations have continued to play major roles in all the stages of the process so far. “The House Ad-Hoc Committee on Constitution Review conducted a painstaking consultative process with major stakeholders as jointorganisers. These stakeholders include the NLC, TUC, NUJ, NUT, CSOs, NULGE, NCWS, youths and students’ organisations, NBA and so on. The results (of the peoples’ public sessions) were collated publicly with all the stakeholders present. The results have been presented and published for people to dispute and correct. In the absence of any convincing reason to the contrary, we stand by these results. “Standing by the results as collated means that the committee reflected the decisions of Nigerians during those sessions. The recommendations of the committee are not the personal views of members of the committee or the leadership of the House. They are the collective views of Nigerians.” On the abolition of the state/local council joint account proposed by the committee, the deputy speaker said 295 federal constituencies voted in favour, 62 federal constituencies for its retention and three constituencies absented. According to the deputy speaker, although many “celebrated pundits and constitutional lawyers have repeatedly canvassed that local council should squarely be a state responsibility,” further questions put forward to determine the views of the public on this issue proved the outspoken elite wrong. On the second question, “should the constitution be

amended so that the process to create local council areas now rest exclusively with the states, such that states assume responsibility for the funding of local councils,” the people voted overwhelmingly to reject this proposal by 276 federal constituencies to 78 with six abstentions.

On the question, “Should the local councils be accorded the status of a third-tier of government properly so called with its own legislative list?” 291 federal constituencies answered ‘Yes’ in support and 66 federal constituencies returned a “No” answer with three abstentions.

And for another question on local council autonomy, “Should the constitution be amended to deny revenue allocation to unelected local councils,” 277 federal constituencies agreed, while 70 federal constituencies disagreed with 13 abstentions. On the issue of tenure, the

question, “Should there be a defined tenure for local council chairmen/councillors in the constitution?” received an almost unanimous answer in agreement as 331 federal constituencies voted ‘Yes’, while 26 constituencies only voted ‘No’ with three abstentions.

Army reviews curfew in Adamawa ahead of Ramadan CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Kingdom-based Islamist extremist group. Announcing the ban yesterday, the British interior ministry said the proscription of the two groups would begin from Friday, subject to parliamentary approval. “This will make membership of, and support for these organisations a criminal offence,” the ministry said in a statement. “The government is determined to work with the international community to tackle terrorism and take the steps necessary to keep the UK public safe. Proscription of these groups sends a clear message that we condemn their activities.” The British government said its ban on Boko Haram would give the police the power to target British support for the group. The British-based Minbar Ansar Deen allegedly promotes terror through its website and encourages people to travel abroad to engage in extremist activity, the Home Office added. Under the 2000 Terrorism Act, the home secretary, or interior minister, can ban an organisation if it is believed to have terror links. If the ban on Boko Haram and Minbar Ansar Deen is approved by the parliament, it will be a criminal offence in Britain to belong to or support the groups, as well as arrange meetings or wear clothing supporting them. Al-Qaeda and Somalia’s Shebab insurgents are also proscribed under the British law. Some 3,600 people have been killed during Boko Haram’s four-year insurgency in the North and Central Nigeria, according to

Human Rights Watch. In the latest attack last Saturday, gunmen killed 42 people, almost all of them students, as they stormed a boarding school in the north-eastern state of Yobe. Also, authorities of 23 Armoured Brigade in Yola yesterday announced the review of a curfew imposed on Adamawa State following the declaration of a state of emergency in the state. A statement issued by the brigade’s Public Relations Officer, Lt. Ja’afar Nuhu, said the 8.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. curfew in force had been reviewed to 11.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. The army noted: “In view of improved security situation in Adamawa and the up-coming month of Ramadan, the headquarters of the 23 Brigade wishes to inform the public that with effect from July 8, 2013, the curfew timing will be from 11.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. This is to enable law-abiding citizens pursue their religious obligations in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.” Since the declaration of the state of emergency in May, this is the third time the army is reviewing the curfew. The earlier curfew was from dusk to dawn when the state of emergency was announced before it was reviewed to 7.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m.; it was later reviewed to 8.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m.; and now 11.00p.m. to 5.00 a.m. Also, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday condemned the killings in Yobe State. The governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, described the killings as ungodly, reprehensible and savagery taken too far. The latest act of terror, according

to the governor, is an indication that much work still needs to be done on the nation’s security. Fayemi expressed dismay that the attack took place when the state was under an emergency, which was declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in May. He, therefore, called for a more strategic approach to government’s response to the offensive by the Boko Haram sect against the state. On his part, the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine, yesterday said: “As we extend our sympathy to the families of the victims, we would say in the strongest possible terms that there can be no justification for the deliberate targeting of children and those looking after them. “UNICEF is calling for those responsible to be brought to justice and for communities to demand that schools be considered as places of safety,” Fontaine said, noting that since June 16, it is reported that a total of 48 students and seven teachers have been killed in four attacks in the region. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also expressed shock at the killings, describing them as “monstrous and horrible.” PDP Acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Caesar Okeke, in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday said “the killing of the innocent children is a direct effrontery to God and the height of wickedness only fit for the devil.” In proscribing the sects last month, President Jonathan authorised the gazetting of “an order declaring their activities illegal and acts of ter-

rorism.” The Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, while announcing the President’s directive to proscribe Boko Haram and Ansaru, said members, supporters, and collaborators would now face prosecution under Section 2 of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 (as amended). “The proscription order warns the general public that any person participating in any form of activities involving or concerning the collective intentions of the said groups will be violating the provisions of the Terrorism Prevention Act. “Section 5 (1) of the act prescribes a term of imprisonment of not less than 20 years for any person who knowingly, in any manner, directly or indirectly, solicits or renders support for the commission of an act of terrorism or to a terrorist group. “For the purposes of sub-section (1) of the section, “support” include: (a) incitement to commit a terrorist act through the Internet, or any electronic means or through the use of printed materials or through the dissemination of terrorist information; (b) receipt or provision of material assistance, weapons including biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, explosives, training, transportation, false documentation or identification to terrorists or terrorist groups; (c) receipt or provision of information or moral assistance, including invitation to adhere to a terrorist or terrorist group; (d) entering or remaining in a country for the benefit of, or at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group; or (e) the provision of, or making available, such financial or other related services prohibited under this Act or as may be prescribed by regulations made pursuant to this Act.” Meanwhile, apex Islamic organisation in the North, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), has faulted the effectiveness of the emergency rule in the three states in the North East, as it also condemned the Yobe school massacre. Besides, the Muslim body appealed to the Federal Government to restore the use of Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communications in the affected states to facilitate security alert in a situation of insecurity that has pervaded the states. In a statement by the Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, JNI said it received with consternation

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

News Northern govs, bishop urge prayers at Ramadan

CJN charges new S’Court justice, Kekere-Ekun on integrity

From John Ogiji, Minna HE Northern States T Governors Forum (NGSF) and the Catholic Archbishop

From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja HIEF Justice of Nigeria, C Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar yesterday in Abuja urged newly appointed Supreme Court Justice, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to be guided by good conscience in the discharge of her adjudicatory functions. In the same vein, the CJN yesterday urged Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal to be up-to-date with developments in justice administration and delivery in order to forge a more virile and effective judiciary. Speaking after administering the judicial oath on KekereEkun, the CJN urged her to continue to exhibit the good character, which prompted her appointment to the bench of the apex court. She said: “I must say that you have a very heavy responsibility on your shoulders. You must therefore strive hard to discharge your duties in accordance with the oath of office you have just subscribed to.” Speaking at a national workshop for judges of the Customary Court of Appeal organised by the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Mukhtar called for a paradigm shift in the way things are done at the Customary Court of Appeal so that the quality of justice delivery is enhanced. The CJN noted that the primary duty of a judge of the said court is “to do justice in accordance with the native laws and customs of the area in which he sits, so long as those native laws and customs are not inconsistent with any provisions of the constitution.”

Water scarcity hits Dutse over foreigners’ arrest From Ahmed John Akubo, Duste OVES by the Nigerian M Immigration to rid Jigawa State of illegal immigrants may have led to acute water scarcity in some parts of Dutse, the state capital, because most of those affected by the arrest were water vendors. The Guardian gathered that the arrest illegal foreigners residing in Jigawa State have affected the livelihood of the people negatively. The negative impact of the arrest of the illegal immigrants whose livelihood revolve round menial jobs like hawking of water has led to scarcity of water in Takur, Mobile Base, Yalwawa and Bokoto areas of the state. A resident of Mobile Base quarters, Salamatu Sule, said she depended on water vendors for her supply but that since their arrest she could not buy water for three days, adding that she has been depending on ‘pure water’ satchets for her chores.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Habiba Lawal (left); Minister, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Developments, Hajiya Zainab Maina; Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni during a press briefing on persons with disabilities through the removal of barriers aimed at creating an inclusive and accessible society for all in Abuja … yesterday. PHOTO: LADIDI LUCY ELUKPO

of Lagos, His Grace, Alfred Adewale Martins have called on Muslim faithful to use the holy month of Ramadan to pray to Allah for the quick resolution of the many challenges currently confronting the nation. Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu made the call yesterday in a Ramadan message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo. Aliyu enjoined Muslims to conduct themselves very well during the holy month in order to maximize the spiritual and physical benefits inherent in the month. He identified good intention, prayers and firmness of purpose in the pursuit of good deeds as conditions for reaping the benefits of the holy month.

Jonathan moves to repeal Land Use Act From Omotola Oloruntobi, Abuja N a bid to boost accessibility to land, President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the Presidential Committee on Land Reform to work out modalities for the repeal of the Land Use Act 1978, observing that Nigeria’s economy would not grow without massive investment in agriculture. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, made this known yesterday in Abuja at a summit on Realising the Potentials of Agriculture in Africa, which was organised by the Rockefeller Foundation as part of its centenary celebration. Jonathan noted at the summit that there has been an unprecedented transformation in Nigeria’s agriculture sector, adding that the country must look towards agriculture to feed its people and earn foreign exchange. “Unless we transform agriculture, our economy can’t grow,” he said. “Millions of our people depend on agriculture for livelihood, not oil; we must look elsewhere if we will continue to feed our peo-

ple. “Agriculture has a new frontier for growth; with abundant land and water resources and vibrant labour force, Nigeria has all it takes to use agriculture as its new frontier for growth.” He added that the country has no reason to be an importer of food items since it has vast arable land and favourable ecology. Adesina said the presidential committee was tasked to ensure that Nigerians have land titles. According to him, the President wants the Land Use Act removed from the

constitution to ensure that Nigerians can begin to have land titles, which can stand as collateral for lending or accessing funds. Adesina also said the Federal Government was doing a lot about land registration, in terms of cadastral survey, mapping and ensuring that anybody who wants lands for agricultural purposes could access it. He disclosed that government would change the labour composition of the country’s agricultural sector by recruiting 760, 000 for agricultural production and

processing before the end of the year. The empowerment strategy, Adesina said, would cover provision of access to land, which would be accomplished in conjunction with state governments, technical skills, business investment skills and provision of funds. He warned that the country was at the verge of agricultural extinction if young farmers were not empowered, stating: “The structure of the population of our farmers is old; a lot of them are aging rapidly, so we are essentially one generation away from

extinction in agriculture if we don’t change the labour composition. “So we are creating this programme, which would be launched sometime this year. It is called Nigeria Agricultural Entrepreneur (Nagro-preneurs), (involving) about 760, 000 young commercial farmers (who) be graduates from universities. “This new generation of farmers will take Nigeria well into the future with efficient and comparative agricultural sector. It is a presidential initiative.”

ACN, Fayemi fault PDP on govs over Lagos-Ibadan road From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado-Ekiti ITING misinformation, the C Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described as fallacious the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the party’s governors in the South-west shunned last week’s flag-off of the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by President Goodluck Jonathan. Also, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has debunked claims that the

South-west governors boycotted the road repair ceremony. In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said only the governors of Lagos, Oyo and Ogun were invited to the ceremony, hence it was inaccurate to give the impression that all the ACN governors in the South-west were expected to be there. It said while Governor

Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State personally attended the flag-off, the governors of Lagos and Oyo sent their deputies to represent them because both of them were out of the country at the time. ‘’How then could anyone who believes in the truth, and nothing but the truth, infer in a public statement that the governors shunned the ceremony because of politics? How difficult is it for a selfrespecting party spokesman to check the veracity of the

information at his disposal before feeding such to the public? ‘’Is it possible that a spokesman for a ruling party does not know that deputy governors can stand in for their principals even at statutory meetings like the National Council of State and the National Economic Council? Or does the PDP now believe that peddling outright lies is the way to go to give its flagging image a rebound?’’ ACN queried.

Govt may probe lawmakers over N2.8b constituency projects From John Okeke, Abuja NDICATIONS emerged yesterday that some members of the National Assembly may be probed over the N2.8 billion constituency projects’ funds meant for poverty eradication in the rural areas. The Federal Government through the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) is investigating the implementation of N2.8 billion 2012 Constituency proj-

ects by some members of the National Assembly in about 26 states. The projects cover critical poverty reduction activities that are targeted at creating employment for the teeming jobless young men and women through capacity acquisition and resettlement after training. The Federal Government released the funds for legislators wishing to undertake

poverty eradication projects in their constituencies through NAPEP. In a statement by the NAPEP’s Chief Press Secretary, Amadi Vivian, it stated: “The North East Zone Monitoring Committee was in Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Yobe states where members visited some beneficiaries and some sites to assess the level of implementation.” According to the statement,

the Senior Special Assistant to the President /National Coordinator NAPEP, Mallam Murkhtar Abubakar Tafawa Balewa has since sent monitoring teams to see the level of implementation under the 2012 Constituency projects. It also noted that a report from Bauchi State indicated that Team Leader and NEPEP’s Deputy Director, Mr. Mai Danga Sambo, told contractors and beneficiaries that

government was concerned about the poverty level in the country and was determined to generate employment for the unemployed youths.” According to the statement, in the course of the tour, it was discovered that some poverty eradication projects had been completed while some are at various stages of accomplishments in Bauchi State. The report added that other states are being investigated.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

6 NEWS

Oronsaye report not for implementation yet, says FG By Karls Tsokar, Abuja

OLLOWING reports in the FGovernment media that the Federal is planning to sack some civil servants, as a consequence of implementing some of the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye-led presidential committee report, the government has refuted the “widespread speculation”, saying it is a rumour that should be disregarded. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Sam Nwaobasi, said it has become imperative for the Federal Government to clarify the reports because “the report of the Steve Oronsayeled committee as submitted to the government is undergoing the process of consideration, after which government’s decisions on it will be gazetted and made public.” It would be recalled that the retired top civil servant was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan to head a presidential committee on the restructuring and rationalisation of government parastatals, commissions and agencies in which he recommended, among other things, the merger or outright scrapping of 220 federal parastatals, agencies and commissions. This, according to presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, is “being done to ensure efficiency, to reduce the cost of government, to avoid leak-

ages and wastages and to make government far more effective in delivering quality service to Nigerians. This is not targeted at pushing anybody out of work, this is not an exercise in making life difficult for anybody. This is just government restructuring for better level of efficiency. People should not be unduly anxious.” While calling on Nigerians to “ignore and disregard the speculations and rumours being circulated and wait for the decisions of the government on the report”, Anyim said the decision of the Federal Government would be made public at the right time and the approved recommendations would be implemented accordingly.

A widow of one of the slain police officers (left), wife of Niger State Governor, Hajiya Jumai Babangida-Aliyu and wife of Nasarawa State Governor, Hajiya Salamatu Al-Makura, during the presentation of a cash donation to the widow in Alakyo… yesterday.

Ifeanyi Ubah cautions against indiscriminate sinking of boreholes in Anambra From Chuks Collins, Awka ABOUR Party (LP) governorship aspirant and businessman, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, has expressed fear that Anambra State may be hit by earthquake if the government fails to stop indiscriminate sinking of boreholes currently going on.

According to him, the alleged failure of the state government to provide potable water in the face of biting scarcity has forced the residents to sink boreholes at every corner. This, he noted, has exposed the entire geography of the erosion-ravaged state to severe

threat of a man-made earthquake. Ubah gave the warning when he addressed stakeholders at a rally of LP supporters yesterday at the Beverly Hills Hotels, Nnewi, during a meeting to strategise for success of the party’s local council chair-

manship and councillorship candidates at the forthcoming council polls. He emphasised the need for return to basics, pointing out that the electorate had in the past voted parties with all manner of inanimate symbols like cockerel and broom, but

Yewa zone moves to produce next Ogun gov From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Head, South-West Bureau HE political leaders in T Ogun West Senatorial District have declared intention to move to the Labour Party (LP) in order to address the alleged age-long marginalisation of the zone since the

creation of the state 39 years ago. They also endorsed Gboyega Nasir Isiaka to contest the governorship election of the state in 2015 under LP. The Yewa leaders, who met in Imeko at the weekend and resolved to support one of their own to become the governor, included Waliu Lai Taiwo (Ado-Odo/Ota), Olumide Bankole (Ipokia), Chief Lisa Adejobi (Imeko-Afon), Mrs. Kemi Adeyemi (Yewa North)

and Alhaji Sunmola Adewale (Yewa South). Speaking at the event, Isiaka reflected on the governance in the state and noted that in 2015 when Ogun State will be 39 years, both Ogun East and Central districts would have ruled for 12 and 10 years respectively with Ogun West allegedly being denied opportunity to govern the state. While relishing on the relevance of Ogun West Senatorial District as the economic

hub of the state but still being treated as slaves and under-dogs, he said the time has come for the Yewa people to stop playing second fiddle. The leaders endorsed Isiaka and assured him of their support in his bid to govern Ogun State and further stated that the issue of consensus candidate would be resolved soon to avoid duplication of efforts and interest, a challenge that had always affected Ogun West in the past.

have been disappointed many times. Ubah urge them to “make a remarkable difference by voting a party with human symbol so as to have a transparent and accountable leadership.” The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Dan Ulasi, described Ubah as a humane and courageous fellow who is out to make life more meaningful to the people. He prayed for a landslide victory for the Labour Party. A member of the Ifeanyi Uba Campaign Organisation, Dr. Emeka Eze, stated that decampees from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) attended the rally to join the new LP movement driven by Ifeanyi Ubah Foundation. The rally was also used to kickoff activities of the foundation in the 326 electoral wards in the state.

NLNG losses bid to re-affirm restriction order on NIMASA By Joseph Onyekwere FEDERAL High Court, LaA gos, yesterday turned down an application by the Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to reaffirm its earlier order restraining the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) from detaining its (NLNG) vessels over alleged failure to pay some statutory charges to the Federal Government. Justice Mohammed Idris, who refused the oral application by NLNG’s counsel, Wale Akoni (SAN), also warned parties to desist from engaging in acts that could undermine proceedings in court. NLNG and NIMASA have been locked in fierce battle over the issue of non-payment of certain statutory levies and charges which NIMASA claims are due to it from NLNG. Justice Idris had on June 18, 2013 in the suit between NLNG and Attorney-General of the Federation and Global West Vessels Specialists, granted an ex-parte order restraining the defendants from charging, imposing, demanding or col-

lecting the three per cent of gross freight earnings or any other sums further to Section 15(a) of NIMASA Act 2007 on all of NLNG’s international inbound or outbound cargo ships owned, contracted or sub-contracted by it. Both the AGF and Global West had last Friday moved separate applications seeking to discharge the ex-parte order on the grounds that it was essentially made against NIMASA, which was not joined as party to the suit. The AGF was represented by Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), while Global West Vessel Specialist was represented by Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN). Ajogwu had contended, in his application, that NIMASA is a body corporate with statutory powers to sue and be sued in its own name and that its noninclusion as a party was a violation of the principles of fair hearing. Ajogwu further argued that the fact that the other side was not heard before the order was made was fatal to the case of NLNG. He contended that an order cannot be made against a person who is not a party to the

suit as it is necessary that such party must be given the opportunity to present its case. According to Ajogwu, the dispute that gave rise to the suit was between NLNG and NIMASA, and that the non-inclusion was a deliberate move by NLNG to circumvent the provision of Section 53 (2) of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act of 2007, which makes it mandatory for an intending plaintiff to give the statutory body a 30-day pre-action notice. Also, Owonikoko, speaking on behalf of the Global West Vessel Specialist, submitted that NLNG procured the exparte order by suppression of material fact, as same was essentially against NIMASA. He argued that being an agent of NIMASA, Global West Vessel Specialist ought not to be sued, and that the said company, which is a private firm, could not be held liable for action of the agency. But Justice Idris struck out the AGF application on the ground that it was filed outside the time permitted by the court rules. The court also dismissed the

application of Global West on the ground that there was no suppression of any material fact, and that the company could be sued on behalf of its principal (NIMASA). Shortly after the ruling, Akoni urged the court to re-affirm the ex-parte order but Owonikoko vehemently opposed the application and urged the court to dismiss it. Before the ruling was delivered, NIMASA’s counsel, Mike Igbokwe (SAN), informed the court of some newspaper reports where Akoni granted an interview accusing NIMASA of frustrating its out-of-court settlement efforts. Consequently, Justice Idris warned parties to desist from engaging in acts that could undermine the proceedings, adding that counsel must strive hard to encourage their clients to desist from embarking on such unfortunate act of self-help. On the plaintiff’s oral application to re-affirm the ex-parte order, Justice Idris ruled that since the defendants are already challenging his jurisdiction to entertain the suit, he could not do that but to hear the defendants’ objections.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

NEWS

Kwara releases N111. 5m for flood-prone areas, land compensation

Four AIGs, 191 other senior police officers face disciplinary panel

From Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin

From Karls Tsokar and John Okeke (Abuja)

S part of efforts to forestall OUR Assistant Inspectors A a repeat of last year’s flood disaster, Kwara State govern- FGeneral of Police (AIGs) are ment has released about N25 among 195 senior police offimillion for the relocation of inhabitants of flood-prone five local council areas in the state. The government believed that a preventive measure rather than corrective one should be the best approach to combat the flooding problems in the state. The flood-prone local council areas of the state include Patigi, Edu, Moro, Ilorin West and Kaiama. Speaking yesterday with reporters in Ilorin, the Chairman of Flood Relief and Rehabilitation, Alhaji Mohammed Dabarako, who is also the state Head of Service, said about 50,000 people were affected by last year’s flood disaster in the state.

Suswam urges immunisation of children against diseases From Joseph Wantu, Makurdi OVERNOR Gabriel G Suswam of Benue State yesterday flagged-off the immunisation of children below the ages of five with pentavalent vaccine against the five killer-diseases of whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis and pneumonia/meningitis. Represented by his deputy, Steven Lawani, the governor appealed to the people of the state to come out en-masse to immunise their children as a safeguard against the killerdiseases. Suswam noted that it was the civic responsibility of the government to protect the children against vaccine preventable childhood killer-diseases and charged all the 23 local council chairmen in the state to embrace the exercise, as well as properly safeguard the vaccines. He noted that “they are capital intensive”.

Niger stops sponsorship of hajj pilgrims From John Ogiji, Minna IGER State government N has disclosed that it will no longer sponsor Muslims on Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca, just as it advised Muslims not to borrow, steal or beg for money in order to perform pilgrimage. Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, who disclosed the position yesterday at the flag off of sale of grains to members of the public, also directed that allocation of seats to intending pilgrims for this year’s hajj should be 90 per cent for first timers. Aliyu said that local councils should also stop allocation of complimentary seats to traditional rulers and top government officials. He directed that as a result of the limited number of seats available to each local government area following the reduction in the number of seats to the country as a result of renovation works going on in the Holy land Governor Aliyu said that balloting for all intending pilgrims should be adopted for fairness and equity.

cers facing charges before the Force Disciplinary Committee (FDC) for various

cases of misconduct, DIG Suleiman Fakai, has said. Fakai, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Administration, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at a news conference. He stated that 17 Commissioners of Police,

two Deputy Commissioners of Police and six Assistant Commissioners of Police would also appear before the committee. “We have a total of 195 officers appearing before us for various cases of indiscipline. “We have four AIGs here to

face us, 17 CPs, two DCPs, six ACPs and the remaining are from CSPs to ASPs,” he said. Fakai, who chairs the committee, said one each of CP, ACP, and CSP, and two SPs, as well as eight CSPs have been dismissed for serious cases of misconduct in the last one

Delta’s physically-challenged persons protest over free healthcare From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba CORES of persons with disSbesieged abilities yesterday the Government House, Asaba, demanding for free medical care for persons with disabilities and for the speedy passage of a Bill for an Act to establish a commission for persons with disabilities by members of the Delta State House of Assembly. Chairman of the state branch of the Association of Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Obruche Isaac, vowed that his members would not leave the premises of the complex until Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan granted them audience to air their grievances.

Obruche maintained that the demands of the persons were quite legion and it was only the governor that could assure the group that the aim of the protest would again not be defeated. He said: “The main reason we are here is that we have been working so hard to see that we have an audience with the governor since his assumption of office but we have not been able to do so. And several issues affecting us have not been addressed.” He said his members were not happy with their exclusion from the Subsidy Reinvestment-Programme (SURE-P) in the state as they were totally excluded at both the state and local govern-

ment levels. He, however, singled out the Chairman of NdokwaEast Local Council who has been magnanimous by releasing N1.5 million to empower members in that locality, lamenting that the remaining 24 local councils have done nothing as regards the SURE-P. Obruche said: “Also, the Ministry of Health has not attended to applications from our members for the past two years and as a matter of fact, we lost five of them last year. There are some of them with very pathetic situation that have applied for medical attention but were not granted. All efforts to meet with the

NUT wants primary school teachers under federal, state jurisdiction From Collins Olayinka (Abuja) and Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu (Benin City) HE Nigeria Union of T Teachers (NUT) has called on the National Assembly to remove the administration of teachers from the jurisdiction of local government in its quest to grant autonomy to the lowest tier of government. Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the 82nd Founders’ Day and 3rd Reverend Israel Ransome-Kuti Memorial Lecture, the National President of NUT, Michael Olukoya, said granting autonomy to local government administration with primary school system would destroy education at the foundation level. He posited that the National Assembly should relocate the administration of primary schools to the state or Federal Government. In the same vein, he said the retirement of primary school teachers at their prime has done a great damage to education in the country and, therefore, called for attainment of 65 years as against the current 60 years or 35 years in service whichever comes first. His words: “We demand for a review of the retirement age of teachers to 65 years, no matter their length of service. The quality of a professional teacher improves with age and experience. As at now, most teachers retire at their prime and no nation and education system feel the impact seriously. May we at this juncture make it abundantly clear that never again shall teachers of primary schools accept to come under local government administration. We insist that local government autonomy, if it must be stable and

• Strike talks deadlocked in Edo rewarding, should leave teachers out of the system. We call on the National Assembly to save primary education from the siege of darkness and move it under the oversight of the federal or state government.” While decrying the dismal state of infrastructure in the education sector, Alogba also chided some state governments, which failed to honour agreements reached with the union years after such deals were made. In Edo State, a proposed meeting between the state

government and striking primary school teachers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) called by civil society organisations, yesterday ended in a deadlock as the state government refused to shift grounds. It insisted that it would not negotiate with the teachers unless they resumed classes even as representatives of the NUT did not even show up in a town hall meeting coordinated by the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ).

Commissioner for Health has proved abortive; different messages to his cell phone have not been answered.” He said he has confidence in Uduaghan whom he described as a listening governor but that the problem is with fellow physically-challenged persons in government who are supposed to represent them but most times, work for their own selfish interest. He noted: “What do you make out of an able-bodied person being a Special Adviser to the Governor on Physically Challenged Matters? The rehabilitation department of the Ministry of Women Affairs where we fall under, is under the management of a person who is not physically-challenged. We have persons with disabilities in the civil service; will it be out of place if one of them is put in charge of that office? All efforts to see that the issues are addressed have proved abortive. Countless letters seeking audience with the governor have not yielded any fruit.”

year. According to him, two CSPs, one SP and 13 ASPS were compulsorily retired, also for misconduct, while a DCP, three CSPs, seven SP, a DSP and 10 ASPs were demoted during the period. Fakai said the current police administration had in January 2012 inherited over 3,000 cases of indiscipline, but added that the cases had been reduced to the barest minimum. “The Force Disciplinary Committee comprises all the Deputy Inspectors General of Police and the Force Secretary who serves as its secretary. “The committee essentially reviews disciplinary matters involving officers from the rank of ASP and above who may had erred in the course of their duties,” he said. He said the committee was mandated to make appropriate recommendations to the Police Service Commission on all cases it handled. “This is in line with extant provisions and Force policy guiding discipline geared towards upholding professionalism, respect for rule of law and human rights among senior police officers,” Fakai said. The committee meets fortnightly, except in emergency situations, to consider cases of misconduct forwarded to it. The committee is expected to meet between July 8 and July 12 to hear disciplinary cases against the 195 senior officers appearing before it.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

8 NEWS

FRCN boss deplores sensational, provocative journalism From Charles Akpeji, Jalingo OR peace and unity to FActing reign in the country, the Director of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Agboola Bola, has tasked journalists to avoid sensational, provocative and alarming headlines. Speaking yesterday in Jalingo, Taraba State, during the ongoing Heads of News summit organised by the FRCN, Bola expressed sadness at the extent some media practitioners had derailed from the ethics of journalism to promoting ethnic sentiments.

Imo donates N3.6m to families of windstorm victims From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri OUCHED by the level of devastation caused by windstorm a few weeks ago in Umudagu, Mbieri in Mbaitoli local council of Imo State, the state government has given the sum of N3.6 million to the families of those who died when the Uko tree of about 300 years old fell, killing no fewer than 13 traders and buyers in a market square. Governor Rochas Okorocha approved the donation to families of the dead, as well as the injured who were receiving treatment in the hospital. Making the donation at the weekend in Owerri, his Special Assistant on Owerri Mayoral Affairs, Dr. Kachi Nwaoga, said the state was touched by the devastation. He added that N1 million was for those receiving treatment, while N200,000 would go to each of the families that lost their people to the windstorm.

N’Assembly to wade into ASUU strike, says minister From Mohammed Abubakar, Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Kanayo Umeh (Abuja), Lawrence Njoku (Enugu) and Leo Sobechi (Abakiliki) ORRIED over the negaW tive repercussions of the on-going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the two Committees on Education in the National Assembly have summoned the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai and the leadership of ASUU to meeting aimed at finding a quick solution to the impasse. However, notwithstanding the planned peace moves, ASUU yesterday said that the strike will continue until the Federal Government hon-

• Why action may linger, by body • Poly teachers protest ours the agreement reached with it. Meanwhile, academic activities at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) have been grounded as the ASUU leadership yesterday threatened sanction for any of her member who engaged in any academic exercise. In a related development, staff of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Afikpo North council of Ebonyi State yesterday held a peaceful protest against what they called Federal Government’s

intransigence and insensitivity over their plight. The minister, who disclosed this while speaking to reporters after declaring a consultative meeting she held with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities at Abuja, however, appealed to the teachers to go back to the classrooms to enable a conducive negotiation environment to prevail. Rufai said the meeting, the first with the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities for this year was

aimed at discussing issues that bother on governance in the university system in the country. It was attended by chief executives of federal, states and private universities. The minister, who declined elaborate comments on the efforts so far made to resolve the issues raised by the teachers’ union universities, however, was optimistic that the meeting with the universities’ heads before the lawmakers today would help in resolving grey areas raised by the union. She added: “The meeting today (yesterday) is to see how we can enhance good management in our univer-

Lebanese admitted receiving training from Hezbollah, says govt From Lemmy Ughegbe, Abuja ESTERDAY at the Federal Y High Court, Abuja Division, the Federal Government said that three Lebanese standing trial on

charges of terrorism and related offences confessed to being trained by the military wing of the Lebanonbased Hezbollah. The court was also told that the three accused per-

sons, Mustapha Fawaz (49), Abdullahi Thahini (48) and Tahal Roda (51), facing a sixcount charge bordering on terrorism, allegedly confessed to financial relationship between them and the

international group. They are being tried alongside two of their companies, Amigo Supermarket Limited and Wonderland Amusement Park Resort.

Kingmakers return Etubom as Obong of Calabar From Anietie Akpan, Calabar dramatic move yesterIersNday,ofa the the Etubom kingmakPalace of the Obong of Calabar re-elected Etubom Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V as the Obong of Calabar. His selection followed the sack of Otu by the Court of Appeal on the ground that due process was not followed in his election. The court presided by Justice Mohammed Garba had set aside Otu’s selection and proclamation as the Obongelect of Calabar by the palace

kingmakers of the Obong on March 31, 2008. Accordingly, Justice Garba ordered the body to conduct another process of selecting a new Obong of Calabar, in which all qualified candidates, including the Otu, “would be given the opportunity to participate in accordance with the provisions of exhibit 1/20 and in strict compliance with the rules of natural justice.” However, a statement from the Etubom’s council, signed by its Chairman, Etubom Micah Archibong, and

Secretary, Etubom Okon Etim Okon Asuquo, yesterday said the body had unanimously re-selected Otu. According to the statement, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal of July 4, 2013, ordering another process of selecting the Obong of Calabar, the Etuboms Council promptly complied with the order by taking necessary steps leading to and convening the Etuboms’ meeting and reselecting the Obong of Calabar. It noted that it was the turn

of the Atai Iboku group of houses to produce the next Obong of Calabar after the demise of Edidem Nta Elijah Henshaw VI, according to the Constitution of Etuboms’ Council 2002, adding that the qualified Etuboms under this group were communicated and directed to produce and present their nominee to the Etuboms body yesterday. Following that directive, the statement read, the most senior Etubom of Atai Iboku group, Lawrence Edet Asido, presented their unanimous nominee for the throne in the person of Etubom Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu of Adiabo Ikot Mbo Otu House.

Lawmaker wants resource control to check crude oil theft By Seye Olumide MEMBER of the House of A Representatives, Lanre Odubote, wants the Niger Delta area to be allowed to explore the crude oil in the region and contribute a sizeable percentage of the earnings to the federation as a way of addressing the continual theft of crude oil. Odubote said yesterday that such empowerment would be adequate incentive for the natives to check the wave of criminality ongoing in the area. He said: “Oil theft is a curse, not a blessing to our country. This maritime criminality is now worse than piracy off Somalian waters; it must stop and true Fiscal Federalism is the solution.” With the revelation by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that about 400, 000 barrels of oil were being stolen per day, resulting in 17 per cent fall in official sales of crude in the international market, Odubote suggested that the 1999 Constitution should be amended to allow for fiscal federalism.

sity system, it should not be misconstrued to mean that we are meeting on how to strategise to deal with our colleagues, far from that. We are going to meet with ASUU and those that are concerned in the Senate tomorrow and I have to appear before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Education, we will be there and our colleagues will be there and we will trash out the issues and I believe under that atmosphere, we will take decisions.

Ex-lawmaker condemns Senate’s refusal of arms for Zamfara vigilance group From Ali Garba, Gombe OHAMMED Dansandau, M who represented Zamfara Central from 19992007 in the Senate, has lamented the Senate’s refusal to allow the Zamfara State Government to arm the vigilance groups in the state following the recent upsurge in armed banditry. Dansandau told journalists in Gombe yesterday that his people had lost faith in the ability of the police to protect them and their property, accusing the police of complicity in some of the robbery cases and killings in the state.

Cleric cautions against electronic voting in coming polls By Babatunde Oso HE founder and spiritual T head of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, Lagos, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has warned that the nation’s attempt at electronic voting in 2014 and 2015 will cause a lot of problems and waste a lot of money, stating: “The Spirit of God says Nigeria is not ripe enough for this system.” Directing his divination particularly to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Bola Tinubu, ahead the coming elections, Ayodele warned that the elections must be handled with extra care in order to avoid a negative end. In his yearly publication entitled: “Warnings to the Nations - a Collection of Divine Signals,” Ayodele quoted the Lord to say, among other things, that Nigeria was not ripe enough for this electronic system. As well, INEC would produce new reforms, which politicians would want to resist. He stated: “The PDP and APC would move for reconciliation while politicians would perfect new ways of rigging and manipulation, with Nigerians trying every step to change the government. The current government will do everything to be seen as good, but President Jonathan must pray against taking wrong steps and consult God before the second term journey.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Abia goes tough on tax evaders, begins on-the-spot verification From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia

By Wole Shadare HE syndicated pilferage at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, is becoming worse as passengers now complain of missing luggage on arrival at the airport. Blame over loss of baggage has been put at the doorsteps of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc and the Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited, whose workers were alleged to be culpable. Efforts to get reaction of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) failed as at press time. The stealing is fast taking the joy out of travel as many passengers last week complained

of luggage loss. The situation could also be put at the doorsteps of FAAN, which primary duty is to ensure security at the airports. On April 19, 2013, a Lagosbound Arik Flight W3 108, which took off from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York at 12. 35 pm, touched down at MMA Lagos at 3.05 am on Friday morning (9hrs 30mins) after some frightening hours of turbulence across the Atlantic Ocean only for nearly half of the passengers to discover that movement of their luggage from the aircraft to the conveyer belt was left in the hands of criminals working as airport officials. Some of the victims, Patricia Nnaeke, Valentina Jummy,

Governor of Delta FhasORMER State, Olorogun Felix Ibru, charged all political office holders in the country to embrace and sustain the culture of transparent service.

• Katsina highest in teenage pregnancy rate, Edo lowest From Lillian Chukwu, Abuja HEAD the oncoming World A Population Day, the National Population Commission (NPC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are canvassing a national response and policy to reduce the increasing inci-

dence of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria. According to the stakeholders, adolescent pregnancy is markedly higher in the North than in the South, as well as urban and rural areas. NPC Chairman, Festus Odimegwu, said yesterday in Abuja that in 2008, Katsina State, at 65 per

Speaking at the weekend when he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Senator Pius Ewherido in Abuja, Ibru said Ewherido was an example of a good political office holder, adding that it had become imperative for every public

officer to see good service as a non-negotiable virtue. Signing a condolence register at the late Ewherido’s residence in Abuja, Ibru wrote: “Senator, you served well and your people will always remember you. May your soul rest in peace.”

