The Nation April 04, 2012

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

News Mum advises ex-Governor Ladoja not to return to PDP Sports Coach Keshi joins Eagles in Abu Dhabi from US Business Canadian firm bids $23.7m for electricity company

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VOL. 7, NO. 2085 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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Alleged bribery: ACN seeks Jonathan’s sack

President under fire over church gift from firm

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From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday called on the National Assembly to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the main opposition party, having admitted openly that he solicited a bribe from a foreign construction company, the President has violated the Constitution that he swore to uphold.

In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said the impeachment proceedings will enable the National Assembly to investigate the matter to reach the appropriate conclusions.

“To know the gravity of the President’s self admission of soliciting the church ‘gift’ from the Managing Director of Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG), one needs to understand Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act (CAP C15) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“The Act states: ‘A public officer shall not ask for or accept any property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties.

Continued on page 4

•2012 Batch ‘A’ Corps members displaying their newly acquired martial arts skills at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Niger State.

Obasanjo quits PDP BoT

Senators uncover N3b fake pension account •Panel summons bank MDs

A

NOTHER illegal police pension account with N3billion cash has been discovered.

The discovery, which was announced yesterday by the Senate Committee probing the management of the pension fund, deepens the scam in the pension system.

Permanent Secretary Atiku Abubakar Kigo and five other top civil servants are standing trial for the alleged theft and mismanagement of N32.8 billion police pension fund.

From Onyedi Ojiabor and Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

The Senate Committee said the account is with an old generation bank.

The N3 billion, the committee said, was deposited the same day the account was opened.

The committee said its preliminary findings showed that the account did not have the blessing of the Accountant General of the Federation.

Continued on page 4

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

F

•From left: Zenith Bank Plc. Chairman Steve Omojafor speaking at the bank’s Annual General Meeting held at the Civic Centre, Lagos ... yesterday. With him are Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Godwin Emefiele and Company Secretary Mike Otu

ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure as chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ended abruptly yesterday.

He tendered his letter of resignation from the position which he has occupied since he stepped down from office as President on May 29, 2007.

Continued on page 4

•RAPE OF PUPILS: FIVE HELD P6 •SUSPECT ADMITS AL-QAEDA LINK P8

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

News Mum advises ex-Governor Ladoja not to return to PDP Sports Coach Keshi joins Eagles in Abu Dhabi from US Business Canadian firm bids $23.7m for electricity company

P5 P24 P12

www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 2085 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Alleged bribery: ACN seeks Jonathan’s sack

President under fire over church gift from firm

T

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday called on the National Assembly to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the main opposition party, having admitted openly that he solicited a bribe from a foreign construction company, the President has violated the Constitution that he swore to uphold.

In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said the impeachment proceedings will enable the National Assembly to investigate the matter to reach the appropriate conclusions.

“To know the gravity of the President’s self admission of soliciting the church ‘gift’ from the Managing Director of Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG), one needs to understand Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act (CAP C15) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“The Act states: ‘A public officer shall not ask for or accept any property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties.

Continued on page 4

•2012 Batch ‘A’ Corps members displaying their newly acquired martial arts skills at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Niger State.

Obasanjo quits PDP BoT

Senators uncover N3b fake pension account •Panel summons bank MDs

A

NOTHER illegal police pension account with N3billion cash has been discovered.

The discovery, which was announced yesterday by the Senate Committee probing the management of the pension fund, deepens the scam in the pension system.

Permanent Secretary Atiku Abubakar Kigo and five other top civil servants are standing trial for the alleged theft and mismanagement of N32.8 billion police pension fund.

From Onyedi Ojiabor and Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

The Senate Committee said the account is with an old generation bank.

The N3 billion, the committee said, was deposited the same day the account was opened.

The committee said its preliminary findings showed that the account did not have the blessing of the Accountant General of the Federation.

Continued on page 4

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

F

•From left: Zenith Bank Plc. Chairman Steve Omojafor speaking at the bank’s Annual General Meeting held at the Civic Centre, Lagos ... yesterday. With him are Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Godwin Emefiele and Company Secretary Mike Otu

ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure as chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ended abruptly yesterday.

He tendered his letter of resignation from the position which he has occupied since he stepped down from office as President on May 29, 2007.

Continued on page 4

•RAPE OF PUPILS: FIVE HELD P8 •SUSPECT ADMITS AL-QAEDA LINK P8

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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NEWS

Why I want to

•Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola at a summit for Local Government functionaries in the Southwest and Midwestern states organised by the NBA in Ibadan, Oyo State ...yesterday

Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Chief Anthony Ojesina and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, at the Egba Economic Summit, held at the Centenary Hall, Ake Abeokuta...yesterday

From 2007 to 2011, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala was a managing director of the World Bank, working directly under its current president, Robert B. Zoellick. Earlier, she held a number of leadership positions in the Nigerian government.

She has a doctorate in regional economic development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She spoke with The New York Times

I

WAS wondering if you could describe how you came to be nominated for this position.

I wasn’t packaging myself as a candidate for the presidency of the World Bank. I have a very busy job as coordinating minister for economic development and minister of finance. But when this process began, African leaders started calling Goodluck Jonathan, the president of Nigeria, saying that they thought I was a candidate well qualified to lead the World Bank.

For African countries, this is an important institution. Their feeling, as it has been described to me, is that the World Bank succeeds or fails depending on what happens in Africa, because it is the continent that has the most complex development challenges and, now, the biggest opportunities, given how things have turned around.

They were looking for someone eminently qualified to lead in Africa and to lead globally. So, and again this is what I am told, they started calling my president with this thesis. The leader of the African Union. Jacob Zuma of South Africa. The president of Côte d’Ivoire. The leader of the World Bank in the Francophone countries.

Goodluck Jonathan was bombarded with calls and letters. I think he decided, if I am getting pressure from all these leaders, I will allow her to go.

What would your agenda be at the bank?

We need to move faster. The bank has to be quick, nimble and responsive in this global environment. I would like it to be much faster to get aid on the ground, and faster giving policy advice and help to ministers looking for it. I’d look to do things in days and weeks rather than months and years, and I have the bureaucratic knowledge, the knowledge of the institution, to make that happen.

But the premier goal should be helping developing countries with the problem of job creation. In country after country, the single most important challenge is how to create good jobs – in developing countries as well as developed countries. And a big challenge is youth unemployment, which I want to tackle very fast because of the other problems it creates.

There is an opportunity for a demographic dividend for developing countries if they address this issue. In my country, about 70 percent of the citizens are 30 years old or younger, and there are similar demographics in many other developing countries. The rest of the developed world is looking at a gerontocracy, but we’re looking at a youth bulge.

The World Bank is the premier institution to support young people, with all of its instruments to create jobs, build infrastructure and invest in human infrastructure.

Also, green growth and climate change – that’s another issue I see as an opportunity for investment.

Hats off to Ngozi

•Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, CBN Governor Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and CBN Deputy Governor, Bank's Financial System Stability, Mr Kingsley Moghalu at a PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE meeting of the Economic Management Team in Abuja...yesterday

A golden opportunity for the rest of the world to show Barack Obama the meaning of meritocracy

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•From left: Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa; Chairman, National Council on Privatisation Technical Committee Mr Peterside Atedo, and Minister of Power Prof. Bart Nnaji, at the opening of financial bid for the Management Contract of Transmission Company of Nigeria in Abuja...yesterday

HEN economists from the World Bank visit poor countries to dispense cash and advice, they routinely tell governments to reject cronyism and fill each important job with the best candidate available. It is good advice. The World Bank should take it. In appointing its next president, the bank’s board should reject the nominee of its most influential shareholder, America, and pick Nigeria’s Ngozi OkonjoIweala.

The World Bank is the world’s premier development institution.

Its boss needs experience in government, in economics and in finance (it is a bank, after all). He or she should have a broad record in development, too. Ms OkonjoIweala has all these attributes, and Colombia’s José Antonio Ocampo has a couple. By contrast Jim Yong Kim, the American public-health professor whom Barack Obama

wants to impose on the bank, has at most one.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala is in her second stint as Nigeria’s finance minister. She has not broken Nigeria’s culture of corruption— an Augean task—but she has sobered up its public finances and injected a measure of transparency.

She led the Paris Club negotiations to reschedule her country’s debt and earned rave reviews as managing director of the World Bank in 2007-11. Hers is the CV of a formidable public economist.

Mr Ocampo was also finance minister, though his time in office, 1996-98, saw the budget deficit balloon. He ran the mildly statist UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

3

NEWS

to run World Bank, by Okonjo-Iweala ‘ ‘ And the World Bank has the knowledge and financial resources to help.

Why do you think it is important for the World Bank to open up its presidential race so that candidates from emerging economies have the chance to lead it?

It makes eminent sense to do this – to open up global governance of these institutions to people in the developing world. If this is not done, there will be less interest in these institutions and people will go make their own. For instance, the BRICS [an umbrella group of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] are talking about making their own development bank.

Besides, emerging and developing countries are contributing more than 50 percent of global growth! If it were not for the growth in developing countries, developed countries would be much, much worse off. So why are developing countries left out of the governance equation? Just to drill down on that, what would be the issue with emerging and developing economies’ setting up institutions that were more responsive to them and controlled by them?

It’s a huge, huge lost opportunity.

I regard the World Bank as the premier instrument to lift people out of poverty and promote development, and not just in the poorest countries. It is a huge lost opportunity if they say that this resource that we have honed over these 70 years, that it doesn’t work for them anymore.

The World Bank’s best attribute is its huge staff. I’ve been there – I know these people, I know their passion and their commitment and their brilliance. If people walk away and say, ‘Listen, we can’t get a foot in the door,’ it will be a huge waste.

What makes you the best candidate?

Development isn’t about just having knowledge in one area.

You have to deal with macroeconomic and fiscal issues. Sectoral issues in agriculture, health, education, manufacturing. Agenda issues, like helping women and chil-

When you listen to the media, it’s like it’s a done deal! I have tremendous respect for Dr. Kim. But you’re looking for the best. You’re not just looking for the acceptable.

I can’t believe what I’m hearing: is this the same West that talks about democracy, openness, and meritocracy, and it’s like it has already been decided!

‘

dren and empowering them. Enterprise. Business development.

Infrastructure. It’s about all of these issues and how they interplay.

That’s where I have strong experience. I’ve had a long career working in every region of the world, from Eastern Europe to Central Asia to the Middle East to Africa to Washington. I’ve worked in all of these regions, and I’ve learned so much that I could deploy as presi-

I think the media should call for a debate of the three candidates, like you have for other important positions, to see who really knows what they are doing. Let’s all of us have a televised debate showing the world what we can do, so people can judge for themselves who is the most qualified to lead.

•Okonjo-Iweala

dent. Indeed, I’ve been managing one of the most complex economies in the world – fighting corruption, promoting good governance, dealing with the macroeconomy.

It’s not about living in a developing country. And doing grassroots development work is wonderful. But ultimately, this is about making tough choices that affect millions of lives. And I’ve done

‘

For almost 70 years, the leadership of the IMF and World Bank has been subject to an indefensible carve-up... This shabby tradition has persisted because it has not been worth picking a fight over.

The gap between Mr Kim and Ms Okonjo-Iweala changes the calculation. It gives others a chance to insist on the best candidate, not simply the American one. Mr Ocampo should bow out gracefully. And the rest of the world should rally round Ms Okonjo-Iweala.

May the best woman win

‘

His is the CV of the international bureaucrat.

•Jim Yong

Mr Kim, the head of a university in New England, has done a lot of

•Zoellick

good things in his life, but the closest he has come to running a

‘

that. And I can hit the ground running because I know how to make this institution work for the world’s poor. I don’t have a learning curve.

When you listen to the media, it’s like it’s a done deal! I have tremendous respect for Dr. Kim. But you’re looking for the best. You’re not just looking for the acceptable.

I can’t believe what I’m hearing: is this the same West that talks about

democracy, openness, and meritocracy, and it’s like it has already been decided!

I think the media should call for a debate of the three candidates, like you have for other important positions, to see who really knows what they are doing. Let’s all of us have a televised debate showing the world what we can do, so people can judge for themselves who is the most qualified to lead.

global body was as head of HIV/ AIDS at the World Health Organisation—not a post requiring tough choices between, say, infrastructure, health and education. He pioneered trials of aid programmes before they became fashionable and set up an outfit called Partners in Health which does fine work in Haiti and Peru. But this is a charity, not a development bank. Had Mr Obama not nominated him, he would be on no one’s shortlist to lead the World Bank. (Indeed he is a far worse example of Western arrogance than Christine Lagarde, whom the Europeans shoehorned into the IMF job last year: the French finance minister plainly had the CV for the job.)

Ms Okonjo-Iweala is an orthodox economist, which many will hold against her. But if there is one thing the world has discovered about poverty reduction in the past 15 years, it is that development is not something rich countries do to poor ones. It is something poor countries manage for themselves, mainly by the sort of policies that Ms Okonjo-Iweala has pursued with some success in Nigeria.

Mr Kim’s views on development are harder to divine. But what can be gleaned is worrying. In an introduction to a 2000 book called “Dying for Growth”, he wrote that

“the quest for growth in GDP and corporate profits has in fact worsened the lives of millions of men and women”, quoted Noam Chomsky and praised Cuba for “prioritising social equity”. Were Mr Kim hoping to lead Occupy Wall Street, such views would be unremarkable. But the purposes of the World Bank, according to its articles of agreement, are “to promote private foreign investment…[and to] encourage international investment for the development of the productive resources of members.” The Bank promotes growth because growth helps the poor. If Mr Kim disagrees, he should stick to medicine.

Ready. Steady. Ngo For almost 70 years, the leadership of the IMF and World Bank has been subject to an indefensible carve-up. The head of the IMF is European; the World Bank, American. This shabby tradition has persisted because it has not been worth picking a fight over. The gap between Mr Kim and Ms Okonjo-Iweala changes the calculation. It gives others a chance to insist on the best candidate, not simply the American one. Mr Ocampo should bow out gracefully.

And the rest of the world should rally round Ms Okonjo-Iweala.

May the best woman win.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

NEWS N3b fake account found Continued from page 1

•Aviation workers during a rally in support of the termination of Maevis Nigeria Limited Concession by Federal Airports Authority PHOTO: ISAAC AYODELE of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos ... yesterday.

Obasanjo quits PDP BoT chairmanship Continued from page 1

He would have ended his five-year tenure in July. In a statement he personally signed and made exclusively available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday, Obasanjo said he had sent the letter to PDP chair Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

“I have formally sent in my letter of resignation as the Chairman of BoT of PDP to the National Chairman of the party as prescribed in the party’s constitution,” he said.

The former President added: “I have formally requested the President to allow my bowing out and to issue a short statement to that effect.

“By relieving myself of the responsibility for chairmanship of BoT of PDP, I will have a bit more time to devote to the international demand on me.”

He added that the step would give him time “to give some attention to mentoring across the board nationally and internationally in those areas that I have acquired some experience, expertise and in which I have something to share”.

Obasanjo said his exit would afford him more time to develop “my Presidential Library and to mobilising and encouraging investment in Nigeria and Africa”.

He said before the 2011 general elections, he believed that if PDP produced the President, it would be time for him to reduce his partisan political activities.

Obasanjo recalled that he was actively involved in bringing forth “my successor president from PDP in 2007”.

“In 2011, I was in the vanguard of working for PDP to produce a president for Nigeria. God answered our prayer.”

U

What future for ex-President?

NTIL his resignation as Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) Board of Trustees yesterday, General Olusegun Obasanjo used the position effectively to remain relevant in the party’s scheme of things. Designed to be the conscience of the party, the Board met at the instance of the chairman or whenever requested by two-thirds of the members.

The former BOT chairman waded into all major national and party issues in all parts of the country. In the Southwest, as a former President and highest party office holder, Obasanjo was regarded as the reference point for the party and respected by the top hierarchy of the party. He was instrumental to the choice of his successor, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, and consequently, at his death, President Goodluck Jonathan.

Only on Monday, the former President was in Ibadan to woo ex-Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja back into the PDP. He had been largely instrumental to Ladoja’s exit

By Bolade Omonijo, Group Political Editor

from the party. It was therefore surprising that 24 hours after the visit, Obasanjo, citing international engagements, chose to quit office.

When it became obvious in 2007 that the former President’s scheme to hold on to office would fail, he got the National Executive Committee of the PDP on June 21 to amend the constitution in a way that the BOT leadership would be reserved for him.

The amended Section 12 of the PDP constitution read: “Without prejudice to the provisions of this constitution, the party will ensure that an elected chairman is: (1) either a former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria produced by the party or in the absence of such; (2) a former national chairman of the party who has distinguished himself in the service of the party or; (3) a person of proven integrity who has contributed immensely to the growth of the party.”

Continued on page 58

According to a source in the party, although most PDP stalwarts persuaded Obasanjo to continue, he said he should be allowed to quit.

He said he would prefer a background role than being in charge of BoT. The source said: “The exPresident had wanted to resign as the BoT chairman about three months ago, but he was prevailed upon by the immediate past leadership of the PDP not to do so.

“I think he has made up his mind to slow down at the BoT level for other tasks which he has not disclosed.

He has stepped down as BoT Chairman.

“You can see that in the last few weeks, he has been trying to reunify the PDP in some states, like Kebbi and Oyo. Another source added: “The

ex-President appears to be sidelined on many issues by the Presidency, in spite of the fact that the Office of the National Secretary was conceded to him at the last minute.

“At least, he is no longer calling the shots as it used to be in the past.”

But there were indications that Obasanjo also quit to devote more time to what a source described as Operation Recapture Southwest from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The source said: “If Obasanjo has any ambition at all, he wants to reclaim Southwest for the PDP. This is a tall dream, but he is already plotting towards that.

“In the last two weeks, a series of meetings has been held in Osogbo and Ibadan on ‘Operation Recapture Southwest’.

“On Monday night, some PDP top leaders in the South-

west like the National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Bode George and a few others met at the VIP Lounge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

“A major peg of the plot against ACN borders on how to make Oyo State ungovernable for Governor Abiola Ajimobi by trying to ensure that the PDP controls the House of Assembly.”

The BoT is an advisory organ of the PDP. Most of the members are appointed.

According to article 12.77 (A&B) of the PDP Constitution 2009 (as amended), the chairman and secretary of the BoT, who are appointed by the members from among them, shall be people of proven integrity. They shall also serve a single term of five years.

By Emmanuel Oladesu,

onciliation Panel.

A top party chieftain hinted that it was the first leg of Oyinlola’s visit to the troubled chapter, adding that he is expected to return for a broader meeting.

The National Secretary, George and Shelle, it was gathered, deliberated on ways to prevent future dismal performances at the polls.

“The trio met behind closed doors at the residence of Chief George, to bring about restructuring of the party, ahead of the 2015 general elections,” said the source.

At the meeting, it was gathered that members of the party

were worried over the dominance of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Oyinlola, the source added, suggested the need to put forward credible candidates to get victory in subsequent elections.

The source said: “The meeting was aimed at reconciling aggrieved members of the party in the Southwest, especially those who left the fold in anger. The deliberations focused on resolving the crisis in the Southwest chapter of the party.”

Captain Shelle, declined comments, saying: “I am not in a position to divulge any information on what was deliberated at the meeting.”

The committee said the questionable account was opened in the name of Adamu Salihu but with different codes.

Senator Aloysius Etok, head of the Joint Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration, which is probing the fund, vowed to get to the root of the suspicious account.

Etok announced the invitation of Managing Directors of seven banks and the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, to unravel the mystery behind the series of controversial accounts on the pension fund.

The banks whose chief executives were invited by the committee are First Bank, Union Bank, Zenith Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, GTB and Skye Bank.

The banks’ chiefs are expected to appear before the committee on April 16.

The Executive Director (North), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Dan Okeke, who appeared before the committee to clarify issues surrounding another pension account in his bank, noted that it was not possible for one account to bear two names.

Okeke also said it was not possible under normal circumstance for two persons to operate one account.

The bank official said there was approval before the account was opened but could not say if the approval was granted before or after the controversial account was opened.

He urged the committee to give him time to fetch a copy of the approval letter for opening the account.

Okeke said: “It is highly unlikely for such to happen. If you let us have the specific case, we can go back and confirm, but under normal circumstance, two names are not supposed to bear same account number.”

Etok sought to know whether interest is paid on the account or not.

Okeke said UBA would not pay interest on such account, except it is a fixed deposit account.

He is to give the committee details of all the pension accounts of the police, Head of Service, Customs Service and others with his bank.

Kigo and five others standing trial over N32.8 billion Nigeria Police Pension Fund, got bail yesterday.

Also granted bail are a director, Esai Dangabar; Ahmed Inuwa Wada, John Yakubu

Yusufu, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira.

They are facing a 16-count charge of criminal breach of trust slammed against them by the EFCC. The alleged offence is punishable under Sections 97, 115 (ii), 119, 309 and 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap. 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007.

Justice Abubakar Talba granted them N10m bail each and two sureties each in the like sum. The sureties must be residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). One of them must be a civil servant not below Grade level 14.

Ruling on the bail application argued by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), Justice Talba agreed that the court has discretion to admit the accused persons to bail.

The court after weighing the balance of convenience, decided that the accused persons are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

The Judge disagreed with the EFCC’s claim that investigation into the case had not been concluded and also dispelled insinuations that the accused will interfere with the trial.

According to him, with the proof of evidence placed before the court, it is presumed that investigation had been done.

Awomolo urged the court to grant the accused bail on the grounds that they did not abuse the administrative bail granted them by the anti-graft agency before being brought to court.

But EFCC counsel Mr. Rotimi Jacob argued that the accused failed to place enough material before the court to enable it exercise its discretion in their favour.

The accused, between January 2009 and June 2011 in Abuja, allegedly diverted N14,518,567,724, being part of the police pension fund from an account domiciled at First Bank Plc. Between January and December 2009 in Abuja, they also allegedly breached the public trust with N8,920,371,822 police pension fund kept at First Bank Plc. The charge sheet also indicated that between January 2010 and February 2011, also in Abuja, they diverted N4,739,894,896 police fund and another N858,301,006 between February and June 2011.

They were also accused of stealing N656,559,289 in January 2011 while in March 2009 another N462,963,012 was allegedly diverted from the same source while working at the police pension office among others.

The case has been adjourned till April 28 for trial.

Oyinlola, others plot PDP’s return in Southwest ACN seeks Jonathan’s sack

T

HE reconciliation train of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rolled into Lagos State yesterday, with the National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, urging aggrieved chieftains to close ranks and prepare for future electoral challenges.

Oyinlola, former governor of Osun State, visited the party leader, Commodore Bode George (rtd) and the newly elected state chairman, Captain Tunji Shelle (rtd), to discuss the modalities for the restructuring of the branch.

However, it was not certain that the national secretary

Deputy Political Editor

met with other top chieftains, including Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, Dr. Yomi Finnih, Dupe Sasore and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

A source said another group of members led by Chief Rafiu Jafojo, was not aware of the meeting.

The source said top on the agenda at the meeting, which was attended by members of George’s group, was restructuring ahead of the 2015 polls, but it could not be ascertained whether the Lagos PDP would revisit the sharing formula suggested by the Oshunrinde Rec-

Continued from page 1

For the purposes of subsection (1) of this subsection, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or benefits from commercial firms, business enterprises or persons who have contracts with the Government shall be presumed to have been received in contravention…unless the contrary is proved’,” it said.

The ACN said by his improper and unfortunate action, the President has also undermined the country’s fight against corruption and put Nigeria’s democracy in jeopardy, hence must not be allowed to get away with such an egregious act.

“Gitto has obtained billions of contracts from the Nigerian government, amid reported allegations in the media that it has not executed such contracts well. How can the federal government hold the company to account, when it (firm) has obtained an “insurance cover” by bribing the President? Is this not why the country’s anti-corruption efforts have not achieved anything? Can the EFCC and the ICPC honestly and boldly fight corruption when the President is kneedeep in the mud of corruption?” the ACN queried.

Continued on page 60

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

NEWS

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Osun Speaker hails Aregbesola on infrastructural development

SUN State House of Assembly Speaker Najeem Salaam has hailed the development of infrastructure, road construction and rehabilitation in all parts of the state by the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

In a statement by his Press Secretary, Goke Butika, the Speaker expressed delight about ongoing rehabilitation and construction works in major cities across the state.

Salaam, who praised the diliegence of the contractors

•‘Let opposition judge for itself’ From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

said the days of shoddy jobs were gone.

Commenting on some roads that passed through water-logging areas, such as the old Coca-Cola to Capital Hotel by-pass, the Speaker stressed that the kind of drainage system being put in place in these places suggest that the roads would be durable when completed.

He noted that his inspection of Ahamadiya to Igbona, Idowu Barber to Fagbewesa, Abaku, Isale-Aro, Asubiaro, Gbodofon and IsaleOsun, Osogbo, showed that the Aregbesola administration attached to infrastructural renewal.

The Speaker urged the residents to shun political sentiments and support Aregbesola, saying some of the ongoing road projects have shown

the governor’s capacity to make good things happen.

He said: “Aregbesola has surprised me. I invite our people in opposition parties to conduct an on-the-spot assessment too and make their judgement public. It has never happened in the history of this state; that a governor would involve himself in a multi-road projects, modern schools construction and still be comfortable paying his workers, despite limited funds. Certainly, Aregbesola is a different specie.”

•Lagos State Chairman of the National Joint Towing Vehicles Association (NJTVA), Deacon Christopher O. Okiemute (right); Ondo State Chairman, Elder Faboye Philip (middle) and Kogi State Secretary, Musa Saidu at the association’s national conference on Safety and Service to Humanity in Lagos…yesterday.

PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

S

LP members join Ondo ACN to support Boroffice’s governorship bid

CORES of Labour Party (LP) members and the Asiwaju Assembly (AA) caucus in Ward II Arigidi-Akoko in Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State have defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The party’s top leaders in the state, including Chief F.I Ayegbusi, Chief Erastus Akeju, a former commissioner under the Adebayo Adefarati administration, Chief A. Ajayi; Elder Ogunleye, Akoko North West ACN Vice-Chairman and other ACN chieftains, attended the ceremony.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

ACN Chairman in the local government, Mr. Dayo Bello and Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice, were also there.

The leader of the defectors, Mr A. A. Adedoyin, thanked Boroffice for bringing the dividends of the democracy to their door steps, especially potable water and job creation, within his six months in office.

The governorship aspirant hailed the defectors for joining the ACN. He said they took the right

decision because of the progressive stance of the ACN and not because of any individual.

According to him, the party is greater than any individual.

Another group, One Million Ondo State Youths for Senator Boroffice, comprising youths from Oka-Akoko and their friends across the state, have expressed confidence in the ability of the ACN governorship aspirant to rule the state.

