Thur 23 May 2013 The Guardian Nigeria

TheGuardian Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Vol. 29, No. 12,565

N150

www.ngrguardiannews.com

PDP chiefs oppose Chibuike Amaechi’s bid for second term From Kelvin Ebiri and Ann Godwin, Port Harcourt ITING the need not to esC calate the political crisis in Rivers State, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state have urged Governor Rotimi Amaechi to drop his ambition to be reelected as chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).

And a timely intervention of security operatives yesterday aborted what might have

• Govs Forum election holds tomorrow • Ex-militants protest, seek his resignation • Police ban political rallies in Rivers • AIG told not to politicise security been an invasion of the residence of Amaechi by former militants.

The ex-militants, in their hundreds, had among them

the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Force, Ateke Tom. They staged a protest in Port Harcourt to demand the resignation of Amaechi.

The party leaders under the aegis of Rivers State PDP Elders Forum, in a letter to Amaechi yesterday, said their findings revealed that the

governor’s intention to seek re-election as chairman of NGF would further worsen the crisis rocking the party in the state.

More on Pages 10 & 11 The letter was jointly endorsed by the Convener of the forum, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba; the Secretary, Dr. Silva Opusunju; Chief Anthony Akarolo, Senator Ben Birabi and Chief Maxwell Tasie Amadi.

“Since Your Excellency’s emergence as the chairman (and spokesman) of the NGF, your open and frank disposition appears to have generated controversies that are considered inimical to your position as governor and interests of Rivers State in general. It will not only aggravate the already volatile political atmosphere but also escalate the threat to peace, security, good governance and development of the state,” they CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Eulogies, as Nigerians bid Achebe farewell - Pages 4 & 5

WHO lauds Nigeria for reducing death of women, kids • Country saves 218,000 lives, achieves 78% immunisation coverage From Chukwuma Muanya, Geneva IGERIA was yesterday celN ebrated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and delegates to the 66th World Health Assembly (WHA) for leading global efforts aimed at reducing mother and child deaths.

The Minister of State for Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, was yesterday singled out for special commendation at a high level side event for ministers and senior participants to advance goals and objectives of the Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health to end preventable maternal and child CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Prof. Chinua Achebe’s widow, Christie (left); son, Ike and Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, during the celebration of life ceremony for the late literary icon at Ekwueme’s Park, Awka… yesterday.

Ombatse leader denies role in death of 50 policemen From Madu Onuorah (Abuja), Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna), Njadvara Musa (Damaturu), Bridget Chiedu Onochie (Lafia), Joseph Wantu (Makurdi) and Charles Akpeji (Jalingo) PIRITUAL Head of Lakyo SLocalVillage, Nasarawa South Council, Nasarawa State, Ala Agu, yesterday absolved himself of blame over

the recent killing of security operatives in Lakyo Village.

Agu, who is also the spiritual leader of the cult Ombatse that is alleged to be responsi-

• Blames govt for killing, yet to get police invitation • ‘Security operatives’ explosives burnt vehicles’ ble for the killing of 50 policemen, said that contrary to reports that he is on the run, he is yet to receive any police

invitation.

Agu, who spoke through an interpreter, alleged that the governor sent armed police-

men to come and kill him over an issue he knew nothing about.

The spiritual head spoke

when Senator Solomon Ewuga, representing Nasarawa North, made a tour of Lakyo community. He said that he did not know how the security operatives died even though he was informed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

30 years after HIV’s discovery, scientists optimistic about AIDS cure for some sufferers - Page 9

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

NEWS

Ombatse leader denies getting police invitation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 that they were instructed to come and kill him.

He also said that he never forced anybody to be initiated into the Ombatse cultural group.

He said: “I am grateful for your coming, senator. I am very, very grateful for your coming. Even if the senator did not come here, I had intended to go and see him in his house but since he is here, I am very grateful.

“It is the governor that asked the people (police officers) to come here and arrest me, cut my head and take my head to him.

“When they came, because they were themselves drunk, my god did not allow them to come to me and they died on the way.

“The question I ask is, has the governor ever invited me and I refused to go? But he sent people to come and kill me and to destroy Lakyo as a whole. That is just what it is.”

The spiritual head said he was in a nearby village when the incident took place only for

him to come back to be informed that the governor sent people to come and kill him.

Asked whether the incident has anything to do with the politics of the state, he said: “If you are talking about politics, it does not bother me. I don’t even understand Hausa language. Politics is not for me because I am not a politician.

Politics is for politicians but I hear that the time for politicking has not even come”.

On the claim that he was using force to administer concoction for people to become members of the Ombatse group, he swore: “If I ever opened my mouth to force anybody to take oath, God should punish me”.

He said that Ombatse is an association of Lakyo boys into which nobody is forced to belong. According to him, he is ready to honour any police invitation but insisted that nobody has invited him.

The spiritual head continued that he was very sad about the death of some security men.

He added that it was even

more saddening that he is being linked to the incident, especially when he knew nothing about what happened to the operatives.

In his contribution, President, Eggon Cultural Development Association, Mr. Chris E. Mamman, again maintained that the only way to get at the root of what happened was for the Federal Government to set up a judicial commission of inquiry.

Senator Ewuga said he decided to tour the affected area as a matter of national responsibility.

Meanwhile, Arewa elders have commended President Goodluck Jonathan for ordering the release of families of Boko Harammembers. It, however, urged the Federal Government to allow human rights monitors into the three states where emergency rule was declared in order to assess the extent of the military campaign. The Board of Trustees and National Executive Council of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), presided over by the Chair-

man of the ACF Board of Trustees, Lt.-Gen. Jeremiah Useni (rtd), met in Kaduna to x-ray the extent of military operations in the three northern states since the state of emergency was declared and advised government not to use excessive military force, which may be counter-productive to the interests of the citizens in the troubled areas.

However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Onyeabo Azubuike Ihejirika, yesterday warned soldiers that they should mind the company they keep, the people they talk with and the information they share with others.

Gen. Ihejirika said at the opening of a three-day army transformation seminar in Abuja that any officer or soldier caught in any of these acts will face disciplinary measures.

He tasked the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), Military Police and Commanders in the Field to continue monitoring activities of soldiers, as military service was a service of patriotism.

Speaking on the seminar theme, “Building Capacity of the Nigerian Army to meet Contemporary Challenges”, Ihejirika stated: “Let me use this opportunity to warn officers and soldiers who indulge in giving out information, both from Army Headquarters and other formations, certain vital information that had one way or the other worked negatively in our operations. There are also some other soldiers that have been found posting negative comments in the Internet and also some had been engaged in conversing with insurgents.”

Ihejirika said that the soldier that gave out information on the movement of troops to Mali and were attacked close to Okene has been apprehended and is going to be court-martialled.

The Army chief noted that the seminar is timely as Nigeria is grappling with series of security challenges some of which threaten the nation’s corporate existence.

In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, ACF

Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mrs. Fati Eunice Ibrahim, remarked that “the forum had earlier expressed reservations about the wisdom of an all-out military campaign as the only strategy of tackling the problem and had accordingly welcomed the acceptance by the Federal Government to explore the other options of dialogue and conciliation”, saying that “accordingly, the ACF feels obliged to continue to draw the attention of the Federal Government on the need to ensure that on-going military campaigns result in a minimum destruction of human and material resources.”

In continuation of full implementation of emergency rule in Yobe State, the Joint Task Force (JTF) has banned hawking and collection of alms by beggars at all security checkpoints and military posts in the state.

The measure, according to JTF sources yesterday, was to ensure maximum internal security in all the black spots identified by the security task force in 2011.

children.

The delegates also yesterday endorsed a WHA resolution on “Securing the Future-Saving the Lives of Women and Children” and called for speedy adoption by the whole Assembly to increase access to essential medicines and supplies in the world’s countries where the greatest inequities

exist as well as ensure the impact of innovation, overcoming barriers to access and address financing.

The delegates also said a global investment frame-work for women’s and children’s health is needed which will contribute to strategic, aligned and targeted resource allocation and strengthen accountability.

WHO lauds Nigeria for saving 218,000 lives CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 deaths.

The minister was commended for the success of the “Save One Million Lives Initiative” launched last year by President Goodluck Jonathan for saving 218,000 lives, putting one million women on antenatal care, reaching 46 million under-five children with

Vitamin A supplementation, and achieving 78 per cent Routine Immunisation (RI) coverage within one year.

On October 16, 2012, Jonathan launched “Saving One Million Lives”, an ambitious and comprehensive initiative to scale up access to essential primary health services and commodities for Nigeria’s women and

Police ban political rallies in Rivers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 said.

They said that the governor’s desire to continue leading the NGF would not provide the needed political environment that would promote the best interest of Rivers people. According to them, Amaechi’s plan to seek re-election is partly responsible for the over-heated polity and the serious collateral damage to the overall progress of the state.

“It is a highly unnecessary distraction that will decelerate your developmental strides and productivity as governor of Rivers State,” they said, adding that Amaechi’s leadership of the NGF “will not provide additional leverage for the advancement of Rivers State in particular, the South-South geo-political zone and the Niger Delta region in general. Given the above background and with all due respect, it is our most humble opinion that His Excellency should defer to the overall interest of the people of Rivers State and reconsider his decision to seek reelection to the office of chairman of the NGF.” Amid this tension in Port Harcourt and its environs, the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, yesterday banned all political rallies in the state except with police clearance.

Amid this tension in Port Harcourt and its environs, the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, yesterday banned all political rallies in the state except with police clearance.

But Amaechi has cautioned the police not to politicise security in his state. Worried about the security lapses in the state in recent weeks, Amaechi urged a police delegation led by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 6, Jonathan Johnson, that the police must not play politics with the security of lives and property of the people of the state.

Besides, Jonathan Johnson has justified the withdrawal of policemen attached to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Otelemaba Amachree and other government officials.

The protesters, comprising ex-militants, gathered as early as 7.00 a.m. at the Isaac Boro Park along the busy Aba Road, Port Harcourt, from where they began their protest march towards the Government House, Port Harcourt. But they were prevented by a team of police deployed to forestall a possible invasion of the governor’s residence.

The protesters, under the aegis of Rivers Peoples Assembly (RPA), were all dressed in white singlets with the inscription “EFCC probe Amaechi.” They also carried various placards with anti-Amaechi inscriptions amid war songs.

A governmental official, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian that Amaechi was at the Government House, Port Harcourt while the protest was on but that the police effectively prevented the protesters from approaching the main entrance to the Government

House. Though there was a mild altercation between the protesters and the policemen drawn from the anti-terrorism squad, there was no clash.

Addressing journalists at the Isaac Boro Park, the spokesman of the protesters, Martyns Mannah, said they took to the streets in protest against Amaechi’s style of governance, which according to him, is detrimental to Rivers people.

Mannah also attributed the protest to the failure of the state government to account for the jet it purchased, the ongoing monorail project as well as perceived Amaechi’s disloyalty to President Goodluck Jonathan. He, however, denied that their protest was sponsored by political opponents of the state governor.

While the protest was on, security personnel at the State House of Assembly Complex along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, hurriedly shut the gate and prevented people from entering the premises.

Another group, the National Youth Rural Empowerment Advocacy Projects (Youth REAP), gathered at the PDP state secretariat in the state capital to demand the quizzing of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Otelemaba Amachree, State Commissioners for Transport and Finance by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to unravel the circumstances surrounding the ownership and documentation of the state bombardier jet.

The state co-ordinator of

REAP, Mr. Warigbani Ezekiel who made the call during a youth congress, also announced that if President Jonathan failed to contest and win the 2015 presidential election, he would be regarded as a disappointment to the people of the SouthSouth region and Nigeria at large.

The Rivers State Police Commissioner, who government officials have accused of being partisan in the PDP conflict in the state, has warned that the police would not condone any form of political protest without police permit.

He said: “As from today, there will be no peaceful or violent procession without due approval from the commissioner of police, Rivers State. Anyone who does this will be arrested and prosecuted. The police will use minimal force to ensure defaulters are picked and proswarned. he ecuted”, The AIG Zone 6, Jonathan Johnson who was in the state for a familiarisation tour supported the withdrawal of security officials from political office holders in the state, saying Mbu’s acright. was tion He explained that the withdrawn officers were replaced by other police personnel, describing this as part of normal changes in force. the On the allegation of the Speaker over plans to assassinate some serving politicians in the state, the AIG urged him (Speaker) to come out and make a formal petition with the names of those he claimed were on the list of assassins.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

3

News ACN, PDP trade accusations over plot to destabilise Ekiti From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado Ekiti HEAD of Supreme Court A judgment to be delivered on May 31 on the case of the former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Segun Oni seeking the reversal of the Appeal Court verdict that sacked him from office, members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are trading accusations over plan to destabilise the state.

The ACN alleged that it had uncovered plot by the PDP to cause crisis in the state after the judgement to give way for the declaration of state of emergency.

The party, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Tunde Adeleke, alleged that the PDP at the weekend held a meeting at a former federal lawmaker’s residence, where the alleged plot was hatched to unleash terror on the state on the day of the judgment.

The ACN also said that the PDP was allegedly planning to assassinate top members of their party, especially top government functionaries, to create the impression that

the state is no longer in peace or governable.

However, the PDP yesterday urged the Federal Government to direct the State Security Service (SSS) to investigate the allegations raised by the ACN. The PDP based its call that the SSS be given the responsibility to investigate the matter on alleged compromise of the police in the state, which the party alleged was working in connivance with the ruling party.

At a press conference addressed by PDP Director of Communications, Chief Gboyega Aribisogan, countered that it was the ACN that was allegedly recruiting thugs from each ward to create confusion before the May 31 Supreme Court judgment to misdirect the justices on the matter.

Aribisogan maintained that the Police Commissioner in the state, Mr. Sotonye Wakama ought to have informed the party of the ACN allegation, having been earlier informed by the ruling party before going to the press, saying this is a confirmation that the police have been compromised.

In another petition dated May 22, 2013 and signed by the PDP’s Secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko and addressed to the Commissioner of Police, he urged security agencies to investigate the alleged plan by the PDP to manufacture/print with the PDP inscription to create the

impression that the party was aware of the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment.

PDP alleged that the ACN was planning a victory rally in the 16 local council areas of the state and Ado Ekiti capital city with the PDP uniform.

It also alleged that the government had directed some political office holders to paste posters of fake ACN gubernatorial aspirants all over the state to dent the image of PDP and create impression that the party is planning to destabilise the state.

LAIN banker’s husband, Mr. Scharged Akolade Arowolo, who was by the Lagos State Government for killing the deceased banker, Titilayo on June 24, 2011 yesterday denied committing the crime.

Arowolo, who testified as a witness at the resumption of his trial at Ikeja High Court presided by Justice Lateefat Okunnu said he loved his late wife so much to want to see her hurt.

His testimony in court, however, left so many questions begging for answers as to who killed the late banker.

Arowolo, a graduate of Genet-

ics from the University of Lagos, had earlier told the court at the last adjourned date that his late wife preferred her ex-boyfriend to him and their baby.

He also told the court that one of the reasons they had problems in their marriage was ego and immaturity and not because of violence.

The witness who, however, admitted that on the June 24, 2011, he and the wife struggled with a knife, alleged that the deceased Titilayo stabbed him upon getting into their bedroom to hand over her phone for a call from one Folake who asked to speak with her after a call to him to give him birthday wishes.

LAGOS High Court, A Igbosere, yesterday ordered that Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, wife of late Biafran leader, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, be served originating processes through the Nigerian Embassy in Spain.

Justice Adebayo Oyebanji gave the order in a suit filed

by Chief Debe OdumegwuOjukwu, which is one of the several pending suits before different judges over the inheritance of Ojukwu’s properties.

Apart from Bianca, other respondents in the suit are Ojukwu Transport Ltd, (OTL), Prof.

Joseph Ojukwu, Emmanuel Ojukwu, Lotanna

Ojukwu, Emeka OdumegwuOjukwu, Patricia Ojukwu and Mrs Margaret Nwagbo (Nee Ojukwu).

Oyebanji had at the last adjourned date, ordered that Bianca be served through a national newspaper publication, since the claimant could not serve her in person as a result of her current assignment as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, the claimant told the court that the cost of placing an advertisement on a national newspaper was high and will affect his already weakened finances.

Debe, who appeared in person and on behalf of the second claimant, Silver Convention Nigeria Limited, said he

MO State Government has Idualization awarded contract for the of 11.5 kilometre Imo University, Owerri–EgbuOrlu ring road at a cost of N1.7 billion, the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has disclosed.

Inspecting the preliminary construction work at the site on Tuesday in Owerri, capital of Imo State, Okorocha said the state government was bothered by the increasing menace of traffic jam in the city, adding that the contract awarded to J P Construction Company would ease the problem encountered by scores of motorists in the capital city.

From John Akubo, Dutse Director, Vivian Fowler Memorial College For Girls Funke Fowler Amba (left); Mrs. Carol Scott-Mchale, recipient of Mathematics Award; Olasumbo Delano, Corona School, Victoria Island; Tobi Akinsanya, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, recipient of Art Award; Shafiq Maryam, Lebanese International School Yaba, recipient of Essay Award; Leah Atta, Corona School Apapa and guest of honour, Justice Didi Johnson during the Essay Mathematics and Art competition for Primary five and six pupils in Lagos State organised by Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls in Lagos …yesterday. PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF.

Led in evidence by the defence counsel, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, the witness said: “I wouldn’t have killed my wife for any reason. I love my wife so much that in almost the years of our marriage I wouldn’t see her hurt, I did not kill my wife.”

He further told the court that before the tragedy, his wife woke him up with a kiss and they had both agreed to stay at home together before going to pick their daughter, Olamide from his in-laws in the evening.

“But she later dressed up and when asked where she was going, she slapped me and we both resolved the quarrel after a neighbour, Mama Hannah intervened.”

He further said after he

received the call and was going to give her the phone she attacked him with a knife saying, “I will kill you and kill myself.”

The witness claimed that after much struggle with her to get the knife away from her, the knife fell down and he made for the door to get help for his wife.

The witness also told the court that he tried to get help for his wife after succeeding to calm her down when the knife fell off her hand.

He said: “But the door was locked and I went back into the room to look for the key but could not found the key then I attempted to break open the door with a knife and

a hammer I picked from the kitchen.

“When I did not succeed, I had to jump down from their fourstorey building”, he said.

Arowolo further said he drove his car to look for help but was stopped by policemen and while explaining to them, a car knocked him down and he passed out.

“But on regaining consciousness at a dump site near a government school, “I was helped by a middle-aged man who took me to where I made unanswered calls to my wife’s and father-in-law’s phones. “ I later called my mother’s phone where I learnt that people were crying that I and my wife were dead.

Court orders service on Bianca Ojukwu through Nigerian Embassy in Spain

By Joseph Onyekwere

From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri

Jigawa to vaccinate 1m children against measles

I did not kill my wife, says slain banker’s husband

By Bertram Nwannekanma

Imo awards 11.5km road for N1.7b

has filed a motion experte dated March 27, for a varying order in respect of full and effective service on Bianca.

He urged the court to grant an order enabling him to serve Bianca either through the Foreign Affairs Ministry or by courier to the country’s embassy in Spain.

Meanwhile, counsel to the Ojukwus (Bianca excluded), George Uwechue (SAN), notified the court of a petition sent to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), filed by one Ogbonnaya Ojukwu Associates and signed by Debe’s wife, accusing Uwechue of tendering false documents in defence before the court.

Uwechue urged the court to summon the petitioner to come and proof her point, but

Debe, who argued that his wife’s action was not prejudicial, told the court that pursuant to Subsection 55(1), of the LPDC Act, his wife has a right to complain over a process she finds irregularities in.

They are in court over Debe’s claims to Ojukwu’s properties despite the allegation that he was disowned by the late Ojukwu.

He is urging the court to declare that he is entitled to the properties of the late Ojukwu, which he said was denied him by those who were supposed to be his brothers.

Debe claimed he lost “several contracts, business opportunities and goodwill” due to the “continuous denigration” by the family.

He also claimed that his company, the second claimant, which he was managing on behalf of the family, financed Ojukwu’s burial to the tune of N100 million.

He prayed the court to declare that he, “as the first and eldest son of Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu” is “entitled to manage or lead in the management and control of all the disposable assets and belongings” of Ojukwu Transport Limited.

Debe claimed that the family did not let him perform the dust-to-dust burial rites in honour of “his father”.

He asked the court to hold that he is entitled to collect the military paraphernalia used for the burial ceremonies of the late Ojukwu.

BOUT 1, 036, 563 eligible A children are expected to be vaccinated against measles disease during the ongoing Health week exercise in Jigawa State.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Tafida Abubakar who disclosed this in a statement in Dutse yesterday, said about 956,169 children will receive nutrition supplements.

He noted that the theme of this years Maternal, New born and Child Health week is aimed at improving the health of women and children in the state.

The commissioner further stated that, the ministry and Gunduma health system board is dedicating this week from 20th to 24th of the month to the conduct of the exercise across 576 health facilities in the state with deployment of over 3000 ad hoc staff as well as mechanism for supervision and monitoring the exercise.

UniAbuja sets up panel to audit staff, students From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja N compliance with the INational recent directive of the Universities Commission (NUC) to universities to carry out an audit of their staff and students, the Governing Council of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) yesterday inaugurated the panel to carry out the exercise.

The panel, which is headed by a former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), now Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola, Prof Abdullahi Ribadu, also has Prof. Anthony Adegbulugbe, Prof. Ediga Agbo, and Hajiya Aisha Babangida as members with Dr. Godswill Ogboghodo a one-time Information Commissioner in Edo State as secretary.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23 , 2013

4 NEWS

Issues in the news

Eulogies, as eminent Nigerians

By Anote Ajeluorou ROMINENT Nigerians from all walks of life P continued their effusion of tributes as they paid their last respect to the master storyteller, Prof. Chinualumogu Achebe, who died on March 21 in the United States (U.S.), just as his remains will be interred today in his hometown, Ogidi, Anambra State.

In Abuja, where the weeklong transition activities started on Sunday, the literary giant was eulogised for blazing the trail that others followed. Among the dignitaries during his commendation service at The National Church, Abuja, was the Primate of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, The Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, who presided.

Others included the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of Information, Labaran Maku; Chief Jim Nwobodo; Mrs. Margery Okadigbo; former Vice Chairman, Nigerian Telecommunications Commission, Ernest Ndukwe; Chief Ogbonnaya Onu; former Chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors, Dr. Wale Okediran, and Chairman, Achebe Transition Committee, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala.

Maku described Achebe as one of the most important Nigerians in the last 100 years, who would likely live longer that any Nigerian, living or dead, through his works.

He noted: “Through his literature, he has placed Africa on the world map indelibly and he would be relevant to human civilisation for thousands of years to come. We see his passing on as only transitory in the physical form, but there’re the emotions, the history, the philosophy that would live after his death and would be far more important than we knew him while he was alive.

“You can compare him to other immortals

Achebe

like the Greek Homer, the English John Milton, like so many other writers as Leo Tolstoy,

TheGuardian SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Conscience Nurtured by Truth

The Policeman As Endangered Species With the upsurge in insurgent activities, especially in the North, Police officers have increasingly become targets of attacks. In Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi and even Bayelsa states, they have been killed by militants, cultists and others criminals.

What is the life of a Police officer worth in the estimate of the country he/she serves? How are the families of slain Police officers catered for?

PLUS

Why Do Politicians Play ‘Monopoly’ At State Level?

At the centre, politicians are unanimous on the fairness of zoning or power rotation. Why then are the same politicians finding it difficult at the state level to rotate power? A searchlight on some states…

Is Bigamy A Misguided Law?

Is it given unto man to love but one? Against the backdrop of so many advertised cases of extramarital affairs by men, is one woman really enough for a man?

You’ll find the answers very interesting indeed!

These and many more in The Guardian, on Saturday. Keep a date with us.

who wrote War and Peace. Achebe did so much for this continent. He broke the ground by placing the African novel on the shelves and so many other writers followed his path. As far as he was concerned, he was a pioneer.”

Maku added that apart from his towering stature as the leading light of African literature, Achebe was a true pan-Africanist, “who wrote to enhance the spirit of Africa, the culture of Africa, and to place the dignity of the African that came under abuse in the years of slavery and colonialism in the forefront of human civilisation.

“So, he was not just a novelist, he was a defender of the dignity of the African and the right of Africa to organise their literature, their culture. He was a true pan-Africanist, a humanist. We pay him respect not just because he was an African, but one of the greatest Africans that ever lived.”

While many in the literary community worldwide continued to agonise over the late literary icon not awarded the coveted Nobel Prize for Literature, Maku said the legendary writer probably lost out because of his independence of mind in articulating pan-Africanist visions that countered European hegemonic stranglehold on culture, history and civilisation at the exclusion of all others.

Specifically, Maku noted that Achebe’s rewriting of history, culture and human civilisation when he argued against colonialism and Western conception of Africa as a barbaric place in his fictive and non-fictive works, probably cost him the Nobel crown.

According to him, “many people feel he didn’t get the Nobel Prize because he projected Africa’s right to think independently from other parts how the world is ordered, and because his writing was anti-colonialism and he grounded his works in Afro-centricism. It is, in-

‘

deed, arguable because he was found to be too independent of mind,” as against what Europeans think, especially in classifying Africans on the lowest rung of the race ladder.

For His Eminence, Okoh, Achebe was “a gift God gave to Africa, to Nigeria and to Igbo people. A man who had a remarkable gift imbued with love for life, he spread African literature to the world through his writing and as editor of African Writers Series.” Okoh said he encountered Achebe while preparing for his London GCE and fell in love with his writing style ever since and promptly read all his works.

Like the man with five loaves and two fish in Jesus’ parable in the Bible, Okoh said Achebe offered what God gave to him to the world and made Africa and African traditions known to the rest of the world. He noted that through his classic novel, Things Fall Apart, the renowned author presented the old order as struggling with the new order of Christianity and through his writing, presented a mirror with which to look at the time. Christianity was new to Africa then.

He intoned, “there’s no doubt that Achebe was a rich man, but not with money. He had a gift given to him by God, and through that gift, the world knew him and canonised him.”

The cleric called on Nigerians to emulate the imperishable values Achebe represented and leave lasting legacies, adding that the translation of Achebe’s works into many languages was akin to the day of Pentecost in the Bible, as many tongues now know the complexity of his environment.

On her part, Okonjo-Iweala believes that Achebe was an incredible figure that all Nigerians should be proud to have had as a fellow citizen, for bringing a lot of dignity and fame to the country. She said Achebe’s departure would create a vacuum in the literary community while his shoes would be too great for anybody to fill.

Meanwhile, at the symposium organised in his honour by the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) at the International Convention Centre on Monday, Niger State Governor, Dr. Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu, who was represented by his Information Commissioner, Prof. Mohammed Yahaya Kuta, said that though dead, Achebe lives on in the literary works he bequeathed to humanity.

He further described him as “a writer capable of infinite possibilities, and a man of diverse sensitive mental choices,” adding: “We take consolation in the fact that, of all human phenomena, none withstands death like the arts” to which Achebe devoted his life-long work.

“Aliyu went on to propose that literature should go beyond merely being a school subject or academic pursuit but something that should “refine our values, norms and inculcate cultural beliefs in the society. The general awareness is that there is a gradual erosion of our societal values through the trends of acculturation; literary works must continuously seek to put an end to this trend.”

He noted that Achebe’s writing covered a broad spectrum of Nigeria’s national life and aptly captured the social dynamics contained in it. He also added that Achebe’s attitude was that of self-righteousness to Nigeria’s national issues.

According to him, “Achebe’s artistic consciousness navigates a broad spectrum of national issues that span the very scope of our national life. This philosophy was shaped by

’

Achebe was a true pan-Africanist, “who wrote to enhance the spirit of Africa, the culture of Africa, and to place the dignity of the African that came under abuse in the years of slavery and colonialism in the forefront of human civilisation.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23 , 2013

NEWS | 5

Issues in the news

bid Chinua Achebe farewell ‘

Achebe was a good politician, his interest to participate in politics was incisive,” he observed. “He was interested that Nigeria took her rightful place in the comity of nations. He joined partisan politics, the People’s Redemption Party - the left of centre party - to help elevate the poor and downtrodden. He was number-two in that party and could have joined the ruling party in his state at the time, but he did not. He showed clearly that he was a man of principles, eager to do the common good for the common man.

the dynamics of the Nigerian society and the African continent. While he lived, Achebe fought, albeit subtly, for the enthronement of normative values and ethical conduct in the national polity.”

ANA President, Prof. Remi Raji-Oyelade, also raked up some facts about Achebe that were easily forgotten, when he pointed out that he was named Emeritus Professor in 1985 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and that he was not just a teacher, but a professor of professors, and a man that could be regarded as a bulwark of Nigeria. And while many remember Achebe for turning down two national awards, Raji-Oyelade reminded Nigerians that Achebe did not reject the honour he truly earned for his hard work, the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM).

Specifically, he called on the Nigerian government to make efforts to recover the manuscript of Things Fall Apart, which he said, was somewhere in Cameroun, for its proper archiving in Nigeria.

And for the Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, Achebe was “an unusual human being and a gift God gave to humanity,” adding that a few human beings had his rare vision. Onu reminded his audience of the great politician that Achebe was and eulogised the literary legend for his political vision in standing on the side of the poor and Talakawa of the Nigerian society.

“Achebe was a good politician, his interest to participate in politics was incisive,” he observed. “He was interested that Nigeria took her rightful place in the comity of nations. He joined partisan politics, the People’s Redemption Party - the left of centre party - to help elevate the poor and downtrodden. He was number-two in that party and could have

’

joined the ruling party in his state at the time, but he did not. He showed clearly that he was a man of principles, eager to do the common good for the common man.”

Onu concluded that though Achebe is dead, he would continue to live in the hearts of many generations to come through his classic works.

The memorial symposium lecture was delivered by an Achebe scholar, Prof. Umelo Ojinmah of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, on the topic: “Swan Song on Iroko: The Life, Times and Work of Chinua Achebe: The Lessons for Nigeria.” Speaking on the topic, he castigated armchair critics of his latest work, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, stating that they largely missed the point of Achebe’s argument for a better Nigeria. Professors Olu Obafemi and Chimajum Nwankwo of Turkish Nile University, Abuja, were discussants of the paper.

To cap a remarkable day of tributes, President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by Maku, noted that Achebe was Nigeria’s globally-acclaimed writer, scholar, tutor, cultural icon, nationalist and artist of the very first rank. Achebe’s frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs would be greatly missed in Nigeria.

“While others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater, more united and prosperous nation that all Africans and the entire Black race could be proud of.”

Others who paid tributes included Anambra State governor, Peter Obi; Senator Chris Ngige; Profs. Michael Thelwell and Chudi Uwazuruike; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore and Senator Ken Nnamani, among others.

• Prof. Boniface Egboka (VC, UNIZIK) and Prof. Fidelis Okafor (VC, Anambra State University.

• Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike

• Members of Achebe’s family

Anambra stands still, Ohanaeze shelves ikoro for Achebe From Kodilinye Obiagwu, Chijioke Iremeka (Ogidi), Lawrence Njoku, Enugu, and Chuks Collins, Awka VERY other activity literally came E to a halt in Anambra State yesterday as the remains of the late literary icon and son of the state, Prof. Chinualumogu Achebe, laid in state for a short but impressive open-air service at Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, enroute his country home, Ogidi.

And at his hometown, Ogidi, as the body laid in state last night in the closely watched and guarded family house, the whole town is torn between mourning and celebration.

The sombre mood even on the streets is easily overtaken by the attention the town, which is the most populous in the state, has drawn of recent. At the Ogidi Town Hall, red cap chiefs

gathered to receive him, blowing pipes and chanting dirges, while a Christian wake went on close by.

More so, the state anxiously expects no fewer than three Presidents to grace his interment in Ogidi this morning, according to Governor Peter Obi, who led mourners to pay tribute in Awka, as the literary giant began his final journey home yesterday.

Nevertheless, the Igbo apex sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said yesterday that it could not play the ikoro for Achebe due to want of time. The body said the ikoro was to be sounded at midnight on Tuesday at its secretariat in Enugu during its Night of Tributes, but could not do so because the elders felt it was not convenient for them.

The ikoro - a wooden object - is usu-

ally sounded in the midnight to announce the death of a great son of Igboland and was billed to be sounded by the elders when Achebe’s remains arrived in Enugu.

Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Joe Nworgu, explained that having an event up to midnight when the ikoro would be sounded was not convenient for the elders.

To accord Achebe his rightful honour, however, members of the Imeobi would attend the burial today en-masse, he stressed, since Achebe restored the pride of Ndigbo. He added: “Without bias, we can now tell our story our own way.

Achebe, he noted, told the entire world that Igbo culture was destroyed by the European mission in

Africa, just as he stated that the literary icon was an epitome of Igbo value, courage, resourcefulness and tenacity.