Ajudua wants Oyewole disqualified in $1.69m fraud trial By Bertram Nwannekanma AGOS socialite and lawyer, Fred Ajudua, who was charged with alleged $1.69 million fraud, yesterday sought the disqualification of the trial judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, from handling the case. Charged alongside Charles Orie by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding two Dutch businessmen, Remy Cina and Pierre Vijgen, Ajudua was earlier denied bail by Oyewole. The judge had, in a ruling on Ajudua’s bail application, ordered a day-to-day trial of the defendants following Ajudua’s alleged default of previous bail condition granted after his arraignment in 2003. However, at the proposed commencement of the trial yesterday, Adujua’s counsel, Allens Agbaka, asked for an adjournment of proceedings pending the decision of the Lagos State Chief Judge, Ayodele Philips, on the petition seeking the transfer of trial to another judge. In a motion on notice dated July 4 and brought pursuant to Section 36 of the Constitution and Section 56(1) and (2)(A)&(B) of the High Court Laws of Lagos State, Agbaka sought an order disqualifying the judge from the matter in the interest of justice.

Opaleye Mukaila, Adebayo Ariyo, Joy Tongo Olarenwaju Fasasi, Rev. Emma Umezinwa and Abimbola Atta lost their baggage. In a joint statement made available to The Guardian yesterday, the group said: “Bags were torn apart. Padlocks were destroyed. A young Nigerian mother with her baby at the back found one of her bags completely emptied of the contents. Some bags were not seen at all. A man lost all the four laptops he bought from the U.S. A Catholic priest had his bag ripped apart and had messages meant to be delivered to some families carted away. And all this took place within 45 minutes of their arrival when the convey-

er started rolling out the bags”. According to the statement, the passengers immediately reported to the Immigration, Customs and Police officers in uniform, who did nothing but watched as some passengers nearly ran mad with anger and frustration. To them, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, which ought to be a national image booster and monument welcoming all coming into the country has become a place of national shame, official ineptitude and syndicated robbery. “This was the point when one of the passengers took out his Ipad and started recording the pandemonium, interviewing passengers and documenting

NPC, UNFPA seek national policy to check teenage pregnancy

Ibru harps on virtues of selfless service, condoles with Ewherido’s family From Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja

Passengers allege stealing of luggage at Lagos airport

HE Abia State Board of T T Internal Revenue (BIR) says it has concluded arrangements to enforce prompt tax payment in the state and to this end, was beginning street verification of tax payers with a view to prosecuting defaulters in the three revenue courts already created for that purpose. BIR Chief Executive, Mr. Udochukwu Ogbonna, told The Guardian that the exercise became imperative due to the high level of tax evasion in the state, especially by those in the informal sector, comprising artisans and traders, among others. On the order of the court, the Board last week sealed off three corporate bodies in Aba and Umuahia for either not remitting their workers’ tax deductions to the state government or partial remittance of same within the past six years. To avoid harassment by BIR agents, Ogbonna urged taxable persons to carry along their receipts of payment and or ID cards as evidence of being on PAYE, noting that the projected monthly minimum of N1 billion would be realised if every person paid at least one N1,000 per year.

NEWS

In a motion on notice dated July 4 and brought pursuant to Section 36 of the Constitution and Section 56(1) and (2)(A)&(B) of the High Court Laws of Lagos State, Agbaka sought an order disqualifying the judge from the matter in the interest of justice. He hinged his application on the ground that the judge’s remark during his ruling on June 25, 2013, in which he allegedly accused his client of tampering with the prosecution’s witness, was prejudicial to fair hearing in the trial. According to the motion supported by a six-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Bridget Akhagbe, the defence averred that the presiding judge, in making those remarks, had given cause to reasonable fear and apprehension that Ajudua had been found guilty even before the conclusion of the trial. He added that the mere mention of the judge’s name in a previous petition written by Maj.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd) to the EFCC has a ripple effect on the trial of his client. In the said petition, Bamaiyi allegedly accused Ajudua of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars from him while they were together in Kirikiri Prisons. The said money was allegedly paid when Ajudua allegedly convinced Bamaiyi that he would help influence Justice Oyewole during the latter’s trial. And “having the name of the judge in the hand-written

petition, his lordship is likely going to be listed as one of the witnesses,” Agbaka said. However, the EFCC counsel, Wemimo Ogunde (SAN), asked for more time to respond to the application, and the trial judge adjourned till September 24 for hearing of the application. Ajudua, who was arraigned with Orie on six-count charge since 2003, had earlier urged the court to quash the charge. In a motion on notice dated June 7, 2013, and filed through his counsel, Agbaka, Ajudua argued that since the complainant has withdrawn the case and filed an affidavit before the court to this purpose, the court should quash the charge. Nevertheless, Ogunde opposed it, urging the court to discountenance the application because it is not known to law for a victim to come to court to file an affidavit of discontinuance on which the defence would predicate the application for charges to be quashed. Justice Oyewole, however, dismissed the application for lacking in merit. In his ruling yesterday, he said the applicant was not responsible for the prosecution of the case and, therefore, cannot terminate it.

cent, had the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and motherhood, while Edo State had the least at 2.9 per cent. Represented by the Chairman of Technical Management Team and deputy director in his ministry, Festus Uzo, Odimegwu listed strategies to curb negative incidence of teenage pregnancy to include free education for girls and measures addressing poverty, sexual abuse and ignorance. Others are co-ordination and research, as well as tackling cultural and religious barriers and poor funding. According to him, 40 per cent of maternal mortality cases in

Nigeria comprise young people, and by 2015, Nigeria’s youth population will increase to 60 million young people between ages 10 and 24. Meanwhile, the UNFPA Resident Representative, Victoria Akyealpanj, represented by her assistant, Adori Osaretin, said “Teenage Pregnancy”, as theme of this year’s World Population Day, prompts legislations and policies to prosecute men who marry under-age girls. Akyealpanj said that due to early marriage, early sexual exposure and pregnancy, coupled with poor health services, these under-aged girls risk sexual and reproductive health problems.

necessary evidence. The airport officials were constantly avoiding the camera and at some point, wanted to intimidate the passenger who stood his ground.

YEDEC, others call for improved maternal health, empowerment By Daramola Oluwatunba HE non-governmental T Youth Empowerment and Development Centre (YEDEC), in conjunction with the Women’s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC) and T.Y Danjuma Foundation, are calling for improved maternal and reproductive health rights and empowerment. Speaking at the fifth African Conference on Sexual Reproductive Health in Benin City at the weekend, YEDEC coordinator, Christian Aisiri, said that maternal and reproductive health rights and women’s empowerment are sacrosanct in nation building. She urged government and relevant stakeholders to fashion out ways of improving healthcare delivery among rural and semi-urban dwellers through the provision of adequate and accessible health facilities. Also at the forum, the Edo State officer of the Danjuma Foundation, Oluwatomi Ajayi, said the body has continued to provide funding for sensitisation, empowerment and provision of rural healthcare facilities towards improving the living condition of mother and child.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

WorldReport Cars seized from son of E’ Guinea’s president fetch €2.8m INE luxury cars seized N from the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president as part of a money-laundering investigation have fetched 2.8 million euros ($3.6 million) at an auction in Paris. Teodorin Obiang – the son of President Teodoro Obiang and a potential successor – is second vice-president of the small oil-rich African state and is wanted in France on charges he embezzled public funds to buy real estate in Paris. He denied wrongdoing and said he earned the money in legitimate business. Reuters reported that the cars, which include Bugatti, Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche and Maserati, were seized by French judges in September 2011.

The auction drew a crowd of about 100 potential buyers, mostly male, to the prestigious Drouot auction house, with other bids coming over the phone or online. The sale was ordered by a state collection agency that can use the proceeds to indemnify victims. Dating from 2004 to 2010, the cars with leather interiors and spotless paint work appeared infrequently used, with very little mileage, providing a glimpse into Obiang’s lavish lifestyle in Paris and abroad. “I’m delighted, it went really well. We met our target – it’s a judicial process and we’re trying to recover as much money as possible,” auctioneer, Damien Libert, told Reuters.

UN envoy seeks drones, gunships for S’ Sudan mission NITED Nations special U envoy, Hilde Johnson, has urged the global body to consider deploying surveillance drones and helicopter gunships in South Sudan, arguing that peacekeepers are struggling to protect civilians from violence and rights abuses. Johnson, who canvasses this position to UN Security Council, said that after the international organisation’s civilian helicopter was shot down in December, new safety procedures and a lack of military helicopters had slowed the mission’s ability to respond. The envoy, who also revealed that the peacekeepers have only three military helicopters, said UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon had outlined several options to boost the South Sudan mission in a report to the 15-member Security

Pope condemns global apathy to refugees’ plight EAD of Catholic Church, H Pope Francis, has called for an end to worldwide indifference to the plight of refugees while visiting an Italian island where tens of thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East reach Europe. Delivering his homily at a mass near the fishing harbour on his first trip outside of Rome since his election in March, Francis said: “We ask forgiveness for the indifference towards so many brothers and sisters.” The pontiff, who spoke within sight of dozens of the abandoned boats used by

The culture of well-being makes us think about ourselves, renders us insensitive to the cries of others. the migrants, paid tribute to the hundreds who drown every year trying to reach Europe and said he had come to Lampedusa “to reawaken consciences”. “The culture of well-being makes us think about ourselves, renders us insensitive to the cries of others,” he said, urging “brotherly responsibility” and condemning a “globalisation of indifference”. The pope, according to a

report by Agence France Presse (AFP), celebrated mass with a cross and a chalice made from the wood of the rickety boats that migrants typically arrive on, mainly from Libya and Tunisia. The altar was also fashioned from a fishing boat. The Catholic leader earlier boarded a coast guard boat and cast a wreath of white and yellow chrysanthemums – the colour of the Vatican flag – into the water.

Surrounded by dozens of fishing boats and yachts, the pope solemnly made the sign of the cross over the sea in a spot where one of many drownings occurred. Francis also met with a group of around 50 recent arrivals, many of them Eritreans, telling them: “We will pray for those who are no longer with us.” One of the young men, who wore tracksuits and white baseball caps, told him: “We suffered a lot reaching this calm place but now we have to stay in Italy. We would like other European countries to help us.”

Council, including surveillance drones, helicopter gunships and more cargo and riverine transport capabilities. “I urge the council to take urgent action to support the mission in filling these critical resource and capability gaps,” Johnson told the Security Council in a video link briefing. South Sudan will mark two years of independence from Sudan today and Johnson said that while most parts of the country remained stable, fighting between South Sudanese troops and armed groups in the eastern state of Jonglei was of “deep concern.” Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes because of the violence and Johnson said there had been rights violations by both armed groups and national security authorities.

Trial of ill-fated ship’s captain begins today in Italy

A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who was injured during a rally in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi is carried to a medical facility following clashes with police outside the elite Republican Guards base in Cairo … yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

N a long-awaited trial by the Icaptain families of the victims, the of the Costa

U.S., Chinese officials express concerns over hacking

Concordia cruise ship which crashed and sank off Italy last year will face the court today. Francesco Schettino – dubbed “Captain Coward” by the tabloids for abandoning ship while terrified passengers were still trapped onboard – will be charged with the manslaughter of 32 people who died in the nighttime tragedy. He was expected in court in Grosseto, the city closest to the accident off the island of Giglio. Up to 450 witnesses and 250 plaintiffs could be called during a trial, , although the actual start of deliberations may be postponed because of a lawyers’ strike. Schettino, 52, faces three

charges for multiple manslaughter, as well as causing environmental damage and abandoning the ship, but his defence claims more people are to blame, pointing the finger at crew members and the company. The luxurious Costa Concordia crashed into a rock off Giglio on the night of January 13, 2012 with 4,229 people from 70 countries on board, as Schettino was trying to perform a risky “salute” manoeuvre just off the Tuscan island. The ship hit a rock, veered sharply and keeled over near the shore, sparking a panicky and delayed evacuation and a bitter confrontation between the coastguard and Schettino, who claimed he had fallen to safety into a lifeboat.

FFICIALS from United O States (U.S.) and China met yesterday and expressed concerns about hacking, which has emerged as a major irritant between the world’s two largest economies. The news came just as it was also reported yesterday that hackers who wiped tens of thousands of personal computers hard drives in South Korea earlier this year also appear to be targetting the country’s military secrets. However, U.S. and Chinese officials met in Washington for the first session of a “cyber working group,” two days before the countries

Attackers hunt for South Korean military secrets hold their main yearly talks. A State Department official said the inaugural session would let the two sides “raise concerns, develop processes for future cooperation and set the tone” on cyber issues. “We will continue to raise issues of strategic concern, including the cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets and confidential business information for economic gain,” he said. The United States has accused China of waging a vast hacking campaign against the American government, military and compa-

nies, with a private study recently concluding that cyber-theft costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars a year. China has hit back that it is also the victim of cyber attacks, charges that gained ammunition when the intelligence leaker, Edward Snowden, said U.S. spies had hacked into the prestigious Tsinghua University, one of six centres that routes all of China’s Internet traffic. President Barack Obama has insisted that there is a distinction between intelligence gathering, which he

said all countries conduct, and the theft of trade secrets for commercial gain. Hoping to ease the rift, Secretary of State John Kerry and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, a key figure in setting China’s foreign policy, in April announced the start of the cyber dialogue. Yang and Vice Premier Wang Yang will visit Washington for the yearly Strategic and Economic Dialogue with Kerry and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Wednesday and Thursday. The cyber talks involved Christopher Painter, the State Department’s coordinator for cyber issues, and Defence Department official, Eric Rosenbach.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Politics ‘Ndigbo’s interest not realisable on particular political platform’ President General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural and political organisation, Ohanaeze, Chief Gary Enwo Igariwey, believes that the review of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly will not serve the cause of Ndigbo. He cites as an example the foreclosure of the creation of another state in the Southeast. And he says, “this means that the zone will continue to be short-changed. When will the zone be on a par with others?” He spoke to the Southeast Bureau Chief, Kodilinye Obiagwu and Lawrence Njoku in Enugu. unity of purpose not becoming a problem Ily,toSwith the Southeast, which is divided politicalthree states for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and two supposedly for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) — as one of them is hobnobbing with the emerging All Progressives Congress (APC)? When we are talking about unifying our people, we are not looking at the political differences; we are looking at the collective interest of the Ndigbo, whether in APGA or PDP. No matter the platform or platforms, if the interest of the Igbo is put in place, every other interest should collapse. For example, the ambition of the Igbo to produce the next president is above any political platform. In this case, the platform should serve only as the vehicle. Political parties are just names; they do not represent the interest of the people in totality. What is the relationship between the Ohanaeze and the governors in the zone? The constitution of Ohanaeze recognises incumbents and former governors as members of Imeobi and are part of the decisionmaking in Ohanaeze at the topmost level. How much influence do they wield in the organisation, especially against the background that the executive members of the Ohanaeze are their protégés and cronies? The governors don’t enthrone officers in Ohanaeze. Ohanaeze has its system of conducting elections and it is not an extension of any government. The governors do not appoint officers for Ohanaeze. Allowing them to do that will pose the danger of extending their politics into Ohanaeze. The thinking of political parties does not influence us, and this allows our electoral committee to run the election. The constitution of Ohanaeze does not allow card-carrying members of political parties to hold office as the president of Ohanaeze. The reason is obvious: if you want a united people, you must get away from partisan politics. For instance, if an APGA or a PDP governor puts me in office, how would the people or any other party see me? The implication will be that the Ohanaeze executive would be seen as an extension of that political dispensation with all the danger it portends. Is it acceptable for Ohanaeze, essentially a socio-cultural organisation, to dabble in politics on the scale you are doing? It is wrong to think that Ohanaeze is just a socio-cultural organisation because there is no social organisation without a political order. It will be naïve to imagine that it can dissociate from it. The political order is subsumed under the

injustice? We want this anomaly corrected. We asked for at least one more state to be at par with those who have six states. Is this asking for too much? It is clear injustice that this inequality has continued. In our memorandum, we suggested that the zones should be the federating units because we felt that if that were the case, it would bring equality and address the injustices in this country and alter the revenue sharing social order. Ohanaeze mobilises people for profile that is presently skewed against the political action, but we are not partisan. Southeast. Is there any kind of collaboration between So, what is the option now since it is certain other organisations like the Arewa that the National Assembly will not push for Consultative Forum (ACF) and Afenifere? another state in the Southeast? Yes, there is. Last year, the ACF came down The decision of the National Assembly comto Enugu, to hold a session with us and we mittee on the amendment of the Constitution are waiting to visit them to discuss national is anti-nation building. We do not care how issues. they do it; we just want another state. Ohanaeze is making arrangements to meet Whatever has to be done must be done as long with Afenifere. We have been meeting but as the Southeast is brought on the same level soon, we will meet to discuss national with other zones. issues. It is a priority for Ohanaeze because Any nation that must survive must do so we believe in building bridges among ethbased on equity, justice and fair play. It is time nic nationalities. to address the cry of marginalisation by Is Ohanaeze satisfied with the outcome of Ndigbo. The National Assembly must equalise the 2011 elections when viewed alongside the zones by whatever means. If they want to the reasons it advanced for persuading the do so by special votes of the National people to vote in a particular way? Assembly, let them do it. We have not faulted the reasons we made What we are saying is that Ndigbo need at the decision to support the South-South, for least one additional state; we are shortexample, at a time we were convinced about changed because of that. We get less money the benefits and viability of their political for development unlike other zones; we have ambition. We gave total support because we less local councils, less representation in the saw what was on ground. National Assembly, and less number of slots Politics in this country is about collaborawherever the number of states is used as a crition; no one region can realise its desires or terion. This has affected the overall developambition alone. We gave our support, ment of the zone. expecting that when it is our turn, we will We cannot continue to be marginalised like benefit from their support. this by the system, which is run by our fellow Today, I am certain that there is definitely Nigerians. Let them do whatever is possible to an improvement in our access to governaddress this and give Ndigbo their due share in ment than it was in the previous administhe interest of justice. tration. We have no regrets and we are Does Ohanaeze see the decision of the National studying the government to still take a Assembly as final on this or is it advocating a front line stand for our people. national conference where all these issues can Do you think that the Southeast can realise be tabled? its interest under this kind of arrangement? We have always said that the present Why not? We will continue to create the National Assembly cannot handle this issue awareness in our people that the Igbo canbecause the representation is skewed against not achieve anything unless we are united. certain people and parts of the country and We have the population and the Igbo are nobody will want to vote against his advanthe only people with over a 25 per cent Igariwey tage. It is only a national conference of ethnic spread in any part of this country. nationalities that can sort out this thing. Ordinarily, once we build the appropriate We need a forum where people can speak bridges and make our people speak with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the All fairly and openly and will be equally repreone voice, we can achieve anything we set Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)? sented. The National Assembly, as constituted, our mind on. When the time comes and we The bus we take to our destination will does not constitute equal representation are ready to fight for our chance, if we speak depend on which one arrives first. We are because certain people have more seats than with one voice, it will be easier to achieve. watching developments and at the appropriWe are talking about collective action and ate time, the Igbo will know the best platform others. There are various reports on how Fulani herdswe have to appeal to the conscience of on which it can realise its interests. men have become a menace in many towns in Nigerians and bring it to their knowledge Having said that, the point has to be emphathe Southeast. Is there anything Ohanaeze is that this is what we want. If you don’t speak sised that our collective thought should not doing to curb the activities of the herdsmen, for yourself, nobody will speak for you. depend on the two parties because APGA and We are not underdogs under any circumPDP were there when the Igbo people decided which have resulted in loss of lives? We have put this rather dangerous developstances; we have the capacity to decide who to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan. can be president or who cannot be because In the Southwest, the governors of the Action ment straight to the Federal Government to resolve. It has become a very dangerous develwe have the numbers. The time has come Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011 decided to opment because the herdsmen have become for us to unite ourselves and make use of vote for Jonathan and the PDP. So, it is not our strength. We are certain that in spite of about parties, it is about the people and what very overbearing. It doesn’t make sense how they take their the present inadequacies and contradicwill benefit them. herds into people’s farms and even challenge tions, we can alter a lot of things in this Whether APGA or PDP, at the appropriate them. It has become a major source of conflict. country, but we must be united. time, the people will make their choice on People now view this as terrorism in the agrarHas Ohanaeze ever considered the arguhow to get to the centre. Nobody should be ian front. ment that the Southeast ought to align with tied to a political leaning when it comes to This whole thing is unfortunate and sad one political party in order to realise its decisions affecting the people. because in the Southeast, the farms are basipolitical interests? What does Ohanaeze expect from the amendcally subsistence and small-scale farming. And Politics is dynamic; when the time comes, ment of the 1999 Constitution? anything, any activity that destroys their it will become clearer where the people will We have never wavered from our initial pitch their tent. For now, we remain desire to have equality in the number of states farms and source of livelihood will create major problems. observers of political developments. in the zone. Today, the Southeast suffers So far, we have seen and heard that that Apparently, you haven’t thought of realising because it has five states when other zones threat is real. The herdsmen assault people; the political pursuits of the Southeast under have more. What could be greater than this rape women in farms and reports abound about people who were shot in their farms. Why are they carrying arms? The decision of the National Assembly committee on the amendment of There are no grazing lands in the Southeast the Constitution is anti-nation building. We do not care how they do it; because there is not much distance between the small farms. There is no way you graze we just want another state. Whatever has to be done must be done as your herds without trespassing or intruding long as the Southeast is brought on the same level with other zones. Any into people’s farms. I don’t believe that anybody will watch anothnation that must survive must do so based on equity, justice and fair er move cows into his farms. Admittedly, they play. It is time to address the cry of marginalisation by Ndigbo. The are all income-yielding ventures; so, why should one person bring his own source of National Assembly must equalise the zones by whatever means. income to ruin another individual’s venture?

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

TheMetroSection Imminent thirst in Jigawa! • As Nigeria Immigration Service repatriates mai ruwa

By Odita Sunday

From Ahmed John Akubo, Duste

HE Federal Government T has been advised to set up special tribunals in the coun-

The negative impact is lack of potable water as many of those arrested used to eke out their livelihood predominantly by engaging in menial jobs such as hawking of water and cutting of finger nails. HE attempt by the Nigerian ImmiT gration to mop up Jigawa State of illegal immigrants has caused water shortage in some parts of Dutse metropolis because many of these illegal aliens were water vendors. The Guardian revealed that the recent indiscriminate arrests of illegal aliens from Niger Republic residing in Jigawa by the Nigeria Immigration Service, has affected the livelihood of the people in both positive and negative dimensions. The negative impact is lack of potable water in the area as many of those arrested used to eke out their livelihood predominantly by engaging in menial jobs such as hawking of water and cutting of finger nails. Worst hit by water scarcity are Takur, Mobile Base, Yalwawa and Bokoto. A resident of Mobile Base Quarters, Salamatu Sule, said she had been depending on water vendors for her domestic chores but since the arrests, she could not buy water for three day, adding that she now depends on ‘pure water’. Another resident of Takur, Ibrahim Dutse, said it was a good development only that “it is done indiscriminately to the extent that even some legitimate Nigerians, who are indigenes of the state, have been arrested. He said water vendors and some food

Some of the suspected illigal immigrants at the Immigration oﬃce sellers were bundled out of the country from their businesses, a situation that is quite disturbing. Another council affected by the water scarcity is Babura, which directly shares its border with the Niger Republic. Salmanu Babira, a resident of Babura, disclosed that there was a minor clash between the Immigration officers and the youths from the area, when they attempted to arrest some of the youths in the area.

He said the officers had to retreat and sought the support of the council chairman, who identified those that were illegal immigrants. Babura said the deportation of the Nigeriens had caused serious water scarcity as 95 per cent of those selling water in the area came from Niger. The Jigawa State Comptroller of Immigration, Abubakar Aliyu Bamalli, had indicated that in the face of current security challenges, Nigeria as a country, “has to take its immigration laws seri-

ously in order not to be overwhelmed by the problems of insecurity emanating from illegal immigrants.” Bamali gave the indication Monday in his office in Dutse while addressing the media on its current mop-up exercise to rid the state of undesirable immigrants. . He said the immigration in the state was embarking on the mop-up of the 27 local councils to flush out all the illegal immigrants.

Nigerian makes history in Turkey as Best Graduating Student From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja WENTY –TWO-YEAR-Old Nigerian, from Yobe State, Adamu Abdullahi, has made history by graduating as Best Student from the Department of Electrical Electronics Engineering , Gaziantep University Turkey, at the weekend. He also emerged as the Second Best Braduating student from the Faculty of Engineering. By this feat, Adamu, according to a release from the university authorities, becomes the first Nigerian to graduate from the school and the first African to receive such award from the university. Adamu studied at the university under the Yobe State Government Scholarship programme, established in

Briefs Govt urged to set up Special Court for kidnap suspects

2008 by the late Governor Mamman Bello Alis administration and later continued by Governor Ibrahim Geidam’s administration. He was among over 4,000 students from different faculties of Gaziantep University, who were awarded degrees at the graduation ceremony. Governor of Gaziantep Provision of Turkey, Erdal Ata, who spoke on the importance of education and the role of the youths in the development of the country, said: “This nation is entrusted to youths, and its future totally lies on their shoulders. If we want to make this country successfully, cherish forever as well as transform it to a leading nation of higher modern civilization, we

Abdullahi must work hard towards education as a state and as a nation “ The University Rector, Prof.

Yavuz Coşkun, addressing the parents of the graduands, said: “God blessed you with babies whom you took on to your laps, you raised them and brought them to us as teenagers it was our responsibilities to train and educate them. Now, we release them into life as well-talented and highly- educated degree holders and we have done our best not only in transforming them into graduates but also transforming them into people of high experience, who can firmly withstand the challenge of life and become successful in their fields.” According to the statement made available to The Guardian: “ After the national anthem, the best students in their faculties were

then publically awarded their degrees by Governor Erdal Ata, Rector Yavuz Coşkun and other respected leaders across the nation. “The ceremony was colorful and full of happiness of both the students and their families, the Second Best Student of the Engineering Faculty named Adamu Abdullah, expressed his happiness by the holding flag of his country (Nigeria). “ In a statement, Yobe State Students’ Association, Turkey, congratulated Adamu for his accomplishment. The Group said in a statement sent to The Guardian: “Such honour you brought is not only to our association (Yobe State Students’ Association Turkey) or Yobe State, but is also to Nigeria

try to try kidnap cases with the view to ensuring certainty and severity of justice for kidnappers. Former Air Officer Commanding (Training Command) of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Osita Obierika, (rtd.) who made the call in a paper entitled “Crises Management of Kidnap and Ransom Cases in Nigeria,” said the measure has become necessary because a “serious ailment requires serious remedy”. Speaking at a two-day conference, entitled “Security: A Prerequisite for National Development,” organized by the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), in Lagos, Obiierika said kidnapping had become a national malaise capable of driving away investors. “Insecurity kills national development and confidence. Insecurity drives away investors and good money. Insecurity breeds instability. This is the fate of Nigeria …Nigeria is experiencing a palpable death of confidence now associated with the prevailing scourge of menace of kidnapping. Something drastic must be done about it,” he said.

LASPEC trains workers HE Lagos State Pension T Commission (LASPEC) will tomorrow train its employees who will retire from the Lagos State Public Service between July and December, 2013. The pre-retirement seminar holds at the Adeyemi Bero auditorium, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Director-General, Lagos State Pension Commission, Rotimi Adekunle Hussain, who disclosed this in a statement recently, revealed that over 1,000 prospective retirees would be trained at the seminar.

Abimbola Banjo dies at 85 HE death has occurred of T Mrs. Abimbola Aduke Banjo (nee Fagunwa) at the age of 85. She was a devout Christian and community leader. She is survived by her sister, children, grandchildren, among whom is Mrs. Titilola Adaramoye, of Osayape Book Supplies Ltd., Lagos. Burial arrangements will soon be announced by the family.

Police kill two alleged armed robbers in Kogi

From Kolawole Timothy, Lokoja

OGI State Police Command yesterday killed two armed robbers who were members of a four- man gang of gunmen who robbed AP filling Station in Ankpa Local Council of the state. The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Hilary Opara disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Lokoja. He said the four armed robbers attacked the attendants of the filling station where they stole a lot of money being the proceed of the day sales. According to him, before the armed robbers left

the station, men of the Ankpa Police Division confronted them in a shootout which left two of the robbers death while two escaped into the bush with various degrees of gunshot. He said that operatives of the command are now combing the bush to smoke out the two fleeing robbers with the assistance of the local communities, urging members of the public to always gave useful information to the police in order to assist the police in the tasked of policing the state. Similarly, the police boss said the command re-

covered a stolen Toyota Camry car with Registration Number BQ 25 KSF stolen from the owner in Ibadan, Oyo State, adding that the suspect and the car are now in the custody of the police in Kogi State. Items recovered from the armed robbers are, four AK 47 rifles, 1 baretta pistol, six live ammunition, nine magazines, six GSM handsets. Others include one national ID card, one green Golf car with Registration Number, KNA56XA, one white Honda Civic car with Registration Number, Benue AG 601 BGT and N46, 000 cash.

Banjo

METRO 13

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9 , 2013

Rotary Club of Lagos gets new President By Isaac Taiwo ATON of leadership as the 53rd President (2013 – 2014) of Rotary Club of Lagos, Rotary International District 9110, Lagos was handed over to Kehinde Ayo-Kasumu at his installation ceremony and induction of Board of Directors, which took place in Lagos. Meanwhile, the immediate past president of the Club, Hairat Ade Balogun enumerated some of the achievements made during her tenure as donation of two Operating Theatre Lights for Lagos Island Maternity, Lagos, four scholarships given to students of University of Lagos, Microfinance Interest Free Loan to Market Men and Women of Oredegbe Araromi Lewis Street Market Association, donation of dictionaries and encyclopedia to schools among others. Delivering his acceptance speech, Kehinde Ayo-Kasumu pledged to continue where the former President stopped and promised to render good

Past President, Hairat Balogun and the new President, Ayo-Kasumu the physically-challenged, doaccount of donations made nation of e-Library to Lagos towards achieving his goal Central Library, granting during his tenure. Micro Credit Loans to women He listed some of his objecand youths, donating books tives to include procurement to selected schools, provision of 10 incubators to selected of additional theatre lights to hospitals in Lagos State, proLagos Island Maternity Hospivision of 500 wheel chairs for

Ayo-Kasumu with a cross section of club members at the ceremony tal among others. with members of the newly Ayo-Dosumu lauded the acinducted board of directors tivities of the immediate past while asking them to be President of the Club, Baloready to sacrifice their time, gun and scored her high for talent and pleasure as rean excellent job during her quired by the call to be a Rotenure. tarian. He solicited for team work Present at the ceremony in-

PHOTOS: ISAAC TAIWO

cluded the District Governor, Kamoru Omotosho (2012 – 2013) and the wife, Susan, Governor-elect (2013 – 2014), Olugbemiga Olowu, Past District Governor, and Chairman of Juli Pharmacy and the wife, Prince Adelusi Adeluyi among others.

Photonews

A cross-section of participating students at the Unilever World Record-breaking teeth brushing event at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, lagos...on Friday PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

Former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (left), Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari and Alhaji Lai Mohammed during a condolence visit to Tinubu over his mother’s death in Lagos...

Managing Director, Sterling Homes, Mr. Kunle Adeyemi (middle), an employee, Sterling Homes, Mr David Kazeem (right) with an allotee during the physical allocation of land to customers at Havilah Parks & Garden Estate, Mowe, Ogun State… recently.

Ogun State Deputy Governor, Segun Adesegun (left), Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bimbo Ashiru and General Manager, Small & Medium-Scale Enterprises, Bank of Industry, Muhammed Abdul Ganiu, at an entrepreneurship training for unemployed graduates in Abeokuta...

Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank, Mr. Albert Essien (left), the Speaker of the occasion, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Executive Director, Corporate Bank, Ecobank, Foluke Aboderin, and Managing Director, Ecobank Mr. Jibril Aku during Ecobank Corporate Banking Forum Oil Price Volatility and the value of the Naira in H2 2013 in Lagos .... PHOTO: GABRIEL IKHAHON

The Chairman, Lagos State Task Force, Bayo Sulaiman, addressing 166 hoodlums paraded at Oshodi under bridge ...at the weekend.

14 | THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

TheGuardian Conscience Nurtured by Truth

FOUNDER: ALEX U. IBRU (1945 – 2011) Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it. Uthman dan Fodio 1754-1816

Editorial Thoughts for Nigeria at Ramadan ASTING period for the Muslim faithful, the Ramadan, is here again, bringing FIslam with it the message of peace, love and care which are the fundamental pillars of as a religion. Nigerians expect that from today, subject to the sighting of the new moon, Muslims will begin the mandatory fasting for the next 30 or 29 days in fulfillment of one of the five cardinal principles of the faith. It is a period that calls for sober reflection on the part of all Nigerians, amid the massive political, economic and social dislocation in the country. Leaders who have been elected or appointed to serve the people are known instead to satisfy personal craving for wealth at the expense of their constituents. In particular, such leaders, among them many Muslims, engage in acts that are in sharp contradistinction to the preaching of the holy religion of Islam. Islam is peace, and enjoins tolerance of people of other faiths. Islam recognises the existence of other faiths, and posits that Almighty Allah is the ultimate judge of all His creations. Islam is love and preaches service unto others and sacrifice. Unfortunately, over the years, many people have arrogated to themselves the power to determine rights and wrongs for others; and to judge them in accordance with their own dictates. The result is the wrongheaded Islamisation bid of the Boko Haram sect, which, in pursuit of its so-called desire to eliminate western education and anything perceived to be antithetic to Islam, has resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent people, including women and children. It is equally sad that the perpetrators of these heinous acts have grown in numbers, as they continually exploit the army of unemployed, hungry and vulnerable youth swarming the length and breadth of the country, for recruitment. This year’s Ramadan is, therefore, significant, first for the different template it brings to the country in particular and the world in general and for the opportunities it offers for those who perpetrate evil in the name of Islam, and for leaders who jettison the commandments of the Almighty in preference for personal aggrandizement and corrupt enrichment. Muslims are reminded that unlike the fasting in other months, which is voluntary, fasting in the Ramadan (the Ninth month of the Islamic, lunar calendar) is compulsory for all except the aged and the sick. People who for one reason or the other are unable to observe it either in full or in part are required, when their circumstances become normal, to make up for their inability by fasting for the number of fasting days missed. This must be done before the advent of the next Ramadan. Muslims are to observe the season by abstaining from food, drink and worldly pleasure from dawn to dusk. Fasting is incomplete, indeed in vain, if it is not backed by a fervent observation of the five daily worship/prayers. For the entire period, supplication to Allah, prayers round the clock, reading of the Holy Quran, a humble disposition are recommended while indulgence in vices, crime, acts of wickedness, harbouring of ill-feelings and all forms of treachery and mischief are totally prohibited. Those fasting are required to be extremely careful about what they permit themselves to see, hear or say lest they fast in vain. Beyond these, what should not be lost on all Nigerians is the essence of the conscious sacrifice; and this includes to foster peace, love one another, care for the less privileged, help the needy and generally strive to uplift the country and mankind. Too often, the pervasiveness of religion is directly proportional to the level of ungodly acts. Ramadan is an opportunity for all Muslims to retrace their steps and seek the peace, blessing and mercy of God believed to be in abundance during the holy month. Forgiveness of sins, which the Ramadan entails, ought to be complemented with a desire to contribute positively to the society, and to eschew acts that mark Nigeria down. Muslims and indeed all Nigerians need to offer special prayers in this year’s Ramadan to atone for the unjust killings of hundreds of Nigerians in cold blood. The prayer is equally important for thousands of innocent Nigerians – Muslims and Christians alike – who are caught in the emergency exercise to restore normalcy to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, through no fault of their own. The prevailing circumstance of the emergency rule is certainly not the kind of atmosphere envisaged for the normal observance of Ramadan. Government should, therefore, do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of people in those three states during this period. Sadly, violent insurgency is not limited to the three states, as it daily manifests in other states, major examples being Plateau, Zamfara, Benue and Nasarawa states. The states in the South (South, East and West) also have their share of public disturbances, violence and bizarre incidents that claim innocent lives. This is the time to show remorse, seek God’s forgiveness of sins and launch, with the Ramadan, a reconciliation and reconstruction bid across the country. All leaders at the Federal, state and local government levels, should resolve during this season to stop their ostentatious lifestyles, the gross mismanagement of the people’s resources, corruption, nepotism and flagrant acts of injustice now on display. These acts undermine the dignity of the people who put them in power; they also impoverish the people. All Muslims, including leaders, should denounce violence and murder being committed across the country, and give maximum cooperation to the authorities to rid the country of undue fanaticism. With these done by all, it certainly shall be well with Nigeria. We wish all Nigerian Muslims a fulfilling fasting season. Ramadan Kareem!