In a statement in Akure by

its Coordinator, Ope Omoriwo, the group said: “Having acknowledged your contributions towards establishing Oka youths while serving as the Director-General of NASRDA, we believe that you are God-send to liberate the Sunshine State from the bondage of poverty and illiteracy.

“We are strategising seriously to enlarge our coast by preaching this gospel across the state, using the Neighbour-to-Neighbour approach,” the group said.

Mimiko urged to declare three-year federal allocations

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POLITICAL pressure group, Independent Campaign Group (ICG), yesterday urged the Ondo State Government to render accounts on how much it has collected as federal allocations since February 24, 2009, when the administration assumed office.

It alleged that Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s financial recklessness has forced the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to be after some of his aides.

Addressing reporters in Akure, the state capital, the group’s National President Benjamin Akinbobola alleged that the state government has left the poor masses in the dark on how the state’s funds were spent.

Akinbobola, who decried the arrest of the embattled Chairman of the State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC),

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

Debo Ajimuda, noted that the arrest exposed the looting in Mimiko’s government.

Ajimuda was arrested by EFCC officials at his home in Alagbaka, Akure, two weeks ago, and 15 exotic cars were seized from the compound over alleged N61.63billion fraud.

Akinbobola said such money could not be siphoned away from the accounts of the state without the knowledge of the government.

He said: “We believe indeed that Ajimuda cannot be acting alone. And if he ever did, who knows what the other heads of agencies and the various political appointees and stooges of this government are doing in their various duty posts?

“We will like to ask a few questions from the present administration: Was the government of the state aware and a

party to the various schemes by which those funds were frittered away? Was the government inactive in its duties of monitoring its appointees and representatives? Is Ajimuda’s action not indicative of the state of affairs in the governance of Ondo State, where accounts have not been given of government’s revenue and expenditure in the last three years?”

The groups leader urged the anti-graft agency to help the state to recover all stolen funds from the present administration.

“Knowing the huge amounts of money being allocated to this state as an oil producing state, with far greater allocation than virtually all the state-in the Southwest, we will like to know what the present administration has done with our money,” Akinbobola said.

He sought clarification

from Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi (rtd) on his endorsement of the incumbent governor for a second term.

“Our attention has been drawn to the mischievous and calculated attempt at dragging the church and the noble name of our most esteemed Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi into the murky waters of partisan politics by the obviously disrespectful Labour Party government of Dr. Mimiko.

“The desperation of this government to score cheap points by faking and implying wrongly an endorsement by the most highly revered and honoured bishop is condemnable in its entirety. It is our belief that if our esteemed bishop paid official compliments, as an act of courtesy on the activities of Mimiko’s government, it would be totally wrong to desperately imply an endorsement by Gbonigi of Mimiko’s desire for a second term,” Akinbobola added.

Mum to Ladoja: reject PDP

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•Oyo ACN: associating with Obasanjo disastrous

ORMER Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja yesterday got an elderly counselling from her mother over the plan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to woo him back. The elderly woman urged him not to return to the party.

Her plea came on the heels of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s visit to Ladoja’s Bodija, Ibadan, home. The former President wanted to woo him on Monday.

Obasanjo, in company of some factional leaders of the party in Oyo State, had visited Ladoja to finalise a merger talk between his Accord Party (AA) and the PDP in the state. But the former governot, sources said, was yet to bulge.

A source close to the Ladoja family told The Nation yesterday that over 70 per cent of his supporters opposed his planned return to the PDP. The source added that some of his supporters told Ladoja’s mother about the plan, when they heard that Obasanjo wanted to visit Ladoja’s wife, Mutiyat.

Obasanjo had reportedly called Mutiyat at the weekend and intimated her with his plan to eat pounded yam at the family house on Monday. She reportedly promised to inform her husband.

It was learnt that many of Ladoja’s supporters opposed the visit. They were said to have recalled that it was pounded yam that Obasanjo ate at Chief Audu Ogbe’s and Senator Chuba Okadigbo’s homes that led to the revelation of the former President’s hostility to them.

Ladoja, the source said, has a lot of respect for his octogenarian mother, which was why his supporters urged her to prevail on him.

The elderly woman was said to have discussed Obasanjo’s visit with him, reminding her son of how she spent three days in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to beg Obasanjo not to remove him (Ladoja) from office in 2005. Obasanjo, she recalled, refused to dignify her with an audience, despite her age.

The Nation learnt that the former governor may not return to the PDP because of his political working relationship and agreement with his cousin, Governor Abiola Ajmobi.

The source added that Ladoja told Obasanjo that the plan to return him to the PDP had become impossible with the appointment of about 100 of his supporters into different offices in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government in Oyo State.

It quoted Ladoja as saying: “I told him (Obasanjo) that if I decide to join the PDP today, I will lose all these people because they will not follow me.

I will become a general without soldiers.”

The Oyo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has warned Ladoja to beware of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

It likened the former President to a viper which, though looks beautiful outwardly but could be a deadly baggage to carry.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Dauda Kolawole, the party urged Ladoja to be cautious of his association with the former President.

According to the party, Obasanjo’s visit to Ladoja was an ill-wind that could only lead to

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

disaster for the former governor, if he abandons a party he helped to build and join a party whose runners were traditional vipers, scorpions and those who have run Nigeria aground for decades.

The ACN drew Ladoja’s attention to the fact that Obasanjo, who now appears as a worthy bride, supervised and choreographed his illegal impeachment as governor.

It noted that the former President also “supplanted him (Ladoja) with his deputy, whom the ACN said was “a total antithesis of and indeed destroyed all that Ladoja stands for in politics”.

ACN said: “The intention of Obasanjo in bringing Ladoja back to the PDP, we hope Ladoja knows, is not because he likes the former governor. Obasanjo knows that with his highly discredited name, he can never win a single election in the Southwest. He is aware that the regime he foisted on Oyo State after Ladoja can only be likened to that of armed robbers’ invasion. Even though he was a recipient of some of the heists, deep within him, he is aware of the quality of that government.

He only needs Ladoja’s name and clout to gain legitimacy and, immediately this is achieved, he will bare his agelong fang.”.

Warning Ladoja to remember the Jamaican reggae star, Bob Marley’s admonition that it is better to live in a house of peace with you at the top than to live in a house full of confusion, the ACN admonished Ladoja to sleep and hear what his pillow tells him at night.

“It is only Ladoja’s pillows that can tell him the truth. He should go to sleep and listen to his pillows. Those who came to him are his enemies. Ladoja should reflect on that day when, as a sitting governor, Obasanjo barred him from entering Papa Emmanuel Alayande’s house.

He should reflect on the long history of treachery and Machiavellian disposition of Obasanjo. Obasanjo is inherently evil and does not have a forgiving spirit. Ladoja should reflect on the path that the former President has trod, which is full of the skeletons of the people he used and stabbed at a time when they relied on him. He should reflect on an anthropologist’s submission on Obasanjo that the former President can only be likened to a typical African witch who, the more good you do to him, the more evil it breeds from him,” the party said.

ACN urged the Accord Party leader to cooperate with the Oyo State Government in rebuilding the state.

It added that being a very deep thinker, Ladoja would know that any association or promise from Obasanjo can only be temporary and selfish because abandoning his supporters for the PDP was akin to committing political suicide.

•Ladoja

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

6

CITYBEATS Two docked over A N500,000 theft

53-year-old man, Ganiyu Oyewale, was yesterday arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates Court, for the alleged murder of Rotimi Famoofo.

Prosecution police officer Barth Nwankanye, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), told Chief Magistrate A.O. Isaac that the accused committed the offence on February 27, at 11:40am, on Oba Ogunji Road, Pen Cinema, Agege, on the ou tskeirts of Lagos.

The prosecutor alleged that Oyewole drove his Kia Rio car marked EV684EKY dangerously on the highway, without a driver’s licence and caused the death of Famoofo, a resident of New site, Agbado, Oke-Aro, Ogun State.

The offence, he said, is punishable under Section 18 of the Road Traffic Law Cap 124 Vol. 6 Laws of Lagos

TWO people, including a sexagenarian, were yesterday arraigned at an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court, for allegedly stealing N500,000.

Emmanuel Opausi, 60, and Olufemi Olubanjo, 44, pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Iyabode Johnson, said the accused, with four others still at large, stole the money from Mr Odejobi Mufutau, in a hotel.

He said the offences were committed between March 23 and 24, at Fehintola Hotel, Oke-Oriya, Ikorodu.

Johnson said the accused contravened Sections 278 (1), (B) and 409 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State 2011.

Magistrate Olufunke Hamzat granted the accused N50, 000 bail each with two sureties each in like sum.

She adjourned the case to April 12 for mention.

08033054340, 08034699757 E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

Man, 53, arraigned for alleged murder

By Owolabi Olamide

State of Nigeria 2003.

The three-count murder charge reads: “That you, Ganiyu Oyewale on February 27, about 11:40hrs along Oba Ogunji road Pen-Cinema, Agege, in the Ikeja Magistrate district, did drive Kia Rio car, with registration no EV684EKY, dangerously in the public highway, having no regard to the nature, condition and use of the highway and the amount of traffic, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 18 of the Road Traffic Law Cap 124 Vol. 6

Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.

“That you, Ganiyu Oyewale, on the same day, time and place at the aforementioned magisterial district being the driver of the Kia Rio car, with registration no EV684EKY, drove same on the public highway and caused the death of Famoofo, having no regards to all the circumstance of the case including the nature and condition of the road and thereby committed an offense contrary and punishable under Section 27 of the Road Traffic Law Cap 124 Vol. 6 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.”

The accused pleaded not guilty.

Chief Magistrate Isaac granted him N200, 000 bail with two sureties each in the like sum, who must be resident in Lagos and possess three years tax certificate.

He fixed May 2, for the hearing.

Also, a 48-year-old man, Segun Oyesanya, was arraigned for assaulting one Rex Usman.

Nwankanye alleged that the accused used a cutlass to injure Usman.

The offence, according to him, is punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code Cap 17 Vol. 11 Laws of Lagos State 2003.

The accused pleaded not guilty and was granted N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, who must be resident in Lagos and possess three years tax certificate.

Chief Magistrate, Isaac adjourned hearing to May 5.

Health screening begins

By Wale Adepoju

LAGOS State yesterday began a state-wide free hypertension and diabetes screening.

The exercise, according to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina, is to raise awareness on NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs).

Adeshina told reporters that the screening will end on April 13, while a final screening will take place on April 16. She urged adults from age 20 and above to get screened.

She said the diseases were responsible for 60 per cent of deaths across the world, adding that 80 per cent of such deaths occurred in developing countries.

Adeshina said people were still ignorant of the symptoms, signs and effects of untreated hypertension and diabetes, adding that the programme will be flaggedoff simultaneously in all local government areas (LGAs) and local council development areas (LCDAs) to ensure total coverage.

“The Primary Health Care centres across the state will also provide screening services,” she said.

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (2nd left), listening to an explanation from Mr Biuliano Fileppi (right). With them are the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr Kadri Hamzat (left), and Director of Projects in the Ministry Mr Gbenga Abudiore during the inspection tour of Eric Moore, Surulere, Lagos...yesterday PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Keke Marwa operators allege Police, NURTW harassment

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OPERATORS of threewheelers popularly known as Keke Marwa have accused members of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) of using policemen to harass them.

They also alleged the invasion of their parks in Isolo by NURTW members and policemen from the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad

By Jude Isiguzo

(FSARS).

The Chairman of the group, Comrade Moses Buhari, said on March 29, policemen from FSARS came to their office with a petition purportedly written by a member, who was allegedly expelled.

It was gathered that the petitioner

accused the leadership of ThreeWheelers of illegally keeping firearms in their homes.

Buhari said while they were being led to the police commissioner’s office at Adeniji Adele, some other policemen invaded their parks at Ejigbo, Ketu and Isolo, aided by members of the NURTW, armed with dangerous weapons.

Army to help train LASTMA officials

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HE Army has promised to help the Lagos State train officials of its Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on safety and medical emergency.

The Director of studies, Nigerian Army School of Medical Science, Ojo, Lagos, Col. Michael Adegbesan made the promise when he led a delegation of the school management to the Ministry of Transpor-

By Miriam Ndikanwu

tation Alausa, Ikeja.

Adegbesan said the Army would engage LASTMA officials in combat medics training to enable them handle emergency situation and make them combat-ready while carrying out their duties.

He said the visiting 26 top military personnel were students of Senior Executive Management course

14/2012 in the Nigerian Army School of Medical Service Science.

The visit, he said, was to enable them understudy the transportation management in the state, adding that the military medical corps would also enrol in the state’s driving school, to improve the skills of military ambulance drivers.

“I think we can really collaborate, it will be a win-win situation.

LAGOS EMERGENCY LINES

STATE AGENCIES 4. KAI Brigade Phone Nos: 080-23036632; 0805-5284914 Head office Phone Nos: 3. LASTMA Emergency Numbers: 01-4703325; 01-7743026 080-75005411; 080-60152462 5. Rapid Response Squad (RRS) 080-23111742; 080-29728371 Phone Nos: 070-55350249; 080-23909364; 080-77551000 070-35068242 01-7904983 080-79279349; 080-63299264

1. Fire and Safety Services Control Room Phone Nos: 01-7944929; 080-33235892; 080-33235890; 080-23321770; 080-56374036.

2. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Lagos Zonal Command Phone No:080-33706639; 01-7742771 Sector Commander Phone No: 080-34346168; 01-2881304

We will be able to take LASTMA for an equivalent course in the army that is called combat Medics.

This will enable them train on physical aspect and how to take care of injuries. Because I know LASTMA officials are exposed to various stab injuries, even gunshot and incidents like that, they will be trained on how to give immediate intervention to prevent loss of blood,” he said.

070-55462708; 080-65154338 767 or email: rapidresponsesquad@yahoo.com 6. Health Services – LASAMBUS Ambulance Services Phone Nos: 01-4979844; 01-4979866; 01-4979899; 01-4979888; 01-2637853-4; 080-33057916; 080-33051918-9; 080-29000003-5.

He alleged that NURTW members also seized and damaged some of their tricycles.

Buhari said those arrested were detained for four days. “They were released after policemen conducted a search on their homes to ascertain they were not hiding any firearms,” he said.

He urged Governor Babatunde Fashola and Acting Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar to intervene in the crisis to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

“We are sending an SOS to the IG who is well known for his no-nonsense nature and lack of tolerance for corruption and indiscipline to come to our aid by calling his men to order and stopping them from supporting illegality.

“Henceforth, we will not tolerate any act that may jeopardise the interest of our members,” he said.

The association also debunked rumours that its members were planning to go on strike in support of the ongoing court case between the government and okada riders.

“We never planned or even thought of such. The people spreading the rumours are detractors and enemies who are bent on destroying the association,” Buhari said.

A police source at FSARS confirmed that some members of the association were arrested based on a petition that is being investigated.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

CITYBEATS

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Nine-year-old boy is Spelling Bee champion

H

E snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He was initially eliminated but he returned to win the primary school category of this year’s Spelling Bee competition yesterday.

Nine-year-old Emeka Chibike had emerged fourth and was eliminated but his elimination was overruled, paving the way for him to participate in the final.

Chibike of Housing Estate Primary School, Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area (LCDA), led 57 other pupils from the six education districts and the 20 local government areas and 37 LCDAs. He went home with a trophy, a certificate and N150, 000 cheque. His victory threw the audience into spontaneous jubilation.

The competition was keen, and all the participants were hopeful of winning. It was held under the watchful eyes of t h e wi f e o f the L a g o s State Governor , Dame Abimbola Fashola, Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, Executive Director, New Era Foundation , Mr. Yemi Osilaja, government officials and stakeholders in the education sector, among others.

The event, which was held at Adeyemi Bero Au-

•Dame Abimbola Fashola presenting the cheque dummy and trophy to Chibike...yesterday PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

By Miriam Ndikanwu

ditorium, Alausa, began about 10.55am, with the

quiz master setting the rules, which include the time frame of 20 seconds for a contestant to spell

correctly the provided word to enable him or her qualify for the next round.

The contestants were

7

Model schools screening holds

also given the privilege to ask for the meaning of a given word or how such is used in a context. They will then spell it correctly within the given time or stand eliminated from the competition.

Popoola Mariam of Local Authority Primary School, Ilogbo-Elegba in Oto-Awori LCDA, came second; Ajayi Shakiru of RCM Primary School, Lekki, third. They won N100, 000 and N75, 000.

The winners praised their teachers for grilling them and the New Era Foundation for initiating the competition. They said the programme has impacted positively in the development of pupils.

Mrs Oladunjoye described the event as an eye opener. “I can only appeal that the losers should go back to the drawing board and study hard to emerge winners in future. This is a healthy competition, and there is always another chance to win,” she said.

Osilaja said the impact of the competition is tremendous. He said many parents were withdrawing their children from private schools to public schools to enable them have an opportunity to participate.

“This has been ongoing for 11 years and Senator Oluremi Tinubu is always excited about it. We must also commend the government for sustaining the competition,” he added.

Screening into Lagos State model and upgraded junior secondary colleges holds tomorrow at designated centres.

Director of the Lagos State Examinations Board Mrs Modupe Coker, in a statement by the Public Relations Officer, Mrs Adenike Sodipo, said some centres have been merged.

They include: Government Technical College, Ikotun with State Junior High School, Alimoso; Eko Akete Junior School and Kuramo Junior College; while New Era Girls Junior School, Surulere, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Junior Secondary School and Sari Iganmu Junior Secondary School have all been merged with Govt Junior College, Eric Moore, Surulere.

Other schools merged are Morocco Comprehensive College and Eva Adelaja Junior School, Government College Ijanikin and Junior Model College, Ojo; Amuwo Junior Grammar School and Festac Junior Grammar School; Bolade Junior Grammar School and Unity Junior High School, and Ajunmoni Junior Secondary School and Igbo-Owu Secondary School, Mushin.

Mrs Coker appealed to principals of the designated centres to assist the candidates and their parents, urging them to ensure their schools are in good condition for the examination.

Blind students get N106 million scholarship

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HAT does it cost an average student to get tools to attend lectures? N20 biro and N150 notebook, perhaps. But this is not so for the blind. To keep record of what transpires in class, they need a tape recorder worth at least N6, 000.

That is not all. They also need Braille machines to read, and because most of their lecturers cannot read, using Braille, they need laptops or typewriters for assignments.

This is why each 45 undergraduates studying in public tertiary institutions in the Southwest, who were presented with N200, 000 each under the MTN Foundation Scholarship Scheme for the Visually Impaired, were overjoyed yesterday.

Though 530 others received the same amount under the Science and Technology Scholarship scheme of the foundation, the visually-impaired were the stars of the day.

Many of them recalled that studying had been stressful, going without the equipment that would ease their studies in an environment that makes little provision for them.

Moreover, majority of them are from poor homes.

With the scholarship, they expressed hope that their academics will improve. They were assured that if they maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 2.50, they will continue

•Cross section of the physically challenged beneficiaries

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

to enjoy the scholarship until they graduate.

Jude Azubuike, a 200 Level Law student at the University of Lagos, said the impact the scholarship will have on his education cannot be overemphasised. ”It will definitely improve my finances. As a visually impaired person, we need an equivalent of N500 to get our writing material. Secondary schools and universities have no equipment to take care of visually impaired persons.

We depend on assistance like

these. We use typewriters and laptops to write tests because it has to be in a form that the lecturers can read. We use Braille for personal study,” he said.

Omowunmi Alake, a 200 Level Special Education student of the University of Ibadan, said the money would enable her buy equipment that her typist mother and clerical worker father have no money for.

She said: “I am very happy to get this scholarship. It is going to make a lot of impact because I have been thinking

PHOTO: KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE

of how to get some important equipment. I need a tape recorder presently. We have one for N6, 000 but the one that is very good is N16,000 and that is what I am going to buy. I will also get a good phone that can read out the numbers on my phone and browse with to get information. It will cost N35,000. I also need some textbooks. I have been calling home for money but they told me there is none. For next session, I will still pay my fees from this money so it has really reduced the burden on my family. I

am the second of five children.”

Her course mate, Florence Joseph, plans to get a walking stick and laptop, items she did not think she could afford in a long while.

“Right now, I don’t have a laptop, walking stick, Braille wristwatch and Braille machine. Without this money I would not be able to get it. I wasn’t counting myself among those who could get these materials. I feel so happy,” she said.

Chairman of MTN Nigeria Dr Pascal Dozie called for

more support for people living with disabilities, especially investments in their education.

Executive Secretary of MTN Foundation, Ms Nonny Ugboma said 159 of the 530 beneficiaries are fresh recipients, 170, are second timers, and 199 are getting the support for the third time having been able to maintain a minimum CGPA of 3.50.

She said the scholarship with more than 2, 500 students benefiting nationwide, has cost the telecommunications company about N520 million.

8

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

NEWS Three civil servants arraigned for alleged N109m scam

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HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned three staff of the Federal Civil Service Commission before Justice MaryAnn Anennih of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on a 12-count charge bordering on fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, forgery and fraudulent conversion of over N109 million belonging to the commission to private use.

The accused, Hassan Mohammed Tukur, Babatunde Abisuga and Mohammed Ndakupe pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Prosecution counsel Sylvannus Tahir asked the court for a date for the commencement of trial and urged the court to remand the accused in prison as the EFCC detention facilities were no longer available.

Defence counsel M. A. Ebuka prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail on lenient terms, as they have been on EFCC’s administrative bail and that bail was discretionary.

Justice Anennih said the bail application would be heard tomorrow and remanded the accused in Kuje prison.

Court fixes April 26 for Ondo lawmaker’s suit

A

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

FEDERAL High Court, sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has fixed April 26, for the hearing of the suit seeking to stop the Labour Party (LP) from recalling Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde representing Akure South/ North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

There is an agreement between Abegunde’s counsel, Chief Kola Olawoye; Ondo Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) and the Director of Civil Litigation, Mr Rotimi Olamide, for quick adjudication of the case.

Both sides agreed that instead of wasting time on the application for interlocutory injunction, it is better to allow the court treat the substantive matter.

Justice Grace Okeke agreed with the decision.

Abegunde dumped LP owing to alleged intra-party crisis and joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on February 1.

But LP initiated moves for his recall, on the grounds that he was elected on the party’s platform.

On January 25, Abegunde sought the protection of the court. April 26 has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

‘Bankole not signatory to suspicious accounts’

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From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

WITNESS of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Ahmed, yesterday said former Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole was not a signatory to the suspicious accounts of Multigates Resources Limited, used to clear some cheques for the controversial contracts.

Ahmed, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the anti-graft agency, made the revelation at the ongoing trial of Bankole, who allegedly awarded contracts to companies without traceable addresses, while in office.

Bankole is facing a 16-count charge of contract inflation and awards without due process before Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Yesterday, the witness said: “On June 16, 2010, my colleagues and I were called by our unit head and our attention was drawn to a petition written against the accused person by Mr. Dino Melaye and some other members of the House.

“It bordered on the procurement of capital running in 2010, where it was alleged that there was a diversion of public funds, abuse of office and abuse of due process.

“As soon as the case was referred to us, we commenced investigation by going to the House of Representatives, where we accosted those concerned with regard to the contract awarded in 2010. The documents made available to us include bill of quantity, invitation to tender, award letters, agreements, acceptance letters and payment vouchers.

“Letters were written to the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Attorney-General (AGF) for details of funds released to the House of Representatives in respect of the 2010 budget.

“A letter was also written to the Director-General of the bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) for the current prices of the items mentioned in the petition. Having collated the responses, addresses of the companies were obtained from CAC and we decided to do a physical verification of the companies, but we could not locate them.

“Letters of invitation were written to the Managing Directors of the companies and given to the EFCC dispatch unit, but the letters were returned three weeks later when the addresses could not be traced.

“After this, we invited the National Assembly’s Director of Finance, Chief Accountant, Chief Driver and the Secretary, confronted them with our findings and obtained statements from them. The accused person was equally invited and he voluntarily gave a statement.”

•From right: Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii; Group Executive Director, BUA Group, Alhaji Kabiru Rabiu; and NAFDAC Director of Enforcement Mr. Garuba Macdonal; during the presentation of computers to the agency’s office in Oshodi, Lagos, by BUA Group..yesterday.

Suspect admits links with Al-Qaeda

A

FORMER Chief Intelligence Officer of the State Security Service (SSS), Bukar Tarha, yesterday testified in court that a terrorism suspect, Mallam Mohammed Ashafa, has admitted that he is linked with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.

The Prosecution Witness (PW), who testified before a Federal High Court in Abuja, said Ashafa obtained “Al-Qaeda Grade A terrorism training” in Karachi, Pakistan.

He said Ashafa’s training was financed by the alleged Chief of Al-Qaeda for West Africa, Adnan Ibrahim, who is based in Kano.

Ashafa has also been linked with the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria.

Tarha, who retired from the SSS in 2008 and went into private practice, said Ashafa was under his custody between 2005 and 2006, when he was head of the anti-terrorism department of the SSS. He said the accused person was handed over to the Nigerian government by the Pakistani government through the National Intelligent Agency (NIA).

Tarha said Ashafa was a major link for the group, adding that he has delivered many Nigerians to be trained as terrorists by the group in the Sahel Region.

According to him, there was a forwarding letter with a brief that Ashafa was intercepted at the Pakistani Airport in 2004 and subsequent search and investigation by the Pakistani authorities revealed that he was a member of the al-Qaeda, and that he was sent to Pakistan by Ibrahim.

He said the accused person was intercepted on his way back to Nigeria with CDs containing coded messages for the West African Chief of the al-Qaeda.

Tarha said: “Four months after I took over the schedules of the head of the anti-terrorism department, other suspects were also intercepted and handed over to the Nigerian government by the Libyan government.

“Subsequent interrogation of the suspects revealed that it was Ashafa who took them for terrorism training in the Sahel Region.”

He said he interrogated Ibrahim in 2006 when he was inter-

From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

cepted by the Libyan authorities and that Ibrahim confirmed that he sent Ashafa to Pakistan.

Tarha said Ibrahim confessed that Ashafa and another Nigerian, Yusuf Ahamed, made him transport Nigerians to the Sahel Region for terrorism training.

Ashafa is currently facing a five-count charge of receiving cash from the Talha and Na’deem (Al-Qaeda operatives) of the Tabliqh headquarters, Lahore, Pakistan, for recruiting and training terrorists.

The witness said the Pakistani government intercepted Ashafa at the Karachi International Airport with incriminating items that confirmed his membership of the “dreaded killer group”.