Meanwhile, it was indeed a day of tributes, led by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State. Archbishop Anthony Obinna of the Catholic Diocese of Owerri opened the floodgate of tributes by reminiscing on his invitation to Achebe to the 1999 Odenigbo Lecture series entitled, Echi di ime, taa bu gbo (tomorrow is pregnant, today is timely), during which Achebe warned against the decline of Igbo Language and culture.

He said the invitation was homecoming for Achebe, who had exiled himself to the United States for nine years, and that now, his looming spirit has been “re-at-homed in our

land so that the mission of rectishaping Igbo land, Nigeria and the world at large may be honourably continued and sustained by you and me.”

Senator Chris Ngige, whose maltreatment by federal powers when he was governor accounted partly for Achebe’s rejection of national honours, urged the gathering to emulate the late icon’s courage and resilience. He recalled that when he was attacked repeatedly in 2005 and Anambra’s public property burnt, only Achebe spoke up against the federal impunity.

Other speakers at the occasion included Bishop of Awka, Rev. Dr. Paulinus Ezeokafor; Speaker of Anambra House of Assembly, Chinwe Nwebili; Prof. Oby Ezekwesili, and initiator of Suwakwa Igbo, Prof. Pita Ejiofor, among others.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

6 | NEWS

Reps explain delay in passage of Health, Insurance Commission bills From Chukwuma Muanya, Geneva

• Nigeria loses N160b yearly to drug importation from India

HE House of RepresentaT tives is placing squarely on the shoulders of the Senate

of the Steering Committee has not yet taken place because member-states have not yet agreed on a chairperson for the mechanism, though discussions were ongoing.

It was also learnt that Nigeria loses about N160 billion ($1 billion) yearly to India on drug import and that last year, the Global Fund spent over N752 billion ($4.7 billion) importing drugs used for developing countries and none was procured from Nigeria because the country does not have WHO-prequalified drugs.

Nevertheless, it was equally gathered that three Nigerian pharmaceutical firms would get WHO prequalification for their products by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, WHA memberstates and delegates at the ongoing session in Geneva yesterday endorsed the NonCommunicable Diseases (NCD) Global Monitoring Framework.

the delay in the passage of the National Health Bill (NHB) and the Bill Establishing a Commission on National Health Insurance (NHIC) with more regulatory duties from the existing National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

On the international front, India and Nigeria will battle it out at the 66th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, for the headship of member-states’ mechanism on substandard/spurio u s / f a l s e l y labelled/falsified/counterfeit (SSFFC) medical products.

The Guardian learnt on Tuesday at the WHA in Geneva, Switzerland, that India was opposed to Nigeria, represented by the Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, heading the body because it would facilitate Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency in drug production and World Health Organisation (WHO)- prequalified medical products.

Therefore, a formal meeting

The framework, which comprises nine global targets and 25 indicators, is set for adoption by member-states, and once adopted, memberstates are encouraged to consider the development of national NCD targets and indicators building on the framework.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Health, Ndudi Elumelu, told The Guardian yesterday at WHA: “As a matter of fact, if not for this visit to Geneva, we would have concluded the NHB. Last week, we considered the Dental Technology, we have passed the NHIC, it is no longer NHIS, but now National Health Insurance Commission (NHIC).

“What we have done is to change the operation of NHIS to now say, be a regulator, do not be participating in the service itself. You should regulate the conduct of the providers and the players in the health insurance institution.

“We have passed and taken it to the Senate and would have expected Senate to just adopt it. But again, just like they had done in the NHB, they have started the novo. So we are now going to witness them doing public hearing for that and everything. Until they complete that, we probably will not have a conference to agree on areas that may be different from the once we have passed.”

However, Orhii disclosed that India is opposed to Nigeria chairing the mechanism, because, “once you are there, you are caught between the people who manufacture drugs, such as the United States and Europe, and generic manufacturers like India.

“India feels strongly that Nigeria is now pursuing prequalification of her medicines and thinks that because of that, her own market will shrink, especially in Africa, because Nigeria is the number one buyer of Indian med-

icines in the African continent.

“For instance, Nigeria, with a population of about 167 million, is a major recipient of the donation of drugs procured from India for developing countries. Imagine if you want to donate drugs to Nigeria and you buy from us because we have medicines that are prequalified by the WHO! “But even more threatening is Nigeria’s proximity to some of these neighbouring African countries that are also major recipients of donation of medicines. That means that Nigeria can begin to sell medicines to some of these companies. So they are not very happy.”

Commenting on the NCD framework yesterday, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said it is expected to drive progress in prevention and control of NCDs and provide the foundation for advocacy, raise awareness, reinforce political commitment and promote global action to tackle these deadly diseases.

Principal and chaplain, CMS Grammar School, Bariga Lagos, Ven. Tunde Oduwole left, president, old Grammar Society (OGS) Toyin Abayomi Akin-Johnson and second vice president Godwin Enuoyibo during the media briefing CMS Grammar school 154th Foundary’s Day 2013 anniversary in Lagos yesterday.

FEC okays new aviation policy HE Federal Executive T Council (FEC) yesterday rose from its weekly meeting with the approval of the revised National Policy on Civil Aviation for the country, aimed at enhancing the operations of the sector.

The new policy, according to the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah tends to address several key issues in the aviation sector.

Similarly, the Council also approved N19.4 billion for the construction of the Karshi water scheme in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The contract was awarded to

FROM 2010 till date, Nigeria has witnessed 400 bomb explosions, the head of Police Anti-bomb Squad of the Federal Capital Territory, OC Adigun Tajudeen, has revealed.

Tajudeen, who maintained that the Nigerian Police had always been on top of all the insecurity challenges in the country, regretted, however, that of the 400 explosions, the agency has not been able to identify any concrete evidence.

Speaking at a lectures and stimulation exercise on experience sharing on mass casualty handling resulting from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), which was organized by the North Central zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency, Tajudeen said that often, the public always gets to the scene where explosion occurred before any security agent and tampers with evidence.

Govt raises committee to monitor TCN projects • Agency gets $500m AfDB lifeline From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja

ment Bank (AfDB) $500 million loan to upgrade its facilities to enable it transport the generated electricity to consumers.

And as part of the conditions for accessing the loan, the Federal Government on Tuesday inaugurated a monitoring and evaluation committee to track the execution of the loan facility.

Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, who inaugurated the committee, said of the TCN: “We have been challenged by the problem of not being able to evacuate power beyond 4,500MW. “From the brief TCN gave us, if we have appropriate funding in the next one year, we will be able to double our transmission capacity. The technical committee is critical as it is required by AfDB to access the loan.”

HE Lagos State Internal T Revenue Service (LIRS) yesterday sealed off an oil

From Mohammed Abubakar, Abuja

From Joke Falaju, Abuja

HE Transmission Company T of Nigeria (TCN) will benefit from an African Develop-

Lagos shuts oil firm over alleged assault

and gas exploration firm, NestOil Plc, for allegedly assaulting its officers.

The Head, Distrain Unit of LIRS, Folasade Coker-Afolayan, said that the tax officers were attacked when they served a notice of tax debt on the firm.

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the firm allegedly owed the state government N9.8 million in unremitted personal income taxes of workers in 2010 and that trouble started when the tax officers started videotaping their discussions with NestOil officials.

‘Nigeria records 400 bomb explosions’

Messrs SCC Nigeria Limited with a completion period of 30 months.

Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting, Oduah said the newly approved policy is intended to regulate the operation of the sector and bring it in line with the international best practices.

Oduah noted that the last time the civil aviation policy was reviewed was about 11 years, noting that since then a lot of developments had taken place within the sector that required updating.

Oduah said the new policy would addresses some fundamental reforms in the sector such as safety, security, the use

of technology to drive the process, such as general aviation practice covering private jets, laws and regulations to ensure that they operate within acceptable principles.

Also, she said the new policy addresses the Bill of Rights to ensure that the rights of passengers and operators are protected.

The minister said that the new policy also places a lot of emphasis on safety in the sector, a new directorate would be created to ensure that issues relating to safety in the sector; unequal implementation of bilateral agreements, which currently do not favour the country as well as the policy of national carrier, which

must be private-sector driven , are adequately addressed.

According to her, under the new regime, the Accident and Investigation Bureau, (AIB) is expected not only to investigate but should ensure that it partners with the necessary regulatory agencies such as the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ensure that the outcomes of their investigations are implemented, adding, “They should police the NCAA to ensure that all their observations are fully implemented.”

She added: “In revising the policy, we looked at the issue of general aviation. When we talk about general aviation we are talking about the pri-

vate jets. As of today we have about a 100 of them but we have no law, no policy no regulation to make sure that they are operating the way they should operate within ICAO laws and our aviation policy. But most importantly, we want them to operate in tandem with global best policies, we also had to highlight passengers’ bill of right.”

Speaking specifically on the operation of private jets in the country, the minister said operators were not paying enough fees that were commensurate as outlined by law, adding that new policy intends to address some of the inadequacies so identified by the old guidelines.

Independent Newspapers holds investiture NDEPENDENT Newspapers IOfLimited (INL) holds its Man The Year 2012 investiture at Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos 4.00 p.m. tomorrow.

INL is the publisher of Daily Independent, Saturday Independent and Sunday Independent newspapers.

Three distinguished Nigerians shall be honoured with INL awards. They are Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group; Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Managing Partner, Compliance Professionals Plc and immediate past Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as well as Chief Theodore Orji (Ochendo), Governor of Abia State.

Chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, is the Guest Speaker and would speak on “Amnesty, Human Rights and The Rest of Us.”

News 7

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

Seven arrested over Asadu’s murder, says IGP

Court jails man for pirating El-Rufai’s book

By Joseph Onyekwere FEDERAL High Court in LaA gos yesterday convicted and sentenced a bookseller to three months’ imprisonment for selling pirated book of former Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai’s The Accidental Public Servant.

The convict, Akamu Chibueze, a resident of 69, Owodunni Street, Iwaya, Yaba, Lagos, had pleaded guilty to a two-count of piracy and offer for sale of the pirated books levelled against him by Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC).

The NCC prosecutor, Lynda Alpheaus, told the court that the convict was caught on April 25, 2013, with two copies of The accidental public servant, which he offered for sale.

She appealed to the court to convict and sentence the bookseller as charged.

In his allocutus, the convict,

NEMA donates building materials to flood victims From Njadvara Musa, Maiduguri O assist Borno State govT ernment in its plan to build 250 housing units for displaced persons following last year’s flood, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has donated building materials to the state government.

Presenting the materials yesterday in Maiduguri, NEMA’s Director General, Muhammad Sani Sidi, said the “support and intervention” of NEMA was to permanently resettle the displaced flood victims in Borno State.

The flood victims, according to the agency’s boss, are over 500 households along with their livestock used for transportation of farm produce and water.

He said the building materials include 18,000 bags of cement; 25,000 pieces of planks; 10,000 pieces of ceiling boards and 750 bags of nails.

Cross River plans law against cybercrime From Anietie Akpan, Calabar IQUED by the rising rate of P cybercrime in the country, Cross River State government will soon enact a law against the vice in the state.

Chairman of state House of Assembly Committee on Due Process, International Donor Support and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Mr. John-Gaul Lebo, said the lawmakers were committed to the matter and that Cross River would become the first state in the country to have a law against cybercrime.

Lebo disclosed this on Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the first Microsoft NGO Connection Day for Information Communications Technology (ICT) Training, Networking and Information Sharing Workshop for Civil Societies and NGOs in South-South GeoPolitical Zone in Calabar.

From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu DISCLOSURE yesterday A came from the Inspector General of Police (IGP),

Immediate past President, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), Abiola Popoola (left); past President, CIPM, Dr. Oladimeji Alo; past President, CIPM, Dr. Christopher Kolade; President/Chairman of Council, Victor Famuyibo; Pioneer President, CIPM, Dr. Michael Omolayole and past President, CIPM, Mr. Victor Eburajolo during the Investiture of Famuyibo as the 16th CIPM President/Chairman of Council… on Tuesday.

Muhammed Abubakar, that seven persons have been arrested in connection with the killing of the former Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chinwike Asadu.

Asadu was murdered about three months ago at his Amorji Nike residence in Enugu-East Council of Enugu State.

Briefing journalists in Enugu during his official visit to the

Northern elders may sue govt over alleged rights violations N indication emerged yesA terday that the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) may soon file a complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), acFederal the cusing Government of human rights violations, according to the forum’s spokesman, Ango Abdullahi.

“What we are doing now is to organise our evidence that would make it possible for us to make a very strong case against the government and its agencies, or up to individuals who may be complicit, in terms of the human rights violations that have been taking place in the last few years,” said Abdullahi in an interview with Voice of America (VOA).

He said the group has put together a team of lawyers that has been gathering evidence indicating that Nigerian soldiers were involved in the recent killing of civilians at Baga.

“There is sufficient evidence, from our point of view, in terms of human rights violations that have been going on with a lot of impunity in the last three years or so around the activities of the government and its agencies and around the country,” said Abdullahi.

“I think it’s because nobody seems to really take the matter seriously to draw attention, not only to other parts of the world, but also to the Nigerian authorities themselves”, he added.

But supporters of the government have countered the NEF’s claims, saying the administration is mandated to protect unarmed civilians and resolve the country’s internal security crisis.

They accused the NEF of failing to engage the government in its attempt to prevent violence, often carried out by members of the Islamist group, Boko Haram.

Abdullahi also denied speculations that the Elders’ Forum is in any way linked to Boko Haram.

“We didn’t create the insurgents. It may have been created by somebody, but it is up to the government to prove a case that the insurgency has been created deliberately to cause havoc in the country,” said Abdullahi.

He added: “It happens that perhaps if there is any indication that this matter has been politicised, it must have been politicised by the government or its agencies.”

Boko Haram, which is based in northern Nigeria, has been accused of carrying out violent attacks in an attempt to force the country to adopt strict Islamic law.

Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram-related violence has killed an estimated 3,000 people since 2009, a toll that

includes killings by security forces.

But Abdullahi added that the government has been unable to resolve the security threats members of Boko Haram pose to the country.

“If this sect had been treated like many other sects that we’ve had in this country for many years, perhaps we would not be where we are now,” said Abdullahi.

He added: “There are thousands of people detained in terribly inhuman conditions all over the country. Among the thousands of people that have been in detention for many years now, only one as far as I know, is in court now.”

Abdullahi stressed that the NEF has decided to hold the government accountable for the extra-judicial killings, which he added, were sometimes carried out by military officials.

Court awards N750m against The Nation, Ogele over libel From Muyiwa Adeyemi, Ado-Ekiti N Ado-Ekiti High Court has A awarded the sum of N750 million damages against The Nation Newspapers and a human rights activist, Mr. Morakinyo Ogele, for libel and defamation of character of the Mr. Segun Ilori, former Chief of Staff to Ekiti State Governor, Segun Oni The cost was awarded against the newspaper for publishing an article by Ogele, alleging that Ilori was involved in allegedly bribing judges of Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal to the tune of N3 billion.

The defendants are also to publish an apology in three national newspapers.

Ilori had gone to court to challenge the Wednesday, May 12, 2010, publication of The Nation newspapers with the headline: “Lawyer petitions NJC over bribery allegation against election tribunal judges”, and demanded N3 billion as damages.

The crux of the publication is that a petition has been written to the NJC over allegation of bribery against some members of Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal. The publication also named Ilori, among others, as being involved in the alleged N3 billion bribe to the judges of Ekiti State Election

Petition Tribunal.

According to the judgment, “The claimant denied it, adding that the publication referred to him, and has maliciously injured his credibility, occupation and reputation.

He added that it also brought him into public ridicule, scandal, odium and contempt and lowered him in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society”.

In the judgment delivered on May 17, 2013, Justice Adewale Kayode Fowe held that the claimant, Ilori, had proved his case, having led evidence unchallenged by the defendants.

The presiding judge said the claimant’s evidence and those of his witnesses: Messrs Eric Teniola, Lekan Omoboye and the exhibits submitted, showed that the publication was false, malicious, defamatory and injured his reputation.

The court held that although the defendants filed conditional appearance and defence, they ignored several opportunities for cross-examination and defence. He cited several cases of requests for adjournments and non-attendance at proceedings without excuse and other antics by the defendants.

Relying on the case of NEPA v Alli & 1 OR (1992 )8 NWLR, per Nnaemeka Agu, the court stated: “At the trial, the plaintiffs

gave and called evidence in support of their pleading, the defendant called no evidence.

In the circumstances, the court approached the case from the standpoint that in spite of the traverse or denial in the pleading, the defendant, having failed to put anything on his own side of the imaginary balance, is deemed to have accepted the facts adduced by and on behalf of the plaintiffs.

“On that basis, therefore, the court proceeded to consider whether the plaintiff discharged legal burden of proof incumbent on them, which in that case, would be discharged on a minimal proof. I hold that the claimant has a minimal burden of proof in this case, which he has discharged creditably by giving evidence and tendering Exhibits P1, P2 & P3.

“In exhibit P3, the defendants falsely and maliciously wrote, printed and published or caused to be written and published of and concerning the claimant, among others, (see page 4 of The Nation Newspapers of 12 May, 2010 Volume No. 1392).

“The 1st and 3rd witnesses were called and gave evidence that they read the publication, which has diminished the reputation of the claimant in their estimation of him.”

The court, therefore, held that the “Publication made by the

defendants in The Nation of May 12, 2010, at page 4 thereof is false, malicious and defamatory of the claimant.

state, the IGP said the arms used by the killers during the operations were also recovered by the police.

He said following the confessional statements of the arrested suspects, the police were on the trail of other collaborators in the murder.

He said: “We have arrested seven of those behind the killing of CP Chinwike Asadu. His killing was indeed a sad incident and that was why when I visited the family after the incident, I made a promise that we would stop at nothing to get those behind that dastardly act.

“I am glad to tell Nigerians that of those who took part in the killing, seven have been arrested and arraigned before a court”.

He gave the names of the suspects as Ogechukwu Uzoh, Ogechukwu Nnadi, Ugwuoke Obiora, Okwuosa Anthony, Chukwudi Enete, David Elvis Aja and Amobi Nnamchi.

“These are the seven persons charged for murder; aside the killing of the CP, they also confessed to killing other innocent souls and several acts of criminality”, he added.

The police boss, however, declined giving further details on the arrest, as well as what could have led to the police chief’s murder.

On the murder of several policemen by the Ombatse militia group in Nasarawa State, the IGP said the matter was still under investigation, stressing that “what happened there is condemnable by any reasonable person; after investigation, we will be able to brief the press adequately”.

Earlier, the IGP, who commissioned a medical clinic at the Enugu State Police Headquarters, commended the media for their partnership role with the police.

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

WorldReport British soldier killed in suspected terror attack in London MAN suspected to be a jacket, saying: “We must A British soldier was yes- fight them as they fight us. terday killed in a machete An eye for an eye, a tooth for

Police officers cordoned off an area near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, east London, following an incident in which a man thought to be a serving soldier was killed near the barracks and two alleged terror suspects in a serious condition taken to hospital…yesterday.

PHOTO: AFP

30 years after HIV’s discovery, scientists optimistic about AIDS cure for some sufferers N the sidelines of a Paris O conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the discovery of Human Immune Virus (HIV), the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), top scientists were optimistic yesterday of finding a cure for the disease that has claimed 30 million lives.

The experts, who said the cure might not work for all people, expressed high hopes for a treatment that will be given at an early stage of infection – most likely a cocktail that includes an immunity booster and a virus killer.

An estimated 34 million people are infected with HIV worldwide and about 1.8 million die every year.

However, a report by Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted the scientists as saying that people with a long-running, untreated infection and a

compromised immune system may never benefit from an envisioned “functional cure,” which means a person retains traces of the virus but no symptoms.

“We have had some very interesting little lights at the end of the tunnel in individual studies,” Anthony Fauci, director of the United States (U.S.) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on the sidelines of the Paris conference.

“It is a difficult road, but a feasible road,” he said.

Proof of vaccine feasibility lay with a Thai study dubbed RV144, which in 2009 demonstrated protection for 31 per cent of some 16,000 people given an experimental vaccine, said Fauci.

“I think we will likely have a (vaccine that works at) better than 31 per cent, but there’s certainly the possibility that

The experts, who said the cure might not work for all people, expressed high hopes for a treatment that will be given at an early stage of infection – most likely a cocktail that includes an immunity booster and a virus killer. we won’t have a 90 per cent,” Fauci told reporters.

Continuing, he added: “And I think there is even a greater possibility that we won’t have a pristine cure that would essentially cure everybody who is HIV infected.

“I think it’s not only possible that that won’t happen – I think it is likely that that won’t happen.”

Fauci and other scientists point to the difficulties they have encountered to completely expunge the virus that destroys the immune system and exposes infected people to pneumonia, TB, and other opportunistic disease.

Antiretroviral drugs slow

down virus reproduction, allowing people to live symptom-free lives and slowing transmission to others, but much of the virus hides away in “reservoir” cells only to reemerge and start spreading again once treatment stops.

A team of scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, is experimenting with an anticancer drug to flush the virus out of its hiding place, then to be killed.

“Ultimately, we want a cure that is available to a large number of people,” a member of the team, Sharon Lewin from Monash University, told AFP at the conference.

World Bank unveils $1bn aid package for DR Congo, neighbours HE World Bank has reportT edly unveiled a $1 billion (£660 million) aid package to help the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbours, as hostility continues near the eastern city of Goma.

Agency reports indicated that the money is to be used for health, education, crossborder trade and hydroelectricity projects.

The announcement came as World Bank head, Jim Yong Kim, and United Nations (UN) chief Ban Ki-moon start a tour of the region.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) cited a UN spokesman as saying that one person was killed yesterday when a mortar landed in Goma.

This funding will help revitalise economic development, create jobs, and improve the lives of people who have suffered for far too long.

Government forces and M23 rebels have been involved in heavy fighting near Goma since Monday, killing 19 people.

The clashes are the first since the M23 pulled out of the city last year under diplomatic pressure.

The UN said it would speed up efforts to deploy a 3,000strong intervention force to eastern DR Congo to end the latest conflict.

Some 800,000 people have fled their homes since the M23 launched its rebellion last May.

The World Bank aid package is to support a peace deal signed in February between DR Congo and its neighbours, some of whom are accused of backing the rebels.

Kim, in a statement, said: “This funding will help revitalise economic development, create jobs, and improve the lives of people who have suffered for far too long.”

The largest tranche of the aid – $340 million – will go towards an 80-megawatt hydroelectric project in Rusumo Falls, providing elec-

tricity to Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Despite its vast mineral wealth, decades of conflict and mismanagement mean most Congolese remain stuck in poverty.

Meanwhile, the mortar fell in the Goma neighbourhood of Ndosho, killing one person and injuring four, said UN mission peacekeeping Madnodje spokesman, Mounoubai.

He said he did not know who fired the mortar.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch researcher Ida Sawyer told Reuters news agency that a two-year-old girl died and three members of her family, including a boy and girl, were wounded.

attack and two suspects were shot at the scene of the incident by police in Woolwich, south-east London.

Following the attack, Prime Minister David Cameron said there were “strong indications that it is a terrorist incident” and the UK would “never buckle” in the face of such attacks.

A television footage later emerged showing a man wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) stated that there were unconfirmed reports that the dead man was a soldier.

Both French President Francois Hollande and a lawmaker, Nick Raynsford, said the dead man was a soldier at Woolwich barracks.

The footage shown on the ITV website shows a man, dressed in a grey hooded

a tooth.”

He added: “I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our land, our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.”

British Home Secretary Theresa May later summoned a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee, Cobra.

It was later learnt that both men shot at the scene were taken to hospital, one by air ambulance. One of the men was said to be in a serious condition, the other was also being treated for injuries.

Mrs. May said she had been briefed by the director general of Security Service MI5, Andrew Parker, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe on the “sickening and barbaric” attack.

Boston bomb investigators kill Florida man BRAGIM Todashev, a Florida room, the FBI said.

Iman in United States (U.S.) One FBI agent was taken to a was shot and killed by offi- hospital with non-life threatcials of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) when he became violent while being questioned by Boston bombing investigators.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the shooting took place early yesterday as officials interviewed the 27-year-old man.

The FBI initially said their agent had killed Todashev, but an updated statement left unclear the question of who had fired the deadly shot.

Two Massachusetts State Police officers were also in the

ening injuries after the incident, and an agency team has been dispatched to review the shooting – standard procedure in such cases.

U.S. media reported that Todashev had known Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston bombings suspect killed in a shootout with police days after last month’s deadly marathon blasts.

Todashev was a mixed-martial arts fighter who, like Tsarnaev, had links to the Russian republic of Chechnya, according to reports.

Mugabe signs Zimbabwe’s new constitution into law RESIDENT Robert Mugabe Britain’s Lancaster House.

P has signed Zimbabwe’s After Mugabe signed the new constitution into law, text, he shook hands with clearing the path to crucial elections later this year.

The 89-year-old, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, signed the document two months after Zimbabweans overwhelmingly approved it at a referendum.

“This is a happening of joy, great joy indeed,” Mugabe said at the signing ceremony, held in a marquee erected on the lush green lawns of the State House.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai also welcomed the constitution’s passage into law: “As Zimbabweans, we are proud that we are setting on a journey that is based on a new governance system.”

The supreme law replaces the one written in 1979 at

Tsvangirai, to loud applause from assembled ministers, lawmakers and the chief justice, saying “we want now to build the nation.”

“We will try to transform into a tomorrow that is more enjoyable, that is much more uplifting,” said Mugabe.

Despite the show of solidarity, the handshake effectively signals the start of an election campaign that will once again see the rivals pitted against each other.

Tsvangirai has challenged Mugabe for the presidency twice before, with often bloody results.

International observers described Mugabe’s victory in 2002 as deeply flawed, and in 2008, the vote was plagued by violence and irregularities.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

10

Politics

Jonathan

What is the interest of the North in the Governors Forum vis-à-vis the 2015 presidency? That is uppermost in the minds of the northern leadership. It is true that if the North votes for Amaechi, the immediate scenario would be that the SouthSouth geopolitical zone would have the Presidency, the Nigerian Governors Forum and the PDP Governors Forum (PDP-GF). Which is very lop-sided and top heavy for one zone. But the North, voting for the candidate President Jonathan is rooting for has its wider implications for the North, as regards the 2015 presidency. It means Jonathan’s ambition for a second term would be a fait accompli. And the North does not want that.”

Amaechi

NGF election: The dice is cast divide.

Scheduled or impromptu meetings, including caucus assemblies, are reportedly scattered N the next 24 hours+, the direction in which around Abuja. These are a natural follow-up to the Nigerian Governors Forum is headed series of meetings in the day, including that of would be clear. And that direction will be deter- the Northern Governors Forum, which is being mined by the pattern of voting at the Forum’s held to take a common position on the elecelection to pick its chairman for the next two tion. years.

Certainly, the northern governors, rather than At stake are seemingly the egos of two personal- the governors from the opposition political ities: those of President Goodluck Jonathan and parties, are the “beautiful brides” for the conGovernor Rotimi Amaechi, the current chair of test. Hence, both the pro and anti-Amaechi the Forum. groups are apparently banking on the mass or Ordinarily, only one man’s ego, that of substantial votes from the governors.

Amaechi, would have been at play, and could be Fifteen of the 19 governors from the North bruised were he to re-contest the position and belong to the ruling PDP, three to the All lose. But now, Jonathan, who is not a governor, Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and one to the has joined the fray, and thus put on the line his Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). ego that could be dented if his stop-Amaechi-atFor instance, if the 15 governors cast their all-cost failed in the end. votes for the pro-presidency candidate of either The election of the Governors Forum is once in Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State or Ibrahim Shema of two years, with the subsisting tenure ending on Katsina State, or for Amaechi, that would leave May 29. But, perhaps, owing to the back and the candidate needing only four votes to garforth that has seized the Forum since the presiner a simple majority of 19 votes to clinch the dency has shown more than a passing interest election. in who chairs the body in the run-up to the 2015 Similarly, if all the governors from the North elections; the plan to force the election had to be go the same way by voting en bloc for either aborted in March, two months to the actual candidate — a scenario a respondent said was exercise. not impossible “because the North is known to Again, the poll had to be brought forward by speak with one voice when their interest is at five days, from May 29 to May 24 — that is tomor- stake” — that would be home and dry for the row — due to alleged pressures from interested candidate, who would have no need for the parties, although some governors claimed they votes from the rest governors. did not get the first notice of the meeting fixed But a split in the northern votes would send previously for today. the candidates fishing for more votes from the Without a doubt, the meeting, according to a other three geopolitical zones of the Southsource last night in Lagos, “was going to be South, Southeast and Southwest with six, five forced for tomorrow (today) until it was discov- and six votes, respectively. ered that that would breach the constitution of “This is the extent of the importance of the the NGF, which gives a 72-hour notice to all the votes from the North, not that we are in any governors about a pending election in the way undermining the importance and votes forum.” from the other regions,” the source added.

“So, to avoid being caught in the web of contro- This bespeaks of the reported intense lobbyversy over scheduling of the election, the coning and pressures mounted by the candidates’ vener of the Forum’s meeting and Rivers gover- camps on members of the Northern Governors nor, Rotimi Amaechi, had to push it back by 24 Forum, and which they may extend to their hours,” the source said. meeting slated for this morning in Abuja.

So, believe it or not, tonight is the ‘ides of May’ Reports indicated that the anti-Amaechi even though it has past May 15 (‘ides’, in the group, headed by a South-South governor and ancient Roman calendar, are the 15th day of another from the Middle Belt had audience March, May, July and October and the 13th day of with the Chairman of the Northern Governors all other months). It is the decision night when Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, to rally his northeverything doable (and moveable) will be done ern colleagues for the candidate of the presito ensure victory on either side of the political dency.

By Ehichioya Ezomon (Group Political Editor)

I

It was also learnt that the Amaechi camp took their turn later, to drum up support for the embattled governor.

The Guardian learnt that the northern votes are “so crucial for the candidates because none is sure of getting a comfortable majority from the southern votes.”

A source described the South as “divided, polarised and separated,” as it concerns the Governors’ Forum election.

According to the source, “Governor Amaechi, ordinarily, would get the votes of the southern governors, both in the PDP and in the opposition. But since the feud between him and the president, that may not be possible any more.”

“The same thing with the president’s candidate; he cannot get all the votes although the president has beaten Amaechi into pulp, politically.”

The source continued: “Even if the president’s man gets four votes (minus those of Amaechi and Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State) of the South-South, can he get the five votes from the Southeast?

“What about the six votes from the Southwest zone? Well, he might get the vote of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, who is very close to President Jonathan. But we can’t say the same thing for the votes of the governors on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).”

Indeed, it was gathered that one of the Southwest governors is an Amaechi campaigner, who reportedly has the ears of his four party colleagues in the zone. That being the case, the Rivers’ governor can bank on four or five votes for the region.

The snag, though, is that the ACN governors are free to vote, “according to their conscience, the interest of the Southwest, and the advancement of true democratic system in Nigeria,” a top party leader in the zone said yesterday.

All said, the ball is in the court of the 19 northern governors, whose region is angling, “with all means possible,” to ensure political power at the presidency return to the area in 2015.

“That is why the votes will be dicey on Friday, especially for the candidate the presidency is pushing forward,” said a northern PDP stalwart.

The source explained the calculations and permutations thus: “What is the interest of the North in the Governors Forum vis-à-vis the 2015 presidency? That is uppermost in the minds of the northern leadership.

“It is true that if the North votes for Amaechi, the immediate scenario would be that the South-South geopolitical zone would have the Presidency, the Nigerian Governors Forum and the PDP Governors Forum (PDP-GF). Which is very lop-sided and top heavy for one zone.

“But the North, voting for the candidate President Jonathan is rooting for has its wider implications for the North, as regards the 2015 presidency. It means Jonathan’s ambition for a second term would be a fait accompli. And the North does not want that.”

Yet, the source acknowledged that individual ambition of some northern governors could scuttle the region’s calculations for 2015.

The source expressed deep worry that Jonathan “having his say and way” in the NGF election could throw a spanner in the political works of the North even in the 2019 presidential election that the Southeast is planning as an alternative to the 2015 contest it is likely to concede to the president, going by recent foray of the latter in the region.

Anyway, interested parties and watchers of the polity, put in unnecessary heat by the ambition of just two men within a population of over 160 million, will have barely 24 hours to wait for the outcome of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.

The Director-General of the NGF, Mr. Asisama Okauru, made the notice, and agenda of the sixth meeting available on Tuesday night.

According to Okauru: “The chairman, Rt. Hon, Rotimi C. Amaechi has requested for a meeting of all members as follows: Date: Friday 24th May 2013.

“Time: 4.00pm prompt, Venue: Rivers State Governors Lodge, Abuja. Address No. 5, Justice Mohammed Bello Street.

“Agenda: 1 Election of Forum officials: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Vacant Seats on the Board of Trustees NCI, NE1, NW2, SW1, SE1 (that’s one vacant seat each from the North Central, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, while two vacancies exist from the Northwest).

“For members of the executive committee representing geopolitical zones (the chairman and vice chairman automatically represent their zones).