LETTER

Still on religion, trousers and NYSC What a nice piece that SpageIR:appeared on the back of The Guardian of June 20, 2013 “Religion, trousers and the female corps members”. In as much as the effort is laudable and commendable, simply because it tells of the fact that the Nigerian youth can stand for justice, it nevertheless went the same way Ekundayo did… To start with, Deuteronomy 22:5 has been perverted and thwarted by many of us, especially, our so called ‘Jet lover’ men of shadows, I mean ‘of God’. The exigencies of the scriptures imply that the Bible has a language of its own and should be interpreted based on the contextual content of the cultural heritage of the author and recipient. In Bible Jewish days, the people had a culture and understanding that was more vital than its practice. This is why Jesus was always referring to the Pharisees as ‘Hypocrites’ who do not practise what they preach. In fact, some of these things are still relevant in the present day Jewish culture. Moses gave the Jewish people, among others, this law,

because they have imbibed and inculturated the culture of the different peoples they had encountered in the course of their sojourn in, and exodus from, Egypt. In fact, Jesus debunked one of them on marriage (writ of notice) when He said, to His questioners: “Moses gave you that law because of the hardness of your heart” -the synoptic Gospels recorded this. Now, understand that that law is not a practicable one. It applied only to Jews. I mean, in South-South and South-East Nigeria, men according to their culture tie wrapper; in other climes, women wear trousers, etc. do we declare them defaulters or nonbelievers based on their culture? The writer quoted the revered literary icon Prof. Oluwole Soyinka out of context. He never implied that religious freedom supersedes institutional norms, but suggested that (the institutions’) rules should take into cognisance fundamental human rights of people. He was equally wrong about the Nigerian 1999 Constitution. The free-

dom of religion, association, holding and sharing opinion, as enshrined in the Constitution does not stipulate that you join an association or take up a mandatory service to lord your religious belief over them. As at the last time I checked, the 1999 Constitution (as amended) or any before it did not sanction any religion (regardless of a belief) as the national religion? So, it was wrong for Ekundayo to have signed up for the NYSC scheme only to backslide for ‘personal religious belief’. In fact, in saner climes, the authorities would have charged her for antipatriotic behaviours. What I believe she should have done, first and foremost, was to have taken the fight to NYSC national office in Abuja. Truthfully, she probably would have won had she sued. The NYSC Act supersedes the religious belief of Ekundayo and all Nigerians. The spirit and letters of the constitution must be taken together, not separately. The Nigerian Constitution does not recognise hijab or women not wearing trousers as our culture. • Mary-Peter Onifade, University of Ibadan.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Business Appointments P27 Protecting the vulnerables in workplace

Market intervention rises, savings, deposit rates’ gap widens further • Foreign exchange inflow falls By Chijioke Nelson HERE were indications that T the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) made several interjections in the economy, using the Open Market Operations (OMO) in the month of April, resulting to relative stability of the system. The interventions were in the form of the sale of the Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds and Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs), which were issued at

the primary market on behalf of the DMO for fiscal operations. According to CBN’s Economic Report for the month of April, the auction of NTBs of various maturities was used to mopup excess liquidity from the banking system in line with the tight monetary policy stance of the apex bank. Total amount of NTBs offered, subscribed to and allotted was put at N2,200 billion, N2,321.32 billion and N1,516.69 billion, respectively, compared with N2,910 billion, N2,061.29 bil-

lion and N1,265.24 billion, in the preceding month. The bid rates ranged between 11.98 per cent to 13 per cent, while the stop rates ranged between11 per cent to 12.75 per cent, compared with the respective ranges of 9.98 per cent to 13 per cent and stop rates range of between 9.98 per cent to 12.75 per cent in the preceding month. Also, government bonds of seven, 10 and 20-year tranches, estimated at N342.94 billion were reopened and offered to the market in the month of

April 2013, with N104.80 billion, N133.34 billion and N104.80 billion, offered, subscribed to and allotted respectively. However, relative to the level in the preceding month, the amount offered, subscribed to and allotted was N70.00 billion, N132.18 billion and N70.00 billion, respectively, at marginal rates of 10.70 per cent and 11.08 per cent, respectively, for five and 10year tranches. Meanwhile, available data from the report indicated

Director, Financial Policy and Regulations Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kevin Amugo (right); President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Segun Aina; Vice-Chairman Senate Committee on Banks Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Isa Mohammed Galaudu; during the Graduates Induction and Prize Awards Day by CIBN, in Lagos, at the weekend. PHOTO: GABRIEL IKHAHON.

‘Why insurers fail to meet accounting deadline’ By Joshua Nse HE 2012 compliant accounts of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) set for insurance and reinsurance entities, may have hit hard on the ability of the underwriting companies to meet the statutory deadline of 30th June for the submission of 2012 statements of accounts. For instance, out of the 58 underwriting companies operating in the country, only 18 insurance firms were able to submit the 2012 financial statements and accounts to the National Insurance

Commission (NAICOM). Specifically, only three underwriting companies had their accounts approved, three insurance companies were queried while accounts of 11 others are undergoing review processes. Industry sources told The Guardian that a number of the insurance companies may be having challenges in the movement from the local accounting SAS system to IFRS. According to him, “this is an international accounting system accepted globally, however, the insurance firms in this country may be facing chal-

lenges in understanding the transition issues to move from the local accounting systems SAS to IFRS, but with time the companies would overcome the initial problems, you can not rule out such challenges in any new initiative|”, he said. According to the 2003 Insurance Act, “An insurer shall, not later than 30th June of each year submit in writing to the Commission the balance sheet, duly audited, showing the financial position of the insurance business of the insurer and its subsidiaries at the close of that year, together with a copy of the relevant

profit and loss accounts which the insurer is to present to its shareholders at its yearly general meeting. Also, a revenue account applicable to each class of insurance business for which the insurer is required to keep a separate account of receipts and payments, and a statement of investments representing the insurance funds. The insurer which fails, neglects or refuses to file the returns and accounts under this section is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000 per day for each day of default.

mixed developments in banks’ deposit and lending rates during the month under review. According to it, with the exception of interbank call, the average savings and the 12month tenored deposit rates, which rose by 0.85, 0.05 and 0.40 percentage points to 11.24 per cent, 1.82 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively, all other deposit rates of various maturities fell from a range of 0.85 and 7.99 per cent to a range of 0.84 and 7.94 per cent. Also, while maximum lending rates rose by 0.49 and 2.22 percentage points to 16.65 per cent and 24.53 per cent, respectively, in the review month, the spread between the weighted average term deposit and maximum lending rates widened by 2.38 percentage points to 17.70 per cent in April 2013. Similarly, the margin between the average savings deposit and maximum lending rates widened by 2.17 percentage points to 22.71 per cent at the end of April 2013.

The report further showed that foreign exchange inflow through the CBN fell by 1.9 per cent, while outflow rose by 24.3 per cent, relative to their levels in the preceding month, with total non-oil export receipts by banks decreasing by 54.4 per cent below the level in the preceding month. Specifically, foreign exchange inflow and outflow through the CBN in the month of April was put at $3.24 billion and $3.32 billion, respectively, with a net outflow of $0.08 billion, in contrast to a net inflow of $0.63 billion and $1.49 billion recorded in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2012, respectively. The decrease in inflow during the review period was attributed largely to the 70 per cent fall in the other official receipts, while foreign exchange outflow rose by 24.2 per cent and 89.2 per cent above the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2012, respectively.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

16 BUSINESS

Access Bank UK’s private banking asset hits $66m in 2012 By Femi Adekoya ITH $18.5 million or over 200 per cent increase in its Asset Under Management (AUM), Access Bank UK Limited’s AUM has hit $66 million, going by figures released by the bank for the 2012 financial year. Specifically, the bank, a subsidiary of Access Bank Plc, noted that AUM in its private banking and asset management business increased by over 200 per cent to US$18.5 million by the end of 2012, due to the expansion in its product portfolio. According to the bank, the increase in AUM has been driven by the ability of Access Bank UK to deepen

its client relationships by expanding its product portfolio to its clients beyond its traditional focus on banking and asset management services. In a statement made available to The Guardian, the bank said: “Buy-to-let property loans, Investor Visa and discretionary portfolio lending provide new routes for customers to access hard currency outside of Africa. Access Bank UK provides private banking services to African/Nigerian Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) in the UK and Sub Saharan Africa. Services provided include traditional private banking services, property and discretionary

portfolio lending. “The number of customers has grown year on year since the launch of the Private Bank in 2009. The growth in number of customers has been driven by the increased inflow of African UHNWIs into the UK due to its increased popularity in Africa as an international financial hub.” Chief Executive of Access Bank UK, Jamie Simmonds, commented: “I am delighted that Access Bank UK has established itself so strongly in its first 5 years. The Bank is committed to sustainable banking and to passionate, innovative customer service. The fact that we have seen such a large increase in

our AUM in our private banking and asset management business is testament to that and our ability to deliver products that perfectly match our clients’ needs.” Access Bank UK, was established over five years ago by Access Bank Plc, to act as the Group’s OECD hub in order to grow the international business of the Group. Since then Access Bank UK has remained consistently profitable, a result of the continued expansion of the bank’s reach in international trade finance and the recognition of Access Bank UK as a confirming bank across an increasing number of OECD markets.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

BUSINESS 21

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

‘Fish business can earn Nigeria N200b yearly’ From Kanayo Umeh, Abuja IRECTOR General Raw D Material Research and Development Council, (RMRDC) Prof. Peter Onwualu estimated that fishing business could earn Nigeria about N200 billion yearly. Onwualu disclosed this while addressing participants of the entrepreneurship development workshop on fish smoking on Tuesday in Abuja. He decried the situation whereby many unemployed

Nigerians especially the youths were not showing interest in fish business despite the efforts being made by the federal government through the transformation agenda in the fishing sector. He said that Nigeria spent about N50 billion yearly on importation of frozen fish to augment the shortfall in domestic production, put at about 600,000 metric tonnes. Onwualu stated that the council aimed to contribute

towards achieving President Goodluck transformation agenda of transforming the fish value chain in Nigeria and ultimately stop the importation of fish. “It is in line with our mandate of catalysing industrial growth and development in Nigeria that RMRDC entered into partnership with Kaldan Investments and SMEs services Ltd, to develop and deliver high quality entrepreneurship development programmes to prospective entrepreneurs within the

Wema Bank secures PCIDSS certification By Helen Oji EMA Bank Plc has W secured Payment Card Industry Data Security (PCIDSS) certification of compliance for finance institutions to protect cardholders’ data and support its business processes and operations. The PCIDSS certification of compliance for financial institutions is a step to its seeking an ISO 27001/2 (Information Security) certification for its business operations. This was made known at a formal presentation of the PCIDSS compliance certificate to the Bank in Lagos on Wednesday. PCIDSS is a global security standard that helps in preventing card and data fraud by evaluating payment account data security and assessing an organisation’s network architecture, software design, security policies, procedures and protective practices. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had recently made it mandatory for all banks within the industry to comply with PCIDSS to improve cardholder security and privacy in line with international standards. Speaking on this milestone achieved by the bank, the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Segun Oloketuyi, stated that while many organisations might claim to be PCIDSS ready or compliant, the bank went the extra step to get certified by ‘control case’, one of the world’s best qualified security assessors, to validate the compliance because the bank believes that trust, which is one of its key values must always be maintained in serving the customer by providing secured services and protecting their data anywhere and at anytime. With this development, according to Oloketuyi, the bank was already pushing towards achieving the ISO certification in Information Security, ISO 27001/2. The PCI requirements were developed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which includes the five major payment card issuers, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover and JCB International, to help facilitate broad adoption of data security best practices worldwide. Chief Operating Officer, Digital Encode, Adewale

Obadare, said that it was a positive development that the bank achieved PCIDSS certified through his company’s information security guidance. According to him, the security of cardholders’ funds and transactions had been further enhanced as the cashless system gets traction, thereby boosting customers’ confidence. He explained that digital encode would assist the bank to scale physical, administrative and technology hurdles required for the certification. He also added that it had a with alliance strategic Qualys, an approved scanning vendor and control case technology which was a United States-based Qualified that Assessor Security enabled them audit organisa-

tions that stored, processed and transmitted cardholders’ details with the requirements to meet the PCIDSS certification standard. Adetokunbo Omotosho, at director business Infoprive, external consultants to the project, commended the bank for the achievement, adding that the bank had shown tremendous commitment to improving its information security posture through the achievement of the PCIDSS certification. He also described the support from the bank’s management as exemplary, noting that their efforts in ensuring that information security was entrenched throughout the bank as part of its operations especially during the certification process is highly commendable.

Federal Capital Territory, FCT and its environs. “The aim is to impart skills, provide technology transfer, enable access to finance and business capital and improve the overall livelihood of participants. “Fishing is one of the main occupations of the rural populace of the coastal areas of Nigeria. Nowadays, open sea fishing is done concurrently with fish farming which is becoming a thriving business in Nigeria. People are breeding in artificial ponds, dams and tanks for commercial purposes. “From whatever source, fish deteriorates fast, if not processed. It has to be dried or smoked, hence the need to expose people to the various modern methods and equipment for fish smoking for economic sustenance,” he said. He; however, told the participants that entrepreneurship spirit was characterised by innovation and risk taking, which was an essential part of individuals’ ability to succeed in an ever-changing and competitive global market. He further stated that the council was promoting the emergence of raw materials processing clusters in different parts of the country.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

THE GUARDIAN,Tuesday, July 9, 2013

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY

EU toughens sentences for cybercrime UROPEAN Union (EU) lawE makers agreed on Thursday to toughen criminal penalties across the European Union for cyber attacks, especially those that include harming critical national infrastructure and hijacking computers to steal sensitive data. The 28 EU member states currently have a patchwork of

Diageo takes control of United Spirits to tap Indian market IAGEO Plc (DGE), the D world’s biggest distiller, gained control of United Spirits Ltd. (UNSP) after completing the final stage of a transaction to acquire a stake in the Indian maker of Bagpiper whiskey. The London-based company bought a 14.98 per cent stake from a firm owned by Vijay Mallya for 31.3 billion rupees ($521 million), Diageo said in a statement. That gives it a 25.02 percent holding at a total cost of 52.4 billion rupees, which combined with voting and other governance arrangements with Mallya is enough for control. The stake in United Spirits will give the United Kingdom’s company the leading position in the world’s largest whiskey market. Distillers such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard SA (RI) are seeking to expand in emerging markets where booming economic growth is creating a burgeoning middle class with more disposable income. Diageo will seek to push Johnnie Walker whiskey in India. “Diageo have what they wanted, which was effective management control,” said Martin Deboo, an analyst at Investec Plc. “It’s a little messy as they are still a minority shareholder. However, once the dust has settled on the terms, we expect the market to focus on the transformational impact: Diageo get to plant their flag in one of the biggest potential markets for western spirits alongside China.” Diageo rose one per cent to 1,988 pence at 9:46 a.m. in London. United Spirits shares slid 1.1 percent to 2,528.9 rupees in Indian trading, trimming their gain this week to 17 percent. Diageo, which also sells Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum and Guinness stout, had held talks with Mallya on a deal before. Discussions collapsed after United Spirits deemed a previous offer too low in 2009. “Through this acquisition we have transformed Diageo’s position in India,” Diageo Chief Executive Officer Ivan Menezes said in the statement. “We will now begin the work to identify and capture the significant growth opportunities within this attractive market.” Diageo faced risks completing the purchase of Indian tycoon Mallya’s shares, which were offered, along with other assets, as collateral for his money-losing Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KAIR) It had sought to buy a further 2.4 per cent in the deal, announced in November, though some of the shares were pledged as security for loans to companies owned by Mallya. If released from security interest, Diageo may buy them later, it said.

varying tariffs for cyber crime. The decision mandates national maximum sentences of at least two years in prison for attempting to illegally access information systems. The maximum penalty for attacks against infrastructure such as power plants, transport, or government networks will be set at five years

or more, higher than the current tariff in most member states. The decision also increases the penalties for illegally intercepting communications, or producing and selling tools to do this. Cyber criminals often infect computers to form armies of zombie PCs known as “botnets” by sending spam emails

containing malicious links and attachments, and by infecting legitimate websites with computer viruses. Some botnet creators rent or sell infected machines on underground markets to other cyber criminals looking to engage in a wide variety of activities including credit card theft and attacks on government websites.

In June, Microsoft helped to break up one of the world’s largest cyber crime botnets, believed to have stolen more than $500 million from bank accounts. Under the new EU rules, companies that benefit from botnets or hire hackers to steal secrets will be liable for any offences committed on their behalf.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg voted 541 to 91 with nine abstentions on the proposal by the European Commission, the EU executive. However, Denmark has chosen to opt out of the rules, wanting to keep its own system in place. EU governments now have two years to translate the decision into national law.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

BUSINESS 27

Leasing business records 7.8 per cent growth By Bukky Olajide HE outstanding lease volT ume for the Nigerian leasing Industry stood at N671 billion indicating a growth rate of 7.8 per cent from N623billion recorded in 2011. The oil and gas sector maintained its dominance with 32.4 per cent of the total transactions, closely followed by an impressive performance from transportation (30.4 per cent), which has been recording steady growth. Leasing penetration in the sector is driven mainly by the increasing demand for commercial vehicles for passengers and haulage as well as buses and cars for corporate clients. The Chairman of Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN), Kehinde Lawanson dropped these hints at the yearly general meeting, which took place in Lagos recently. According to the chairman, the market, though still dominated by finance leasing transactions, continued to witness the gradual shift from finance leasing to operating leasing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many lessors are tilting towards service oriented leases including fleet management for their corporate clients in response to market dictates. This is an indication of the innovativeness of the industry and development of leasing as a

service oriented product,â&#x20AC;? he said. Also, he said that the leasing industry maintained its attractiveness to investors. New entrants especially from subsidiaries of insur-

ance companies, vendors and other private investors had further buoyed leasing activities, thus increasing the level of competition in the market place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The growth potential of the

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

BUSINESS

CBN seeks stakeholders’ collaboration on financial inclusion From; Anthony Otaru, Abuja ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria C (CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has called on stakeholders in the financial sector to collaborate with the apex bank in achieving targets set for the success of Nigerian’s Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). Sanusi made the call in a keynote address to the formal launch of the Geospatial mapping of Financial Institutions in Nigeria, in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) yesterday in Lagos. The Governor who recalled that the Nigerian National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) was launched in October, 2012, said that the overall target outlined in the strategy is the reduction of the number of adults excluded from access to financial

services from 46.3 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent in 2020. Being a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), the CBN chief stated that Nigeria’s declaration was in line with the Maya declaration in 2011. According to him, it is targeted that at least 70 per cent of the proposed 80 percent adult Nigerians if financially included, would be in the formal sector, with specific targets for services such as payments, savings, credit, insurance and pensions. To achieve this however, he said there must be collaboration among all the stakeholders in the financial industry. According to him, Nigeria had since approved a number of initiatives aimed at improving financial inclusion. He listed some of these initiatives to include the development of Agent Banking Guidelines, tiered

Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements to encourage Financial Institutions to reach out to under-served segments, the development of a Consumer Protection Framework under a newly set up Consumer Protection Department and a National campaign to promote Financial Literacy. Mallam Sanusi traced the partnership between the CBN and the BMGF to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum in 2012, where the Foundation pledged to support the CBN to achieve the targets set out in the NFIS. “The BMGF identified certain areas for collaboration with the CBN based on their assessment of Nigeria’s needs with respect to Financial Inclusion as well as the capacity of their partners. “These areas include; GeoSpatial Mapping, Capacity

building initiatives for the Shared Services Office (which drives the Shared Services initiatives including the Cashless Nigeria Policy) and Capacity building Support for the Financial Inclusion Secretariat (which would drive the implementation of the NFIS),” Sanusi explained further. also commenting on the importance and potential use of geospatial mapping, the Governor said that the Bank was excited to be partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the project, which he noted will act as a catalyst in the realization of the targets outlined in Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy. He noted that “Financial Inclusion efforts rely largely on evidenced-based data which is why tracking the progress of our National Financial Inclusion Strategy

needs to be data driven. “This tool as developed by BMGF will go a long way in providing the necessary support for gathering, monitoring and analyzing data as we move to the implementation of the Strategy,” he added. The interactive mapping tool that has been developed by Brand Fusion Marketing Ltd, which was contracted by BMGF, is able to provide consumers of financial services in the area with the ability to find financial access points within a 5km radius of any point on the map. This Proximity-based approach reflects geographic distribution of financial access points creating an ease of access to live information of the services provided by the access points. The apex bank chief further noted that the statistics provided from this mapping will enable Nigeria measure cer-

tain indicators and compare them across several countries providing for country-bycountry comparison on progress of Nigeria’s inclusion efforts. “Apart from the baseline and trend analysis which could be used to measure and monitor progress of increased products and channels against the set targets under FI Strategy, GIS mapping will provide supply side data that could be used to monitor the effectiveness of other government initiatives,” Sanusi emphasized. While commending the partnership between the CBN and the Gates’ Foundation, Mallam Sanusi said, going forward, it would be essential to consider additional information that may be relevant to the country’s inclusion and regulation efforts that are not already accounted for in the current round.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

BUSINESS 33

IMF may cut global growth forecast as emerging markets slow HE International T Monetary Fund may cut its global growth forecast because the expansion of

Dell shares fall as investors bet against higher buyout bid HARES of Dell Inc fell more SFriday, than three per cent on as investors grew skeptical that founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners will raise their $24.4 billion buyout bid in order to overcome growing opposition. A deteriorating outlook for the PC industry has made a deal more challenging, and the buyout group is currently not planning to increase its $13.65 per share offer to take Dell private, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Bloomberg separately reported on Friday morning that Michael Dell and Silver Lake ruled out raising their bid, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. Shares of Dell were trading 3.1 per cent lower at $12.89 on Nasdaq. Dell’s board has grown skeptical of the prospects of Michael Dell’s bid after recent meetings with major investors, and has advised Dell to raise the bid if he wanted the deal to go through, sources familiar with the matter previously said. Michael Dell did not commit to a new course of action and so far has not communicated his decision to the board one way or another, one of the sources said on Friday. Several large Dell shareholders told the board that the bidders would need to increase the price or offer shareholders a chance to continue to own a piece of the company for them to approve the deal. Failing that, the investors said, they want the board to come up with a ‘Plan B’ for Dell. The shareholder pressure on Dell comes ahead of a key report expected next week by investment advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, and a July 18 shareholder meeting, when investors will vote on the Michael Dell-Silver Lake deal.

Dell’s board has grown skeptical of the prospects of Michael Dell’s bid after recent meetings with major investors, and has advised Dell to raise the bid if he wanted the deal to go through, sources familiar with the matter previously said.

emerging market economies is slowing, Managing Director, Christine Lagarde said.

The Washington-based fund predicted in April that the world economy would expand 3.3 per cent this year.

“I fear, given what we’re seeing in particular in emerging countries, not the developing and low-income coun-

tries but emerging countries, that we will be slightly below that,” Lagarde told a conference in Aix-en-

Provence, France. The IMF is scheduled to publish new forecasts later this week.

HTC earnings miss estimates as one handset fails to revive sales TC Corp. (2498), the H Taiwanese smartphone maker, posted second-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates as the release of its flagship one handset failed to end a slide in sales. Net income fell to NT$1.25 billion ($42 million) in the three months ended June, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in preliminary earnings released. That is down 83 per cent from a year earlier and compares with the NT$2.17 billion average of

19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Taiwan’s largest smartphone maker, which has seen its stock slump 80 per cent in the past two years, released the HTC One into the United States (U.S.) in April, the same month Samsung Electronics

Co. (005930) put its flagship Galaxy S4 on sale. New marketing plans and executive changes may help the company rebuild its brand after its global ranking fell to ninth behind Chinese handset makers ZTE Corp. (000063) and Huawei

Net income fell to NT$1.25 billion ($42 million) in the three months ended June, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in preliminary earnings released. That is down 83 per cent from a year earlier and compares with the NT$2.17 billion average of 19 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Technologies Co. Revenue for the quarter fell to NT$70.7 billion compared with the NT$72.8 billion average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company had forecast sales of about NT$70 billion. HTC lost the early momentum of unveiling its HTC One in February prior to Samsung’s Galaxy S4 as a shortage of camera components forced it to delay shipments. A smaller version of the flagship will be released

this quarter, Bloomberg News reported last month. HTC fell to ninth in the global smartphone market during the first quarter, with 2.4 per cent share, according to data from Bloomberg Industries and IDC. The stock rose one per cent to NT$203 at the close of trade in Taipei ahead of the earnings announcement, paring its decline this year to 32 per cent. The benchmar Taiex (TWSE) index has risen 3.9 per cent this year.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

APPOINTMENTS 35

Appointments Protecting the vunerable in workplace

Jonathan

From Collins Olayinka Abuja HOUGH freedom may look T ephemeral, intangible and nebulous, it is not always appreciated until it is lost. In the world of work, losing one’s freedom goes beyond being in solitary confinement or inability to associate with peers and colleagues, but it leads to professional isolation, inability to vent workplacerelated anger, unfulfilled aspirations, financial slavery and stunted professional growth. Indeed, the emergence of trade unionism is rooted in groups of workers coming together to common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates collective bargaining with employers. The most common purpose of these associations or unions is maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment that may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. While unions are out to maximise the benefits accruing to its members within the work arena, employers, see either their work suffer as a result of paying more wages, lock-outs and industrial strikes, have also devised means of dissuading their workers from joining unions. But this step, though meant to strengthen their profit margins and allow for maximum utilisation of the workforce, has offended the fundamental human rights of workers to associate and this is the point of friction between the tripartite bodies operating within the world of work. Here in Nigeria, private business concerns such as private universities and other tertiary institutions, telecommunication companies, private medical services, attempts to

Wogu

Adeyemi unionise the workers have been rebuffed. The argument put forward by these organisations is the disruption of operations that may come with unionisation and demands that may lead to revenue loss. But to unionists, the attempt at resisting unionisation is beyond fear of strike but located in employers paying low wages, non-implementation of workplace policy that are aimed at reducing occupational hazards and other exploitative practices. Even government is also culpable in this regard as alleged by the trade unions, as they are quick to point at the nonunionisation of para-military bodies such as Customs, Police and immigration Services among others. Indeed, The Guardian gathered at the just-concluded 102nd International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, that government may soon grant workers in these paramilitary bodies permission to organise themselves into unions. Specifically, under a subtheme tagged ‘Organising in various government departments and services’, quoting its previous submissions to the committee in since 2011, the unions had requested for the amendment to the section 11 of the Trade Unions Act, which denied the right to organise to employees in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Customs and Excise department, Immigration department, the Prison Services, the Nigerian Security and Minting Company Limited and Nigeria Telecommunication companies. In its defence, government shifted the blame to the doorstep of the National Assembly saying, “the Collective Labour Relations Bill, pending before the lower chamber of Parliament, would address this issue when passed.” The committee charged government to ensure the bill is passed in the near future. These categories of workers lost their right to unionise under Ibrahim Babangida’s

regime when the government proscribed unionisation in paramilitary bodies. Citing education sector as a case point, the General Secretary of Non Academic staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Peters Adeyemi, blamed non-unionisation in the sector on the entrant of former heads of state and other top members of the Nigerian society. His words: “In the Federal Government attempt to privatise education, it gave licence to retired Heads of State, retired Vice Presidents, senior military officers and so on. Now we have private universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions where there are no unions. The truth is that these private institutions will never allow unionisation. The most worrying aspect of this now is that these institutions and their owners have gone to the ridiculous level of inserting certain clauses in their employees letters of appointment making them renouncing ever wanting to join unions. This step, for us, is fundamentally an infringement on the human right of the workers to freely associate. As at today, all the private universities in Nigeria have refused unionisation of their workers to take place.” In an attempt to ensure unionisation in the sector, Adeyemi said unions have written to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour and Productivity but expressed regrets over non-readiness of the ministry to tackle the issue. The NASU scribe also absolved the unsuspecting workers for taking appointment where they are unable to vent their displeasure openly, saying, “the unemployment rate in the country has also contributed in no small measure to the culture of impunity reigning in the labour market where employers behave like Sheiks. People are now ready to take employment under any condition and that is very unfortunate.” Investigation by The Guardian

also revealed that most owners of the tertiary private education institutions are either owned by religious bodies, retired political office holders or retired senior military officers, who ordinary should ensure protection and promotion of workers’ rights but the reverse has been the case. Adeyemi also faulted the argument that some workers who are unwilling to join unions have been coerced into join unions by labour

unions are equally unhappy to be members of unions. He explained: “There is no workers who will deliberately refuse to join union. If there is any claiming he or she was coerced into joining union, then an employer is somewhere pulling the strings. Workers get their rights protected when they belong to unions and they can get better pay when a union spearheads the negotiation for better pay and improved condition of

service. No single worker can go on strike for instance. Workers must come together to enforce a strike action and that is where unions come in. There has never been an extremely benevolent employer anywhere in the world that is willing to give everything a worker desires.” For his part, the National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Wabba CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Protecting the vunerables in workplace CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 Ayuba, who decried the highhandedness of owners of private hospital, bemoaned the abject conditions under which medical staffers are made to work. He posited that organising the unorganised in the medical sector has been a challenge. He said: “Organising the unorganised has been a challenge. In the health sector where the laws allow for the unionisation of the workers where their interest and rights would be protected, private health institutions have refused this to happen. One of the reasons that unionisation is not allowed in the private hospitals is because owners pay extremely low wages while seeking to maximise profit at the expense of the workers. “By our laws, workers have the right to freedom to associate. Not only is this enshrine in our labour laws and the Convention and Standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), but it is equally in the Nigerian Constitution. The role of the government is to ensure these laws are enforced but the reverse is the case. We have instances where we have dragged non-unionisation of workers to government for adjudication but nothing came out of it.”

APPOINTMENT 37

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

38 APPOINTMENT

Chief Judge criticises Alternative Dispute Resolution From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado Ekiti HE Chief Judge of Ekiti T State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, has said that the adoption of alternative dispute resolution mechanism in settling criminal matters is not in the best interest of justice. He spoke while receiving the Gender-based violence (prohibition) Law management committee, who were on advocacy visit to the state judiciary as part of ongoing efforts

to strengthen the new law. The Wife of the State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, led the team in her capacity as the chairperson of the committee, and Commissioner for Women Affairs, Social Development and Gender Empowerment, Mrs. Fola Richie-Adewusi. The train also paid similar advocacy visits to the Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University, Prof. Oladipo Aina, State Commandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commissioner of Police, Sotonye Wakama, State

Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda. The governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife had earlier called for the designation of Gender Court in all judicial divisions of the state judiciary for expeditious determination of GBV-related cases, in line with Section 5 of the GBV Law 2011. She also solicited the establishment of juvenile court and the assignment of GBV-related cases to gender-sensitive judicial officers.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

APPOINTMENT

NECA lauds Trustfund over improved shareholders’ dividends By Yetunde Ebosele and Collins Olayinka HE Nigeria Employers T Consultative Association (NECA) has commended the management of Trustfund Pensions Plc for improving on the dividends to shareholders from 15kobo in 2011 to 23kobo per share for the year ended December 31, 2012. Trustfund shareholders during the yearly general meeting held in Abuja, at the weekend approved a dividend payout of N230 million, translating to 23k per N1 share compared to 15k in 2011. The Director General of NECA, Olusegun Oshinowo, while commending the board and management of Trustfund, said: “Having taken a look at the financials and as a shareholder, we are interested in the maximisation of shareholders’ value. Base on their performances in 2012, I think there is every reason for the organisation to be commended. The top lines and the bottom lines are looking extremely very good, the dividends paid out are very healthy and the fact that they held a timely annual general meeting.” This comes as the Board of Trustfund led by Mrs. Ngozi Olejeme confirmed the appointment of erstwhile Acting Managing Director, Mrs. Helen Da-Souza, as the substantive Managing Director of Trustfund Pensions Plc. This step also attracted com-

Board confirms Da-Souza managing director mendations from NECA. “The board could not have taken a better decision than confirming Mrs. Helen DaSouza as the substantive managing director. She has turned the company around since taking over and her confirmation has shown that Trustfund is on the upward swing since she came on board. She is competent, experienced and the performance of the company in two years are evidence of the quality she has brought to the organisation,” Oshinowo added. Oshinowo also lauded the implementation of the contributory pension scheme for the stability it has brought to bear on pension administration in the country. He explained: “We have an institution and a scheme that ensures that anyone that has gone through paid employment in Nigeria finds something to fall back on when retired. And that the person would not have any course to worry as to how he will get on with his life after retirement. I think this is the biggest benefit of the current dispensation which is a defined contributory scheme as opposed to the old defined benefit which we had which most employers including government were struggling to fund.” On her part, the Chairman of the Board of Trustfund, Mrs. Ngozi Olejeme, paid glowing tributes to Da-Souza for her dedication to details,

intelligence and friendliness with her workers and high level of productivity that has led to increased performances of the fundamentals of the foremost PFA as factors that influenced her confirmation. She added: “The MD has ran the affairs of Trustfund very well in the last few years. The board was convinced that she has done enough and she merits this appointment. As revealed by the annual financial report, the PFA has brought smiles to the faces of the stakeholders that include labour unions, employer association, NSITF, insurance company and banks. We know how critical the labour movement is and its employers’ association. For these critical bodies to agree to the confirmation of Mrs. DaSouza tells the merit of the appointment.” Speaking on the confirmation, Da-Souza expressed appreciation to the board members for the confidence they showed her leadership. She added that assuming the position of the managing director of Trustfund has added the responsibility of taking the foremost pension administrator to even greater height. “I feel very excited and elated that this has happened. I promise that with the support of the management team and the board, this is just the beginning of exciting times.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013 SPECIAL REPORT

Afe Babalola:The Story of An Incurable Optimist AFE BABALOLA: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS @ THE BAR

Kolawole Igandan

WHAT a pleasant irony! He never desired formal education. In fact, he loathed it. But today, perhaps only a colossus would achieve what he has done with his brain and brawn. He is spear-heading the birth of a country – Nigeria - that would be an exemplary haven of knowledge in the ilk of Cambridge, Oxford and, more relevantly today, Harvard, Yale and Princeton.This encapsulates the personality of Chief Afe Babalola, an iconic legal practitioner – a king among kings in the kingdom of the Learned Gentlemen. He is unarguably one of the most distinguished legal practitioners Nigeria has produced.

Some of the major events of his career are highlighted in this accompanying box. If the list is exiguous in any form, it’s because life is ruled by unpleasant realities as word limits. A precise and exhaustive catalogue would closely follow Afe Babalola’s inspiring Curriculum Vitae “… Fellow, Institute of Arbitrators of Nigeria; Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies; Fellow, Leadership Institute; Doctor of Letters, Kogi State University; Doctor of Letters, University of Ado Ekiti; Doctor of Law, Uni-

versity of Lagos; Doctor of Law, University of Jos, …” With these, it is no doubt incontrovertible that he embodies the legal profession. Someone once described him as its definition. Perhaps he was right! One important fact is that Babalola effectively bridges two centuries. Since the outset of his career in the latter half of the 19th century, he has fulfilled the historical necessity of transiting his Emmanuel Chambers from tradition to modernity. He has conveniently managed to preserve a certain continuity and smoothness of transition, whereby one is able to perceive the chambers as a seamless whole. Little wonders that 50 years after his call to Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, London, the fragrance of his contribution to the legal firmament still remains bewitching. He still shines like a meteor in the legal firmament and lately, a remarkable facet of his output is education – He berthed the Afe Babalola University in Ado–Ekiti, his home land. ABUAD, a relatively new citadel of learning is already in grand contest in academic excellence with first-generation universities. At 84, Babalola still exudes a remarkable presence. His towering stature and credibility in both the legal profession and scholarship have much to do with the deep responsibility he has shown to hearken to the inherent demands of the rigours of disciplinary protocol and vision he had set for himself early in life. That he is a man with the Midas touch is no overstatement. ABUAD is a

ready exemplar. All through this no-holds-barred interview, Conducted by THE GUARDIAN SPECIAL PROJECT UNIT in conjunction with PUSH MEDIA CONCEPT, Babalola did not fail to unveil himself as a trailblazer in profound legalistic discourse. This is vintage Afe Babalola, the Aare Baamofin of Oyo Kingdom! BRIEF PROFILE 1932 – Born in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State 1938 – 45 – Attended Emmanuel Elementary Primary School, Ado-Ekiti 1952 – Studied privately through correspondence and passed 6 subject at London university GCE Oridinary level 1959 – B.SC (Economics), University of London, (External Student) 1963 – LL.B (Hons) University of London (External Student) 1987 – Award of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) 2000 – Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2007 – Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 – Best Pro-Chancellor Award out of 85 university Pro-Chancellors in Nigeria 2008 – The Aare Bamofin of Yoruba Empire.