He said: “Investigation and interrogation by both the Pakistani authority and the SSS revealed that Ashafa was a member of the Al-Qaeda and he was sent to Karachi by Ibrahim, based in Kano, but now in Libya.

“Ashafa was intercepted in Karachi on his way back to Nigeria with CDs containing coded messages and other incriminating items he got from the training camp in 2005.

“The accused has confessed to the Service to have links with the Al-Qaeda Resident Chief for West Africa and the Chief confirmed Ashafa’s membership of the group when I went to Libya to interrogate him.”

Ibrahim, according to Tarha, is on trial in Libya for sponsoring people for terrorism training.

Tarha said: “In February, 2006, I was assigned to go to Libya to interrogate Ibrahim, who was intercepted by the Libyan government.

“I interrogated him for three days and he confirmed that he was the one who sent Ashafa to Pakistan.”

Ashafa has accused the SSS for unlawfully detaining him for seven months in an underground cell without arraigning him, a claim the security agency denied.

He begged to be moved from the custody of the SSS to prison.

Sagamu-Ore Expressway robbery: Police arrest five suspects

F

IVE people were arrested yesterday in connection with the robbery attack on a Lagos-bound luxury bus at the Ogbere-Ijebu stretch of the Sagamu-Ore Expressway.

During the attack, some of the female students in the bus were defiled by the hoodlums.

The bus was conveying students from Enugu to Lagos.

Ogun State Police spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi said the driver of the bus, marked XW 875 LSR, was arrested yesterday.

Others arrested are Oni

A

•Acting IG orders increased surveillance on highways From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta; Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja; and Jude Isiguzo

Olopari, Innocent Omule, Gbenga Adebayo and Samuel Luca. They were picked up at Ijebu Ife/Mushin.

Adejobi said the driver of the bus identified Luca as one of the robbers who attacked them.

He said some items stolen from the bus, including some

plastic chairs, were found at the hideout of the suspects in Ijebu Mushin.

Adejobi said the suspects are assisting men of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to track down fleeing members of the gang.

Acting Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar has ordered increased surveillance and a 24-hour patrol on federal highways.

The directive takes immediate effect.

Man, 40, defiles 13-year-old girl 13-year-old girl has been defiled by a 40year-old man in Osun

State.

The victim is a Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 pupil.

Her mother is a petty trader.

It was gathered that around 8:30 pm at the weekend, the suspect, who is one of her mother’s customers, asked her to go and buy a recharge card for him.

It was learnt that the suspect trailed the unsuspecting girl and attacked her at a dark cor-

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

ner in Owode-Igbona, where he forcibly had canal knowledge of her.

When she returned home, her mother noticed that she was bleeding and the girl told her what happened.

It was learnt that the mother reported the case to the police, but the suspect was no where to be found.

He is still at large.

Speaking with reporters in

Osogbo yesterday, Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare Mrs. Mofolake Adegboyega said she would pursue the case till the end.

She lamented the increase in cases of women and children abuse and urged the public to fight it.

Police spokesman Taiwo Oluwagbemileke said he is yet to be briefed about the case, but assured the public that the suspect would be apprehended and prosecuted.

Abubakar gave the order yesterday at a meeting with police commissioners and other high ranking officers at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

He said the absence of police road blocks seem to have given robbers the confidence to operate on the highways at night, but said the force would curb their activities.

Abubakar said: “All commands shall, with immediate effect, commence robust patrols on federal highways within their jurisdiction to ensure the safety of road users.

“Nigerians travelling on our highways must feel secured by the visible police patrols. The effort of individual commands would be complemented by a sophisticated rapid response structure, which we will soon introduce to ensure that all federal highways are safe from robbers, both at day and night.

“Our image, which is gradually taking a good turn, will improve when we all do our parts to make Nigeria a safer place for social and economic development.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

NEWS

New 1-6-3-3-4 Education Policy to take off soon, says minister

M

INISTER of Education Prof. Ruqqayat Alkali yesterday said a new 1-6-3-3-4 System of Education will soon take off.

She also said the Federal Government is stepping up efforts to address mass failure in Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) being conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

She, however, said there is no going back in the implementation of the White Paper on Visitation Panels to the nation’s universities.

The minister, who spoke at a Leadership Forum organised by the Nigerian Pilot in Abuja, said the Federal Government has created new universities for more access to varsity education by youths.

•No going back on implementation of White Paper on universities From Yusuf Alli and Yomi Odunuga, Abuja

She said one-third of about 1.5million students writing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) used to gain admission annually.

The minister said: “Really, I was against the 6-3-3-4 year but based on the outcome of the Education Summit, we realised that the 6-3-3-4 system is not our problem, the implementation is our problem.

“That was why we now reviewed the curricular. We are now introducing 1-6-3-3-4 system. We will now have one-year pre-school programme for all pupils.

“We have realised that only the children of the majority

do not have the opportunity of pre-school year. So, a pupil will now start pre-school at Age five before having six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary school, three-year senior secondary and four years of university education.”

Although the minister did not state when the new policy will take off, a source in the Ministry said: “It will be from the next academic session.”

On mass failure in SSCE Examinations, the minister said: “We are already addressing this and I believe we are going to make progress.

“When we came, the results we saw were very bad. The performance level was 10 per cent to 15 per cent. But with

the last WAEC results, it was 46 per cent.

“We are working hard to improve the results but we may have to go for a number of years before we see the impact. We are working with the 36 states and in a matter of time, there will be an improvement.

“We are trying to improve the school system. Before the exit of Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, you will see a different story.”

On the reports of Visitation Panels to universities, the minister said there is no going back in implementing the White Paper approved by the Federal Executive Council.

She added: “We are tasking now the Governing Councils and Vice-Chancellors of uni-

versities to implement the White Paper of Visitation Panels. But in case they are indicted and they may not be able to implement the White paper, we have a Standing Committee that will monitor the implementation, we are doing that directly in the ministry.

“After the implementation of the White Paper, we will now conduct Needs Assessment for universities, we will have Needs Assessment Committee. We want to ensure that our money and resources are going to where they are needed.

“Some of these needs require simple school management. We will try as much as possible to see that resources are well-managed.”

Concerning continuous es-

tablishment of new universities, the minister said: “Some people can simply not understand why we are having new universities. Every year, only one-third of students writing UTME used to gain admission.

We need to create access to university and other tertiary education for others.

“At the higher level, we don’t admit more than onethird but more than 50 per cent qualify. About 1.3m to 1.5m students are sitting for UTME, we do not have space for more than 500,000 of them.

“If we have 800,000 youths roaming the streets annually without admissions into tertiary level, it creates a time bomb for this country. We are creating access with new universities but quality is our priority now.”

Borno has 1.9 million Almajiris, says Wike

M

INISTER of State for Education Nyesom Wike yesterday said Borno State has the highest number of Almajiris (street kids) in the country.

Wike, who spoke at the Government House, Maiduguri, gave the figure of Almajiris in the state as 1.9 million.

He was in the state to inspect schools burnt by suspected miscreants and Almajiri schools under construction.

He said he has directed the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to rebuild burnt schools .

The minister said the Federal Government would not allow basic education to suffer because of security challenges in any part of the country.

He regretted that schools of innocent children, in which the government invested so much, were razed down, despite the huge investments by government.

Wike said: “The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has been directed to immediately intervene to rebuild these schools.

“We cannot allow our children to suffer under this condition. There is no way that proper learning can take place here. The UBEC should liaise with the State Universal Basic Education Board to rebuild these schools.”

Wike said five Almajiri schools are being built in the state by the Federal Government .

He commended the contractors of the Almajiri school in Kashim Ibrahim road in Maiduguri. He, however, urged the contractors of the school in Magumeri Local Government Area to speed up work to meet up with the June deadline.

Borno Governor Kashim Shettima commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the investment in the development of basic education.

•Wike (right), Mohammed (middle) and Borno State Commissioner for Basic Education Prof. in Maiduguri...yesterday

The governor said: “We are glad that the Minister of State for Education resolved to personally visit here de-

spite the challenges we face.

No community is immune from challenges.”

The governor said he is

working hard to improve basic education.

The minister was accompanied by the Director-Gen-

Tijani Ali at an Almajiri School

eral of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Modibo Mohammed.

Tension in Defence Ministry over unpaid workers’ salaries M

INISTRY of Defence workers are threatening to embark on a nationwide protest to compel the ministry to pay their salaries.

The staff were recruited in 2010 and 2011.

One of the aggrieved workers, who did not want his name in print for fear of victimisation, told our correspondent: “I don’t know the exact figures, but we are close to 5000 that were employed through the Federal Civil Service Commission and deployed to the Ministry of Defence.

“Some of us were employed at various dates in 2010 and 2011 and the ministry posted us to various units and locations across the country as our duty posts. It was not until February 10, 2012 that we were invited for verification by the Civilian Personnel Unit (CPU).”

The source stated that the ministry could not fish out anyone with fake employment letter as alleged by certain top officials of the ministry.

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

He added that the Director of Finance had admitted to the aggrieved workers that funds meant for their salaries had been received from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation and that they would soon be paid.”

The workers said shortly after confronting the Director of Finance in February 2012, the management paid N15, 000 to each of them as Christmas bonus. Salaries were not paid.

Upon investigation, the workers later found out that there was disparity in the payment of the bonus between staff stationed at the headquarters and those in the various units.

“But we discovered through our monitoring group that our counterparts who were posted to Ship House (headquarters of the Ministry of Defence) were paid N50, 000 each for senior

staff and N45, 000 for junior ones. Whereas those of us in the various units were paid only N15, 000 each.”

Worried by the pay disparity, the workers confronted the Director of the Civilian Personnel Unit whose name they simply gave as Babura. Babura was said to have casually waved aside their complaints, asking them why they were complaining when they were not sure whether they had been employed.

When the workers reminded him that the Director of Finance had confirmed receipt of the money meant for their salaries from the office of the Accountant- General, Babura was said to have told them that no such money existed.

Apparently worried by Babura’s statements, some representatives of the workers had, on March 12, approached the authorities at Ship House for clarification on their status.

“At the Ship House, we

were told that a list containing the names of some of us had been sent to the Federal Civil Service Commission for confirmation and that they were awaiting response from the commission.

“According to them, they will be paying us in batches but we have heard such hollow promises several times in the past and we are still where we are “At a point, we threatened to report them to the ICPC and the EFCC, but they told us to go ahead and report them to whoever we wanted. Our suspicion is that they have tampered with the money meant for our salaries” Top officials in the ministry were not willing to comment on the issue, but the Director of Information in the ministry, Alhaji Shehu Mekai admitted that the workers are being owed their salaries.

He said the salaries were being delayed as a result of verification.

Workers would be paid as soon as the exercise is completed, Mekai said.

BUSINESS

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

11 An electronic wallet, which is part of the growth enhancement support system, is one where the farmers will get allocation for seeds and fertiliser by their mobile phones without any intermediary.

-Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, Minister of Agric and Infrastructural Devt.

Diamond Bank seeks merger talks, bond

D

IAMOND Bank said yesterday it would ask shareholders for their approval to enter into merger talks with other banks and to raise $200 million in bonds.

The mid-tier lender has been trying to expand after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) said it will privatise the three nationalised banks (Enterprise Bank, Mainstreet Bank and Keystone Bank) within 24 months.

It didn’t provide details on the timing for the debt issue, but said it will target strategic investors including the World Bank’s private sector lender, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

According to Reuters news, Diamond Bank plans to seek approvals at the next meeting of shareholders on April 30.

Shares in Diamond soared 4.62 per cent to N2.49 at 1124 GMT, recouping losses sustained after the lender on Monday posted pre-tax losses of N16.3 billion ($103 million) for 2011 full year.

Nigerian Eurobond yield declines

Y

IELDS on Nigeria’s dollar- denominated bonds due 2021 declined to the lowest on record on higher oil prices.

The yield on the $500 million of Eurobonds of Africa’s biggest oil producer fell nine basis points, or 0.09 per cent, to 5.255 per cent in London, the lowest since the debt was first issued in January last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Crude oil is trading more than $30 a barrel above the $72 proposed by lawmakers as a benchmark for this year’s budget, raising expectations of higher foreign reserves and a stronger naira. Nigerian benchmark Bonny Light crude has advanced 15 per cent this year.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$123.6/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE -N6.503 trillion JSE -Z5.112trillion NYSE -$10.84 trillion LSE -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -12.6% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending-22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -14.18% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $34.6b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 245 $ 156.4 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 241 RIYAL 40.472

• From left: Commissioner for Finance, Ekiti State, Mr Dapo Kolawole; Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema (NSE); Executive Director, Market Operations, NSE, Mr Ade Bajomo; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Managing Director, Greenwich Trust Limited, Mr Kayode Falomo; and former Governor, Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, at the Bell Ringing event, which signals the close of transactions on Ekiti State's N20billion Bond at the floor of the NSE, in Lagos... yesterday

2012 Budget: Presidency okays H $72 oil benchmark T

Protesters block Shell workers

HE Presidency has ap proved the $72 oil price benchmark proposed by the National Assembly for the 2012 budget, it was learnt yesterday.

The Finance Minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala disclosed this to reporters at the end of the National Economic Management Team (NEMT) meeting.

She said: “On the specific areas of discrepancies, obviously, the first one is the benchmark price that went from $70 to $72, which we have looked at the analysis that it was used for, part of it to reduce deficit, part of it for additional spending and we think this thing is okay. We are still ending up with fiscal deficit that is reasonable, fewer than three per cent and it will reduce debt, and this is

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

okay.”

The National Assembly in passing the appropriation bill had increased the oil price benchmark from $70 to $72, allocating part of the funds to some of the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), thereby jacking up the proposed budget from N4.7trillion to N4.88trillion.

This, according to the Finance Minister, did not go down well with President Goodluck Jonathan and accounted for why he was not in a hurry to append his signature to the 2012 Appropriation Bill recently passed

by the National Assembly.

She, however, said a meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow with the leadership of the National Assembly to reconcile all the grey areas in the budget.

But she said the executive is already looking into details of the budget passed to ascertain areas of disagreement.

Director of Budget, Dr. Bright Okogu, said the raised bench mark price yielded for the Federal Government about N98.4billion and N50billion out of that will help to reduce the deficit, while the balance of about N48.5billion was allocated to some MDAs to do

certain other projects.

He, however, said more clarification would be required from the National Assembly on the N180billion Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) programme, which was initially integrated it with the rest of the traditional budget. He said the Federal Government will like the law makers to separate this.

Okogu said next year, the government would be working towards submitting at least three months before the end of the year. This, he said, is the stand of the president, assuring that work would start as soon as this year’s process is completed.

Reps to probe FAAN’s N42b revenue

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HE House of Represen tatives has expressed its determination to ascertain the true position of the controversial N42billion revenue generated for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) by Maevis Ltd under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

This came on a day human and vehicular movements were grounded for hours as unions in the aviation industry joined 9,000 workers and pensioners of the FAAN to protest.The demonstration was to register the aviation workers’support for the termination of the concession agreement between FAAN and Maevis Limited.

Meanwhile, the decision of the lawmakers to probe FAAN followed its absence at a hearing organised by Committee on Treaties and Agreement into breach of contract between the airport authorities and Maevis Ltd. FAAN’s absence did not, however, bar Maevis from urging the House Committee to investigate the money it generated for the authority since commencement of the concession pact in 2007.

Chairman of the Committee Yaccoub Alebiosu said the intervention of the Commit-

• Workers back pact’s termination From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

tee was as a result of the petition by Maevis and the need to find a lasting solution to the problem.

However, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, in her defence of FAAN’s absence requested for the postponement of the meeting.

She said the House Committee on Aviation was already looking into the matter and that the FAAN’s managing director was to meet with Labour leaders in Lagos over labour-related issues.

In her presentation, Mrs. Tokunbo Fagbemi, Executive Director, Maevis, said the genesis of the face-off might not be unconnected with the inauguration of another firm to handle the PPP project that was supposed to run for 10 years as stipulated in the agreement.

She said the agreement was not only flagrantly breached, but that court orders on the matter were also discounte-

nanced by FAAN. “The management of FAAN should be called to account for N42billion received from Maevis since 2008 to January 2012. For whatever reason, FAAN has been distorting facts concerning the agreement and its implementation.

“I make bold to say that Maevis has nothing to hide as there are records to show all our transactions and disbursements to FAAN’s designated accounts. We have been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on account of FAAN’s accusation, but when we showed our records, we were asked to go that the meeting would be rescheduled between us. Till today, nothing like that has happened,” she said.

Alebiosu, however, assured that the committee would take a position on the matter after hearing from FAAN. Meanwhile, the airport protest organised by the Movement for the Survival of FAAN, has led to the shutting of the headquarters of FAAN as no staff was granted access into the building.

Addressing reporters at the Freedom Square near FAAN headquarters, the Branch Chairman of the National

Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Comrade Ekanem Ekanem, said the rally was organised to demonstrate their support for the termination of the concession agreement with FAAN. Ekanem explained that the workers are in support of the courage demonstrated by the Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, in terminating the concession agreement, which he alleged had been shortchanging FAAN and its workers.

Also speaking, the National President of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ( ATSSSAN), Comrade Benjamin Okewu, said the aviation workers will resist any attempt by the government to renege on the termination of the concession agreement as four other firms with lopsided agreements have been sent out of the airports in Lagos and Abuja.

In her contributions, the National Vice-Chairman of ATSSSAN, Comrade Sarah Rindams, also said FAAN workers will resist any attempt by the government to bring back Maevis Limited into the airport. She alleged that the firm has been moving round to facilitate the return to the agreement.

UNDREDS of Nige rian protesters blocked waterways in the Niger Delta to prevent Shell workers from reaching oil rigs.

One protester said they wanted to remind Shell of its responsibilities to the local Nembe Island community, which needs electricity and other amenities.

Later in the afternoon, a local chief ordered the protest to end and the release of some workers on board three Shell boats blocked by the protesters.

The oil giant has denied to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that anyone was kidnapped.

Nigeria is one of the world’s major oil producers, but the oil-producing Niger Delta region remains one of the country’s poorest and least developed regions.

For several years, bombings and kidnappings by militants in the Niger Delta - fighting for more rights and a share of oil wealth for local people - paralysed the oil industry.

Nearly three years ago, most militants accepted a government amnesty, but the BBC’s Abdul Muhammed Isa in Port Harcourt, says four soldiers and four policemen were killed by unidentified gunmen in the creeks around Nembe Island last month.

Shell has four flow stations and two oil rigs in Nembe Island - one of the largest communities in the oil-producing zones of Bayelsa State where about one million people live.

Youth leader Jonathan Omongu told the BBC yesterday’s action was organised as a warning to Shell.

Nengi James, a Nembe chief and chairman of the area’s oil and gas committee, told the BBC that the protest followed a meeting on Monday between the community and Shell that ended in deadlock.

He said despite the area’s oil wealth, the community has little to show for it and the residents want Shell to provide electricity, water and schools.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

12

BUSINESS NEWS

A

Canadian firm offers $23.7m to manage TCN

CANADIAN firm, Manitiba Hydro In ternational, yesterday offered US$23, 715,744 for a contract to manage the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa, disclosed this in Abuja during the opening of the financial bid for the management contract of TCN. She said the firm offered to provide contracting services for the TCN in accordance with the Request for Proposals dated December 2011 and technical proposal.

Manitiba, she added, attached financial proposal of USD$23,715,744 for “years one to three.”

But the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, noted that

T

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

the price was subject to negotiation by a six-man team.

He said: “We are looking forward to having a very good outcome from the negotiation. Hopefully, you will reduce the figure for the negotiation. But more importantly we are looking forward to seeing you bringing your expertise to reduce the technical and non-technical loses.”

Nnaji said the national grid is the lifeblood for power in Nigeria just as in other countries, adding that the management of the grid is extra-ordinarily important to the nation.

He noted that the Federal Government has to be rigorous about the management of the grid, stressing

that with the high profile of the Manitoba, there is hope for it to work effectively.

In her address, Onagoruwa recalled that following National Council on Privatisation (NCP) approval that Requests for Proposals (RFPs) be issued to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Manitoba Hydro and ESB International of Ireland, the three firms that qualified in the original management contractor engagement exercise in 2007, RFPs were issued by BPE to the firms on December 19, 2011.

Meanwhile, ESBI opted out of the bidding process while upon evaluation of the other two technical proposals, only Manitoba Hydro exceeded the pass mark, which culminated in its invitation for contract nego-

tiation.

According to Onagoruwa, the NCP had in its second meeting on March 29, 2012 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja,approved that Manibota Hydro International, which alone exceeded the pass mark for technical score, be invited for simultaneous opening of its financial proposal and the commencement of contract negotiations as the management contractor for TCN. She said the management contract is designed to reduce electricity losses during transmission and provide for the achievement of certain predetermined targets that would improve grid security and general performance.

Onaguruwa added that the management contract is

Turkey, NIPC to invest $120m in terminus

HE Turkish Consor tium in partnership with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has concluded arrangements to invest $120million in the construction of a world class terminus in Abuja.

The Executive Secretary, Mustafa Bello, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Operations, Suleiman Takuma, disclosed this at the first bi-annual training workshop organised by the Ministry of Trade and Investment for Correspondent and

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

Business Editors in Abuja.

Lamenting that, there is no single world class terminus in any part of country, he said: “Basic infrastructure is another impediment to investment inflow, that is the reason behind business outfits moving out of the Nigeria to Ghana even though the market is here in Nigeria.

“The project was envisaged as one of the ways of boosting investment and business opportunities in the country. It will also act

as a top revenue earner for the country. “$24.9 million out of the proposed $120 million would be used for the construction of a world class shopping mall around the terminus. This is a massive investment drive for the country and it is going to be a long-term project with lots of revenue generation potential. We have already begun talks with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to realise the

project.”

On the challenges the commission is facing in accomplishing its mandate, he said there is no co-operation between it and most governors.

Bello stressed that the Lagos State government is the only state that takes up initiatives on its own to drive investment. “Anytime we go there with any idea, the government responds positively and the result is obvious in the kind of transformation going on in the state,” he added.

to have reward and penalty clauses as incentives for success, stressing that the contract is to provide efficient management of government investments.

On the profile of the Canadian company, the director- general said Manitoba Hydro is the electric and natural gas utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation governed by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board and the Manitoba Hydro Act. She said the company operates 15 interconnected generating stations. It has more than 527,000 electric power customers and more than 263,000 natu-

ral gas customers. “Since most of the electrical energy is provided by hydroelectricity power, the utility has low electricity rates,” she said.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Olugbenga Obadara, noted that many business have left Nigeria for neighbouring countries such as Ghana due to poor electricity supply.

He added that electricity shortage has done unbelievable harm to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The chairman, therefore, urged Manitoba not to go the Pentascope way as a good service delivery will surely yield the electric firm huge return on its investment.

Dangote, union may reach truce over sack of 250

M

ANAGEMENT of Dangote Pasta Plant has resolved to initiate talks with the food and beverage union for the reinstatement of some sacked workers.

It promised to dialogue and resolve the issue with the leadership of the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees within three weeks.

The workers were allegedly sacked following their inauguration as branch union officers.

The union had earlier initiated legal processes to resolve the matter but the issue was

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

settled out of court. The company, thereafter, decided to pay the entitlements of the seven affected workers from 2004 to December 2009.

The union, however, said the issue was beyond the payment and that all the workers must be reinstated.

The company’s alleged refusal triggered another crisis culminating in the sack of 250 staff.

The company at a discussion with the union yesterday, however, said the matter would be resolved in about three weeks.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

MONEY FIRST QUARTER REVIEW

Late passage of budget affects banks’ turnover T

HE delay in the passage of the 2012 budget may have affected banks’ transaction volume in the first quarter. Fiscal releases have a way of creating huge economic activities that translate to increased business activities for banks, analysts have said. For now, the budget is yet to be signed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

After harmonisation, the Senate and the House of Representatives on March 15 passed a budget of N4.88 trillion with a benchmark oil price of $72 per barrel. The vote was increased from N4.65 trillion proposed by the Executive, but the President is yet to accent to it.

A consultant and Chief Executive, IRIS Consulting, Richard Obire, said despite the delay in passage of the budget, banks need to position themselves in readiness for increased activities that will follow the eventual assent to the budget in this quarter. The banks also need to increase their lending activities in this quarter, especially to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The first quarter also saw the acquisition and eventual merger between Access Bank and Intercontinental Bank on the one hand and Ecobank Nigeria and Oceanic Bank on the other.

Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said the bank is planning to sell its entire stake in Intercontinental Bank, United Kingdom (UK). He said the bank is discussing with two potential buyers. “The bank has commenced discussions with two potential buyers and will ensure that the transaction is concluded soon and at no loss to us,” he said.

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Jubril Aku, has said the integration of the bank’s processes with Oceanic International Bank is in progress. He explained that Ecobank Nigeria is a full service

By Collins Nweze bank, catering for retail and commercial banking clients. Its branch network has grown to a combined network of over 600 branches serving 5.5 million customers.

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said banks are putting in place best practices in the areas of corporate governance and risk management practices.

Speaking at the 50th anniversary of Kola Awodein & Co, a financial services adviser, he said aside improvement in critical segments in the banking system, there is also a new mindset and awareness in the industry hinged on observance of standard best practices.

Sanusi, who spoke on the theme: Nigerian Financial System: Regulatory Trends, Opportunities and Challenges, disclosed that a number of banks have returned to profitability, improved their balance sheets and resumed lending to the private sector.

He said Nigeria’s foreign reserves, which stood at $34.6 billion as at March 8, is ranked 44th globally, and fourth in Africa by size. The reserve is equivalent to about nine months of import cover for the country and has fluctuated between $31 to 35 billion in most part of last year.

Sanusi stated that additional liquidity of more than N1.7 trillion

• Sanusi

has been injected into the banking system through the issuance of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) bonds, adding that much progress has been made in re-directing credit to the power sector and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) at single digit interest rates, thus reducing the level of unemployment in the country.

Sanusi said in going forward, the banking industry agenda will address outstanding issues relating to the restoration of the balance sheet

of banks, entrenching corporate governance, avoiding build-up of non-performing loans and encourage lending to the agricultural sector, among others. “We affirm our commitment as bankers to a stable financial system for Nigeria and one that contributes to economic development,’’he said.

Within the quarter, four banks showed combined gross earnings of N652.1 billion. Zenith Bank led the pack with N244.1 billion, followed

by GT Bank with N188.8 billion, Access Bank made N138.9 billion while First City Monument Bank secured N80.3 billion, to make the cumulative figure.

Also, Stanbic IBTC Bank released its audited December 2011 earnings results showing a surprise dip in bottom lines. Gross earnings, however, grew modestly by 18.8 per cent from N56.7 billion to N67.4 billion, 4.2 per cent lower than our forecast.