“2, AOB “Notice of intent to run for these positions should kindly reach the secretariat before May 24, 2013. Thank you.”

The dice is certainly cast!

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

POLITICS 11

Amaechi presses on with NGF re-election bid From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt IVERS State Governor and Chairman of R Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, appears resolute to fend off a fierce challenge and win re-election of the 36-member forum on tomorrow.

A close associate of the governor told The Guardian in Port Harcourt yesterday that Amaechi would run for re-election.

The male source said the mood in Amaechi’s camp is that, “whether he wins or not, his decision not to chicken out under immense pressure mounted on him by those opposed to his political aspirations is an indicator that he is not a mere pushover.”

“The governor has told us that he would seek re-election. In fact, he was the one that shifted the election to Friday (tomorrow), to enable his colleagues participate in the polls,” the source said.

Whether he wins or not is immaterial; the most salient lesson that we all will learn at the end of the day is that the governor is not a coward or an errand boy of anyone.”

Another source (female) close to the governor said Amaechi was not perturbed about losing the election.

According to her, “if he wins, that will serve as a boost to the image of the Nigerian Governors Forum: that the group is not just made up of puppets whose strings could be pulled at any time to suit the whims and caprices of some power mongers in the polity.”

She observed that though President Jonathan has been persistently accused of scheming to ensure that Amaechi does not get re-elected, “those that will determine the governor’s fate are his colleagues, who, he is quite convinced, will want to prove their independence and credibility of the group.”

“Governor Amaechi is not desperate to win but at least, he will prove to all that he is not a man that can be cowed,” she said.

She alleged that in a bid to thwart Amaechi’s re-election, the Federal Government has promised to return some oil wells to Cross River State.

“We are also aware that the Federal Government has started refunding some states the money they spent on federal roads and so on,” she said.

“These are parts of the strategy being employed to undermine Amaechi. But it is the integrity of the forum that is at stake here.”

Considering the seemingly overwhelming odds against Amaechi based on the alleged overbearing influence of the presidency and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on his governor colleagues not to back him, winning a second term is, at first glance, not encouraging for the governor.

But Amaechi staked his political goodwill at the polls. He recently told a delegation of the Catholic Laity, led by the Bishop of the Port

Members of the NGF after a recent meeting Harcourt Diocese, Most Revd Camillus Etokudo, that the past few weeks had been quite challenging politically.

He solicited the support of the church in terms of prayer, as he re-contests the NGF election, which he blamed for his political travails.

“It’s been quite challenging, critical and difficult for people like us and the next prayer you will need to do for me is the prayer for the chairmanship of the Governors Forum because that is what all this crisis is about,” he said.

“So, don’t forget that aspect (in the prayer).

That’s what the entire crisis is about. (But) like a whirlwind, it will soon blow over.

“Like I told my friends, I will run; nobody will stop me from running. Whether I win or not is a different thing, but I will insist on running.”

On why the governor was optimistic that he would win, a top Rivers State government official explained yesterday that Amaechi had led the forum credibly well.

“And the fact that the presidency is keenly interested in wanting to determine who emerges as the next chairman (of the NGF) is an indication that the forum has become a force to be reckoned with in the polity,” the official said.

According to him, “Amaechi is not in a popularity contest with anyone; rather, he has proven that Nigeria is a federation and that

collective national interest supersedes any individual’s interest.”

Many pro-Amaechi politicians in Rivers State said the governors should ideally be allowed to determine their fate without overt external influences.

As one of them said: “The NGF has provided a platform for constructive management of national issues and to build smooth and cooperative inter-party relationships amongst the governors, who are drawn from different political parties.”

Besides, the politicians said the country would suffer if its political elite failed to imbibe the culture of political tolerance, accompanied by constructive engagement.

They argued that interference in the affairs of the Governors Forum would be a major setback for Nigeria’s efforts to nurture and consolidate its democratic governance.

But not all of Amaechi’s supporters want him to continue with his NGF ambition. Some of them, spoke to The Guardian, expressed concerns that Rivers State has been overtly been victimised by the Federal Government, due to the governor’s alleged unyielding stance.

They cited the ceding of Rivers State’s oil wells in Soku to Bayelsa State and others to in Omumu to Abia State.

They also cited the lack of Federal Government presence in terms of infrastructural development in Rivers despite having

voted overwhelmingly for President Jonathan in 2011.

In addition, the politicians are worried that if no concerted effort were made to achieve some kind of reconciliation, there might be an instigated collapse of security in the state, which would culminate in the destruction of all that the governor had laboured to build in a new Rivers State.

“Some of us are of the view that the governor and the president should reconcile their differences,” one the politician said.

“The political crisis in the state is affecting governance. It is a distraction, which the governor does not need at this point in time when he should be consolidating on his achievements.

“Some of us are really of the opinion that he should let go and concentrate on governing our state. Like he will always say, power belongs to God.” Meanwhile, the political temperature in Rivers State has continued to rise with hundreds of youths, suspected to be ex-militants whom Amaechi had flushed out of the state, taking to the streets of Port Harcourt, to demand for his resignation.

So far, the House of Assembly has been unable to sit because of the apparent laxity of security in the state, even as the Obio-Akpor local government secretariat remains under police occupation.

Allow governors freedom to chose their leaders, says ACN

By Abiodun Fanoro and Seye Olumide ITH hours to the much-talked W about and politicised election of a new Chairman for the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), last minute horse-trading, consultations and lobbying have intensified.

All the major actors and shadow stakeholders, including the respective political parties, which produced the governors, have diversified their strategies and raised their lobby to a record high, making some observers to begin to ask whether we are in 2015, going to cast votes in the presidential election.

As part of the last-minute lobbying, the president is reported to be making frantic efforts in the Villa to reach out to each of the 36 state governors, working the telephones with the assistance of one of the governors from the South-South zone.

One of the governors from the

Southwest reportedly contacted by the presidency is said to have expressed surprise that the Aso Rock could still make attempt to woo him, knowing fully that he is not a PDP governor and knowing clearly the position of his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Though the approach of the main opposition party ACN to the NGF’s politics, and its election has been civil and moderate, devoid of the dirtiness and do-or-die, the party has urged its six governors to vote on the basis of their conscience, for the advancement of democracy and for the rule of law.

The Southwest Publicity Secretary of the party, Ayo Afolabi, in an interview with The Guardian in Lagos yesterday, said: “ACN governors are already grounded in the philosophy of the party, the values it stands for and advocates at all times and in all places; and to the admiration of everybody will proudly display that in the NGF election.”

Afolabi He continued: “We have told them to play their roles, including voting in the governor’s club (Forum), according to the rules and regulations guiding the formation of the club and its activities without com-

promising the ethos and values of the party.

“They would carry out all these with the greater interest of the people and the country reigning supreme. We have drummed it into their ears that any decision they are going to be part of at their club (NGF) must make the people in their respective states happy and proud.”

The ACN, according to Afolabi, is not really bothered about the institution of the NGF and its election, but it is deeply worried about the interference of the presidency in its affairs, especially President Jonathan’s restless desire to control it.

Afolabi said the ACN is disturbed that “the presidency has shockingly elevated the NGF crisis to a notorious level that it now ranked after Boko Haram insurgency and kidnapping.”

The reason for this, according to the party, is as a result of President Jonathan’s ambition to re-contest

in 2015, using the NGF as one of his vehicles to actualise the ambition.

In the view of the party: “It is disheartening that President Jonathan, while pursuing his constitutional right using the platform provided by democracy, is now desperate, to the extent that he is employing undemocratic means, as shown by his ongoing plot to tear apart the association formed by the governors if he cannot bring the leadership and the structure under his control as an emperor.”

Lagos lawyer, Sunday Adeeko, who condemned the presidency interference in the affairs of NGF, also shares the ACN’s position.

He regretted that the “Presidency that is supposed to be at the vanguard for the growth of democracy and advancement of the rule of law is now doing the exact opposite in the matters of the NGF.” “The NGF, as an independent body, should, therefore, be allowed to elect its officers without any let or hindrance.”

12

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

TheMetroSection ‘They asked me to renounce my faith’

By Isaac Taiwo

NE of the victims of the insurO gents in the north, 37-year-old Adamu Habila from Yobe State mysteriously lived to tell the story of how he had a close shave with death when his assailants took him for dead after shooting him.

Habila, fatigued after a busy day, retired to bed with his wife and their son, only for their sleep to be interrupted at about 11.00 p.m. with a bang on their front door and a voice asking them to grant the uninvited visitors easy entrance or risk damage of the door.

He narrated that the intruders, who were in a hurry to execute their mission, did not even wait for them to take decision, before forcing themselves in asking members of his family to come out of the bedroom with immediate effect.

As they hurriedly matched out, they discovered one of their two unwanted visitors was armed with a sophisticated rifle, who asked Adamu to kneel down. It was then it dawned on Adamu, a Youth Leader of the District Council (DCC) of ECWA Church in Yobe that the intruders were Boko Haram members on jihad mission.

Habila continued: “They told me they were giving me an opportunity to live and to lead a better life if only I could become a Muslim and state the famous Kamatul Shahadar, a confession of faith in Islam. I replied that I am a Christian and would remain a Christian even in death and turned to my wife not to worry because the

Habila

death of a Christian is a great gain and not a loss.”

“The armed one ordered my wife to go inside with a gun to dispossess us of our money and mobile phones while the other man kept on interrogating me.” “ When they returned, the man outside told his partner that I did not co-operate. He then placed his gun on my face, by my mouth and said: ‘since you refused to become a Muslim, here is your reward.’ He

then pulled the trigger and the bullet passed through one side of my cheek to the other. I slumped.”

“After my assailants left, I managed to tell my wife to call our Christian Elder, Bab Jibir, the former treasurer of the DCC ECWA, Yobe State. Report came that he and his son had been killed. Police were called but they didn’t come and every effort to get assistance from other neighbours, most of whom were Muslims, proved abortive until around 6.00

am when I was rushed to the General Hospital in Potiskum and later transferred to JUTH in Jos and later referred to Kano where the Voice of the Christian Martyrs Nigeria took over my case and provided for the entire family,” he concluded.

Commenting on Habila’s case, the National Director, Voice of the Christian Martyrs, Isaac Oluwole Newton-Wusu lamented the plight of people in Yobe State and said the case of Habila was just one of many in Yobe where over 120 churches have been destroyed.

“There had been massive destruction of lives and properties where about 180 villages in different parts of the North were raided by fundamentalists who have rendered about 5,000 Christians homeless.

“Religious fundamentalists have been on the prowl for long in the North, maiming and killing innocent souls including children and babies with dangerous weapons.

Emergence of Boko Haram had worsened the situation, which had turned many villages to ghost villages where those who have no place to go only wait like those that have been condemned to death.

“Voice of Christian Martyrs operates The Stephen Children Home in Abeokuta, Ogun State where over 325 children whose parents have been killed in various religious crises in the Northern parts of Nigeria are receiving free education, free accommodation and free sustenance. Some are in various Universities under the sponsorship of VCM,” he explained.

My wife stabbed herself, says Akolade Arowolo

By Yetunde Ayobami-Ojo

KOLADE Arowolo, the man who allegedly A killed his banker wife, Omozoje, has told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja that he did not kill his wife but that she actually stabbed herself, adding that he could not deny the fact that they had a misunderstanding on the day in question.

Akolade, while being cross -examined by the prosecution lead counsel, Lagos Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, stated that they both struggled with a knife with which she later stabbed herself and inflicted injuries on him.

According to Akolade, on the day in question (June 24, 2011), the deceased took alcohol in the morning while celebrating his birthday.

He further stated that both of them agreed to be indoors on that day, but when he returned from his mechanic’s workshop and met her fully dressed, he sought to find out what was responsible for the sudden change in programme, a development he claimed, led to another round of disagreement.

He said the mechanic later returned the car after he had fixed the shaft at Ladipo.

“After the mechanic left, I went to fuel the generating set when a call came in from my sister-in -law that she wanted to speak with her sister (my wife)”.

He noted that he took the phone to the room with his hand soiled with oil, but the deceased slapped him.

“I said we struggled with a knife. She was saying ‘I will kill you and kill myself.’ It was

the knife she used in stabbing herself that she used in stabbing me, too, and the knife fell on the floor immediately. I was trying to safe her; I did not consider the cut in my hand. I don’t believe that my wife had 76 wounds on her body as claimed by the pathologist. “ When he was shown Exhibit P6 (knife without a handle), he denied having such a knife in their house. He noted that their kitchen knife was with a handle.

Earlier in his examination-in-chief before Justice Lateefa Okunnu, Akolade said the knife in question was presented to the couple as a Christmas gift in December 2010, by his wife’s step- mother.

Justice Okunnu then adjourned the matter till September 17, 2013 for adoption of written address.

Briefs Service of Songs holds today for Amaobi HE Mbamalu family of T Ojoto in Idemili South Local Council, Anambra State

and Amaobi family of OwereNkwoji in Imo State have announced burial arrangements for their wife and daughter, Mrs.Uzoamaka Ethel Amaobi , whose death occurred on May 8, 2013 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

The service of songs holds today in Lagos at the Ajao Estate Primary School, Olutosun Ajayi Street, off Lateef Salami Street, Ajao Estate at 4.00p.m.

Meanwhile, she will be buried on Wednesday, June 5, at her husband’s compound, Uhusieke Village, OwerreNkwoji, Nkwerre Local Council, Imo State.

Amaobi

TFC’s Spelling Bee competition holds May 27 O mark Children’s Day, DeT Tastee Fried Chicken Ltd., owners of Tastee Fried Chicken (TFC), will on Monday, May 27, hold a Spelling Bee Competition for Primary and Secondary Schools at Tastee Events Place, FECTAC, Lagos at 9.00a.m.

The Executive Director, Mr. Olubunmi Adedayo, said, “TFC loves children and so our commitment to them is absolute.

Hence, we celebrate them ”.

There will be talent display by students of Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children, and Atunda –Olu School. Gifts such as Ipad, Latptops, Play Station III, 32” Inches Television sets, Tastee gift cards would be given to winners. Computer sets, and encyclopedia will be given to schools, while participants and all children at the competition will go home with wonderful gifts.

FGCUOSA marks Family Day

Briefs

City of Lagos edition of monopoly holds in Lagos ESTMAN Games, the exclusive distributor in Africa with the rights to produce ‘local’ editions of Monopoly, the world famous board game owned

by Hasbro, will tomorrow hold its first yearly City of Lagos Edition Monopoly Tournament at the cultural centre, Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos.

A statement by the Chief Executive Officer, Bestman Games, Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe, said: “Competing schools, King’s College and Queen’s College will engage in a play session, which will be moderated by a panel of judges including Etisalat Nigeria’s Chairman, Hakeem Belo-Osagie; The Principal, King’s College, Lagos, Mr. Dele

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Olapeju; The Principal, Queen’s College, Mrs. M.O.A. Ladipo and others.”

“The City of Lagos Edition with the support of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, GTBank

Plc, the Lagos State Government and Stanbic IBTC Pensions Managers Limited is using this novel tool to present some basic lessons in resource management by educating players.”

Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe presenting the City of Lagos Edition of Monopoly to Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola

School graduates first set of teacher trainees HE first set of teacher trainees from Meadow Hall teacher training programme graduated on May 10. The programme, which was a three- month teacher training and development programme aimed at young graduates, who are passionate about the teaching profession, came at no cost to the graduates.

According to the Director and the initiator of the project, Mrs Kehinde Nwani, the Meadow Hall Graduate Teacher Trainee programme would be a yearly exercise, where graduates passionate about the teaching profession would be trained as a corporate social responsibility of Meadow Hall to the nation.

She stated that the pro-

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gramme objectives include: to institute professionalism in teaching by providing the required training for new entrants into the field, to equip trainable young entrants into the profession with the latest developments and international best practice for effective teaching and learning, to attract into the teaching profession dynamic individuals who will acquire workplace and professional values to impact children and ultimately the nation.

The Class President, Daniel Alatise, stated that the experience “has exposed him to guiding the learner, catering for all learners and most of all, on being the biggest learner”

HE year’s Family Day of T Federal Government College, Ugwolawo Old Students’ Association (FGCUOSA), Lagos chapter Family day holds on Saturday, May 25 at Roseview Court, Alagbole Akute, Ojodu, Lagos.

The Public Relations Officer, Opeyemi Ajala, said there would be free transportation for willing members, which would take off at 10.00a.m. at Kernel Park, Kernel Street, off Eric Moore, Surulere.

Church marks anniversary ELEBRATION of Christ C Crusaders’ Deliverance Ministries’ 15th anniver-

sary, which began on May 6, continues tomorrow with Praise Night. It will end on Sunday with a Thanksgiving Service at River Bank Estate, Akute-Odo, Akute at 9.00a.m. Host is Pastor Festus Adewole.

METRO 13

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

Photonews

Wife of Lagos State Governor, Abimbola Fashola (left), Managing Director, Dufil Prima Food Plc., Deepak Singhal, and Coordinator, Indomie Fan Club (IFC), Faith Joshua during the IFC Children’s Day party in Lagos...on Wednesday

Noyosayi Osaghae (second right) graduated in Master of Science in International Commerce and Policy with the highest distinction of academic achievement from Valparaiso University, Indiana, United States of America. Valpo University, which was founded in 1859, is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the United States.

At age 20, Noyosayi is also the youngest Masters graduate in the history of Valparaiso University. At the graduation, ceremony on May 19, were his parents, Professor Eghosa Osaghae, the Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada, (left) and Dr. Veronica Osaghae and another member of the Osaghae family in the United States...

Nigerian Navy in shooting exercise, ready for deployment From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City ITH the security situation in the country continuing to attract local and global attention due to the declaration of state of emergency in three states in the northern region, men of the Logistics Headquarters of the Nigerian Navy in Oghara, Tuesday began a three-day shooting exercise, where it said its men would be ready for deployment to any danger spot across the country.

The Flag Officer Command-

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Brief Lagos dedicates sanitation exercises to drainage clearance HE Lagos State CommisT sioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello says Lagosians should come out in large numbers on Saturday, May 25, 2013, for the monthly sanitation exercise and to concentrate on cleaning drains and canals nearest to their homes in order to combat flooding.

He said such steps had become necessary in view of meteorologists’ forecast that the state is to experience rains of high intensity and severe thunderstorm across the state.

The commissioner warned residents who still patronize push-cart operators to desist from the illegal act, but rather dispose their waste through Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA/PSP) Operators.

Human and vehicular movement will be restricted between 7.00a.m.10.00a.m. as usual, while commercial bus operators and inter-state transport operators are warned to keep their vehicles off Lagos roads, as offenders would be prosecuted according to the state sanitation laws.

ing Logistics Command of the Navy, Rear Admiral Shettima stated this yesterday at the 322 Artillery Regiment Ekheuan Shooting Range, Ekheuan Barracks, near Benin City where the officers and Ratings were being drilled in weapon handling and shooting skills at the command’s Small Arms Shooting Exercise.

Represented by the Chief Staff Officer of the Command, Rear Admiral S. E. Ogoigbe, Shettima said: “It is mandatory that we have this training, and whatever you are learning now, you must not compromise so that when you are sent to Maiduguri, Jos or any other spot in the country, you won’t be caught unprepared, your weapon is your wife, you must handle it well.”

He told The Guardian that the exercise is “aimed at improving the proficiency and professional competence of

personnel and re-evaluating officers and ratings of the Naval Logistics Command on their mastering of weapons in line with the Chief of Naval Staff vision to put in place a robust and combat ready Navy that is capable of effectively combating the security challenges in Nigerian’s maritime domain.”

He said the exercise would also equip the officers and ratings as marksmen with the aim of reducing casualties and enhancing safety in the use of small arms. “Additionally, the exercise will enable the Command to test the serviceability of its weapons for future naval operations.”

Meanwhile, a statement by the command’s spokesman, Lieutenant B. A. Nuhu urged members of the public and residents living near the shooting range not to panic at the sound of small arms as well as movement of troops and materials around.

Students of Adamawa State Polytechnic in Yola parking their belongings following a heavy rainstorm that destroyed their hostels...on Monday PHOTO: NAN

Regional Managing Partner, Ernst and Young Financial Services for West Africa, Henry Egbiki (left), Managing Director, Eko Bank, Jubril Aku and Financial Services Leader, Ernst and Young West Africa, Dayo Babatunde at the Company’s Financial Services Strategic Forum in Lagos...

PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN

Olu of Mushin marks 35th coronation anniversary, clocks 75

By Tope Templer Olaiya, Assistant Lagos City Editor HE grounds of Archbishop Aggey Memorial Secondary School, Ilasamaja, Mushin, was last Saturday trampled by monarchs, politicians and dignitaries, who had gathered to celebrate the Olu of Mushin, Oba Fatai Ayinla Aileru II, as his subjects rolled out the drums to mark his 75th birthday and 35th coronation anniversary.

Long before the arrival of the celebrant and his highranking guests, the area leading to the school and its premises appeared to be under a State of Emergency, as stern-looking anti-riot policemen and patrol vans laid siege on every square metres of the school, with three Black Marias stationed at the gate to take care of troublemakers.

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Soon, some civilian activities began and the only criterion for entry into the fortified school premises was the brown Ankara Aso Ebi of the celebration. Not long after, a big van carrying instruments of foremost fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, popularly known as K1 De Ultimate arrived to set up stage for the band.

The roll call was impressive as commissioners, legislators, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftains, obas and celebrities drove into the school to be ushered into their reserved seats by skimpily dressed delectable ladies.

Eventually, the celebrant arrived in a motorcade serenaded by his wives (Oloris) and palace chiefs and decked in his full regalia.

The party got underway as

more VIPs arrived in intimidating SUVs and luxury cars.

Not a man of many words, he spent a few minutes listing his achievements on the throne in the last 35 years and didn’t fail to bring to the notice of his audience the myriad of problems fac-

ing the community, one of which is the recurring violent clash between cult groups and warring factions that has defined Mushin in recent times.

He proffered some solutions to this dilemma: “It is our special request that relevant

The Olu of Mushin, Oba Fatai Ayinla Aileru II surrounded by his wives and children at the event

authorities should see to the removal of abandoned vehicles along the road, which is not only impeding the free flow of traffic, but is usually an hideout for criminals.”

“The Federal Government must also improve on the welfare of our policemen and equip our security forces with gadgets and training to boost their morale. With all these, it will be easy for the police to have the courage to combat crime and violence and nip it in the bud.”

Born into the family of Oba Jimoh Gbadamosi Aileru and Olori Elizabeth Alake on March 11, 1938, the monarch is the first child of his parents. He started his primary school career at the Christian Public School, Mushin and proceeded to the Metropolitan College, Surulere, for his secondary school education.

14 | THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 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 IMF’s pass mark HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently gave a pass mark to Nigeria on economic management in its annual Article IV Consultation, an annual review of the economic policies and outlook of all member states. While the IMF noted positives such as prudent fiscal and macroeconomic policies and the better health of the banking system, Nigerians ought to be more concerned about the risks to the Nigerian economy, which the said assessment highlighted.

The risks revolve around the possibility of a severe disruption to Nigeria’s economy should the oil price fall and negatively impact the nation’s capacity to import both consumer goods and raw materials. There is also the government’s ability to finance its domestic obligations, such as salaries and payments to contractors on which consumption in the economy overwhelmingly depend. A closer reading of the IMF Article 1V Consultation would reveal that Nigeria is doing pretty little to manage these risks. This is even more alarming given the very low level of public discussion and total absence of political debate about the key reforms required to reduce Nigeria’s excessive dependence on crude oil exports and the severe socio-economic dislocation it may give rise to. While the near term outlook is positive as noted by the IMF, the nation may well be sleepwalking towards an economic precipice given the uncertain outlook for growth in Europe, China and the United States, the economies of which determine the international oil price.

On the positives in the Article IV Consultation, tighter fiscal and monetary policies have maintained inflation at a level that doesn’t pose a threat to investment and growth. Accruals to the Excess Crude Account is also growing again, currently standing at $5.2 billion, though still very much below its 2007 level of $17.3 billion, because government spending is slowly declining. The IMF is also pleased that due to the intervention of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), the level of bad debts in the Nigerian banking industry is low and bank lending is rising again. AMCON has formally announced a cut-off period for its operations, thus minimizing the risk that its operations would give rise to moral hazard or become a burden on the Nigerian treasury.

But shortly after the review, the World Bank warned that in the event of a drop in the global oil price, Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account and other reserves would be wiped out in a year. In April, $1 billion was withdrawn from the ECA and distributed among the Federal, State and Local Governments to make up for shortfalls in government revenue. It is worrying that withdrawals are being made from the ECA while the oil price remains relatively high. According to the World Bank, should the oil price fall to $70 per barrel, Nigeria would have to resort to borrowing to close the gap between its income and expenditure. It is much wiser for Nigeria to cut its expenditure and increase its reserves or savings while oil prices are still relatively high.

The argument for cutting expenditure and boosting savings is particularly strong given the well-known failure to translate the funds shared monthly in Abuja by the Federal, State and Local Governments to jobs and better livelihood for Nigerians. While the nation’s per capita GDP is roughly $1,300 on paper, over 60 per cent of Nigerians live on less than $2 per day, i.e. $730 per annum using the most generous unofficial estimate of per capital income. For a change, the focus needs to be on better quality spending, generating more bang per buck spent in the Ministries of Education, Health, Works etc, which remain very weak mechanisms for transmitting fiscal expenditure into better healthcare, schooling, infrastructure, etc.

What seems to be happening is that technocrats in the nation’s financial sector have managed to gain political acceptance of some policies promoting monetary and financial restraint, which has somewhat improved the economic atmosphere for investment and growth. But the engine rooms of government, bureaucratic and political elements in the Ministries, the Presidency and the National Assembly, which are responsible for wider policymaking and execution, have carried on with the usual mediocrity. Reforms that can boost investment, jobs and growth in Nigeria and the nation’s income from sectors such as oil and gas and housing and real estate are either inadequately promoted by the Executive branch or stuck in the National Assembly for years. It is amazing that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) controls both the executive and legislative arms of government and yet cannot pass legislation such as the Petroleum Industry Bill, the delay of which has resulted in over $80 billion in lost investments. The opposition parties have an equal share of the blame. In a functioning democracy, their main role is offering feasible policies that the electorate is convinced would improve their lives, not criticising every government policy without offering alternatives.

The IMF Article IV Consultation clearly paints the enormity and urgency of reforms that Nigeria needs to undertake. It is therefore, a fail grade rather than a pass mark for Nigeria’s economic management. The IMF can only advise on reforms such as downstream petroleum sector liberalisation, the passage of the PIB and public service strengthening. The political will, focus and credibility required can only be provided by Nigerians.

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LETTERS

Paralysing moments in Nigeria The events of the last two the helms think. The truth is lordism of the most virulent kind.

SbeenIR:weeks or so in Nigeria have that the political elite have lost Our people must brace up and quite scary and paralysing.

The unacceptable murder of police officers doing their job to make the country safe in Nasarawa State, the killing of law enforcement agents in Bama, the forcible release of over 100 prisoners from a prison and the kidnap of Justice RhodesVivour’s wife, daughter and driver were some of the grotesque occurrences that proved conclusively that we have become a banana republic regardless of what those who claim to be at

it completely. The security agencies are merely groping in the dark, while anarchy reigns supreme.

The murders and kidnappings are unacceptable and those behind them must be fished out and punished swiftly. Let no one politicise the madness that is going on: it is not a case of failure of leadership or of the state (as some fancy), but their absence. The state is not failing in Nigeria; nor has it failed – it has vanished. Welcome to war-

find an alternative to the absence of the state. We need to do everything necessary to rescue our stateless-country. If we don’t, we are all in for it.

Meanwhile, we must call on the authorities to do everything in their power to rescue the RhodesVivours. They must not be harmed, otherwise we shall hold all those who parade themselves as holding offices in our stateless country responsible.

• Bamidele Aturu, Surulere, Lagos.

Afenifere’s strange bedfellows IR: I was alarmed but later for Democracy (AD) was being parties. While some are still in the SAfenifere’s bemused when I read about formed and he became the ACN, some have joined PDP while press conference in deputy governor of Osun many of them are with Labour the media recently. Seated with Afenifere’s chieftains were Senator Iyiola Omisore and Mr. Yinka Odumakin. Odumakin was the vocal spokesperson of the group that broke away from Afenifere. What then has happened to honour?

Afenifere was established in 1951 by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and his associates.

Since then, it remained the rallying point for the progressives in the South West geopolitical zone in Nigeria. Since 1999 when the current democratic dispensation took its root, things took a new dimension with real disciples of Awolowo trying to align themselves together to pursue the authentic Awo’s vision in governance.

It was during this process that Senator Omisore came to the fold, especially when the Alliance

State.

Due to obvious differences and discordant tune of the political music at that time, it was clear to all that Omisore did not belong to the fold.

Things began to fall apart in the party and in the leadership of the Osun State Government, leading to his impeachment as the deputy governor. Since then, Senator Omisore has left the AD to pitch his tent with the PDP. His party deployed all resources at its disposal to fight Awo’s once united political family with intent of total annihilation. This culminated in the annihilation of the AD in the South West with Bola Tinubu of Lagos State the only man standing.

Afenifere has since unravelled and the various leaders have joined different political

Party. It is curious therefore to see Omisore nesting comfortably with Afenifere. Has Afenifere become Afenifere-PDP? Let them tell us so that we can know where they stand. What they are up to and what scheme they may be plotting is yet to be known but Omisore has his eyes on Osun State governorship election next year. Are they Omisore’s friends and part of his campaign group?

Time will tell.

Omisore had surreptitiously crept into the rank of the Afenifere group again the way he did in 1999. This romance obviously is like a political cancer that should not be allowed to fester. Anything to the contrary can only constitute a death sentence to the peace and tranquillity being enjoyed in the region.

• Kunle Omideyi, Surulere, Lagos.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

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Business Medical students protest partial passage of violence bill P. 27 Nigeria attracts N7.5 trillion investment from deepwater oil, gas projects

By Roseline Okere and Sulaimon Salau OREIGN Direct Investment in the deepwater province of Nigeria’s oil and gas prolific basins has been estimated at about $48 billion for about 10 years.

However, the deepwater projects, which are currently handled by Shell, ExxonMobil, Agip, Chevron and Total have

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delivered over 0.8 billion barrels up to 2012.

The investments were said to have come through worldclass projects like Abo (Agip), Erha (Mobil), Bonga (Shell), Usan (Total), Agbami (Chevron) and Akpo oil fields.

A top official of Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Stefan Vos De Wael, who made this known during

a training session for Journalists in Lagos yesterday, said the nation has huge potential in its deepwater basins that are ready to be explored in the next few years.

Quoting figures from McKinsey Multiplier Model, Wael said the International Oil Companies were therefore planning to invest about $165 billion into the industry in the next five years.

According to him, the deepwater potentials is capable of generating about $3 billion yearly; produce up to 600,000 barrels per day and 200,000 jobs, which is equivalent to growing the oil and gas industry by 30 per cent.

He estimated that the deepwater operators are spending over $5 billion yearly to develop and about five billion barrels, hence the need for a fair

Chairman NEPAL group, Elder Ekeoma Ekeoma (left); Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NEPAL group, Ngozi Ekeoma; Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Chairperson, Brittania-U group, Mrs. Uju Ifejika; and His Royal Highness, The Orefe III of Oghara Kingdom, Chief Noble Oyibo Eshemitan, during the commissioning of the new NEPAL group ultra-modern tank farm and private Jetty in Oghara, Delta State.

Transactions in leasing industry hit N671 billion

By Bukky Olajide QUIPMENT Leasing E Association of Nigeria [ELAN] has revealed an out-

Apart from banks and other independent lessors who are major contributors, new entrants especially from subsidiaries of insurance companies and private investors have equally buoyed leasing

activities, coupled with the increasing demand for capital asset from various sectors of the economy.

ILAN revealed that operating leasing has continued to gain momentum in the industry as

standing lease volume of N671 billion for 2012, representing a growth rate of 7.8 per cent over the previous year’s figure of N623 billion.

According to a statement from the association, this shows that the Nigerian leas- By Adeyemi Adepetun and Bankole Lagos yesterday, noted that ing industry is experiencing Orimisan with the rate of uncontrolled growth despite the various infiltration and proliferation challenges facing the nation, HE National Information in the use of cyberspace for more businesses are beginTechnology Development communications and transacning to embrace leasing as a Agency (NITDA), has expressed tions, having a PKI technology financing model, new the need for the country to has become imperative. investors are venturing into develop a Public Key A PKI is a collection of security this profitable line of business. Infrastructure (PKI) that will technologies, procedures, Analysis of the various sectors guarantee a sustainable and processes and policies that colrevealed that, the oil and gas secure platform for cyber lectively provide a framework sector continued to dominate accessibility, secured transac- for addressing the fundamenthe industry with 32.4 percent tions and credible identity in tal security issues of privacy, of total transactions, closely the match towards Vision 20: authentication, integrity and followed by transportation 2020 attainment. non-repudiation and access which has been recording NITDA’s Director General, control in data communicasteady growth resulting from Prof. Cleopas Angaye, who said tions.