I’ve paid my dues in the legal profession

Today, Afe Babalola is a ‘big man’. Tell us the sweet and sour story… LEFT the shores of Nigeria on January 1, 1960 after I had already obtained my first degree from London University in B. Sc. Economics by private study. That was after obtaining intermediate LL.B degree in Law. Do you know why I had to leave? At that time, there was no Law School and I wanted to be a practitioner of law. I did not want to be a teacher. It was mandatory for anybody who wanted to be lawyer to have the training. So, I chose Lincoln Inn, London for my training as a vately to lead to my Cambridge First School Certificate. lawyer. So I left after I had made some money as a At the end of the course, I took my final examination graduate in Economics, hoping that within 18 months, and I passed the Cambridge Certificate at home. Of course, I was already interested in learning and I I would finish my degree and return to Nigeria. I also continued to pursue my degree privately; I did knew I had the ability. The following year, I enrolled for not enter any university for the remaining part of my all my subjects at the Ordinary Level in London UniLL.B degree. I did my Parts I and 2 Finance in England versity, I cleared all the six. Again, I became more conas a private student. Because of the small amount of fident about my ability to do well. Immediately, instead money on me, I had to work while studying. I worked of waiting for two years, I sat for my Advanced Level in Chelsea, where they have Chelsea football pitch examinations. I sat for four subjects instead of two or now; I also worked in a factory there, where soft drinks three, and by the time the result came, three of us in were being manufactured. I also worked at Pools Office Nigeria, cleared four subjects at the same sitting. in Surrey at weekends just to make ends meet. Fortu- Daily Times newspaper carried the story headlined: nately, I was able to finish both my LL.B degree and ‘Three Nigerians pass 4 papers in London Advanced got called to the Bar in barely three years. It was an un- Level.’ I am talking about 1950 – 54. That qualified me common thing at that time. I was called to the Bar on for Economics because I had Advanced Level subjects July 9, 1963, making 50 years in my life as a lawyer in Geography, Economics, New Constitution and Constitutional Law. All I needed to do was to have a scholnow. Not everybody knows you had your first degree in arship to go and finish my degree in London University. Economics. You could have become a very good I applied for scholarship. I was eminently qualified because all other subjects like Mathematics had been economist. Why your interest in law? I was the first child of my father. We lived on the farm, cleared at Ordinary Level. Ekiti was just one of the diI loved farming. It was not my wish to go to school. It visions in Ondo State. And we were entitled to one was a catechist, who came to my father and others in scholarship from the government. I was the most qualour compound and advised them to send their children ified. When the result came, we were following the list to school. He told them of the advantages of going to of those who won government scholarship, my name school and in those large families, no one had gone to was not there. I then went to the Chairman, Scholarship school before. There was no family enjoying the ad- Board, Rev. F. A. Banjo, a very decent man, the father of vantages of being educated. There were just two schools in our town. One was St. Professor Ayo Banjo. Gregory Catholic School and the other was Emmanuel I showed him my certificate. I School belonging to the Anglican Mission. My father happily sent me to Anglican School, but it showed him was about three miles from my home and we had to the list of trek rain or shine. For the first four years in school, I those who the was not doing well because my mind was on the farm, got where there was a lot of food to eat and throw away. s c h o l a rAnd there was nobody flogging you for not dressing ship. The well, for not having your hair cut. And there was no- one for body punishing you for not doing well in school. Nat- Ekiti was urally, these were good reasons for a child then not to given to the son of feel like going to school. But fortunately, when I got to the fourth class, one Chairman Action teacher from the Federal College, Oyo, I. A. Olowu, of became my teacher. He saw that I had ability, but was Group in one not concentrating because my mind was on how to get village; my faback to the farm. And on a number of times, I ran away ther, a farmer, was not known, from school, but my father kept on driving me back. So, this teacher concentrated on those who had abilities, that was how I but were not concentrating. Before the end of the year, lost out. The son I, an average person in the class, became one of the of that chairman did not even have best, and I came within the first three. That naturally, stimulated in me the sense of pride. The Advanced Level following year, we were five. By the time I finished subjects, let alone Class Six in 1945, we took what we called being more qualified Ondo/Lokoja jurisdictional examination, involving all than me. He would still the secondary schools from Ondo to Lokoja and I came have to spend two years in Engfirst. I was offered admission to secondary school to start in land to year three instead of year one, but I could not go because my father had four wives and other wives were worried - naturally jealous - you know women. The money was only six pounds for a year. My father could afford that, but could not have afforded something like 24 pounds. So, I had to start teaching, earning one pound a month. Well, that was my fate. I met a teacher called Ojumu, who was preparing for Cambridge School Certificate through a correspondence course at Wosseyford College, a correspondence college, training people overseas, to read, to study on their own, under their tutelage. I got the address and regAare Afe Babalola istered for a five-year course pri-

study for Advanced Level before getting admission to a university. Banjo encouraged me to try next time. I then decided to study Economics for final degree. Two years after, in 1958, I sat for my B. Sc. Economics Part 1 finally and I cleared it. I was the only person who cleared it and I sat for my final honours papers in 1959. London University arranged for the examination to take place in Lagos and I was the only candidate. This was because I was the only who qualified the previous years for the final examination. When the result came later in 1959, I passed. It dawned on me to study for Master’s degree and Ph. D in economics or to look for another course to study. I considered whether it would benefit me to continue my post-graduate course in Economics, to pursue a course in Accountancy which was part of Economics, or to study Law, which was also part of my subjects in Economics. I cast lot on the three courses with three papers folded and indicating the three courses. The lot fell on Law. That was how I chose Law. At this point, I did not know any lawyer; I had no relation who was a lawyer. The few lawyers I was seeing then, though were a beauty to behold, were the children of rich people. This was how I admired law in the first place, but I finally chose it by accident. It was a gamble! Going down memory lane, who were your contemporaries? I still remember very well, Professor Oluyede, now a traditional ruler in Ondo State. I remember Dr. Okereke; I remember Professor Ajomo, Professor Aluko and Professor Bolaji Ajibola, among others. You and your contemporaries came back to Nigeria immediately you finished your courses overseas; why did you choose to return? We went with British passports and we had the option to remain British or change our passports, but many of us were anxious to come back home. Reasons: Our economy was stronger, though we were using the same pounds. Our naira was stronger than the pound. Why should we remain in a country with a weaker economy than ours? The white men were eager to come to Nigeria. So, why should we stay there? Most of us came back. Opportunities were many for everybody. A few remained. They had more foresight than us. I had British passport; I threw it away. I never knew Nigeria

would not keep the opportunity of advancement. As a matter of fact, Nigeria, Brazil and India were rated as three countries of all the developing countries at that time likely to overtake the advanced countries. Indeed, India and Brazil proved them right. But I must say, it was due to the constitution. The constitution we had then recognised the differences in culture, and allowed each component part of the loose federation to develop at its own pace, however, preserving the nation as a federation. That was very good for the country. Western Nigeria developed very fast, others were following rapidly. Rivalry was healthy, and development was fast. It was the military that caused all the problems. They threw away that constitution. Since then, it has been one day forward, one step backward. When I defended Chief MKO Abiola case in Kaduna when Babangida nullified the June 12, 1993 election, I said, “Nigeria is at the beginning of a journey, the end of it nobody knows.” We are still on the journey. And things are getting worse by the day. Who do you blame for these woes… Don’t blame Jonathan; he inherited a very mammoth problem and I think the solution really is: Somebody must have the political will to ask for a referendum in Nigeria. Do we need a new constitution or not? Let us vote on it. I think time has come; we must sit down either through round-table conference of about 250 ethnic nationalities in the country to decide whether or not each unit will be allowed to develop at its own pace, instead of having weak units that go on begging for allocations every month, which is hardly enough to maintain each component part, with the Federal Government having much power. Unfortunately, those of us who know what it was before, who want a change so that we can redeem our glory, are not too many. And those who are benefiting from the lop-sided constitution are in majority and they won’t want anything to disturb the status quo. A lot of people are quick to say that you are the greatest beneficiary of both the democratic experience and military junta … Well, I had opportunities of becoming a minister a number of times, but I turned them down completely on each occasion. I have never held any government or political position. Not one. The only time I was pro-chancellor of a federal university, I had to clear the rot. It was at the University of Lagos, where I spent my own money to rebuild the lost glory of the institution. For that, I was acknowledged the best pro-chancellor in the country. Besides, I can say that I have benefited from Nigeria through my ability as a lawyer. I have appeared as a lawyer for federal and state governments several times and they paid my fees. By the grace of God, over a thousand lawyers have benefited from my chamber one way or the other. I have the greatest number of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs)! I have the largest chamber in Nigeria. Not only that, my chamber has been labeled, ‘Kingsway Chamber,’ because, with our ability, we charge our fees in dollars, the reason is that the naira is not as stable as the dollar. In 2002, in my keynote address to the Bar, I challenged the seniors that they were not teaching their juniors. And that is why juniors often leave them. I had warned them that if they wanted to be rich lawyers, “keep your juniors, make them happy, work together so that you can get big briefs, and share them among your juniors.” We have had the opportunities of handling many big cases all over. Look at the ones we handled in 1999. I don’t want to mention an appeal case I handled for 14 days and I got my 2 million dollars. I made over N300 billion for a consortium of banks and I got my percentage. I have been handling big cases as far back as 1970. You left the UK; that was a huge sacrifice because you had the option to stay back. When you came back you started the Em-

‘There is no case a lawyer cannot win’

SPECIAL REPORT

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

AFE BABALOLA: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS @ THE BAR

manuel Chamber. How was it starting up as a young lawyer? When I came back to this country, it was very tough, seemingly with no light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, since I did not come from a rich family and with the cost of setting up a chamber, people advised me to take up a job with my degrees in Economics and Law. A close friend of mine suggested a number of opportunities, and even brought letters to me, of companies interested in me; I turned them down. I believed in my ability to overcome all problems. I knew I must go through problems. My first problem was finance; nobody was ready to give me a kobo. When I finished my degree, got qualified and called to the Bar, I wanted to come back home. There was nobody in my family to help me. I wrote to a few friends who were working, I asked them to give me a loan of five pounds each and they were six. I was expecting 30 pounds. And I promised to pay back in the next six months. None of them replied. When I came back, I did not know that I was going to pay for Customs duties. I worked in England day and night; I saved money for my passage back home. I worked for a year after I qualified in England. Day and night; I worked in South London in the day time and North London at night. I was able to buy a second-hand Mercedes Benz car from Stuttgart, Germany. I went by train to Stuttgart. I had a friend in Germany. Instead of putting the car in a ship - it would have been shipped to Hamburg and to Nigeria - I decided to drive it myself from Stuttgart across four cities –Marseilles, Luxemburg, Switzerland and France. I had to come back home in a cargo ship. It took me 21 days. But it gave me the opportunity of knowing many countries from Algeria, Morocco to West African coast. The ship was stopping at every port. So, I arrived Nigeria on January 1, 1963. Then, my money had been exhausted. I had paid 50 pounds as Customs duty and I had no money on me. This was the major reason I wrote to my friends to lend me some money. I started looking for an Ekiti man who could help me raise the money. The car was going into what we call demurrage, but one man came out and helped. His name is B. O. B Longe, a very nice man; he had a school. And I told him I would teach in his school for a while to pay the money. I eventually came to Ibadan to look for an office. The one available was in a garage. The house was directly opposite Idi-Oro House. A complex is now standing there, the house has been demolished. I started there, bought my first table, two chairs and a fan. And I also bought an Imperial typewriter from one man called Oyeoke and I agreed to pay the man by installments in six months. That was how we started. But by the end of the year, I was able to move from that place to a room-and-parlour office. It was precisely two years after that I had so many briefs; I had to employ juniors and one of my first two juniors was Ajakaye Ademola, now a traditional ruler. Soon after, there was a coup and 18 ministers were affected and charged with stealing some millions of naira which is like ‘chicken change’ now. The big lawyers represented 17 of them; I represented the 18th then. I was the most junior among the lawyers. Kayode Eso, a brilliant lawyer, was among the big lawyers. At the end of the case, my client was the only minister discharged and acquitted. Just imagine the effect of that on my practice! Thereafter, many big cases came to me. Before the end of that year, I was briefed to handle a very important

Aare Afe Babalola

chieftaincy case, and others followed. So, cases began to roll in. And before the end of 1970, my chamber was one of the foremost chambers in the country. And I started to make money. And by 1977, I built my first house in Lagos. My success at that time was unimaginable. Faith and my ability saw me through. When you have faith, you will never fail. What are the values and ethics that you hold dear that defines you? The credit goes primarily to God. I also owe a lot to my father who taught me the art of hard work; my success is also due to industry. I respect judges; I respect my colleagues. I respect my clients. Again, I believe that I should never lose any case and the Supreme Court also said that they were impressed with what they called, “Afe Babalola’s Undoubted Industry.” I believe in my cases; I don’t believe there is a case a lawyer cannot win. Can you expatiate on that? One newspaper writer described me as ‘Aso Rock legal advocate.’ When your client gives you the fact of a case, it is your duty to sit down and prepare the defense and also preempt what the other lawyer ought to put as defense. I prepare my case and also what the other lawyer ought to put up if I were to handle the case. The problem with our lawyers is that many of them are lazy. They believe in money, easy money. Up till today, we still work on many cases. Again, I believe in cooperative work. No lawyer comes to me and wants to leave eagerly. Most juniors do not like staying with their seniors. If you teach your junior well, he would want to work all-night. There are times when we slept in the office when we had cases. We were once handling one of the Obasanjo’s cases in Abuja with about 37 lawyers; we used to work

till about 3am. Today, I work until about 1am. I don’t sleep until 1am and I wake up at 5 am. Hard work doesn’t kill. People spend most of their time idling away and wasting precious time. Some visit friends who never invited them. Some even go to parties where they are not invited. I don’t go to parties. The time I would spend at a party would be more useful for me elsewhere. At some point during a case in court, you were reportedly intimidated with juju. Somebody talked about Awosika’s case, which was emotionally troubling… Yes, some people believe in juju. It was true in the case of Awosika, a former minister who had two wives. He had one first, and when he became a minister, he married another one and each of them had four children. They lived together. Later, they moved to England. The man died without a will. The senior wife said that she was the only wife. The second wife said all her children belong to Awosika. Well, the senior wife came to me and honestly, I told her in good conscience, that she must also take care of the other woman and her children. She said no, that she must go to court, to get an order. Each time I was going to court, I would call her and she would go with me. The day I filed action, she became ill and was admitted in one of the best hospitals then, mostly patronised by white men. You said the day you filed the action, she became ill; what was your experience? On one of the days when we were handling the case, I went to court hale and hearty. While we were handling the case, I found that my left leg became swollen, and

something was moving up to my heart. I asked the judge to adjourn the case. I rushed out of the court and somebody told me there were two people who had brought something to the back of the court and smoke was coming out of it. I was not interested in that, so I ran to one hospital. When judgment was to be delivered, I went to the hospital to see my client and told her I was going to court. I had no doubt I was going to win. After judgment was delivered, I left for the hospital to inform my client that we had won, before I got there, my client had died. Not only that, while the case lasted, her eldest child, who was in England, became mentally deranged. And something also happened to another child! I had another one, a chieftaincy case. I was handling the case, Justice Agbaje was the judge. My client was having the upper hand and the judge said he was feeling uncomfortable on the bench. He ordered the police to lock the door and search everybody in the court. Behold, the juju they found on the people were displayed on table. Daily Times newspaper captioned the story the following day, ‘Juju in court.’ They were common things then, but I think they are now dying gradually. Do you believe juju have effect on the lawyers …? Well, all I can tell you is that with my experience, I cannot really say that juju worked. I had handled much more difficult cases. But I am aware someone had buried a cow alive because of the case I was handling. It was a land case. My own party came to court and after the adjournment, the head of the family died. Then I applied to the court to substitute him with another head of the family. He too, within two weeks, died. That happened to all of them that took over, after about four times, the judge asked, “What is happening … why is every one, appointed family head, dying after he had come to court?” I said: “I don’t know o!” So many things really happened that cannot be explained. But how do lawyers survive all these? People will succeed if they have faith in what they are doing. Faith never fails. Faith has component parts hard work and determination. If you don’t have faith in what you are doing, you will never get there. Now, this university is an example of an act of faith. I believe that it will be a model university; it will succeed and people will also agree it is grade one. You’ve come a very long way and accomplished a lot. Look back through your humble beginning and project for the years ahead? I have faith that the way I planned the institution, the way I planned my chamber, that in 50 years time, Afe Babalola’s chamber will still remain one of the best because of the type of culture we imbibe at Afe Babalola and Co. That culture has been transferred to Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti - culture of faith, hard work, industry, humility and good management! We are getting support from people. Harvard is getting the support of everybody because of the type of culture which has been imbibed by everybody there. At ABUAD, there is no notice telling students not to throw nylon bags anywhere. I did not tell them to respect people. Yet, everywhere is clean and everywhere you go,the students greet people. How did we do it? I built in them this culture. So, when you come to ABUAD, that culture is there. The culture has been planted; it has germinated, it will grow and become permanent. There is also the culture of studying here. How many universities take learning up to 10p.m with teachers teaching them? That is the culture of Afe Babalola University and the parents/guardians are very happy.

‘Afe Babalola is an embodiment of industry’ – Adenipekun

Your Principal, Chief Afe Babalola is celebrating his 50th anniversary at the Bar. But in your view, what justifies the celebration? T takes many dimensions. In terms of his achievements in the legal profession, he deserves to be celebrated. Everybody is aware of his humble background and how he started a one-man chamber in a rundown garage. Today, Chief Babalola has trained about 2,000 lawyers and produced more than 70 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). He has handled several sensational cases. If you are talking about oil and gas, he has handled Mobil and several other companies in that category. If you are talking about banks, he had handled UBA and many others, including BPE where the Supreme Court awarded more than N7billion against a bank. You are talking of chieftaincy matters, he has successfully handled several. If it is anti-corruption, he was the man called in by the Supreme Court to assist in the case the late Chief Rotimi Williams instituted against ICPC Act. Chief Babalola saved the day and the Act is still very relevant today. Look at the GSM, which is now common in Nigeria today; at its inception, an action was filed to stop the Federal Government from starting the project. It was Chief Babalola who defended the Federal Government and today, we have GSM everywhere. Think about election peti-

tions; Chief Babalola defended President Olusegun Obasanjo twice successfully at the Federal Government’s invitation, and several other petition cases. So, he has made his name in the profession. Thus, we deem it necessary to celebrate him and mark the 50th anniversary of his call to bar. On a personal note, I have every reason to mark his 50th anniversary. I met him in 1988, just two years before I finished my legal education and I ran into financial crisis. All along, I had pursued my education by working part-time and at the same time, schooling, but at that time, I had no job to support my education. I visited his firm for the first time and I requested employment to be able to support my education. After listening to my story and my background, he concluded I did not need a job. On the contrary, he said he would sponsor my education and that I should go back to school and concentrate on my study. Thereafter, I concentrated on my education and I made a good result.That was how he paid for my education up till I concluded it at the Law School. He was impressed with my result and he gave me a job and I started with him. The rest is now history. Up till today, he has assisted me tremendously. And again, I am a Senior Advocate of Nigeria by grace of God and by the opportunity he gave me. I owe it a duty to really mark his 50th anniversary in any way my capacity can carry me. To you, what kind of person is Afe Babalola?

I have worked for about 23 years here. I have travelled with him several times. I know him inside-out, having been with him for so long. Afe Babalola is a man, perhaps, misunderstood by some because they have not worked closely with him. In court, he is a different person, compared to who he is outside the court. In court, he is feared because of his approach to cases; if you are so unfortunate to be in the witness box where he would examine you, you might not wish to meet him in your life again. This is because he takes every case as if that is his last. And God has so blessed him with the skill of cross examination, that no matter how much you try to tell lies in the witness box, he would bring the truth out of you. You won’t know when you would start saying the truth. He is very industrious. People have said so much about his industry. When I started working for him, I noticed that he would get to the office by 7:30 am. And my first experience was when we were doing our attachment in the Law School, he would ask us to come to the office at 7am, and we would meet him there. He would teach us for about one hour before going to court and he would give us assignments. And when we submitted the assignments, before the following morning, he would have marked them. That is industry. I remember following him to Makurdi with lawyer Fagbemi to handle an election petition. At that time,

Adenipekun

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

‘Afe Babalola gives people the opportunity to actualise their dreams’

SPECIAL REPORT

AFE BABALOLA: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS @ THE BAR

the military government, by its decree, stipulated a time limit within which the election petitions would be concluded. So, the tribunal was sitting at times between 9a.m. till 11p.m or 12 midnight and Afe Babalola would be there addressing the court until that 12 midnight. You will think that the next thing was for us to sleep, but he would not allow us to sleep and he too wouldn’t. We would continue to prepare processes against the following morning. At a time, I told Fagbemi, “Oga, O ti re mi!” (Oga, I am tired o!). Fagbemi himself is an embodiment of industry. There was one particular day in Makurdi. We were handling a matter and a message came that his attention was needed in Port Harcourt where another governorship election petition was pending, and people there were complaining that we had stayed too long in Makurdi. About 1pm, Aare took leave of the court to attend to the matter. He took me along and we travelled by road to Port Harcourt. We got there around 8:30 pm. The tribunal in Port Harcourt was still sitting. Afe Babalola took the proceeding from there. First, he sat down for 10 minutes; after that, he cross-examined the witness for the three hours. That is Afe Babalola for you! Talk about his generosity; it is awesome, inspiring and infectious. There is no way you would come to his office as a visitor and you won’t go away with something. In terms of money, I have seen him give money to a governor who came to visit him; he would open his drawer and give out money, even to a serving governor, let alone petty, poor people! And that has affected some of us who work under him. When people come to our office, we will naturally want to give something to them. That is generosity. He is so generous that I have never met someone like him. And at times, we would wonder why he is so rich despite the way he is giving out his money. But God has a way of blessing those who are very generous. I have seen it. That is Afe Babalola for you; he is very, very generous! Afe Babalola is a different man outside the court. In the chambers, after we had closed, he would just come down to us and asked: “Gentlemen, are you happy?” That is his usual question, and if the answer is not easily forthcoming, he will just open his briefcase and bring out a bale of money and say: “Gentlemen, go and share it.” We would wait for his question, and once he asked, “Gentlemen, are you happy? We would hesitate and he would just bring out money, which we would share among us. In short, the way we relate with him is like that of a father and his children. Can you recall a memorable moment in court when he had altercation with the judge or displayed another part of his personality that was really inspiring to you? There were several! I remember in 1991 specifically, it was a case of State versus I-Mudah, a popular man at Ibadan. I-Mudah was charged with murder and one of the prosecution witnesses was the late Chief Ogundoyin, who happened to be Oga’s friend, but who unfortunately, was a prosecution witness. I remember Ogundoyin went into the witness box and Chief Babalola was to cross-examine him. It all began like a joke; Ogundoyin was laughing and said: “Afe, so u don come!” First day, it was jokes, upon jokes. The matter was not concluded. Then came the second day; the case was before Justice Adeyemi, who later became a Supreme Court Judge, I remember vividly; the matter was not still concluded on the second day. The third day, Ogundoyin was fed up; he had been in court for three days being cross-examined by Babalola. I remember vividly, after some time,

Ogundoyin came out and said: “Afe, so you, Afe, my friend, you want to kill me. For three days you have put me in this witness box.” Everybody laughed. Two hours later, the matter was concluded. That is one. In terms of conduct, I have never seen him being rude to a judge. But I am aware that usually, Afe can fight a case to any level. What he does is to appeal any case he is dissatisfied with. Once he is not satisfied, he goes to the Court of Appeal. So, in many of our cases, what I remember vividly, especially in Lagos, is that as soon as we get to court, most junior lawyers would come and rally round him in the car and when they finish their cases in court, they would come and watch him. He is something to behold when conducting cases in court! He is very a humble lawyer; that is why the Supreme Court once said: “Afe has an intimidating humility.” What makes Afe Babalola & Co unique, 50 years down the line? I know that a lot people would be wondering that 50 years after, the chamber is still very strong. And more importantly, the man himself is concentrating more on university administration now and the chamber is still doing well. Why? It is very simple; it is because of the foundation that the man has laid. I remember that right from his first day in practice, he had the mind of establishing a chamber where he would give everybody the opportunity to actualise their dreams. And he also had the dream of establishing a big chamber fashioned after big chambers abroad where you have about 50 partners and about 1000 juniors in the same chamber. In fact, some of them will not even know one another as they are scattered in different cities. There are chambers like that abroad with several partners and barristers in chambers. That has been his dream. However, with Nigeria being a developing economy, he has had some economic limitations, but I think he has tried his best. Why our chamber is unique is also in the reward system (remuneration) and career prospects. As a practicing lawyer, the only thing that can profit him is the prospect of reaching the pinnacle of the profession. There is no amount of money a senior can pay you, but when you look at the prospect of what you can gain in the future, you would want to endure. Being a Senior Advocate is the ultimate. So, if you are in a chamber where you have no hope of really getting to the top, you can start with the chamber, but you will leave someday. But with the prospect of reaching the pinnacle of your profession, you can remain and continue to endure. That is one unique aspect of this chamber. Many people have become Senior Advocates while here. Chief Fagbemi is an example. Chief Makanjuola is another example; the late Okunloye is one. Olu Daramola is also an example. I am also one. You can see that the juniors coming after us will be looking at us and may be thinking individually, ‘since these people became Senior Advocates here, why can’t I wait and also aspire to become a Senior Advocate too?’ And why it is so easy to do that is because Chief does not personalise his cases. When briefs are brought into the chamber, he calls everybody to witness even the charging of fees, the drafting of the document and filing of the papers. He brings everybody together, even including Youth Corp members, they are aware of what is going on. Everything that goes on in this chamber, ask a one-year old lawyer here and any Youth Corp member, they will tell you. There is no secret; everything is open to everybody and that is how it has been since I joined this chamber. And when a case is coming up in court and he knows there is a competent lawyer who can handle it, he does not

Afe is an outstanding gentleman - Belgore

Salihu Modibbo Alfa Belgore Former being a member and late Justice Kayode Oso. It a single enemy among those that served under Chief Justice of the Federation Inter- was in the chambers of Kayode Oso that I saw him. But that is very rare in this country. I have a him for the first time. Afe Babalola was a junior feeling that even if you served under Babalola view

You are Afe Babalola’s friend, how would you describe him? THINK I first met him when he did not know me. That must be about 1961. I have known him for 52 years. He was a student in London and some of my friends in the north who were wealthy, the late Shehu Mohammed and Mai Dama with some others were also there then. They were studying for their Bar final examination. That was the time I knew him, and because we were not introduced, I never knew who he was. But when he returned to Nigeria, he had his pupilage in the chambers of Olu Ayoola & Co in Ibadan. I was in Ibadan for the meeting of the old Students of Ilesha Grammar School, Ayoola

Belgore

lawyer and he drove a Mercedes Benz car. So I asked: “What kind of a junior lawyer is this?” Well, he became independent, set up his chamber, and has been one of the finest lawyers this country has ever produced. But you can be a good professional; another thing is what you are. Are you a good man? Afe Babalola is one of the greatest gentlemen this great country has ever produced. He is kind, he is generous, not only to his people, but to all those that he has met. He helped many lawyers to find their feet, some of them became judges. So many of them are Senior Advocates of Nigeria, some of them are still in practice are making lots of money; they are doing very well. Afe Babalola is a man I know that does not have

and you cheated him, and you are in trouble tomorrow, he would still come to your aid. That is how God has made him. When he was about to start his university, I was told that he is tinkering with citing it in Ibadan or at Ado-Ekiti, I was the one that told him, “you left home long ago for Ibadan to be a teacher; you struggled, you passed your first degree, then you went to England to study law, came back, go and put something at home in Ado-Ekiti.” He said: “You have so advised me like many people too.” I was very happy. ABUAD is one of the finest universities I have ever seen. By any standard, he devoted himself to it completely. But that is what he is. Whatever he is doing, he does it to the highest standard. The prayer I have for him is that he should live long and for God to give him strength and good health, so that he would do greater things not only for Ekiti community, but for the entire Nigerian community. Can you vouch for his professional acumen and integrity? You can’t doubt that one. Afe Babalola is a man who works hard on every case. Even if he was losing a case, you will know that he has put in his best, and has done a lot of research. The court respects him and he is a gentleman who respects the court. Was there any interesting encounter with him as a judge in any of his cases? He appeared before me in many cases; he was always very good. The most important incident with him as a legal practitioner was when I was doing an inquiry into the students’ riot of Ife University, now Obafemi Awolowo University. I think he was representing Modekeke Community. Despite his friendship with the Ooni of Ife, he was very loyal professionally to the client. During cross examination, he asked many questions to the extent that the Ooni appealed to me: “My Lord, please, save us from Afe Babalola.” I told Ooni, “Afe Babalola is doing his work. If you had been smart enough, you would have briefed him first before this people briefed him.”

go there to defend the case. In so many cases you will hear many lawyers’ names, you will not even know the case is being handled by our chamber. He encourages young lawyers. Once he knows you are competent, he allows you to go and handle the case. That is the way of developing juniors to reach the pinnacle of their profession; that is why apart from Mr. Olu Daramola and I, who have spent more than 20 years here, Mr. Alabi has also spent 20 years now. We have those who have spent 14, 15 years. You can’t go to other chambers and see people who have spent such years. It is because of the career prospect. The other aspect is the reward system; we have tried several systems. You can’t pay lawyers salaries; there is no way you can satisfy them, so we kept thinking about the minimum income that can make them happy. First, we started with the idea, that they should pursue their individual cases while we would also supplement their monthly allowance. We practiced that up to 1997 and discovered that it was not working well because they would leave the chamber cases and pursued their private cases. From that same year, we developed another system, whether it is private or chamber cases, you bring everything to the chamber. At the end of every quarter, we look at our income, may be, we made 10 to 15 million naira, we sit down with all the lawyers, administration staff, security guards, drivers, cleaners, and we would share the money. Some would go with N100, 000, some N1 million, some N2 million. Each of us will have a share. So, everyone knew that the more we earned for the quarter, the more we would be paid. So, the system so far is the best and we have practiced it since 1997 till today. Afe Babalola & Co has become more like a legal institution. So, what is the future of this institution? Well, the future is in the hands of God and I thank God that as at today, the man has given us free hands to run the chamber the way we want. He sees himself even as an employee of the chamber, so we dictate to him what we want him to do and where we want him to come in. He has practically left the administration in our hands, but he did not leave it overnight. That is one good thing about him. It seems as if he knew he was going to move on to other things. Since 1997, the arrangement of committee system of managing the office started. Chief Fagbemi was the first administrator who managed the chamber this way and l took over too. So that is the way the chamber is run. Already, we have built a succession system; we have people who are watching us, and who are also learning from us. How do you feel being at the helm of affairs when this chamber is being celebrated? My joy personally or selfishly, is that when he appointed me in 1988, I looked up and down, I said: “God, give me the opportunity to really show my appreciation to this man.” And I am happy that this 50th anniversary at the bar is one way I will be able to show my appreciation, and let him know that he did not make a mistake when he uplifted me in 1988.

Olanipekun Salutes Afe Babalola ON CHIEF AFE BABALOLA’S GOLDEN JUBILEE AT THE BAR

NDOUBTEDLY, Chief Afe Babalola is one of the very most successful and formidable legal practitioners that have ever emerged from the Nigerian legal firmament. From a very humble background and without the opportunity of acquiring any formal(secondary) education, Chief Afe Babalola has, over the years, through discipline, hardwork, diligence, perseverance and determination proved one point, that is, that success in the legal profession in particular is not reserved for those who are born with the proverbial silver spoons. Amongst the family or tribe of the ’senior’ Senior Advocates and oldest lawyers in Nigeria today, Chief Afe Babalola clearly stands out, not just as a success story, but also as one who has bequeathed to the profession lasting and imperishable legacies in several areas, including but not limited to, inbreeding or production of topmost lawyers and Judges, generousity, education, philanthropy and publication. Apart from Chief Babalola, I am not aware of any senior lawyer in Nigeria, however wealthy, who has donated two modern Bar Centres to two branches of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), that is, Ibadan and Ado branches. Having appeared against the learned Chief in several cases, I can say without any fear of contradiction that only a tiny few of his peers are as hardworking, rugged and thorough, either to advocacy, procedural and adjectival laws as the respected Chief. It is not easy for any one in any trade or profession to practice such for an unbroken 50 years. In this wise, Chief Afe Babalola is eminently lucky and we appreciate God for his life and wish him many more years of productivity and fruitfulness in his chosen career.

Chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, SAN

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

APPOINTMENT 59

Ogun tasks civil servants on accountability, transparency From Charles Coffie Gyamfi and Azeez Olorunlomeru, Abeokuta

• Pledges to tackle unemployment

OR civil servants to effecFry roles tively perform their statutoas the engine room for

Meanwhile, the state government has extended the N1billion Bank of Industry (BOI) loan scheme to unemployed graduates. According to the state government, 1,000 unemployed graduate were expected to benefit in addition to already established Small and Medium-scale entrepreneurs. Jointly financed by the Ogun State government and BOI, the scheme, which was inaugurated last year, has over N167 million distributed to 480 individuals drawn from 45 cooperative societies and two limited liability companies at seven per cent interest rate. Speaking in Abeokuta recently during a workshop on Ogun State government-BOI loan scheme for unemployed graduates, Ashiru disclosed that government was including unemployed graduates in the loan scheme to create wealth and eradicate poverty through loan empowerment. The governor; therefore, charged civil servants to reciprocate his government’s gesture “by supporting and cooperating with government and desist from acts that can sabotage government’s activities.” Earlier in her address, the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle reminded civil servants of the need to sustain the enviable standard of professionalism handed down by its founding fathers and ensured improvement. She enjoined them to collab-

implementing government policies and programmes, they must make accountability, transparency and integrity their guiding principles at all times, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun has affirmed. Amosun who spoke in Abeokuta, recently to mark the 2013 Civil Service Week in the state insisted that all these virtues were ingredients that would pave way for better service delivery and reposition the civil service as an effective intermediary between government and people. The governor who was represented by his Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bimbo Ashiru spoke on “Ensuring Accountability, Transparency and Integrity within the Civil Service.” He stated that his administration realised the important role of the civil service in the day-to-day administration and socio-economic development of the state and pledged that his government would continue to provide the needed enabling environment for the development of the entire workforce in the state. His words: “The civil service is a store of knowledge of decisions and procedures, this is why our administration has continued to place it at a pivotal position in our mission to rebuild and improve the lives of our people.”

orate with government in the quest to re-build the state by displaying high sense of responsibility, saying this would further encourage government to uplift the condition of service. Adekunle maintained that organisational efficiency and effectiveness could only be achieved with better attitudes as provided in the four principles of the Federal Public Service, which are stewardship, transparency, efficiency and professionalism. Delivering a paper on “Accountability in the Civil Service”, Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun charged civil servants to always put corporate interest ahead of personal interests, adding that they should be above board in the discharge of their duties. Adeosun; therefore, called for all hands to be on deck to ensure that the system constantly prune itself and dispassionately weed out bad eggs as well as provide correction to those who could be rehabilitated. In their respective presentations on transparency and integrity, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Fatai Opebiyi and his counterpart in the Bureau of Political Affairs and Administration, Mr. Oluremi Obayomi underscored the need for civil servants to be loyal, stable, impartial, innovative, productive and disciplined. The duo underscored the

need for civil servants to be insulated from partisan politics, berating some of them who for pecuniary gains relegated the golden rules of neu-

trality to the background. Ashiru, who revealed that N320 million had so far been distributed to resident entrepreneurs, adding that anoth-

er N112 million cheques were ready to be given to another 185 individuals from 18 cooperative societies and two limited liability companies.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

APPOINTMENTS 79

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

NNPC, oil workers adopt 12-point resolution against strike By Roseline Okere HE Ministry of Petroleum T Resources and representatives of workers union in the oil and gas sector have adopted a 12-point resolution aimed at addressing the issues raised by the industrial unions in the petroleum industry. The meeting which was jointly convened by the Ministers of Petroleum Resources, Diezani AlisonMadueke and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, had in attendance the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Godwin Onwughalu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. O.Iloh. Also present at the forum was the National President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Igwe Achese, his counterpart in the

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Batunde Ogun, the National Deputy President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, Ayoola Sadiq as well as the representative of the IOCs under the Oil Producers Trade Section , OPTS which is an arm of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries. In the 12- point communiqué jointly endorsed by representatives of all stakeholders, far reaching decisions was adopted on all the items put forward by the unions as areas of concern. On the question of insecurity and pipeline vandalism/oil theft, the forum announced that government had put in place a committee to x-ray the issues while stating that PENGASSAN and NUPENG would be further engaged by all the relevant government agencies and other security institutions on the progress made. The subject of bad roads also

received attention. It was noted that government was already dealing with the issue extensively including applying resources from the SURE – P, and would continue in its efforts to rehabilitate the roads that were still posing challenges. It was resolved that poor access road to the Port Harcourt Refinery would be captured in the ongoing reconstruction of the East – West road. It was agreed that the current rehabilitation of the railways be sustained to complement the road network in the country. It was also resolved that the unions should submit the list of all unfair labour practices to the 13- man committee headed by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources. It was stated that all other transition issues be referred to the NNPC GMD‘s Committee as had been mandated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for resolutions within two weeks.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Appointments 87

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

NSE faults influx of foreign workers into Nigeria By Kenechukwu Ezeonyejiaku HE Nigeria Society of T Engineers (NSE) has criticised influx of Chinese, Arabs and other nationals into the country to pick jobs that Nigerians can conveniently handle. According to information made available by NSE, not less than 20 to 30 Chinese and other foreign nationals troop into the country on a daily basis to do jobs ranging from construction, telecommunication, retail trading, adding that most worrisome is driving and cleaning services. Presenting a paper at a Business Luncheon organised by the Apapa branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers in Lagos with the theme: “The Nigerian Engineer and National Development,” the guest speaker, the Executive Partner AR-AR Partnership and a Consulting Engineer, Engr. Ali A. Rabiu, said that billions of naira are repatriated weekly out of the country from activities that Nigerians can and should handle with

the right policies in place. According to him, “Nigeria drives many other economies. In other words, many countries on the surface of the globe, survive because of Nigeria. As if that was not enough, the Chinese, other Asians, South Africans and so on are taking over almost everything in Nigeria from construction, telecommunications to retail trading and even driving.” Another member of the society who works at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Engr. Chinamere Callistus, opined that the country’s technology is being invaded by the Chinese. He said: “On daily basis, the Chinese troop into the country in their 20s and 30s. They even bring drivers and cleaners to work in their various companies. If nothing is done, very soon, they will take over all the sector of the economy in the country.” Speaking further, Rabiu reckoned that it is a very normal policy everywhere in the

Ashaka Cement trains 369 youths in skill acquisition From Ali Garba, Gombe BOUT 369 youths drawn from different parts of Gombe State are now receiving training in different skills acquisition courtesy Ashaka Cement Plc. The programme, according to the organisers, is aimed at reducing unemployment rate within its host communities. Already, 169 of the beneficiaries who graduated recently had been presented with working tools and certificates, while 200 are currently undergoing training, which will last for six months. The training programme, which includes carpentry, poultry, electrical installation, irrigation and welding, according to the managing director and chief executive officer of the company, Mr. Neeraj Akhoury, is in compliance with the company’s corporate social responsibility. Presenting the working tools to the beneficiaries,

Akhoury challenged them to make good use of the tools to enable the recipients become self-reliant and also employers of labour. Akhoury, who warned them against selling the working tools given to them, urged them to exploit same to earn a living for themselves and the community. He told the 200 graduates whose age’s range between 20 and 30 years, not to betray the confidence reposed in them by the management of Ashaka Cement and the larger society. He urged the participants to obey the rules governing the training and cooperate with the trainers who are ready to give them the best. In his vote of thanks the training officer, Tukur Lawan, an engineer, commended the new managing director for resuscitating the programme even as he gave the management kudos for the support and cooperation urging, the beneficiaries to be committed to the cause of the programme.

world for government to put in place policies that will protect its citizens in all ramifications but which have been neglected in Nigeria. “In China and many other countries,” he said, “you cannot go as a foreigner and start practicing engineering or any other profession when they have their own nationals and except there are no nationals of that country that can do what you have come there to do. “But it is so unfortunate that what we see in Nigeria is all sorts of people coming into this country in the name of engineers while they are not. Many of them are technicians, they come here, wear shorts, wear T-shirts, walk along the roads, pose as engineers and are given such recognitions.” He said that the solution is for the government to try and put in place laws that will protect its citizens and create an enabling environment for the home-grown professionals to thrive. “What are they doing that Nigerian engineers cannot do better if provided with an enabling environment? “We have a very high unemployment rate in the country. There are jobs for everyone to do but we are leaving these jobs, allowing foreigners to come and take over. “The Nigerian Content Initiative, which has its origins from the oil sector, and which should be extended to all other sectors, is an initiative meant to stem this ugly tide. But all these without the political will to implement it to the letter, would be another waste of time and opportunities,” he concluded. The National President of the Society who was represented by the Deputy President, Engr. Ademola Isaac Olorunfemi, said that because of the global nature of engineering, it is not a bad thing that expatriates are coming into the country, adding that there should be a regulation in place to allow for the development of locals which is very important in science, technology and engineering. He said: “If you don’t give your own people the chance to grow, then the economy will perpetually be stagnant and underdeveloped because you will continue to import both goods and services.”