Diamond Bank has also its result.

Analysts at Afrinvest West Africa Limited, an investment and research firm, insist the market will pay more for the bank’s impressive profitability profile, high asset quality and consistently lower than average risk ratios in the medium to long term.

Also, within the first quarter, banks started taking census of gender distribution in their institutions to avert regulatory sanctions. The banks are acting in compliance with

‘Going forward, the banking industry agenda will address outstanding issues relating to the restoration of the balance sheet of banks, entrenching corporate governance, avoiding buildup of non-performing loans and encourage lending to the agricultural sector, among others’

the regulator’s directive that banks appoint 40 per cent women to boards and senior management positions to address gender imbalance in the sector.

The Managing Director, Union Bank Plc, Mrs Funke Osibodu, who confirmed the development, said the bank is already taking census of the male-female distribution in the bank. Speaking at the Women in Management and Business conference in Lagos, Mrs Osibodu said after cross-checking the bank’s statistics on the matter, she was shocked at the variance between the number of male staff and females, adding that the imbalance will be corrected.

An insider in Access Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said both institutions are reviewing their male-female distribution. Other banks have also convened meetings to decide processes and plans that will assist them address the gender imbalance in their respective institutions.

At the microfinance bank sub-sector, the Financial Malpractice Investigation Unit (FMIU) of the Nigerian Police has been briefed by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on the N7 billion unpaid loans in 103 microfinance banks (MfBs).

Managing Director, NDIC, Umaru Ibrahim said there is no way the country will have a virile banking system if the perpetrators of financial crimes are not brought to book.

He said NDIC will this year; inspect operations of 250 MfBs to ensure they are operating within international best standards.

Ibrahim said NDIC and FMIU meets regularly to track financial crime cases that needed to be investigated. He said NDIC has paid N3 billion, out of the N5 billion insured deposit to MfB depositors.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON CASH-LESS BANKING (SERIES)

Sterling Bank offers credible alternatives

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TERLING Bank Plc has an array of e-payment products that provide credible and efficient alternatives for customers and non- customers doing business with the bank. Group Head, e-Business, Sterling Bank Plc, Abdulfattah Amoo, told The Nation that the bank had the right products, services, manpower and technology to fully implement the cash-less banking initiative.

He said the Sterling Naira Visa Card, Visa Gold Card, Verve Card, Sterling Mobile, Internet banking, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and Webpay are readily available to meet customers’ e-payment needs.

The Sterling Naira Visa Card, he said, was a globally accepted payment card that is directly linked to a current or savings account denominated in naira. It facilitates the payment for goods and services anywhere in the world at any Visa acceptance location. With it, Amoo said difficulties of converting from naira to other foreign currencies when one travels abroad is resolved as customers can spend directly from their local accounts for transactions anywhere in the world. The product, he further explained, offers secured online purchases, giving users access to goods and services at all times.

According to Amoo, the Sterling VISA Gold is an international card attached to a savings or current domiciliary account denominated in dollars that enables payment for

goods and services anywhere there is Visa logo. He said the product allows users make purchases from over 29 million merchant outlets worldwide including payment / booking for hotels, flight tickets, payment of foreign subscriptions.

The bank also has a Verve Card, a debit card linked to current and/ or savings account of the user. It provides strong security based on its Europay, MasterCard and VISA (EMV) chip and Personal Identification Number (PIN) compliant status. This card can only be used in Nigeria but allows users access to cash 24/7 and reduces risk associated with cash handling. Amoo said that users can transfer funds to any bank in the country through the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and can be used in paying utility bills.

Also, the Sterling Mobile, enables users transfer funds to accounts in other banks in the country on-line, real time. “Users can check their balances, get mini statement- on mobile phone or to email, cheque confirmation, block verve card, funds transfer, interbank transfer, intra-bank transfer among others,” he said.

Besides, the bank’s Internet banking called SterlingNet allows users to access their accounts online real time and also carry out instant transfer to beneficiaries in other local banks. Balance inquiry, statement of account, funds transfer between different accounts of the cus-

tomer, third party intra-funds transfer are done through this product.

SterlingPay is a courier service that rides on secure electronic highways to deliver funds to bank accounts and associated schedules to relevant bodies in recipient-specified formats. Beyond e-payment of salaries and vendors, the product also offers complementary modules for a full end-to-end e-payment experience.

Besides, the bank’s Point of Sale (PoS) allows local and international cardholders pay for goods and services in a retail environment. It provides a convenient, modern and efficient means of processing real time transactions and value is credited to the merchant account the next day.

Amoo said the bank’s mobile payment solution in partnership with PayCom allows major corporates and distributors facilitate micro retail payment amongst its unbanked customers. It is a secure payment solution carried out using a mobile device, works on any GSM network or mobile device and provides immediate value for transactions carried out.

Sterling Webpay is a customised web solution designed to meet the business requirements of a given organisation. It is a secure payment platform, allows customers to effect payment for goods and services using debit, credit and preloaded cards. The Sterling Card

Guard enables the blocking of account whenever a customer misplaces his or her debit cards or compromise debit card pin. The bank also engages in other e-business solutions, such as Western Union Money Transfer among others.

Amoo said the bank’s mobile banking solution is very convenient and secured. “From your phone as a customer of Sterling Bank, you can transfer funds to other banks, you can transfer funds to customers of the bank. The beauty of it is that it is instant. As soon as the transfer is done the recipient of the fund receives it and gets an alert,” he said.

He further said people would see the payment system as being efficient and convenient and can transact their businesses without having to carry cash.

“Even the unbanked can key into it as virtual accounts. Virtual accounts can be opened for them, they can also make payments, check balances, and pay for utilities.

These are some of the credible alternatives we have for the banking public. The e-payment is important. The policy is timely, because aside the micro-economic benefits, like cost of managing cash reducing. Savings from cash-less can be channelled to infrastructure.

It is about convenience, security and comfort. It is a payment system that benefits all stakeholders,” he said.

He said the business combination

• GMD, Sterling Bank, Yemi Adeola

with former Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) would take Sterling Bank’s branch network to over 200 nationwide.

Besides, the bank plans to go into agency banking where agents will be engaged in different locations to meet the banking needs of the unbanked. The mobile solutions will assist the bank to capture the unbanked.

“The bank also has a 24/7 call centre to resolve any challenges. We have a customer care centre that works 24/7 and it is all about paying attention. We also have a robust software that monitors and demands action, where the need arises,” Amoo said.

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TAXATION

Frequently asked questions on personal income tax

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HAT is Tax? Tax is a compulsory contribution paid to government by her citizens to support social amenities such as schools, electricity, potable water, roads and hospitals. These taxes are for the benefit of the citizens What is Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act? Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Actis the amendment of the Personal Income Tax Cap P8, LFN 2004. This is a law that takes care of tax matters as it affectsall income earners. These are employees, self-employed and all other persons that pay personal income tax (PIT) in Nigeria.

What is Personal Income Tax (PIT)?

Personal Income Tax is a type of tax imposed on the income of individuals who are either in employment or are running their own businesses under a business name, a trust or partnership.

What are my rights as a taxpayer?

My rights as a taxpayer include: • To know what the Government does with the money you pay as tax • To demand to be issued with evidence of payment, each time you have paid your tax. The evidence may be receipt or Tax Clearance Certificate • To know how you will assess your income to tax, when to pay and where to file your returns and make payment • To know when penalty and interest will be applied to you, if you do not pay you tax • To seek redress, appeal or object to assessment raised or decision taken against you by the tax authority What are my obligations as a taxpayer?

My obligations as a taxpayer include: • To assess correctly, file and make payments as and when due.

• To comply with the relevant provisions of the tax laws • To disclose all sources of income for tax purposes Why is it that tax authority only tax public servants?

No, it is not true that tax authorities only tax public servants: rather, the tax authorities administer the law on all persons whom the law identifies as personal income tax payers, such as traders, private employees, selfemployed individuals etc.

Who pays personal income tax and how?

All persons who earn income be it on a temporal or permanent basis; whether employees or individuals that carry out business activities are required to pay personal income tax.

Tax due and payable by employees by reason of their employment, otherwise known as PAYE, should be deducted by their employers and remitted to the relevant tax authorities. On the other hand, the self-employed are required to assess themselves, file their returns and make payment on annual basis to the relevant tax authorities.

What are the general requirements of tax filing and payment of tax under PITA? An individual engaged in fulltime employment is taxed under the pay-as-you earn system. The employer withholds personal income tax from the employee’s salary or wages and pays it to the tax authorities within 14 days. An individual whose only source of income is employment income from a single employer must file a tax return unless his/her employment income does not

exceed NGN 300,000 per year.

Other individuals pay tax by selfassessment or direct assessment.

Financial statements and schedules, when applicable, must accompany the self-assessment return. Payments may be made in full or, upon application, in installments. Withholding tax suffered at source can be used to offset income tax due.

What is PAYE? PAYE means Pay-As-You-Earn. It is a form of personal income tax payable by those on employment What are the obligations of the employee?

It is the obligation of an employee to correctly fill and file all relevant tax documents for each year of assessment as may be required by the relevant tax authority It is obligatory for the employee to correctly disclose all the sources of income for tax purposes.

What are the obligations of employers?

It is the duty of the employer as contained in the law to deduct at source the correct amount of tax from the salary payable to an employee as computed under the Act each month the employer pays salary to the employee.

Also, the tax deducted by the employer must be remitted to the relevant tax authority at least 14 days following the month the deduction was made.

On what sources of income do we tax Nigerian residents?

Nigerian residents are taxed on their worldwide income. Foreignsource income of residents is taxable if remitted to Nigeria.

What about non-resident Nigerians (foreigners)?

Non-residents (foreigners) are taxed on Nigerian-source income, generally via withholding at source.

Are musicians, actors and sportsmen Taxed?

Yes, sportsmen, actors and musicians are taxed on gains from their overall income except the portion that is earned abroad/ foreign source income and brought into Nigeria through the approved channel.

What is income earned abroad/ foreign source income?

Income earned abroad or foreign-source income in convertible currency arising from salaries, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, fees or commissions is exempt if brought into Nigeria through approved channels.

Income brought into Nigeria through domiciliary accounts by athletes, playwrights, authors, musicians, artists and temporary guests who are professionals also is exempt.

What is domiciliary account?

Domiciliary account isthe officially approved channel for remitting income earned abroad as authorized bank by the Central bank of Nigeria.

On what type of earnings/ income do we pay personal income tax?

We pay personal income tax on all our total income/earnings except on those exempted by law.

That is: • Gains on businesses of individuals, enterprises, trusts,

• Mrs Ifueko Omoigui Okauru

partnership etc • Salaries, wages and allowances from employment • All other perquisites Which income/earnings are exempted for personal income tax purposes?

Some of the incomes exempted under personal income tax include: • Interest on any loan granted by a bank on or after January 1st 1997 to a person engaged in agricultural trade or business and fabrication of any local plant and machinery or as a working capital for any cottage industry established under the family Economic Advancement programme. (Provided that the moratorium is not less than 18 months and the rate of interest is not more than the base lending rate at the time the loan was granted.); • Income of a local government or government institution; • Gratuity payable to a public officer by the government in respect of services rendered under a contract of service to that government. This has to be described as gratuity either in the contract or some other document issued by or on behalf the government in connection with such contract; • Any compensation for loss of employment; • The interest accruing to a person on foreign currency domiciliary accounts;

• A sum received by way of debt gratuity or as a consolidated compensation for death or injury How does the self-employed person pay his tax?

A self-employed person either calculates his tax based on all his sources of income or having been assessed by the relevant tax authority makes payment as may be prescribed the tax authority.

How are traders taxed?

Traders are taxed by calculating their total income from all sources, less all allowable deductions and allowances. Then, the balance is taxed in accordance with the graduated tax table.

Are the personal emoluments of the President, Vice President, State Governors and Deputy Governors still exempted under the amended Act? No. the provision has been deleted. Therefore, the President, Vice President, State Governors and Deputy Governors now pay personal income tax on their official emoluments.

Who collects personal income tax and from whom?

The State Boards of Internal Revenue and Federal Inland Revenue Service are the two relevant tax authorities that collect personal income tax in Nigeria.

TheState Boards of Internal Revenue collect taxes from: • individuals resident in the State • Body of individuals such as

‘A self-employed person either calculates his tax based on all his sources of income or having been assessed by the relevant tax authority makes payment as may be prescribed the tax authority’

communities, families that run a business • Business names and partnerships; • Executors of estates of deceased persons and trustees of trusts.

While Federal Inland Revenue Service also collects Personal Income Taxes from: • Residents of Federal Capital Territory, • Persons employed in the Nigerian Army, • Nigerian Navy, • Nigerian Air Force • Nigerian Police other than in a civilian capacity; • Officers of the Nigerian Foreign Service; • Non-residents who derive income or profit from Nigeria • Local employees of diplomatic missions • International organisations When do I pay my personal income tax?

Every taxable person shall file their returns within 90 days from the beginning of every year. This should include the amount of tax payable.

Specifically, for those in employment, it is the duty of the employer to deduct and remit same not later than 10 days after the month of deduction. Also the employees are expected to file their returns stating other sources of their income other than the direct deduction in employment for tax purposes.

If I file and make payments on time, is there any reward or benefit?

Yes, there is a benefit. A taxpayer who files and makes payment within the time specified is entitled to 1% bonus of the tax payable.

Do I have to pay personal income tax in each state where I carry out business activities?

No, a taxpayer is required to pay personal income tax to only one relevant tax authority where he/ she is deemed to be a resident except in the case of itinerant worker. This is to say that a genuine tax clearance certificate issued by one tax authority (SBIR or FIRS) to a taxpayer is tenable anywhere in the country.

Who is an itinerant worker?

An itinerant worker is an individual, no matter his status who works in more than one state for a minimum of 20 days in at least three months of every assessment year.

Where can an itinerant worker pay his tax?

An itinerant worker pays his tax to the tax authority where in any yaer of assessment he works for a minimum of 20 days in at least three months.

What happened to the principal Act and why amendment?

The principal Act has not been reviewed since 1993. This has rendered some provisions of the Act obsolete with economic realities of today. Some of the reasons for amending the Act are as follow: • to reduce the tax burden and make more money available in the hands of low and middle income earners • to remove old and outdated provisions • to make it user friendly • to bring about equity • to make the administration of the Act simpler to the taxpayer and the tax authority • to encourage voluntary compliance on the part of the tax paying public • to widen the tax base • togrow revenue for sustainable development.

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EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

Feeding ourselves •Nigeria must regain its agricultural self-sufficiency

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ERHAPS the most worrying sign of Nigeria’s lamentable economic decline is the way in which it has been transformed from food basket to an agricultural basket-case in recent times.

The extent of the country’s predicament was recently underlined by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Ishola, when he revealed during the Ogun State Investors’ Forum that Nigeria was at the top of the league of food-importing nations in the world.

The country spends a staggering N1.3 trillion annually on importing basic food items like rice, wheat, sugar and fish. Its stores and markets are full of processed food products imported from other countries, including fruit juices, wines and spirits, noodles and even bottled water. In spite of their expense compared 1to their locally-manufactured

‘If Nigeria is to reduce its dependency on imported food, appropriate policies must be established to ensure that agriculture regains the pride of place that it once had. Deliberate efforts must be made to ensure that the production of cash and food crops is revived.

Agricultural extension services must be re-developed in order to create an efficient system of delivering improved seeds, fertiliser and other inputs to farmers’

counterparts, these imported items are heavily-patronised by Nigerians who appear to be convinced of their ostensibly higher quality.

The tragedy in all of this lies in the fact that Nigeria was a major African agricultural power when it attained independence in 1960. The country was the world’s largest producer of oil palm and the second-largest producer of cocoa, after Ghana. It was renowned for its groundnut pyramids and the extensiveness of its rubber plantations.

Nigeria’s huge and growing agricultural potential was the basis of a thriving agro-allied industrial complex which attained its greatest manifestation in the old Western Region. The funds realised from agriculture were sufficient to finance public-works programmes some of which endure till today, including the former Liberty Stadium, Cocoa House and the former University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).

The discovery and exploitation of crude oil weakened Nigeria’s agriculture-led export growth by providing an alternative source of government financing. Worse, the increased revenues helped to develop and sustain a new taste for imported products, including food. Instead of channelling some of the oil revenues into strengthening the agricultural base, successive governments allowed it to fall into such disuse that it became unable to cater to the basic food requirements of the populace. Nigeria’s current imported food dependency is the consequence of this neglect.

The country’s food import bill is clearly unsustainable. The money spent on the purchase of agricultural products could be better put to use in the repair and expansion of public infrastructure, the rehabilitation of educational facilities and the overhaul of a shamefully decrepit healthcare system. The true beneficiaries of Nigeria’s foodimporting binge are the unscrupulous middlemen, corrupt Customs officials and other parasites whose desire to make easy money has caused long-term economic damage to the nation.

If Nigeria is to reduce its dependency on imported food, appropriate policies must be established to ensure that agriculture regains the pride of place that it once had. Deliberate efforts must be made to ensure that the production of cash and food crops is revived.

Agricultural extension services must be re-developed in order to create an efficient system of delivering improved seeds, fertiliser and other inputs to farmers. Agro-allied industry must once again become the centre-piece of the country’s industrial development policy.

Increased efforts should be made to improve both the quality and quantity of processed foods produced locally.

In addition, Nigeria’s citizens will also have to radically alter their taste for imported food that has cost the country dear. Locally-grown products like rice must be consciously adopted as an alternative to the less-nutritious imported version. A nation whose food supply is dependent on other nations cannot truly call itself independent.

Death of a pioneer •Isaac Durojaiye, better known as Otunba ‘Ghaddafi’ who introduced mobile toilets to Nigeria, dies at 50

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ALL it faecal attraction, but managing faeces was his niche and his signature vocation which became his essence, even in death. Chief Isaac Durojaiye, also known as Otunba ‘Ghaddafi’, founder of the DMT Mobile Toilets Limited, passed on March 20, after a spell of illness. He was aged 50 years. Ebullient, vibrant and energetic, this probably explains why he started off as a body guard. He first came under public glare when he served as a henchman to famous politician, Bashorun M.k.O. Abiola, during his quest for the presidency of Nigeria in the early 1990s.

Durojaiye, who had attended a technical school in England, according to reports, picked the idea of mobile toilet business in his years with his boss, Bashorun Abiola. As the story goes, Abiola had hosted a big party and Isaac was in charge of security as he was wont. But as the large feast reached crescendo, Durojaiye, from the vantage position of his duty post, noticed that most guests who were pressed just picked out convenient corners of the vast arena to disgorge human waste – both liquid and solid. It was that day that it struck Isaac that there was a dire need for mobile toilet facilities in Lagos, especially for outdoor parties that Lagos was known for.

In 1999 when he eventually ventured into the ‘porridge’ business by founding DMT Mobile Toilets Nigeria Limited, he was a pioneer not only in Nigeria but in the West African region. There were less than 500 public toilets in Lagos and they were either poorly maintained or in various stages of disuse. In less than 10

years, he had not only spread across Lagos, he had taken his mobile conveniences to many states of Nigeria and across to the West Coast of Africa.

His colourful and well-designed ‘smallrooms’ had become noticeable in major public functions, bus-stops and some market places.

Apart from breaking new grounds and creating a viable business enterprise, Durojaiye created jobs for street urchins and widows who were engaged in the supervision of the facilities and eventual evacuation services. Another salutary effect: his business activity has helped to improve the environment of some of Nigeria’s cities where the mobile toilets have gained ground through better hygiene and sanitary conditions. Many who would have defecated in the gutters and urinated at street corners have found his adult potties convenient and handy.

Durojaiye was his number one salesman and chief endorser.

Unabashedly, he drove his peculiar business by employing peculiar business strategies. His very popular slogan is, owo igbe kii run: meaning that though faeces may be messy and smelly, the money earned there from smells as good as any cash if ever it did.

Apparently to drive home his point about his kind of business, he called faeces by its common name so that he left no one in doubt about the true nature of his vocation. Hear him: “We ventured into ‘shit’ business having realised that people will hire canopies, tables and chairs; they will provide good food, good music and every other thing that goes with

a party. And when they are pressed for nature, where would they go to ease themselves? That was what brought about the idea of mobile toilets and today, it has become an industry…I want to be the Bill Gates of ‘shit’ in Nigeria; the Dangote of ‘shit”.

Obviously, human waste is perhaps the most nauseating of sights and among the most odious. Even when it comes from us, we are much disgusted by the very thought of it. But here was a man who dared to take a good look at this loathsome object; dared to call it by its street name and went ahead and built an industry around it. Durojaiye’s life reiterated to us, the dignity of legitimate labour. He proved to the world that fame and fortune lurk even in unlikeliest places if only we can look hard enough.

We commiserate with the families of Chief Isaac Durojaiye; we say farewell to a path-breaker.

‘But here was a man who dared to take a good look at this loathsome object; dared to call it by its street name and went ahead and built an industry around it. Durojaiye’s life reiterated to us, the dignity of legitimate labour. He proved to the world that fame and fortune lurk even in unlikeliest places if only we can look hard enough. We commiserate with the families of Chief Isaac Durojaiye; we say farewell to a path-breaker’

Chipping away at China’s state capitalism

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N EVERY GENERATION, it seems, some Americans find a foreign alternative to this country’s brand of democratic capitalism.

During economic downturns, the grass on the other side of the fence looks especially green.

In the Great Depression, many in the United States thought that Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union had cured unemployment. Today, some say we must learn the lessons of China’s staterun capitalism.

Just four months ago, Andrew Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal urging the United States to adopt a “forward looking, long-term economic plan,” like China does. Mr. Stern was just back from Chong-qing, impressed by that mega-city’s “people-oriented development” under “an aggressive and popular Communist Party leader — Bo Xilai.

A skyline of cranes are building roughly 1.5 million square feet of usable floor space daily — including, our delegation was told, 700,000 units of public housing annually. “ Alas for his admirers in the West, China’s Communist authorities purged Bo Xilai on March 15, shortly after his former police chief unsuccessfully tried to take refuge in the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. Explanations for Mr. Bo’s downfall range from corruption to the human-rights excesses that Mr. Bo’s police committed to official disgruntlement with Mr. Bo’s promotion of a neo-Maoist “red” culture.

Or perhaps his rivals in Beijing simply concluded that the populistic Mr. Bo had gotten too big for his britches.

Clearly there was a lot more happening in Chongqing than just “people-oriented development.” But neither the Chinese people nor the rest of the world can really tell, because the central government’s censorship apparatus is working overtime to suppress media discussion of Mr. Bo’s ouster.

The purge comes at a time of transition in China, as the Communist Party prepares to anoint a new politburo chief this year, probably Xi Jinping. The new leadership must wrestle with profound structural challenges — including a housing bubble and a decrepit financial system — caused or exacerbated by the heavy hand of government. “If our pace of reform continues to lag behind the pace of expansion of state-owned capital,” writes Hu Shuli, one of China’s leading financial journalists, “we will soon hear talk not of the rise, but a crisis, of state capitalism.”

China’s ability to reform what is now the second largest economy will affect not only its own people, but the entire world. The fact that a country of such global importance is governed according to the Leninist principles of a selfselected elite — insofar as the rules of the game can be discerned at all — is both a source of weakness in the Chinese model and a sobering concern for the United States and other countries with which China does business.

Though some visitors to China, dazzled by the high-rises and humming factories, may miss the point, the true sources of long-run stability and prosperity, for any nation, are the rule of law and transparent government.

China still has neither.

– Washington Post

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: It is obviously a fact that research is the fulcrum on which all other courses revolve. It amongst others opens up new discoveries in all facets of life.

Through research, we have witnessed advancements that have greatly enhanced the living condition of man. Just as we already know, the end goal of any research is to solve a problem through the unveiling of new approach to solving such a problem.

However, the abysmal performance of students on research based courses, particularly their dissertations is a catastrophic development that calls for urgent and salvaging approach. It is a situation that demands a new strategy.

It is also very heart-breaking to know that even Ph.D. students are victims of this unacceptable performance. A content analysis of dissertations written in various departments of our universities shows that the situation is even more pathetic than painted.

Worried about this development, I carried out an investigation and found out that the problem is from the foundation (undergraduate programmes). I discovered that serious attention is not given to research at the undergraduate level.

To this end, these students graduate without a good knowledge of research. By the time they begin their postgraduate programmes, the debt of their ignorance of research becomes glaring. The end product is the junks they submit as their thesis.

To surmount this siege, I

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Encouraging research in Nigerian universities therefore, advance the following bailouts. First, research based courses should (as a matter of compulsion) be taught in all semesters, beginning from second year (200 level). The courses should not be allocated to lecturers just like every other courses. Lecturers that have very sound knowledge in research must be allowed to do justice to courses in the area. These lecturers must have written at least a standard research textbook and must have published research works in reputable journals.

Students must be compelled to

produce a mini research report at the end of every session. By the time they get to final year, this experience will certainly enrich their final dissertations.

In times of NUC accreditations, serious attention should be given to project reports submitted to the various departments (including the postgraduate projects). This will serve as a veritable avenue to ascertain the performance of a given department in research.

From time to time, universities should organize research based workshops / seminars. Note: This

forum must serve as a platform to discuss research and not an avenue for a presenter to display his/her English language prowess.

NUC must as a matter of policy compel all universities to train their lecturers in the area of research. This will help to familiarise them with current trends in research. This training must include sending some of these lecturers to foreign universities to broaden their knowledge level in research. This is very expedient because most of the lecturers that claim to know research end up recycling old

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• Okechukwu Chukwuma Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Our lawmakers have gone mad again IR: At a time when we ought to have learnt one or two lessons from the Ibori trial by the Southwark Crown Court and the declaration of the former governor as ‘’a thief in government house’’, we are confronted with yet another brand of kleptomaniac tendencies, this time around, perpetrated by the Nigerian federal lawmakers.

The Nigerian legislative chamber and all its vestiges of lawmaking stink with corruption and thievery that one begins to wonder how we got

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ourselves into this opprobrium.

It is sad that the House of Representatives many felt was going to show more concern towards the feelings, plight and aspirations of the people, having had fresh individuals or representatives from other political parties within it, went berserk by raising their quarterly allowance from N15 million to N27 million.

As if that was not enough, the Senate whose actions in the last twelve years have been nothing short of misunderstanding of the practices

of legislative duties and functions awarded for themselves N45 million each. By the time one does the simple mathematics, we are confronted with a House of 360 representatives whose allowance is N38 billion, while the Upper Chamber with 109 Senators has N19.62 billion per year.