Government initiatives, this at a second workshop on According to Angaye, the through public – private part- and public presentation of the implementation of the PKI will nership (ppp).

PKI Blueprint for Nigeria in bring about a cyber ecosystem

many lessors tint towards service oriented leases including fleet management for their corporate clients. The attraction of operating lease is to mitigate default risk and respond to market dictates.

‘How to attain Vision 20: 2020’ T

where it is easier and safer for businesses and individuals to carry out secure transactions, especially as Nigeria continues to drive a cashless economy.

He described the PKI as the first comprehensive document put together by the Federal Government to chart a new course for the emergence for the emergence of a digital economy in the country.

The NITDA DG noted that, in the process of developing the blueprint and implementation strategies, the agency, in October, 2012, inaugurated the National PKI Committee with CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

legislative document that would encourage further investment in the sector.

However, he noted that Shell operated Bonga oil field has exported about 450 million barrels of oil as at December 2012, and plans are in the pipeline to expand its potentials to Bonga SouthWest\Aparo and Bonga North, offshore Nigeria.

Wael said the study has shown huge resource base in the fields and believed that it would contribute significantly to Nigeria’s oil output.

Speaking also, the Commercial Integration and Business Value Manager, Taaj Shobayo, said that deepwater exploration and production is expensive, complex and risky

with long cycle times.

He noted that current offshore project takes 10 to 20 years from license award to production. “If for any reason the project encounters challenges and is unable to go foreword, the whole investment is lost. It is possible for an investor to lose up to $150 million, if eventually the well is not commercially viable”.

General Manager, Nigerian Content Development of Shell, Igo Weli, said that the company has been at the forefront of the promotion of Nigeria Content Policy.

He disclosed that the company has supported Nigerian companies in the building of 13 offshore vessels in the oil and gas industry.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

16 BUSINESS

CBN reassures commitment to effective e-payments system

By Chijioke Nelson HE Governor of the Central T Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has assured that the financial institution remains committed to realizing the vision of

providing the country with a secure, robust and accessible payment infrastructure, despite challenges.

Sanusi disclosed this in a keynote address at the CBN/Gartner Inc. forum, in Lagos, which attracted Chief

Executive Officers of banks and discount houses, as well as representatives of microfinance banks, stakeholders in the private sector (oil & gas, telecoms, IT consulting, and government ministries, departments and agencies.

The forum, co-hosted by Gartner Executives, Peter Redshaw and Rishen Kyarkanaye, was aimed at bringing world-class industry information and technology advice to the Nigerian financial sector, to boost the professional image of the apex bank as leader for the country’s financial sector.

Besides, he emphasized the importance of effective, efficient and safe service delivery to the banking populace, saying that “the success of a country’s payment system is evinced by perceptions of its security, robustness – that is, the ability to cater for a wider range of preferences – and its ready access to the end-user”.

The CBN governor, who spoke on the topic: “Secure, Robust and Accessible Payments Infrastructure,” explained that the bank had taken deliberate actions in recent times to focus attention towards electronic payments as a veritable option for efficient payments service towards the promotion of rapid financial inclusion and increased economic activities.

Sanusi said that the cash-lite policy was introduced to, among other things, meet the Financial System Strategy 2020/Vision 2020 requirements for regional and international integration and modernize the payments system in the country.

“This is just one step towards the credible, reliable and efficient payments system that is CBN’s dream.

Imperative of secured cyber space CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 members drawn from various institutions both from private and public sector such as the banking sector, Office of National Security Adviser and Nigeria Computer Society.

Listing some benefits of the benefits of PKI implementation, Angaye said it would lead to the creation He also explained that the creation of digital signatures which is evidence of “who did what to whom”, that is crititical to electronic transactions carrying high legal risks or compliance requirements, among others.

The NITDA boss also insisted that when integrated into smartcards and other electronic transactions processes, PKI is recognised as “the only practical solution.”

Speaking in the same vein, the President, Nigeria Computer Society, NCS, Sir. Demola Aladekomo, called on the NITDA and other related agencies to focus on legislation for the PKI and awareness.

“In our nascent electronic transactions regime and with gradual effort to drive e-governance and in an effort to apply ICTs to all aspects of the economy, a blueprint such as this will be fundamental to providing the components needed to build a safe cyber environment. But the, we need to focus on legislation and awareness,” he said.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

BUSINESS 19

Lagos commences STMP programme to boost transportation

By Taiwo Hassan AGOS State Government L has announced the commencement of the State’s Strategic Transport Master Plan (STMP) as part of effort to manage the evergrowing transportation needs in the state.

According to the state government, the plan to

commence the STMP project was to assist it in possible transport facilities and services to manage the growing public challenge.

Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, who made this disclosure at a media briefing in Lagos, said that the state government through his ministry had commenced

work on the extension of the initial STMP to cover Lagos metropolis and link it to relevant locations beyond the state.

He said that the commencement of the master plan would now be extended to the end of 2030, and was aimed to guide the Lagos megacity region over the next two decades as it

strived to manage the growing transport demand in the state.

The commissioner said that the plan would also assist the state government in the development of a vision for Lagos state in the future, especially with focus on transport and land use integration, identification of major trans-

Govt enlists software developers for incubation training

By Bankole Orimisan HE Federal Government is T expected to receive the first batch of software developers that would undergo one year training at the Lagos Incubation Centre.

Accenture Consulting, the Project Management Office (PMO) that is handling the ongoing selection process, said that 10 teams would emerge at the end of the exercise and would be handed over to the Minister of Communications Technology,

Mrs. Omobola Johnson, who would in turn present them at the Lagos Incubation Centre for one-year training.

The minister had early this year, launched the Techlaunchpad initiative that seeks to groom software developers and make their products marketable and acceptable within and outside Nigeria.

Senior Project Manager for Techlaunchpad, Mr. Adebayo Ebrahim, who confirmed the ongoing selection exercise said: “10 Teams will be selected and sent to the Lagos incuba-

tion centre for one year where they will receive training on practical skills on how to further develop and improve on their software application.

He explained that the 10 teams would be handed over to the minister who would then present them at the incubation centre for hands-on practical training for one year. The selec-

tion exercise, which commenced last week, is expected to end this week and the presentation done next week, Ebrahim said.

The training programme is the idea of Techlaunchpad, an initiative of the federal government, with joint sponsorship between the federal government and the private sec-

port corridors in the state and development of action plan for the implementation of the extended STMP. Opeifa said that the state’s transport sector was now an important component of the economy, because of its impact on the development and welfare of the population.

According to him: “When transport systems are efficient, they provide economic benefits and social opportunities which result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to market, employment and investment.

When transport systems are deficient in terms of capacity or reliability, they can have an economic cost such as reduced or missed opportunities.”

He explained that that was the basic reason for

the transportation sector remained key to the achievement of the statewide budget policy thrust of poverty eradication, and sustainable economic growth, through infrastructural renewal and development.

The commissioner said that the state was proud to be the economic hub of the country and other West African countries, as such, planned a transportation system which acts as catalyst for other economic activities to thrive.

He also said that the government was committed to the transformation in the transportation sector and industry through the Ministry of Transportation and various agencies in the state.

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

BUSINESS

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday May 23, 2013

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‘Corruption, insecurity may hinder expected growth in privatisation of PHCN’

By Roseline Okere IGERIA’s infrastructure industry is expected to see yearly average real growth of seven per cent between 2013 and 2017 within its construction sector.

International watchdog Business Monitor International (BMI), which made this disclosure in its second quarter 2013 infrastructure report released at the weekend, attributed this

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expected growth to on-going unbundling and privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

But, the report however highlighted the risks that may hamper the implementation of major projects, ranging from deep-rooted corruption; violence perpetrated by militant Islamists and retaliatory forces, and a vast yet still inefficient bureaucracy.

According to the report,

recently work on the KanoWestern bypass has been stalled due to ongoing security threats in the country.

“Nigeria continues to be rocked by persistent violence perpetrated by militant Islamists and retaliatory forces, which threatens to escalate if not contained.

Protests: The removal of fuel subsidies spurred nationwide protests, including a general strike, putting immense pres-

sure on the government and eventually forcing it to partly back-pedal”.

To sustain long-term growth, the report advised that the country will need to press ahead with the ambitious, and necessary, economic and business environment reforms, and develop a plan to address the root causes of violence in the Niger Delta and the Middle Belt.

Dwelling on major projects in the country, it stated:

“Nigerian infrastructure development company Bi-Courtney Highway Services (BCHS) has begun its redevelopment of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The $559 million project involves the reconstruction of both existing carriageways, as well as the addition of two carriageways in each direction between the Lagos-Sagamu interchange. BCHS has been awarded a 25-year concession contract to manage the expressway, which links Lagos

Convicted broker appeals against judgment

By Joseph Onyekwere STOCKBROKER, Adewale Adegboyega, convicted and sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labour and 30 hours of community service by a Lagos Magistrate Court, Igbosere, has filed a notice of appeal against the sentencing.

According to the notice of appeal filed on his behalf by his counsel, Ifeoma Esom, the stockbroker contends that the trial magistrate, Mrs. F.O Aigbokhaevbo, erred in law when she held that the respondent has proved each of the three count charges of impersonation, forgery and

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uttering beyond reasonable doubt.

“There was no evidence before the trial magistrate that there was any intention on the part of the appellant to defraud the complainant or any other person by reason of the alleged impersonation.

The evidence before the trial magistrate clearly showed that the Forms CM001 and DAF07 alleged to have been forged and uttered were indeed genuine”, the appellant stated, adding that the trial magistrate failed to consider the evidence adduced showing that the complainant was not prejudiced

in any way by reason of the transfer of his stocks to Intercapital Limited and actually benefited from that transfer.

In his motion on notice, the appellant prays for the order of the court granting him bail pending the hearing and the determination of his appeal, arguing in his 17-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion which was deposed to by his younger brother, Adewunmi that he would have completed his prison term if the application is not granted as prayed.

Adegboyega was prosecuted by the Commissioner of

Police, tried and convicted by the court for looting the stockbroking account of one Dapo Apara, a customer of Zenith Securities.

He was arraigned on a fourcount charge of impersonation, forgery, uttering and stealing but convicted on three. The prosecution, in an attempt to prove its case, called witnesses, who variously testified and were cross-examined.

Count-one reads: “That you, Adewale Adegboyega, male, on or about March 14, 2006, at Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District with intent to defraud, falsely represent yourself to be one Dapo Apara, the chief exec-

utive officer of the Infinity Systems Enterprises and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code Cap C17 Vol. 2 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003”.

He was also accused of forging Forms CM 001 and DAF 07 addressed to the managing director and chief executive officer of the Central Securities Clearing Systems Limited with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine to the prejudice of any person in Nigeria or elsewhere and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 467 of the Criminal Code.

with Nigeria’s western states.

“Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation has announced the plan to construct a new international airport in Abuja. The planned airport would thus join a fleet of already ongoing projects within the airport transport subsector: we already note the $683 million construction of five new terminals at five different airports across the country awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, as well as the redevelopment of five existing terminals, approved by the government in February 2011.

“Intels Nigeria was awarded a contract by the Nigerian government for phase four of the Onne Port Complex at Port Harcourt in Rivers State. The $370.5 million project includes land reclamation, the widening of the channel entry, the construction of three new berths and the Federal Ocean Terminal, and the enhancement of existing facilities at the port. Intels, which has already completed the first three phases of the project, will undertake the work in order to allow the port to handle an increase in gas and oil shipments.

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Appointments Medical students protest partial passage of violence bill Want Senate to include rights of women From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja HE Nigerian Medical T Students Association (NIMSA) has faulted the passage of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill by the House of Representatives without the inclusion of women rights.

The piece of legislation, which passed second reading in the House last March, seeks to eliminate violence and punish perpetrators of gender-based violence in Nigeria.

But medical students, who staged a rally around the Three Arms Zone in Abuja, called on the Senate to consider reintroducing the critical section of the bill that was expunged by the House.

The contentious Section 37 (1)(iii) of the Bill, which was deleted in the version passed by the lower chamber notes: “Every woman shall have a right to health, which shall be understood to mean the enjoyment of the highest level of physical, mental and social well-being, health care services, including those related to family planning in particular rural women shall have the right to have access to adequate health care facilities, including information, counselling and services in family planning.

“Every woman shall have the

right to take decisions about her health needs and requirements. In particular, she shall have the right to determine the processes concerning reproduction in her body.

Every woman shall have the right to enjoy reproductive rights including the right to medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest and where the continued pregnancy endangers the life or the physical, mental, psychological or emotional health of the mother”.

Youth Consultant and former National President of the Association, Dr. Eze Patrick, stressed the need for the youths to stand up and play a crucial role in the next stage of the Bill, given all the circumstances that are prevailing in the country.

He said: “As youths, we also have to critically look at the bill and we want to start making important contributions, because if we do not do this, the future of the country may not be to our benefit in the future and since we are the future leaders, we have to start from this point. We are hoping that the Senate would be able to look at this bill and be able to look at the problems that Nigerians are facing.

“Domestic violence is a very important issue. If we, as a

Country Head, Olam Nigeria, Mukul Mathur (left); the awardee, John Anyanwu and his wife, Chinwe, at the Olam Nigeria 2013 Long Service Award in Lagos…recently country, have laws that protect the citizens from violence, we will be sure that there will be a more peaceful environment for even investors to come in. The last part and the most important part really is on the issue of rape, incest and all that. The

bill should be able to cater for the needs of women in the country.”

He went on: “We heard that that part of the bill was kicked out at the House of Reps. We are hoping that the bill would be brought back and looked at critically, especially in con-

sideration of the Nigerian woman and make sure that she is at the focal point of this bill. This was why this bill was started in the first place. In 2009, when I was the national president of this association, there was a corps member that was raped and mur-

dered in Maiduguri and we organised similar rally like this. It is a pity that we are still discussing this bill in 2013.

“It is my hope that the Senate would take this matter seriously and include the important parts so that we can have a safer Nigeria for the future.”

ILO moves against workplace homophobia, transphobia From Collins Olayinka, Abuja HE International Labour T Organisation (ILO) is devising new ways of stemming workplace discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Speaking on the International Day against, homophobia and transphobia, the ILO Director General, Guy Ryder, described the world of work as a crucial arena for spearheading legal

Katsina gets new skills acquisition centre change, ending stereotypes and promoting understanding of the need for dignity of all human beings.

And in an effort at putting youths to work in Nigeria, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chukwuemeka Wogu, will today commission a 250-capacity skills acquisition centre I Rimaye, Katsina State.

The ILO chief stated that through advancing workplace rights for women, persons with disabilities and people living with HIV, the global job watch body has been, and continues to be, at the forefront in advancing human rights for all workers.

The progress in recognising the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

Lancaster alumni to tackle unemployment in Nigeria

By Chika Goodluck-Ogazi MBA Alumni Lin ANCASTER Association has been set up Nigeria to address the country’s unemployment and facilitate growth in the economy through entrepreneurship, said the Director of MBA Programmes in Lancaster University, Dr Jonathan Matheny.

He spoke at the forum of the alumni at Four Point Hotel By Sheraton in Lekki, with a theme: Growth Opportunities in Nigeria.

He said besides providing opportunity for business networking, the Forum offers advi-

sory support for professionals and business leaders in all spheres of life.

Matheny added: “The greatest investment usually is in human capital,” he said. “If you can empower a person on how to think with results, then the possibilities are limitless. I will say we are investing in the human mind. The success of our programme is evident in the achievements of our alumni which is almost obvious.”

He said the university sets out to offer lifetime partnership with the alumni. “We support alumni even after completion of studies. We offer careers support, both in the UK and over-

seas, networking groups, memorabilia and discounts for families.”

Matheny said MBA helps achievers to become leaders in their respective fields. “It helps individuals to explore the leader within,” he said, adding that several of the alumni have moved into higher positions in Nigeria.

The guest speaker at the event, Accenture’s Head of Product Operating Group, Mrs. Juliet Anammah, who spoke on “Growth Opportunities in Nigeria,” said vast opportunities opened to Nigerian entrepreneurs especially in the consumer goods segment.

(LGBT) people over the past decade is undeniable.

However, major challenges remain.

On this important day for world recognition of equality for all, the ILO affirms its commitment to strive for workplaces free of discrimination on all grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Using international labour standards to end discrimination and the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, member

states have been vigilant in identifying and opposing unfair treatment in the workplace; yet until recently, discrimination against LGBT persons has not been a specific focus of action.

He argued that this disposition has changed and the ILO is now undertaking targeted research in a selected number of countries to start tracking workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, with a view to promoting workplaces that champion

equality and diversity in all its forms.

Promoting workplace rights for LGBT women and men reflects the attention being given to such rights in other UN’s fora. More than 60 member states have acknowledged sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No.111); and the ILO’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Standards and Recommendations has welcomed this development.

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NBC spends N75million to train lady mechanics S part of its contribution to youth empowerment and capacity building, the Nigerian Bottling Company, recently said it has invested N75 million on the training of lady mechanics for five years.

The company stated this in Benin City during the graduation ceremony of the first batch of Lady mechanics

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under the scheme, where the Minister of Youth Development, Inuwa AbdulKadir, said youth unemployment was a national concern which required a multi-sectoral approach.

Represented by the Director of Youth Development, Lucas Jonathan, Abdul-Kadir described the ceremony as unique as it was the first of its kind in the history of the country where such a large number of female youth

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By this singular act of training 50 young ladies for three years as auto mechanics, which include internship placement in reputable automobile outfit such as Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Honda Motors, Mitsubishi Chanrai and Tata Motors, Nigerian Bottling Company Plc, has not only fulfilled its corporate responsibility obligations, but has demonstrated its passion for the upliftment of our teeming youth, particularly, the women folk. have benefited from the goodwill of a corporate entity.

“By this singular act of

ICSAN tasks govt on prudence O address Nigeria’s rising T debt profile, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has called for prudent management of resources.

President/Chairman of Council of ICSAN, Teslim Busari, made the call during the 39th yearly general meeting of the Institute held at the Council Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos at the weekend.

Busari, who frowned at the Nigeria’s rising debt profile, said since there is nothing bad in securing foreign loans, the Federal Government must ensure that such loans are directed at providing developmental projects to the people.

He said: “There is nothing bad in securing foreign

When the government properly focus the loans secured and direct them to productive area, definitely, our debt profile will reduce.

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By Dele Fanimo

loans but we must ensure that the loans are directed at projects that will provide developmental projects to the people. The loans being secured must be directed at projects that will be monitored and not to finance frivolous projects.

“In order to guide against our rising debt profile, prudent management and accountability of resources must be our watchword in this country and the loans

must be for development purposes such that the money will be expended in such a way that it will generate funds to repay the loans.

“When the Government properly focus the loans secured and direct them to productive area, definitely, our debt profile will reduce,” the ICSAN boss stated.

Busari urged members of the Institute to double their commitments to ICSAN to enable it continue to pursue issues that are vital towards making the profession attractive and a force to reckon with in the country.

On the issue of emergency rule, the Institute described the declaration of emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Admawa States by President Goodluck Jonathan as a good step in the right direction.

training 50 young ladies for three years as Auto Mechanics, which include internship placement in reputable Automobile Outfit such as Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Honda Motors, Mitsubishi Chanrai and Tata Motors, Nigerian

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From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City

Bottling Company PLC, has not only fulfilled its corporate responsibility obligations, but has demonstrated its passion for the upliftment our teeming youth, particularly, the women folk”, the Minister said.

He said his ministry would be willing to partner with

NBC in the implementation of its Youth Empowerment Programmes in the spirit of the Public Private Partnership Initiative.

In her speech, initiator of the Lady Mechanics Programme, Mrs Sandra Aguebor-Akperuah said the programme was changing the perception of Edo as female trafficker to female mechanics, adding that the goal of the programme is to empower young girls and women.

On his part, Managing Director of NBC, Ben Lagnat expressed comitment to training of the remaining two 50 batches of trainees.

Equity Assurance appoints two divisional directors qUITY Assurance Plc has E announced the appointment of two Divisional directors, promotion of 49 workers.

According to a company’s statement, Adeleke Hassan was appointed Director, Business Development while Adaobi Nwakuche emerged Director, Commercial Business.

Hassan, a seasoned Insurance professional and administrator with diverse experience spanning over two and half decades, joined Equity Assurance Plc in 2003. He is a member of Society of Fellow of the

Chartered Insurance Institute, London and also an Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria. He holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.

Nwakuche is a dynamic and seasoned Insurance practitioner with the ability to achieve exceptional results.

She joined Equity Assurance Plc in 2013. She holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from ESUT Business School. She is an Alumnae of Lagos Business School and a member of the Chartered

Insurance Institute of Nigeria and London.

Meanwhile, Four members of staff were promoted to the position of Controllers, two Senior Managers became Assistant Controllers, One Manager got elevated to the position of Senior Manager, a Deputy Manager became a Manager while three Senior Executives were promoted to the positions of Assistant Manager. Others, who got promoted, include 37 members of staff within the levels of clerk to Senior Executive. While 38 members of staff got salary increment.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

APPOINTMENTS 29

Maritime workers tackle NLNG over alleged breach of law • Threaten to shut ports

By Yetunde Ebosele and Wole Oyebade ARITIME workers have M petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan over alleged violation of laws by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited and its refusal to pay statutory levies.

And barring quick intervention by Mr. President, the workers, under the aegis of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), may embark on industrial action, closing all ports across the country in the next three weeks.

In an open letter read in Lagos, the union drew the attention of President Jonathan to the lingering face-off between their regulatory agency - Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and NLNG, over the latter’s refusal to pay levies mandated by the law of the land.

Addressing the workers at Apapa port, President General of the Union, Emmanuel Nted, noted that NLNG had violated the law that established NIMASA (NIMASA Act 2007) and its section 15, which stipulated that the agency shall be funded by “three per cent of gross freight on all international inbound and outbound cargoes from ships or shipping companies operating in Nigeria.”

He observed that NIMASA was the only agency of government saddled with maritime labour issues in

Nigeria, particularly as regards the training of Seafarers and Dockworkers.

“It is, therefore, in this respect that we are particularly surprised to learn of the flagrant refusal of the NLNG to pay the statutory levies due to the government on it’s shipping activities as well as the two per cent on its cabotage activities in Nigeria’s coastal waters.

“The said refusal by the NLNG to pay the accumulated three per cent gross freight on its business activities from its inception in 1989 to date has drastically reduced the revenue available to NIMASA and in turn undermined its ability to carry out its operations, perform its statutory responsibilities and in particular compromised its ability to meet its core functions with respect to maritime labour issues in Nigeria,” Nted said.

He stressed that NLNG as a foreign company - 59 per cent foreign-owned and 41 per cent Nigerian - must be subjected to the laws of Nigeria being its host country.

While the NLNG might argue that it had a 10 years tax rebate agreement with the Nigerian government, Nted said it was pertinent for the government to note that the agreement lapsed about four years ago.

“And if the agreement has been extended, government must find out who extended it and when. It is right for the Federal Government to

Members of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), led by their President General, Emmanuel Nted (middle), at rally in appreciation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval of overseas training for about 3,000 maritime workers in Lagos…recently.

PHOTO: WOLE OYEBADE

quickly wade into this crisis; compel the NLNG to pay NIMASA without delay, all accumulated three per cent levies on gross freight and two per cent surcharge due

on its cabotage contracts to NIMASA within 21 days, failing which our Union may be compelled to shut down all the ports in the Federation,” he said.

Secretary General of the union, Aham Ubani, added that continuous refusal of NLNG to meet its statutory responsibility with respect to payment of taxes and

levies due for its operation poses danger to the workers welfare, coupled with negative precedent it would set among other companies operation in the industry.

Nigeria’s young leaders for global summit

By Toyin Olasinde OUNG leaders from Y Nigeria will have an important role to play at the forthcoming One Young World summit scheduled for Johannesburg, South Africa from October 2 to October 5.

According to Africa Director of One Young World,

Catherine Peter, who visited Lagos to meet with young leaders and partners, noted that the enormous potential of Nigeria in all facets of the economy has been recognised, stressing that this formed one of the reasons why the country is being invited for the forum.

Now in its fourth year, One

Young World is a charity that hosts a yearly summit, bringing together 1,300 exceptional young people to find solutions to local, regional and global challenges.

Peter said 2013 marks the first time Africa plays host to a One Young World summit.

“Nigeria is a powerhouse on the African continent, there-

fore it’s crucial the country sends a strong delegation to the first ever African-hosted One Young World summit.

“One Young World is all about impact and encouraging leaders of the future from all industries to drive tangible change when they return home from the summit.”

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

ScienceGuardian A ST RO NOM Y With J. K. Obatala

A triangle in the sky case I’ve gotten you IcalNtensed up, with this technijargon, NASA’s Dr. Tony

Thiopaq process

Scientists make progress in search for alternatives to fossil fuel From Chukwuma Muanya, Armsterdam

Shell invests N208 billion on research in 2012

S part of efforts to address A increasing demand for energy and the attendant

merisation methods provide linear or branched macromolecules, frequently with outstanding functional-group tolerance and molecular weight control. In contrast, extending polymerisation strategies to two-dimensional periodic structures is in its infancy, and successful examples have emerged only recently through molecular framework, surface science and crystal engineering approaches.

“In this Review, we describe successful 2D polymerisation strategies, as well as seminal research that inspired their development. These methods include the synthesis of 2D covalent organic frameworks as layered crystals and thin films, surface-mediated polymerisation of polyfunctional monomers, and solid-state topochemical polymerisations. Early application targets of 2D polymers include gas separation and storage, optoelectronic devices and membranes, each of which might benefit from predictable long-

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We use a lot of nickel and steel to build the storage facility for LNG but the cost of the project was very high for Shell. So we were commissioned to find a cheaper and more effective or equally effective alternative. We now found this polymer after much research and we now use this polymer instead of steel for the storage of LNG

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pressure on the climate due to high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels like coal, scientists have made progress in search for clean and affordable alternatives with Thiopaq for the treatment of biogas and cheap synthetic polymer material instead of nickel and steel for the storage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The scientists led by researchers at Shell Technology Centre Armsterdam (STCA), The Netherlands have indeed advanced research into new technologies for the production of biofuels from inedible waste products, CO2 storage possibilities and energy saving technologies.

The THIOPAQ process was originally marketed by Paques to be used solely for the treatment of Biogas, which is produced by anaerobic digestion of wastewater.

Cooperation with Shell International has led to further development of the process and resulted in the THIOPAQ O&G process.

According to a study titled “Rationally synthesized twodimensional polymers” and published in May 2013 edition of Nature Chemistry synthetic polymers exhibit diverse and useful properties and influence most aspects of modern life.

The study reads: “Many poly-

range molecular organization inherent to this macromolecular architecture.”

A fact sheet of the STCA made available to The Guardian by the Shell Spokesperson, Ross Whittam, during a visit of the facility by the Nigerian team to the 2013 Shell Eco-Marathon in Anhoy Rotterdam, The Netherlands, showed that the Centre is one of the three most important Shell research centres in the world and the company in 2012 invested over N208 billion ($1.3 billion) in research and development, which is more than any other international oil and gas major, a significant portion of which was spent in STCA. Manager at the Materials and Corrossion Department of STCA, Frans Jansen, told The Guardian during a visit of the facilities last week: “We use a lot of nickel and steel to build the storage facility for LNG but the cost of the project was very high for Shell. So we were commissioned to find a cheaper and more effective or equally

effective alternative. We now found this polymer after much research and we now use this polymer instead of steel for the storage of LNG.” Jansen, however, said that the polymer developed by Shell is three-dimensional.

Manager, Gas Processing Design at STCA, Gerard van der Zwet, told The Guardian that the THIOPAQ O&G Process is to make sure that the LNG does not contain sulphur and CO2 using bacteria. He said that the key lies in the biological aspect, that is the regeneration of the bicarbonate solution by the activity of the bacteria, which belong to the group of naturally occurring sulphide oxidising organisms such as Thiobacilli. “These are autotrophic organisms, which means that CO2 is required as their sole carbon source. The organisms are naturally occurring and are not genetically manipulated or modified,” he said.

Zwet further explained: “The bacteria population is harmless to the environment, fastgrowing and highly resistant to varying process conditions.

The energy needed for growth is obtained from the sulphide oxidation process. The photo on the right shows the main body of a bacterium with lumps of elemental sulphur as these are excreted from the body.

“The bacteria have proven to be extremely robust in the face of a variety of challenges, which is demonstrated by the fact that not a single application has required a colony replacement since the first unit started up in 1993.”

Phillips has a suggestion to relieve your frayed nerves.

Go out on these dates, he advises, and face the twilight horizon: May 24th, when Mercury’s approach to Venus gives shape to the triangle, which materialises fully May 26th; and on the 28th, when Venus passes close to Jupiter.

It’s just what the doctor ordered.

That’s the slightly modified ending of last week’s column, “A Triangle In The Sky”.

It was somehow omitted from the hard copy edition, but included in the online version.

Happy birthday NASRDA! What could be more apt this week, than to say, “Happy Birthday” to the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) -whose 14th Anniversary fell on May 5.

Nigeria’s interest in space actually pre-dates NASRDA. In fact, this country was formerly a part of the U.S. Deep Space Network - a global system of tracking stations, which keeps the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in touch with its orbiting spacecraft.

“Nigeria had been interested in having monitor nodes for tracking foreign satellites,” Dr. Vincent Olusegun Olunloyo, Distinguished Professor of Systems Engineering at the University of Lagos, once told me, “as far back as the Presidency of John F. Kennedy in the U.S.A.” A fascinating historical footnote is that Kennedy and Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, engaged in what Dr. Adigun Ade Abiodun, a retired United Nations Specialist on Space Applications, believes were the world’s first satellite-transmitted voice communication.

“What,” you might ask, “would have been the topic of these historic talks?” Well, Nigeria’s Dick Tiger had just defeated Gene Fulmer, an American. Hence Balewa reportedly said to Kennedy, “I’m happy Dick Tiger beat your boxer!”

No wonder NASA later removed its equipment from the country! But this didn’t end Nigeria’s space ambitions.

Most of the military regimes included satellite deployment in their development plans.

Until President Obasanjo funded NASRDA, in 1999, though, the “space” component of these “rolling plans” amounted to little more than numbered paragraphs.

The Space Agency took off in turbulent political winds; and the sailing was anything but smooth. NASRDA’s climb to pre-eminence, as a parastatal, was through swirling currents of doubt, ridicule and even animosity.

Much of the turbulence has subsided now, of coursethanks to an aggressive media and public relations campaign, which has engendered a rising level of national awareness. Added to this, is the Agency’s outstanding performance under its first two directors general.

No two men could be more different. Professor Robert Ajaiyi Boroffice, NASRDA’s founding Chief Executivenow Chairman of the Senate Committee On Science and Technology-is an articulate intellectual and a tireless activist.

His successor, Dr. Siedu O. Mohammed is, by contrast, a reticent technocrat-a specialist in remote sensing.

Boroffice is the pushy, conquering pioneer, while Mohammed is the stubborn consolidator. Both men were just what the agency needed, at the time they came along.

NASRDA’s plighted incubation parallels the evolution of the “Astronomy” column.

Indeed, the space Agency is, in a sense, among the midwives of The Guardian’s groundbreaking journalistic venture.

That many of my earliest columns were devoted to NASRDA is by no means accidental. It is a result of two trips, one to the Agency’s old Missau Street office and the other to the African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education (ARCSSTE) at Il-Ife. I arrived at Obafemi Awolowo University, to find that no accommodation could be arranged for me because ARCSSTE was broke.

So Prof. E.E. Balogun kept me in the home of the university Public Relations Officer for three nights.

My talks with Balogun turned out to be a personal Rite of Passage: An initiation into the NASRDA sect, so to speak. It was my Coming of Age as an Astronomy and Space Science columnist.

I went to Abuja seeking an audience with Prof.

Boroffice, whom I’d never met. Instead, I was referred to his deputy - a slim, softspoken Igala. Mohammed explained that the D.G. was away, then handed me a copy of the “National Space Programme”.

The “Programme” became my constant companion, a handbook I would turn to time and time again, and select topics to write about.

Thank you NASRDA: And Happy Anniversary!

Concluded.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

32 SCIENCE HEALTH

Scientists embrace innovative health technologies

By Chukwuma Muanya EDICAL devices have M been shown to be indispensable tools for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation in health care delivery.

Scientists and medical experts including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) say eHealth solutions from simple SMS appointment reminders on a mobile phone, to more complex electronic medical record systems - are powerful approaches in the use of information and communication technologies to support health systems and services.

However, despite the exponential growth of scientific and technological development, recent studies have shown that availability of and access to appropriate and affordable medical devices and eHealth solutions in lowand middle-income countries such as are still inadequate.

A systematic review of evaluations of e-health implementations in developing countries by United States researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Brookline, Massachusetts found that systems that improve communication between institutions, assist in ordering and managing medications, and help monitor and detect patients who might abandon care show promise.