Ogun students protest ASUP’s strike From Charles Coffie Gyamfi, Abeokuta UNDRENDS of polytechH nic students took to the streets in Abeokuta, Ogun State’s capital recently to protest over the two months old nationwide strike by their teachers, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). The students were mainly from the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic and the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro. The protesting students had converged on the popular Post Office Roundabout chanting anti-government slogans, before heading towards Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta

Business District and later assembled at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Press Centre. They later marched to the Governor’s Office, Okemosan where Governor Ibikunle Amosun addressed them and assured them that his aadministration would step in and help in resolving the matter. Amosun who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, expressed displeasure about the strike, but noted that the issue responsible for it lied in the purview of the Federal Government. The governor however

assured that he would take the matter before the Federal Government for quick settlement, affirming that his administration places high premium on the development of education. “Since we came, we have not taken our students for granted and we will not take you for granted. As a government, we have always applied about 25 per cent of our budget to education because to us education is key to development. Your demands are clearly beyond us, but as you have requested, we will take your case to the Federal Government because we are also not happy about the develop-

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

BUSINESS 89

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Nigerians in Dispora seeks tax waiver for home investments From Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja OME Nigerians in Diaspora, who are interested in bidding for public sector consultancy or contracting jobs back home in the country, have called on the Federal Government to grant them a waiver of the threeyear tax clearance requirement as a precondition for their eligibility. This was in response to speech made by the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, at the Nigeria Conversation programme at the weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, where he urged Nigerians living abroad to stop bemoaning the influx of certain other nationals into Nigeria, and instead take advantage of the immense investment opportunities in the country. According to a statement by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Kinsley Osadolor, Maku had in his speech listed power, mining, agriculture, and the railways

as some of the sectors with high investment potentials, noting that Nigeria had become the leading investment destination in Africa. The Minister, who noted that the non-oil sector was the key accelerator of Nigeria’s GDP growth, said that with Nigerians abroad officially remitting nearly $22 billion home in 2012, as against about $8 billion foreign direct investment over the same period, it was obvious that Nigerians in Diaspora could muster the resources, as well as technical cooperation with competent companies in their host countries, to enable them participate actively in the investment options that abound in Nigeria. After being reminded of the likely disqualification of otherwise competent Nigerians abroad, who do not possess the three-year tax clearance certificate normally prescribed for bidding for public jobs, the Information

Minister said that the waiver being advocated could not be granted arbitrarily, since the tax clearance requirement was part of the procurement process grounded in law. He, however, promised to take home the request, for consideration as a policy proposal in exceptional cases. On a comment by a participant at the Conversation that the Nigerian government first reach out to the Diaspora to recruit qualified Nigerians as expatriates, rather than foreigners, Maku reminded the audience of the presence of a number of Nigerians head-hunted from the Diaspora, who are members of the Federal Executive Council. He cited the Minister of Finance, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina. The Minister also said that state governments were equally recruiting from the Diaspora, stressing that the

mix of local and foreignbased talents was desirable for the country’s development agenda. Reacting to the repeated demands for the enfranchisement of Nigerians in Diaspora, Maku noted that universal adult suffrage was not always the norm, even in the most advanced democracies, including the United States, where, until the 20th Century, women and AfricanAmericans were not entitled to vote in elections, even though they were residents. The Information Minister drew attention to the current state of Nigerian law, which did not allow for voting rights for Nigerians living abroad. He said while the enthusiasm of Nigerians in Diaspora to vote in Nigerian elections was to be appreciated, he said he was confident that such arrangements could be possible in future, depending on, among other factors, the capacity of the Independent National

Executive Vice President, Philips Ronald de Jong (left); General Manager and Business Head West Africa Hub, Philips, Abdallah H. Khamis; and Chief Executive Officer, Philips Africa, JJ Van Dongen, at the Philips Cape Town to Cairo road show 2013 press briefing, in Lagos. PHOTO; SUNDAY AKIN-

CITN intensifies call for economic diversification over Obama’s comment By Chijioke Nelson ROM the Chartered FNigeria Institute of Taxation of (CITN), came another urgent call for the diversification of the nation’s economy, in reaction to the United States of America President Barack Obama’s comment on energy from the continent. The President of the institute, Mark Anthony Dike, dur-

ing at a three-day Joint District Societies’ meeting of CITN, said the speech of the American President, if critically examined, portends grave danger to the Nigerian economy, which development had all along depended heavily on oil revenue. He said: “The United States President Barack Obama, has ultimately confirmed the fears in some quarters that the days of crude oil importa-

tion from African oil producing countries, including Nigeria, were numbered, as oil export from Nigeria is on a downward trend. “The Federal Government of Nigeria has been advised to, as a matter of urgency, put machinery in motion to revitalize the Nigerian tax system. This advice was given in the wake of the recent speech of the United States President Barrack Obama in South

Africa that his Country does not need energy from Africa.” According to him, Obama was only speaking on an obvious fact, which the institute has always reiterated to successive Nigerian governments over the years. “America has made several successful advances in oil and gas production, as well as clean energy production springing up at a rapid rate in the country.

Flour Mills lauds FCMB Capital Markets over merger deal with BAGCO ROUP Managing objectives of benefiting from tion of the transaction, saying Mills while Zenith Bank Plc G Director/Chief Executive operational and administra- it would enhance shareholder was the co-financial adviser. Officer of Flour Mills of Nigeria tive efficiencies and creating value. Speaking on the trans- Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC advised Plc (Flour Mills), Paul Gbededo, has commended FCMB Capital Markets for its laudable efforts in bringing to realisation, Flour Mills ‘ successful merger with Nigerian Bag Manufacturing Company Plc (BAGCO). Gbededo expressed confidence that, “the successful completion of the transaction will ensure the actualisation of Flour Mills Group’s long term growth strategy with the

synergies which are expected to maximize shareholder value for the merging entities”. The value of the landmark transaction is put at about N5.1billion. Executive Vice Chairman at FCMB Capital Markets Limited, Dr. Jonathan Long, who is also the Chairman of FCMB Group Plc., in his remarks commended Flour Mills on its successful comple-

action at a recent event, he said: “this is a significant transaction, which supports the rapid expansion and diversification of the Flour Mills’ Group, boosting domestic manufacturing, creating job opportunities and enhancing shareholder value.” FCMB Capital Markets Limited was the overall transaction coordinator and the lead Financial Adviser to Flour

BAGCO. Flour Mills owned 70 per cent of the share capital of BAGCO prior to the merger and both companies were listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Flour Mills is the market leader in the Nigerian flour milling industry while BAGCO exercises market dominance in the manufacture of woven polypropylene packaging materials, making their products complementary.

Electoral Commission. The Minister stated that sustained reforms of the electoral process in Nigeria were

delivering elections rated by domestic and foreign observers as free, fair and credible.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Focus Tackling rising cases of kidney By Chukwuma Muanya N the past, kidney, heart-related diseases and Isidered high blood pressure or hypertension, were conas exclusive disease of the aged, particularly in Nigeria, Indeed, it was taken for granted by healthcare providers that children and teenagers, no matter the symptoms presented, were not likely to suffer any of the ailments Today More Nigerians are coming down with kidney failure. Even children are not left out. In fact recent hospital-based study found that 8.9 per cent of children on hospital admission have kidney problems. The Guardian investigations revealed that untreated microbial infections especially urinary tract infections (UTI), diarrhea, malaria, hepatitis, Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), diabetes, hypertension, potassium bromate poisoning, teething powder, abuse of painkillers/analgesics especially paracetamol are responsible for the rising cases of kidney failure in Nigerian children. The Guardian gathered that other well-recognised risk factors for chronic kidney disease include increasing age, family history of kidney disease, cigarette smoking, exposure to heavy metals such as lead, long term ingestion of herbal concoctions, obesity, sickle cell, prostate problems and cancers, and bleaching lotions, soap and creams. Indeed, acute kidney injury (AKI), formerly known as acute renal failure is common in children admitted to hospitals. Studies from both developing and developed regions of the world have demonstrated high incidence of AKI in children. Significantly, AKI is associated with high morbidity and mortality, more so in regions where there is dearth of resources including renal replacement therapy. Recent studies have shown that hypertension is the leading cause of kidney failure in Nigeria across all ages, closely followed by diabetes and HIV/AIDS, which is fast becoming one of the major causes of kidney failure in Nigeria. Burden and prevalence According to the President, Nigeria Association of Nephrology and Chief Medical Director at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, at least 36.8 million Nigerians (23 per cent) are suffering from various stages of kidney disease. Bamgboye who disclosed this at an awareness programme organised by the Hospital to mark this year’s World Kidney Day in March 2013, regretted that despite the severity of the disease, Nigerian patients are faced with many challenges in terms of treatment. Bamgboye lamented the burden of the disease, noting that an estimated 15,000 new patients are diagnosed every year in the country. He said: “Chronic kidney disease prevalence is a problem in our environment. Estimates suggest that one out of every seven Nigerians has one stage of chronic kidney disease. Unfortunately, out of 50,000 patients who should ideally be on dialysis, fewer than 1,000 are currently on dialysis as at today. “Unfortunately, if you have kidney failure and you do not do dialysis or transplant within two weeks you will die. You can imagine the number of people that are dying every day because of kidney disease.” Provost of the College of Health Sciences at Osun State University, Prof. Christopher Olutayo Alebiosu, said community studies put kidney disease in adults between 19 and 30 per cent. Alebiosu while delivering the seventh Inaugural Lecture of the institution titled: ‘Emerging Epidemic of Non-Communicable Diseases – Conspiracy against the kidney’ said that chronic kidney failure was a devastating medical, social and economic problem for patients, their families and the country as a whole. Paediatricians from the Department of Paediatrics Lagos University Teaching Hospital

A dialysis machine (LUTH)/College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), Idi-Araba, Dr. Taiwo Ladapo, and her colleagues led by Prof. Afolabi Lesi in a recent study, which has been accepted for publication by the Saudi Journal of Kidney Disease noted that of all the children admitted over a four-year period (2008 to 20011) in LUTH, kidney disease accounted for 8.9 per cent of paediatric admissions with prevalence of 22.3 admissions per 1000 childadmissions per year; and that yearly incidence doubled over the study period. The study is titled “Paediatric kidney diseases in an African country: Prevalence, Spectrum and Outcome.” The researchers noted that nephrotic syndrome, acute kidney injury (AKI) and nephroblastoma accounted for almost 70 per cent of admissions; and that the overall mortality rate was 12.6 per cent with AKI being the leading cause. They observed that the prevalence of AKI was higher than that reported from other parts of the country; late presentation, inadequate diagnostic and therapeutic facilities and financial constraints negatively impacted outcome; and disease-specific prevalence varied between geographic sections. Nephrotic syndrome is caused by different disorders that damage the kidneys. This damage leads to the release of too much protein in the urine. Nephroblastoma or Wilms’ tumor is cancer of the kidneys that typically occurs in children,

rarely in adults. The researchers in an earlier study published in the December 2012 edition of the journal PLOS ONE concluded: “Acute kidney injury is common in children admitted to hospitals. The common causes remain primary kidney diseases, sepsis and malaria but the contribution of sepsis is rising while malaria and gastroenteritis are declining. Acute kidney injury-related mortality remains high.” The results of the study titled “Paediatric Acute Kidney Injury in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria: Prevalence, Causes and Mortality Rate” showed that of the 4 015 children admitted into LUTH between July 2010 and July 2012, 70 episodes of AKI were recorded equalling 17.4 cases per 1000 children. The researchers found among other things that: the median age of the children with AKI was 4.8 (range 0.1–14.4) years and 68.6 per cent were males. Acute kidney injury was present in 58 (82.9 per sent) children at admission with 70 per cent in ‘failure’ category; primary kidney disease (38.6 per cent), sepsis (25.7 per cent) and malaria (11.4 per cent) were the commonest causes; the primary kidney diseases were acute glomerulonephritis (11) and nephrotic syndrome (eight); nineteen (28.4 per cent) children with AKI died; need for dialysis were associated with death. Glomerulonephritis may be caused by problems with the body’s immune system. Often, the exact cause of glomerulonephritis is unknown. Damage to the glomeruli causes blood and pro-

Unfortunately one of the conditions that are most expensive to treat is kidney disease and there is no where in the world, very few countries in the world do people pay out of pocket. I cannot afford it. You have a lot of government support for children on dialysis, you have a lot of private sector support. One of the things we are trying to do is to raise awareness about the increase in kidney disease in children and also raise support for children who need dialysis.”

tein to be lost in the urine. The condition may develop quickly, and kidney function is lost within weeks or months (called rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis). Glomeruli (glomerulus is singular) are tiny tufts of capillaries, which carry and filter blood within the kidneys. A quarter of people with chronic glomerulonephritis have no history of kidney disease. Published evidences of causes Researchers in a study published in Saudi Journal of Kidney Disease and Transplantation concluded that malaria is associated with acute renal failure, which occurs most commonly in Plasmodium falciparum infected patients. They, however, said early diagnosis and prompt dialysis with supportive management could reduce morality and enhance recovery of renal function. Results from a recent study published Biokemistri: An International Journal of the Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology showed a possible relationship between hepatitis B infection and insufficient renal function. Diarrhoea has been shown to be one gastrointestinal tract symptom of kidney failure. Excessive accumulation of creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and other wastes in the patient’s body can cause many sick feeling such as fatigue, nausea, poor appetite. Medical doctors say if left untreated, patients can develop serious vomiting, indigestion, diarrhoea, low blood volume or even rapid decline of kidney functions. Medical experts are unanimous that diarrhoea can cause or worsen kidney failure. There have been many reports about renal failure after serious diarrhoea; can be caused by food poisons; and can cause many complications if left untreated. Many organs can be involved and renal failure is one relatively severe complication. Another study published in January 2013 edition of Saudi Journal Kidney Disease Transplantation concluded: “Renal disease was found to be significantly associated with advanced stage of HIV infection. Our study

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

failure in Nigeria showed that t he prevalence of renal disease in highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART)treated Nigerian children is high and majority of them are asymptomatic of renal disease, but in the advanced stages of HIV infection.” The study titled “Prevalence of renal disease in Nigerian children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus and on highly active anti-retroviral therapy” was published by researchers from the Department of Child Health, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State. The researchers wrote: “It is therefore important that early detection of renal damage, in the asymptomatic stage, is made in order to institute measures early, which may reverse or slow down the progression of kidney disease to End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). This may be the most significant preventive strategy, especially as facilities for renal replacement care are limited and expensive in resource-poor countries.” HIV affects virtually every organ system in the body, including the kidneys. Several studies have shown that most of the HIV-related renal diseases reported in children manifest as chronic kidney disease (CKD). Isolated cases of nephro-toxicity have also been reported with almost all HAART agents. The use of HAART is known to reduce morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children. With the recent improved access to HAART and expected longer survival among HIV-infected Nigerian children, it is possible that the longterm complications of renal toxicity would increase. According to a study published in Nigeria Journal of Medicine, “chronic consumption of analgesics/pain killers has been shown to increase the risk of end-stage renal disease. In Nigeria, these drugs are readily available as there is no legislation regulating their consumption. We report the use and abuse of analgesics in a Nigerian population.” The study titled “Use and abuse of analgesics in Nigeria: a community survey,” was carried out by researchers at the Department of Medicine, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State. Usually, urinary tract infections are harmless and can be cured easily. However, repeated UTI often turn into pyelonephritis, which is an inflammation of the kidney. Inflammation in the kidney worsens renal tissues seriously and thus cause kidney damages. Chronic kidney disease causes no obvious symptoms in early stage. Without a timely diagnosis, chronic kidney problem progresses to end stage kidney failure directly. However, clinical experiments have shown that drinking large amounts of water will help to remove bacterium out of the urinary tract, which will lower the risk of developing kidney failure. Therefore, drinking much more water is very beneficial in daily life. Researchers have also reported acute renal failure following accidental potassium bromate poisoning. The study published in Nigerian Journal of Paediatrics noted: “Accidental poisoning is common in children. Potassium bromate is a commonly used additive and raising agent in many edibles particularly bread, a staple food worldwide, yet its accidental poisoning has hitherto, not been documented in Nigeria. We report an unusual case of acute renal failure following accidental ingestion of potassium bromate tablets.” Alebiosu said the two major enemies of the kidney were diabetes and hypertension. He described hypertension and diabetes as principal “accomplice” in the development of chronic kidney disease. According to him, ‘There are many identified factors causing chronic kidney disease, however the prevalence of these factors differ to varying extent in different parts of the world. In Nigeria, some socio-cultural practices can lead directly or indirectly to the development of chronic kidney disease. These include longterm ingestion of herbal concoctions/preparations, chronic analgesic abuse (certain pain killers) and the use of certain

Bamgboye

Alebiosu

soaps/creams/lotions used as bleaching agents. but they are misdiagnosed. So by the time they Nigerians should refrain from consumption of are young adults they are already in chronic or end stage meanwhile the problem started long medications without prescriptions.” A study published in African Journal of Medicine ago. “What is being done in developed world for & Medical Sciences concluded: “Primary chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) and accelerated example is that they do school screening by simhypertension still remain the leading causes of ple checking of the urine of school children for chronic renal failure (CRF), while diseases such as protein, can help detect some children with kiddiabetes mellitus and chronic pyelonephritis do ney disease. In developed world there are screennot contribute significantly to CRF in Nigerians. ing programmes that pick up these diseases Recognition of the early features and the causes early. “We don’t have such in Nigeria; nobody is of CRF would considerably reduce the prevalence screening anybody for anything. Nigeria is a of this condition.” The study titled “Diseases causing chronic renal country that has infectious disease as a main failure in Nigerians—a prospective study of 100 issue. So you have infections that may affect the cases,” was conducted by researchers at Faculty of kidney then hypertension, diabetes are on the Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, increase. But some have been shown to actually start from childhood.” Ile-Ife, Osun State. What is the statistics? How many children are High alert over rising cases in children diagnosed with kidney Medical disease in LUTH? She experts have explained: “The statisalerted on the Chronic kidney disease prevalence is a tics vary widely even in rise cases of Nigeria because the chronic kidney problem in our environment. Estimates criteria used in differdisease in ent studies are not the Nigerian chilsuggest that one out of every seven same. It is difficult to dren even as Nigerians has one stage of chronic kiddo a synopsis of the they called for studies. Some people screening proney disease. Unfortunately, out of look at only children grammes, manthat were seen at the power training 50,000 patients who should ideally be emergency room, and improveon dialysis, fewer than 1,000 are current- some look at those on ment of diagadmission, some look nostic and therly on dialysis as at today. at everybody. So it is apeutic facilities difficult to say. For to address the example in a study we situation. just published here we Why are more children turning up with chronic kidney dis- found out that 8.9 per cent of children on admisease? Ladapo, told The Guardian: “The reasons are sions over a five year period was due to kidney dismany. Some children are born with abnormality ease.” of the kidney tract that are not detected on time Challenges Ladapo said the first dialysis section for children and it affects the kidneys. For some it is not known. Some infectious diseases affect kidney with chronic kidney disease costs about N40,000 functions in children such as hepatitis. Also other to N50,000 for one and subsequently the child conditions like nephrotic syndrome which if not should have it three times a week at the cost of about N20,000 per session. well treated can cause kidney disease. According to Kidney Consultants International “You also have acute kidney injury that is acute renal failure, children coming down with malar- (KCI), the typical renal patient has a three to five ia, infection, different kinds of infection such as hour dialysis treatment; three times per week bacteria infection, pneumococcal infection. Then and dialysis can only replace only about 10 per you have diarrhoea, they come in, they have diar- cent to 15 per cent of the function of healthy kidrhoea and have been passing stool and the body neys. In Nigeria, each session of dialysis treatment fluid is not being replaced, the kidney shuts will cost an average of N25,000.00 or N75,000 per week, a cost much more than the average down. “If the kidney is not getting enough fluid it Nigerian worker can bear. KCI noted: “A kidney transplant provides the shuts down. Infections also affect the kidney. We are really trying to raise awareness and raise help patient with a healthy kidney from a donor but it for children with kidney disease. We have often requires a lot more in terms of finances. increased our dialysis services. The Hospital has When a donor (which so far in Nigeria have been been very supportive and now we have two living relatives, spouses or friends) is found, their nephrologists on ground and we are trying to suitability for surgery is determined and they are tested to determine if their blood type and other boost our services.” How about the adults? Ladapo said: “One of issue factors match the patients. Some of these the reasons, which is why we are beginning to cry investigations are done abroad and this helps to out is that there have been studies done in the compound the cost of the surgeries. “After the surgery, transplant patients must developed world and they have found out that some of these diseases actually start in childhood take immunosuppressant drugs, which keep

their bodies from fighting and destroying the transplanted organ and these drugs must be taken for life with a combination of other drugs, which are usually not in stock by regular pharmacists due to their high cost. When required, they are often imported specially for the patients’ use.” Average yearly costs of kidney management Cost of twice weekly haemodialysis N2,388,168.00 Cost of thrice weekly haemodialysis N3,255,368.00 Cost of CAPD (Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) N3,699,925.00 Cost of renal transplant plus immunosuppressant for two years N4,802,680.00 Cost per year N2,401,340.00 Solutions Alebiosu said that “chronic kidney disease continues to affect people in their productive years and most patients continue to die due to their inability to sustain dialysis treatment in view of the high cost.” The professor of medicine stated that considering the damage caused by hypertension on the heart, brain, kidneys and blood vessels, there was the need for physicians to pay more attention to ensure lesser damage to these important body organs in hypertensive patients. The expert recommended that pre-employment urine screening and health education will go a long way in educating, increasing awareness and preventing the deleterious complications of uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes and glomerulonephitis Alebiosu also declared the urgent need to implement prevention strategies that include health education policies geared towards adoption of healthy lifestyle measures that prevent or delay the onset of diabetes and hypertension; strengthening of the health care for people with non-communicable diseases; and integration of non-communicable disease prevention in national programmes for sustainable development. He stated: “much of the burden of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes can be averted through primary prevention and the complementary identification of early stage disease, combined with effective treatment of existing conditions.” Alebiosu warned: “Unless concerted action is taken, the rising financial burden of non-communicable diseases will reach unmanageable levels.” Ladapo further said: “Unfortunately one of the conditions that are most expensive to treat is kidney disease and there is no where in the world, very few countries in the world do people pay out of pocket. I cannot afford it. You have a lot of government support for children on dialysis, you have a lot of private sector support. “One of the things we are trying to do is to raise awareness about the increase in kidney disease in children and also raise support for children who need dialysis.” A study published recently in Saudi Journal of Kidney Disease and Transplantation noted: “We conclude that renal abnormalities, importantly albuminuria, is common in adult Nigerians with Sickle Cell Anaemia (SCA) and the pattern and incidence are similar to those reported from other parts of the world. Regular blood pressure monitoring, early diagnosis and active intervention are advocated to delay progression to end-stage kidney disease in view of poor outcomes of renal replacement therapy in SCA patients with nephropathy.” The study titled “Renal disease in adult Nigerians with sickle cell anemia: a report of prevalence, clinical features and risk factors,” was conducted by researchers from the Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

BUSINESS

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Islamic bond, an expanded window of investment By Wale Bolorunduro

refer to the recent publicaIabout tions and insinuations the initiatives and creativity of the State Government of Osun, particularly the level of dexterity and unparallel financial bravery continuously being applied in financing the state’s unprecedented developmental projects, and considered it necessary to clarify some grey areas in connection with same. Given that the central focus of the continuous agitation has been the state’s N10billion development bond, currently being processed under the state’s N60billion bond issuance programme approved for the state by the Securities and Exchange commission (SEC) in December 2012, there is an urgent need to share certain basic knowledge on development in the financial realm in connection with the issue in context as an alternative form of raising long term finance. Islamic financing, from where the Sukuk bond originates, though based on some tenets or injunctions and moral dimension traceable to Islamic value system, the financing structure is seriously gaining international acceptance and appeal, following the challenges that emanated from the recent economic melt-down that ravaged the whole world economies. The fundamental of the financing structure is that “lending is not a business,

and as such borrowing should be without “Usury” (interest)”, because usury is “ribba” (forbidden) going by the underlying faith on which the modern financing structure is based. This simply means you cannot earn interest on a loan and cannot be required to pay interest on loans because any predetermined interest is forbidden. Under the financing model, each transaction must be tied to a tangible, identifiable underlying asset. In addition, all transactions to be considered under the structure are required to be in conformity with some basic moral, in addition to some legal standards. Screening transactions based on their moral justifications is of course nothing different from looking at transactions from their socio-economic impact on the society. This is akin to the traditional concept of socially responsible or ethical investing. In essence, the financing model is based on “equity”. In addition, transactions to be considered eligible for this financing model need to be asset-based. Some of the products under the financing model include Qard Hasan, Hawalah, Mu’ajjal, Murabahah, Ijarah, Mudarabah, Salam, Istisna’, and Musharakah. While details of all these products will be addressed in my subsequent discussions on this issue, I wish to concentrate on Ijara and Istisna’, on which explanations the issue in context will be well clarified.

Sanusi, CBN Governor An Ijarah is a lease product which is similar to the conventional lease. Under this contract, the Sukuk company (Asset company) buys and leases out an asset for fixed monthly payments known as rental. Assets that can be financed under this arrangement include buildings, motor vehicles, equipment, electronics, household utensils, etc. In tandem with developments across the globe, the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been in the forefront of enlightening the citizens of Nigeria about the potentials and the various benefits associated with Islamic financing and banking model, particularly as an optional financing vehicle over the conventional model fraught with so many uncertainties and risks. Banks in the country that have acquired banking licence for Islamic financing include Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Diamond bank, Unity, Zenith bank and Jaiz bank.

These commercial banks in addition to their normal conventional banking licences opted for CBN’s licence in Islamic banking and financing. It is obvious the operators also realised a niche and untapped business opportunities in this area. These operators of Islamic Banking cut across religious and ethnic lines. As religious as America claims to be, Islamic banking and finance is astonishingly gaining continuous popularity and acceptance. Although issuance of development bond by states in Nigeria has really gained popularity as a veritable means of financing developmental projects, however, capital market with only conventional bond has limitation in terms of horizon of investors. This is so given the fact that some investors that are ardently inclined to faith based model of investors are cut off from the conventional

capital market. The state’s decision to have a combination of both the Conventional and Faith-Based Bond in its Bond Issuance programme is borne out of the yearning to ensure easy marketability of the bond. This we intend to achieve by making the bond attractive to the faith-based investors, who also constitute a remarkable spectrum of the target market, that have hitherto been “locked out” of modern financing sphere due to their disposition to interest-paying structured conventional bond. Unlike the conventional bonds that are debt-based, Sukuk are structured as profit sharing from investments, lease or sale contracts, thus avoiding the payment of interest (i.e.Riba), which is forbidden by certain tenets. This will ensure that the bond appeal to these class of investors, both foreign and local. Aside from broadening the horizon of the potential investors in the bond, the investors stand to be more comfortable since the bond is required to be backed by real (non-financial) assets which effectively collaterises the Sukuk. Further desirability of the sukuk is its suitability for funding the development infrastructural facilities such as educational buildings, transport, road network system, electricity supply (generation and distribution), housing development, water supply, among others. This is the best way to prevent

diversion of proceeds as the cashflow is ring fenced for the project. It is Osun’s natural way of demonstrating transparency and this should be encouraged for national development. As there is freedom of belief and ideology, individual investor has liberty of deciding where to put his resources, if a man decides to place his money on faith-based instruments such as sukuk bond, such cannot be castigated, similarly, whether Christianity, or Judaism, every borrower wants to borrow money without being bugged down with multi-layer interest structure. The pain and woes inflicted on over-zealous investors that got their fingers burnt in margin facility that culminated in the eventual capital market crash about three years ago in Nigeria is a pointer and a wakeup call that “balanced portfolio, particularly tilted towards asset–based is desirable, and offers a better riskhedging investment strategy”. For Osun, being the first in the country to pursue this innovative investment instrument, I think we deserve to be commended even as we are setting the pace in this ground breaking endeavour. To Wole Tokede’s enquiry about the state’s rationale for an Islamic financial instrument, in the Daily Newswatch of June 27, 2013, I wish to say that it is a financial strategy borne out of our usual transparency, creativity, ingenuity, and passion for success. • Dr. Bolorunduro is the Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Osun State

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

96 CAPITAL MARKET

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, JuLY 9, 2013

NigeriaCapitalMarket NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at Monday PRICE LIST OF SYMBOLS TRADED FOR 08/07/2013

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, JuLY 9, 2013

NSE Daily Summary (Equities) as at 08/07/2013

LOSERS

PRICE GAINERS

NSE’s market capitalisation depreciates by N44b By Helen Oji ESPITE price gains that outweighed losses, transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a downward note yesterday, following price losses suffered by major bluechip companies, as market capitalization slide marginally by N44 billion. Volume of shares traded also dropped marginally, as investors exchanged 188.546 million shares worth N2.148

billion changed hands in 4085 deals against 424.416 million shares worth N3.538 billion made the previous day in 5081 deals. Specifically, at the close of transactions yesterday, the All/ Share index decreased by 136.99 basis points from 36,926.29 points recorded on Friday to 36789.30 yesterday while market capitalisation of listed equities dropped by N44 billion or 0.37 per cent to

N11.650 trillion from N11.694 trillion traded on Friday. Further analysis of yesterday’s trading showed that Nestle Nigeria Plc topped the losers chart, shedding N6.00 to close at N994.00 while Nigerian Breweries followed with a loss of N2.70 kobo to close at N160.30 kobo Cadbury shed N1.57 kobo to close at N54.53 kobo. Other stocks that recorded price depreciation are CAP and

Zenith Bank shedding N0.49 kobo and N0.40 kobo to close at N49.00 and N20.30 kobo. First City Monument Bank dropped N0.10 kobo to close at N2.06 per share RT Briscoe shed N0.04 kobo to close at N1.70 per share. NEM, AIICO AND UBCAP also shed N0.03 and N0.01 kobo respectively to close at N0.73,N0.90 and N1.18 per share. Guinness Nigeria Plc led the

gainers table, appreciating by N3.00 to close at N255.00, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc followed with a gain of N2.93 kobo to close at N82.99 kobo while Larfarge Wapco, Betaglass, Total Nigeria Plc appreciated by N1.20 kobo, N1.00 and N0.99 kobo respectively to close at N96.00, N11.00 and N159.99 kobo. GTBank recorded the highest volume of activity as it traded 35.439 million shares worth

N909.021 million, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) followed with account of 24.128 million shares valued at N36.831 million while AIICO traded 20.619 shares valued at N18.626 million. NEM Insurance Plc took fourth position, exchanging 13.142 million shares worth N9.751 million and FBN Holdings traded 12.971 million shares valued at N229.350 million.

Tantalizers records N4.2b turnover, N303.4m profit in 2012 By Bukky Olajide ANTALIZERS Plc, a fast food T restaurant chains is poised to reposition itself in the year 2013, despite current challenges in the business environment. Speaking at the company’s yearly general meeting in Lagos last week, the Chairman of the company, Dr. Jaiye Oyedotun stated that the company had chal-

lenges with the logistics of raw materials sourcing, purchase and distribution due to high level of insecurity in the Northern part of the country, adding that, “we had to be contented with high prices of materials from the North such as beef products, vegetables , grains, yams and so on”. According to him “all the challenges enumerated above resulted in lower rev-

enue and negative profitability when compared to 2011. The revenue achieved in 2012 was N4.20billion which is a nine percent decline on 2011 performance”. Oyedotun noted that the 2012 after tax profit of N303.47million was the first in the history of the company, he lamented. On a positive note, he said the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has

released a portion of the loan requested for brand repositioning. This is being utilized for the extensive renovation work being carried out by the Company in almost all the cities where Tantalizers outlets are located. The marked improvement in the ambience, internal and external look and convenience is already being attested to by customers programme to the

few remaining cities. The Chairman also informed the shareholders that the Company is putting more focus on its franchise programme. “We are now set to roll-out our repackaged franchise programme, which we believe is more profitable and hence should be more attractive to prospective franchisees”. He enjoined the shareholders to also benefit from this by

becoming franchisees of the Company. The Chairman stressed that the process improvement and standardization programme being carried out by the Company is another way of ensuring quality of products and services. He reiterated the efforts of the company in ensuring consistency of products in all the outlets to the satisfaction of its teeming customers.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday July 9, 2013

98 GLOBALSTOCK

Wall Street: Good news once again for investors

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York HE sharing (many would call it over-shar- the offensive – likely from weaker levels in the (note the weak Chicago Purchasing Managers haps the widespread expectation of Fed help T ing) by Federal Reserve officials of their markets. Index Friday) isn’t a good blend for investors all the way to the horizon contributed. plans for eventually reducing the flow of money being directed into financial markets has firmly fixed Wall Street’s twitchy gaze on every quantum of incoming economic data. Now all Wall Street needs is some confidence that the coming summer news on the economy and corporate profits will be good enough to substantiate the sturdy performance of stocks in the first half of 2013. The two broad areas that will soon come under high-stakes scrutiny are the employment “tell” for June, and second-quarter company results in a patchy-at-best world economy. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s clearly stated intention to sunset the central bank’s $85 billion-per-month bond-buying program in, perhaps, a year – if the economy proves it is convincingly improving – rattled markets that had grown complacent by “heads-I-win-tailsyou-lose” thinking. Good economic news early this year meant better profits and a still generous Fed; bad news meant an even more resolutely solicitous Fed to finance risk taking. Data dependency Since Bernanke spoke and the stock market rushed to a nearly 6% retreat and Treasury yields shot up to 2.5% from near 2%, a team of Fed messengers has commandeered microphones to tell investors they overreacted, that any change would be “data-dependent.” This is what’s heightening the attention paid to every number that hits the wires. And given that the Fed has put out there that it expects a better economy and is looking for a chance to ease back, investors should now hope for better data. They need to assume the economy would now have to take an uncomfortably nasty turn for the worse to get the Fed back on

The very recent run of economic statistics has supported the idea of a firmer domestic economy, with pending-home sales, durable goods and personal-income growth arriving on the stronger end of forecasts. With Fed talkers fighting the perception that loose money will become less loose preemptively, the fact that stocks found their footing in the past week reinforces the idea that better economic news is taken as a positive. And so this Friday’s monthly employment report, coming on an odd island trading day between the Independence Day holiday and a weekend, is easily the next most important test of the “just right” bullish argument. The current forecast is for a gain of 165,000 net jobs in June, a bit lower than the six-month average, and a downtick in the unemployment rate to 7.5%. Barclays strategist Barry Knapp argues that the likely market response to Friday’s data is more likely to be negative than positive. He says, “The number would have to be extremely weak to change the outlook for Fed policy.” In other words, the market should recognize that the Fed’s default mode is to begin an exit process – unless the data get frighteningly ugly. Merely “OK” data won’t evoke much friendlier noises from policy makers. In an odd way, though, investors might wish for employment data – and especially the unemployment rate – to improve more slowly than measures of capital spending and global industrial production. The latter areas are much more important for big-company profits, yet the former seem to provide the Fed’s threshold triggers for withdrawing stimulus. A fast-falling unemployment rate at a time when business-investment bellwethers lag

looking for a tidy handoff to a re-acceleration of earnings and stock prices. The best that can be said along the corporateearnings front is that, once again this quarter, expectations have been hammered pretty low. Among the 108 S&P 500 companies that have issued updated guidance for the second quarter, a record 87 of the outlooks have been negative, according to FactSet Research. The percentage of negative guidance announcements versus positive is also running at an all-time record – topping the first quarter of 2013. Overall, revenue is expected now to have declined a smidge for the S&P 500 in the quarter just ended, says S&P Capital IQ. Chris Baggini, portfolio manager at Turner Investments, says there remains a wide gap between the full-year aggregate profit forecasts of optimistic bottom-up company analysts and more cautious top-down investment strategists. These figures should converge as the quarterly results come in, perhaps buffeting the indexes a bit. With both profit margins at record highs and foreign economies slowing or shrinking, companies have nearly run out of levers to pull to keep earnings growing absent an economic reacceleration, after years of cheap-debt refinancing, cost-cutting and share buybacks bolstered results. One ugly example came Friday as IT-services giant Accenture Ltd.’s (ACN) results fell way sort of forecasts, costing its stock 10% of market value and dragging down International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) shares with it. Yet, broadly speaking, investors are not conditioned to expect dazzling results. The first quarter saw scant overall profit growth, which hardly blunted the market rally – though per-

This is why the current cycle places investors in a tricky spot. The last time the Fed was trying to condition the market for less-easy money in 2004, stocks suffered a few 5% setbacks, but that was only the second full year of a corporate-profit recovery. Now, as the Fed inches toward cinching-up policy, we’re in the fifth year, with margins near record highs and price-earnings multiples expanded substantially versus a year ago. With stocks no longer outright cheap and a global economy with plenty to prove, the market might be surfing from headline to headline for a while this summer.