It is very unfortunate that despite the alarm raised last year by the Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi that the N158.91 billion spent on the legislatures as overhead amounted to 25 per cent of all federal overhead expenditure in 2010, the

Musicians and nation-building; tribute to Ebenezer Obey at 70

IR: Musicians are generally believed to be entertainers; however some of them transcend that. Many of them, particularly Chief Ebenezer Oluremilekun Obey Fabiyi can be described as a nationalist, spiritualist, teacher, prophet etc, going by his musical compositions over the year.

The veteran Juju musician turned evangelist has through his music contributed his own quota to Nigerian nation building process and this piece is a tribute to this nation builder at 70.

Except that Ebenezer Obey was not a social critic, his contribution was holistic. In other words, he was involved in enlightenment

knowledge.

All universities must be compelled to build research institutes in their schools. This will serve as instrument to advance research in the universities. In addition to this, the building of research institutes must be made compulsory requirement for granting approval to any application for the establishment of a university.

Our Professors and senior scholars should also advance the study of research by encouraging the younger ones. This involves having them as Research-Assistants and other little capacities where necessary. This will help sustain continuity in the area of research.

campaign on governmental affairs and other societal issues that have direct bearing on Nigerians. Aside, some of his works were used to inculcate in Nigerians moral values which include patience, endurance, hard work etc. As such, he has produced records to promote the spirit of commitment and patriotism among Nigerians. In the same vein, some of his works were used to promote gender equality and better life for women.

Furthermore, he produced some albums to pay tributes to notable Nigerians and world leaders. Also, he has used his music to entertain Nigerians and put smiles on their faces. Last but not the least, he has preached religious tolerance and

peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.

Buttressing the above with empirical evidence, during the Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970, Ebenezer Obey produced an album to call for cessation of hostilities and for the two sides to embrace peace. The record was titled To Keep Nigeria One / Ogun Pari and Ogun Pari. When Nigerian government changed driving from right hand side to left hand side in 1973, Ebenezer Obey popularized it with Keep Right. Also, when government changed Nigerian currency from Pound Sterling to Naira and kobo also in 1973, Obey produced an album Owo Naira and Kobo to enlighten Nigerians. Other

government programme he sang about includes Operation Feed The Nation, Helmet, Austerity Measure, War Against Indiscipline, Better Life for Rural Women, etc.

Today, Chief Ebenezer Obey has abandoned the secular music and embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ as his evangelist. Thus, he is in the highest service of nation building.

In recognition of his role in Nigerian nation building, Nigerian government has awarded him a national honour, Officer of the Niger (OFR).

May the Lord grand Chief Obey many useful years in good health.

• Adewuyi Adegbite Apake, Ogbomoso

federal legislature went ahead to increase their allocation to N232.74 billion from N111.24 billion earmarked for it by the Presidency.

It seems the act of lawmaking in our hallowed chambers has turned into money-making where the bellies and financial gratification of a few has become the norm. The fact that millions of Nigerians live below a dollar should have sent a signal to our legislatures that living in opulence at the expense of those who had voted them into power is not the step to take at this time when economic meltdown is busy tearing apart many nations.

If Ibori was accused of being a thief in government house, our lawmakers too cannot be too far from such nomenclature. The vast majority of the people who are bled on a daily basis by these set of few hijackers of our commonwealth must stand up for what is our right and bring our lawmakers to book.

It is not enough to criticize on paper and hope all would be well. We must ensure that the good old days of lawmaking is brought back to life, while the bad eggs within the chamber, whose urge is to further enrich their pockets should systematically be flushed out and punished through enabling laws.

• Raheem Oluwafunminiyi Lagos

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

EDITORIAL/OPINION

NECO: Nigeria fails youth; Pensioners run government Pension Scheme; $640m Lottery; Mali menace

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ECO, 11 percent pass, JAMB with 27,000 results withheld as suspect. The students did not fail.

Nigeria has repeatedly failed Nigeria’s students.

Tony Introduce emergency Marinho SS3 measures to develop our children quickly, to better prepare the 2013 set currently ‘studying’ in pigsties mistakenly called schools. After N3 trillion on education and still no books in schools, Nigeria still fails its vulnerable youth and could be sued by Human Rights Watch and Child Rights Watch for child negligence.

The visitation panels to Federal Colleges of Education and Polytechnics should not expect, demand or receive ‘gifts’ in cash or kind! Just do the job.

The National Assembly overreaches itself with vitriolic utterances and poor treatment of its invited ‘Fellow Nigerian’ guests. The treatment is often an interrogation or inquisition with little or no right of reply. We, Fellow Nigerians are not idiots and can often read between the lines and see a prepared ‘political’ script. Of course, righteous indignation, rash comments and intimidating actions may fish out as few bad eggs at public hearings, but they are also likely to deter many good quality honest Nigerians from taking public office. In spite of their posturing, the NA members’ antecedents are not impeccable. They merely ‘won’ an election. Imagine suspending the Pension Scheme Task Team. It smells of premeditated witch-hunting. The NA must ensure it is not a puppet fulfilling a criminal’s agenda. The inquiry into the FRSC and Police abuses of the driving and vehicle licenses scheme is welcome and will be applauded when the scheme and the charges are properly reviewed and controlled. Driving licenses should be changed for new ones only when they expire. Some similar long term arrangement can be made for vehicle licenses. Already there are fakes.

The NA is not God and can make mistakes. All financial

demands must stop. The Pension Scheme Task Team under Maina deserves National Honours at the end of their assignment and so does Ex Head of Service Steve Oronsaye who set it up. There are many good Nigerians but other Nigerians can make anything good, even a pension scheme, bad. The exposed abuses in the pension scheme highlight massive corruption, N151 billion, by callous civil servants.

How can an inspectorate division not detect such mega-fraud long before it gets to this disgraceful level? It confirms corruption permeates all sectors of the pension fund involving hundreds of staff, not just the six in court. The revelations of N151b are for just two, the Police and Head of Service, out of 44 pension offices. The NA should allow the Pension Task Team to act quickly before all the fraudulent tracks are covered.

If routine internal and external auditing was done even quarterly on all government agencies, much of Nigeria’s fraud should never occur. Indeed, there is blood on the hands of all those conniving civil servants and banking officials who were able to facilitate the illegal transfer, removal and cashing of billions. Which banks are involved? They should be heavily fined, sanctioned and even closed down. All government pension funds should be held in Treasury Bonds by the CBN. They should not be in banks, being rolled for ‘finder’s fees’ over for greedy civil servants or placed in the stock exchange. Too few Nigerians are to be trusted. Indeed pensioners themselves should manage government pension funds and private pension funds also need closer supervision because citizens are forced by law to save with them.

Imagine the criminal callousness of pension officials sending pensioners on wild goose chases for verification papers or photographs. Indeed, the wrong spelling of names and wrong sex, removal of names, screening pains, travel difficulties are deliberate and not ‘mistakes’. Pension staff members extort money like pension touts. When a pensioner dies these pension officials criminally split the pension funds with grieving families who get nothing if they protest.

The Western world is not as sane as one might think. An African cannot see how if you pay a large amount to a political

party, you cannot have a meeting with the party and political bosses, even the Prime Minister. In Nigeria this is not a problem as your access is proportional to your pocket. What did you pay for anyway? Is the money not for access and influence, just like in America where $1m may get you an Ambassadorial appointment providing you have the right educational qualifications?

Again in the Western World we have this mega lottery of $640million or £400million. The honest lottery should not roll over but draw the Prize until a winner is found. At this time of poverty and unemployment, lotteries should divide their winning pot into smaller units. Massive winning do not bring ‘satisfaction’. A large number of smaller winnings, $100,000, will touch many more families positively. About 640 prizes of $1million or 6,400 prizes of $100,000 is morally better than giving $640m to one or three families.

We must take the backfired coup and rebel attacks in Mali seriously. There is a real danger that with the fall of Kidal, Goa and Timbuktu with its treasure of books under threat of burning, the whole of Mali will fall like a blade of grass. The excuse for the coup was inadequate government support in the war against the rebels. The rebels are Tuaregs, the MNLA wanting control of the North, Islamic Jihadists and mercenary battle hardened columns from the Libyan front. ECOWAS is under threat from the Mali menace.

‘If routine internal and external auditing was done even quarterly on all government agencies, much of Nigeria’s fraud should never occur.

Indeed, there is blood on the hands of all those conniving civil servants and banking officials who were able to facilitate the illegal transfer, removal and cashing of billions’

Terror gangs in Nigeria (1)

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FIRST time visitor to Lagos will be subsumed in anxiety because of many stories - good, bad and ugly – flying around about Lagos. It all depends on the port of entry. If it is the international airport, in the case of a foreigner, or the local airport, in the case of any other Johnny Just Come, JJC, from outside Lagos, the story may be the same. If your journey is not properly planned, the visitor could end up in the hands of fraudsters, cheats who loiter around the airports. These crooks even operate cheap ‘car hire’ services designed to entice the uninitiated who could easily settle for them rather than board the registered carriers who charge exorbitant prices for their services.

In the case of persons travelling by road, whether they enter through the Ojota end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Sango-Otta-Lagos end or through the Epe-Lekki stretch, the story is the same. On your first arrival, you are greeted by the sight of huge cluster of people at bus-stops, no matter the time of the day. Also, a long stretch of commuter buses would always be in tow. But mind you, the painted buses in Lagos State’s yellow colour or even the unpainted “kabukabu” as unregistered, painted taxi cabs are generally known, could be used by ‘one chance’ robbers.

One chance means that you might meet two, three or more people already sitted and the driver will cry out “one chance” more. If you dash inside because you are anxious to reach your final destination, you may regret your decision and may not reach your destination either.

Welcome to the city of Lagos, a city the sitting governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola has been labouring day and night in the last five years to transform into a megacity befitting of its status.

A good number of transformation have taken place and are still taking place. The scenic view has improved with “manicured” flowers and other beautiful plants dotting the entire landscape. Business is thriving and unless you are so unfortunate or you lack business sense, you cannot go hungry in Lagos.

As the melting pot of Nigeria where indigenes of virtually all the rest 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, converge to eke out a living, expectedly the crime indices is expected to be astronomical. In the past, it was. But now, there is a Lagos State Security Trust Fund in place. The idea of the trust fund is borne out of the wisdom by the state government to decisively tackle the crime situation in the state. This is done by augmenting the services of the police through the provision of equipments.

I mean modern-day crime-fighting equipments like radio communications, fast moving operation vehicles bullet proof jackets, arms, ammunitions etc for the police.

Without the trust fund, Lagos could have continued to be a slaughter-slab where armed robbers could operate with impunity and get away with their crimes. This has been brought under control. Unfortunately, the void created by dare-devil armed robbers who had sent chilling fear into the spines of people in the past but has been successfully checkmated is being filled by roving gangs operating freely in different parts of the metropolis.

In Shomolu, Fadeyi, Mushin, EbuteMeta, Isale-Eko and other parts of Lagos, the story is the same. Gang members every now and then, wage war against one another leaving behind a trail of blood, deaths and destruction. Guns, matchetes, charms,

‘Without the trust fund, Lagos could have continued to be a slaughter-slab where armed robbers could operate with impunity and get away with their crimes. This has been brought under control’

axes and other dangerous weapons are deployed into the fratricidal wars.

Apart from death tolls, innocent passers-by, commuters, shop owners and private homes are usually the victims. Recently, I went on a covert mission to some of the hot spots or ‘axis of evil’ and what I got was very alarming. Members of some of these gangs are party thugs who are being used by politicians. The politicians arm them during elections to wreak havoc and cause mayhem on opponents or to instill fear in them for the purpose of gaining upper hand in elections.

After the elections, the politicians develop cold feet whether they lose or win because they see them as disposable wastes that should be used during elections and dump after the election. They leave them to be in possession of their arms and ammunitions which they easily convert to personal use to cause brigandage all over the place.

Then of course, there are cultists who exist in the campuses of higher institutions of learning and even secondary school pupils who have been exposed to cult activities. Some of the students and pupils also live offcampus but they have meeting points in schools’ play grounds, open fields, abandoned plots and houses and all that. They also go about with dangerous implements causing death and destruction in their wake.

Closely following the activities of the cultists are members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW. Members of this group are known as “agberos” or touts who engage in open solicitation for passengers. They act as foot solders for leaders of the various parks who are often engaged in supremacy battles for the control of motor parks.

For those who have been fortunate to afford paying for land to built houses, it does not matter if you are buying directly from people you think are the real land owners or those who present themselves to you as bonafide land owners. There is the omo onile gangs who roam about the Lagos suburbs extorting from would-be developers who are forced to part with

huge amount of money under severe threat to lives. And there is no uniformity in what you might be asked to pay in different parts of Lagos.

When you pay for a piece of land, you might be requested to pay to obtain the authentic family receipt from someone called “Olori Ebi” or head of the family. Then you are asked to pay for digging the foundation of the building; you pay for putting he slab (or slabs) if it is a one-storey affair or more; you pay for roofing when you get there. For the smart alecs among them, you still part with something and variety of drinks if you are the type who indulge in “house warming” or house opening. These monies are no tokens. They are thousands of naira. And in case the land buyer wants to prove difficult or “too know” as they say, it is instant judgment. Woe betide you if you decide to meet them force, with force then you must be ready for casualties on both sides.

In bus-stops and drinking joints in Lagos, people revel in running commentaries of football matches especially the European league matches and other foreign football engagements. They are so passionate with these football teams that they often result to hot arguments and exchange of blows or weapons whenever they disagree. It may also interest you to know that the marauding gangs in Lagos employ the same tactics. It is common in the morning for a gang member to ask: What was the scores last night? The answer could be three goals to two, or two goals to one or any figure. Don’t be carried away by the scores or don’t think they are talking about Arsenal or Chelsea. Not at all. They are in fact talking about the casualties on both sides. The casualties are not the wounded but those who were killed.

That is the new dimension to gang wars in Lagos.

There are also militias everywhere.

In the South-west you have the Oodua Peoples’ Congress, OPC, the Egbesus or different forms of militant groups in the Niger Delta, the Boko Haram group and other deadly groups in the North.

Dele Agekameh Apart from Boko Haram there are other groups operating in the North. For example, the OPC is a banned organization under the law, but you see their members everywhere even donning T-shirts and face-caps with their inscriptions on them. This is a recipe for anarchy now or in the nearest future.

In parts of the Niger Delta, particularly in Warri an oil-rich city in Delta State, the security situation is quite appalling. There are gang wars everywhere. In Effurun, for instance, this bubbling part of the city otherwise called Uwie Kingdom, that is this type of gang war among the youths. They have constituted themselves to terror gangs deploying arms and ammunitions at slightest inking or provocation. They roam about the community extorting money from innocent, law abiding but unfortunate Nigerians, mostly non-indigenes and even the indigenes of the community.

The repairs of any part of the building either the roof, fence, doors, windows or just repainting attract a fee which is forcefully taken by the youths. Woe betides you if you argue too much, refuses to pay or prove to be stubborn; you are instantly visited with any form of molestation including bodily harm and other forms of violence.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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EDITORIAL/OPINION ‘Gbenga, only N27million to our reps quarterly and you are complaining. How then will you cry in the case of the Akwa Ibom State Finance Commissioner who runs his office with a monthly imprest of N1 billion? Crazy figures or uncommon transformation? Investigate, if you doubt. Anonymous So, just publishing a picture of the failed portion of Aba-Iko Ekpene road with the cut line eyesore can embarrass the government to deploy Julius Berger Construction Company to site to repair it after all pleas by me and other indigenes fell on deaf ears? Thanks to The Nation. From Dan Cosmas Uyo’

• Tinubu

For Segun Gbadegesin Thanks for your article on “Secularism matters”. Please let the government know that we still buy kerosene at N150 per litre at the filling stations. Thanks! From Israel, Warri.

They should do their worst now that they are in position, but a cruel death is coming upon them in no time in the hands of Nigerian Rawlings. Anonymous Re: Failing the future The above and lack of as well as the less investment in education were aftermath of the Second Republic politics. Since then, there were no national development plans aside the budgets. Can you compare Jakande with all the current governors irrespective of their political parties? To massively educate the people and the poor, should Governor Fashola of all, have put heavy taxes and costs Lagosians? Not at all. We plead that the governors invest massively on educating the citizens so as not to fail the future. From Lanre Oseni, Lagos.

I agree with you. The future will remain bleak until Nigeria throws away the exploitative social and political structures she inherited from the West. The present order will never work because the opportunity of developing by under developing other peoples is not there. From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna All the noise about value re-orientation, to me, can only be meaningful if Nigerians are genuinely catered for educationally by the state. Patriotism will remain elusive so long as the citizens do not feel indebted to the state in any form. Something must be done urgently to reverse the trend. From Jelingo Alade Our nation is in disarray. Things happen here in a grand style with pity. Yes, reading the comments of Gbenga Omotoso on March 22, 2012 in The Nation, a true Nigerian will definitely never cease to cry with the antithesis of our nation’s economic zero achievement for the masses; even for the yet unborn. What a nation with “men of great heart”, who are unveiling their kleptomania attitude in the name of governance in a “wild parlour” called Abuja. Anonymous Dear Prof., you sound prophetic and analytical on your “Failing the future”. Your passion for education is understandable as an apostle of Awolowo. Our leaders or rulers were and are still consistently inconsistent on issue of education.

Kindly let me give this analogy. On Saturday, March 24, 2012, 1.5million students sat for the UMTE in 375 towns. The Civil Defence Corps deployed 15,000 staff to all the exam centres in the country. On the same day, 5,000 delegates of PDP went for the party’s national convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja. It attracted about 15,000 security men and women. It was a family affair at the end. Anonymous For Olatunji Dare I am so sorry that you lost cash and time. It is not new. Government officials talk before they think and plan. l think the Kwara oil issue is part of the northern oil strategy to delay oil exploration until they finish the one in the south. Do not worry. It is just a matter of time. There is oil in Lagos, Ogun states.

Why are they not drilling? It is part of the exploitative agenda. The so called major ethnic groups have a way they cheat the

minority. From Pastor Esene Henry Re: Where are they now? It makes more sense to me to believe that the Aran-Orin find in Kwara is a political crude oil gushing out of its reservoir at an unbelievable pressure like some geyser. Now, it has completed its politically turbulent cycle with the reservoir dried up. And quite naturally, the noise and chest-beating has gone with the waves!

I equally believe the cassava bread to be seasonal whose time has come and gone and I do not think any committee will want to carry out oversight on it since it will not cough out money for its members. There is really nothing in it the first place but politics and politicians. Or is there any? From Kayode A., Abeokuta.

What killed the First Republic was that it was based on private property. The problems of neo-colonialism still exist because the petty-bourgeois intellectuals confuse and lull the masses. From Amos Åjimonye, Kaduna Just read your article on “where are they now?” You are asking so many questions on the surface. Be detailed for easy digestion if you want reactions. Anonymous Sir, reconnect me with the sake of communication skills and historical facts. Are you referring to 2009 Appropriations because Yar’Adua was a governor that time? From Wole Adediran, Ode Omu, Osun State Hello Doc, well done on your article “Where are they now?”Nigeria is full of fraudsters and hypocrites in the public space.

This reminds me of an article of yours in the ‘90s entitled: “Where was George?” or something like that. I understand you have a book, which is a collection of your many articles in the past. Where can I get a copy?

Prof. Ikenna Onyido, Dept. of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe Sir, all teh pensions offices in Nigeria should be probed. Anonymous Re: Where are they now? I am also astonished by the silence of my home-Kwara State government-having made me made mouth in your newspaper when you first wrote about it. Then, I made a bash of NNPC for its negative comment and jealousness of the new find-oil in Aran Orin, Kwara State!

The silence by my governor since then, calls for concerns. I request Governor Ahmed Abdulfatah to talk in order to alleviate the jest being made of me in my office in Lagos.

I was told it was ‘palm oil’ that was found in my state. al;so the president needs to update us on the publicised cassava bread. From Lanre Oseni, Lagos Re: Where are they now? James Ononofe and his cohorts are a disgrace to Nigeria.

They are also a shame to this nation. Shame!

From Lanre Oseni, Lagos ... and where is the impostor, who claimed to be the real James Onanefe Ibori, that was sentenced by a Bwari Court for the theft of some building materials? Thanks for the update. From Mike Aiyemo, Abuja The wicked runneth when no man pursueth.

The true enemies of Nigeria are the ones who are afraid. The so called party in Aso Rock wants to be sure that their interest and that of their proxies are continuously served at the cost of the masses. The PDP Government is afraid of losing grips of the west. That, of course, is enough to cause fear of regional integration. From Wilson Macaulay of the Department of History and International Studies DELSU, Abraka.

Your article entitled: “Where are they now?”captured my thoughts. Ribadu continues to thrive while his detractors continue to lament their existence. From Sola Idrz Good morning. This is Dr. Adesina, Minister of Agric. I am trying to send you an email on ‘Where are they now”, but your

address in your paper is not going through.

Please send me your correct email. Thanks!

Sir, “Where are they now?”is most interesting and exciting. Anyway, those who are dishonest and fake are usually found in the dustbin of history. The people are not the first set. Where is Abimbola Davies, who coordinated ABN of June 12 annulment? From AdeyCorsim, Oshodi, Lagos For Gbenga Omotoso Gbenga, your article on ‘facts and crazy figures’ is nothing but the truth. I suggest it should be sent to the President through Abati and Mark. God bless Nigeria. From Malumba I am so despair by the speculation that our generation might just be the very last, if the Mayan calendar is anything to go by. I shouldn’t care any less. But wherever I go whether Heaven or Hell - I surely am not looking forward to sharing the same eternity with such boisterous benign bunch as such.

Anonymous I am impressed by your detailed account of the degree of corruption in our country.

Nigeria is where its leaders steal from her left and right and the citizens are watching helplessly. God help Nigeria. From Olatunji Everyone wants to ignore the only fact in all these allegations that can be proven and illegal, which is the SEC DG’s action in paying for the overseas trip of the head of the committee charged with overseeing her organisation. This is a conflict of interest and is as illegal as anything she is accusing Hembe of doing. Anonymous Sir, it is only God that will bless you. The truth is always bitter, but you are bold to say it. Looking forward to read from you. From 2moro.Joedino.mkd Gbenga, only N27million to our reps quarterly and you are complaining. How then will you cry in the case of the Akwa Ibom State Finance Commissioner who runs his office with a monthly impress of N1 billion?

Crazy figures or uncommon transformation?

Investigate, if you doubt. Anonymous So, just publishing a picture of the failed portion of Aba-Iko Ekpene road with the cut line eyesore can embarrass the government to deploy Julius Berger Construction Company to site to repair it after all pleas by me and other indigenes fell on deaf ears?

Thanks to The Nation. From Dan Cosmas Uyo The figures just came brutally to the senses knocking off all rational conjectures of what is becoming of our dear country! One sure thing is that our driver is sure heading us all for the rocks. Can somebody save us from the danger ahead? From Engr Ajuwon Musa Inuwa had to climb a mast because puny mortals could not help in a matter that involved his stinking rich fellow compatriots.

How many Inuwas are suffering in silence?

Oteh and Hembe? They’ll go scot free because the social system that protects criminals in high places still flourishes.When shall power come to the pauperised millions? From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna Whether this country likes it or not, majority of the world like your critique.

Imagine the issue of “ of facts and crazy figures” of March 22, 2012 among others!Before long “Comment & Debate” Column edited by Prolific King of the Pen Gbenga Omotoso - will change not only the Nigerian society but the world at large. From Isaiah-Green, lawyer, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

What Musa said is true. It is a land matter at Yola. Ask Rimon 08181414639 & Tailor 08025500599. They have houses there (they speak hausa only). The land is located at bajabure(Natiti land). He has been promising to pay up. But he did not.

• Hembe

For Tunji Adegboyega Tunji, RE: ‘If you Hembe me, I Oteh you’ published on March 25. You were not fair to Ms Oteh!. The suggestion to ’support’ Hembe’s committee came from the top administrative officer in SEC. The decision was a board decision and not Ms Oteh’s alone.

Indeed, Ms. Oteh’s true position manifested in her ‘unilateral stoppage’ of the release of the funds because she ‘smelt a rat’. She seized the opportunity of the N5million advance request to ‘stop’ further processing of the approved fund. Her courageous action led to the ‘treatment’ she got from Hembe. Ms Oteh is responsible to her board (as all chief executives are) and cannot overrule its decision but can ‘stall’ implementation with ‘plausible reasons’, which was what she had done. Nobody has looked at the issue this way or in an objective manner. Everybody is eager to ‘crucify’ Ms Oteh. It was Mr Hembe’s combative posture that portrayed him as a ‘hatchet man’. Anonymous.

Tunji, I hope those (?) who call themselves honourables are reading your column. I was so excited about the article. Please keep it up.

From Sina Awelewa.

I am an official of a private company in the Middle Belt. Some legislators visited from the state assembly on ‘oversight’ function after which they asked ‘what and where is our package’? I couldn’t help laughing. Of course they got nothing. From SK. Oyegbusi.

Great article!’ If you Hembe me, I Oteh you’.

Truly, Nigeria is in the hands of (?).

Anonymous.

The piece is thought-provoking. What is clear is that the ruling class is bankrupt. The people should build a new Nigeria that will beget new men. From Amos Ejinonye.

The House of Reps should stop deceiving us on probes. How many probes have they prosecuted? Let them stop fooling Nigerians.

From Nnorom Umukaba, Abia State.

I read your article of March 25. Your analysis was good, but I want to tell you that neither Oteh nor Hembe will go to jail. We celebrate corruption in Nigeria. Something worse than this had taken place and nothing happened. I mean something involving billions.

Anonymous.

‘If you Hembe me, I Oteh you’’; monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. What do you expect, when rat race is the order of the nation? From Mrs Ufuoma, O.O., Delta State.

This NASS behaves as if there is dichotomy between them and the nation. Keep it up.

From Dr. Aina, O.O.U. ‘If you Hembe me, I Oteh you‘is a masterpiece. From Emeka.

On your article on Bola Tinubu (April 1), Tunji, Asiwaju could pull that kind of crowd (though he is not in government) because he is a kingmaker, at least in the Southwest and in the ACN. And the way things are, Tinubu will continue to be relevant and influential for a long time to come. From Modibbo, Festac Town, Lagos.

Tunji, Tinubu deserves every encomium because he has changed so many lives through his political doggedness in the Nigerian politics. From Gordon Nnorom, Abia State.

Tinubu is, indeed, a phenomenon. I, however, fear your article was not balanced enough to point out his weaknesses. That is the essence of life and celebration. I am a fan.

From Sola, Kaduna.