According to the study published recently in Health Affinity, titled “E-health technologies show promise in developing countries” evalua-

tions of personal digital assistants and mobile devices convincingly demonstrate that such devices can be very effective in improving data collection time and quality. Donors and funders should require and sponsor outside evaluations to ensure that future ehealth investments are welltargeted.

The researchers found that eHealth technologies improves continuity of care to enhance patient and physician satisfaction by streamlining and largely automating transitions of care and by providing any external medical record and diagnostic quality image - when and where it is needed.

Dutch researchers Department of Psychology, Health and Technology/Centre for eHealth Research and Disease Management, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands in another study concluded: “To demonstrate the impact of eHealth technologies more effectively, a fresh way of thinking is required about how technology can be used to innovate health care. It also requires new concepts and instruments to develop and implement technologies in practice. The proposed framework serves as an evidencebased roadmap.”

The study published in Journal of Medicine and Internet Resident is titled “A holistic framework to improve the uptake and impact of eHealth technologies.”

Coordinator, Partnership for Transforming Health System Phase Two (PATHS2), Dr. Mike Eghoh (left); Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ibrahim Labaran; and the Executive Director/CEO, NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Muhammad, at the launch of the NPHCDA Strategic Plan: 2013-2016 in Abuja… recently.

Meanwhile, the NMA has recommended electronic health (e-health) to improve service delivery.

The NMA said the concept of e-health is safe, secure, ethical and cost-effective transmission, exchange, sharing and dissemination of health data and information, through the utilisation of applications such as mobile health (mhealth), telemedicine and electronic health records.

President NMA, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, told The Guardian that the implementation of a strategic e-health agenda and policy by the Nigerian government will greatly help to

advance healthcare delivery in Nigeria, particularly in the face of the chronic shortage of health care professionals and limited resources with its consequent negative impact on the management of Nigeria’s disease burden.

Enabulele said the NMA in recognition of the benefits of e-health is willing and prepared to collaborate and cooperate with the federal government and other stakeholders to urgently put in place an effective strategy for the implementation of ehealth in Nigeria, particularly one that includes a formidable governance and informa-

tion architecture, as well as adequate resources and finances for its implementation in order to realize its immense benefits.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for innovative health technologies: medical devices and eHealth solutions for low-resource settings 2013.

The WHO said medical devices and eHealth solutions have the potential to improve lives but too many people worldwide suffer because they do not have access to the appropriate health technologies. This call highlights the importance of these innova-

tive technologies towards improved health outcomes and the quality of life.

WHO said it aims to raise awareness of the pressing need for appropriate design solutions with a Compendium series, which was initiated to encourage a dialogue between stakeholders and stimulate further development and technology dissemination.

The yearly publication serves as a neutral platform to introduce health technologies that have the potential to improve health outcomes or to offer a solution to an unmet medical need.

Malaria parasite drives mosquitoes to human scent HE notoriously crafty parT asite that causes malaria may have yet another trick up its sleeve scientists have learned: It makes mosquitoes that carry it more attracted to human body

odor, a new study suggests.

Compared with non-infected mosquitoes, those carrying Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous of the parasites that carry malaria, visited a fabric covered with a person’s sweat far more frequently, researchers report.

Hundreds of millions of people have malaria, and more than 500,000 die of it each year. Plasmodium’s ability to manipulate its hosts could help explain its

ability to infect so many people. Researchers have found that infected mosquitoes take longer blood meals than non-infected ones, increasing the odds that the parasite will be passed on.

Since mosquitoes find their prey-using odor, scientists have wondered whether the parasite affects its host’s sense of smell. A 2007 study found that a species of Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria in rodents

could alter mosquitoes’ olfactory proteins.

To study how the parasite affects mosquitoes’ attraction to people, a team led by Renate Smallegange, then of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands, collected foot sweat from a volunteer who wore nylon stockings for 20 hours. Then her team put the odor-laced fabric in a cage with two groups of Anopheles gambiae, mosquitoes that transmit the malaria parasite to people.

One group was infected with Plasmodium falciparum; the other wasn’t.

Infected mosquitoes landed on the fabric three times as frequently as did noninfected mosquitoes, the researchers found.

“It’s a very interesting, although somewhat preliminary, result,” says Michael Riehle, an entomologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He notes that the experiment used only 176 mosquitoes and just one person’s sweat.

The researchers don’t know how the parasite manipulates mosquitoes’ sense of smell. It’s also unclear which component of human odor is the most attractive to the mosquitoes. That information could help researchers develop traps to catch infected mosquitoes, the researchers say.

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

NaturalHealth How breastfeeding boosts IQ, prevents deadly intestinal problem

By Chukwuma Muanya

• WHO study dismisses link with reduced blood pressure, obesity risk

systemic review of the A long-term effects of breastfeeding by a team of researchers from the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that even though the true effects may be underestimated, analyses at seven years of age showed significant effects on Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

The present analyses, which relied on a considerably larger evidence base, including 60 additional studies published in the last five years found no association with blood pressure or overweight/obesity. However, no results were given for cholesterol, diabetes or glucose levels.

The study was published last week in the WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

The researchers include: Dr. Bernardo L. Horta, and Dr. Cesar G. Victora, of the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil.

The meta-analyses of overweight/obesity, blood pressure, diabetes and intelligence suggest that benefits are larger for children and adolescents, and smallest among adults, suggesting a gradual dilution of the effect with time.

Another study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital (UPMC) found that an ingredient, which naturally occurs in breast-milk might be used to prevent premature babies from developing a deadly intestinal condition that currently is largely incurable.

The study showed that unlike normal mice, those bred to lack toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in their blood vessels did not develop necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in a model designed to induce the condition.

TLR4 is an immune protein that is involved in recognizing microbes and which they recently discovered plays a role in gut development.

The WHO team concluded: “This meta-analysis suggests that breastfeeding is associated with increased performance in intelligence tests in childhood and adolescence, of 3.5 points on average. Maternal IQ is an important confounder, but it accounts for only part of this association – even among those studies that adjusted for maternal intelligence, breastfeeding was associated with an additional 2.19 IQ points. The two existing randomized trial on this issue also reported sig-

Breastfeeding...associated with better Intelligence Quotient (IQ) nificant benefits of breastfeeding, suggesting that this association is causal.

“On the other hand, the practical implications of a small increase in the performance in intelligence tests may be open to debate.

Nevertheless, one Brazilian study suggests that breastfeeding is associated with achieved schooling in adolescents, in a population where breastfeeding duration does not present marked variability by socioeconomic position.”

Senior author, Watson Family Professor of Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine, and co-director of the Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center at Children’s Hospital, Prof.

David Hackam, said the story begins with a baby who is born too early, meaning before 36 weeks gestation.

Once stable, typically the baby is fed with formula because often breast milk is not readily available to premature infants.

Hackam explained: “Within about 10 days of birth, the baby starts to vomit and a few hours later, the belly becomes distended and discolored. It becomes clear that the child has developed a major problem in his or her tummy, and an X-Ray will usually confirm the diagnosis of necrotizing

enterocolitis, or NEC, in which the intestinal tissue is dying. We have no choice but to remove the dead parts of the intestine, but despite surgery, half of these preemie babies still die from the condition.”

Hackam and his team noted NEC occurs when the intestines start getting colonized with bacteria, a process that occurs normally after birth.

They focused on toll-like receptor TLR4, an immune protein that is involved in recognizing microbes and which they recently discovered plays a role in gut development. In the current work, Hackam and colleagues found that TLR4 is present in higher amounts in the blood vessel lining in preemies than in full-term babies.

The findings indicate that bacteria in the blood activate TLR4 leading to a reduction in nitric oxide, which in turn narrows blood vessels and decreases blood flow.

Previous studies have established that breastfeeding has well-established shortterm benefits, particularly the reduction of morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases in childhood.

A pooled analysis of studies carried out in middle/low income countries showed that breastfeeding substantially lowers the risk of death from infectious diseases in

the first two years of life.

Based on data from the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort, Quigley et al estimated that optimal breastfeeding practices could prevent a substantial proportion of hospital admissions due to diarrhea and lower respiratory tract infection.

A systematic review by Kramer et al confirmed that exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months decreases morbidity from gastrointestinal and allergic diseases, without any negative effects on growth.

Given such evidence, it has been recommended that in the first six months of life, every child should be exclusively breastfed, with partial breastfeeding continued until two years of age.

The researchers wrote: “Building upon the strong evidence on the short-term effects of breastfeeding, the present review addresses its long-term consequences. Current evidence, mostly from high-income countries, suggests that occurrence of non-communicable diseases may be programmed by exposures occurring during gestation or in the first years of life (five to seven).

“Early diets, including the type of milk received, is one of the key exposures that

may influence the development of adult diseases.”

The WHO team, in 2007, carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis on the long-term consequences of breastfeeding.

The Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health of the WHO has now commissioned an update of this review.

The following long-term out- comes were reviewed: blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, serum cholesterol, overweight and obesity, and intellectual performance.

These outcomes are of great interest to researchers, as made evident by the number of publications identified: 60 new publications were identified since 2006.

On long-term effect of breastfeeding on total cholesterol, the researchers found there was no effect in the overall meta-analyses.

“In the 2007 review, there was a significant effect among adults, which is no longer present in the updated analyses. The UK trial of preterm infants showed a small protective effect, while the Belarus trial did not report on this outcome.

We conclude that breastfeeding does not seem to protect against total cholesterol levels.”

Changes in body’s clock linked to depression HE disruption of sleep T and other bodily rhythms that often accompanies clinical depression may leave a mark on the brain.

A study of gene activity in the brains of people who suffered from depression reveals that their daily clocks were probably out of whack.

“This is really important work, amazing work,” says Noga Kronfeld-Schor, a physiologist who specializes in circadian rhythms at Tel Aviv University. “There’s been indirect evidence, but this clearly shows a connection between disrupted circadian cycles and depression.”

In mammals, daily rhythms such as sleep, hormone cycles and eating patterns are guided by a master clock in the brain whose rhythms are maintained in part by genes and patterns of light and darkness. The master clock can get out of sync with clocks elsewhere in the brain and body. This discord, for example, produces the out-of-sorts feeling of jet lag, says Jun Li, a statistical geneticist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

People with depression also often have off-kilter body rhythms. But the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind these disrupted cycles have been hard to pin down. Li and his colleagues took an ambitious approach with an unusual set of samples: the brains, removed just after death, of 34 people with depression and 55 people who didn’t suffer from depression. All of the people had died suddenly, from heart attacks or suicide, for example, and each brain was immediately put on ice, Li says.

After determining how long after sunrise each person’s death was, the team looked at what genes were turned on in six brain regions, gathering a total of 12,000 records of gene activity. Among nondepressed people, patterns were pretty predictable. One gene’s activity, for example, consistently peaked at sunrise, another’s at midday, Li says.

But in the depressed brains, gene activity seemed uncoupled from time of day. Their patterns of activity also weren’t as predictable.

The research doesn’t demonstrate whether depression causes the circadian disruption or vice versa, but it confirms a link and might lead to investigations of the physiological processes that are affected, says Ying-Hui Fu a molecular biologist and geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

34 SCIENCE HEALTH

WHO raises alarm over possible pandemic of two new viruses • Alerts on rise in resistance to TB, malaria, antibiotic drugs From Chukwuma Muanya, Geneva HE World Health T Organisation (WHO) has raised alarm over the threat to human existence of two new viruses that are mutating at frightening levels: human infections with a novel corona virus from the same family as SARS, which were first detected last year in the Eastern Mediterranean Region with 41 cases, including 20 deaths and the first-ever human infections with the H7N9 avian influenza virus with more than 100 additional cases were confirmed three weeks.

Director General of the WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, yesterday in her opening address at the 66th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland warned that although recent progress on tuberculosis and malaria had been encouraging, it was increasingly threatened by the spread of resistance to mainstay medicines, and if the world is not careful, all the hard-won gains could go down the drain.

Chan also said that the spread of antimicrobial resistance was rendering more and more first-line treatments for TB and malaria useless.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, in his address to the assembly yesterday promised delegates that the National Assembly was revising the

National Bill, which would be passed into law before the end of this year.

Chukwu said: “The National Health Bill has been returned to the National Assembly following the resolution of some contentious issues. The Assembly is currently revising the Bill and we are optimistic that it will be passed into law before the end of this year. The National Health Act will provide additional funding for the strengthening of Primary Health Care. The additional funds will provide financial access for all Nigerians to the defined minimum package of health care as well as provide financial guarantee for emergency medical services.”

On the post 2015 Development Agenda, Chukwu enjoined WHO and member states to remain committed and continue to intensify current collective efforts to ensure that health remains a priority. He said that one way to do this, was to insist that the saying, ‘health is wealth’, takes priority over the converse that ‘wealth is health’.

The health minister said that women and children’s health, Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), malaria, tuberculosis, the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), human resources for health and universal health coverage must

Chan be on the agenda.

Chukwu said that Nigeria was accelerating her efforts to ensure the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reminded the Assembly that the government of Nigeria and the African Union would host the Abuja +12 summit in July 2013.

He also said that the summit, which focuses on the MDG 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases) would review the implementation of the Abuja declaration and chart the way forward.

The minister of health said that Nigeria remained committed to the control of NCDs. He said that due to the impact of tobacco use as a risk factor for many of the NCDs, Nigeria had revised its anti-tobacco bill, which sought to institutionalise more stringent measures to disincentivise the production, distribution and use of tobacco and tobacco products.

Chukwu said that this bill was returned to the National Assembly for passage.

Similarly in collaboration

with development partners, Nigeria recently concluded the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) and the result was awaiting formal presentation by the president.

He also said that other efforts at NCD control include plans to subsidise mass screening for risk factors for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases later in 2013, and a major review of the mental health act, now outdated, which is about to be sent to the National Assembly for passage.

Chukwu said that due to its high burden, Nigeria had also accorded heamoglobinopathies greater importance through strengthening capacities of health care facilities and health care workers to provide adequate care and treatment to the affected people.

“Trauma related morbidity and mortality is also receiving attention with the establishment of new trauma centres and the upgrading of older ones. A new National Road Safety Strategy Document which meets the aspirations of the UN Decade of Action is almost ready.”

Chan said: “We are dealing with two new diseases right now. Human infections with a novel corona virus, from the same family as SARS, were first detected last year in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. To date, 41 cases, including 20 deaths, have been reported. Though the number of cases remains

small, limited human-tohuman transmission has occurred and health care workers have been infected.

“At the end of March this year, China reported the first-ever human infections with the H7N9 avian influenza virus.

Within three weeks, more than 100 additional cases were confirmed. Although the source of human infection with the virus is not yet fully understood, the number of new cases dropped dramatically following the closing of live bird markets. “...At present, human-tohuman transmission of the virus is negligible. However, influenza viruses constantly reinvent themselves. No one can predict the future course of this outbreak.

“These two new diseases remind us that the threat from emerging and epidemicprone diseases is ever-present.

Constant mutation and adaptation are the survival mechanisms of the microbial world.

It will always deliver surprises.

“Going forward, we must maintain a high level of vigilance. I cannot overemphasize the importance of immediate and fully transparent reporting to WHO, and of strict adherence to your obligations set out in the International Health Regulations.

“As was the case ten years ago, the current situation demands collaboration and cooperation from the entire world. A threat in one region can quickly become a threat to all.”

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

SCIENCE & HEALTH

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Two-way referral system boosts safe delivery in Lagos

By Wole Oyebade STRATEGY to enhance service delivery, known as ‘twoway referral system’ is yielding dividends in safe delivery in some private and public healthcare facilities in Lagos.

The referral system, a two-way relationship between a primary – healthcare provider or facility and a higher-level hospital, was initiated by Partnership for Transforming Health Systems II (PATHS2) to enhanced comprehensive emergency services, especially in obstetric care, reduce infant and maternal mortality in the focal local government areas.

A

A recent visit to Ogudu Primary Health Centre (PHC), in Kosofe Local Council Area (LGA) of the state revealed that women are benefiting from a public-to-private hospital referral initiative.

One of the beneficiaries is Lola Stevens. She had lost her first pregnancy and required to undergo a Caesarean Section (CS) to save the second. The cost of N150, 000 for CS would be an uphill task for Stevens, but was assured not to worry.

Stevens benefited from a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), signed in 2012 between

PATHS2 and six private health facilities in Lagos, which entitled indigent patients to a 50 to 70 per cent rebate on cost of care.

The hospitals were selected in collaboration with the state Ministry of Health, the Association of General Private Nursing Practitioners (AGPNP) and the Association of General Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN).

It was big relief to Stevens. The operation was to cost N150, 000, but courtesy of the MoA, she paid half the cost, and had access to the best available care. Part of the MoA is that

Resident doctors chart path to effective training

By Wole Oyebade ORRIED by the downward W trend of residency training in the country, resident doctors will at their 2013 Ordinary General Meeting (OGM), discuss the status of specialist training in Nigeria, with a view to repositioning the key aspect of capacity building in the health sector.

The doctors, under the aegis of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), at the conference in Lagos, come up with a scientific paper on specialists training for both Federal and State governments to consider.

Speaking at an event to herald the weeklong OGM on Tuesday, President of the ARD, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) branch, Dr. Olujimi Sodipo, said delegates across the federation would be discussing factors militating against the proper implementation of residency training in Nigeria and thorny issues of dichotomy between Federal and State-owned hospitals.

Sodipo noted that a shortfall in the number of resident doctors in hospitals and their inability to seek overseas training account for the deterioration in various aspects of specialists training in Nigeria.

He observed that residency

training is a global phenomenon, moving in the same direction with innovations in medical technology and therapy.

“But, we are having ‘Nigerian doctors’ and not ‘doctors in Nigeria’ because we cannot keep tabs on latest happenings in medicine and specialist training around the world,” he said.

Sodipo, a public health physician, added that the scientific conference would also avail them the opportunity to examine what available training might be doing wrongly, such as had encouraged medical tourism among the political class.

“We are assessing how specialists training can reverse the ugly trend of medical tourism, which is currently leading to major economic and human resources loss in the country,” he said.

Secretary General of the ARDLASUTH, Dr. Ahmad Sa’eid, added that the OGM meeting sessions would enable delegates from Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres to give reports on the status of specialists training in their hospitals and a scientific paper would be submitted to both the Federal and state governments at the end of the conference on May 26, 2013.

“We hope that issues that are

FMC chairman seeks facility upgrade From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia HE new board Chairman of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia, Abia state, Dr. Wakil Chibok, has called for the upgrading of the centre to a teaching hospital.

Chibok made the call at the centre recently, when he led members of the board on inspection of the centre.

He noted that the facility available at the FMC were adequate to operate a teaching hospital and surpass those in many hospitals within and outside the country.

His words: “We are very impressed with the facilities on ground here and wonder why this centre has not been upgraded to a teaching hospital yet. I therefore call on the Federal Government to consider this because the FMC Umuahia fully qualifies for a teaching hospital.

Continuing, he said: “I also wonder why in spite of these facilities in all its units, Nigerians especially those of the catchment areas, still seek medical attention outside the

T

country”.

Praising the FMC management led by its Medical Director, Dr. Abali Chuku, the new chairman, tasked the workers to maintain the facility and still work towards improving on their performances.

“We shall look into their funding, which we already know is inadequate for which we shall appeal to the Federal Government for upward review. We also urge the management to look further inwards to raise more internally generated revenue without necessarily increased medical charges”.

According to him, they could do this by attracting more patronages through diligence in attending to patients, which would in turn attract national and international assistance.

In addition, he tasked the workers to imbibe the culture of teamwork, shun strikes actions and always table their grievances before the board for necessary attention.

bedeviling the medical profession in Nigeria and Lagos State will finally be put to rest during the deliberations,” Ahmad said.

even if there is no money and the case is an emergency, there must be intervention.

A 36-year-old banker, Funmi Omoyele, in similar vein, had put to bed at a private hospital in Lagos. She was surprised at the bill of N19, 750 for her baby to be immunised at the facility.

She later got a hint of available services at Ogudu PHC, where she was told her baby was entitled to all immunisations free of charge.

At one of the affiliated private facilities, Synergy Medicals Clinic located at 27, Kujore Street, Ojota, three financially constrained pregnant women had also been delivered of live babies via CS, benefiting from the rebate in the indigent scheme instituted by PATHS2.

Medical Director of the clinic, Dr Dare Dada said with the support of PATHS2, services such as Family Planning (FP),

Antenatal Care (ANC), deliveries and Postnatal Care (PNC) and Child welfare Services (CWS) were offered in the facility, coupled with acceptance of referrals from Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and nearby Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) “to help reduce maternal and child mortality rates.”

He observed that one of the beneficiaries was a woman with a bad obstetrics history of two consecutive fresh stillbirths, referred by a FBO midwife.

Another beneficiary in March 2013 was a pregnant lady with bad obstetrics history who was referred from Ogudu PHC to synergy Medicals for care.

“Here, she was able to access care and was delivered via CS. Synergy Medicals clinic has continued to save lives,” Dada said.

Since PATHS2 introduced the

initiative in about 78 healthcare facilities in Lagos, no fewer than 580 cases have been referred within cluster health facilities. The private and public care centres now complement one another in service delivery at the focal LGAs. Commenting on the partnership, Lagos team leader, PATHS2, Bisi Tugbobo, said the ultimate goal of PATHS2 was to ensure that Lagos utilises its resources effectively and efficiently to achieve the healthrelated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

According to her, “the purpose is to improve the planning, presenting and delivery of sustainable and replicable services for common health problems in Lagos and other focal States of Kano, Kaduna Enugu and Jigawa where PATHS2, sponsored by UKaid, is working to strengthen

THe GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

36 SCIENCE HEALTH

Nigeria implements anti-polio initiatives

Kaduna Assembly to investigate poor medical services in hospitals

• Plans rehab homes, community based mental care centres

From Bashir Bello, Kaduna orried by the decline in W quality services coming from public hospitals in Kaduna State, the State House of Assembly has called for investigation into circumstances surrounding the decline.

Moving the motion at a recent plenary, member representing Makera constituency, Mr. Philemon Gidan Mana, said that the nonchalant attitude of some medical doctors in the public hospitals was responsible for the decline and needs to be checked.

According to Mana, “The state government had engaged the services of many medical doctors but hospitals are still without doctors, even at regular working hours of the weekdays. In

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu (left) and the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele at the opening ceremony of the 66th PHOTO: CHUKWUMA MUANYA Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland

From Chukwuma Muanya, Geneva IGeRIA is implementing a N number of innovative initiatives to further fast track the elimination of polio and designing concrete measures to ensure the safety of all health personnel, both local and foreign, as they go about their business of saving lives.

Health Minister, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu, in an interview with The Guardian at the ongoing 66th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland said that the country was also developing community-based mental care centres and this had proved much better than the hospital-based ones. The minister said that the country was working on building rehab homes to mainly take care of people with substance abuse problems.

The themes of the 66th session of this Assembly include Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), health in the post-2015 development agenda, counterfeit medicines, World Health Organisation (WHO) reforms as well as international health regulations among others are pertinent and timely. The WHA is the apex decision-making body of the WHO. Chukwu said: “I will like to use this opportunity to assure the director general and this assembly that my country remains committed to the expedited eradication of poliomyelitis. The Presidential Task Force on Polio eradication (PTFPe) and the Federal Ministry of Health (FMH) implementing a number of innovative initiatives to further fast track the elimination of polio.

“These initiatives include ensuring that no district/local council remains uncovered by our immunization efforts; maintaining vigilance for polio cross border importation; conducting border post immunisation; committing to adequately funding the national programme on polio eradication; maintaining of active surveillance within the country; exchanging of epidemiological and laboratory information; Global Information System (GIS) tracking of nomadic populations; and establishment of a National Polio emergency Operations Centre (eOC) as well as five state eOCs among many other strategies.”

On the issue of the safety of

health workers, Chukwu said: “We have also had to respond to emerging issues such as the escalating security challenges faced by health workers as witnessed in the recent past in the unfortunate killing of vaccinators in Kano State earlier this year. This has been widely condemned by government, religious and traditional leaders, international organizations, local communities, prominent personalities and groups, and we are designing concrete measures to ensure the safety of all health personnel, both local and foreign, as they go about their business of saving lives.”

On how Nigeria is tackling the growing challenges of mental health disorders, Chukwu said: “Nigerian efforts were made popular by the hospital model at the ARO Abeokuta, which was actually being promoted then by well known deputy DG of the WHO, Professor. Lambo. Nigeria is trying to build on that experience and presently in Nigeria we are developing a lot of community based care centres and this has proved too much better than hospital based. So I quite agree.

“One other area we are trying to build in Nigeria is the issue of rehab homes mainly for substance abuse. This is an ongoing problem in the world and I think we need to look at substance abuse. This is an ongoing problem in the world and I think we need to look at substance abuse especially with the young people and how we can develop centres for this. All in all we have started very well with this and talking about it in the Commonwealth. I think we all go back after this meeting to begin really to address the issues of mental health.”

Chukwu added: “We have gone through the full circle.

For some years we have been looking at communicable diseases for a good reason because these are the ones that are easily transferred between individuals and between countries and suddenly it was realised that we have neglected the NCDs. If you will recall in the last two years the world has been talking about NCDs and mental health has recognized even within the umbrella of NCDs as neglected NCD. So two years ago Commonwealth Ministers of Health decided that this year we would select as our

theme, mental health. It is a neglected issue for many reasons. I think one of the main reasons is because of the stigma attached to mental health, people do not want to talk about it. So now we are placing it on the centre stage and Nigeria obviously shares with other countries in the world the concern about mental health being neglected.”

Reacting to a new story from the WHO on new regulations on Yellow Fever vaccination, Chukwu said: “There have been a lot of politics about yellow fever but people need to understand the issues. One is that you need two factors to b considered when you are talking about yellow fever and on of course is the immunity of the individual and the other one are the environmental factors. What are those environmental factors? Whether you still have the vectors in your country in which case you stand a risk that even if you are all immunized, if somebody comes with a case of the disease, it can be transferred as far as the vector is present, which is a form of mosquito.

“The other one of course is the presence of the virus itself, which largely the world has dealt with by giving immunization. So when general policies come up, they need to be examined country by country. I still believe that within the general range of saying ‘you don’t need yellow fever booster’, there will be specific reasons and specific circumstances where those boosters will still be required.”

On Nigeria’s agenda to this WHA, the minister said: “Well we have keyed in to the agenda we already agreed at the board because Nigeria presently sits at the Board and so we were part of the Board that decided what the agenda of the Ministers will be. So having being part of it, we are duty bound to support the agenda because we are part of it. You can say the whole of the agenda but there are special areas of interest for Nigeria and one of course is the post 2015 agenda and luckily that is being addressed by the Commonwealth Ministers of Health.

“The second one has to do with fake counterfeit drugs, recognising that Nigeria has been in the lead in getting the resolution that was passed last year by the WHA on what

we should do along those lines.

“Thirdly is that Nigeria is interested in pushing the agenda on NCDs. Yes, we are talking about the NCDs but we are not talking enough about mental health, we are not talking enough about haemoglonopatis, we are not talking enough about trauma due to accident or violence.

Trauma lone even in the context of Nigeria is killing much more people than some of the diseases we are talking about.

“Finally, we want to push on along with the rest of the world the issue of universal health coverage. One aspect of the universal health coverage is health financing which we think if we have a sustainable way of financing health for individuals then it becomes financially accessible to them.

“But beyond the issue of finance, the other aspect of universal health coverage has to do with equity in the distribution of health manpower, equity in the distribution of facilities and also equity in the issues we tackle. For long we talk about curative and preventive health but we have not done so much in terms of promotional health. People forget that promotional health is also part of the purview of things we are looking at.

On Nigeria’s position on post 2015, Chukwu said: “You know the MDGs will terminate as it were in 2015 and everyone is asking ‘after 2015 what next?

Do we continue with the MDG? But the world said they would have Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). So what will form the ingredients of the SDGs are the issues at hand now.”

Women and child health The health of women and children has continued to be accorded appropriate priority in Nigeria. The work of the UN Commission on Life Saving Commodities, which is cochaired by the President of Nigeria and the Prime Minister of Norway, in identifying and promoting the use of a set of essential life-saving commodities deserves commendation. Nigeria has domesticated the recommendations of the Commission through the introduction of the Saving One Million Lives Initiative, with massive procurement and distribution of these essential commodities especially to improve access for the poor.

some hospitals, more than 20 doctors were employed but getting doctors to attend to patients is often a difficult task.

“They report late to work daily (hardly earlier than 10 a.m.) and close before, 1 p.m. (putting in less than three-hour), decide on the number of patients they would see often not more than 20 persons, even if the number of patients waiting for medical attention are more than that number.

“Some personnel at the government hospitals are harsh to patience and lack the necessary hospitality required in a hospital. Most of the doctors in the government hospital consult at private hospitals and spend more time at the private facilities than their place of primary assignment,” he said.

Oyo govt to rehabilitate Adeoyo Hospital, others From Iyabo Lawal, Ibadan YO State Government is O set to embark on comprehensive rehabilitation of Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan and other state-owned health facilities through a public private partnership arrangement with foreign and local consultants.

The State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi disclosed this while receiving a delegation of the Malaria Control Partners comprising the USAID Washington and President Malaria Initiative in his office.

Ajimobi said that this was

part of his administration’s efforts at revitalising the health sector and improving the health status of the people of the state.

He said that under the new arrangement, medical doctors and other health practitioners would take over the equipping and the running of the hospitals while the state government would subsidise the running cost in order to enhance easy accessibility for the citizenry.

Ajimobi said: “We have started to equip our hospitals. We are now going to introduce what we call PPP in some of our health centres and hospitals.

300 Abia women benefit from free cancer screening From Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia O fewer than 300 Abia women recently benefited from a two-day breast and cervical cancer campaign held in Umuahia, Abia state

by Pink Pearl Foundation (PPF), a non-government organisation.

The event featured free breast and cervical screening and lectures held at Okpara auditorium.

According to a PPF partner Mr. Onye Ubanatu, about 300 women were targeted for screening, using two volun-

N

teer doctors and three nurses with the collaboration and sponsorship of the office of Abia First Lady, Mercy Odochi Orji.

Ubanatu told The Guardian that the PPF mission was to empower women, ensure their good health and longevity through appropriate education and mobilisation. He added that about 5000 women in 11 states in Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon had so far benefitted from the screening exercise as at year 2012.

Pfizer tasks stakeholders on pneumonia scourge

By Tony Nwanne HeAD the 2013 Children A Day celebration, one of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company, has urged all stakeholders to defend and improve the health status of every Nigerian child, as all is set to fete children come May 27.

As part of its contribution to child healthcare during this year’s celebration, the firm has stated that Pfizer would be partnering the Kwara State Government, using the Arts Competition as a channel of reorientation on diseases that Nigerians often miscon-

strue for spiritual cases.

Speaking at a news briefing on Tuesday, the Medical Director of the firm, Dr. Kodjo Soroh said that there was urgent need for government, corporate organisation and the individual to explore partnership strategy for a better health care of the Nigerian child.

He noted that the prevalent cases of pneumonia and diarrhoea among children in Nigeria called for urgent attention, stressing that everyone, especially media practitioners have a prominent role to play in fighting the diseases while promoting a healthy nation.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

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SCIENCE & HEALTH 39

Heavy drinking, smoking linked to early aging of the brain REATMENT for alcohol use T disorders works best if the patient actively understands and incorporates the interventions provided in the clinic.

Multiple factors can influence both the type and degree of neurocognitive abnormalities found during early abstinence, including chronic cigarette smoking and increasing age. A new study is the first to look at the interactive effects of smoking status and age on neurocognition in treatmentseeking alcohol dependent (AD) individuals.

Findings show that AD individuals who currently smoke show more problems with memory, ability to think quickly and efficiently, and problem-solving skills than those who don’t smoke, effects which seem to become exacerbated with age.

Results will be published in the October 2013 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical &

Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

“Several factors — nutrition, exercise, comorbid medical conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, psychiatric conditions such as depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, and genetic predispositions — may also influence cognitive functioning during early abstinence,” explained Timothy C. Durazzo, assistant professor in the department of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California San Francisco, and corresponding author for the study.

“We focused on the effects of chronic cigarette smoking and increasing age on cognition because previous research suggested that each has independent, adverse affects on multiple aspects of cognition and brain biology in people with and without alcohol use disorders.

“This previous research also indicated that the adverse

Commissioner pleads against discrimination of ex-lepers in Delta From Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba ORRIED by the stigmatiW sation of persons formerly afflicted with leprosy the, Delta State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, Mrs. Betty Efekodha has appealed to the public to always show them affection instead of ostracizing them.

Efekhoda who spoke recently during a visit to the ex-lepers’ settlement at Eku, Ethiope East Local Council of the state expressed dissatisfaction over the way and manner a section of the society was treating ex-lepers with disdain.

She said that it was iniquitous in the sight of God to treat fellow humans as inferior, especially, when their illness has been cured and fully re-admitted into the society.