Bernanke

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Opinion Pope Francis and the bishop Ahiara needs By Luke Onyekakeyah HE recent address by the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, to the nuncios and apostolic delegates T at a gathering in the Vatican, on the characteristics and personal qualifications required of any priest who would be made bishop is historic. It brings to the front burner the sacred requirements for the appointment of bishops that have been ignored in Nigeria. Coming at a time when an unholy battle is raging over the appointment and Episcopal ordination of Monsignor Peter Okpaleke of Awka Diocese as “bishop designate” for the Ahiara Diocese, the Pope’s message exposed the insincerity and failure of those who appointed him in the first place. Their indiscretion triggered off the avoidable row pervading the Igbo Catholic church. I had said in my previous comment that the appointment of Okpaleke was done in error based on misinformation given to Pope Benedict XVI, who made the appointment. The appointment of Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja, as administrator of Ahiara Diocese, after Okpaleke failed to assume duties since December 12, 2012, forecloses his chances of ever assuming duties in Ahiara. The cardinal’s appointment is the end point of this mandate. The import of Pope Francis’ action should be understood in its right perspective. Under normal circumstances, the pope appoints an apostolic administrator when a diocese is vacant (sede vacante). But the Holy See has appointed an administrator when a “bishop designate” in the person of Bishop Okpaleke is still around the corner. The Holy See has not announced the resignation of Bishop Okpaleke, who at the moment is a titular bishop or bishop without a diocese. Can Okpaleke’s appointment be swapped for another diocese? It is not completely out of order for the Holy See to appoint an administrator to a diocese even when the bishop is still there. Archbishop Joseph Miot was appointed apostolic administrator of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from 1997 to 2008 while Archbishop-Wolff Ligonde was there. Also, Bishop Thomas Olmsted served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Gallup, New Mex-

ico, in 2008, while Bishop Donald Pelotte was diocesan bishop. An apostolic administrator is appointed to serve a special purpose. He is the Pope’s personal caretaker in the diocese. A diocese could become vacant if its bishop resigns or dies. The administrator serves in an interim capacity from the time the seat became vacant until a new bishop is installed. Going by this norm, Cardinal Onaiyekan has authority to govern Ahiara Diocese until a new bishop is appointed. He replaces Monsignor Theo Nwalor, who has been holding that post. There would have been no need for an apostolic administrator in Ahiara if the bishopric of Okpaleke had been recognised by the Holy See. By jumping him to appoint an administrator, the Pope sends a clear message that his “bishop-designate” is impeded and can no longer hold. Cardinal Onaiyekan’s appointment as administrator, by implication, means that the Ahiara Diocesan See is vacant. The Pope overlooked Bishop Okpaleke, who was there in waiting. He also overlooked the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja, and all those who were privy to the erroneous appointment of Bishop Okpaleke. The Pope was absolutely right. It would have been impossible to leave the resolution of the crisis in the troubled Ahiara Diocese in the hands of Archbishop Kasujja and the Catholic Church hierarchy in Igbo land because they’re already biased. Their integrity and impartiality has been called to question. They can no longer guarantee justice and fairness in the body of Christ as far as Ahiara Diocese is concerned. Cardinal Onaiyekan, on the other hand, who is neutral and unbiased, is in a better position to resolve this matter by recommending the right candidate who will be bishop to the Holy See. It would have been most honourable if Bishop Okpaleke had resigned his appointment to maintain his personal integrity. Right now, it is not clear what the church will do with him. Is he going to remain a bishop for his parish? Bishops are not ordained to be parish priests. They are appointed at the diocesan level, even when they are titular bishop. He was ordained at Seat of Wisdom Seminary near Owerri. His ordination outside any cathedral in any diocese makes his case peculiar, unprecedented and historic in Nigeria.

The way out of the quagmire would be for his Awka Diocesan bishop to see how he could be integrated into the diocesan hierarchy. Given the special circumstances that led to the appointment of Cardinal Onaiyekan as administrator to Ahiara Diocese, one would expect that he has one important assignment to fulfill. He has the duty to appoint the right candidate from within the diocese that would be installed bishop and Chief Shepherd of God’s people in Ahiara. In doing this, the cardinal should be wary not to make the same mistake that led this impasse. The people have unflinching confidence in his ability to do the right thing. There is need to settle ruffled feathers and redeem the tainted image of the Catholic Church in Igbo land. That brings me to the issues raised by Pope Francis in his address to the nuncios. When Pope Francis addressed the 108 papal delegates along with 40 retired nuncios at the Vatican City on June 21, 2013, he did not mince words in stressing the need for the nuncios to strive to find the right candidates for the job of bishop. According to the Pope, critical among the requirements is that candidates to serve as bishops “must be pastors who are close to their people, fathers and brothers, who are meek, patient and merciful”. This is the foundation upon which the search for a new bishop must be laid. The fact that the Pope stressed on “pastors who are close to their people” as the ultimate qualifier, shows that the appointment of Bishop Okpaleke for Ahiara Diocese was completely flawed. Monsignor Peter Okpaleke, was the parish priest of Umubele Parish in Awka, Anambra State when he was appointed as “bishop designate” for Ahiara (Mbaise), in Imo State. It was obvious that the new “bishop” is alien to Ahiara. A stranger cannot shepherd a strange flock. There would be confusion in the relationship. That would also negate the injunction given by Jesus Christ himself in John 10:14, where He said “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”. Where a shepherd doesn’t know his sheep and his sheep do not know him, how can they co-exist? As a matter of fact, if a stranger busts into a flock of sheep, the sheep will scatter.

It was on the ground of lack of closeness that the clergy and faithful of Mbaise rejected Bishop Okpaleke. And, as if the people consulted with Pope Francis (who at the time was Cardinal in far away Buenos Aires), they insisted that they want a bishop who is close to them, whom they can hear and who can hear them. Somehow, the Pope’s directives put stress on several previous bishopric appointments made around Nigeria, whereby, strange candidates were appointed from outside and imposed on the people. While all those would serve as dark spots, appointment into future bishopric positions must follow the immutable standard. The Pope went further to state that “a good candidate for the post of bishop will “love interior poverty as freedom for the Lord” and live that externally with simple lifestyle, and he won’t have the mindset of a prince”. These are angelic qualities that are alien in the lives of some of our bishops, many of who see themselves as overlords, who are over and above the people they were appointed to cater for. If anything, the issue of “simple lifestyle” is far removed from some bishops who act as princes on the throne. One directive that particularly interests me is the Pope’s warning to the nuncios. He said, “Beware of those who are ambitious, who seek the episcopacy”. This directive captures the mentality of most priests in Nigeria, especially, in Igboland, who regard appointment as bishop as their ultimate goal. It is on this ground that there are godfathers and godsons, who are lined up by those in charge to be bishop. That is why vacant dioceses, anywhere in the country, are filled with those favoured candidates, who have been preselected and put on the waiting list. This is breeding bad blood in the church. And the time to stop it is now. In selecting the bishop of Ahiara, Cardinal Onaiyekan should be discrete. He should look out for those ambitious priests in Ahiara Diocese, who want to be bishop at all cost. Those are the careerists, whose stock in trade is to occupy high positions and have commanding influence over others. These should be identified and disqualified automatically. The church is the church of the Holy Spirit. The selection of Ahiara bishop should be left to the Holy Spirit who knows the heart of all men through prayer.

Multimedia and northern Nigerian literature (2) By Matthew Kukah •Continued from yesterday. OW, with the challenge of globalization, the multimedia is not so much a question of whether we should or should not accept these changes. Rather, it is now a question of how we can cope with them. Like the sun or the rain, all we can hope for is how to either make use of it positively or how to stop it from harming us. Against this backdrop, even the whole idea of what is literature will gradually be redefined due to the great opportunities to deploy these media instruments. The idea of who is a writer and who is an artist will gradually have to change. No longer will being a writer be determined by who your publisher is, no longer will being an artist, a composer, a singer depend on who your producer is. With the new media, we can all be our own publishers, producers and marketers. Is the North prepared to take advantage of these opportunities? Does the dominant elite of the north have the reflex to open up to these opportunities? What are the main constraints that lie before northern writers? Here, I will list just about five of so areas where we need to pay attention. First, the North must overcome the issue of how it wishes to address the identity ambiguity among its people and the feelings of alienation. In moments of political crises and perceived threat to the interests of the North, the trumpeters of One North, One People, come out blaring their horns and summoning us to war or to political action. Things have now changed and in the last 30 or more years, there have been various efforts by communities to invent their identities. The reluctance of the Muslim North to share power with its nonMuslim population is a cause for serious worry and a threat to cultural integration. After so many years of crises, the division and distinction between communities and their identities is wider now than at any time. The demonization and rejection of the other, all these are serious challenges. The nation needs a means of rallying together and the novel, the film, the drama or the song can fill this gap. Indeed, this is a challenge that literature can fill by deploying the notion of unity and equity through literature

and art. To the extent that literature allows opportunities for a limitless imagination to wander and create illusions about a new world and its possibilities, more than any other instrument, literary expressions can really take advantage of this space. Secondly, there is the need for the North to open up the media to every community in the North. The first way to overcome this severe limitation is to open up positions in the media to everyone who qualifies. For example, there is the serious problem of lack of access of many non-Muslim, non-Hausa voices on the media in the northern states. With so much focus on Islam and Hausa to the exclusion of other languages on the northern media, it is clear that talent and imagination are being stifled. A simple example is to look out how much time for example, is devoted to other cultures or faiths in government media. In my view, it is important to open up spaces for the northern media to encourage creativity and to deliberately celebrate its diversity. But this cannot happen if the electronic and print media in the North are determined by a dominant culture and religion. We tend to run away from these realities but the best way is to subject them to critical review and assessment. The lack of diversity in management positions dims the capacity of these organisations to appreciate other voices and denies these institutions the human resources they require to succeed. The New Nigerian for example has been at best in a coma for the better part of 20 years now. Thirdly, there is the issue of the culture of conservative culture of intolerance of what freedom means. Literature is driven by imagination and the guarantee of free expression. Unfortunately, the North has shown itself not to be an environment which cherishes free expression. To be sure, cultural sensibilities are important and they need to be guarded and nurtured. However, what we need is a strong and clear regime of laws and due processes rather than the outright prejudices against what is considered foreign or western. While all the northern elite across the traditional, economic and political elite enjoy the benefits of their holidays in foreign countries, while they send their children to foreign western nations for education, while they seek treatment in the same western countries, we hear every day, hypocritical anti western calls. We hear the same northern elite rant against the West and its corrupting influence. Despite all the willingness to put a reli-

gious spin to major issues when it is convenient, despite the near obsession with pilgrimages, we do not find these elite sending their children to Saudi Arabia, Iran or Kuwait for education. We must come out and face the challenges that lie before us with an open world that is beyond our control. We must open up and allow ideas to compete, allow the freedom of young people to dream new dreams and create new visions beyond the narrow pretensions of the elite and the very tired but selfish generation. Cultural prejudices in northern Nigeria have shut out women in public life. Or, how else does one explain the total absence of Muslim Women, Youth and Christians in public life in most of the states in northern Nigeria? It is not uncommon to hear male chauvinists say that Islam does not accept the leadership of women over men. Again, the young are merely supposed to be subservient and to learn from elders who have experience and wisdom. However, some of this is being showed up as absolute nonsense because what constitutes wisdom or experience is no longer true. We live now in a knowledge world and this is what globalization and the multimedia have thrown up for us. We must face this reality. Fourthly, there is the issue of how the National Censors Board and regulatory bodies should be allowed to operate freely and whether they, rather than Imams, Mullahs, Priests or Bishops should decide what is acceptable and cannot be tolerated. We need a society where narrow and voluntary identities such as religion, race, or class do not dwarf citizenship and human rights. Our common citizenship must be the focus of our dreams in literature. Here, it is important that regulatory bodies like the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, NBC must become more innovative and creative in encouraging rather than stifling talent. There is need to reduce the bureaucracy that leads to the corruption around the registration and ownership of the means of communication such as Community Radios and television stations. •To be continued. • Reverend father Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, delivered this as keynote address at the Conference on Multi-media and Northern Nigerian Literature at Presidential Lodge, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State on Monday, June 17t, 2013.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

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Opinion Metropolitan planning for Lagos mega city By Yacoob Abiodun URING the second tenure of former President D Olusegun Obansanjo, a meeting between him and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State was held on December 19, 2005 in the presence of some Federal Ministers and Commissioners of the Lagos State Government where it was decided that a Presidential Committee for the Re-development of Lagos Mega City Region be constituted. In compliance with the Presidential directive, a 21-member Committee was inaugurated by the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Ufot Ekaette on December 30, 2005 under the chairmanship of an internationally renowned scholar, Professor Akin L. Mabogunje. The Committee’s terms of reference inter alia include: i) to identify areas of common concern within the whole Lagos Mega City Region with respect to security, traffic and transportation, waste management, water supply, land use planning, infrastructural development and maintenance, urban renewal and slum upgrading; ii) to propose solutions and recommend measures for addressing the problems; iii) to identify the role and responsibilities of key stakeholders including the Federal, State and Local Governments, Communities, and multilateral donors agencies in managing the effects of the growth of the Lagos Mega City Region; iv) to recommend appropriate institutional and legal framework on how the two states (Lagos and Ogun) and the Federal Government can co-operate to manage the effects of the growth of Lagos Mega City Region; and v) to identify the management and information/organisational framework and funding arrangement for managing growth within the Lagos Mega City Region. The Presidential Committee submitted its Report in April 2006 to former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his consideration. The report contained wide-range of recommendations on how the Lagos Mega City Region could be transformed into a world-class city by the year 2015. The Lagos Mega City Region as identified by the Committee “is the continuous, built-up area of Lagos from the Atlantic, westwards and northwards beyond the boundaries of Lagos into Ogun State. The region has in effect over-run four (namely: Ado-Odo/Ota, Ifo, Obafemi Owode and Sagamu) of the 20 Local Government Areas of Ogun State and encompassed 18 of the 20 Local Government Areas of Lagos.” As at year 2000, the region had a total population of 13 million, which has been projected to reach 25 million by 2015. To facilitate the implementation of the Committee’s report, a tripartite institutional arrangement comprising: The President’s Council, Mega City Intergovernmental Committee and the Mega City Transportation and Planning Authority were recommended to be set up. Before former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office in April 2007, the report of the Committee received the attention of the Federal Government to some extent. The Federal Government was able to approve the institutional arrangements recommended in the

Committee’s report, by setting up an operational office named as Lagos Mega City Development Authority (LMCDA) with a Board chaired by Professor Akin L. Mabogunje. Other members were the Federal Ministers of Environment, Finance and Transport respectively, while the two States’ (Lagos and Ogun) members of the Board included the Commissioners for Works, Housing, Environment, Transport and Physical Planning and Urban Development. The LMCDA served as the administrative office under an Executive Secretary with a retinue of other multi-disciplinary professional staff who were seconded from both the Lagos and Ogun State governments. The Board occasionally met to deliberate on issues that affect the re-development and transformation of the Lagos Mega City Region and made the necessary recommendations for the consideration of the President’s Council, which comprised the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Governors of Lagos and Ogun states. The Board also embarked on series of sensitisation and consultative sessions with industry players and other relevant stakeholders within the megacity region, to identify areas of mutual co-operation in the course of transforming the Lagos Mega City Region in order to make it liveable, functional, economically virile, investmentfriendly and environmentally sustainable. Before former President Olusegun Obasanjo left office in April 2007, the establishment of the Lagos Mega City Development Authority through legislation by the National Assembly was inconclusive. When the late President Umaru Yar’Adua assumed office in May 2007, the matter was re-visited. It came to the front burner when, on July 22, 2007 the late President came to Lagos on official visit and met with the incumbent Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola and the immediate past Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. After the meeting, the late President made a statement that “the Federal Government can no longer ignore the population growth in Lagos, as there is the urgent need to begin the development plan for a megacity. He further said that, “there was a need to draft a legislation for the megacity status of Lagos”, considering the fact that the city’s sphere of influence has extended far into the neighbouring Ogun State. Despite the valiant efforts of Professor Mabogunje to ensure that the Lagos Mega City status was formalised through an Act of the National Assembly, the matter was stalemated due to some unresolved administrative and Board-related issues between the Federal Government and Lagos State Government (LASG). First, among the contentious issues, was the Chairmanship position of the Board of the LMCDA, which the Lagos State Government considered that it should be its appointee contrary to the view of the Federal Government that, it is the prerogative of the President to appoint the chairman of the LMCDA. Second, the Lagos State Government (LASG) wanted to have 60 per cent membership of the proposed Board of the Authority. Third, the LASG was opposed to the funding arrangement in the ratio of

45% Federal, 40% LASG and 15% OGSG; but would rather prefer a special lump sum grant from the Federal Government to run the affairs of the Board and the Authority without the involvement of the Federal Government. In the course of the war of supremacy and muscle-flexing exacerbated by different political ideologies between the Federal Government and LASG, the draft legislation remained in limbo, while activities at the interim office of the Lagos Mega City Development Authority were grounded, leading to the recall of the professional staff seconded to the Authority by their respective state governments. The concern of this piece is to lend a voice on the need for the establishment of a separate institutional structure (as other Nigerian urban development experts have rightly canvassed) to purposely administer the Lagos Mega City Region under a suitable nomenclature be it Lagos-Ogun Metropolitan Development Authority, Lagos Mega City Development Authority or Greater Lagos Planning Authority. The problems plaguing the metropolitan area designated as the Lagos Mega City Region are multifarious and daunting, “the financial requirement for making any significant improvement on the present situation would be colossal”. The LASG could not singlehandedly foot the bill of the entire re-development of the region. Mega cities (by their sheer size and complexities) all over the world are managed by a Metropolitan Council/Metropolitan Planning Authority, which is a voluntary association of elected public officials from most or all of the jurisdiction in a metropolitan area, set up to improve understanding and coordinate joint action on mutual problems. Classic examples of such urban hierarchy are New York Metropolitan Planning Authority, Los Angeles Metropolitan Authority, Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority, Greater London Authority, Greater Tokyo Metro Government, Greater Istanbul Authority, Rio de Janeiro Municipal Authority to mention a few. Metropolitan Lagos has become a conurbation (settlement of many towns and cities) with its sphere of influence extended to some neighbouring settlements in Ogun State. It has also developed as a centre substantial and diverse production, consumption and services. It is the territorial mega size vis-à-vis the nebulous and uncoordinated planning activities being carried out by the various planning agencies with overlapping jurisdiction and where the locus of decision-making is diffused that has necessitated the clarion call for one omnibus Metropolitan Planning Authority to effectively manage and control development within the region. The proposed Metropolitan Planning Authority for the Lagos Mega City Region should involve officials of Lagos and Ogun States and Local Government Councils within the area designated as the Metropolitan Special District (MSD). The Federal Government should in turn play a complementary role in providing special grant, capacity building and policy guidelines. The Metropolitan Planning Authority should create a core of pro-

fessional staff trained in the areas of urban planning, engineering, transportation, environmental management, social services, communications, development of primary infrastructure and emergency planning and with the skills to work together to address major planning issues in an integrated way. In addition, the Planning Authority should be able to adopt and apply metropolitan management guidelines in the areas of land, environment and infrastructural management, as well as finance and administration. One is not oblivious of the giant strides being made by Governor Fashola Administration in the areas of city-wide beautification, infrastructural provision, traffic management, waste management, transportation and security in Lagos. However, the pace of the general transformation of the mega city region can be fast-tracked than hitherto under a purpose-specific Authority autonomous in administration and well-equipped with multidisciplinary professional staff and generous budget that would enable it function optimally to tackle the common problems of the metropolitan area. The border areas of the mega city region, which have extended deep into Ogun State cannot be isolated from the municipal administration of the Metropolitan Planning Authority bearing in mind that those areas have problems whose origins emanated from, and extend to the two states, thereby having a spill-over effects in many communities under the jurisdiction of Lagos State. For example, the problems of flooding, waste management, bad roads and taxes would have to be jointly addressed by LASG and OGSG under a mutually-agreed administrative set up capable of finding solutions to these common problems in a holistic manner. The present buck-passing of municipal responsibility (between the two states) for the provision of urban basic services for residents of the peripheral areas would be minimised, if not completely eliminated under a joint municipal administration. Greater Tokyo, a megalopolis of 35 million people, is the largest urban area in the world. Despite its large population, it is dubbed the “megacity that works”. It is less polluted, less crime rate, functional transport system, lots of green space and environment friendly with insignificant litter. All these positive ratings for Tokyo megalopolis are achievable through the efforts of Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a separate entity established by the Japanese Government, to administer the region with a generous annual budget in excess of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s and Tunisia’s. Lagos is Nigeria’s primate city. It is the hub of internal and external commerce and sundry economic activities. The proximity of Ogun State to Lagos State ought to have salutary effect on the former if and when the advocacy for a joint municipal administration as being proposed in this piece is re-visited and realised. The lofty idea should not be scarified on the altar of political brinkmanship. • Abiodun is Urban Planner/former Secretary, Housing Policy Council, Abuja.

50 years of Ado Bayero’s Emirship By Sunday Saanu HEN he was being installed 50 years ago as the Emir of Kano, W Alhaji (Dr.) Ado Abdullahi Bayero promised to dedicate himself to the service of his people, the emirate, the state and the country in general. In retrospect, there is no doubting the fact that the 1963 pledge of a former Nigerian Ambassador to Senegal has not only been redeemed, but fulfilled with a stoical forbearance. Alhaji Ado Bayero who is one of the longest serving emirs in the emirate’s history, today stands out distinguishably among his peers as a patron of Islamic Scholarship who as well, embraces western education as a means to succeed in a modern Nigeria. Though the12th child of the late Emir, the incumbent was the first privileged prince to attend a public school. This makes him unique in the chronology of princes before him because he was the first to attain such educational height in the history of the emirate. Obviously, his broadmindedness as well as his passion for the betterment of humanity has placed him in a vantage position to render selfless service, thus, validating Paul Harris’ postulation that “a true spirit of service is capable of working world’s redemption”. As a way of working for the redemption of his people, Dr. Ado Bayero

had served (before becoming Emir) as the Chief of the Kano Police – a position equivalent to a Commissioner of Police today. At the national level, he has served in various capacities including his appointment as the first Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in 1966. Amazingly, Alhaji Ado Bayero is currently serving as two-time Chancellor of Nigeria’s premier university – University of Ibadan (UI). He was first inducted on April 24, 1976 and served till 1984 when he was succeeded by His Highness Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpo Erediauwa. Following his impressive record, the Emir of Kano was again appointed as UI Chancellor in 2001. Cumulatively, Alhaji Bayero has served the University for close to 28 years, thus, contributing in no small way to the stability, progress and development of the university. It is against this background that UI decided to honour one of its longest serving Chancellors with what it called A day of Royal Tributes and N12 billion fundraising for Ado Bayero Complex of the University of Ibadan School of Business that took place last month at the Institution’s International Conference Centre, Ibadan. The University thought it wise to bestow a befitting honour on the Emir by naming the Complex of the newly created School of Business after Alhaji Ado Bayero. This respected elder statesman undoubtedly deserves the honour. Bayero’s long time friendship with the Ooni of

Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade is an indication that the Emir of Kano is a bridge-builder across the length and breadth of the country – a kind of attribute that the nation earnestly desires. Not too long ago, his convoy was attacked during which he lost four persons including the Emir’s driver and palace guards while two of his sons were also wounded. He again lost his wife, Hajiya Raba Ado Bayero who died at the age of 67 on May 23, 2013. The UI is shopping for the whopping N12 billion to build Ado Bayero Complex of the University of Ibadan School of Business. Given the contribution and status of Ado Bayero in Nigeria, this edifice is the university’s way of immortalizing the emir. Over the years, Bayero preached love and peace among the citizens of this country. Born July 25, 1930, Ado Bayero ascended the throne in October 22, 1963 becoming the 13th Fulani emir of Kano and the 56th ruler of the Kano kingdom. He is a man of his words. His consistency in ruling by the tenets of his promise makes him a true royal father to look up to by both the young and old. Again, his commitment to the unity in the country and his advocacy for the education of both males and females earn him enormous respect as he is seen as a clairvoyant leader. One can only wish him more peaceful reign and more years of service to humanity. • Saanu is of the University of Ibadan.

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Law

Quote of the week “In politics as in religion, my tenets are few and simple. The leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others, meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved. If this maxim was generally adopted, wars would cease and our swords would soon be converted into reap hooks and our harvests be more peaceful, abundant, and happy.” —-George Washington judicialeditor@yahoo.co.uk/ 08033151041 Desk Head: Ibe Uwaleke

‘Judicial appointment ought to be open, competitive and rational’ Interview By Joseph Onyekwere

When the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Maryam Mukhtar addressed judicial officers at a recent forum organized by the National Judicial Institute, it was a damning self-appraisal of Nigeria’s judiciary. She pointed out the extent to which corruption had ravaged the temple of justice and remarked the loss of faith by Nigerians in a judiciary in which the innocent but poor go to jail while the guilty but rich get a bail. She then vowed erring judges would be given the boot henceforth. At a similar function in Lagos organized by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the CJN had harped on the ills of corruption on the Bench and admonished the NBA to help in the fight against judicial corruption by punishing lawyers who abet corruption in the system by extending bribes and other favours to judges. She also condemned the frequency of petition written against judges by lawyers who had perfected the act of turning appeal into petitions. She had matched her vows with actions with the discipline of some judges indicted of one offence or the other. While some are dismissed or retired, others were merely warned to desist from such acts unbecoming of a judge. Before the interventions, public confidence in the judiciary had been on the decline over the years such that it was becoming difficult to trust many judges with the dispensation of justice. In this encounter with a revered Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yemi Candide-Johnson (SAN), he examined the issue of corruption and indolence among the judges. He also spoke on political cross-carpeting, the law profession and many others. ALKING on the state of Nigerian judiciary in T view of recent corruption allegations and dismissal by NJC, he said: “Nigerian judges are administering justice less efficiently than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Lateness, absenteeism and ignorance of basic law and procedure are rampant. A high number of sitting judges across Nigeria appear to be unaware of the responsibility of this very high office and these ones therefore are careless of the dignity and even spirituality of this judicial priesthood. Inevitably, justice and its delivery are tainted with the stench of corruption. The public is disenchanted, lawyers are frustrated and local and international commerce have given up in disgust. Righteous and conscientious judges still extant in this throng have entered a deep trough of despondency and the few recent corrections are a symptom rather than a cure. In my opinion a see change in attitude and inevitably in personnel at all levels is necessary to restore the high standard and reputation of our judiciary, and I fear that the judiciary itself is so infested that it might not be able to cleanse and restore itself. More heads will have to roll. Candide-Johnson also expressed his views with regard to how far the cleansing reforms introduced by the sitting CJN would go after her. “I believe personally that the present CJN abhors the stench of corruption and that she must, by now, be choking on it. She, however, has ample opportunity to, in her term, effect radical change. The more radical the change, the more difficult it will be to reverse and the more likely that her successor will be in the same mold. It is idle to build the future of an institution on one single mortal

board. I think that but each one can do something to rebuild as more useful than a first some of her predecessors had done to destroy. If degree will be a system of the institution was less dependent on individucompulsory and regulated als some of her predecessors might not have fospupillage to ensure that tered such destruction. I think that she already before a lawyer is thrust upon knows what needs to be done. She should be the public he can justify the encouraged to get doing by the fact that very confidence that they soon, she too will be a former CJN. At that time, will unknowingly crying over spilt milk will be idle.” repose in his On the appointment procedure of judges, integriwhich many people believe is not based on merit but on who you know, he said: “I can remember a time when even politically connected persons who desired the office of a judge could not attain it because they were morally or professionally inferior. That is not the case today. In fact, it seems quite clear that stronger candidates are likely to be less able or willing to compromise or ingratiate themselves with political authority and so will be less likely to be preferred. The most carvel lackey therefore is better equipped to secure the office and then for what purpose? Inevitable, for the craven purposes of his master. Corruption begets corruption and so it is small walk from compromising justice for politics to doing so for cash. If it is in your character already you will see no fall. Making man a judge does not cure him of his character and therefore only men of character, independence and judgment ought to sit on a countries bench. The procedure ought to be open, competitive and rational so that every man can have new confidence in it and so that the best material will administer justice in Nigeria.” Commenting on the elements that have the capacity to enhance judicial independence, Candide-Johnson stated: “I already said, an open, rational and competitive procedure for appointment, will add to that. Rules- based system of oversight on judicial performance to which the public has access and by which errant judges are swiftly brought to account. Finally, judges must be adequately and promptly remunerated, their salary, allowances and the budget of the judiciary ought to be ringfenced and directly controlled. It is true that some criminals in ermine may try and steal an independent budget but the control of Candide-Johnson this rests in a rules-based system of oversight on judicial performance to which the public has access and by which errant judges are swiftly brought to ty, skill and judgment.” account.” He also responded to the call for separation of The constitution provides that all elective politlegal practice between advocates and solicitors ical office-holders must be sponsored by a political party but says nothing about cross-carpetNigerian judges are administering ing. How can we prevent party prostitution, jumping from party to party without recourse justice less efficiently than they were to the sponsoring party? 20 or 30 years ago. Lateness, absenHe responds: “Party prostitution is inevitable when parties are built of personalities and cash teeism and ignorance of basic law and rather than ideology, values and principle. If procedure are rampant. A high numpreventing this is considered important without inculcating ideology, values and principle ber of sitting judges across Nigeria then a cross-carpeting politician should by that appear to be unaware of the responsiact nullify his position and be required to validate it afresh by the means that he first attained bility of this very high office and these it. If you cross-carpet for your electorate, then ones, therefore, are careless of the they will validate your act.” dignity and even spirituality of this On the argument that law should be studied after one has obtained a degree in another field, judicial priesthood. Inevitably, justice he said: “The problem is intellectual weakness and its delivery are tainted with the and immaturity among new lawyers. This is danger to the public and to the credibility of law stench of corruption practice in Nigeria generally and across the

as it is practiced in the United Kingdom (UK). “It is an idle agitation. The separation in the UK has unique historical origins and even there, that has been questioned and has become blurred in many ways over time. It is costly and inefficient and has not been followed in other leading jurisdictions. The key deficiency is inadequate training of lawyers for the area of their specialisation and this is not solved in any way by division of the profession by itself.” Speaking on the general consensus that the standard of legal education is falling, giving way to mediocrity and quest for money, he declared: “It is a matter to which I have given some thought as part of a working group on liberalization of legal services in Nigeria constituted last year by the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okey Wali SAN. Key among our conclusions are that lawyers must be specially trained, and trained in specialties of law. They must be required to undergo pupillage and they must be subject to the strictest professional and moral standards which must be publicly and effectively enforced.”

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

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LawPeople

Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness - great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy. ——Jim Rohn

Profile By Bertram Nwannekanma HIEF Afe Babalola, a Senior C Advocate of Nigeria, remains a household name in the legal circle, not only in Nigeria but also in different jurisdictions. To many, the legal luminary epitomizes success, hard-work and resilience, while others see him as a highly cerebral person with passion for excellence, both in the legal practice and other areas of human endeavour. Undoubtedly, the legal icon’s name elicits courage and untiring efforts to give back to society as well as to provide a fulcrum for societal sustenance. This, he has, demonstrated through his various philanthropic activities that had become a reference point and endowed him in the heart of many. For instance, Babalola was recently declared as “the African Man of the Year” for his contributions to education by All African Students Union with headquarters in Ghana. He initiated Endowment Fund Scheme in the University of Lagos. The yearly income from the scheme provides scholarships to students in the university. He also donated buildings, equipment and scholarships worth several billions of naira. Before establishing a private university; the Afe Babalola University in Ado- Ekiti, Ekiti State, in 2009, to boost the quality of education in Nigeria, Chief Babalola has always believed in investing in the youths and developing the needy. He has trained over 1,000 lawyers among whom are Judges, Ministers, Attorneys-General (Federal and State) and has over 14 Senior Advocates (SANs) who have passed through his chambers. As a lawyer of outstanding brilliance, Chief Babalola, still teaches law at his university, even at his age of over 80. Incidentally, the revered legal luminary and highest individual taxpayer in Ekiti State had a very humble beginning. His forage to the legal profession was also that of a happenstance and the circumstances surrounding his upbringing could make a best seller in movie industry. Born into a polygamous farming family in Ado-Ekiti, of the presentday Ekiti State, Babalola was introduced to farming at a tender age, by his late father, Joshua Babalola, who bought him a hoe and cutlass, with which he started going to the farm like his father, with one singular goal; to be a full-time farmer. Poised to be a successful farmer like his parents, Afe was enmeshed in farming that he never wanted to hear anything about school, because according to him, “life was complete and fulfilled in the farm. ” However as fate would have it, the missionaries then persuaded his father to allow him, as the eldest child of the family, to go to school. With much pressure from the missionaries, his father agreed to send him to school, not for anything but to satisfy the whims and caprices of the missionaries. Finally, Afe was sent to Emmanuel Primary School, Ado-Ekiti in 1938, but

Afe Babalola

Celebrating golden era of a legal colossus on many occasions, he absconded from school because of his love for the farm. In spite of his pranks and truancy, he finished his Primary Education in 1945, and that became a tonic that had continued to drive him. After leaving primary school and was employed as a teacher by the missionary, Afe was sent to St. Luke’s Primary school, Ikere-Ekiti, where he spent a few years before being posted to his alma mater, in Ado-Ekiti. He wrote the then Lokoja-Ondo Diocesan Examination where he was Overall Second Best Pupil and was offered admission into secondary school. He started from Form Three at Christ School, Ado-Ekiti, yet he could not utilize that opportunity due to poverty. He, however, found solace in correspondence studies without Secondary School education and obtained Cambridge School Certificate, GCE, Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificate of London University, B.Sc. (Economics) of London University and LL.B (Hons) of London University, all by private study. Today, Chief Babalola, who was called to the Bar in England in 1963, has surmounted many challenges that came his way, becoming an un-common person, with un-common achievements. Life has not only been fair to him as he marks his golden jubilee at the Bar, this year by joining the league of other privileged Nigerian lawyers that had made this mark. Before him, were lawyers such as the late Chief FRA Williams (SAN) QC, who was called to Bar in 1943 and had the final court session in 2005 after 62 years of active battle in the court room, then the late Chief Theophilus Sobawale

To many, the legal luminary epitomizes success, hardwork and resilience, while others see him as a highly cerebral person with passion for excellence, both in the legal practice and other areas of human endeavour.