APPEAL

INAUGURATION

SOS

Community seeks health centre

Two agric committees set up

Patient needs N3.3m for hip replacement

Jigawa

37

Abuja

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

38

Lagos

40

Page 25

Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

Almakura sets May completion date for roads ASARAWA State Governor Umaro Tanko Almakura has set a target of May for the completion of the first phase of the road construction embarked upon by his administration.

Some of those roads have been completed and put to use but the governor assured that all the others will be ready by May, adding that his administration is committed to building good roads in

N

•Almakura

From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

the state.

Almakura said this at a reception held in his honour at the Lafia Township Stadium to mark his victory at the Supreme Court.

The governor also promised to move on to the second phase immediately the first set of roads have been completed.

He urged everyone in the state to join in the effort to rebuild it

after years of rot.

“The state has arrived, devoid of friction, devoid of any marginalisation and devoid of any prejudice against any category of people,” he said after his victory at the Supreme Court.

Almakura assured the people of the state that his administration would weld the state together in order to channel its energies towards prosperity.

The governor told the people

that the time had come for the state to move forward.

He explained the imperatives of building feeder roads, saying they will link up the local government areas with the state capital and open the vast business opportunities in the localities.

Almakura noted that roads are a major vehicle for the opening up of business opportunities •Continued on Page 26

A

HEALTH-BASED nongovernmental organisation, Aids Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) has mounted an aggressive campaign to rid Plateau State of Tuberculosis. The campaign involves treatment and public sensitisation.

The Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), a partner of the NGO, said it has over 14,000 tuberculosis (TB) patients in its care, adding that its personnel are sensitising the people on the disease with a view to halting its spread in the state.

The head of TB unit of APIN, Dr. Maxwell Akanbi who spoke with newsmen in Jos shortly after embarking on an enlightenment rally in Jos North local government area of the State to mark the World Tuberculosis Day, said TB is spreading faster than people think and that many are unaware of the disease.

Akanbi said not many people know about the ailment which has caused several deaths around the globe hence, adding that enlightenment is crucial in fighting it.

He maintained that TB worsens the condition of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), most of who are TB carriers. He urged communities across the state to take advantage of public institutions to know their status as well as get the free investigation and treatment of TB and other related diseases which APIN is promoting.

The medical expert disclosed that APIN is a United States of America-assisted programme, which works in concert with the Harvard School of Public Health. He added that APIN has been operating in JUTH since 2003 and that more TB patients are being treated.

He stated that deliberate efforts are being made to significantly reduce the disease by 2015.

•Members of the TB campaign team on the road

NGO tackles TB in Plateau JUTH treats 14,000 From Marie-Therese Nanlong, Jos

APIN, he added, started the campaign rally with Jos North council area because of its popu-

Awareness campaign on

lation and the centre of business activities in the state even as he stressed that the rally would also be replicated in other local government areas.

Akanbi appealed to residents to visit the TB centre if they cough

persistently for two weeks and also endeavour to know their HIV status to ensure prompt treatment.

But the issue of drug resistance of the disease is of concern to health personnel in the state. The

Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) spoke about this resistance in TB sufferers especially in Plateau North Senatorial zone, •Continued on Page 26

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

26

Neglected community seeks redemption

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IKE an unloved guest, Tedi community near Ojo Military Cantonment in Lagos has been consistently neglected by the local and state governments. Now residents are asking why.

The community near Ojo Local Government Area is the undisputed record holder for abandoned settlements in the entire Lagos State. Lack of government presence in most parts of the state is not new, as we read in newspapers now and then. Half a dozen or so out-of-the-way communities have made such claims in the past: no electricity for months; no roads; no water and other infrastructures.

At least, they are represented on the state’s map. But Tedi Town has no such privilege.

In vain will you search in Lagos state map for a community that boasts more than a hundred thousand people, most of them traders with shops at Trade Fair International Market. That is not all. There is no single petrol station in the entire community. There are no banks – not even a community bank! The major roads leading to Tedi Town from Onireke in Ojo Barracks and from Abule Osun are some of the worst in the area. They are almost impassable even after light showers. Worse still, there are no street names on poles indicat-

By Mike Jimoh

ing this ir that street, as you find in the obscurest corners of Lagos.

Perhaps this is why one of the community’s longtime residents, Chief Boniface Egbuniwe Okoye, feels so strongly that Tedi Town is not on the map of Lagos State at all.

“If you’re coming from Ojo Barracks to Tedi,” Okoye says, “you will see road signs demarcating one street from another. It stops suddenly as you reach Tedi. Ditto from Abule Osun. All the street names end after Dansa.”

Dansa is an acronym formed from Dangote’s fruit juice-making company in the area, where most young men and women leaving in Tedi Town and nearby places work. The road is paved with interlocking stones around the company. Up to a point. But after a short distance, it turns out to be a sandy stretch where motorbikers and motorists try hard not be derailed as they move on the road.

Most of the residents say there is not one thing either the state or local government has done for the community.

“We only get to see them during election time or when they want to collect levies from shop owners and market women here in Tedi Town,” Okoye grumbles.

If you’re coming from Ojo Barracks to Tedi, you will see road signs demarcating one street from another.

It stops suddenly as you reach Tedi.

Ditto from Abule Osun. All the street names end after Dansa

•Tedi

Once in the past, the Igbo Community in Tedi, according to Okoye, took their case to the local government. To their surprise, council officials claimed Tedi was not part of their local government.

Though less than half a kilometer from the largest military barracks in West Africa, it is not quite clear whether Tedi Town is in Oriade or Ojo local government areas. It is smack in the middle of both. “We don’t know

where we belong,” laments Toni Omosimuwa, another resident of Tedi Town.

“But council officials never fail to collect their levies from market women and traders leaving here in the community.”

Okoye insists that what the community is suffering is deliberate on the part of the authorities concerned. For instance, he claims there was a link bridge to a neighbouring village, Muwo,

that has been left undone years after the contract was awarded.

“We are appealing to both the state and local governments to come to our aid in Tedi Town. The roads are bad. There are no drainages, no street names and not one filling station. We pay our taxes, so government should play their part.”

•Jimoh, a journalist, is based in Lagos

NGO tackles TB in Plateau •Continued from Page 25

adding that there is a sharp decline in the detection of the disease in the zone.

The group blamed this development on the violent crises that have rocked the area recently as well as residents’ fear of being attacked while trying to access free care in public health centres.

Speaking at a seminar to mark the World TB Day, Dr. Sam Ogiri, a World Health Organisation (WHO) personnel regretted that the WHO target of eliminating TB by 2050 may be a mirage if serious efforts are not made to sensitise the communities on the dangers associated with the disease.

Ogiri who was represented by the state chairman of APHPN, Dr. Joseph Daboer, added that it is alarming that in the last 40 years, very insignificant efforts have been made in finding a suit-

able vaccine for the treatment of TB, stating that the last vaccines discovered was between 1944 and 1968.

Also in a paper, Dr. Samson Isa of the Department of Medicine, University of Jos, said the fight against TB is gaining ground, but the only constraints are that its process is slow.

Dr. Isa disclosed that new drugs have undergone clinical observation and when eventually licensed for treatment, the period required to treat TB patients would be reduced from between 24 months to only four months.

Those who attended the seminar were students of Community Health, doctors and other stakeholders in the health sector.

Medical personnel blame rise in TB cases on the violent crises that have rocked the area as well as residents’ fear of being attacked while trying to access free care in public health centres

•One of the completed roads

Almakura builds roads •Continued from Page 25

anywhere in the world, stressing that road construction in Lafia as well as the rural areas would be a major preoccupation of government in the remaining years of the

administration.

However, the governor also noted that the issue of power supply, which is a necessary component of the opening up of industries in the state, would be tackled next by his administration, fol-

lowed by “water, kitting of hospitals, and agriculture”.

Almakura used the occasion to thank the people of the state “for their cooperation, commitment, and confidence in myself and my government.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

E

MMANUEL Jime, a member of the House of Representatives is worried over the incessant Tiv-Fulani feud in Benue State. Apparently moved by what he saw, he moved a motion on the Tiv-Fulani crisis. Jime, who represents Makurdi/ Guma Federal Constituency of Benue State told reporters in Abuja: “You will be surprised to see what I have seen in the past two weeks. It is most worrisome for me because cattlemen are found in possession of guns such as AK 47 rifles. Normally, what one expects to see are bows and arrows, cutlasses and sticks, but for you to see sophisticated weapons like AK 47 is worrisome and very alarming.

Because of the sophistication of the weapons being deployed, one wonders how this is possible in a country where security is supposed to be taken seriously. In my view, the greatest responsibility of any government is the provision of security.”

His defining moment in the House was when he led the process in addressing what he described as “our relationship with the Fulani, our brothers, in the Tiv speaking area and as far as in Nasarawa State.”

According to him, it is “a defining moment because we never knew the magnitude and the horrendous nature of this tragedy that has been unfolding, until I became aware at some point during the course of my stewardship that somebody needed to take responsibility and act; that also informed the need for me to order a trailer-load of rice to cushion the effect of hunger in the affected areas”.

I

MO State Governor Rochas Okorocha has pledged his administration’s resolve to complete all ongoing projects, even as he has intensified his usual daily inspection of ongoing road construction and other infrastructural projects.

Over 400 kilometers of roads and other gigantic infrastructural projects spread across the state are being embarked upon by the Governor Okorocha administration.

Addressing contractors at Government House, Owerri, the state capital, the governor submitted that with the Supreme Court judgment which marked the end of the

27

Abuja is too congested, says Rep

By Gbenga Adanikin, Abuja

Jime went on:”First, when I moved the motion in the House a few weeks ago, the crisis had only just erupted.

Make no mistake this is a crisis that has been on as long as I think mankind existed. I think it has to be understood in the context of the values of the two communities that are involved.

“The Tivs are farmers by nature while the Fulani are herdsmen. These are vocations that naturally come into conflict because of the nature of those involved. Of course, if you have a farm and you grow crops that are green, that is what the cattle like to eat. So, these are vocations that are naturally prone to crisis.

“And so what normally happens during our recent investigations into this matter is that the Tiv has his farm, the Fulani’s cattle walk in and destroy everything. That normally is the flash point. Someone somewhere would like to ask questions on what is happening, but may be, the next person is not happy why such a question is asked. This leads to a crisis of great magnitude.

“Therefore, I’m happy we have brought this issue up. This country is beginning to take note.

“The committee has done its work.

I was privileged to be part of the committee to visit the affected areas. I am

sure when the report comes out, people will see what has actually transpired”.

Jime, who is also the chairman Adhoc Committee on the Federal Territory Capital (FCT), plans to tackle congestion in the capital city. He said: “When the FCT was being conceived, the main aim was to decongest Lagos, which was then the federal capital. Now, I think many years down the road, it’s possible to argue that we haven’t moved away from Lagos.

It’s safe to say right now that the problems which bedevilled Lagos have begun to rear their heads in Abuja.

For instance, traffic jam has become an issue here, accommodation is in short supply. There are houses in the city, but people are not able to get accommodation. So, there is a problem I believe. The road networks within the city seem the best, but within the satellite towns, we haven’t

done as much as we should do.

“The greater numbers of people that live in Abuja live in the satellite towns, and so if you do not provide the satellite towns, the kind of facilities we have, that informs why we now have congestion in the city right now.

“So, as the Chairman of FCT, I think the question should be how you would like the city to be. My simple reply is we have a city that answered the dream of our founding fathers. That is to say, a city where Nigerians can feel happy to come into and to live their dreams— city of dream like any other city in a civilised world. I want Abuja to look like Paris, London or Washington. I think we can do it.

“The resources for Abuja development, have they been applied correctly? I think not. Maybe that is the work we have to do in ensuring that the resources meant for FCT are ap-

The greater numbers of people that live in Abuja live in the satellite towns, and so if you do not provide the satellite towns, the kind of facilities we have, that informs why we now have congestion in the city right now

Imo to complete projects From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

unwarranted distractions mounted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ikedi Ohakim, his administration would now accord priority to the ongoing road projects to have them asphalted before the rains become heavy.

He urged contractors handling different road projects to show

enough commitment by mobilising more equipment to sites to ensure speedy completion of the projects.

Governor Okorocha assured them of his encouragement by ensuring that their payments are promptly made in accordance with the terms of the contracts, adding that the state has enough fund in its disposal to complete all the ongoing road projects.

“Now that the distractions are over, we will ensure that all ongoing road projects are completed

before the rains become heavy. On our own part, we will continue to ensure that you are well encouraged by making sure that your payments are not delayed. Imo State is rich with enough resources to complete all the ongoing road projects. We will not fail in our promise to make Imo the best in the country,” he said.

Continuing, Governor Okorocha said that all the landmark projects, including the 24floor five star hotel in Owerri, another five-star hotel in Okigwe and Orlu Ecumenical Centre, the Hand of God high rising tower, 305 modern primary schools and 27 general hospitals must be completed before the expiration of his tenure.

He urged Imo people to always support his administration which he said is anchored on prudence and accountability contrary to what obtained in the past.

In a related development, Gov-

•Jime plied for the purposes for which they are meant.

“This, to me is the greatest work of the committee at the present time; to ensure that there is transparency in governance and of course, good service delivery. My concern is to ensure that the Abuja light rail that has been conceived takes off in our time. The congestion on our roads is alarming, so we can provide a means to decongest it. If you check the man hours that are lost—somebody who is supposed to be at work by 8am but comes to work by 10am, you appreciate the effect this has on our economy. I want to see the first train that will move from Suleja to the city centre.”

ernor Okorocha has dissolved the executive of the 357 town unions across the 27 local government areas of the state ahead of the 4th tier government election.

Governor Okorocha stated this during a breakfast meeting with traditional rulers in Imo State at Ahiajoku Centre, new Owerri recently.

He said that the town union executive were dissolved to pave way for a level playing ground for all the intending aspirants for the 4th tier government election in the state come April, 9, 2012.

Governor Okorocha urged those who are indigenous to the state and who are interested in contesting for the post of President-General of communities, community speaker, women and youth leaders to begin their campaigns; noting that Option A4 system of voting will be adopted for the polls.

The governor also ordered that all the communities that failed to produce their traditional rulers as directed by the government to do so to avoid being merged with their mother communities.

Now that the distractions are over, we will ensure that all ongoing road projects are completed before the rains become heavy. On our own part, we will continue to ensure that you are well encouraged by making sure that your payments are not delayed

•Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Comrade Ayodele Adewale presenting a copy of Amuwo Herald to Commodore S. A. G. Abbah, Commandant of NNS Wey, Navy Town, at the latter’s recent courtesy visit to the secretariat

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

28

Emir expresses concern over wild polio virus

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• Governor Yuguda

HE Emir of Dass in Bauchi State, Alhaji Bilyaminu Usman, has expressed concern over the resurgence of the wild polio virus in some parts of the state, 24 months after it recorded zero case of polio.

Usman, who is also the state Chairman, Committee of Traditional Rulers Against Polio, said this in Dagaleri in Gamawa, headquarters of Gamawa Local Government Area of the state.

“In spite of efforts being made to eradicate the scourge, it is sad to announce that three fresh cases of polio has been recorded due to neglect on the part of some parents.

“The resurgence of the virus in the state, 24 months after we recorded zero case is unbelievable and frightening, as the future

‘Give us roads, water’

I

NDIGENES of Obajana community, Kogi State have urged the government and the management of Obajana Cement F actory to provide basic ammenities for inhabitants.

The indigenes spoke after a meeting in Abuja.

The convener of the meeting ,Alhaji Tajudeen Bisimilahi, said the meeting was convened to address challenges being faced by the people of Obajana. A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting reads: “Dangote Cement Company should respect the term of agreement signed with the state government, which entails the dualisation of the Lokoja— Obajana and Kaba Road. The company should make provision for houses, electricity, water, roads , health facilities for the people of Obajana and also pay adequate compensation and relocate those living close to the production site, to avoid undue health hazards posed by chemical emission and pollution during cement production .

Kogi

By Wale Ajetunmobi

“The people of Kogi State are faced with same scenario that brought about the Niger Delta agitations. The peaceful nature of Kogi people should not be taken for granted. If the situation persists, the youths of Kogi State may resort to violence which may pose another security challenge in addition to the existing Boko Haram crises . We required that meaningful measure be urgently implored to avert an uproar of youth restiveness in the area.”

Bisimillahi said the company ought to develop statelite towns in three communities close to the factory and for every 50 trailer load of cement produced , one should be given to the communities.

“It is quite unfortunate all these things were neglected soon as I left government,” former Governor Abubakar Audu said .

Jigawa community seeks health centre T

Bauchi of the three children affected by the virus is now dashed.

“It is also sad to note that we learnt the resurgence of the virus is due to negative campaign against the administration of the vaccines by some unscrupulous individuals in the society, who are sabotaging our efforts.’’

Usman hinted that the state House of Assembly would soon pass a law to address the issue, where innocent children were allowed to become victims of the scourge due to the actions of their parents.

The Makama of Katagum, Alhaji Husseini Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed sadness over the detection of the virus in his domain.

He warned that parents in the emirate would be held responsible for such lapses and called on his subjects to bring out their children to be immunised against the disease.

Ali Mohammed, father of Saleh Ali, one of the victims of the virus, said that Saleh had been immunised against the disease in previous exercises.

He said that Saleh had high fever in the last four weeks and was taken to a nearby health facility where he was treated, adding that Saleh had another fever, which resulted to the paralysis of his two legs.

•Governor Lamido

K

WARA State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has attributed Nigeria economic setback to the inability of past governments to formulate the right policies to transform agriculture.

Ahmed made this known in Ilorin when he received a team of Agricultural Extension Services Transformation officers on tour of the state.

Represented by the Secretary to the Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, Ahmed urged the Federal Government to match its transformation agenda with the right policy for the agricultural sector.

According to him, agriculture remains a major priority of the state sovernment as it provides jobs

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•Hon. Joseph with the winners

Kwara for the youths willing to embrace commercial agriculture.

Ahmed noted that four millions of tonnes of crops were been harvested from the state commercial agricultural programme annually.

He said that commercial agriculture creates employment opportunity for youths as well as enhance the state economic base.

The governor assured the team of the state government’s support to transform agriculture

R

By Musa Odoshimokhe

university graduates finding it difficult to make simple and correct sentences, our mission is to find out where we got it wrong.”

The competition saw the emergence of Jessica Gabriel, State Nursery and Primary School, Apapa and Al-Mustapha Salihu, Methodist Nursery and Primary School as winners. The organisers would sponsore the winners’ journey to England for further exposure for two weeks.

The chairman further admonished pupils who do not take their studies serious to learn from the example displayed by those who had excelled.

He said: “Never forget that I have told you so many times that there is no short cut to success except hard work. In the work of a philosopher, hard work don’t kill, it rewards, because there is dignity in labour”.

Joseph assured those present that education would continue to dominate a major chapter in the programme of the council because it is the basis for cohesion and development in any society.

HE Iggi Community in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State has appealed to the state government to build a health centre in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality in the area.

The Head of the community, Malam Salisu Bakinkasuwa told journalists in Iggi that it was unfortunate that a village with over 300,000 population, had no single health centre.

He said the provision of a functional health centre would enable the people have easy access to healthcare delivery.

Bakinkasuwa said the children and women, especially expectant mothers, covered a distance of about 40 kilometres to go to a hospital in Birnin Kudu area.

“Our women in this village encounter a lot of problems during child birth due to lack of

•From right: Publisher, LG News Magazine, Mr Tunde Jakande and Executive Creative Director, Primagnet Ltd, presenting Award of Excellence to the Executive Chairman, Kosofe Local Govt Area, Hon Afolabi Sofola, at the award night organised by the magazine at Sunfit Resort Hotel, Festac Town

New policy for chartered accountants

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HE Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Nigeria, has announced that its examinations will be online from 2013.This,according to the accounting body,the policy is meant to encourage a stronger learning process .

It said many Nigerians are not computer literate, and as a global institute leading professionals, there is the need to move with the world trends since technology is now embedded in the workplace to address its timeliness, speed and location.

It said living in a digitally naïve generation has made professionals derail from context and their use of language.

Speaking at its first Continuing Professional Development programme forum themed ‘the e-professional: embracing learning technologies’, ACCA’s Country Manager, Mrs Toyin Ademola, said through the technological revolution, elearning and e-development is transforming the way professionals are being educated and trained.

Having done series of research in companies across the corporate and private sectors, on how to attract, recruit and retain talent in organisations, it found that workplaces are going ‘e’ so as to be consistently developed to keep up with

Jigawa

health centre.

“Iggi is a big village with a large population, hardly can a day pass without a woman putting to bed.’’

The Ward Head pleaded with the state government to construct a health centre for the community to safe the lives of the people, especially the pregnant women in the area.

Bakinkasuwa , however, praised the state government for the construction of the IggiBirnin Kudu road and other amenities.

Ahmed urges govt to formulate policies on agric

Quiz winners taken abroad HE Apapa Local Government Council chairman, Hon Ayodeji Joseph, has advised parents and teachers to pay more attention to their pupils’ education at the primary school level.

He made this call during the council’s 2012 Quiz Competition held at its secretariat. which drew many pupils in the council. Hon. Joseph acknowledged the dwindling standard of education in the country, with graduates from tertiary institutions finding it difficult to write error-free sentences.

The quiz competition, which was meant to bring out the best out of primary school pupils, would further make them take their studies seriously given the rewards presented to those who excelled.

He said: “The essence of organising this competition is to bring out the best in our pupils.

It is also an avenue to reward excellence as will be reflected in the mouth-watering prizes to be distributed at the end of the competition.”

Joseph noted that the quiz competition was a replica of the Spelling Bee Competition pioneered by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

“Education is sliding at an alarming rate with

37

By Nneka Nwaneri

the younger generation and ensure continuity in business.

“Every business needs to grow. e-learning is time efficient, saves money as well as gives value for the money. It is more sophisticated and it improves individual as well as organisational benefits. So it is not just for accountants, but for all professionals.”

Explaining why the cashless Nigeria could not gain support , she said the idea was laudable but it didn’t take cognisance of its target as it didn’t appeal to both the professionals and the illiterates.

She said though the e-learning has its disadvantages compared with the face to face way of learning, it nonetheless allows for greater productivity and efficiency. “Individuals and organisations benefit by moving with the future.

“We are moving fast in the digital technology.

Thus, we are stimulating the workplace as there is need to ensure we are giving quality as it addresses specifics and can’t be compromised.”

Giving recommendations, lauding technology as a means to an end and not an end in itself, it said the issue of infrastructure in the country has posed a major challenge to the use of eservices which would have gone a long way in upgrading workers’ skills and helping people differentiate between the office and casual settings.

in Nigeria and improve food production.

Earlier, the team leader, Chief Olochi Edache, said they were in Ilorin to sensitise stakeholders in the sector on transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in the sector.

Edache praised the existing relationship between the farmers in Kwara State and the extension workers.

He noted that the importance of extension workers in the development of a viable agricultural policy.

Residents seek govt’s help

ESIDENTS of Amuwo Odofin Low Cost Housing Estate in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State have called on the state government to repair the road that links them with Mile 2 and Durbar Hotel.

The President of Amuwo Odofin (New Town) Landlords’ Association, Chief Ade Owabumuwa made the appeal on behalf of the residents. He said: “The conditions of Estate Junction, Badagry Expressway and Oshodi/ Apapa Expressway are deplorable.”

The residents further appealed to government to fix the road for safety of lives and properties, even as they hinted that the road has become a death trap as heavy-duty vehicles such as ply the road on daily basis.

Newsextra investigation revealed that the ongoing construction work on the road fell below expectation as work is going on at snail speed. The low standard of equipment deployed by YOB Nigeria Limited, contractors handling the project compounded the problem. Mr Michael Bola, who spoke to Newsextra noted that “the kerbs used by the contractor have broken down. They were more of garden-walkway kerbs. They were not comparable in strength to those used by other contruction engineering firms.”

Speaking on behalf of the contracting firm, Mr Godspower Okoro said the road was blocked to avoid unnecessary distruption of work from the residents.

Continuing, he said: “There is time limit for the job but the residents are not helping the situation.”

On the kerbs being complained about, he said: “Anytime a kerb is made, it takes some days before it can be strong enough for use.

But after they may have been used for construction and waiting for the weather to make them strong, the residents will destroy them

Police warn vehicle owners THE Lagos State Police Command has warned owners of vehicles parked at the special fraud unit, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Okoba Division and Okota/Isolo Division to remove them immediately or forfeit same through auction. They are: 1. Toyota- HS124 EKY 2. Mercedes Benz car -BE 273KSF 3. Toyota Corolla- SD508KJA 4. Toyota Carina- BE454AKD 5. BMW Car- LM629AAA 6. Opel Kadet- CY945LSR 7. Honda Accord- BD400SMK 8. Mitsubishi Vauxhal- RH 513KJA 9. Honda Legend- BM875KRD 10. BMW- CM633JJJ 11. Mercedes Benz- DF427GGE 12. BMW- PZ452KJA 13. Mercedes Benz- DH65RBC

By Duro Babayemi

• From left: Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Mr Kayode Opeifa; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Ademorin Kuje, Oba of Orile Agege, Hambaliu Akeem Agbedeyi and Chairman, Orile Agege Local Council Development Area(LCDA) at the installation and presentation of staff of office to Oba of Orile Agege.

Ikorodu West LCDA wins Speaker’s cup

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KORODU West Local Government has won this year’s edition of the Speakers cup competition.

Speaking dusring the preasensation of the cup, the chairmanof the council, Hon Olajmoke Ademehin Jimbo, said the team had performed a great feat in conquering all opposition within the state and emerging the best football team in the entire Lagos.

She said this does not come as a surprise taking into consideration the previous achievements of the team at the junior league where Ikorodu West LCDA emerged the overall league leader without losing a single match.

The chairman congratulated the entire management and staff for their contribution towards the success of the team.

by walking on them when they are not strong enough to withstand any pressure.”

In a letter addressed to government, the two committees set up by the association demanded the following: sewage treatment plant rehabilitation, perimeter fencing, deflooding of the entire estate, reconstruction of Mile 2 Gate, Badagry Expressway, Apapa/Oshodi Expressway and establishment of a police station within the area.

Concerning the provision of a police station, Engr Idris Ojurongbe said the Lagos State Government is aware of their demand, adding that the issue will be looked into very soon.

Briefly

Church holds Easter programme THE True Covenant Church of God a.k.a.Omo Majemu began a five-day programme on Monday with the theme, ‘I am lifted.It is to mark the Passion Week.

The venue is 1, Ayodele Odulate Street, behind Kin & Kith School, off Beach Road, Ojogbe, Ikorodu.