She, therefore, called on members of the public, especially their relatives, not to stigmatise them since they have been certified medically fit by experts in the treatment of such disease.

Efekhoda tasked the mass media to assist in the enlightenment against all forms of stigmatisation against them.

The commissioner, while inspecting facilities of the settlement, reiterated the ministry’s commitment towards the rehabilitation of ex-lepers through the skills acquisition programme of the Government in the area of soap making, tailoring and hair dressing.

She disclosed that the major building housing the skill acquisition centre would be partitioned to accommodate selected trades for training in the settlement.

Coffee linked to lower risk of an autoimmune liver disease EGULAR consumption of R coffee is associated with a reduced risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an autoimmune liver disease, Mayo Clinic research shows.

The findings were being presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla. PSC is an inflammatory disease of the bile ducts that results in inflammation and subsequent fibrosis that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and biliary cancer.

“While rare, PSC has extremely detrimental effects,” says study author Craig Lammert, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.

“We’re always looking for ways to mitigate risk, and our first-time finding points to a novel environmental factor that also might help us to determine the cause of this and other devastating

autoimmune diseases.”

The study examined a large group of U.S. patients with PSC and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and a group of healthy patients. Data showed that coffee consumption was associated with reduced risk of PSC, but not PBC. PSC patients were much likelier not to consume coffee than healthy patients were.

The PSC patients also spent nearly 20 percent less of their time regularly drinking coffee than the control.

The study suggests PSC and PBC differ more than originally thought, Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hepatologist and senior study author says: “Moving forward, we can look at what this finding might tell us about the causes of these diseases and how to better treat them.”

effects of smoking on the brain accumulate over time.

Therefore, we predicted that AD, active chronic smokers would show the greatest decline in cognitive abilities with increasing age.”

“The independent and interactive effects of smoking and other drug use on cognitive functioning among individuals with AD are largely unknown,” added Alecia Dager, associate research scientist in the department of psychiatry at Yale University.

“This is problematic because many heavy drinkers also smoke. Furthermore, in treatment programs for alcoholism, the issue of smoking may be largely ignored.

This study provides evidence of greater cognitive difficulties in alcoholics who also smoke, which could offer important insights for treat-

ment programs. First, individuals with AD who also smoke may have more diffi-

culty remembering, integrating, and implementing treatment strategies. Second,

there are clear benefits for thinking skills as a result of quitting both substances.”

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Education Parents, JAMB disagree over UTME’s high failure rate The recent release of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination has sparked off angry reactions from candidates and their parents, who accused the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) of inefficiency; a charge the board’s Registrar, Prof Dibu Ojerinde has firmly rejected. MARY OGAR and UJUNWA ATUEYI examine the various arguments tabled by those for and against the board.

HE Joint Admissions and Matriculation T Board (JAMB) has come under intense verbal attacks from candidates, their parents and other stakeholders over its handling of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

According to the board’s Registrar, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, out of the 1, 644, 110 candidates that sat for the examination, 1, 629, 102 applied to sit for the Paper Pencil Test (PPT), while a paltry 15, 008 others opted for the Dual Based Test.

Only 10 candidates scored above 300 marks out of 400, while 127, 017 scored between 1 and 159 marks. About 40, 692 results were declared invalid “due to either multiple shading or no shading at all” while 47, 974 candidates were absent.

Like last year’s edition, this year’s UTME was fraught with many problems all over the country. There were cases of candidates who could not find their names on the day of the examination; some had the wrong combination of subjects assigned to them; the so-called biometric system also failed in many centres with many laptops used for process running out of battery power.

But Ojerinde could not be bothered. He has put the blame squarely in the candidates, accusing them of either engaging in multiple shading or not shading the appropriate boxes.

He also blamed the candidates over the withheld results, insisting that the results of 68, 309 candidates from various centres would have to undergo further screening to ascertain the number of those who engaged in malpractice.

For some stakeholders, the yearly JAMB crisis has again put a question mark on its ability to assure universities, polytechnics and colleges of education of the credibility of the UTME scores.

The latest development has also reopened the controversial debate on the Post-UTME test, introduced in 2005 by the universities and which has endured.

Former Education Minister, Dr Chinwe Obaji and Ojerinde disagreed over the post-UTME test at that time. Ojerinde, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Education investigating the legality of Post-UTME, called for its cancellation, accusing universities of using the test to rip-off university admissionseekers. But Obaji had also argued that the test was an intervention by government to address the JAMB’s failure to ensure the sanctity of its examination. To Ojerinde the Post-UTME test was another matriculation examination that contravenes the law-establishing JAMB. But Obaji insisted that there was no correlation in the high scores presented by many candidates and their actual performance in semester examinations.

Ojerinde, who appeared on a Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) programme at the weekend said over 700,000 candidates scored 180 and above in this year’s examination.

According to him, some candidates entered Paper Type as A, B, C, D when the types were composed of D, I, B, U (From his name initials), attributing the fake paper type to plans by some of the students to cheat and beat the system While the Registrar insisted that students were no longer serious about their studies, he accused most of them of failing to read the two novels recommended by JAMB in a particular subject from which questions were set.

Contrary to the accusations of complacency, Ojerinde expressed confidence in the board’s

Members of the Nigerian team of engineers comprising of professors and their students from the University of Lagos, Akoka; University of Benin, Edo State; and Ahmadu Bello University PHOTO: CHUKWUMA MUANYA (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State at the just concluded Shell Eco-Marathon 2013 for Europe at Ahoy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands marking process. He challenged candidates who feel that their scripts were not properly marked, to visit JAMB’s office from June 1st to get them remarked. He also pledged a compensation of N100, 000 for any candidates if errors were confirmed in the marking of their scripts.

However, Ojerinde recently announced that over 227,000 results withheld for lack of Biometric Data Verification have now been released after scrutiny. He also disclosed that the board would scrap the Paper Pencil Test in 2015. He said: “By 2015, we will be asking candidates to go fully into Computer Based Testing.

But that again depends on availability of centers. For now, we have only 70 centers all over the country and this is not sufficient. We are encouraging as many individuals, who can participate in this project to go and build their centers, then we will patronize them.”

Vice Chancellor of Caleb University, Imota, Prof Ayodeji Olukoju said: “With all the crisis, JAMB has to look at its operations and seek avenues for improvement. It is unfortunate that students would have to be subjected to all these rigours because the responsibility is on the universities to now also act as a clearing house. With the challenge of access to higher education, we would now have a smaller number of candidates to take in and make the best out of a bad situation”.

To the Dean of Humanities, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun state, Professor Dan Izeubaye, those calling for the scrapping of JAMB are missing the point. Rather than extinguish it as some have advocated, he advised that JAMB’s weakness should be corrected through adequate measures to erase corruption and cheating.

His words: “Jamb is a good idea and should not be scrapped. There is a defect but it can be

corrected. JAMB’s Registrar should look for a way to block the corruption and cheating going on. If government scraps JAMB, we are going to have the problem of multiple applications and the exploitation of institutions will increase.”

However, Rector of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Dr. Jacob Olusola Agboola, condemned the conduct of the last UTME, stressing that it was characterized by a mismatch of candidates’ data, which resulted into various problems.

“For instance,” he complained, “the names of some students were missing from the list of candidates, in addition to other logistic problems, which interfered with the reliability the test. If the conduct was hitch free as JAMB has claimed, these problems will not emanate.

JAMB should follow the normal procedure and do things appropriately to avoid all these errors.”

To the Dean, School of Environmental Studies, Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Mr. Olusegun Aluko JAMB is moving faster than necessary and “is not considering the interest of the students who are the most important factor.” He said: “What is the advantage of students get their results immediately after the examination, when they cannot use it? Why is JAMB so much in a hurry to release results that will be used in three or four month’s time? If JAMB can release results in two or three weeks and take time to do it properly, we have not lost anything as a country. But this computer-based thing and all the issues and problems associated with have not solved any of the problem we had before they (JAMB) embarked on it.

“Somebody did her fingerprint for her picture and at the end of the day, they said it could not be found. Why? Because they are too much in a hurry to release result in the next hour. Again,

the names of some students were missing from the list of candidates, in addition to other logistic problems, which interfered with the reliability the test. If the conduct was hitch free as JAMB has claimed, these problems will not emanate. JAMB should follow the normal procedure and do things appropriately to avoid all these errors

some of the computers they gave their officials were not well charged. They trip off anytime, thereby bringing about loss of information.

JAMB is depending so much on electricity to solve problems when electricity problems in the country have not been solved. We like deceit in this country. If JAMB could do a credible examination, we won’t actually have any need for a post UTME test.”

However, the Acting Registrar, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Abdullahi Ahmed Kundila has a contrary opinion. “JAMB is not to be blamed,” he declared. “JAMB has done nothing wrong. The students are to be blamed and may be the general system of education in the country should be blamed. When you go to most secondary schools in the Nigeria, you will discover that they lack basic learning facilities and in most cases, some of their teachers are not qualified. So, what do you expect?”

The second Vice President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr Segun Ajibola, said: “JAMB has done a lot to instill some discipline into the Nigerian admission system by regulating entry into higher institutions generally. But one thing is that JAMB is running faster than its leg can carry it and the country as a whole. They have been moderating the examination very well, but my personal opinion is that introducing the online examination at this point, considering the level of computer literacy in the country, especially among secondary school students, is rather coming too early.

Meanwhile, some candidates who spoke with The Guardian expressed disappointment over the scores “allocated” to them, alleging that most of them were “failed” by JAMB because the board believed that some questions leaked days before the date of the examination.

Deaconess Funso Ayorinde, a teacher and parent said: “If JAMB claims that some candidates had answer scripts before the examination, why didn’t they cancel and reschedule the examination? Why are they in a hurry to conduct an examination characterized by fraud and subsequently delay innocent candidates whose results are withheld? By the way, where did the candidates get the scripts from, or are they also from the parents?”

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

50 Education

Nigeria Arabic Language Village not properly managed, White Paper reveals

By Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi ANY of the country’s uniM versities offering Arabic Language and Literature have not been sending their undergraduates to the Nigeria Arabic Language Village (NALV), Ngala, Bornu State for the mandatory one-year language immersion course, in spite of repeated directives by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Only the Universities of Maiduguri and Jos have been sending their students to the village since 1997 and 1999 respectively; while the University of Ilorin sent students from 2000 to 2003 only; Lagos State University (2001 only); Kogi State University (2003 only) and the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina (2010) only.

A Federal Government’s White Paper, derived from the recommendations made by a Visitation Panel constituted by the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) in 2011 to examine the Village, came to the conclusion that this anomaly had adversely affected the academic growth of the village. Prior to the Village’s establishment, all Nigerian students offering Arabic Language as a major course in universities “were compulsorily required to go for the oneyear-abroad proficiency course in their 300 level, in Egypt, Sudan and other countries.”

The revered Prof. Aliu Babatunde Fafunwa established the Village among others in 1992, during his tenure as Education Minister under the military regime of Gen Ibrahim Babangida (rtd). The panel is the first ever to examine the institution, since its creation.

Its emergence, the panel acknowledged, finally put a stop to the practice of sending Nigerian students to other countries, with its attendant waste of hard currencies.

Yet, the National Assembly has not even passed the supposed law establishing the Village. The panel was told that the Bill intended for that purpose has only gone through the first reading. It however agonized: “Yet, the institution has been in existence since 1992 as an InterUniversity Centre for Arabic Studies.”

Besides the lack of an enabling law, the panel was also of the view that one of the reasons why universities have been reluctant to send their students to the village “is the low quality of the of recruited academic staff.” It also found that public awareness of the village was low and that sufficient attention had not been given to the village “in terms of application of concerted efforts to galvanize the resources available for productive results.”

There were other unpleasant discoveries. The panel, which covered the period between 2004 and 2010, affirmed that the principal officers of the village – Registrar, Bursar and Librarian “do appear, in general terms, to be less qualified for the position they occupy, which might be due to the

Prof. Rufai

remote location of the village and its specialized nature.”

The Registrar was, in fact, discovered to be an engineer.

When the financial books were scrutinized, an audit account that revealed that a certain sum of N2, 602, 692.00, supposedly deposited in a London Account was found, but all efforts to confirm its authenticity proved abortive. And since its establishment, there was no evidence that any audited account and management reports were submitted to the relevant government organs.

The report stated: “The 2.5 per cent NHIS deductions which had been deducted at source was not reflected on the payroll, resulting in over-payment of salaries to staff. The rent deductions of staff occupying the government quarters were left in the salary account, which ought to be transferred to the Revenue Account of the Village.

“Multiple sub-heads were paid on one payment voucher, contrary to extant regulation which stipulates that separate vouchers shall be raised for separate sub-heads and separate vouchers shall be raised for the payment of different services. There was no invitation letter or memo as evidence for authority to travel outside the Village, of which DTAs (Daily Travel Allowances) were paid.

“Invoices and receipts were not attached to out-of-pocket expenses. Since inception, the Village has no Internal Audit Unit and as such, there was no Internal Auditor. The External Auditors reported on this in their last five years management report to the Village, but no efforts had been made to address the issue. There was no Fixed Asset Register since the inception of the Village. In the absence of a Fixed Assets Register, it would be difficult to accurately account for fixed assets. The Accounting Guideline and Internal Control procedures are not being strictly followed. The Village does not prepare management accounts, instead, External Auditors are engaged to handle both the accounts preparation and the audit.”

According to the White Paper, the Village received a total of N1.617 billion between

2004 and 2009. In addition, it got research grants worth N4, 088,456; pension and gratuity – N266,945 and N90, 564, 223 from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

The actual expenditure, in respect of capital projects within the same period amounted to N437, 991,512, while personnel cost was N848, 182, 605 as against N850, 523, 201 that was released.

On the adequacy of staff, it was observed that the village had a total of 192 staff, comprising 21 academic and 171 non-academic staff as at December 2010. Nine of the academic staff members were on study leave. The Panel was of the view that, “the number of academic staff is grossly inadequate.” Not only that, it also observed that the number of lecturers for the Summer Courses was equally inadequate. It submitted: “in the 2009/2012 academic session, the village had a total of 2, 364 students with only three lecturers to handle 10 different courses for the period. Out of the three lecturers, the most senior is Lecturer 1 while the remaining two are Lecturer II.” On the application of funds, the panel found that several contracts awarded at huge costs were either abandoned of badly executed. For instance, the contractor commissioned to supply two submersible pumps with solar energy facilities at the cost of N6, 581,000, and was paid N3, 290,500, could only supply one of the pumps before the contract was terminated.

Another firm, that was awarded a contract for the supply and installation of solar facilities to the central library at the cost of N8, 293,254 in 2007, and was paid N4, 146,627, had not supplied the items at the time of the visitation. The supply of batteries for the solar facilities could not even be verified in the store records.

Besides, a contract for the installation of solar street light was awarded to a firm (name withheld) for the sum of N3, 588,000 of which N3, 408,600 was paid in 2007, but according to the report, “there was no evidence that the solar street light is working.”

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

Education

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‘How 15,000 Indian public schools deliver quality education through digital technology’

By Mary Ogar IGERIA may share many N things in common with India in terms of a large population and a teeming number of youths. But while Nigeria is still battling with the challenges of quality, education technology experts are calling on the governments at all levels and other stakeholders to harness the power of education technology to improve teaching and learning and build skills among the young generation.

While the federal government and many states are currently investing huge sums of money in acquiring desk top computers and laptops for the school system, an Indian Education Technology expert, Mr. Shantanu Prakash, has advocated the need to pay serious attention to “content” and initiate policies that would exploit technology to build skills among the army of young people.

Prakash, the Managing Director of Educomp who spoke to journalists during his recent visit to the country, said: “It is a matter of fact that the balance of power in the world is shifting from the western economy and now everybody is talking about the two important continents for the future; which is Africa and Asia. And the most precious resource they have is their people. So, we must educate our young generation with the proper tools, so that we can have a better hope and better opportunities for our young people.”

According to him, any policy or plan geared towards advancing human capital development should be taken to the classrooms.

“Nigeria is a country with many young people,” he observed. “The challenges that are facing countries like Nigeria and India are similar.

So the question is, what

should we do about our human capital in the 21st century? I believe that human capital is more important than financial capital because we are rapidly entering into a knowledge economy, where intellectual property is more important than physical property.”

According to Prakash, with 40-50 per cent of India’s population falling between the ages of 18 and 28, similar countries that have a young population also have opportunities just as they face a danger.

“The opportunity is that if you train these young people and give them the right education, they can become globally productive citizens,” he affirmed. “But the danger is, if you do not provide them with the right education, they can become a demographic disaster.”

Comparing the education system between Nigeria and India, he said, “India has many things that don’t work.

But if there is any thing in India that works, it is the India education system. And for many years, India has been providing very fine professionals for the rest of the world. In fact, it has also become a global hub for knowledge process out sourcing.”

He also revealed that India, just like Nigeria, does not pay their teachers very well. He said: “For some reasons across the world, teachers’ salaries are not very high.

In fact, it is increasingly becoming difficult to attract the best talents to become teachers. If you go to a class in India and ask how many of them want to become teachers, you would find only few.

Majority of them wants to become football players or go into politics and others.

When a country cannot attract the best quality of teachers, the delivery of education is also not so good”.

While Nigeria can take a

cue from India in the effective utilization of digital content rather than focus on just supplying schools with computers and laptops, he stated that India has deployed a robust digital content to the classrooms, with 15,000 private schools and 12, 000 government schools currently using digital content in the delivery of education in the country.

He revealed that since the ICT’s emergence inside the classroom is one of the biggest initiatives of the 21st century, and with over 8 million students in private schools and a total of 27,000 schools using digital content everyday in India as part of the learning experience, the impact has had a huge effect on India’s education sector.

He said: “I was in the school at Eleme (Rivers State) and I was really pleasantly surprised to see how disciplined and bright the students were. I asked some of the Indian Mathematics and science teachers there how they find the students in Nigeria compared to the Indian students and they gave me a very frank answer that many of the students are behind and to bridge that gap we have to use some support.”

He added: “How does a typical classroom look like today in 2013? In most parts of the world, a typical classroom still looks the same, as it was 100 years back. There is furniture, blackboard and there is a teacher. We must now take note of the fact that the society has changed and that must reflect in the type of education we offer”.

Confirming the need for Nigeria to take an avid interest in its human development, Prakash who was also at the World Economic Conference held in Caper Town, South Africa, disclosed that more than 50 per cent of the debate was about young people, human capital and

BCIE to offer admission slots, scholarships at Edufair

By Mary Ogar IGERIAN students now N have a unique opportunity to secure early admission for the September 2013 and January 2014 diet in top universities in the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, United States and Australia, as the British Canadian International Education (BCIE) Limited gets set to host the its Edufair.

This year’s fair, scheduled for Eko Hotel on June 4, Sheraton Hotel, Lagos June 5, and Abuja Sheraton June 7 and 8, would feature the University of Wales, Bangor, Anglia Ruskin University, University of Hull, University of Worcester, University of Derby, Bournemouth University, Loughborough University and University of Bolton.

Others participating institutions include: University of Brighton, Cardiff

Metropolitan University, Coventry University, Glasgow, Caledonian University, University of Kent, Leeds Metropolitan University, London South Bank University, University of Sunderland, University of Ulster, University of the West of Scotland, York St John University, Griffith University and Deakin University Australia.

Briefing journalists in Lagos on some of the scholarship and other opportunities available in the institutions, BCIE’s Regional Manager, Ms. Funmi Ogunleye said applications would be processed free except for those applying into non UK institutions such as Australia, Canada and Dubai.

According to her, prospective students would have the opportunity to meet with representatives of some top universi-

ties in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and Australia, one on one, apply for the September 2013 and January 2014 entries, obtain on-the-spot admission slots, get scholarship advice, a chance to win scholarship based on academic qualifications and also get to meet the British Council and the British High Commission officials.

Advice on how secure student visa would also be offered. The BCIE’s network represents over 60 universities in its network.

Ogunleye, who advised parents to consider their children’s preferences in the choice of courses, also said: “Each university has its strong points, but many people make the mistake of just selecting universities because of their general ranking. We look at students’ preferences, especially in terms of what they can afford.”

Mr Shantanu Prakash (left) and Mr. Shantaram Hegdekatte during the briefing. skills.

He advised that the right place to start developing and building the required skills should be inside the schools.

He said: “Presently Educomp is partnering with the government of Rivers state. In the state model school, every student in that school has a laptop computer; every classroom is enabled with the latest Smart classroom. For instance, when a teacher is teaching photosynthesis, a common topic in science, the old system is to use the blackboard and orally

explain what photosynthesis is. It is very difficult to explain the wonder of nature. But when you use the digital content and animation and the students get to see how the entire process of photosynthesis is happening, they get very fascinated and immediately learning begins to happen in the brain. That is the beauty of harnessing the power of education technology.”

As a fairly large, globally diversified education company operating in several countries, he explained that

Educomp has in the past 18 years worked tirelessly in finding the best and most technologically advanced methods of making students more efficient, more productive and improving the curriculum interaction so as to develop the human capital base.

“We currently work with 33,000 schools and serve 21.7 million learners and educators across the world. Our vision is to solve critical education problems by applying innovative solutions focusContinued on Page 53

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‘How 15,000 Indian public schools deliver quality education through digital technology’ Continued from Page 51 ing on quality of education and access to education. We are well known across the world for a very large number of innovation such as the Smartclass, which brings the power of digital content right inside the classroom,” he said, adding, “our leaders need to have a long term vision. That is the most important aspect. The moment they can begin to see ten years into the future, they would start making the right investment today. We also expect that our leaders would make long term choices that are good for our country and good for our world.”

Currently working with the Rivers state government by deploying the technology in some of their models, he said: “We have invented a very affordable system called Edumate which is a projector, and inside the projector, there is a built-in computer with all the educational content that is required. This system is very inexpensive and it works. The teacher goes in the classroom, puts the system on and they can show and teach the content in any classroom. It is a very successful product. The digital content is currently being used in Singapore, India, United States of America, China, Saudi Arabia and many other parts of the world.”

On fears that technology could take away the traditional role of the teachers in the classroom, Prakash said: “ My belief is that the teacher is the most important asset in the classroom. The magic is not because of the technology, but the magic remains the teacher. Our job is only to support the teacher. Our product emphasized the benefit of the digital classroom and the board. The blackboard, the chalk and the digital are put together. Whenever a new technology comes into our life, it has not replaced the earlier technology it has supplemented. When radio came, it did not replace the newspaper, the television did not replace the radio and the Internet did not replace all the three. In our life everything co-exists and that is the beauty of human life.

“These technologies are a teacher’s aid. They are not to replace the teacher but they can only help the teacher to become more productive. The teacher is at the heart of the education system. But most importantly for us is the fact that the teachers would have to be trained. From our experience, the teachers are very interested to be trained. We have just completed training for 50 teachers in Eleme and the teachers were even willing to come for the training during the holidays because they are also extremely interested in upgrading the old scheme.

Education 53

How to make FUNNAB world class, by VC HE Vice-Chancellor of the T Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNNAB) Professor Olusola Oyewole, has given account of his stewardship since assumption of office, about 12 months ago.

Reiterating his commitment towards making FUNAAB a world class University in a short presentation titled, Moving FUNAAB forward to become a Worldclass University, the ViceChancellor, who spoke at

Academy for skills acquisition debuts Adeniyi Adunola PPARENTLY to bridge the A unemployment gap among youths in the country , an Indian based training and development multinational organization, Centum Learning in partnership with the International Data Management Services (IDM) has launched Centum International Academy.

Speaking at the launch in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director, Centum Learning Sanjeev Duggal said: “The launch of Centum International Academy reiterates our vision to groom youth to develop vocational skills beyond India. By partnering with IDM, we will enable youth to acquire employable skills and thus generate income through regular employment or selfemployment in Nigeria.”

In the same vein, Chief Operating Officer(COO) – Professional Education & Training, Centum Learning, Kamini Prasad ,said,

“Centum International Academy is running successfully in Banglesh, so taking cognizance of the Nigeria market, we decided to tie up with a partner of international repute to offer quality education to students in the vocational education space.”

the institution’s first Congregation Meeting, since the beginning of his administration, said that he had been guided by the vision to promote the advancement of FUNAAB towards a World Class Citadel of learning, provide visionary leadership, empower the workforce, promote quality and excellence in the University’s focus areas and ensure that the University makes an impact on the society.

He noted that through the collective contributions by the University Community, the current administration had provid-

ed focused, transparent, disciplined leadership which had aided the entrenchment of a stable university calendar.

Emphasising the importance of staff capacity building in achieving the vision and mission of the University, he disclosed that over 71 members of staff had attended conferences and workshops all over the globe in the academic and non-teaching staff cadres.

He added that capacity building was not limited to staff alone, and that the current student leaders had also undergone a special leadership programme.

Cross section of Meadow Hall Graduate Teacher Trainees at the school’s training school, Lekki, Lagos

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‘Jonathan’s reforms behind capital market resurgence’ is only a place to invest them.

And so that’s why you’ve seen over the last three years, foreign investors have basically been driving the investment in Nigeria. In the equities market on a daily basis, it was up to 70 percent in favour of foreign What specific steps did investors. So, creating an enviPresident Jonathan take? ronment where investors do The approach that the feel that their moneys safe, President himself has taken is supporting the SEC in ensurvery critical. Under the auspices of the Economic Management Team, which brings together Ministers from Health, Education, to Finance, Agriculture, Power, and Works, key regulators like the central bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bureau for Public Enterprise, the Tax Office, with business moguls who are either in the banking sector, in industry. For example, you have the president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria meeting the president once a month or once every two months. And everybody comes to the table to discuss policy issues so that when those decisions are being made that those who basically are operating within that environment are there and can contribute to crafting of policy decisions that are supportive of the business environment. That is particularly significant. I have been in those conversations myself and I have seen the very useful contributions that the business people have made in making sure that these policies are responsive to an environment that is supportive of business. That is one thing that very significant.

The other significant development is that the macro-economic environment has been very supportive of foreign investors investing in this market. That has been particularly important in the capital market. As you know, mostly up until recently, the foreign investors, foreign investors rightly driving investing, whether in equities or in bonds, and that’s very much in response to what I said about macro-economic stability: if your exchange rate is relatively stable, people will come in because they are not worried about a depreciation of your currency. And when you look at the level of returns that you are making in Nigeria relative to the returns they can make in other parts of the world, they can see that the returns here are very compelling and therefore,

Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Director-General, Arunma Oteh speaks on sundry issues in the sector, in an interview with Business Editor, ADE OGIDAN Confidence seems to be returning to the Nigerian stock market. What is responsible for this?

THINK that the way to look at this is that since the advent of the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan there is a clear understanding of the linkage between what happens in the stock market and what happens in the economy as a whole. There is a clear understanding that the stock market is the barometer of the Nigerian economy. Prior to his administration, I would say there was more focus on speculative activities and the stock market seemed to be acting in isolation of the economy as a whole. When, you will recall, in January 2010 I joined the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), the market cap was at N4.9 trillion; at the bottom in February 2009 I think it was at N3.99 trillion. Today we are at over 10.34 trillion naira.

The market in the last year has gone up by 60 percent. Since that time it has even gone up by much more.

But I think that what is more important to note is that these changes have been broadbased. It’s not the banking sector; it’s also the conglomerates, especially the fast-moving consumer goods, which reflect the changes in the Nigerian economy that people are warming to enjoy the phenomenon that Nigeria is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It has a rising middle class, people with rising incomes. And how do you tap into these opportunities? You tap into the opportunities through investing in the capital market first, and then the next stage is foreign direct investment.

So, what the Jonathan administration has basically created is an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, and what investors have seen, whether it is the corporate debt market, public equity market, private equity market, foreign direct investment, is an opportunity to participate in the benefits of creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

The first bit of that is to create macro-economic stability, which is why reforms in the financial sector have been very, very important, whether it be in terms of monetary policy, whether it be in terms of fiscal consolidation, creating an environment where growth can thrive. We’ve had a relatively stable exchange rate; we’ve had inflation under control; we’ve had a business environment that creates a fair marketplace that allows businesses to thrive. You’ve seen the work that is being on the Power Sector Reforms and how we are riding to the power that exists.

People are anticipating given what is unprecedented in terms of the privatisation of the generation (companies) and very successful handover that happened to private sector, that this will really become significant to Nigeria given that especially for small and medium enterprises, 40 percent of their additional costs comes from expenses in respect of power.

I

ing that our markets are of the highest integrity is also something that the president must be given credit for.

Another aspect in terms of support, particularly for this great success that we’ve seen in the capital market is also that as you know the government provided forbearance for stockbrokers. There’s also support in reducing the transac-

tion costs for investors. There were waivers that were being provided in terms of VAT and Stamp Duty. That has also been very useful in terms of further nurturing this great performance we’ve seen in our markets.

I think that it is important to notice that once the president approaches this sort of thing to look at how to ensure that we

have a fair market (you remember that in 2010 a waiver was given for bond transactions because in the past investing in sovereign bonds enjoyed a tax rebate which sub-nationals – government and corporate bonds did not enjoy. In March of 2010, the president approved that the waiver be extended to corporate bonds

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SEC assures sustainable market growth CONTINUED FROM PAGE 59 and sub-national bonds, so creating a level playing field but also allowing the bond market to flourish. Of course you have our pension sector which from a domestic institutional investor base is particularly key. And with these developments, the pension sector has had the opportunity to be able to have a diversity of instruments to invest in. Today we have more than $20 of pension money than can be invested.

What’s your take on the role of Sovereign Wealth Fund in building confidence in the system?

What is partly related to creating macro-economic stability and also related to the government showing a good example is the successful establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is a way that countries that have natural resources ensure that they are able to save for future generations. So what it does is, it further it extends the role that the Excess Crude Account has played in ensuring that when there are changes in our primary sources of income, revenues, oil prices, that our expenditure does not go up and down and that we are able to save for the rainy day. In fact this I think is very, very important in terms of how we were able to respond to the financial crisis.

So it helped protect us from the financial crisis because we had an Excess Crude Account. But what the Jonathan administration has done is to extend it and do what others have done, which is to establish the Sovereign Wealth Fund. And what is unique about Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is not the same with some other sovereign wealth funds is that it will invest in Nigeria just as much as it will invest outside of Nigeria. In a lot of other countries, the sovereign wealth fund invests outside of that country, but one other thing that was decided for Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund is that it will invest in infrastructure, it will have to fund future generations and it will also have liquidity. In establishing a sovereign wealth fund, in encouraging the continuing accumulation of pension assets, shows that the government is an example in terms of providing resources that can impact future generations.

This is very, very important.

Although confidence is returning to the market, this seems to be more in the secondary market. It does not appear that companies are convinced yet to come to the market to raise funds, as we still have a dearth of new listings.

The second aspect of being an example is the privatization agenda. What we expect is that these companies that are bidding for the power assets – the generation and distribution assets - that at some point these companies will be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange because we do believe that this is very critical to democratizing the wealth creation and the distribution of wealth in the country. The president himself in 2010 had asked the Nigerian Economic Management Team before he started chairing it himself to look at ways oil and gas companies and telecom companies can be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. And of course one thing to do first is to be the example and with privatization, that can certainly

be an excellent example.

Still on the return of confidence to the stock market.

Certainly, SEC has been an active agent in driving this.

How have you been able to do some of the things you’ve done?

The confidence is the trust.

Clearly, prior to 2010, that trust was broken, particularly with domestic investors because of a number of misrepresentations that were made. So with that kind of environment it has taken a lot to rebuild the trust.

And what has rebuilt that trust is first of all that the SEC as an apex regulator has said it has no tolerance for anything that is for wrong doing in our market and it hasn’t just said that, it has taken action to show that it has no tolerance for that. And over the last three years domestic investors, foreign investors have seen that it is working; it’s stuck in that respect, that it has no tolerance for anything that is inappropriate.

The other thing is also to provide an avenue for investors, particularly retail investors, to more efficiently have their complaints dealt with, to provide mechanisms that allow investors feel that the kind of risks they were exposed, that those risks no longer exist. And so some of the work SEC has been in encouraging retail investors to use mutual funds, unit trust rather than invest directly is also something that is very important (to us). In this respect, instead of investing all of their moneys in a particular stock, what they can do is to have access to a variety of stocks, maybe even have access to stocks and bonds which allows them to spread their risks, diversify their investments and thereby immunize them against any temporary changes in the market. That has been very important in terms of guiding retail investors as to the kinds of instruments they should be focused on, assuring them through protecting them and if they have any complaints that those complaints would be resolved and ensuring that regulation is much more effective.

The other aspect which is very important is ensuring that our capital market operates on the basis of world class. We at the SEC in 2010 said that the competition for capital is global, and so if we want to have a market that meets the needs of our country, it’s very, very important that we operate on worldclass standards and those world-class standards are first of all, as I mentioned, founded on a market that has integrity.

But it’s also a market that has a good disclosure regime where information is easily available to all investors at the right time and so some of what we did in terms of revising the corporate governance code and issuing a new corporate code in 2011 and requiring companies that are listed to indicate the extent of their compliance with the code.