Benson, who made 61 years post-call in 2008 having been called to Bar in 1947 and died in 2008, the ultimate solicitor, Chief Chris Ogunbanjo, joined the rank in 2010, having been called to Bar in August 1950. Then, the late Justice Emmanuel Araka, who was enrolled as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria by the Chief Justice of Nigeria in March 1951 and became the fourth Nigerian lawyer that had achieved the remarkable feat of reaching 60 years post- call. Chief Tanimose Abioye Bankole-Oki (SAN) was called to the English Bar by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s in November 1950 and was called to Nigerian bar in 1951 and made 59 years post-call. Then, Dr. Festus Adebisi Ajayi (SAN), who was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1953 followed next. Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) was called to the English Bar in 1955 and a year later to the Nigerian Bar in 1956 followed next while the oldest Nigerian lawyer, Pa Tunji Gomez was called to English and British Bar in 1961, along side Professor Ben Nwabueze. Afe, who is a member of Lincolns Inn, London, a registered member of the Bar of England and Wales and a most distinguished member of the Nigerian Bar has now reached the 50th mark alongside Chief Mrs. Folake Solanke (SAN), the first Nigerian female Senior Advocate. He started his legal pupilage at the chambers of Olu Ayoola from where he continued in legal practice till 1965 before he established Chief Afe Babalola & Co. (Emmanuel Chambers), reputed as one of the leading law firms in Nigeria today. A Patron of over 10 Law Students Societies, legal institutions and corporate bodies, Babalola has assisted over 2,000 lawyers. In numerous ways , he has employed and trained over 500 lawyers and produced 14 Senior Advocates of Nigeria SANs (the largest number from any

chambers in the country), several judges and Attorneys-General, State and Federal. His 50 years experience of uninterrupted legal practice have equipped him with versatility in most areas of law. He is a Solicitor and Consultant to several conglomerates in Nigeria and outside Nigeria. In 1981, he was a counsel to Federal Government in the 2.8 billion enquiries as well as counsel to the Federal Government of Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. Babalola is an Arbitrator of repute and is actively involved in both domestic and international Arbitrations. He is the incumbent President of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of Nigeria. He owns a huge law library strongly devoted to the advancement of law and the legal profession in Nigeria and is widely reputed as the advocate who never fails to unravel a knotty issue. Afe as he is fondly called was admitted into the Inner Bar as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1987 and is a holder of the prestigious awards of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). A Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria, Babalola is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute of Nigeria. He is a member of the Privileges Committee of the Supreme Court of Nigeria – a body that appoints Senior Advocates and was the Pro-Chancellor

of University of Lagos (UNILAG) between 2001 and 2008 where he established transparency, discipline and integrity. An advocate par excellence, Chief Babalola has made outstanding contributions to the development of Nigerian Law and Jurisprudence through his eclectic advocacy in court evident from the numerous celebrated cases, which he had handled, and the notable personalities who are his clients. Some of intellectual works credited to him include, Injunctions and Enforcement of Orders; Law and Practice of Evidence in Nigeria; Enforcement of Judgments; Election Law and Practice; and University Administration. These works had contributed immensely to the promotion of legal education and practice in Nigeria. He has also authored over 500 articles in several books and law journals and has delivered over 500 brilliant lectures at various events. His autobiography entitled “Impossibility made Possible” has been described as “an extensive and tremendous opus, written in his unmistakable style, and stories comparable only to the Greek myths” and which book explains Babalola’s passionate embrace of philanthropy as an instrument of social reengineering. In September 2007, Aare Afe Babalola was awarded the prestigious “Queen Victoria’s Commemorative Medal” in Oxford, United Kingdom European Business Assembly for his philanthropic activities and achievements in University of Lagos. He has handled hundreds of cases that had helped in expounding the nation’s jurisprudence, like the 1999 and 2003 presidential election petitions against the election of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, where he represented Chief Obasanjo and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He was also instrumental to the enactment of laws establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Miscellaneous Offences Commission (ICPC). This followed his victory in the Supreme Court following the opposition by the then governor of Ondo State, the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati on the ground that the Federal Government lacked power to enact such laws that would cover other federating units (states). Chief Afe Babalola successfully argued this suit at the Supreme Court and the court had no objection in validating the establishment of those agencies. Despite all these achievements, Chief Babalola’s love for farming has not dwindled as he owns the largest farm in Ekiti, no wonder he was appointed by the Federal Government to be part of a delegation to international conference on agriculture. Babalola, who holds several chieftaincy titles, says he derives his strength from engaging in active farming, which he does along with his law practice. He is happily married with four children, and grand children.

Do you know… Escrow Account: A bank account generally held in the name of the depositor and an escrow agent, which is returnable to depositor or paid to a third person on the fulfillment of escrow condition. For example, funds for payments of real estate taxes are commonly paid into escrow account of bank-mortgagor by mortgagee. See N.B.N. Ltd. v. Savol W.A. Ltd. [1994] 3 NWLR (Pt. 333) 435 at 466, [C.A.], citing Blacks’s Law Dictionary

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LawReport Public Officers’ Protection Act cannot avail on officer who acted outside his constitutional duty (2) In the Court of Appeal In the Lagos Judicial Division Holden at Lagos, On Wednesday, March 27, 2013, Before their Lordships: Ibrahim M.M. Saulawa, Justice, Court of Appeal; Chima Centus Nweze, Justice, Court of Appeal; Chinwe Eugenia Iyizoba, Justice, Court of Appeal; CA/L/660/10 In the matter of an application brought by Daniel Makolo and five others for determination of the application of the Federal Government’s Monetisation Policy of 2003. Between Mr. D. Makolo Mr. M.B. Ibrahim Mrs. M.O Oguntobi Mr. Dehinde Gbenga Mr. Atiku Abubakar Mr. Mike Anyanwu (Suing for themselves and on behalf of all the 144 evicted service tenants of Eric Moore Towers, Surulere, Lagos) (appellants) and The Minister, Federal Ministry of Housing & Urban Development, The Attorney-General of The Federation and Minister of Justice, The Chairman of the Implementation Committee on Federal Government Landed Property, The Secretary of the Implementation Committee on Justice Bulkachuwa (Acting PCA) Federal Government Landed Property (respondents). He noted that even if the lower court were to consider the issue of “no cause of action” as distinct from the matter being statute barred, E observed that it was this misconception it would have been constrained to decide the that prompted the said notice. He con- issue against the respondents in view of tended that even if it was true that the lower Thomas v Olufosoye (1986) 1 NWLR (pt 18) 669, court did not consider the issues raised, the 682, per Obaseki JSC. He maintained that the appropriate thing to do, in the circumstance, affidavit in support of the summons, clearly, was to cross-appeal since there was no alterna- showed the wrongful acts of the respondents tive ground on which to rest the judgment. in failing to abide by exhibit C on which the

appellant relied on their detriment, which culminated in their unlawful eviction. He maintained that even if the names of the third and fourth respondents were struck out, as sought by the respondents, it would, in no way, extinguish the suit. He submitted that no proceeding shall be defeated by reason of non-joinder or mis-joinder, Order 9 Rule 14(1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009. In response to first, third and fourth respondents’ issue 1. He pointed out that counsel never had the assurance and boldness to pin a date of accrual of action in the said brief. Neither was any date picked in their counteraffidavit. He characterised as mischievous the argument that no issue was formulated from ground 1 seeking that ground 1 related to the issue of whether the action was statute-barred or not. He maintained that knowing the date of the accrual of the cause was crucial to the question whether an action was statutebarred. He noted that ground 1 contested the fundamental question of cause of action and its purported date of accrual. On issue 5, he submitted that the appellants did not leave the court in the murky water of “good faith’ or “bad faith.” Rather, they, clearly, stated that the act of the respondents, in forcibly evicting them, was not only criminal but a subversion of the constitution of Nigeria as held by the Supreme Court in Governor of Lagos State v Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (pt 18) 621, 633-634 and must not be legalised by recourse to the Limitation Act. He submitted that the courts are also courts of equity. He urged the court to invoke its equitable jurisdiction and hold that if equity will not permit statute to be cloak for fraud, it will not also permit a statute

to be cloak for illegality. He further contended that a reply to a respondent’s notice was not proper forum for a party to raise issues outside the scope of the respondent’s notice. He urged the court to discountenance the appellants, arguments on paragraphs 7.13-8.13 of the reply to the respondent notice as they sought to proffer arguments and deviate from the issues that had been joined by the parties. In our humble view, it would seem neater to dispose of the arguments in the said respondent’s notice before dealing with the main appeal, see, per Eso JSC in Anyaduba and Anor v Nigerian Renowned Trading Co Ltd (1990) LPELR SC.103/1988 (-R). The principal plank of the arguments in the said notice was that the court considered only one issue. They raised four issues for the resolution of their agitation in the said notice, Pages 4-7 of the respondent’s notice and brief of argument. In response, the appellants identified some “fundamental troubles with the said notice, they drew attention to paragraph 9 of the affidavit of January 6, 2011, wherein counsel for the first, third and fourth respondents averred “that upon careful perusal of the lower court’s judgment, it was discovered that the learned trial Judge did not consider all the issues raised by the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants at the lower court.” The appellant contended that the said respondent’s notice was not the “proper route” for ventilating this sort of grievance. Before returning to this submission, we think that it would be appropriate to explore the origin and import of the respondent’s notice to contend.

TO BE CONTINUED

Plaintiff cannot seek declaration of rights without questions for determination By Ibe Uwaleke, Head, Judicial Desk

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Holden at Abuja, On Friday, April 12, 2013, Before their Lordships: Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, Justice, Supreme Court; Muhammad Saifullah Muntaka-Coomassie, Justice, Supreme Court; Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, Justice, Supreme Court; Olukayode Ariwola, Justice, Supreme Court; Musa Dattijo Muhammad, Justice, Supreme Court; SC.232/2012; SC.326/2012; SC.350/2012 (Consolidated) Between Mrs. Susan Olapeju Sinmosola Olley (appellant) and Hon. Olukolu Ganiyu Tunji Action Congress of Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commission (respondents) Action Congress of Nigeria and Hon. Olukolu Ganiyu Tunji……….(1st respondent), Mrs. Susan Olapeju Sinmosola Olley……. (2nd respondent), Independent National Electoral Commission… (3rd respondent) Mrs. Susan Olapeju Sinmosola Olley…(appellant) and Hon. Olukolu Ganiyu Tunji, Independent National Electoral Commission Action Congress of Nigeria (respondent). N originating summons without the questions, answers on A which to predicate the declarations sought is incompetent and by extension, the lower court had no jurisdiction in the matter. It will be a mere academic exercise for the court to determine the questions without a prayer for declaration of rights, and that declaratory rights without question for determination should be brought by writ of summons. The originating summons was not commenced by due process of law and it is here-

Justice Mukhtar (CJN) by set aside. This was the tone of the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in a lead judgment read by Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, with his brother justices concurring while allowing the appeal brought by Mrs. Susan Olapeju Sinmosola Olley against Hon. Olukolu Ganiyu Tunji, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents. In the primary election conducted by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to elect its standard-bearer in the House of Representatives election held in April 2011, the appellant, Mrs. Susan Olapeju Sinmosola Olley, was declared the winner. After the primary election, the name of the appellant, Mrs. Olley, was forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by ACN candidate for the April 2011 election as its representing Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives. Dissatisfied with this whole arrangement by his party, the first respondent, Olukolu Ganiyu Tunji, who took part in the primary election that produced Mrs. Olley, challenged the nomination of the appellant at the Federal High Court, Mega division,

Lagos, with the Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/217/2011, a case that was transferred to Ikeja from Abuja where it was originally filed with an originating summons. In the suit, the first respondent sought for a declaration that he (suing as the plaintiff at the trial court) is the winner of the ACN conducted primary election for Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency, Lagos State, which was conducted on January 12, 2011, into the Federal House of Representatives, having scored the highest number of votes of 61 against four of the appellants at the primary election. He, therefore, sought for an order from the trial court directing his party and INEC as second and third defendants, in the suit, to recognise him as the candidate for the April 2011 general elections for Amuwo-Odofiin Federal Constituency of Lagos State. Again, he prayed the court to grant him an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant (Olley) from parading herself as the candidate of the second defendant in the April 2011 general elections for Amuwo-Odofin Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. His grouse was that his name was illegally substituted for the first respondent who secured the least votes, adding that the action of his party contravenes the provisions of Section 87 and other relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended including the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. The first defendant (Olley) filed a 30-paragraph counter-affidavit to which some documents were exhibited and also submitted a written address. The party (second respondent) filed a notice of preliminary objection, which was taken along with the substantive matter. It also filed a 12-paragraph counter-affidavit and a written address. The learned trial judge, in his judgment, dismissed the preliminary objection of ACN and after considering the case on its merit, entered judgment in favour of the applicant. In the judgment, he said: “The plaintiff is entitled to judgment having won the primary election conducted by second defendant on January 12, 2011. Judgment is, therefore, entered for the plaintiff and I grant all the reliefs of the plaintiff in this case.” Dissatisfied with this judgment, Mrs. Olley and her party proceeded to the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division where they filed separate notices of appeal. These appeals, however, were dismissed by the appellate court.

TO BE CONTINUED

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

104 LAW

FamilyLaw

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life. ——-JANE AUSTEN, Pride and Prejudice

Legal consequences of marriage STATE Taxes: Only millionaires ever have to pay al loans for chilE estate taxes, but if you are a millionaire, being dren. If you are married is a big advantage because you can leave money to your wife tax free, and the portion of what you leave to your children that is exempt from estate tax is twice as high (currently two million dollars instead of one million dollars). Employer Taxes: If you work for your spouse, you are not his/her employee. He/she doesn’t have to pay social security taxes or unemployment taxes on your behalf. • Health Care: When a person is seriously ill and not able to make his/her own decisions, hospitals regularly turn to the person’s spouse to make health care decisions, up to and including whether to disconnect a person from life support. A person’s spouse can often be carried on his/her health insurance. Even if your health insurance is not provided by an employer, it is likely to be much cheaper to insure two people on one policy rather than buy separate policies. On the other hand, if your spouse cannot pay their health care bills, then you can be held liable for the cost. • Judicial: Married people cannot be required to testify against each other in court. • Government Assistance: Married people can get higher payments from some government assistance programmes, including Medicaid, supplemental security income, and federal employee and veteran’s disability payments. If your spouse needs to move to take a better job, and you need to leave your job so you can stay together, then you can qualify for unemployment assistance. If your spouse is leaving military service, you can get employment assistance and transitional services. On the other hand, there are many government benefits that you can only get if your income is below a certain level, like housing assistance, veteran’s medical benefits, and education-

married, the income of both partners is counted. This may make these programs harder to qualify for. • Death Benefits: If your spouse dies, you may be eligible for a wide range of different benefits. Social Security may continue payments to the spouse of a deceased person. Spouses of veterans and federal employees are eligible for death benefits, as are widows or widowers of many other groups of people, including longshoremen, railroad workers, and police officers who die in the line of duty. Survivors may continue to receive health care benefits from their spouse’s former employer, and there are many other benefits to survivors, ranging from renewal and termination rights over a spouse’s copyrights to continuation of a spouse’s water rights. If a married person dies due to negligence, then his/her spouse may be able to recover money in a wrongful death lawsuit. In some cases, remarrying can terminate survivor benefits. • Bankruptcy:Married couples can file jointly for bankruptcy, which can be beneficial. A former spouse making claims during a bankruptcy has a higher priority. • Immigration and Citizenship: Spouses of legal

aliens are automatically legal and are not subject to immigration quotas. A non-citizen who marries a citizen can get permanent resident status. Many countries that restrict emigration to the US still allow people who have spouses in the US to emigrate, because the US government imposes trade penalties if they do not. • Divorce: The legal system often provides mediation services and expedited hearings for married couples who are breaking up. After a divorce, a former spouse may be eligible for alimony payments. “Palimony” is a possibility in some states, but it requires that there be some kind of contract between the couple for it to work. • Government Employment: Spouses of veterans can get preferential treatment in hiring for government jobs. Threats against the spouse of a federal employee are a federal crime. If you work for the government, conflict of interest rules in matters relating to your spouse may limit your activities or require you to make disclosures. • Retirement Plans: Changing the benefits in a retirement plan often requires written consent from your spouse.

• Domestic Violence: There are state and federal laws relating to the special In most states, temporary restraining orders, and similar protective options are available to members of unmarried couples as well as married couples, but apparently there are some states where they are not. • Parenthood: If a married woman has a baby, her husband is assumed to be the father. Establishing paternity otherwise isn’t particularly hard - generally just acting like a father to the child will do it, but filing a formal claim of paternity is advisable. If an unmarried father dies without a Will, his children may not be able to inherit in some states, or may have only a limited time to make a claim against his estate. This is not a problem if he has a Will. The children’s right to receive Social Security benefits or life insurance payments is not effected. • Adoption: In some states, it may be necessary for a couple to be married to be able to adopt children. This is not true in all states and is rapidly changing. It’s pretty obvious how most of these benefits would extend to same-sex couples, if gay marriage is legalized. The only one that requires any head scratching at all is the matter of parenthood. If a woman has a baby, then I guess that the woman she is married to would legally be considered a parent to the child. One might wonder where the biological father fits into this, and that is a potential can of worms, but it’s pretty much the same can of worms that the courts already regularly deal with in cases of surrogate mothers, sperm donors, and adoption. Conclusions The legal ramifications of marriage are complex, affecting nearly every part of life.

YOU AND THE LAW —-With Dupe Ajayi Power sharing formula in a true federation N any federation, power sharing is IEffective probably the most important factor. power sharing formula greatly impacts on the success of the federation as a form of political marriage. Similarly, if each level of government in the federation keeps within the ambit of its power, tensions will be reduced, it will also enhance cooperation and ultimately engender peace and prosperity within the federation. The power sharing formula in the Nigerian Federation is embedded in Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The section provides: •The legislative power of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. • The National Assembly shall have the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Federal Exclusive Legislative List set in the Second Schedule of this Constitution. •The power of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List shall, save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, be to the exclusion of the Houses of Assembly of states. The above stated provisions delimit the powers of the Federal government notwithstanding the mention of the National Assembly to the exclusion of any State government. The implica-

Jonathan (President)

David Mark (Senate President)

Justice Mukhtar (CJN)

tion of the provision is that all issues listed in part 1 of the Second Schedule are issues in respect of which only the Federal Government can legislate upon, exercise control over and create offences. The court in Akwule v Queen (1963) NNLR 105; (1963) 1 All NLR 193, however, opined that the provision above does not mean that a state Legislature cannot touch on those matters exclusively meant for the Federal Legislature, no matter how slightly. The test is to look at the nature and character of the legislation. Some of the items in the Exclusive Legislative List include arms and ammunition, aviation, banks, census, citizenship, copyright, currency, defence, exchange control, incorporation or body corporate, maritime, police nuclear energy and so on. One of the issues that has arisen from this provision was the decision of the court in Oil Palm Company Ltd v Attorney General Bendel State (1985) 6

N.C. L. R 344, the plaintiff was a Limited Liability Company but Bendel State owned a majority shares in the company, the Chairman and other members of the Board of Directors were appointed by the state government. The Bendel State House of Assembly wanted to probe the activities of the company in the course of exercising its legislative powers under Section 120 of the 1979 Constitution. The court held that since incorporation and related issues on corporate bodies is an item on the exclusive legislative list under the 1979 Constitution, it simply means that only the National Assembly can exercise such power on the company. Section 4 (a) states, “In addition and without prejudice to the powers conferred by subsection 2 of this section, the National Assembly shall have power to make laws with respect to the following matters, that is to say (a) any matter in the concurrent leg-

islative list set out in part 11 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto and (b) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provision of this Constitution. 4 (5) if any law enacted by the House of Assembly of a state is inconsistent with any law validly made by the National Assembly, the law by the National Assembly shall prevail, and that other law shall to the extent of its inconsistency be void. 4 (6) the legislative powers of a State of the Federation shall be vested in the House of Assembly of the State. 4 (7) the House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of that State or any part thereof with respect to the following matters, that is to say (a) any matter that is not included in any legislative list set out in part 1 of the Second Schedule of this

Constitution. 4 (7) (b) any matter included in the concurrent legislative list set out in the first column or part 11 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto and (c) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. The above provisions establish the concurrent legislative list. The concurrent legislative list confers powers on both the Federal and State Governments in respect of the issues listed under part 11 of the Second Schedule of the constitution to the extent in the part. One critical observation about the concurrent legislative lists is that while it pretends to share powers listed under it between the Federal and State governments, the reality is that it reestablishes the dominance of the Federal government while it merely gives the State government a subservient status. This observation is borne out of the express provisions of section 4 (5) otherwise known as the inconsistency clause. An example of the items listed under the concurrent list is electricity, which is under item 13 and 14 of the list. While item 14 confers power on the National Assembly to make laws for the Federation or any part thereof with respect to the establishment of electricity power stations, generation and transmission of electricity in any

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THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Execution of death penalty convicts, ineffective deterrent, says HURILAWS HE Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) T has condemned the recent policy advice that governors should begin to sign execution warrants. The group in a statement signed by its Legal and Programme Officer, Collins Okeke, expressed concerns over the execution of five condemned prisoners in Edo State, despite that their cases challenging the signing of their execution was still pending in courts. “ This for us is not only a drawback on Nigeria’s human rights, it is a repudiation of Nigeria’s international commitment that it has in place an unofficial moratorium,” it stated. “The official government statement made during the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva on February 9, 2009 where while

informing the UN that the ‘’Death Sentence’’ is a valid part of Nigerian Law, it was admitted that: ‘Nigeria, is however, not oblivious of the global debate on the propriety or otherwise of the death sentence. In the spirit of the global trend, Nigeria has constituted a National Committee on the Review of the Death Sentence. With regard to the moratorium on death penalty, though we voted against it in the UN General Assembly resolution, Nigeria continues to exercise a self imposed moratorium’. [1][1] More recently,after the Governors Forum hinted that execution of death row inmates was their solution to prison decongestion, the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) in line with the official state policy said: ‘The governors were not properly advised. I have written

a letter and I will be discussing the issue extensively in the next meeting with the States Attorneys General ……(the death penalty) is anachronistic. “ It is no longer the trend and it is not an effective deterrent. Some people may not agree with me. Having given a moratorium, we should not be seen to be violating it because it will attract sanctions from the United Nations’ [2][2]. “We agree with the Attorney General that the Death Penalty, which though still in use in Nigeria, is anachronistic and not an effective deterrent to crimes,”. it added. HURILAWA, therefore, urged the Federal and state governments to retrace their steps and observe international commitments and obligations by leaving in place the moratorium on executions in Nigeria.

Oshiomhole (Edo State Governor)

Transfer pricing in Nigeria: The utility of Advance Pricing Agreements By Olamide Akinla Introduction N August 2, 2012, Nigeria introduced the Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No. 1,2012 (the Regulations). The primary objective of the Regulations is to ensure that all related party transactions are at arm’s length. One of the innovations of the Regulations is the introduction of Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs). This discourse would, inter alia, examine what an APA is, the types of APAs, their relevance to both taxpayers and tax administrations, the provisions of the Nigerian Transfer Pricing Regulations relating to APAs and recommendations for best practices. However, before discussing APA, it would be necessary to succinctly define ‘transfer pricing’. So, what then is ‘transfer pricing’? Transfer Pricing Analytics defines the concept as follows, “‘transfer price’ is the price at which one company buys and sells goods or services or shares resources with a related affiliate in its supply chain”. From that definition, it is apparent that transfer pricing is not a concept exclusive to taxation, however, when used in the context of international tax it connotes the artificial manipulation of internal prices within a multinational group with the intention of creating a tax advantage. That it connotes the artificial manipulation of prices does not, without more, mean that whenever used in the context of international law transfer pricing always seeks a tax advantage. According to Tax Justice Network, what is harmful is not transfer pricing in itself but ‘transfer mispricing’ which is ‘illegal and abusive’. What, then, is an APA? In the Glossary of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines an Advance Pricing Arrangement is defined as: An arrangement that determines, in advance of controlled transactions, an appropriate set of criteria (e.g. method, comparables and appropriate adjustments thereto, critical assumptions as to future events) for the determination of the transfer pricing for those transactions over a fixed period of time. An advance pricing arrangement may be unilateral involving one tax administration and a taxpayer or multilateral involving the agreement of two or more tax administrations. In other words, an APA is a contract for a fixed number of years between a taxpayer and the competent authority of the State (in Nigeria, the competent authority is the FIRS) in which the taxpayer is resident. The contract specifies the pricing method that the taxpayer would apply to its connected party transactions. Where the APA involves a taxpayer and a single competent authority (usually the competent authority of the State in which the taxpayer is resident) it is referred to as a Unilateral APA. On the other hand, where the competent authorities of more than one State are involved, it is either a Bilateral (in the case of only 2 States) or Multilateral

Mohammed Bello Adoke (AGF) (more than 2 States) APA. A bilateral or multilateral APA is usually in the form of a Mutual Agreement Procedure APA (MAP APA) which is governed by Article 25 of a Model Tax Convention. An APA, unlike an audit, is futuristic in nature because it relates to future tax years. It is to be noted, however, that in practice, an APA may, in fulfilling its primary objective, also help in resolving issues from previous tax years. APA in Nigerian context Regulation 7 of the Nigerian Regulations provide for APAs. It is to be noted that the wording of Regulation 7 (1) raises the question as to whether the APA, as envisaged in the Nigerian context, is futuristic or retrospective. This observation is informed by the use of the phrase ‘for determining whether the person has complied with the arm’s length principle’. A scrutiny of the said provision would help in elucidation. It provides thus: 7-(1) A connected taxable person may request that the Service enter into an Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) to establish an appropriate set of criteria for determining whether the person has complied with the arm’s length principle for certain future controlled transactions undertaken by the person over a fixed period of time provided that such agreement shall be consistent with the requirements established by this regulation. The underlined phrase, appears, at first glance, to mean that the taxpayer has already carried out a related party transaction. If this were the case, then the purpose of an APA is defeated. However, in order to give effect to the Regulations as a whole, regulation 7 should be read and interpreted in accordance with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. This is because regulation 11 (b) of the Regulations provides as follows: 11. Subject to the provisions of regulation 12 of these Regulations, this regulation shall be applied in a manner consistent with(a)....

(b) the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multi-National Enterprises and Tax Administrations approved by the Council of the OECD approved publication on 22 July, 2010 (otherwise referred to as ‘Annex I to C (2010) 99’) as may be supplemented and updated from time to time. It therefore follows that the Regulation should be read in a manner consistent with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. More so regulation 12 deals with inconsistency between the provisions of relevant tax laws and other ‘applicable laws, rules, regulations, the UN Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing, the OECD documents referred to in regulation 11’ and not inconsistencies between the Regulations and the OECD Guidelines. Benefits of an APA The benefits of APA hereunder listed are in contradistinction with other dispute resolution mechanisms. The list is inexhaustible. • An APA, by predetermining the appropriate set of criteria to be applied to certain controlled transactions, ensures certainty of tax. •APA eliminates the risk of double taxation. In the case of bilateral or multilateral APAs, the acceptance, by the competent authorities, of one Contracting State(s), of a unilateral APA concluded by another Contracting State usually resolves the problem of double taxation. •APA could be a supplement to other dispute resolution mechanisms. •It also reduces the incidences of disputes which would otherwise have arisen in an audit. Because it is futuristic, potential disputes are quickly identified and promptly resolved during negotiations culminating the APA. •APA reduces recourse to litigation. •Many jurisdictions do not impose any fee for upon application for an APA, therefore, APAs could be relatively cheaper than other dispute resolution mechanisms. •Once a request for APA is made and finalised, a taxpayer need not com-

ply with onerous documentation requirements because during the negotiations resulting in an APA, certain documentation requirements are met and once an APA is agreed, all the taxpayer needs do is fill a compliance report, usually in a prescribed form. This satisfies documentation requirements in many jurisdictions. •At the expiration of an APA, same can be renewed. This ensures reduced compliance cost for the taxpayer. •As a result of the complexity of an APA, experts, to wit, economists, lawyers, auditors are, from the onset, involved in a case. Therefore as soon as a dispute arises such can be nipped in the bud hence providing a more efficient and effective mechanism of dealing with disputes. The benefits are by no means exhaustive. Having highlighted some, we would look at some of the technical terms employed under an APA process. What are ‘critical assumptions’? Critical assumptions are the fundamental terms upon which both the taxpayer and the tax administration enter into an APA, breach or change of which entitles the innocent party to cancel or revoke the APA. They are the representations made by either party to the other, the belief on which they agree to enter into an APA. The assumptions would vary depending on the transaction and the appropriate set of criteria in question. The significance of the critical assumptions cannot be glossed over given the fact that either party can cancel or revoke an APA when there is a misrepresentation as to the existence of a critical assumption or breach of one of the terms upon which an assumption is founded or a change in the structure of the controlled transaction or tax law. In this wise, regulation 7 (8) and (9) which are akin to a material adverse change clause give both parties the right to cancel an APA in the case of a breach or change in any of the critical assumptions. In the event of a change in or a breach of the critical assumptions the innocent party should be promptly notified of such change or breach. Timely disclosure allows the innocent party to cancel the APA or helps both parties re-negotiate the APA based on the revised critical assumptions. It is suggested that a material adverse change need not always result in the cancellation or revocation of an APA. Parties are advised to explore the option of revising an APA, if feasible, based on the revised critical assumption before opting for an outright cancellation or revocation. A guiding principle in revising an APA is that parties (the taxpayers and administrators) should ask themselves whether independent parties transacting at arm’s length would be willing to renegotiate a contract where there is a change, of a similar nature, in the terms of a contract. If the answer is in the affirmative, then a revision should be explored.

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Power sharing formula in a true federation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 72 part of the Federation, item 14 on the same list confers similar power on the State of Assembly within the bound of any state. However, in view of the inconsistency clause and the pronouncement of the courts so far on the concept, the scenario that emerges is that the Federal Government can easily eclipse the State in respect of those issues on the item. This is because the consistency clause says that if the State law is inconsistent with Federal law, the State law is void while the doctrine of covering the field is also to the effect that where the State law is not inconsistent but there is Federal law, the Federal law would have covered the field thereby rendering the State law inoperative or in abeyance. A learned author commenting on this point noted, “it is therefore apparent that the manner in which the legislative authorities of the various levels of government are provided for in the Constitution can, without a pragmatic intervention of the courts sometimes lead to frustration of legislative authorities of the States. This is especially so in the provision of section 4 (5) discussed above. As a result, enumerations in the same manner as the matters in the exclusive legislative lists are to be preferred. It can be left to the courts to determine the scope of the authority of each level of government using universally accepted principles of constitutional interpretation under a Federal system of government”. Constitutional Law In Nigeria, Kehinde M. Mowoe, Malthouse Press Ltd, Lagos, 2008. The power sector reform Act, 2008 was made by the National assembly pursuant to the power conferred by item 13 on the concurrent legislative list. Since the Act made provisions to cover the entire Federation, the implication is that any law made by the State House of Assembly in respect of the same issue within the State will remain in abeyance so long as the 2005 Federal law is still in operation. This can be very frustrating especially where the problem being faced is essentially local and the federal law does not adequately solve the problem being faced at that level. Finally, a cursory look at a number of items listed under the exclusive legislative list will reflect a Federation where the Federal Government is a super power level of government with exclusive powers on issues that are even essentially local. One would prefer a situation whereby issues such as minimum wage, mines and minerals, police, public holidays will be on the Concurrent List as opposed to the Exclusive List where they currently are. This will, to a large extent, enthrone a more effective system.

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Sports Weightlifting Federation outlines programme, thanks NSC boss for support

Keshi’s unpaid salaries could hamper Eagles’ World Cup qualification, Kpakor warns By Eno-Abasi Sunday S Nigerians continue to A express shock over salary arrears owed to Super eagles Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi and his crew, by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), exinternational, Moses Kpakor, has called on the debtors to speedily defray their indebtedness. According to him, allowing the backlog to swell at the rate it was going was capable of bogging the coach and his assistants down psychologically thereby jeopardising our chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Keshi, who earns about N5m monthly, led the Super eagles to victory at the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa in February and has not been paid his monthly salary since then. The NFF through its scribe, Musa Amadu, in response to the indebtedness had said: “Between the federation and the coaching crew, we don’t have a problem. We’ve been working together with Stephen Keshi since November 2011 and he knows the peculiar situation (financial problems) of how things are with the federation. We try as much as possible to pay our obligations, likewise the coach, and we’ve had a very good working relationship. I know the coach will not bring to the fore any such matters.” Kpakor, in an interview with The Guardian said the NFF keeps on getting away with this unsavoury practice because, “this is Nigeria and because Keshi is also a Nigerian and maybe does not want to drag them to FIFA for the breach. But I think if he takes the matter to FIFA, action would be taken against

Nigeria. So I would advise Maigari and his team to source for funds and clear the backlog of salaries to the technical crew. “It is very important for them to pay up because these are indeed very critical times for the team, as we are still trying to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The coach and his entire players and crew must be happy in order to take us to where we want to be. When the coach is down psychologically, our chances of qualifying could be jeopardised and we don’t want that to happen. “So we need to make the coach and his team happy for them to continue to do what they have to do to make us happy. Nigerians want the team to be psychologically fit so that they can deliver on their expectations hence Nigeria’s qualification for the World Cup.” He averred that since individuals, corporate bodies and the Federal Government gave the team so much money after they emerged African champions, “the NFF may think that these people are not hungry anymore, so that explains why the NFF may have converted their salaries for other things, but that is not the deal. I suspect that is what is happening because that is our mentality. All the money and gifts that came the way of Keshi were because he achieved a certain feat.” Decrying a situation where “even Westerhof ended up dragging NFF to FIFA before he was paid his outstanding entitlements by the federation,” he said, “this practice of the NFF was unfortunate and they really have no reason not to pay the coach since he won the Cup of Nations up to this time.”

He board of Nigeria T Weightlifting Federation (NWF) has outlined its programme aimed at resuscitating the sport in the country, with grassroots development one of its cardinal projects. The Federation, which at the weekend expressed satisfaction with the level of support it has so far received from the National Sports Commission (NSC) since after its inauguration two months ago, in a statement said it would soon stage its national championship in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State this month preparatory to hosting the African Championship in September before featuring in the Commonwealth Championship in Malayasia in November. The Chibudom Nwuche led board acknowledged that the NSC has lent its weight behind the steps being taken by the board to take the game to the next level in the country.

LUTH to host 4th NISONM Games By Abdulwaheed Usamah Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Mba (right) tries to beat Cote d’Ivoire defender, Baresi Gloudoueu during their 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualification match in Kaduna at the weekend. Nigeria won 4-1. PHOTO: AFP

He Lagos University T Teaching Hospital (LUTH) was at the weekend named

South Africa 2014 CHAN Qualifier Fall-Out

host of the fourth edition of Nigeria School of Nursing and Midwifery (NISONM) games, which would hold in August this year. It is the first time the games, aimed at uniting students from various nursing schools in Nigeria, would hold outside Ibadan, Oyo State, since inception in 1972. The Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof Akin Osibogun said the school was awarded the hosting right based on its performance in previous three editions of the games. Osibogun told journalists at the weekend that his students won the last three editions consecutively, adding that the school would make adequate use of the hosting rights to consolidate its position in the games.

Keshi: I hope Okpala would be recalled soon On Okpala, Keshi said, “we INCe it was reported by a said it could no longer afford SCoaches section of the media that their salaries owing to its lean miss him. each time we sit together or in our technical Sylvanus Okpala and finances. Valerie Houndounou, who were laid off by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would be recalled, Super eagles’ Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi, has been waiting for the day the duo would rejoin his team. Okpala and Valerie played prominent roles in Nigeria’s victory at the South Africa 2013 CAF Nations Cup, but they were laid off by the NFF, who

Igali is NOC’s new technical commission chairman ReSIDeNT of Nigeria P Wrestling Federation (NWF), Daniel Igali, is the new chairman of the Nigeria Olympic Committee’s (NOC) technical commission. NOC President, Sani Ndanusa announced the appointment with the tacit approval of the Committee’s board and executive members during their meeting at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. The board and executive members also allowed Igali the opportunity to come up with some other members to get the Commission functioning. “We know you are loaded but can still carry this load of the Technical Commission Chairman,” Ndanusa said to a

rapturous applause from Federation Presidents. “Igali is an ex-athlete, a paragon, who capped his time as an athlete with an Olympic gold medal. He is an ambassador. He is a politician as a member of the Bayelsa House of Assembly. He is wearing many caps but merits the caps,” Ndanusa said attracting more applause from the hall. He urged Igali to use his wealth of experience to reposition the NOC technical commission preparatory to the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland among other international competitions. Responding, Igali said he was humbled by the appointment and promised to navi-

gate the murky waters to bring out the best for Nigerian athletes with the co-operation of other Federation Presidents. “I am comfortable with the position but I seek the cooperation of all Federations for a harmonious working relationship,” he said.

Igali

But Keshi is not comfortable doing the job in the absence of his two former assistants. Before leaving Kaduna on Sunday after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat of Cote d’Ivoire in a South Africa 2014 CHAN qualifier, Keshi said he was unaware of the NFF’s plans for the coaches. According to Keshi, “I don’t know when they will be recalled. As I speak, I don’t know the thinking of the NFF regarding this issue. We only hope they will be recalled soon so we can continue with the project we started.”

meetings, we remember him. In fact, we are missing all of them that are not here and we hope that they will rejoin us soon. “You know your country, they behave weirdly. We always talk about Okpala and hopefully, he will be back.” The Guardian learnt that Keshi foots the bills of Valerie, who is still in the team. Meanwhile, Super eagles defender, Chibuzor Okonkwo, has dismissed any fears that the team would be defensive during the return leg of the qualifier in Abidjan.

Coaches list gains of KHF, Dutch FA coaching course By Olalekan Okusan OACHeS at the five-day coaching course organised by Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) in collaboration with Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) have praised the organisers of the course, saying the exercise has added to their knowledge of the game. The training, hosted at the state-of-the art sports facility of Greensprings School in Lagos, had 30 coaches drawn from across the country in attendance. From Dehinde Akinlotan to Felix Ani, as well as, Tajudeen Disu, the coaches say the train-

ing has helped to broaden the knowledge of the participants. Akinlotan, a United Statesbased coach, told The Guardian yesterday that such training should be staged regularly in order to update the knowledge of the coaches. “I think football is one of the most dynamic sports in the world and those, who are saddled with the responsibility of tutoring the players need to also be updating their knowledge on a regular basis and that is why this training will be useful to young coaches, who will in turn impart on the young players.