Speaking on the event,the host and Senior Pastor of the ministry, Prophet Olufemi Otusanya said: “It is God’s revelation that for those who believeth in Him, between Easter till the end of the year, he would show mercy and their glory would blossom . It has been two years I have been running an outreach ministry to celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ for his death and resurrection, for the salvation of our souls”.

Many ministers of God are expected at the event.

•From left: Vice-Chairman, Ikorodu West LCDA, Hon. Lanre Suleimon, the Chairman, Princess Olajumoke and Council Manager, Hon Lara Idowu, at the presentation of the cup

New projects excite residents

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ETTER days are here for residents of Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State as they now benefit from various grassroots projects already executed by the Hon. Sola Adekunle-led administration.

The projects, according to the chairman, were in fulfillment of promises made to the residents for their support during and after the elections.

According to some of the residents, Adekunle who is serving his second term as chairman on the platform of Action Congress HE Chairman, Edo State Produce of Nigeria (ACN), has affected lives positively Board,High Chief Aremiyau Aligame in view of the achievements recorded which Momoh has been honoured with have improved lives in the area.

Award For Excellence 2012. The award Of particular interest is the completion of a came from the Etsako Students Union, modern secretariat administrative block for University of Benin chapter. The event took the running of affairs of the council which place at the university campus. will be commissioned very soon.

According to the students, the chief was Investigation has it that since the return of honoured because of his immense the chairman in November last year , he has contribution to nation building and youth embarked on many grassroots projects such empowerment. as ; tarring of Daramola Street, filling of The award was the 17th in the series.

Reacting, the High Chief thanked the portholes on bad roads of streets across the students for the prestigious award saying: council with broken blocks to construction of “I feel great and excited. Insha Allah, I will boreholes .

According to investigations, construction continue to contribute to nation building work is ongoing at Adeboun and Modupeola and youth empowerment”.

Honour for Edo chief

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streets.

Speaking in his office, the chairman who said he will ensure that he fulfilled his promises during the electioneering campaign, told people of the council to expect more dividends of democracy which he said will bein the several projects he has earmarked for execution The projects, he said, shall touch on many areas including; education, health, road construction and other areas of social amenities.

Under education, the chairman has concluded plans to begin the printing of exercise books for primary and secondary schools even as his administration has indicated readiness to start purchasing and distributing JAMB and GCE forms to students.

Also top on the list of projects mapped out for execution include the construction of a two- storey building to be used by the executive and legislative arms.

While he has equally concluded plans to equip health centres in the council with drugs and modern equipment, the people of the council will soon start to enjoy a better electricity supply as the chairman will soon begin procurement and distribution of more transformers.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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Life

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Text only: 08023058761

‘I’ve never had a wedding day dream in my life’

‘Consider professional artistes for ministerial posts’

– Page 30

– Page 33

• The endangered Nok terracotta

•Another terracotta

‘Why looting of artefacts thrives’ The controversy that trails the illegal excavation of Nigeria’s Nok terracotta, one of the oldest metallurgical technologies of the continent, was the thrust of a stakeholders’ meeting in Nok, Kaduna State. Museum authorities, local archaeologists and German partners reached a fragile truce on the allegations and the modus operandi of the MoU guiding the partnership, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

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HE long standing partnership agreement between the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) and the Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany on the archaeological project on

HERITAGE Nok culture came under scrutiny recently following fresh allegations of ‘illegal large-scale looting’ of terracotta by German research-

ers.

The president of the Archaeological Association of Nigeria (AAN), Dr. Zacharys Anger Gundu of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, had accused German researchers (Professor Peter Breunig and his team) of pro-

moting ‘unethical archaeological practices in the Nok Valley in the name of ‘scientific’ archaeology. He also alleged that officials of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments connived with the foreigners in the ‘looting’.

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‘I’ve never had a wedding day dream in my life’ IGERIA’S award-winning female broadcaster Funmi Iyanda has revealed that she is quite different from women and girls around the world.

“I’ve never had a wedding day dream in my life,” she said.

While millions of girls and women have imagined their own elaborate wedding day ceremonies, schemed and sketched designs for a one-of-a-kind wedding gown and even compiled music playlists for the wedding reception festivities, Ms Iyanda simply said: “I never thought to be married.

“Part of the reason why I’m not married is because I haven’t found a person I can trust with my most vulnerable self,” she said.

The “vulnerable self” of Ms Iyanda is open to interpretation, but the charismatic media personality made it clear that she values the institution of marriage and welcomes companionship.

Ms Iyanda, raised mainly by her father - who taught her that her gender should not stop her from achieving whatever she wanted to – said she defines herself first, as a person, not as a woman.

She understands the demands and pressures of women who work in the media sector and are constantly thrust in the public eye. Her status as a single mother living in Nigeria may certainly compound the pressure.

“Nigeria, more than anywhere else, deeply frowns on the issue of single motherhood,” Ms Iyanda said.

She said the father of her daughter plays a role in the life of her daughter.

But being a single mother has yet to slow her down.

As a well-respected figure in the media industry, she wears several hats as a producer, presenter, journalist, CEO of Ignite Media and activist.

Ms Iyanda recently returned from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania where she joined almost three dozen African women (the likes of South African actress Rosie Motene and Congolese singer Barbara Kanam) for a 5-day hike on Africa’s tallest mountain. The symbolic trek, purposed to advocate the ceasing of violence against women, coin-

‘If you get into a bus or a taxi in Nigeria now, they are discussing with you the infinite details, you know, of the budget, of political decisions, of policies that are being taken. People are taking more interest in how Nigeria is being run. I think it’s good. This is how democracy is supposed to be practised. It’s good for the leaders, too, because it makes them more conscious of the decisions that they take.

I think if we had been doing this all through the time that we were experiencing dictatorship and military governments we would have gone a lot farther than where we are now’

N

cided with the March 8 International Women’s Day, At the end of the journey, Ms Iyanda said she “almost died.” “…most life altering experience of my life. Still struggling to assimilate all. I can’t walk and my fingers are

still frozen, so each word hurts.”

But, women empowerment is not the only issue that Ms Iyanda is ready to advocate. The self-described “product of Nigeria’s military era,” stood alongside fellow Nigerians at the anti-fuel subsidy removal protests in January.

“What was going on then was completely unacceptable…aside from the fact that Nigeria is a fragile economy there’s nowhere, nowhere in the world where you… would try to implement an economic policy that would mean a 117 per cent or thereabout increment…

It doesn’t work, you don’t do that…it’s a bit inhumane,” she said.

Ms Iyanda said that the Occupy Nigeria movement is a “pre-revolution,” an “awakening of the people.”

“Don’t go by what you see on Twitter alone,” she said.

“If you get into a bus or a taxi in Nigeria now, they are discussing with you the infinite details, you know, of the budget, of political decisions, of policies that are being taken. People are taking more interest in how Nigeria is being run. I think it’s good. This is how democracy is supposed to be practised. It’s good for the leaders, too, because it makes them more conscious of the decisions that they take. I think if we had been doing this all through the time that we were experiencing the dictatorship and military government we would have gone a lot farther than where we are now,” she said.

So, where will activism and media lead Ms Iyanda in the future? The possibilities are many, but for her, making a difference is all it takes.

•Usman

•Prof Breunig

Zakka, Dr. Zacharys Gundu, and Prof. Ibrahim James in attendance. Others were Iliya Bako Bying H. Dura, Mallam Yaro Wakilin Kpop Ham, representing His Royal Highness, the Kpop Ham, Mallam Gyer Maude, Elisha Buba Hakimi, Kpop of Ham, His Royal Highness Illiya Bako Bying H. Dura, Wakin Sarkin Jare and the President of Ham Community Development Association, Mr Monday Tela.

Mallam Usman disclosed that all the restored objects taken from Nok to Germany by the researchers would return to Nigeria in 2013 to form the nucleus of the permanent exhibition.

Reacting to the allegation of large scale looting of artefacts on the Nok valley, the director-general described it as mere allegation without substance. He said efforts have been made by the commission to safe guard the nation’s priceless objects in the museum. He added that illegal mining takes place in Nigeria both in artefacts and solid mineral resources. “So long the local communities are igno-

rant, so long they are impoverished, the act will continue,” he said.

According to him, ‘unfortunately, Nok archeological sites became victims of unprecedented looting, especially in the 90s when some of these sculptures were illegally exported to Europe and the United States.’

“The need to embark on scientific studies became very urgent in the face of this threat. Thus, the commission entered into a partnership with the Institute for African Archaeology and Archaeo-botany of the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main in 2005…The joint archeological research is operated under the rules and guidance of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments,” Usman said.

He recalled that when he assumed office as the D-G in 2009 he carried out some operational review in the areas of legal and administrative frame work, community involvement and capacity building.

• Ms Iyanda

By Adeola Fayehun, New York

INTERVIEW

‘Why looting of artefacts thrives’ •Continued from page 29 “Visiting German archaeologists who are posing as researchers are involved in the large-scale looting and illicit digging in places such as Kwatarkashi, Ife and other parts of Nok valley in Kaduna State,” Gundu alleged.

He, therefore, called for a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a view to addressing contentious issues such as the exclusion of Nigerian universities and archaeologists in the project implementation, money made during exhibition should be ploughed back to the community, and ensuring transparency and avoiding return of ‘fake objects.’

But the Director-General of the commission, Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman, denied the commission’s involvement in any ‘unauthorised excavation’, while clarifying that NCMM, since 2005 has been in partnership with the Institute for African Archaeology and Archaeo-botany of the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He stressed that the German researchers are in the country with the aims of enriching findings onNok Culture.

At a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the commission, held behind closed door at the National Museum, Nok, Kaduna State, penultimate weekend, it was resolved among others that the MoU should be reviewed to address all the concerned issues, especially the return of the Nok pieces taken to Germany by the researchers for laboratory analysis. The six-point communique issued at the end of the meeting also stressed the need for security agencies and community leaders to help in curtailing the activities of illegal mining and illicit trafficking of Nok. The stakeholders also resolved to bring to the fore permanent position of Nok in Nigeria’s art tradition, inscription of Nok area as a World Heritage Site in line with the proposal of National Tourism Master Plan as well as the need to review the law establishing the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

The meeting that was chaired by the director-general of National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman had Prof. Joseph Jemkur of the University of Jos, Prof. Peter Breunig, Mr. Yohanna Nock, Dr. Nicole Rupp, Mr. Yashim Isa Bitiyong of NIPOST, Bulus

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In Singapore, taxi driver earns $3,000 a month Nigeria and Singapore got their independence about the same time. However, the two countries are poles apart in terms of Human Development Index (HDI), tourist friendliness and many more, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU, who has returned from Singapore

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HE walls glittered. The roofs shone. The floors were sparkling.

The toilet was so clean that one could eat a sumptuous meal there.

I did not hesitate to rate it excellent in the electronic rating board hung on its wall. Synthetic flowers added a green tounch to the Immigration hall. Special motorised ‘brooms’ ensured the roads were always dirt-free. It was razzmatazz everywhere.

Right from the Changi International Airport, Singapore began to amaze me. So beautiful was the airport that I could not but keep looking while the Immigration officials kept those of us with green passports on one side to issue to us, what I believe is, the real visa to enter the sparkling domain called Singapore. The one we got from Lagos expired at the airport and we were actually told it was henceforth useless.

Singapore is cool. I saw no crazy sides in this great city-state. I saw organisation. I saw good management. I saw great hotels with walls and floors glittering so well that you wonder if they ever get dirty. I saw a small country made up of 63 islands, which shows resilience. I saw vision by this country, which is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia’s Riau Islands to its south. I perceived deliberate efforts to have a corruption-free land.

Described as the best entertainment centre in Asia, the magnificent Marina Sands Bay hotel, with three towers, a penthouse built like a boat, is breath-taking. Adjacent it is the multipurpose centre, with a similar name.

There is a connecting bridge between the centre and the hotel towers. The connecting bridge also serves as some form of lobby or relaxation point.

Not far from the Marina Sands Bay Hotel lies a stadium, where Singapore hosted the Junior Olympic in 2010. The stadium has a floating football field. I was happy to discover that names of Nigerians such as Bukola Abogunloko, Muideen Akanji and Rachael Ekoshoria are engraved in a hall of fame along side other young Olympiads from across the world.

Walking the streets of Singapore, I saw deliberate efforts to make the streets clean and green. Here cars are recycled or destroyed after 10 years of use. I saw a pedestrian bridge in the Marina, which has shops by its sides. I also saw small girls; old men and women smoking their lives away, in designated smoking areas. You dare not smoke in smoke free areas. I saw young girls who love to flaunt their legs, wearing micro-mini skirts, but took efforts to ensure their boobs were well-covered. Not even cleavages were on display.

Singapore, for me, is planned to be enjoyed by the rich, who have made enough money and are looking for where and how to spend it. Singapore has succeeded in selling itself as a tourist playground where you can see the best. I was told annually it receives more visitors than its population. Almost every hotel has a mall, where designer wears, wristwatches and the good things of life are sold at cut-throat prices. Everywhere you turn, there is a mall. Even the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre has a mall attached to it, where you can shop till your credit cards reach their limit.

In Singapore, land is scare; so, storey-buildings are everywhere. Skyscrapers upon skyscrapers occupy the landscape. Land is being reclaimed. Car parks are usually in-built, such that one may wonder if no space is left for parking before discovering that basements and ground floors of many of the high-rise serve as parking lots. Many of them, even the ones in hotels, are pay-as-you-park garages.

I saw only one church known as The Quiet Place St Andrew’s Cathedral throughout my walk around. The bulk of the population practises Buddhism. Many others have no religion. Christians take the second slot.

Singapore, like New York, encourages you

‘Singapore, for me, is planned to be enjoyed by the rich, who have made enough money and are looking for where and how to spend it. Singapore has succeeded in selling itself as a tourist playground where you can see the best...Almost every hotel has a mall, where designer wears, wristwatches and the good things of life are sold at cut-throat prices.

Everywhere you turn, there is a mall’ •Cavengh Bridge

•The Fullerton Bay Hotel

TRAVELOGUE to walk. The streets are largely crime free; sense of fear is almost zero. But there are scary incidents once in a while. For example, on the day I got there, a Chinese hijacked a taxi and ran into a Malaysian who had lived the better part of his life in Singapore, with his family and worked as a cleaner. The victim died hours later, leaving a young family.

Newspapers are sold in stores. The country has one major English newspaper known as The Straits Times, well-printed in broadsheet format, which in terms of content I felt was empty.

The roads of Singapore are not difficult to navigate, as there are no traffic gridlocks. It is a city-state of a little over fivemillion peo-

ple. Its orderly grid, which sees streets running from east to west, avenues from north to south, makes traffic not cumbersome.

There are street lights everywhere and people obey them like Buddhism teachings. It boasts of an underground rail system which further eases the road. Taxi drivers are polite and they charge using metres. No room for cheating or over-charging. The streets are well-marked, with bicycles having a track.

Zebra crossings are respected.

Houses in Singapore do not have high walls. Many other buildings, including hotels, do not even have walls at all. Government buildings, including the Parliament Building, have no fence. Those with walls use see-through materials. Yet, crime rate is extremely low.

Singaporean policemen are not ubiquitous.

You need to break the law to know they are

‘It is the world’s fourth-leading financial centre; the world’s third-largest oil refining centre; the port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world; the country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country; it is rated by the World Bank as the easiest place in the world to do business; and it has the world’s third highest GDP per capita of $59,936’

watching and patrolling the streets of this marvelous nation, where electricity generating sets are not needed. Electricity supply is a right, not a privilege. Singapore’s weather is friendly. It is not freezing. It never went below 25 degree centigrade while I was there.

There were light showers too. The sun, throughout my stay, was mild and friendly.

No need for a thick sweater or jacket. Maybe light sweater or jacket.

The big global banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank have their homes in high-rise buildings on Marina Boulevard, which is like the business district. Many of the hotels are around Stanford Road, which is not far from the Suntec, where major international conferences are usually held. I guess it was deliberate to have hotels and conference centres of international standard all within walking distance.

And lest I forget, Singapore, I learnt, is a world leader in many areas: It is the world’s fourth-leading financial centre; the world’s third-largest oil refining centre; the port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world; the country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country; it is rated by the World Bank as the easiest place in the world to do business; and it has the world’s third highest GDP per capita of $59,936, thus qualifying it for a prime slot as one of the world’s wealthiest countries.

The country has indeed come a long way since it was expelled by Malaysia, with which its leaders formed a federation in the 60s after declaring independence from Britian. Its leaders had joined Malaysia because they did not believe that Singapore could survive on its own, due to scarcity of land, water, markets and natural resources. Now, Malaysians, a Singaporean told me, come to live, work and earn better living in Singapore, whose currency is almost as strong as American dollars.

But don’t let me leave you with the impression Singapore is a country where everyone is contented. While it is acknowledged that there is no abject poverty, many see the government as authoritarian. They point at the fact that police permit is required for outdoor public processions or assemblies. The only place in Singapore where outdoor public assemblies can hold legally without police permit is known as the Speakers’ Corner. There CCTVs adorn every available spaces and before the place can be used, the organisers must register online with the National Park Board. You can say this is another form of permit.

Anyway, nowhere has thrilled me like the citystate of Singapore, where a shop attendant told me many are afraid of raising babies because it is expensive to parent them. A taxi driver takes home about $3,000 monthly; yet he complained that the bills he has to settle such as school fees, electricity and so on were high.

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EXHIBITION

Africa: See you, see me opens in Lagos

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FRICA: See you; see me, African Influences on Contemporary Photography, a cross continental exhibition featuring the works of 34 internationally-renowned photographers, including Nigeria’s JD Ojeikhere, US-based Nigerian Andrew Dosumu, George Osodi, Uche OkpaIroha, Soibiifa Dokubo and Ologeh Otuke Charles, will open in Lagos on April 7. Curated by US-based Art scholar, Professor Awam Amkpa with associate curator Madala Hilaire (both of New York University). The display will open formally on April 7 at the Nike Art Gallery, LekkiEpe Expressway, Lekki, Lagos; and later on April 23 at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos. It will end on May 2.

Also a symposium in support of the exhibition on the theme Visual culture/visual activism will hold at 2.30pm on APRIL 6 at the Centre For Contemporary Art, CCA, 9 McEwen Street, Sabo, Lagos. The symposium will examine Nigeria’s contribution to photography, visual culture and cultural activism, and will be attended by African and international photographers, curators, scholars, critics ad journalists, according to the organisers. It will have the octogenarian photographer, JD Ojeikere, as Special Guest of Honour.

The exhibition is produced by AFRICA.CONT of Lisbon, Portugal and hosted in Nigeria by Culture Advocates Caucus, CAC with support of Nike Art Centre, Goethe Institut, and CCA. It will be followed by a reception at the same venue.

Africa: See you see me, is a touring exhibition that has gone to places like Portugal, Italy, China and is now coming to Africa for the first time. A section of the exhibition titled ‘Naija-Italiana’ is also featuring as part of the Lagos Black Heritage Festival, LBHF from APRIl 5 through end of the month. It will proceed to Dakar, Senegal from Nigeria to feature as part of DAK’ART- the biennale of African Art.

Literary Star Search competition deadline now May 31

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NEW deadline has been approved for the innovative, grassroots contest, Literary Star Search. Entries for the competition will cease on May 31, instead of the April 30, previously stipulated.

A statement from the contest’s spokesman, Mr Seun Jegede said last week, “Following several requests from writers, especially students writers in university campuses who wish to also enter stories for the contest, specially requested for time extension. Their request is as a result of the long strike in university campuses that stretched from late last year to early this year, which was followed shortly by the one by the organised Labour called to protest fuel deregulation. Most classes opened barely a week or two before examinations were called, which left little time for them to embark on another rigorous venture such as the contest for Literary Star Search grand prize.

“Creative Alliance has, therefore, thought it proper to extend the deadline by one month in apparent response to these requests so as not to leave behind an important group of writers – university students”.

Jegede further stressed that since the contest is founded on a reputation of catering for the interests of grassroots writers, the least it could do was to also take student writers along and accommodate them. He stated that the organisers were desirous of making a remarkable first impression with the prize because of the definitive statement they want to make amongst writers in the country and were thus willing to be amenable to all shades of views, opinions and suggestions that would advance the interests of writers and make the contest an enduring one.

For those yet to apply - students and others alike - Jegede urged them to take advantage of the shift in deadline by a month to send their entries. For further enquiries, he urged writer to visit www.creativeallianceng.com or www.literarystarsearch.blogspot.com.

TPT chairman, Toks loses father

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RENOWNED public relations practitioner, Adetokunbo Modupe, also known as ‘Toks’, has lost his father, Mr Samuel Modupe Mondongho.

He was 86.

Mr Mondongho, popularly called ‘Baba Owo’, died on March 16, 2012 after a brief illness in his hometown Owo, in Ondo State. He was survived by wife, children, and grand children.

According to Toks, “the news of my father’s demise came to me as a shock since that day was my own birthday, and I intended to celebrate it with my immediate family.

Though, I wasn’t preparing for anything special that day regarding my birthday, I just wanted to be with my family and loved ones when I received the call that morning that he had passed on. Immediately, my plans changed and I had to go down to Owo, to be sure it was true”.

•From left: Worship for Change, Advisory Board Member; Pastor Adenuga and members of Total Child Educational Foundation

Rousing change through worship For Fountain of Praise, a gospel music group, the act of worship is about giving praises to God and inspiring positive change in humanity. This inspired its Worship for Change project. Some charities that care for children benefited from the project last Thursday, EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

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T is often said that music is the food for the soul.

However, Fountain of Praise worship is that and more. Beyond giving praises to the Almighty, the gospel music group believes it should also impact positively in people’s lives.

The thought inspired its Worship for Change project. It is the group social effort which, according to it, is meant to affect the lives of over 300 orphans and children with special needs.

Last year, Fountain of Praise hosted its yearly benefit concert tagged Worship for Change. While the audience listened to soul-stirring performances from Kenny Kore, Solomon Lange, Chinelo, David Nkennor and Iyebiye, they were motivated to donate to the cause of charities working with less privileged children. According to Fountain of Praise Chief Responsibility Officer, Pastor Wale Adenuga, the group uses the concert to raise funds for charity. Funds raised at that concert exceeded N2 million. The proceeds were shared among the six charities last Thursday.

Adenuga said: “I felt we should have raised a lot more.

There is still a lot to be done. But the feedbacks we got and joy expressed by the beneficiaries is what inspires us to want to do more. Worship is more than just lifting holy hands to God in praise. It involves giving up your very best to God. And giving is not convenient. Worship For Change is meant to motivate people to reflect on that fact and ask themselves what they can do to affect humanity positively.”

According to Adenuga, since 2006 the group has through the Worship For Change yearly concerts helped to raise over N15 million to provide support for thousands of children cared for by charities such as Hearts of Gold, Hospice, Arrows of God orphanage, Patrick Speech and Language centre, Hephzibah Orphanage, Society for the Safety of the Insane and Destitute (SO-SAID), JAKIN NGO, and Badagry and Ikorodu Sickle Cell clubs, among others.

This time, the six charities benefited from the Worship for Change project. They included Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN), LOTS Charity Foundation, Downs’ Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria (DSFN), Jesus Children Mission Outreach, , Oyo State, Calvary Ministries and Total Child Educational Foundation.

For years, TLMN has cared for persons and communities affected by leprosy across the country. Their impressive work in Okegbala and Eleyin leprosy settlements is beginning to catch the attention of many, including Fountain of Praise.

Touched by its laudable efforts, the charity received a cheque donation worth over N400, 000 to cater for the cost of the

MUSIC school needs of 55 pupils of persons affected by leprosy.

Like TLMN the other beneficiaries also received the donations with joy and they went all out to say it.

LOTS Charity Foundation, which caters for over 100 children at the Dustbin Estate in Ajegunle, also got the one-year rent of its three-bedroom resource centre. For LOTS, the donation was a welcomed support. It was not the first time that it would be receiving donation from the group. The first was in 2010 when through its Worship for Change project the group, through its donation, rented and furnished its resources centre.

“It is always good to know that someone is willing to help. This has reduced the burden of rentage. It has lifted the weight off the organisation which one person is carrying (me). May God bless everyone involved in the project,” LOTS founder, Tolu Sangosanya said.

Downs’ Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria (DSFN) also got some freebies from the project. According to DSFN Administrative Officer, Mr Ekoh Osarobo, cooling the heat at the dormitory had been a major change for the foundation. And so, the three units of 1.5 Hp Panasonic air-conditioners procured and would be installed by Fountain of Praise in the DSFN resource centre that caters for 42 of the children with special needs, will help soothe the heat. “The weather has been so hot lately and our children have been enduring it.

Procuring ACs have been our major needs in the dormitory.

They have done well; and we are grateful,” he said.

For Mrs Odigbo Rosemary of Jesus Children Mission Outreach, receiving desktop computers and laptop was a major breakthrough of the charity. It was presented with three desktop computers and one laptop for use at its resource centre that caters for 44 children.

Mrs Odigbo said: “Because we usually have a lot of school fees to pay for our children who are in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, procuring computers in the centre and for the children’s use had been a major challenge for years. These gifts have solved that problem.”

The Calvary Ministries received a N350,000-cheque donation to help with tuition of children of missionaries in remote areas of Nigeria. While Total Child Educational Foundation also received desktop computers and printer/scanner for use in their resource centre which caters for scores of children in Aguda, Lagos.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

33

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Jimoh Aliu Ifakoya is a living legend in the acting world. He came to Lagos to learn Ifa divination in 1946, but ended up carrying gas lamps to locations for the late legend of Nigerian theatre, Hubert Ogunde’s stage performances. He later found favour in performing arts. Today, he wonders why performing artistes have never made the list of ministerial appointments in the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation. He spoke to DUPE OLAOYE-OSINKOLU.

‘Consider professional artistes for ministerial posts’

W

HEN young Jimoh Aliu followed his herbalist father from Okemesi Ekiti to Lagos in 1946 with a box of local herbs, he never planned to go into performing arts. He was brought to study the Ifa deity and become an Ifa priest.

Years later, fate guided his way into performing arts, and fortune smiled on him. His road to fame was, however, rough and tortuous. He respected the wish of his father, Ifakoya, by learning traditional medicine and healing. Babalawos at that time got nothing for their effort. It was a ‘Thank you job’.

That forced him to other jobs. He pushed cart, learnt trades including bricklaying and driving. Along the line, he needed a trade that could fetch him income. He got apprenticed to a bricklayer, Mudashiru. That was the time the Baba-Olosa market in Mushin was to be constructed. He, alongside other apprentice bricklayers did the menial jobs for the construction of the market.