Some of what was approved by the Federal Executive Council with respect to adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards was also very important in terms of raising the standard in our market, ensuring that the for promoting many products, because a world-class market should have various products.

What really has changed at SEC under your leadership?

When I joined the SEC in 2010 there was predominantly a focus on equities and there was

predominantly a focus on retail.

In the last three years, we’ve had a significant focus on the bond market, with great support as I mentioned earlier from the president, in the waivers that we received. We have a thriving fixed income today. We now have Exchange Traded Funds, which basically allow people basically to invest in a collective manner but trading on the exchange. The exchange is looking to introduce futures and options going forward. So this is very significant in terms of raising bar in our market, We also now have market making which has enhanced liquidity in our market because that is also one of the important characteristics of a world-class market.

The other thing which I think is very, very significant which I haven’t mentioned is that in addition to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the SEC approved two new platforms: the National Association of Securities Dealers , which will be launched in July , the Financial Market Dealers platform, which is also in the process of starting operations. What these two platforms will do is two significant things: the Financial Dealers has been an over the counter market for trading in bonds, primarily driven by the banks. What it does bring is transparency to this platform, so we are very pleased to have

been able to register such a platform. The second thing, looking at the National Association of Securities Dealers platform is very fascinating. There is an opportunity for us to have even unlisted securities traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers platform, which is just another way of encouraging companies to ultimately list, to bring transparency to what goes on. So companies like Wamco, that are not listed, where the stocks are basically exchanged one party to the other, if you have a platform like the National Association of Securities Dealers, this kind of stuff can trade very easily. It will really bring transparency in investing in public companies, whether they are listed on the stock exchange or whether they are unlisted. The listing agenda is on track. We expect over the coming months a number of companies to come to the market. The way it works is that valuations need to be attractive for companies to want to sell a piece of themselves. Clearly that happened with our market being one of the top three best markets in Africa, and one of the top ten in the world.

Secondly they need to prepare themselves for listing so that they can meet the listing standard and some of the things

Oteh they need to meet are what I said about the International Financial Reporting Standards. So, if they were not reporting on that basis, they need to prepare their accounts so that they can report on that basis. And that process takes some time.

Some of what the exchange has done, which is quite useful is to, particularly for the smalland medium-scale enterprises, revamp the Alternative Securities Market. We have recently approved new rules for private equity. We believe that the president’s agenda of job creation will only happen if small- and medium –scale enterprises are supported and

those small-and medium-scale enterprises would be supported if we had an ecosystem where we have venture capital, where we have private equity, where when companies want to list on the exchange that they are supported in the listing process, and after they are listed they are supported, post listing.

So, we’ve revamped the rules for private equity. The exchange has revamped the Alternative Securities Market.

The Alternative Securities Market has nominated advisers that can handle companies to list and be with those companies while they are listed on the stock market.

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For The Record Communicating an implosion: Signs and wander, popular culture and the crumbling of Empire (3) Continuation of the text of the maiden inaugural lecture delivered by Prof.

Nosa Owens-Ibie, Ph.D, professor of Communication, Media and Development, at Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, on April 9, 2013. (The second part was published on Thursday, May 9, 2013.

ESPITE such reactions Ezeobi (2013) has reD ported the existence of a gay club in Lagos.

Cynthia Osokogu, a student of Nasarawa State University was lured to her death by male friends she made through Facebook (Abdulsalami, 2012; Alao, 2012). Fagorusi (2013: 13) analyzed the impact of the social media platform 2go with 12.5 million subscribers in Nigeria compared to Facebook (6.63 million) and Blackberry (about 2.5 million). The network was founded by two computer science students of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, has more male than female users mainly in the 15-24 years bracket, is quite popular with pupils of secondary schools and many young people who are out of school, can run on different types of phones, allows anonymity and its “flirt and relationship rooms” are heavily patronised. He told the story of his friend’s 23-year old sister, who was then four months pregnant through a relationship contracted through 2go though both of them were living in Kaduna and Oyo – a distance of 655 kilometres. They found a way of overcoming the physical distance after three months of communicating via 2go. Nigeria subscribers on the 2go platform represent 61% of its users.

Despite exciting developments and the recourse to the trappings of popular culture to fill an obvious void, a study has found that people have become unhappier since 2009. A University of Vermont team monitored over a three – year period 63 million Twitter users and found that “except for a rise between January and April 2009, happiness is in sharp decline online” (McMillan, 2011).As it is in the United States, so it is emerging in Nigeria.

A Centenary Circle Brown (2012: 4-6), while announcing the supervised interment of the print edition of Newsweek magazine and the introduction of its digital replacement, wrote definitively about an inevitability. She said that the decision of the 80-year old international newsweekly to go digital is one fact their competitors “will one day need to embrace with the same fervor”.

The development process in Nigeria echoes such inevitabilities with variants of a subsisting dependency philosophy playing out. Berrigan (1979: 11) had noted that development is “for Man, by Man, and of Man”, but the operationalisation of its processes has increasingly tended to equate development with a modernization philosophy with indices rooted in global specifications and other externalities which in a context is accommodating and in another somewhat dismissive of the logics which define/d traditional societies. Tehranian (see Watson, 2003: 28) in fact avers that modernization as a process involves the “universal leveling of societies into relatively homogenous entities”.

Since societies “enculturise” individuals, cultivating them through socialization into “expected patterns of behaviours” (Watson, 2003: 12), the State of the Act points in the direction of an orientation for Nigerian development rooted in ironic disorientations. And that fits a pattern starting with the colony. Abdullahi’s (1991: 17-18) quote of the Dual Mandate of Lord Frederick Lugard published in 1922 illuminates this perspective again drawing attention to the Romans As Roman imperialism laid the foundations for modern civilization, and led the wild barbarians of those islands along the paths of progress, so in Africa today… we are repaying the debt, and bring-

Prof. Owens-Ibie

ing to the dark places of the earth, the abode of barbarianism and cruelty, the torch of culture and progress, while ministering to the material needs of our own civilization...Let it be admitted at the outset that…Europe is in Africa for the mutual benefit of her two industrial classes, and of the native races in their progress to a higher plane; that the benefit can be made reciprocal, and it is the aim and desire of civilized administration to fulfil this dual mandate.

Film played an instrumental role in the actualization of the Mandate. Mgbejume (1989: 2-3) provides insights into this phase in the evolution of film in Nigeria. The Colonial Film Unit was interested in films which “…always draw a large number of unsophisticated African folks who will laugh at the most inconsequential things (but generally two or three shots late); quantity rather than quality is the significant thing”. Many of these films tended to give a skewed picture of the Western reality “making it luxurious, non-moral if not immoral and almost certainly materialistic”. The use of guns to earn a living got its early expression in some of those films. While a Black writer, Richard Wright in 1948 worried about the impact of ideas conveyed through these films on African natives concerned about their potential to destroy their “communal, fragile, traditional, tribal and almost sacred institutions”, Colin Beale, Secretary, Edinburgh House for Visual Aids, made the following remarks during the 1948 Conference on Film in Colonial Government: I am convinced that for the African, with his primitive mind, his pitifully meagre mental outlook, his lack of general cultural background, his semi and often total illiteracy, his sense of wonder and his love of fun, the cinema could have an almost immeasurably great future. We believe that educational films, together with morally uplifting “entertainment” pictures both serious s and comic (the African has a delightfully unspoiled sense of

nonsense and a hearty laugh is a well-known relief to emotional strain), would do much to relieve the soul-destroying boredom which is doing so much to make the African of today an easy prey of materialistic agitators of every kind The outcome of motives and actions in the colony and post-colony explains the current scenario where globalization is on the march and there is an incremental but unfolding whittling of the boundaries of tradition despite levels of cultural resistance. Enforcement and other regulatory mechanisms appear constrained by demand and supply side economics and the result is evident in variations of the rules of engagement with constituencies, including the media. In 2004 for instance, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) stopped the live feed of some BBC programmes on Ray Power 100.5 FM, but by October 2011, the programmes returned. Today, Brila 88.9 FM, Cool 96.9 FM and Beat 99.9 FM, among others air programmes deriving from partnerships with international broadcasters. The love of the English Premier League has become the beginning of entertainment for electronic and print media in Nigeria and the Spanish and Italian leagues are gaining in popularity. American basketball, tennis, golf are regular offers. Channels Television’s programme - The American Example is only one in a string of programmes and features by electronic and print media spotlighting the attractions of that country.

These however may just be the icing on a cake filled with negatives patterned along conventional definition of news as exaltation of the shocking, negative and whatever represents a deviation from order. In the process, the vulnerabilities of the more developed world, especially America gets daily amplified and relayed.

This is not just about a fiscal cliff but about an empire on the cliff. Many who are enamoured by the attractions of America therefore worry because the trends are replaying gradually and systematically in a satellite like Nigeria.

The Bible in Galatians 5: 9 (King James Version)

states that “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”. On the one hand therefore is a country that rose from the contradictions of colonialism, slavery, racial discrimination, and economic vicissitudes, translating its disadvantages to become the pre-eminent global force shaping the destinies of nations; a nation where the dream of a Martin Luther King Jnr has translated to an AfricanAmerican occupying the White House in one sign that left many gasping in disbelief and wonder and who has now despite the challenges won a second term in office. Here is a country that is inventing, refining and deploying the products of science and technology to consolidate its dominance of a global space (and outer space) in the midst of a spirited positioning by a country like China which is clear enough about its willingness to supplant the American Dream.

Here is a country that has worked systematically and assiduously to stamp its imprint economically, politically and technologically in all corners of the world in a carefully cultivated script and through national and global institutions and organizations which have become a part of the reality from the North Pole to the South Pole. Here is a country that has evolved a cultural package and unrelentingly marketed it so well that like Owens-Ibie (1990) concludes, America is now “our America.” Here is a country that has defined benchmarks in the professions providing reference points for global and national standards. Here is the country of the Pulitzers in journalism, the Grammys in music, the Oscars in the motion picture industries yearly packaged to hold the rest of the world captive, yearning for the next outing. Here is the country that has sold itself as a destination of hope no matter where you come from, showcasing sports stars, scientists, journalists, academics and professionals, entrepreneurs who left their countries and achieved their dreams in the land of opportunity.

But here too is an America which appears in what amounts to an ironic wander from history and eternal realities not to be learning the lessons from the Romans who lost a dream after 1200 years on the global stage.

As Owens (2013) and other watchers of the current phase of the American Dream are noting, the unmaking of America is evident from the “little leaven” even while the big picture is one huge roller coaster rolling effortlessly like the World War 11German Panzer over tricky terrains. That little leaven targets the underbelly of that country steadily weakening the very foundations of its rise despite its preference for the enlargement of the coast of freedom, liberty and the liberation of the human spirit from the constrictions that limit its manifestation.

That little leaven while acknowledging the iconic moments of an Abraham Lincoln presidency and some other exceptional leadership in its history appear to discountenance what Lincoln symbolised as a man who stood for freedom and authored easily the most famous quote on democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people” but knew like Hebrews 11: 3 states that “things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”. Lincoln used “Under God” in three major addresses (White, 2008: 58) acknowledging in the process that there is a God which created and controls the affairs of men. Such a stand is now grand foolishness to many in that country and elsewhere. As 1 Corinthians 2: 14 states it is a case of the natural man not ever imagining or being in a position to understand the workings of such spiritual principles.

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Opinion Contemporary problems of democracy

By Edwin Madunagu O powerful and attractive, and yet so elastic and Sused,abused is the concept of democracy that it can be and has been used or invoked, as an organizing principle for any critique or defence or articulation of any sociopolitical movement, political party or social order. Every intellectual production on democracy proceeds from, or assumes, the general definition of democracy – “government of the people, by the people and for the people” – proposed by Abraham Lincoln about 150 years ago. “Democratic”, the adjective formed from democracy, has been used to qualify all sorts of social monstrosities just as it has been used to mark off genuine qualitative differentiations.

Concerning this “magic” concept, two particular events in modern history stick to my mind. As Lincoln was defining democracy in America – a new nation that was built on slavery – those inspired by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in Europe were establishing communist groups, cells and, later, parties of the working people based on concepts of democracy which they argued were superior – in terms of human freedom and liberation – to all previously existing concepts. Later, there emerged in Germany, in the fourth quarter of the 19th century, a party called the German Social Democratic Labour Party. Less than half a century later, in the same country, there emerged, Adolf Hitler’s National Social Democratic Labour Party, which was committed to physically liquidating the Communists and the Jews whom they regarded as the same thing or two faces of the same thing.

This article is however not about the historical trajectory or trajectories of democracy – theory and practice. The above ironies of history just sprang up before me as I began the present appreciation.

There are three particular simple lessons I learnt and re-learnt in the business of reviewing or appreciating political texts. One is that no political text is ideologically “neutral”. Another, the second, is that no serious political critic or reviewer is, or can be, ideologically “neutral”. The third lesson is that what a critic or reviewer – having made his or her ideological choice, implicitly or explicitly – may call the “other side” in an ideological spectrum is

usually not monolithic. A critic or reviewer should therefore be careful about blanket categorization.

The first and third lessons are illustrated in a new book, Democracy in Nigeria: Thoughts and Commentaries authored by Dr. Anthony Akinola, a Nigerian compatriot living in Oxford, United Kingdom. I am an illustration of the second lesson. The question on this second lesson is not how well you can pretend, as a reviewer or a critic, to be ideologically “neutral”, but whether you will allow yourself to be so blinded by ideological prejudice as not to see flashes of beauty and deep thought when they appear on the “other side”. I shall come to these three illustrations in the course of this appreciation of Akinola’s important book.

Democracy in Nigeria is a collection of 55 essays written by Akinola over a period of 12 years (2000 – 2012), most of them in the last few years. Almost all the essays were published in Nigerian newspapers, the vast majority in The Guardian. The 219 – page book is divided into 10 parts: Part 1: Ethnic rivalry over leadership (7 essays); Part 2: Obasanjo and the third term stigma (4 essays); Part 3: Yar’Adua and exaggerated reforms (4 essays); Part 4: Jonathan and the zoning controversy (7 essays); Part 5: Elections, parties and qualifications (9 essays); Part 6: The monster of corruption (6 essays); Part 7: The fallacy of welfarism (2 essays); Part 8: Religion and religiousity (4 essays): Part 9: Federalism and the Constitution (3 essays); and Part 10: Between optimism and pessimism (9 essays).

The author’s well crafted and carefully balanced 6 – page Introduction, together with his preface, ought to be taken as a separate essay, the 56th. It embodies the political trajectory of Nigeria from independence, passing through the (1966 – 1970) turbulence – hence, I believe, the care and the balance employed by the author. Beyond this literary style (carefulness and balance), however, the Introduction signals the author as a convinced liberal democrat. The well-known researcher and writer on Nigerian politics, A.H.M. Kirk-Greene, who appears to have followed the intellectual career of the author, especially his public commentaries, for quite some time, wrote the Foreword to the book. He scores both the author and his new book very high. Kirk-Greene appears honest in this

judgment.

Democracy in Nigeria is “reader-friendly” and “student-friendly”. By this I mean that Akinola’s new book will attract and encourage a literate person who otherwise suffers “book-weariness” or “booklaziness”; and will be a delight to students of Nigerian politics. In the first place, the book is a collection of essays, not a single historical narrative and analysis; secondly, the titles of the parts, as well those of individual essays, show that the issues treated are not only current but also important and urgent – with some of them, such as Ethnicity as a permanent phenomenon (the 6th essay of Part 1), promising to be controversial. The two essays on Welfarism that make up Part 7 (The fallacy of welfarism): Welfarism in a shrinking economy and The Pandora box of Welfarism, are bound, at first, to shock, and then invite, readers who had confirmed Akinola as a thoughtful liberal democrat.

In the third place, each part is preceded by what the author calls Synopsis, set in italix, which provides the historical background and context to that particular group of essays. Some of the “synopses” are long and substantive enough to be opinion write-ups by themselves. Finally, Akinola’s language is beautiful, accessible and lucid. But speaking for students, in particular, I would have loved to see Index at the end of the book. This may be considered for the second edition. And in doing this the author may also consider moving the date of publication of each essay from the end to the beginning of the essay. This is to help locate the time of the author’s intervension as the reader begins to read. Also to be considered in a new edition is the need to correct some minor typographical errors like those on pages 34, 36 and 114 and other errors like taking CPC as Congress for Political Change instead of Congress for Progressive Change.

One of the strengths of this book is the sheer boldness – intellectual as well as moral and political boldness – of the writer in taking and arguing positions that are not “popular”, that are “against the current”, so to say. One of such opinions is on the long-standing demand and campaign for the setting up a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). His opinion here comes in the last of the seven essays that make up Part 1: Ethnic rivalry over leadership.

I think I should quickly dispense with this point.

Akinola had argued strongly for the rotational presidency and the recognition of “ethnicity as a permanent phenomenon”. In the end he declared: “The major feuds in the Nigerian polity since independence in 1960 have been mainly over leadership. Be it the Civil War of 1967 – 1970 or the Gideon Orkar-led attempted coup of April 1990, or the crisis we now simply refer to as June 12, it has been demonstrated in the course of our existence as an independent nation that the leadership question is indeed the national question” (emphasis mine) (page 30).

It is in this context of the author’s almost categorical belief – held over the past three decades – that he declares: “honestly, agitation for another constitutional conference – be it of ethnic nationalities or that of the intelligentsia – no longer excites” (page 46). He continues: “We have had too many conferences in the short history of our nation and maybe it is time we accepted that improving in what we already had is the way forward” (pages 46 – 47). Of course, on both counts – leadership question being the national question and constitutional conference being no long “exciting” – I strongly disagree with Akinola. But I admire his boldness: he is taking the positions in spite of his knowing that they are “unpopular”, in spite of his being known as a liberal democrat and a progressive over a fairly long time. I do not agree with him but his position and his argument enrich my own contrary position. That is one of the strengths of the book.

For a second instance of boldness and “swimming against the current”, some historical background is necessary. The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo had, in 2005, set up a National Political Reform Conference to kick off, I believe, a new process of constitution-making. When deliberations got to the issue of derivation principle in the Revenue Allocation debate, delegates from the South-south geopolitical zone insisted “on being paid 25 per cent of revenue from oil, a percentage they would like to graduate to 50 per cent over a five-year period”. (page 50). Akinola fully endorses this position.

• To be continued next Thursday.

Gamaliel Onosode: To wear honour like a garment (2)

By Femi Osofisan Continued from yesterday HIS explains a number of things. Certainly it explains his present reclusive nature. And now, expanding on that, he makes a shocking revelation, that he was born with a natural disability: “I was the only child of my parents who had a stammer… I think that is part of the reason why I… I was very quiet, you see … because I was a stammerer. I would only open my mouth if I had to…”

A stammerer?! I look at him incredulously. This man who is generally regarded as an orator, from whose lips words pour out at all moments with mellifluous ease, and whose polished elocution would be a boon to any media house any day?

He must have noticed my astonishment. He smiles. The stammer, he explains, had disappeared miraculously when he was made a school prefect in the secondary school. “… I said to God, how am I going to discharge this responsibility of making announcements? And you know with stammering, there usually is an emotional kind of thing that fuels it, such that the more excited you are, the greater your chances of stuttering. But God just said, My boy, don’t worry, I will be with you. And without subjecting myself to any therapy, any therapy at all, the thing just vanished!

Yes, God just did it!”

So now we understand his unbending faith in Christianity and the Baptist Church.

But however, apart from this speech defect, there was also the fact that he began to carry family responsibilities right from youth: “I seem to have developed without having a period of adolescence…

I took over from my father long before he died. And the result is that I didn’t really have fun like others.”

This ascetic solitariness became a habit. Even in school, he did not take part in sports: “I didn’t like sports… That’s one thing I have against Government College. Sports appeared to have been so emphasized, that I detested it… it was like, this was some oppression that I had to endure.”

Nor did he have girl friends or womanize, like most Nigerian men: “The bottom line is that I was… even before I came to Ibadan… that I took every opportunity that was available to build up my faith and my character. I did not think sexual activity was some kind of fun like drinking tea every Sunday afternoon. No!” So what does he then do, you wonder, in his leisure hours? There are the church activities of course, which he never misses. But are

T

those all? Does he never relax?

“In fact, that’s my problem,” he admits. “You may find out that perhaps I’m one of the most boring human beings you can come across… I am a private a person as I am. I am not a society person, and I don’t join societies and clubs. I don’t go anywhere to dance to eat or drink... So, it’s a dreary kind of life. But I’m happy.”

My assistant and I exchange looks. How much of what he is saying is true, and how much is he deliberately pulling our leg? “You see,” he continues, “there are some people who say I’m an unsmiling person… I don’t really…I don’t play games… It is surprising that I even know how to laugh…”

And of course at that we all burst out laughing, the three of us.

It is interesting how the exterior so often masks the identity of the inner man. For if there is anything Onosode does not know how to do, it is certainly NOT how to laugh! At least not in our company since I have come close to him. His face may be stern and austere – like a permanent advert for sainthood, some people say – but you soon discover that behind that steel exterior is a soft and compassionate personality, prodigiously generous, and easily vulnerable in fact because of that.

Indeed in his company there is never a dull moment, for he tells many stories, some of which can crack your ribs. Even now, as I ask about his days at GCU, he repeats one of his favourites, an episode long ago from a drama production: “It was… one Emordi.

He’s dead now. He died a long time ago. They were presenting Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and when it got to the point where something was to happen to the dead body of Caesar as he was lying there, Emordi said, after looking blank and agitated for a brief moment, he just said – ‘Carry am make we go!’…The following morning, our Principal, Powell, almost wept in the assembly.

He said, Yes, you can be forgiven for not remembering your lines… If you had said, Please help me remove this body… But, Carry am make we go! How could Shakespeare have known pidgin English?”

The humour ends however when it comes to work. In this, Onosode will not joke with the matter of efficiency or competence. And above these, is the question of ethics. This, again, is the powerful shadow of his father. “My father was a highly organized and disciplined person… he would never compromise on principle.”

Gamaliel proudly recalls the unpleasant occasion when his father was denied ordination, even after graduating from Ogbomosho, because he would not bend to the presiding pastor’s view

on polygamy. Sent out of the vicarage, he moved unrepentant and without shame to his wife’s half-completed house, and lived there for several months. And in the end it was the church that had to recall him.

Like father, like son then, one can see. This rigidity on the matter of principle is the recurrent trait that has marked Onosode’s career. It is where he has earned his reputation of unyielding probity, as a man who would rather quit than compromise. “Oh, I was the first in so many things and so many areas… and I always resigned on protest in each case.”

It takes great courage to do that, especially in our morally depraved situation in Nigeria. “Sometimes, quite often,” he confesses, “I just walked into the night! …I didn’t know where I was going.

By the time I resigned, I didn’t know what the next job would be. I just said well, don’t worry, I’m not going to tolerate that nonsense just because I want to keep a job.”

But the irony was that, because of this risk and the flawless reputation he acquired through it, Onosode has always found other doors opening almost immediately for him.

Honesty pays, once you wear it like a garment. It is his creed of honour: “When I’m telling people to be courageous, to stand for what is true, I’m not just passing on what I read from Aristotle or from Socrates or from whoever. No! I’m sharing my personal experience. I’m not asking them to do what I did not do myself…This is the Christ in me.”

It will not be easy. It has never been easy to live a clean life. Still, as he says: “A man has to be a man… You have to be bold to stand for what you believe. …You see, if you really stand for a principle, if a principle is really for you a principle, you must be willing to pay the price. You can’t have your cake and eat it.”

And he concludes: “The reason why we have not achieved as much or even what could have been is because of the lack of personal integrity. There’s no substitute to that. As a Christian, everything revolves round that. … I mean, if there is no integrity, no amount of skill will produce the desired result. It takes only one little man to throw in a little spanner and the whole thing collapses, right? But, at the same time …it takes perhaps just one man to introduce an idea, a concept, a process that has a transforming effect. So, never give up!”

I look at my watch. Incredibly we have been here for five hours.

What a day! It is time to leave the old man to rest.

• Concluded.

• Osofisan wrote from Lagos.

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

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Opinion The drum beats of war

By Roz Ben-Okagbue ITH each passing day, one finds reason to W question whether or not Nigeria is on the brink of a civil war and in need of a declaration of a state of emergency in the whole country, not just a few states. The number of violent deaths recorded weekly is far in excess of what is expected in a peace situation with neither earthquakes nor other natural disasters. The tidal wave of uncertainty rises higher with every announcement of insurgency and there is an uneasy feeling of an impending implosion. As we approach the next election we are constantly reminded of the American prediction that Nigeria will not exist as a country by 2015 and we seem to be marching rapidly towards the fulfilment of that ominous prophecy.

As General Buhari pointed out in his speech during the recent CPC convention, the country is sinking into a state of anarchy. The hopelessness of the situation is highlighted by the inability of the policemen to protect themselves, let alone anyone else. In Bama, Borno State, over 20 policemen were killed and as if that was not bad enough, two days later 27 policemen were murdered and another 13 captured by a cultist group, Ombatse in Nasarawa State, who they had been sent to arrest. A couple of weeks before that incident, 12 policemen had been killed in Bayelsa State and there had been a violent showdown in Baga between the security agencies and the Boko Haram, which resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent citizens. All of this happened in the space of six weeks! If the policemen cannot even protect themselves, what hope do civilians have?

Every state in the country is experiencing some breakdown of security or the other. The South East and South South states are kidnap zones, a threat that is also creeping into the South West. Most of the Northern states are beset with insurgency, which has continued unabated since the 2011 elections and the change of the National Security Adviser appears to have made scarce difference to the situation. Calls for the Boko Haram to surrender and accept amnesty, which in Nigeria basically means getting paid to stop the terrorism have fallen on deaf ears and instead the Boko Haram added insult to injury by offering the president amnesty, claim-

ing they have done nothing wrong.

In response, the Federal Government set up yet another committee to look into a solution and possible amnesty terms. The point of developing amnesty terms for a group responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent civilians and security agencies is lost on me more so when they have stated quite clearly that they are not interested in amnesty. The very recent declaration of a state of emergency in three states may be a step in the right direction but only time will tell. What is certainly not clear is what will happen to the violence that is still continuing in Bauchi, Kano, Plateau, Kaduna and Nasarawa states and how does this address the kidnapping in the South East and the South South or the political unrest unfolding in Rivers State.

Last week the situation was exacerbated by an exchange of irresponsible utterances from selfish political thugs whose sole motive appears to be to destabilize the polity and create a chaotic environment where their services will become indispensable. The current exchange of verbal fire seems to be between two specific ethnic groups, the Ijaws versus the Fulanis and they appear to be drawing us closer every day to the American prediction. It is not clear at what point these two former allies became sworn enemies but the battle lines are clearly drawn and for now the press seems to be the theatre of war. Will it end in just talk or will this prove to be the catalyst that will finally push us off the edge? Could this be the beginning of the end of the Fourth Republic?

Asari-Dokubo, a former militant who boasted a few months ago that he collected huge sums of money from the government which he invested in Benin Republic for the benefit of his several wives and 18 children, threatened the whole country, particularly the North with a war in the event that the current president does not win the election in 2015.

Calls from the National Assembly for his immediate arrest and questioning, enraged him further into recording a video in which he described the Fulanis as ‘destitute parasites’ and stated that they were planning a coup, which he said the president was doing nothing about. He ranted and raved about the equally careless utterances of Lawal Kaita and General Buhari and then dared the authorities to arrest him. He threatened that Nigeria would

cease to exist as a country if he was arrested and called the authorities cowards if they don’t arrest him. Interestingly no attempts were made to even question him let alone arrest him.

Following Asari’s explosive video, there was initially a deafening silence from the presidency raising questions as to whether this was indeed the position of all Ijaws (including the president) as Asari had suggested in his video. If Asari was beating the drums of war, he did not have to wait long to find dancers as two days later, Ango Abdullahi, a member of the Northern Elders Forum responded to his tirade by stating that they (the Northerners) have received the president’s message sent through his spokesman Asari-Dokubo, and they are ready for the war promised. This was followed by more threats and counter-threats by other supporters on both sides heating up the polity even more and then finally the Federal Government broke its silence. In a statement issued

by Gulak, (a Northern aide to the president) the government dissociated itself from AsariDokubo’s position and denounced him in pretty strong terms.

The government’s response seems to have had very little impact though. Firstly it arrived a tad too late and did not receive the wide exposure that the video did. Secondly, it came from two Northerners, Gulak and Bamanga Tukur (PDP chairman) who in reality were not exempt from Asari-Dokubo’s missiles. The only Niger Deltan in or out of government who has openly taken a position against Asari-Dokubo’s tirade is Tam David West who is known to be a strong supporter of Buhari. The damage has been done, the Northerners are simmering in silent rage and unless there is some significant measure of damage control, the result of this deepening enmity will be demonstrated at the polls come 2015, regardless of the threats.

The reasons for the rift between these two former allies are not difficult to understand. In a nutshell, the Ijaws feel that the Northerners who have ruled the country for decades have usurped their oil, excluding them from participating in the benefits accruing from the oil production despite the fact that their environment was damaged in the process and their people impoverished. The Northerners on the other hand feel cheated out

of the presidency after the death of Yar’Adua truncated the Northern rule just two years into “their turn” (according to the PDP zoning formula), and are determined to regain the presidential seat come 2015.

But the Ijaws do not want Jonathan’s term to end in 2015; they have benefitted immensely from this government and they do not want the party to end. They are prepared they say, to fight to the last man if Jonathan is not re-elected; well you can hardly call it an election if people are coerced into returning him to power. With both sides threatening hell fire and brimstone, what does the rest of the country feel?

Most Southerners appear to be sympathetic to the Ijaw position despite their disenchantment with the present government and their disgust with AsariDokubo’s crude method of campaign. Years of resentment against the tyranny experienced during the military rule, which was largely Northern has taken its toll and any suggestion of another Northern ruler seems to put everyone’s back up. Asari-Dokubo and his supporters are counting on this and in fact invoking it to ensure that the presidency remains in the South South whilst the likes of Kaita and Abdullahi are playing right into his hands by reinforcing in the minds of the Southerners, the reasons why they would prefer to avoid Northern rule. Where will it all end?

History records several factors that led to the end of the second republic, including a weak political structure, lack of cooperation between the states and the Federal Government, uprising in the North between the farmers and police, teacher’s strikes and the Maitatsine (remarkably similar to Boko Haram) riots in Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri. There was also economic uncertainty due to the end of the oil boom, excessive government spending and high levels of corruption. The problems leading to the end of the first republic were similar and eventually led to a civil war, which the country has not totally recovered from years later.

With political unrest and the attendant tension; badly structured political parties with continuous internal wrangling; corruption has reached dizzying heights and the cost of government is unsustainable; violence and security challenges are stifling our economic development and growth regardless of what the statistics say. It’s a dire situation.

• This article was written on 18th May, 2013 by Roz BenOkagbue.

Grandstanding on justice against Alams

By Kenneth Obua ORMER Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes ComFtrenchant mission (EFCC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu has been one of the most critics of the presidential pardon granted recently to erstwhile Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who about seven years ago pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of corrupt offences. In an interview with ThisDay Lawyer on March 19, 2013, Ribadu said: “We have sent a terrible signal that fighting corruption is not in our culture, that go ahead, behave in the most despicable manner, it is our way, it is okay...DSP (Alamieyeseigha) actually pleaded guilty. This is very significant...And now government is coming to say that no, no, you are not even fair to yourself.”

Ribadu enjoyed a few years of dubious fame as the nemesis of corruption in Nigeria. But it did not take long for all to realise that behind the facade of a crusader, Ribadu was no more than the attack dog that was readily available to hound political opponents of President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007). Both Alamieyeseigha and James Ibori (Delta State) ranked high on the hit list of the EFCC under Ribadu, because they were prizes that Obasanjo desperately wanted in proof, not of any genuine abhorrence of corruption, but rather of his dominion over the nation’s political space.

When attention was drawn at the time to his selective chase of alleged corrupt officials, Ribadu shouted himself hoarse that all governors who were in office were corrupt, and that his dossier on them would shame an Edgar Hoover, the renowned Director of FBI. Ribadu blamed the immunity clause in the Constitution as the hindrance to his locking up the governors and throwing away the keys to their respective cells. Even before 2010, when he was sent to the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies for a year-long course for which he whipped up unnecessary sympathy that evaporated subsequently, Ribadu as head of EFCC could not actualise his threat.

Nigerian voters were shocked beyond belief when, during the presidential election debate in 2011, Ribadu, who embarked on a hopeless effort as a presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ate his words that he never said that all governors whose tenure ended in 2007 were corrupt! That volte-face clarified the haze that had surrounded one of the most amazing occurrences during Ribadu’s grandstanding as an anti-corruption crusader. One of the former governors secured a perpetual injunction against any investigation into his financial dealings. What was perplexing about the EFCC’s response was its conniving failure to appeal the judgment.