“I commend the management of KHF for putting this together and I hope it will be staged once in three months in this ever-changing sport,” Akinlotan said. For Ani, attending that course has opened his eyes to new techniques in the game and he hopes to impart this on his lads. “I want to tell you that this course has been an eye-opener for me because I had learnt a lot from the Dutch coaches. As a coach, I now know that there are different game plans for each training session and the issue of ball possession is key to success of any team.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

SPORTS

107

ITTF-Africa Senior’s Cup Fallout

Nigeria has started halting Egypt’s dominance, says Quadri By Olalekan Okusan RUNA Quadri believes the A end of Egypt’s dominance over Nigeria is coming to a close judging by the country’s performance at the just-concluded ITTF-Africa Senior Cup competition, which held in Cairo. Quadri, who had to settle for a bronze medal at the championship behind Egypt’s duo of El-Sayed Lashin and Ahmed Saleh, who claimed gold and silver respectively, told The Guardian that with what Nigeria did to Egypt in the Club Championship, the end is near for the North Africans. “I think the Egyptians have no more edge over Nigeria at present as Lashin struggled

hard to beat Kazeem Makanjuola in group match in a tough five sets game. Makanjuola and I made Lashin to pay for the Senior’s Cup defeat as we both hammered him in the Club Championship to defeat Egypt 3-2. In the last five years, we have been losing to Egypt but we made up for the lost days by defeating them in the semifinal before losing to Congo Brazzaville in the final,” he said. Following the defeat suffered by the Egyptians in the Club Championship, the new Africa Senior’s Cup champion, Lashin was fined $500 by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) for breaking the enclosure after the

loss to Nigeria. “After we won the encounter, the Egyptians were crying profusely, with Lashin even going to the extent of breaking the enclosure of the court to be fined $500,” Quadri revealed. The Portuguese league champion lauded the performance of Makanjuola, whom he said needs more exposure as he showed a lot of promise at the championships. Explaining the final loss to Congo Brazzaville in the Club Championship, he said, “we lost to Congo Brazzaville in the final due to the fact that they had a very strong Chinese player. “I started the final with a match against Nigeria-born Congolese star, Saka Suraju, which I won 4-0 to give Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) a 1-0 lead. Makanjuola lost against the Chinese 4-0 in a tough duel. We lost the third game to give Congo Brazzaville a perfect 2-1 lead. I lost to the Chinese 3-2 in five sets.”

Super Deaf Eagles’ set for World championship

Sokoto Rima celebrating their Under-12 victory at the Partille Cup in Sweden…at the weekend. PHOTO: WWW.SKANDIKAFRIK.COM

Sokoto Rima U-12 Handball Club wins Sweden’s Partille Cup HE Under-12 team of the T Sokoto Rima Handball Club of Nigeria at the weekend beat all comers to win the gold medal in the Partille Cup 2013 held in Sweden. The Partille Cup is the largest youth handball tournament in the world with over 44 countries drawn from across the world featur-

Athletes urged to embrace dialogue for crisis resolution

HE handler of the Nigeria T Deaf Eagles, Coach Kamilu PORTSMEN and women Banjo has expressed confi- Sshould seek diplomatic dence in his team’s ability to ways of resolving problems

Edem Offiong finished fourth in the women’s singles at the African Senior’s Cup held in Congo Brazzaville…last week

Oguntola wins 2013 NB Plc NDA Golf tourney UYIWA Oguntola of the M Wuyep Lakeside Golf Club scored 68 nett to emerge winner of the 2013 Nigerian Breweries, NDA Open Golf Championship. The best gross went to Bala Abdullahi of the Zaria Golf Club, who grossed 70, while Saturday Otuboh of the NDA Golf Club scored 70 nett to finish as runner-up nett. In the ladies category, Lucy Monday of Zaria Golf Club scored 69 nett to emerge winner, while Amoa Uemba finished runner-up nett with 81, just as Vera David claimed the prize for best gross with 96 gross. The veteran’s category saw Kaduna Golf Club claim all the three prizes for grabs, with Frank Onotu emerging best nett with 68 nett, runner-up nett went to M.A. Spiff (63), while Tunde Odusanya won the best gross with 91 gross. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Captain of NDA Golf Club, represented by his vice captain, Colonel Dogo, commended NB Plc for the sustained sponsorship of the competition. “We are happy that NB Plc has continued with the sponsorship of the tournament. We are also pleased that they added a coaching clinic this year, which is the first of its

kind. We appreciate the fact that our club was the first to witness the clinic,” he added. Also speaking, the Public Relations Manager North NB Plc, Danjuma John-Ekele reaffirmed his company’s commitment in sponsoring the tournament. He described the relationship between the company and the club as symbiotic, with both partners benefitting from a relationship that has blossomed over the years. “The golf clinic was organised to expose the next generation to the game of golf. It is not that our youth lack the skills, but we need to inculcate the basics of the game. “No matter what we will always partner with NDA Golf Club. Besides the competition, you will see us more often,” he stated. The high point of the closing ceremony was the presentation of various prizes and trophies to winners of all categories. There was also an after party, tagged: Heineken Night, was held at Zecool Hotels, were golfers, family, friends and other golf lovers c o n v e r g e d . At the Heineken Night, guests through raffle draws won several prizes, including assorted electronics and household appliances.

win gold at the World Championship in Bulgaria. Briefing the newsmen at a training session in Lagos recently, the coach said that the Nigerian team would not leave any stone unturned to ensure they win the gold medal in the football event, as they were up to the task of competing favourably with their counterparts from other countries. “I want to say that we’re very optimistic that the gold medal is ours and will do everything humanly possible to ensure we achieve our target,” he explained. Super Deaf Eagles, who are currently camping in Abuja ahead of the tournament, have played some friendlies with some Nigerian deaf clubs and are currently looking forward to lurking horns with some foreign national teams from Ghana and Benin Republic before they finally jet out for the tournament in Bulgaria.

ing in the event. Sokoto Rima took the under-12 gold cup by beating El- Shams from Egypt in the final 19-8. The 2013 tournament is the 44th edition of the game that unites countries from all over the world, with over 20,000 participants and 1120

with sports administration before going to the media to air their grievances, a sports promoter has said. Chairman of SportsDirect Nigeria Limited, Koye Shogbola said running to the media for arbitration over every challenge not portrays the athletes and administrators as amateurs, who cannot resolve their problems professionally, but also hurts the brand they represent since most sponsors shy away from controversy and crisis. Shogbola, who is a former special adviser to Minister of Sports, was speaking in the wake of the recent bonus row between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Super Eagles, and the recent outburst of two prominent athletes against the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN). Shogbola said, “there is no

sports association in the world that does not have one challenge or the other, even in the western world. They have challenges, but you hardly see their athletes castigating their officials in the media and holding their country to ransom they look for an internal way of resolving their problems.” He urged athletes to remember that sports has no second hand value and that they would later need the nation for one thing or the other. “The likes of Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Falilat Ogunkoya, Yusuf Alli and Mary Onyali will not be serving the nation in various capacities today if they had not been good ambassadors during their active days,” he said. While he agreed that sportsmen often have good cases, he said they should be diplomatic and embrace dialogue to resolve their problem with sports administrators.

Executive Secretary, Lagos State Sports Endowment Fund, Babatunde Bank-Anthony (third right), Vice President, Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC), Jonathan Nnaji (second right), and President-General, Nigeria Football and Other Sports Supporters Club, Rauf Ladipo (right) during the flag-off of the 2013 Olympic Day Walk in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

teams in attendance. According to www.skandikafrik.com, in the Partille Cup 2013, Nigeria was the only country from Africa to win a gold medal. Other African countries that participated in the competition include Egypt, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Amosun urges athletes to imbibe Olympics’ value HE Governor of Ogun T State, Ibikunle Amosun has urged participants in this year’s Olympic Day Run to imbibe the value of the Olympic Games in whatever they do. Amosun said this at the flag off of the event at M.K.O Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, where about 350 athletes participated in three different categories, at the weekend. The state’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Olugbenga Otenuga, who represented the governor, said excellence, friendship and respect were the core values of the Olympic Games, urging the participants to uphold the values. He said the Olympic Games fosters mutual understanding among individuals and people and inspires humanity to overcome political, economic, gender, social or religious differences. He added that the annual Olympic Day Run is to celebrate Olympians and encourage the younger ones to emulate the achievement of past heroes. Also speaking at the event, the Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Suraj Isola said sports would continue to be at the forefront in the state because both the executive and legislative arms were interested in developing sports at all levels in the state. Winners at the end of the event, which had three categories – one km, three km and six km – got certificates and cash awards. Adegoke Ogunseye, who finished tops in the six kilometres male category, said he would work harder to repeat the feat in the next Olympic day run.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

108 SPORTS

European Round oﬀ

Liverpool rejects £30m Arsenal bid for Suarez IVERPOOL has turned LArsenal down a £30m bid from for striker Luis Suarez. Suarez has been at the centre of transfer speculation since saying in May that it would be a “good moment for a change”, and admitted it would be “difficult to say no” to Real Madrid. The Spanish side had been expected to lead the pursuit of the 26-year-old Uruguayan. Liverpool refused to comment on reports of

Arsenal’s move and have previously insisted Suarez is not for sale. However, it is understood an approach was made and instantly rejected. Chelsea has also been linked with a move for Suarez and it remains to be seen if Arsenal take their interest further as Manager, Arsene Wenger continues to finalise a deal for Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain. Real is expected to emerge as the most serious test of Liverpool’s resolve not to sell Suarez unless they receive an

offer in the region of the £50m, which saw Fernando Torres move to Chelsea in January 2011. Liverpool Manager, Brendan Rodgers remains relaxed about Suarez’s situation and the striker has yet to indicate to the club that he wishes to leave. The Merseyside club’s stance has always been that they have no desire to part with Suarez - and even if Liverpool’s hand is forced by the player’s own discontent they will not be pushed into

a deal and will hold out for the maximum price. Suarez is currently on a break after playing for Uruguay in the Confederations Cup in Brazil and is not scheduled to return to Merseyside until the end of the month, at which time his future should become clearer. He will sit out the first six matches of the 2013-14 campaign after being found guilty of violent conduct for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in April.

Viola close in on Gomez AYERN Munich has B agreed a deal in principle to sell striker, Mario Gomez to Serie A club Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee. The 27-year-old Germany international is understood to be on the verge of signing a four-year contract at the Stadio Artemio Franchi after scoring 112 goals in over four seasons with the Bundesliga champions. Bayern Chairman, KarlHeinz Rummenigge told his club’s official website, fcbayern.de: “Mario Gomez wanted to leave Bayern Munich and go to Florence. We have now complied with his wishes.” Gomez joined Bayern from Stuttgart in 2009 for a reported 30million euros - at the time the Bundesliga’s record transfer fee - and his consistent prowess in front of goal helped bring two

league titles, two German Cups and the Champions League to Munich. “With those goals, he made a big contribution to winning two Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokal triumphs,” Rummenigge added. “The highlight was, of course, the Champions League triumph and the treble last season. I would like to thank him for his efforts for Bayern. On behalf of FC Bayern, I wish him lots of happiness and success in Florence.” Gomez was the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer in 2011, notching 28 times, but after missing the first part of the 2012-13 season due to injury he struggled to return to the Bayern first team and found himself behind Mario Mandzukic in the pecking order.

Cavani, Ibrahimovic are compatible, says Blanc AURENT Blanc is confident Lwould that Edinson Cavani form a good partner-

Suarez

Transfer Gossip RSENAL has had a club record offer of £30m for striker, ABarcelona Luis Suarez, 26, rejected by Liverpool. striker David Villa, 31, could sign for Tottenham this week after reaching an agreement in principle with the club. Everton will announce the £5m signing of Wigan Athletic striker, Arouna Kone on Monday. The 29-year-old, who was also a Newcastle target, has agreed a three-year contract at Goodison Park. Manchester United and Chelsea have missed out on signing 24-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker, Robert Lewandowski after the Pole agreed to join German rivals Bayern Munich. Fulham Manager, Martin Jol fears being priced out of a move for Ajax’s 27-year-old midfielder, Eyong Enoh. Aston Villa is ready to sell Darren Bent for £5m, with Newcastle, Hull and Fulham all poised to make a move for the 29-year-old striker. Stoke City goalkeeper, Jack Butland, 20, could be heading to Spain on loan to boost his England World Cup chances. Hull City could complete a deal to sign Burnley striker, Charlie Austin, 24, in the next 24 hours with the player due for a medical at the KC Stadium on Monday. Swansea City Chairman, Huw Jenkins expects the recordbreaking £12m move for 24-year-old Vitesse Arnhem striker, Wilfried Bony to be completed within the next 24 hours. Liverpool has agreed to sell 24-year-old midfielder Jay Spearing to Blackburn Rovers in a £1.5m deal. Paris St-Germain has completed the signing of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, 26, who had been coveted by Chelsea. Italian side Parma has signed Brazilian defender Felipe dal Belo, 29, from Fiorentina. Former Crystal Palace winger, Wilfried Zaha, 20, will walk straight into Manchester United’s first team, predicts his former Manager, Ian Holloway. A friendly match between Hibernian and Nottingham Forest in Portugal was marred by trouble between rival fans. Manchester United are about to inject some serious pace into their team with the signing of Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt, 26, who will turn out for his heroes in Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial match against Sevilla. Former Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson missed Andy Murray’s Wimbledon triumph after taking a

ship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic if his proposed transfer from Napoli to Paris SaintGermain goes through this summer. PSG Sporting Director, Leonardo confirmed at the weekend that the Ligue 1 champion has made a formal bid for the Uruguay international and expects the transfer to move forward in July. Blanc, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti as head coach on June 26, recently voiced his admiration for Cavani and he has now insisted that the 26-year-old would be a perfect teammate for Ibrahimovic. “I would be very happy if Cavani were to join PSG,” Blanc was quoted as saying by L’Equipe. Cavani and Ibrahimovic are compatible. Their styles compliment each other. “It would be a great coup from a sporting point of view

if we sign Cavani and it would be a signal of intent toward our rivals in France and Europe.” The former France boss is busy preparing his squad for the 2013-14 season and is actively looking for new recruits including, the coach has confirmed, Newcastle United midfielder, Yohan Cabaye. “Cabaye is a wonderful player but it depends on what players we have available,” Blanc added. “We are interested because he provides options.” One player, who has been linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes is Thiago Silva, with Barcelona reportedly preparing a deal for the Brazil international. Blanc, however, has refuted claims that the center back will join the Liga champion, adding that he could be handed the club captaincy. “I think he will be in Paris this season and he has a great chance to be the captain,” Blanc added.

Abidal joins Monaco ONACO has secured the M services of Eric Abidal on a free transfer, according to the club’s official website. The left back, who was released by Barcelona this summer, has signed a oneyear deal with the Ligue 1 side with an option for one additional season. The 33-year-old started his professional career at Monaco, but left the club for Lille in the summer of 2002. He also wore the Olympique Lyonnais jersey before join-

ing Barcelona in 2007. Abidal won four La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey titles and two Champions Leagues during his six years at Barcelona, but spent the majority of last season on the sidelines due to health problems. The defender was diagnosed with a liver tumor in March 2011 and underwent a transplant last April which kept him out of action for nearly a year.

Gomez

Sevilla denies Man City bid for Negredo President, Jose ShaveEVILLA Maria del Nido insists they still not received any offer from Manchester City for star striker, Alvaro Negredo. Negredo has indicated he would like to leave Sevilla this summer and has been closely linked with a number of clubs, including Barclays Premier League outfit City, whose new coach Manuel Pellegrini will know all about the Spain striker from his time in the Primera Division. However, Del Nido said last week that City had not made

Bojan regrets Milan, Roma spells EW Ajax signing Bojan N Krkic feels that he made the wrong decision to leave

Bojan

a bid for the 27-year-old and he confirmed today there was nothing new to report with regards the prolific striker’s future. Speaking at the presentation of new Sevilla signing Nico Pareja, Del Nido said, “there hasn’t been any change with respect to Negredo’s situation. “There hasn’t been any communication between the English club and Spanish club, and Negredo is training with his team-mates and has three more years on his contract. “There hasn’t been any offer

Barcelona for Roma in the summer of 2011 and then to join AC Milan the following season. The 22-year-old completed a loan move to the Dutch champion at the weekend and he has now admitted that he regrets not making the move to the Eredivisie at an earlier stage of his career. “My choices for Roma and AC Milan were wrong. Perhaps I should have already opted for the

Eredivisie back in 2011,” the attacker told De Telegraaf. “I am a young player and I need to get regular first team action. I cannot make progress if I only get 18 games or so per season. I will get the chance to take the next step in my development at Ajax. I really wanted to get this loan move wrapped up as soon as possible. “Leaving Barcelona could have been more difficult if Alexis Sanchez or David Villa had been sold, so I wanted to complete the move quickly.”

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

SPORTS 109

Fallout of 2013 Wimbledom

‘

I need to try and improve and use this hopefully as a springboard to try and get better. I may never win another slam, I don’t know, but I’m going to try as hard as I can and keep working hard and not worry about all of the other stuff that comes along with winning Wimbledon, and after a few days I will enjoy this and get back to work

‘

Britain’s Andy Murray returns against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, during the men’s singles final of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament at the All England Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Sunday PHOTO: AFP/ADRIAN DENNIS

Murray feared victory was all a dream NDY Murray has A revealed he did not want to go to sleep after winning his first Wimbledon men’s singles title, as he feared he would wake up and it would all be a dream. Murray became the first British man to lift the trophy since Fred Perry won the last of three titles at the All England Club 77 years ago when he saw off world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-4 on Sunday. The 26-year-old, who also beat Djokovic to the US Open title last year and defeated Roger Federer to claim Olympic gold after losing to the Swiss in the

Wimbledon final 12 months ago, believes it will take some time for his latest achievement to sink in. “No-one could really believe it and I was the same,” Murray told BBC Radio 5Live. “You don’t want to go to sleep in case you wake up and it didn’t actually happen. I was just messaging my friends and laying in bed. It was tough to get to sleep last night. “I’m sure I will see some of the newspapers around. I’ve seen some of the back pages and front pages of the newspapers this morning. I know I won Wimbledon yesterday (Sunday), but what it actual-

ly means- I think that will take longer than 24 hours to sink in and understand it.” Murray is planning on spending a few days with his family and friends to celebrate his first Wimbledon title before taking a short break and then returning to his aim of winning all four grand slam events. “All of my family, no-one could really believe it. It was just an amazing day yesterday,” Murray said. “I need to try and improve and use this hopefully as a springboard to try and get better. I may never win another slam, I don’t know, but I’m going to try as hard as I can and keep working

hard and not worry about all of the other stuff that comes along with winning Wimbledon, and after a few days I will enjoy this and get back to work. “I’m going to try and take a bit of a holiday and go away after the next three or

four days. I will see all my family and go out for dinner and see friends and then head off for a week or so.” However, while Murray wants to continue his grand slam-winning success, he admits he is not focused on knocking Djokovic off top spot in the ATP world rankings. Murray remained second in the men’s rankings, behind the Serbian, despite his historic win in Sunday’s final. “It’s tough,” Murray said when asked if becoming world number one is his ultimate aim. “You have to be so consistent throughout the whole year. Right now I hold two slams, the Olympic gold and the final of another slam and I’m still nowhere near number one in the world. “The goal for me is to try

and win the grand slams, win those tournaments and not worry too much about the ranking.” Murray has managed to catch up on messages from friends, with Sir Alex Ferguson and David Beckham among those to have sent their congratulations. Former Manchester United Manager, Ferguson was unable to be at Wimbledon on Sunday because he is on holiday, and Murray said, “I got a message from him yesterday and this morning. “He’s going on a cruise up the coast of Scotland so he wasn’t able to come. He said to me that he always wanted to do that. Ten days he said it takes and he’d never done it in his life because he never took 10 days off from his work. “It’s an unbelievable work ethic for such a long period of time. Spending 15 minutes with him, he’s a really impressive guy and you can learn a lot from him.’’ Beckham was also unable to attend the final, although his wife Victoria sat in the Royal Box. “I messaged him back and forth over the past 10 days or so,” said Murray. “He was getting back from Singapore and he called me this morning (yesterday) when I was on the way here just to say well done, congrats and enjoy it.’’ After a whirlwind day of interviews and activity yesterday, Murray will celebrated with his team in the evening before heading off on holiday for a few days. The 26-year-old took an open-top bus through his home town of Dunblane after last year’s Olympic and US Open triumphs, and is hoping to go back to Scotland soon. He said, “I do want to go back, I’m not sure exactly when that will happen. I haven’t had much time to think or coordinate things. I want to go away on holiday and try to get rest because the last few weeks have been pretty stressful

Murray deserves knighthood, says Cameron AVID Cameron believes D Andy Murray deserves a knighthood but the Wimbledon champion has played down such talk. The prime minister stressed honours were decided independently but added, “I can’t think of anyone who deserves one more.” He said Murray’s victory, which saw him become the first Briton to win the men’s singles title for 77 years had “lifted the spirits of the whole country.” The Prime Minister, who watched the straight-sets vic-

tory from the Royal Box, said, “it was a fantastic day for Andy Murray, for British tennis and for Britain. “I think he lifted the spirits of the whole country. We were wondering yesterday (Saturday) morning, ‘do we dare to dream that this is possible?’and, he proved absolutely that it was.” Asked about the possibility of Murray becoming Sir Andy, Mr Cameron, a keen tennis fan added. “Honours are decided independently but, frankly, I can’t think of anyone, who deserves one more.”

However, Murray, who was made an OBE after winning Olympic gold and the U.S Open last summer, has questioned whether that would be appropriate. Quizzed on the subject at a press conference on Monday morning, he said, “it’s a nice thing to have or be offered. I think just because everyone’s waited for such a long time for this, that’s probably why it will be suggested but I don’t know if it merits that.” Bookmakers have responded to Cameron’s comments by slashing Murray’s knighthood odds.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (left) welcomes tennis champion Andy Murray as he arrives at 10 Downing Street in central London yesterday for a reception. Murray ended Britain’s agonising 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion on Sunday PHOTO: AFP PHOTO/Leon Neal

110 SPORTS

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Mercedes wins are a long way off, Hamilton admits EWIS Hamilton feels his LMercedes first win for his new team is still a long way off after struggling to finish fifth at the German Grand Prix. Hamilton was hit by the same heavy tyre usage problems that have plagued Mercedes for most of the year as he slipped back after starting from pole. “It would be good to get a win but at the moment it really doesn’t feel like it’s going to happen,” Hamilton said. “Luck is definitely not with me but who knows? At

some stage it’s got to come.” The 2008 world champion lost a potential win at the British Grand Prix eight days ago when he suffered a tyre failure. His team-mate Nico Rosberg ended up winning at Silverstone after Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who was second behind Hamilton at the time of his tyre failure, retired with a clutch-shaft failure. Rosberg has won twice for Mercedes this year - the other time at Monaco when he controlled the race from pole.

The German had at that point out-qualified Hamilton three times in a row, but the Englishman - in his first year with Mercedes since moving from McLaren has since turned the tables and has started in front of Rosberg for the last three races. Rosberg finished ninth in Germany but Hamilton denied getting the better of his team-mate softened the pain of his own struggles. “I don’t feel like it’s a boost or anything like that,” he said. “Having the edge on him; everyone expects that. “It doesn’t make any difference to me at the moment, especially as I’m not getting the most out of the car. When I get the most out of the car, then it will be a lot easier.” Hamilton has fallen to 58

Haye signs up for Fury fight

points behind championship leader Vettel, whose victory in Germany moved him 34 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and a further seven ahead of Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen after nine of the 19 races. Hamilton said winning the title was a distant prospect. “I’m not even thinking about the championship,” he said. “There’s no point when he’s almost 60 points ahead. “It’s going to take a lot of good opportunities to come my way. We’re going to need a lot of hard work, a little bit of luck on our side, a bit of elbow grease and we might be able to do it. But who knows?” Asked if world champion Vettel’s sizeable lead and impressive consistency meant the title was effectively already all over for everyone else, Hamilton said: “Definitely not for Fernando. Fernando’s definitely within shooting range.”

There is now a three-week gap before the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of the month, punctuated by a ‘young driver’ test at Silverstone on 15-17 July. Race drivers are allowed to drive for one day at the test to try out a new Pirelli tyre, being introduced to try to prevent the multiple failures seen at Silverstone. Mercedes are banned from that test for breaking the rules in running their 2013 car at a Pirelli tyre test in Spain in May. Hamilton added: “I don’t know if people fully appreciate how big a negative it is for us not to do the test. “We are going to go to Hungary when other people have gone and tested [the new tyres with] different ride-heights, different pressures, got their car ready for a long run so they arrive ready. “When we get there we’re going to go into it blind. We shouldn’t be in this position

Villa joins Atletico Madrid TLETICO Madrid has A reached a deal with Barcelona to sign Spain striker, David Villa, boosting its attacking options after losing leading scorer, Radamel Falcao. Barcelona said on its website yesterday that the deal is worth up to 5.1 million euros, with 2.1 million euros due this season. Villa has scored 48 goals for Barcelona in 119 games since joining the Spanish giants in 2010, but was likely to see his playing time diminish with the arrival of Brazil star, Neymar. Falcao helped Atletico win the Copa del Rey and finish third in the Spanish league last season — clinching a spot in the Champions League — before being lured away by big-spending Monaco, and coach Diego Simeone had complained that club hasn’t done enough in the transfer market to replace him. Premier League club, Tottenham had reportedly also been trying to sign Villa.

AVID Haye says he has D agreed to fight his fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury on September 28. And Haye has challenged the unbeaten Fury to consent to the fight rather than take on David Price’s conqueror Tony Thompson instead. Haye posted a video of himself signing the fight contract on Instagram. And he wrote: “I’ve just signed to fight Fury on Sep 28, let’s hope he finally agrees (and signs today) and he doesn’t keep delaying. “Word around camp fire is Fury is looking to duck me and fight Tony ‘The Tiger’. Let’s hope they are just rumours ...”

Hamilton

No Arsenal bid for Higuain, Perez insists EAL Madrid President, R Florentino Perez has dismissed speculation Gonzalo Higuain is about to join Arsenal by revealing the London club is yet to make an offer for the Argentina international. Higuain, who told the media on the final day of the Primera Division season that he was going to leave Madrid in the summer, was reported to be on the verge of a £23millon move to the Emirates Stadium. However, during an interview with Univision, Perez insisted, “we don’t want Higuain to leave. What’s more no-one from Arsenal has come to us and made us any offers at all for him. There are no offers on the table.” Madrid has made two signings so far this summer, bringing defender, Dani Carvajal and midfielder, Isco to the Bernabeu from Bayer Leverkusen and Malaga respectively, but Perez remained tight-lipped on future transfers. The club has been heavily linked with Tottenham winger Gareth Bale but Perez insisted a deal was not imminent. “He is a great player, who belongs to a cub we enjoy good relations with, but we have not made any offer,” he said. It has been reported

Madrid will sign Spain Under21 midfielder, Asier Illaramendi from Real Sociedad in the coming days. And although Perez did not confirm a move for the 23year-old, he indicated Madrid were looking to sign a longterm replacement for Xabi Alonso, who will turn 32 in November and who suffered from a groin injury towards the end of the season which forced him to undergo surgery in June. He admitted, “we are concerned about the state of Xabi Alonso. Defensive midfield is a very important position and we should be looking to strengthen there.” Uncertainty remains at Madrid over the long-term future of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Perez said he was calm

Rooney

about the situation. “Ronaldo wants to retire at Real Madrid, and we want him to retire here, just like Zidane and so many other great players did. You can be absolutely certain that Cristiano will retire at Real Madrid.”

Hayes (right) fights against Nikolay Valuev during their bout

Fans will ‘forgive’ Rooney, says Robson ORMER Manchester FRobson United Captain, Bryan believes the club’s fans will “forgive” striker, Wayne Rooney if he decides to stay at Old Trafford. The 27-year-old had a transfer request rejected by the club according to ex-United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, whose successor, David Moyes has said Rooney is not

for sale. “If he starts the season, scores a few goals and enjoys his football, the fans will forgive him, if there’s anything to forgive him for,” the 56year-old Robson told BBC Sport. Robson, who appeared more than 450 times for United, said the situation was similar to when Rooney was sent off during England’s World Cup quarter-final against Portugal in 2006. On that occasion, Cristiano Ronaldo winked as his then club team-mate Rooney left the pitch, angering both England and United fans. “After two games, Ronaldo was playing fantastically when he came back to Old Trafford. Everybody forgot about it and everybody loved Ronaldo,” said Robson. “And I think that’s the scenario for Wayne.” Robson also warned Rooney that life away from Manchester may not be as

attractive as it looks. “Wayne’s a great footballer and sometimes when you’re a great footballer you look at pastures and ask are they greener than where you’re at?” said Robson. “He’s got everything you could possibly want at the football club so, hopefully, he can be happy and entertain us. As a football supporter and as a Manchester United supporter I want to see the best players playing at our club.” Moyes suggested that Rooney may be attracted to staying as he has a chance of breaking United’s all time goal-scoring record. Rooney currently lies fourth in the list with 197 goals in all competitions for Manchester United. He stands 52 goals behind Sir Bobby Charlton, the club’s record holder, who scored 249 times for the club. Former striker, Andy Cole believes that target could

influence Rooney’s decision to remain at the club. “To have the opportunity to be the top goal-scorer in the football club’s history? I’d stay around for that, for sure,” said Cole. “But it’s not for me to advise him. Wayne’s his own man, that’s what has made him the player he is. He knows what he wants to do. David Moyes has said Wayne’s not going anywhere and, hopefully, that will be the end of it.” Cole, who scored 121 goals in nearly seven years at Old Trafford, also thinks that winning the Community Shield against Wigan next month will be important to Moyes. “If you win that, that’s your first trophy,” added Cole. “People say ‘that’s not a trophy’, but of course it is. It would be David Moyes’s first trophy and, hopefully, would propel them forward to where they can win the

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

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TheGuardian

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Babatope Falade OME 2015, many occupants of elective C offices will constitutionally relinquish their positions. The concern about that expected development is not the quality of all the affected politicians, but of a few. One Please send reactions and feedback for YOUTH SPEAK to: of such is Babatunde Raji Fashola, the cureditorial@risenetworks.org and 07067976667- SMS ONLY rent governor of Lagos State. What does the future hold for Fashola after 2015? Many people suggest that he should run for the highest office of the land, hoping he would get the ticket of his party – Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN), which has now dissolved into the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the mega party merger. Some think the position of Vice-President is an appropriate suit for him. A lot of other suggestions that include the possibility of making further contributions in the national assembly are also not ruled out. However, I think the best thing Fashola should do for himself is to commence the journey to becoming a global statesman. Fashola can conveniently join the likes of Tony Blair, Paul Kagame, and Kofi Annan in terms of the global stature and influence they possess. The best comparison here in Nigeria can also be what Tony Elumelu is doing with Heirs Holding. Fashola lately has been in the comity of mayors of mega cities, he has implemented grand scale infrastructural development in Lagos that has gotten global attention and multilateral support of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The governor has also been responsible for executing projects such as Eko Atlantic City that promises to be the toast of global investors. Without mincing words, Fashola is a potential darling in the global developmental world. The reasons why the governor should strive for a global solution drivers’ position is borne out of the fact that he can’t win if he Governor Fashola vies for Presidency and he is surely nowhere close to clinching a vice-presidency slot. He can also make it to the Senate if the Asiwaju, louder than the hallowed chambers of the voice that can sing sweet melodies of Jagaban Tinubu wishes but Fashola’s voice is National Assembly. At worse, Fashola has a Africa. His voice should not be appropriat-

Fashola’s best bet after 2015

ed to anything other than the Presidency, which he can’t clinch anytime soon. I am also sure that Tinubu would not make the mistake of even presenting Fashola as candidate if the time is ripe for opposition to win presidential elections in Nigeria. The best thing is for Fashola to key into the development narrative and potential projects for Africa. The world needs men of disciplined and result oriented character, especially when such men don’t seem to spring from the eugenics of Africa. We need local and global solutions to Africa’s problems, especially in an era that is controlled by the archangel called globalisation. Such men must be apt, astute, and defiant, focused, disciplined and must be local to local as well bred as African stock. Such men may have been made in the tough fields of African business or shaky terrains of political leadership. Fashola’s political leadership has produced results, though more could have been done, he still fits the bill. I picture Fashola playing a Desmond Tutu, Kissinger and Eric Schmidt as a blend. I picture him pulling resources from unknown parts of the world to solve the kind of problems which lack of true federalism can’t solve in Nigeria - problems, which largely include inadequate education facilities, healthcare, infrastructural deficits and broadband issues. If Elumelu can do Heirs Holdings, Fashola can do Kings Holdings. He can surely do more to help a continent that has had the wrong end of the stake due to several centuries of slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism and poor leadership that heralded and plagued us in the postcolonial. Come 2015, where does the road lead Fashola, our local political terrain or the global arena where true gladiators actually fight for the survival of their countries and continents? • Falade is a critical theorist and a post-structuralist as well as a Research Associate with the Knowledge Economy Group at the Pan African University, Lagos.

Nigeria: From sublime to ridiculous By O’Seun Egghead Odewale OKE up, after many weeks, from the W reverie of how apocalyptically bad the American system has evolved and how apotheosistically well the Nigerian body polity works and has been mouthed to be on a ceaseless transformation run since the present handlers were cobbled into the national psyche. Alternatively, can we imagine that Maurice Iwu of blessed public remonstration once told a disconcerted nation, how the Nigerian electoral system is exceedingly better than that of the Americans? Forget opprobrium, I am expected to thump my chest for we had the freest and fairest elections in 2011 despite many families of NYSC election volunteers now have annual memorial services for numerous unsung deaths during same exercise. I imagined that we are all too soon enamoured in our affectations and have thus allowed the recession of our outbursts into a residual fixture waiting to be recalled once the relevant, usually political, triggers are pulled. The Nigeria Senate had only earlier in the week released a report of its findings on Baga to which claims of mass deaths were disputed even though the report admitted that it could not verify its own assertions contained in the reports as access to the area was moderated since there is now a state of emergency in place. For force, Baga was just on April 16 2013. Imagine we have a President who ‘nose’ it all to stand knightly on a lectern with the official seal crested and declaring to all whose eardrums are not politically prejudiced that he not be assessed except there be a marking scheme to which ordinary Nigerians are the sole assessors. And, in so doing, he submitted his examination scripts for the assessors’ scrutiny. Even through the cathode tubes, one can imagine he was able to sniff the mint print of the colourful publication even though he might not have read a word of its contents. Quite a cheeky way to console one-

self considering that the President can readily imagine he was speaking to less than 10 percent of Nigerians. One can also opine that not many will have access to the President’s answer sheets to which he now requests a comparison with some spooky markingscheme that must have been earmarked as the yardstick to determine whether there has been any ‘trans-for-nation’ forward or backward or that indeed, it has been three blighted trance years of bitter than better. Cheer, chime and char, I imagined that if we were not a people with unmitigated lofty aspirations for fatherland, we should by now shove our mouths in the gutter for the unprecedented transformational diagnosis that we now witness as approbated by Dr Goodluck Jonathan. For were it not for that, we should sing hosanna that in the labyrinth of mediocrity within our public systems, we have a not-too-lettered Minister of Aviation, of the feminine gender, who has fixed new tiles and wrapped the airport pillars in incandescent wall papers of gold and silver. Just the other day, the articulated dentitions of our self-conscious image-maker spewed to Nigerians how he used to travel from poultry sheds as a Deputy Governor of Nassarawa

State. Imagine that our President, who was also a former Deputy Governor, Governor and Vice-President, had not, in his determinate wisdom, appointed a woman to rewrite all the wrongs of the men – Femi Fani-Kayode and his ilk – who forced Nigerians and visitors through the prurient tents fitting only for the birds of ravenous prey. Forget that the facelift had been bogus, the feline minister sure knows how to apply the appropriate portions of her Mary Kay layers and the airports are indeed wearing a new shine. Not to worry about the expected activities of the elements, come next year, we shall apply new layers – from foundation up. If you are in doubt, imagine her face in the spotlight when next you behold it. Circa 2015, believe it or not, all who will pass through the Lagos-Ibadan expressway would be marching on a billion dollar worth of tar, bitumen, gravels, laterite and all. Imagine that! This is actually chicken feed compared to the over $2 billion that Anenih and President Obasanjo threw at roads in less than two years in the first tenure between 1999 and 2003. This money is chicken feed, not because the roads look like poultry lanes. At least Labaran hasn’t ‘metapho-

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rised’ that. And no, the Minister for Works is not female. Minister Onolememen has actually patched more federal roads than he has constructed or than any of his predecessors had patched since 1999. That is incontrovertible transformation and you are willfully wicked if you say President Jonathan has not transformed Nigeria. Yes, I said it. So, no matter the level of economic figures that the Iweala woman peddles at local or international speaking opportunities, look straight into her face and read her innermost disaffections and discontent in how the nation is being managed. There must be a shrill down her spine when she sits to watch the Professor-Mrs. Minister of Education display her power point showing single block buildings as rationalisation for establishment of new universities in all states of the federation and a pronouncement that once the teachers are good, it does not matter if the classroom were under the mango tree! Therefore, whether or not the new universities are known to any extant law(s) in Nigeria, it was an electoral promise of Jonathan hence thy imperial will be done. Regardless of whether or not Ngozi admits it openly, watch her body gait when she saunters on and off the open podiums. Any discerning, not even trained, observer can sense it. At any rate, she has been adequately useful to distract us from querying how oil receipts are being managed. She’s internationally renowned, comes highly recommended thereby we are all expected to trust her judgments. She crackled us that much several times. Patriots, imagine that you are dead tired; as in totally summer zonked and drained of all strain of energy in your being. To replenish, you pick a can of sub-zero chilled Red Bull (I like Red Bull by the way but this is not an endorsement), opened it in readiness to quaff. Then the Bull figure on the can comes to life; emerges and charges at you. Pin Prick! • Odewale is currently a Research Associate on Governance and New Technology at the Harvard University