But, in keeping quiet and allowing the time delimited for appeal to elapse, and therefore make the perpetual injunction binding, Ribadu’s EFCC made a mockery of itself and cemented the widespread view that Ribadu was presiding over a witch-hunt of targeted individuals.

When it suits them, Nigerian public commentators are quick to invoke “global (international) best practices” as the measuring rod for our national policies and conduct. So, rather than see that the EFCC was the attack dog for the vindictive criminalisation agenda by an egotistic President who failed in his bid for a third term, and who looked the other way when the rot under his roof was stinking, people are still angry over the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha.

The vindictive prosecution and conviction of Alamieyeseigha abetted the view that was widespread at the time that political leaders of the South-South were mismanaging their oil wealth, and therefore the oil-bearing states did not deserve even the 13 per cent derivation stipulated in the Constitution. This argument was peddled mostly by Northerners. Yet, the North with all the money that it gets from the Federation Account has the highest rate of poverty, illiteracy, and disease in the country. Only recently have persons chiding South-South political leaders begun to keep quiet, seeing that development has been taking place in the region.

On the other hand, it is unthinkable that Northerners who have held offices as ministers or governors since 1999 have all been so saintly amid the decay in their region that none soiled his/her hands and the EFCC could not manage a successful prosecution of Northerners, as it did against Alamieyeseigha. Go to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and other havens in the Middle East and see the opulence displayed by Northern Nigerians. If ever any of them gets to be handcuffed, he is given a soft-landing, like the Police Pension thief.

Discerning Nigerians would recall that a few years ago, Nuhu Ribadu came under intense searchlight on a matter of integrity that was eventually explained away in an unsatisfactory manner. The issue at the time concerned questions about how Ribadu could have possibly raised the funds to purchase a house in a high-brow neighbourhood of Abuja, when Federal Government-owned houses were being sold to the public with occupiers of the property given first refusal. Ribadu and his defenders told the world that the EFCC czar at the time raised funds for the property by borrowing money from his father-in-law, a retired Justice. Thereafter, everything was hush-hush. But that should have been the beginning of serious investigation, because the defence raised more questions than answers.

If Ribadu borrowed money from his in-law, is the latter a financial in-

stitution? What were the terms of the facility borrowed by Ribadu?

How did the in-law, a retired Justice, accumulate such money that he had a surplus to lend to his son-in-law? Of course, we can see that if we were to pursue this matter to its forensic and logical conclusion, the story of those who are grandstanding on anti-corruption will develop k-leg (knock knees).

Nigerian commentators must seek to probe into one other curious dimension of the Alamieyeseigha saga. Yes, he was standing trial in the United Kingdom; yes, he did not fulfil his bail conditions. That was in 2005, almost eight years ago. Why is it that the British government all these years has not mounted a vigorous campaign for the Nigerian government to extradite Alamieyeseigha to face trial in the British courts? Why has the United States government not called for Alamieyeseigha to be extradited, considering what the U.S. did to Noriega in the late 1980s? There must be so much that is unknown about the “international fugitive” issue than is obvious on the surface.

The total lack of interest by the British authorities in the Alamieyeseigha matter since 2005 takes us to another perspective that has been exploited by the anti-pardon group, who argue that because Alamieyeseigha is an “international fugitive,” he should never have been granted pardon by President Jonathan. This fuzzy perspective introduces a queer notion of extraterritoriality in criminal law. In general, criminal law is territorial, which means, simply, that what is a crime in one jurisdiction may not be a crime in another jurisdiction.

Thus, the criminal law of a country is as defined by the legislature of that country.

Alamieyeseigha could only properly be pardoned for an offence he committed under Nigerian law. That much is evident from s. 175 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides inter alia that “The President may grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions”. Assuming Alamieyeseigha had been convicted under British law, a pardon by President Jonathan for such a conviction would be hollow, because the 1999 Constitution does not recognise the exercise of the prerogative of mercy for extraterritorial conviction.

No matter how emotional we may feel about it, the alleged offences (money laundering) for which Alamieyeseigha was standing trial in the United Kingdom do not belong to international crimes (such as genocide and crimes against humanity) for which nations are under obligation of international conventions to help enforce by not providing a safe haven for anyone wanted for such offences, nor is the act of jumping bail an “international crime”.

• Obua writes from Abuja.

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Sports Fans tip Greater Tomorrow, Rangers Junior for E.C Clark trophy

Nigeria Professional Football League

Pillars regain top spot, Kwara United shock Lobi 1-0

By Christian Okpara ANO Pillars yesterday K regained top spot on the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) table when it defeated hard-fighting Kaduna United 3-2 in a Week 14 game loitered with controversial decisions.

The shock result of the evening, however, was recorded in Katsina Ala, where Kwara United beat home team, Lobi Stars, 1-0.

Pillars are now on 25 points from 13 games and occupy the top position in place of Heartland, which lost to Sunshine Stars by 2-1.

Pillars first hit the target through Rabiu Ali barely a minute into the game, but Tijani Adamu equalised for Kaduna United in the 12th minute.

Kaduna United took the lead in the 51st minute through Michael Anthony, before Kabiru Umar equalised four minutes later and got the winner in the 90th minute through a highly disputed penalty.

After the game, an angry

Kaduna United Coach, Ben Duamlong accused the referee of giving the game to Pillars through a dubious penalty.

According to Duamlong, “we did everything to get something from the game, but we lost the game through a third goal manufactured for Pillars in added time.”

To Kano Pillars Coach, Mohammed Babaganaru, the defending champions nearly paid the price for under-rating Kaduna United.

According to Babaganaru, “my boys relaxed after scoring so early in the game. They did not expect the kind of fight they got from Kaduna United, but we rallied to win the game.”

In the other games played yesterday, Wikki Tourists defeated Warri Wolves 2-1, while Akwa United beat Enyimba 1-0.

Dolphins beat Gombe United 1-0 in Port Harcourt, 3SC defeated Nasarawa United 2-0, while ABS dispatched Rangers 2-1.

Sunshine Stars won their battle with Heartland 2-1, just as Bayelsa United beat neighbours, Nembe City, 2-0.

REATER Tomorrow G Academicals of Akwa Ibom and Rangers Junior of Enugu

Kano Pillars and El Kanemi of Maiduguri fighting for points in a recent game. Pillars defeated Kaduna United 3-2 at the Sani Abacha Stadium…yesterday.

PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI.

are favoured to cart away the maiden E. C Clark international U-18 tournament holding in Uyo Akwa, Ibom State.

After the preliminaries, which saw the participation of eight teams, Rangers and Greater Tomorrow notched the maximum nine points from three matches to emerge the favourites from the two groups.

In the last group match, Rangers under the tutelage of former Rangers greats, Agwo Nnaji and Ben Ugwu, defeated Amakson Academicals from FCT 3-2 even with 10 players from 65 minutes.

The competition enters the semi-final stage today with Rangers, Group B winners, squaring up to Delta Academicals, who were runners up in Group A, while Group A winners, Greater Tomorrow have for foe, Amakson of Abuja.

The four teams already out of the competition are King Amachree Sportive Academy of Benin Republic, Pepsi Academy of Lagos, Super Nova Football Academy of Rivers and Yenagoa City Football Academy of Bayelsa State.

The chief coach of the Beninoise side said he was delighted with the standard of the tournament, adding, “we were so sure we were going to win, but when we got here, the standard of Youth football overwhelmed us.”

LMC set to tackle clubs’ indebtedness to coaches, players, says Irabor HE League Management T Company (LMC) has acknowledged the growing concern of stakeholders for improved welfare of players and coaches in the Globacom Premier League and has given assurances of its resolve to appropriately address this growing concern for the benefit of the players, coaches and the clubs.

Chairman of LMC, Nduka Irabor stated this in response to a letter by the Nigeria Players Union urging the LMC to deduct all debts owed players by their respective clubs

from their share of the Globacom title rights fee recently paid by the telecommunication’s company.

“The issue of players’ welfare is at the heart of the reforms we are driving at LMC and it is our desire to have all stakeholders come to agreement on how to ensure that players and coaches are made the biggest beneficiaries of the commercialisation of the league,” remarked Irabor.

While also acknowledging the right of the Clubs as business concerns to determine the wages and reward packages of

their staff, the LMC insists that as operators of the Nigeria Professional Football League licence, it will set participatory conditions that will ensure that decent minimum standards are met by the clubs.

Towards addressing the challenge of huge arrears of unpaid salaries and sign-on fees of some players and coaches, Irabor said the LMC would initiate a meeting with the Players Union, representatives of players from each of the 20 Globacom League clubs to deliberate on suitable and workable approaches to

resolve the issue once and for all.

“The LMC will also meet with the Club Representatives to also agree on ways and means to ensure that they meet their obligations to their players and coaches,” disclosed Irabor.

He said it is the position of the LMC that the raging outcry has once again brought to the fore the need to set up administrative structures such as the requirement for Clubs to provide guarantees of financial viability through bank bonds.

“We are working on making a compulsory subscription to

Pension Schemes for players by the clubs to be part of requirements to be met by any club as part of the eigibility criteria to participate in the Glo Premier League from the 2014 season,” declared the LMC chairman.

He further explained that the Bank Guarantee remains an asset of the clubs so far they did not default on their obligations to their employees, especially the players and coaches.

“It will serve as deterrent against the enslaving of players and also as an instrument to enforce compliance with qualifying criteria for contin-

ued participation in the League,” Irabor insisted.

Some players and coaches have been contacting the LMC with allegations of backlog of unpaid salaries and sign-on fees dating back to four seasons by various clubs.

“The LMC is appealing to all clubs in the Globacom Premier League to take steps towards liquidating all debts arising from valid claims confirmed

by Arbitration Panels constituted by the Nigeria Football Federation in respect of claims

by Players and Coaches,” he said.

Keshi allays fears over Confederations Cup, World Cup qualifiers ESPITE what looks on paper like a difficult period for the Super Eagles in June, when Nigeria is billed to participate in the Confederations Cup and two Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Coach Stephen Keshi says there is nothing to worry about.

The Eagles are preparing for crucial 2014 World Cup qualifying games and the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament – all taking place in a number of weeks.

A spate of injuries, first to Scotland-based midfielder,

D

Reuben Gabriel, and 2013 African Nations Cup highest goal scorer, Emmanuel Emenike, and lately to attacking midfielders, Kalu Uche and Victor Moses, had caused anxiety in some quarters and is being hyperventilated in public spaces and a section of the media as ‘problem in camp.’

But Keshi, who steered lessendowed Togo to that country’s only FIFA World Cup qualification eight years ago, says he is committed to leading Nigeria to next year’s finals in Brazil, no matter the

challenges.

“I am never one to run away from challenges; I have confronted them head-on all my life. I have very good relationship with each and every of my players, with mutual respect and regard being the bedrock.

“The players that we have invited for these matches are patriots and are always ready to defend the green-whitegreen. We have 16 players here now and team spirit is high. Everyone wants to play.

What we will certainly not do is to beg anyone to play for

Nigeria.”

Nigeria’s longest-serving captain said the late arrival of some players is to be expected at this time of the season: “Most of the players have just concluded very grueling seasons and have need to sort out personal issues, and of course there are talks to hold ahead of next season. These talks have to be done now considering that the players would be away for about seven weeks, on duty for Nigeria.”

Super Eagles’ Novina Hotel camp in Nuremberg swelled yesterday morning with the

arrival of Germany-based striker, Joseph Akpala and Ukraine-based forward, Babatunde Michael.

Portugal-based John Ogu was being expected last night, while defenders, Kenneth Omeruo and Elderson Echiejile, as well as, midfielder, Nnamdi Oduamadi are expected in camp today.

First-choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, based in Israel, is expected tomorrow, while Scotland-based stopper, Efe Ambrose and Italy-based midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi, have been granted permis-

sion to arrive on Saturday due to club commitments.

Ukraine-based forward, Brown Ideye, will join the team in Texas, U.S.A, while Ahmed Musa and Fegor Ogude will join the squad in Frankfurt after the friendly with Mexico in America, also due to club commitments.

The team will fly out of Frankfurt on Tuesday morning aboard a Lufthansa Airline aircraft, and will arrive in Houston, Texas in the evening, and camp at the classy The Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks.

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THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

NWF outlines roadmap for weightlifting development From Ezeocha Nzeh, Abuja HE newly T board of Weightlifting

inaugurated the Nigeria Federation (NWF) has rolled out its programme, which it believes

would help in resuscitating the sport, one of the events that placed the country on the medals table at the Sydney Olympics games in 2000.

Speaking to the media in Abuja, new President of the

Salem University honours Izamoje ETERAN broadcaster and V Chairman of Sports Radio, 88.9 Brila Fm, Dr. Larry Izamoje was recently honoured by Salem University with a Doctorate Degree -D.Sc (Honorary causa) in Information Technology for his contributions to sports journalism and pioneering sports radio in Africa.

The latest honour from the Lokoja, Kogi State-based private university comes just a year after Izamoje got an academic doctorate in Business Administration from the Business School, Lausanne, Switzerland and a recent investiture as a Fellow of the Institute of Administrators and Researchers of Nigeria.

In his address during the ceremony, the Chancellor of Salem University, Archbishop Sam Amaga said the renowned sports entrepreneur has served Nigeria with distinction in various capacities and equally at some of the most critical periods of its history.

“Today, your numerous achievements in sport journalism and public service ring bells nationally and internationally,” Archbishop Amaga told the audience.

In the same vein, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Joseph Adeola Fuwape, speaking for the university council, said the institution decided to honour Izamoje in “recognition of his numerous and meritorious contributions to the field of sports journalism in Nigeria.”

An elated Izamoje, when asked to comment on the award, described it as something extraordinary, especially coming from an institution

NOA supports Elegbeleye’s appointment as NSC director general HE Nigeria Olympians T Association (NOA) has joined other stakeholders in applauding the appointment of Gbenga Elegbeleye as the new director general of the National Sports Commission (NSC).

President Goodluck Jonathan last week appointed the former House of Representatives member to replace the former NSC Director General, Patrick Ekeji, who retired last month.

A letter of congratulation signed by the NOA President, Prince Henry Amike describes Elegbeleye as an experienced technocrat and a goal- getter in sports administration.

Part of the letter reads: “We at the NOA congratulate you on your well deserved appointment as the new DG of the National Sports Commission.

“As a foremost administrator and goal getter, we have no doubt that you will bring your vast experience to bear in your new assignment.”

with a base in Christianity- a citadel of learning that benchmarks integrity, handwork and overall positive impact as key criteria in deciding whom in the society deserves special r e c o g n i t i o n .

Among the dignitaries at the event were Governor of Kogi State, Capt. Idris Wada and some members of his cabinet.

Dr. Larry Izamoje founded Sports Radio, 88.9 Brila Fm in Lagos in 2002. It now has offices in key cities like Abuja, Kaduna and Onitsha.

Federation, Chibudum Nwuche said the federation has concluded plans to begin its activities with a national weightlifting trial in June.

The NWF president, a former deputy speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, said he was determined to lift the sport within the four years of his tenure, adding that the federation would set up wellequipped weightlifting centers at the zones for the training of youths in its grassroots talent hunt exercise.

The NWF president disclosed that the trials would set the stage for the federation to register athletes for the African Championship, which Nigeria is billed to host in September before it begins preparing the athletes for the World Championship in Malaysia.

“We have an idea of what we plan to do at the Weightlifting

Federation. By June, we will begin our national trials, which will lead us to the African championship, which Nigeria has already won the hosting right in September.

We will also send qualified athletes to represent the country at the World Weightlifting Championship, which is billed for Malaysia in November. We are also hoping to set up a weightlifting gyms in Abuja and other centers for athletes to train,” Nwuche stated.

The former lawmaker, who identified administration as the bane of sports development in Nigeria, described the new weightlifting federation board as well composed, adding that it is peopled by coaches, former athletes, seasoned administrators and journalists, who would compliment each other to move the sport forward.

Nigeria’s Felix Ekpo tries his hands on the 77kg of the weightlifting event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

PHOTO: AFP.

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SPORTS 75

Fashola pledges support for Adepoju’s Lagos football tourney • Ismaily, Espanyol, Kotoko, Pillars billed for three-day contest

By Tony Nwanne OVERNOR Babatunde Raji G Fashola yesterday pledged his support for the forthcom-

Super Eagles’ former midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju, who is also the CEO, Lagos International Football Tournament (left), Lagos Sports Commissioner, Wahid Enitan Oshodi, and Super Eagles’ former defender, Ben Iroha, who is a member of the Local Organizing Committee at a briefing on the forthcoming Lagos International Football Tournament at the Teslim Balogun Stadium… yesterday.

ing Lagos International Football Tournament (LIFT), a baby of Super Eagles’ former midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju.

The competition, scheduled to hold from July 25 to 28 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, will feature Ismaily SC of Egypt, Asante Kotoko of Ghana, RCD Espanyol of Spain and Kano Pillars of Nigeria.

Commending Adepoju for organising the LIFT, Fashola, at

Germany training tour excites taekwondo team

By Olalekan Okusan OACH and players of the C national taekwondo team, which arrived in Germany this morning to begin a training tour of Europe, believe the exercise would aid them in the sport.

An elated Coach John Victor admitted before the team’s departure yesterday “the trip would open the athletes to a latest techniques of the sport.”

The coach said, “the confidence built through this trip would force the athletes to set higher targets for themselves, adding that as a coach, the trip would make an inter-

national coach, just as the knowledge gained would help him to turn grassroots champions into international fighters.”

Also speaking on the trip, 19-year old Segun Olushola, a gold medalist at the last National Sports Festival, was very excited at his very first chance of travelling out of the country, saying the experience he would gain during the international training camp would expand his taekwondo knowledge.

Bronze medalist at the 2011 Maputo All Africa Games, 20 year-old Sunday Onofe, chose to focus on the effect the trip would have on his perform-

Korea hails Ashiru’s election, affirms support for taekwondo HE Republic of Korea has T lauded the election of George Ashiru as the president of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), while also affirming their commitment to the development of the sport.

In a letter addressed to the NTF boss, made available to The Guardian and signed by the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Choi Jong-hyun, the mission described Ashiru’s victory as confirmation of his immense contribution to the growth of the sport in Nigeria.

“I most warmly congratulate you on your election as the President of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation. Your resounding victory is a testament to the valuable contri-

butions you have made towards the development of taekwondo in Nigeria,” the envoy said.

He added, “I have no doubt that with your ability both as a taekwondo practitioner and the President of Nigeria Taekwondo Black Belt College, your commitment to the development of taekwondo in Nigeria will be unwavered.”

Jong-hyun assured that the mission would continue to partner with the federation to develop the game, pledging, “it is my sincere hope that we continue to collaborate in our unflinching commitment and dedication aimed at further promoting and developing this global sport, taekwondo in Nigeria.”

… As ACA lauds Onyeama, Sagoe HE African Cricket T Association (ACA) has congratulated the newly elected President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Emeka Onyeama, on his victory at the polls, just as it commended the outgoing NCF boss, Kwesi Sagoe, for the strides Nigeria made in the game during his tenure.

In a letter addressed to the NCF and signed by ACA Cassim Suleiman, the association said, “on behalf of the Africa Cricket Association in conjunction with the ICCAfrica Regional Office, its

management and staff, we would hereby like to congratulate Emeka Onyeama the newly elected President of Nigeria Cricket Federation.

“We wish you a successful term as president of Nigeria Cricket Federation and trust that your expertise and commitment serves beneficial and fruitful for the Development of Cricket in Nigeria. On this note, the ACA-ICC Africa Regional Office in conjunction with its membership would like to assure you of our support and assistance at any given time.”

ance in international tournament, while Joy Ekhator, who is ranked 40 in the women’s 49kg by World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), is thinking of the impact of the tour on his preparation for the world championships later this year.

She has been unbeaten in the past six years as Nigeria’s number one in the flyweight division, but she is yet to get

over her loss in the semifinals stage during the qualification for both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics.

Ekhator, however, believes the experience on this trip would increase her chances of bettering her two African Games medals (silver at AAG 2007 and bronze at AAG 2011), and qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

a press briefing to herald the event, assured the former 3SC general manager of his government’s partnership, adding that the tournament has come at a time the nation is relishing the excitement of the Super Eagles’ victory in the recently concluded AFCON Championship.

Speaking on the need to consolidate the gains and benefits of EKO 2012 National Sports Festival, Fashola, represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Wahid Enitan Oshodi, said the government’s willingness to partner with Adepoju demonstrated its commitment to the development of sports, especially, football.

“Therefore, this tourney is timely, unique and coming from the stable of one of Nigeria’s greatest football icons, Mutiu Adepoju, you will agree with me that it cannot come at a better time. I have absolute confidence that the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large will experience real football excitement with the caliber of the teams lined up to participate in the Lagos soccer fiesta,” he said.

In his remarks, Adepoju said

the programme was his way of thanking “almighty Allah, the government and people of Nigeria for the goodwill, love and support that I have received from them during my 25 years football career.

“I feel it is important to give back to the society, and one way of giving back is through LIFT, an annual soccer fiesta, which would help to re-position the game of soccer not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa.”

He disclosed that the LIFT is an annual football fiesta designed to promote and enhance the quality of football in terms of strategic management, organisation and tactical implementation of policies and programmes in Nigeria.

According to Adepoju, the tourney will also provide opportunity for youth football clubs to mingle, train and interact with their soccer stars and icons during a football clinic packaged for the benefits of the various football academies in Nigeria, adding that RCD Espanyol of Spain will also use the opportunity of their trip to Nigeria to launch their youth team in

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SPORTS 77

THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, May 23, 2013

European Round-Off

Lewandowski won’t quit Dortmund, says Klopp ORUSSIA Dortmund strikB er, Robert Lewandowski will not be leaving the club, according to Coach Jurgen Klopp.

Lewandowski has been widely rumoured to be following fellow Dortmund team-mate, Mario Gotze to Bayern Munich this summer, with Manchester United also showing interest in the Polish forward.

Lewandowski is the second top scorer in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League this season, and scored four goals during Dortmund’s semi-

final tie against Real Madrid to set up an all-German final against Bayern.

When asked if there were any developments regarding Lewandowski, Klopp was adamant that the striker would stay at the Westfalenstadion.

“There is no topic of Lewandowski’s transfer right now,” Klopp told Polish newspaper Przeglad Sportowy. “The rest of the team and I talk and think only about the final right now.

“My conclusion is that Robert is not leaving

Borussia, and he will play here for the next season and I will be able to use him. That is why I don’t want to even think about to which club he may fit better.”

Klopp also heaped praise on full-back, Lukasz Piszczek, who he felt had been Dortmund’s best player this season.

“All of my Polish players did their best and played a great part in our success, but the greatest and the best season was had by Lukasz Piszczek. I know only a few players that with his health problems could keep such high level.”

I’m leaving Malaga, Pellegrini confirmsThat time appears to have ANUEL Pellegrini has agreement with anybody,” M confirmed he will leave Pellegrini said on his club’s come with Pellegrini confirming at a function on Malaga at the end of the sea- official website at the time. son.

The Chilean head coach has been heavily tipped to fill the vacancy left by Roberto Mancini at Manchester City this summer and has now stated he will not be in charge of the Champions League quarter-finalists next season.

He said, according to Spanish newspaper website Marca.com: “My coaching staff and I are separating from Malaga but our union with this city will be eternal. I’m going for sporting reasons.”

The 59-year-old’s exit from La Rosaleda has been largely expected for weeks although the club themselves have yet to confirm his departure.

His name was being linked with City before Mancini’s exit on May 13, although Pellegrini denied that a deal had already been done following the goalless draw with Sevilla on May 12.

“I deny here and now being the new coach of Manchester City, I haven’t signed any

“I’ve been fortunate enough, and very proud, that every year the big clubs have shown an interest in me. I have an agreement with Malaga not to talk to anyone and nothing has been agreed with any other club.

“I hope in the coming weeks that things will become a little clearer about what is going to be the future here at this club.”

Wednesday that he will leave Malaga after two-and-a-half years in charge.

The Qatari-owned club currently sit in the Europa League places in the Primera Division but are banned from European competition next season due to unpaid bills in breach of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations. A further one-year suspended ban was overturned on appeal.

Bayern is simply stronger than Dortmund, Ribery boasts Ribery is confi- rious if they do just that.

FwillRANCK dent that Bayern Munich “I was impressed how beat Borussia Dortmund managed to disDortmund in Saturday’s Champions League final as he feels they are “simply stronger.”

The Frenchman has stressed that Bayern should focus solely on their own game and has little doubt that they will emerge victo-

mantle Real Madrid in the semi-finals, but we should only be thinking of ourselves. Put simply, we’re stronger,” Ribery told the official Bundesliga website.

“If we’re all ready and willing to give 100 percent then we’ll emerge victorious.

Paris Saint-Germain, Emirates renew deal MIRATES and 2012/2013 E Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain, yesterday announced a new sponsorship deal, granting the airline a five-year extension to their partnership with the club until the end of the 2018/2019 season.

Emirates Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales Worldwide, Thierry Antinori, and President of Paris Saint Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi revealed the announcement,

during a press conference held in Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris.

“This agreement strengthens the relationship between Paris Saint-Germain and Emirates and gives to each partner the opportunity to achieve worldwide brand recognition, simultaneously enhancing the image of each partner through increased global awareness,” said AlKhelaïfi.

“This is the perfect time for

Emirates to re-sign with Paris Saint-Germain given the club’s new international players and on-going success in the French championship, as Ligue 1 Champions, as well as, the European championship. Our sponsorship of Paris Saint Germain is a strong platform to further extend our brand presence in France, as well as the many other football focused nations that we fly to globally,” said Antinori.

Javier Pastore (left) and Thiago Silva, Thierry Antinori, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Blaise Matuidi flanked

by Emirates Cabin Crew, during the unveiling of the new deal the airline signed with the French Ligue 1 champions.

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79

TheGuardian

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

By Onyekere Chinomso Uzunma JIRO was already out of his gate by 6:00 E am, he had almost reached the polling centre. He decided that this time, he was going to make sure that his vote would count, all those newspaper advertisements and T.V commercials seemed to have gotten to him. He even made sure that Karo and Eghosa, his cousins whom he had relocated with from Bayelsa to this “Mega City” to make a better life would come out and vote, in spite of all their grumblings that the “Big men” of the state had already decided the result of the election, and that the voting process was merely a formality. He had made sure to do his voter registration immediately the exercise began, so as not to jeopardize his voting power. He believed in this “Metropolitan City” and wanted to be a part of it.

Things were not at all good for him; he had been squatting with his mother’s cousin, who lived with her nuclear family: Her husband and seven children in a two-room apartment in the slummiest part of the city.

Her husband’s hints of not wanting his presence in the apartment anymore had become anything but subtle. He knew it was time to go, but he had nowhere to move to. When he fantasized about his relocation to the city, he had seen himself riding a big car and living in a big house. Of course, he knew he had to work hard but the city was not anything like what he had wished for. He used all the money given him by his Uncle Aghogho in Bayelsa to construct a little plank (“pako”) shop where he sold C.Ds. One morning, after settling one of his aunties’ and her husband’s regular domestic fights, Ejiro rushed out to his wooden shop only to discover that it was no longer there, it had been burnt, completely unrecognizable; the little wooden sign that read “Ejiro’s Quality C.Ds” was nowhere to be found. It was as though his shop had never existed.

It was not as if the business had been turning up any profit, but it was all he had. He had little education so he could not get a formal job and no capital at all to start another.

All his life earnings had been in that shop and it was all gone. Ejiro was numb and couldn’t shed a tear. The governor of the City had ordered the demolition of all ‘illegal’ structures, Ejiro never in his wildest dreams thought that his shop would be classified as such. So when Mr. Bankole Olumide promised that if he was voted in as governor, people like Ejiro, who had no Abraham as his father and no money in his pocket, people who had been unfairly crushed by the system, would be protected first above others, Ejiro vowed that he would do all he in his power to make sure this man became the governor of the city. Ejiro campaigned for him - to his auntie’s family, neighbours, friends and strangers - attended all his rallies and even helped paste his flyers on the gate of the building of his auntie’s home. The man had identified himself with the likes of Ejiro; he had sworn that he was a common man, born without a silver spoon with only God as his true helper. He said it was his God given mission to help the oppressed like Ejiro.

Ejiro had been vulnerable; he needed to hope, because hope was all he had left, all he had to survive. This politician had seemed to be all he ever wanted; the only one who made his dreams feel attainable, thus this was why Ejiro found himself standing at the polling station this biting cold dark morning. Ejiro called up his cousins, reminding them to make it to the polling station; they grudgingly muttered “we’re on our way”. The election exercise went quite smoothly, they had all cast their votes and were on their way home when a gun fire broke. Eghosa was unfortunately caught by a stray bullet; he bled and died before medical attention could reach him. Guilt had swallowed Ejiro up, he could not eat for days that his cousin had lost his life because of his dreams. Thus, when Mr. Bankole Olumide was declared as the emerging governor from the elections, Ejiro did not feel so much enthused. “Things will get better from here on”, he had promised Karo, who was still feeling the heat of his brother’s death.

This was why it came as a shock to Ejiro when he saw Olumide on the television, declaring that the building that he squatted in with his aunty was to be demolished. He trembled in shock and denial after they had been told to evacuate the property; Ejiro felt

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The Nigerian government: A distorted Robin Hood

so betrayed he cried. It took four government workers to remove him from the building; he had begged to be brought down with the building. Olumide said that the building was archaic and not up to the standard of a metropolitan city. “But Mr. Olumide had promised to protect him”, Ejiro cried. He had said that he too was born into abject poverty; he had promised him a better life, that he would achieve all he had come to the city for, why then did he set out to destroy him and his kind. The

plan of the Mega Mall was already displayed on a bill board next to the building. Most of the occupants of the building, like his auntie’s family and himself were forced to relocate back to the village. Not only had he made his cousin lose his life, he had also made his aunty and her family lose her accommodation, he thought. The Mega Mall was, when built, to be rented out in respect of stalls to those who could afford them. The asking price was so much that only the rich would have been able to

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afford them.

The affluent in the city that have segregated themselves from the other classes, contributing little or nothing to the society, not participating in civil obligations expected of them still always have their interests first secured by the government though not half as populous as the lower and middle classes. The government has forgotten that during their campaigns, it was these so-called slum residents that they went to campaign to, it was still these same people that rallied with them, cheered them, lifted them up and at the commencement of elections, voted for them. These politicians targeted the “slum areas” because they were well aware that it was these areas that carried, at least, 70 per cent of the population, and the inhabitants of these areas were most likely to exercise their franchise. No ‘Big man’ will leave his house to register for the elections, not to talk of even casting his vote at the commencement of elections. Even if he and the candidate are acquaintances, he will not risk any danger to his life, thus, he disregards the very core of his civil responsibilities to the country, that is, participation in elections.

However, a “lower class” citizen who has never and will probably never meet a candidate will do all in his power to make sure that he fulfills all formal and essential requirements so as not to affect his capacity to vote. Several instances have been seen when innocent people lose their lives because of disputes that break out as a result of elections. So why then will a governor, voted into office through the help of the masses who consist more of the lower class, then turn its back on them? Why will he try to make homeless the people who accepted him? Bite off the finger that fed him?

The government hiding under the quotes of making the state a better place strategises against the lower class. Citizen’s homes in the so-called “slums” have been demolished with little or no compensation and no options, sending them packing to their villages, only for these homes to be reconstructed and given to the highest bidder. Their places of abode; markets and stalls have been demolished and burnt down only to be reconstructed and sold as stalls and shops at exorbitant rates, intentionally, making it impossible for the lower class to obtain, thus again, kicking them out of the city. The public institutions that are vital to the survival of the lower class are neglected. These include schools, places of health care like hospitals and maternal homes etc. The government knows that the rich will always be able to patronise private institutions and with the purchasing power available to them, they would never be at a loss for options. On the other hand, the poor would have to settle for what their government affords it. The government keeps improving the areas where these wealthy ones reside; the roads are constructed with authentic materials and maintained, streets lights and traffic lights are made available to them, and potable water is also not left out. However, the lower class who cannot in their wildest dreams afford essentials like these experience the government’s back being turned on them. While the poor are being seen out of the society, the rich are taking over. Some governments are even constructing new areas for the rich to occupy which come at ridiculous prices.

I believe that at the end of it all, we are all human beings, and every human being deserves respect and dignity. People should not be discriminated against based on what they have. I believe that Nigeria has reached a point where, as Martin Luther King said, the people “will be judged by the content of their character”. What then is the need of government if the society can turn a blind eye to these evil practices, or have we forgotten the real reason behind the establishment of government, the very core of its existence?

Was government not brought to life to protect the oppressed, was government not a tool of civilisation that was meant to denounce the “survival of the fittest” situation that formerly obtained? Was government not brought about, not only to thrive on the principles of equality, but also justice? It is quite embarrassing that the government has set out to destroy that which it was set up to accomplish. Thus, if an organised and well-structured organisation such as the government can embark on such practices, what then is the hope of a common man?

• Uzunma is a 400 Level Law student, Babcock University.