He supplemented the bricklaying income with cart pushing. He used cart (Omolanke) to carry planks for carpenter who bought their plank from Olorunsogo in Mushin. Later, he learnt driving. Anytime he was driving without the necessary documents, and he saw policemen, he would park the vehicle and run into the bush. They called that act, Sorongbe, meaning, escape through the bush.

All the while, he used to think film actors and actresses were not human. He watched cinemas from afar, and concluded that those acting films were from another planet.

He later got apprenticed to Akin Ogungbe, a performing troupe manager. Young Jimoh thus started his lifelong venture into the world of dramatic arts. Then they were called Alarinjo Theatre, as they were always on the move, touring the country in search of audience. Their stage plays were taken round the country. It was the era of three regionsWest, East and Northern region.

Aliu said apprentice artistes in those days dared not look eye to eye with Chief Hubert Ogunde. They were too happy to run errands for him, for no reward of any sort. So, when Aliu had the opportunity of serving Ogunde by carrying gas lamp on his head during his (Ogunde’s) performance, he counted himself lucky.

He later formed his own performing group.The civil war, however, brought a twist to Aliu’s career. He lost his mother in Ikare Akoko, in Ondo State but he had no money to bury her. His wife also gave birth to a baby, and still no money for the naming ceremony. To compound his problem, the landlord wrote him a letter to vacate his house since he could not pay the rent. Aliu tried to wriggle out of the financial mess, by temporarily relocating to Benin to put his act together.

In Benin, his group - Jimoh Aliu Theatre Group scheduled a stage play. Audience did not turn up. It was during the civil war. They had to perform at a loss for the very few people that came. He said a man in the audience who was a soldier, one Major Adedipe enjoyed the play. He, therefore, invited Aliu to his office where he introduced him to his superior officer, General J.J. Oluleye, GOC, 2nd Division, in Benin City. He was then enlisted in the Army to provide entertainment for soldiers. They also introduced him to former Governor Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia. The day he was asked to perform for the Governor, he was so afraid that he nearly missed his heart beat. But the performance went well and the Governor praised him.

“The Army called us Jimoh Aliu Welfare Group. We got paid and ate free food. I was later sent to Port Harcourt to entertain officers. From there, they sent me to Sergeant Mess in Kampala. One day, Major Bisalla came and requested that I should be sent to him in Enugu. I also served Musa YarÁdua when he was a Brigade Commander in Agbor.”

His life changed for the better while he was serving in the Army. Fate crossed his path with his former landlord who sent him packing in Ikare. The man came to Benin, seeking a buyer for his car when he could no longer meet the instalment payment conditions of the hire purchase agreement.

Aliu paid his debt. The man later brought the car to him after the war.

His job in the Army became less lucrative after the war.

No more free food. The money stopped coming, so he returned to hustling. He retired from the Army in 1975.

Aliu shot into limelight with his Igbo Olodumare , a play written by D.O Fagunwa, which was adapted for Nigerian

POETRY

A conqueror @ 60

By Olaosebikan Tunde

Severally I have heard and read, Of warriors, great men of courage, Who, for the sake of our liberation, Left the pleasure of their liberty, To the battle front of a fierce war, Our freedom must be guarantee.

So much have been told, About Oduduwa, the progenitor, Are Onakakanfos, the generalissimo, Ogedengbe Agbogun gboro, Lisabi Akalamagbo, Moremi, Iyalode Egba Madam Tinubu, et cetera At their time, they stamped their feet, Rose up to defend their people, Against the rule of oppressors Our race must survive, against all odds.

Recent past, as a kid, I grew joyfully amidst tales About the intellectual general Who waged a great war, To uphold the honour and integrity, Of this beautiful race, Yoruba.

At the battle front of development, The Great Awo ensured we were never defeated, He won so many first for us, Thus, we were lifted higher than others, Before a spanner was thrown Into the wheel of our progress.

Suddenly, a once vibrant race, Began to fumble and wobble, Charlatan took over the mantle Of our leadership That was once held by Leaders with focus.

•Chief Aliu

Television (NTV), Akure in 1982, by then General Manager, Dr Yemi Farounbi. He played the role of Olowo Aye. Wherever he went, he would be cheered. He started seeing himself in a new light. Then, he recorded Arelu for the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) in 1986.

Today, Aliu has travelled far and wide. He has dined with kings and queens, befriended the high and mighty, honoured at home and abroad, but he still has a cloud in his horizon. His only regret in life is not having a formal education.

Asked whether he would still like to be an artiste should there be reincarnation, he said yes, but not without formal education.

He looked lost as he said, “I love what I am doing, but in another life, I would study and get a PhD before venturing into performing arts. We appreciate all the bodies that have appreciated my works and honour me in one way or the other. But I always wonder what it would be like to be lettered. “ What he lacks in formal education ,however, he made up for in theatrical brilliance. He rose to the peak of his career in 1995 when he was elected National President of the Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP).

Aliu can compose a meaningful song in a matter of minutes, also writes his own play scripts. Now an actor, scriptwriter, producer, director, singer, dancer, make-up artiste, costume and location designer, Aliu attended St Peters Catholic Primary School, Okemesi briefly before he was taught divination and the use of herbs by his father.

He said the happiest day of his life was the day former President Olusegun Obasanjo gave him a national merit award. “That day, I thought, Jimoh Aliu, look at God’s hand in your life. You are being honoured alongside educated people. I was very happy.”

No matter how sunny a day is, there would still be traces of cloud. Aliu also recorded a sad incident that he vowed not to forget as long as he lives.

“Former Military Administrator of Oyo State, then Col. Olatunji Idowu Olurin sponsored my optical film, Agbaarin.

The film was recorded in Osogbo. As soon as we finished recording the film, it was stolen. It saddened me. I felt bad. Olurin later assisted me again to re-shoot the film.

Aliu has a message for the Federal Government. “Professional dramatists, with or without formal education, are pulling their weight. Government should henceforth consider performing artistes for ministerial posts. It is high time we had a performing artiste as Minister of Arts and Culture, he said.

‘Professional dramatists, with or without formal education, are pulling their weight. Government should henceforth consider performing artistes for ministerial posts. It is high time we had a performing artiste as Minister of Arts and Culture’

Locust infested land, Harbingers of doom A break from happiness, Joy and peace, Development and progress, The Israelites now in Egypt, Whither the promise land, Who shall be our Moses, To lead our exodus, From poverty to prosperity.

With joy, I shall proclaim, I am a witness to this, How we lost the golden opportunity, When our souls were sold, Once valuable, but wasted by vision-less leaders.

Weary of what stories to tell, To my children and their children, I remember the village days, Under the moonlight A cycle of kids listening, To father’s grandmother, Beautiful mystic stories of old, Unraveled by marvelous technology.

Stale to the listening ears of today’s kids.

My stories shall be, About the cometh of a star, Asiwaju, The struggle of our lives, To free ourselves from slavery, The promise of a promised land, That flows with milk and honey.

How suddenly, a leader of leaders, Led an intellectual war, In the battle field of politics A battalion of legal luminary, A regiment of new bread With atomic of wisdom, To destroy the menacing weapons Of impostors.

My child I am happy With this story, As we celebrate our liberator, Who ensured we secured A good today out of a bad yesterday, Full of hope For a better tomorrow.

34

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

BOOK REVIEW Title:

Rise and Fight your Battles

Author:

Sunday Chukwuma;

Reviewer:

Mike Jimoh

Publisher:

S & J Stone West Ltd, Lagos 2012,

Pagination:

254

I

F there is any lesson to be learnt from this book, it is that you must fight your way out of difficulties – spiritually – with guidance from the Lord. You and you alone, the author reminds us all through the 254-page book, can guarantee your spiritual redemption.

In the Old Testament, Prophet Ezekiel roundly trumpeted collective responsibility: “Their fathers have eaten sour grapes and their son’s teeth are set on edge.” But Christ came and sort of nullified all that in the New Testament by endorsing individual responsibility: “Whatever you sow is what you will reap.”

The author of this exciting publication takes much the same view, not quite far from the old saying that “Heaven helps those who help themselves.”

Rise and Fight your Battles is Chukwuma’s way of enjoining Christians to look up to no man but God in tackling the spiritual challenges they face daily – at home or at work, or anywhere for that matter.

As any frequent reader of such Pentecostal publications can testify, there are hundreds of such books in the market now. For instance, there are those written by church elders, GOs, deacons and deaconesses, pastors and prophets. Most of these publications are sold direct in churches or other outlets where the faithful can be easily reached. While a number of those publications are riddled with errors – grammatical and factual – to turn off readers, Chukwuma’s book makes a refreshing difference. It is a smart book, complete with a telling illustration of a man in camouflague literally shooting down enemies. Below him is the slumbering form of another man who, obviously, has failed to keep watch over his spiritual life.

Where Chukwuma also differs from other authors of similar publications is his reference to even non-Christians but equally relevant books on wars. However, much they are versed in things religious, no reader expects the average Nigerian writer of Pentecostal books to have read classical authors let alone quote from them. Yet, that is what this author has done by quoting copiously from The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a book considered by experts to be one of the most seminal publications on strategies in individual or collective battles. The author of Rise and Fight draws useful analogies, and that makes him a cut above the rest.

Fight the good fight Chukwuma is a confirmed member of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) at Satellite 2 Branch in Lagos. He is from Ottah via Agbor in Delta state and has been born-again for more than 10 years. He has also travelled extensively around the country preaching Christ.

Now, with his book, he hopes to reach many more people – “those in satanic bondage,” he insists.

The title of the book is taken from one of the prophets of the OT, Prophet Jeremiah, a messenger of God some would rather describe as the weeping prophet. In the

Filmmakers to mentor youths with Film Arcade Do you think you can act? If the answer is ‘yes’, Film Arcade is set to ignite your dream, writes EVELYN OSAGIE.

T

ALENTED youths seeking an opportunity to showcase their acting flair may soon have their dream come true. Film Arcade Project is set to inspire youths through entertainment. The film project, organisers said, will feature a reality TV show that would ignite the creative spirit of youths. According to the Chairman, Vicpad Communications, organisers of the film project, Mr Paul Anaba, the empowerment programme seeks to mentor the next generation of celebrity actors.

He said: “Most filmmakers are not willing to take the risk of featuring fresh acts in their movies, which is somewhat understandable, given the economic situation in the country. Despite the growth we have seen in Nollywood, the same faces that built this industry are still there. But there is need for the young ones to be taught and mentored to take over and run the industry of the future. It is time to move on and give the youth of this country a voice so that they can bring in their own talent and explore new grounds for the growth of the Motion Picture Industry (MPI) in the country.”

This, he said, birthed the film project. “Film Arcade is aimed at reaching the youth of this nation and offering them a platform by way of getting them employment in an industry that has been tagged the third largest producer of movies in the world. We intend to raise a new generation of practitioners in the industry. We intend to build talents that would one day take over the industry,” he said.

With Anaba in the Film Arcade project are filmmakers such as Acquila Njama, Ayoola Opere, Benard Otunola and Helen Oloriegbe.

The producer of Heaven Gate soap, Njama reiterated Anaba’s statement, while describing the project as “mobile acting class, training on the move”. On sustainability of the dream, he said, Film Arcade is a long-term project that is expected to produce long-term results. Participants, he said, would receive training that would help position in the industry. “What we stand to gain is a good name and goodwill. Most of the movies done within the country do

FILM not introduce people into the knitty gritty of acting. During the programme we would take participants through various training. And with the training, the participants receive, it is expected that they would be able to find their feet and establish themselves in the industry,” he said.

Unlike other auditions where the focus is on the top four spots, the organisers said, Film Arcade will hold a nationwide audition that is poised to search for 100 of the best talents in the country. And these 100 best will eventually feature in several movies by the organisers as guest-artist.

The auditions will be held in six geo-political zones, including Lagos. After the first selection from all zones, the organisers said, aspiring participants will be brought for the final screening and selection. The final location would be determined by the producer. They would be given lessons on acting, use of voice, film craft and working in Nollywood, among others. Forms would be sold for N3,000, according to the organisers. “The subscription will add to people’s seriousness,” it was said.

“The 100 persons will be brought into the academy where they will be for one month, during this time.

They will attend classes in acting for beginners. After their training, the top 36 will be involved in a reality show in which at the end the top 10 finalists woul emerge that would automatically be given roles in our upcoming movie for the next five years. Each of the 10 finalists will also be rewarded with cash gifts and the top two will get different brands of cars. This is listed in what benefit awaits a participant,” the organisers said.

Interested youths can visit the website www.filmarcade.com for more information on how to register.

Also Film Arcade Project has as partners veteran actor, Zack Amata, Eagle Eye Production, Media Works, Cutting and more.

same vein, you could say this book is Chukwuma’s lamentation for those in the firm grip of satan – and how to also secure their release.

Rise and Fight your Battles is helpfully divided into six chapters. The first identifies the battle and the second makes a credible case why Christians need to even fight at all. “A lot of Christians appear too academic…they believe that to pray against the wicked is being too over religious and unnecessary because, according to them, Jesus has nailed their problems to the cross.” In the author’s view, this is wrong. For genuine born-again Christians, Chukwuma insists that “now is the time for Christians to constitute a threat to Satan and his agents.”

The remaining four chapters tackle everyday worries for born-again Christians. Chapter Three dwells on the enemies you are fighting against while chapter four talks on strategies for winning life’s battles. The last two focus, respectively, on activating yourself for spiritual battles and the battle zones. All in all, satan is a spiritual obstacle to a healthy Christian life. What is Chukwuma’s solution? Fight the devil constantly. Reading his book is one sure way he thinks you can.

How does the devil ensnare people? There are lots of ways the enemy can get you, as the author tells us in his book. Like a thief in the night, the devil can sneak in to wreck you financially, upturn your marriage or cost you a lucrative contract or job. This is the more reason to battle satan hands down without ceasing, as any preacher would tell you. To help readers along, the author recommends relevant verses to read in the Bible, and even accompanying prayer points.

Reading the book is like participating in a deliverance session which his church is famous for. There is no sparing the enemy here, as in most of MFM’s church activities/ programmes. A few examples will suffice here: One of the author’s prayer points proclaims in the book that “With the gun of heaven, I execute any evil robber attacking my finances.” Another goes thus: “Father Lord, revive every financial vine of my life eaten by evil worms.”

Rise and Fight is not a book for the squeamish, particularly those afraid to even lay a curse on their sworn enemies. Apparently, that is not the author’s message in this book. Rather, it is to seriously fight those who will take up arms against you, especially spiritually. Afterall, as the statement below the warning sign in the opening pages indicate, “This book is purely a spiritual warfare manual written to help end-time soldiers of God possess their possessions and set at liberty all those who have been oppressed and imprisoned by demonic forces.”

Chukwuma’s book is easy to read and understand.

Much as it is a motivational publication – at least to the spiritually entrapped – it also offers useful hints on healthy Christain living. To borrow a popular quipp used by another Pentecostal denomination, Rise and Fight is sure to bring spiritual meaning to lots and lots of Christian lives.

ANA gets grants for literary campaign THE Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA) has received a N3 million grant from Mr. Yusuf Ali, to organise a national reading awareness campaign for secondary schools across the country.

According to a statement by the association, 15 ANA branches will receive N150 000 each to purchase books and distribute to selected schools in their states.

The campaign tagged: ANA/Yusuf Ali Literary Awareness Campaign (AYASLAC), which began on Monday, will run till April 28.

This step has been applauded by some writers. They opined that the move would help encourage the reading culture in the youths as well as improve the literacy level.

The first time such move was made by the association was during the leadership of Alhaji Abubakar Gimba and Dr. Wole Okediran. This was when ANA embarked on a wide literacy programme, tagged: Year 2000 Literacy programme, in support of reading culture in the country. At the end, 15 ANA chapters were empowered by the Ford Foundation to work with ten selected schools in their individual states. Apart from reading to the students, the chapters were financially empowered to distribute books to the students.

Twelve years after, with the mind of rejuvenating the activities and relevance of ANA, the current executive is embarking on an ambitious project which is follow up to the 2000 Literacy programme.

On April 28, the ANA executives will meet with chairmen and secretaries of its states’ chapters to brainstorm on the way forward for the organisation.

On its agenda are presentation of activities for the next one year by branches; flag-off of its Teen Authorship Scheme with three branches receiving a grant of N150, 000 each to start the programme; submission of a report of ANA/Yusuf Ali Reading Awareness Campaign; the unveiling of new website for the association and delivery of its database template to branches and submission of members’ list from branches to be fed on the association’s database, among others.”

The meeting will give the association a common direction and help popularise state activities. Presently, it is reaching out to diverse segments of the society in a bid to aggrandise Nigerian writing.

Consequently, it hopes that the patronage the association seeks from individuals, organisations and governments will be met with “orderliness and seriousness of purpose emanating from our branches”.

“This is what will further boost the confidence of would-be supporters of grants and facilitators of programmes,” it said.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

35

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

‘What Picasso did in Osogbo’

“Y

OU will kill your father, and then marry your mother.” A cold shudder crept up my spines and goose pimples puckered my skin as the disembodied “Voice” made this fatal pronouncement. It was in 1970, and as a kid anticipating my 14th birthday that month of February, the declaration left my jaw gaping.

“You cannot run away from it,” the guttural voice continued.

The voice seemed to directly address me, although it was only a line delivered in “The Gods Are Not to Blame,” being rehearsed by the playwright Ola Rotimi, who was directing the play.

My father, the writer, Oladejo Okediji, and I watched as Rotimi added finishing touches to the rehearsals of a performance scheduled to open the following day. In the prime of his writing career, my father was a resident playwright at the University of Ife Theater, located in a converted hotel complex in the heart of Ile-Ife. The hotel was notorious as the venue for political meetings by the leaders of the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), a minority and unpopular party in Ile Ife, a city that prided itself as one of the strongholds of Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group (AG).

Revered as the regional Godfather, Chief Pedro, transporter, hotelier, and local leader of the NNDP in Ile-Ife, ran the political party from his hotel premises. Even as kids, we instinctively understood that the hotel grounds were proscribed and dangerous terrains. Together with adjourning Arubidi section of the city, this hotel was the notorious NNDP headquarters, the only slice of the city ceded to that party. Red-eyed party ruffians and thugs openly smoked what we suspected was weed in Arubidi neighborhoods. When chaos exploded in 1965, rioting mobs loyal to the AG attacked Chief Pedro’s properties and razed them to the ground. He narrowly escaped with his life and was ostensibly exiled from the city.

Though it was the command post, the hotel was one of the few properties belonging to Chief Pedro that survived the killing, looting, and burning campaigns of “Operation Wet-e.” At the border between Ile-Ife and Modakeke, the hotel was a city landmark. From exile, Chief Pedro leased the premises to the Institute of African Studies, under the directorship of Uli Beier, who converted it into a university art workshop. The art initiative was part of the “Gown and Town” programmes of the new university, which was moving from its temporary location in Ibadan to the permanent campus in lle-Ife. Its impressive Institute of African Studies building was yet to be erected, and Chief Pedro’s hotel was one of the temporary homes for the art workshops that the university research fellows conducted. Osogbo artists painted murals on its large walls, and the transformed building was named “The Ori Olokun Cultural Center.”

As director of the Institute of African Studies, Uli Beier brought some Osogbo artists to assist him. Tijani Mayakiri, the internationally celebrated dancer and printmaker; Yinka Adeyemi, a batik designer; and Jimoh Buraimoh, who later became famous for his beaded painting styles moved with Beier to the Ori Olokun Center. Muraina Oyelami, painter and master talking drummer; painter and printmaker Rufus Ogundele; and silk painter Bisi Fabunmi, later joined the group. Rufus Orisayomi, who was not at that time known as an artist but was living with Fabunmi in Osogbo, also moved to Ife. Raufu Oladepo was bar attendant and gallery keeper.

Jimi Solake came from the University of Ibadan as main star of the theater group. Already famous as an actor and musician, he had worked with Wole Soyinka, Zulu Sofola, and Demas Nwoko,. Felix Adegbola Onigbinde, who later attained fame as the national coach of the Nigerian Golden Eagles, played the talking drum at the center. He was primarily employed as a teacher at the university staff school. Segun Akinbola, now a traditional ruler in Ondo State, was technical director.

Later to gain national prominence as Nollywood pioneers were Laide Adewale, who left the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to join the center as an actor; Kola Oyewo, an Osogbo indigene drawn to the center as a dancer and actor; Peter Fatomilola, an Ifa practitioner recruited to the theatre group; with Bose Ayeni, a young woman who just completed high school, as the first female star. There were many other performers including Tunji Ojeyemi, Caroline Agbowoerin, and Segun Bankole. Legendary drummer Alarape Ayansola, and talking drummer Ayanniyi Amoo, together with Gboyega Ajayi were master percussionists.

The center did not focus exclusively on the production of drama.

It was committed to all forms of artistic expressions, including visual arts, cinematography, dance, and music. Akin Euba, Peggy Harper, Frank Speed, Rowland Abiodun, Solomon Wangboje, Babatunde Lawal, Agbo Folarin, John Rowland Ojo, and Ige Ibigbami were research fellows affiliated with the center, which also supported Rotimi’s creative writing and drama workshops.

Already successful as a published novelist, my father, Oladejo Okediji, was quite famous for his writing in the Yoruba language when Ola Rotimi invited him to become a resident playwright at the center in 1968. Rotimi wanted to produce Yoruba plays to increase and diversify his drama audience, which was largely drawn from the university community. He believed he could draw local audiences from the Ife community if he produced Yoruba language plays. The collaboration proved fruitful for my father who wrote his first play, entitled Rere Run, for the center in the early 70s. The play, which became a national hit, has since been translated into English and French.

I usually went with my father to the center to watch rehearsals and performances of the plays. It was in one of these

•Wewe’s painting

By Moyo Okediji

VISUAL ART rehearsals that I first heard the lines, “You will kill your father, and then marry your mother.” Peter Fatomilola was the diviner who consulted the oracle, and Rotimi performed the voice of the oracle. He was not physically present on the stage, but beamed the oracle’s voice from the backstage, but I clearly heard it from the audience’s seats. My father stood at the entrance to the main art gallery, which was showing an exhibition of prints by Rufus Orisayomi, also acting in the rehearsal. Only the two us served as the audience during that rehearsal.

The God’s Are Not to Blame derives its plot from Sophocle’s “Oedipus Rex,” the classical Greek drama behind psychoanalysis as theorised by Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychiatry. To kill the father and marry the mother, the foundational theme of the play, implies the idea that the young must destroy, rupture, or overthrow tradition, to become free to create a new culture.

The Oedipal feat came early to Pablo Picasso, clearly the greatest 20th century artist. By the age of 13he had cultivated enough skill to paint better than his father, a university professor who gave up his craft in deference to his son’s proficiency. As if this symbolic patricide was insufficient, Picasso continued to overthrow the entire tradition of figure painting in western art by developing Cubism, a geometric painting innovation. His supplanting of western artistic conventions is another form of symbolic patricide. To accomplish this task, Picasso inseminated his

‘Tola Wewe commits a similar symbolic patricide in the work that he titled “What Picasso Did at Osogbo.” The painting is a parody of Picasso’s first Cubist masterpiece, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.” Wewe’s parody removes the head of a central figure from Picasso’s masterpiece, thus symbolically decapitating the master of modern art’

•Wewe

work with ideas from African art, in a reference to the motherland that scientists defined as the origin of humankind. Symbolically, therefore, Picasso has killed his western father and married his African mother.

Tola Wewe commits a similar symbolic patricide in the work that he titled “What Picasso Did at Osogbo.” The painting is a parody of Picasso’s first Cubist masterpiece, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.” Wewe’s parody removes the head of a central figure from Picasso’s masterpiece, thus symbolically decapitating the master of modern art. Wewe removes the head from Picasso’s painting, and places it on “the figure of Osun swimming in an Osogbo river” to produce “What Picasso Did at Osogbo.” Osun is the matriarch of Yoruba divinities. Wewe symbolically decapitates the patriarch of modern art to invest his head on an African matriarch, thus symbolically fulfilling the call to kill the father and impregnate the mother. Nigerian artist and gallery owner, Nike Davies Okundaye, one of Wewe’s largest collectors, reads these acts of symbolic patricide and maternal incest in his paintings. She aptly calls Wewe, “The African Picasso.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

36

The Midweek Magazine

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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Feast on Black Heritage Traditional dancers at the opening of the third Lagos Black Heritage Festival in Lagos.

•

PHOTO: MOSES OMOSEHIN

Gambia’s VP, MNET boss champion African women confab

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OR a three-day event that intends to bring women leaders in Africa together, the Vice President of The Gambia, Ms. Isatou Njie-Saidy, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MNET Africa Mrs. Biola Alabi among women leaders short-listed to lead the rest. Tagged 2012 African Women in Leadership Conference (AWLC), the annual event, which made its debut in 2009 in Accra, Ghana, is scheduled to hold this year, at the Sheraton Hotel, The Gambia, from June 13 to 15.

The conference, among other objectives, is expected to enable further discourse on relevant issues aimed at empowering women to develop their leadership capability towards greater self and national development. Focus for this year’s outing, organisers say will be centred on politics, education, finance, social health and spiritual wellbeing of women in Africa and science, technology and innovation. Thus, some of the topics outlined for discussion are Political empowerment and the African Woman – next steps; African women in Politics –a numbers game; Bridging the Political Divide – Substance Over numbers; and Politics and the African Woman – Quantity or Quality.

Other women that will feature as keynote speakers include Dr. Ms Joyce Aryee, CEO, Ghana Chambers of Mines; Ms Thokozile Rudvidzo, Genda Directorate, UNECA; Mrs Fatoumata Jah, President-The Gambia National Women’s Federation; Mrs Dzigbordi Dosoo, CEO, Allure Africa; Dr. Aida Opoku Mensah, Director, ICT, UNECA and Senator Donzella James, Senator, District 35, Atlanta Georgia, US. According to the coordinator of the AWLC, Mr Elisha Attai, the objectives of the group include: to foster an alliance amongst African women in leadership positions, to challenge African women to aspire to take up leadership positions in their respective countries, to create awareness for women in leadership positions for proper conduct in office, and to create a platform for unity, solidarity, cohesion, dialogue and networking amongst members among others. On how African women can make significant strides in her journey towards empowerment through finance, the coordinator stated further that

•Mrs. Edith Uyovbukerhi, Executive Director, AWLO (left), Ms. Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice President, The Gambia and Elisha Attai, CEO AWLO in Gambia recently.

the high illiteracy rate among women in Africa requires governments and microfinance institutions to be proactive in organising forums for educating women about their rights. To get fully empowered economically, women need to do more than just access finance. They need gender parity, insurance,

education, health care and housing to help them spiral upwards. The 2012 edition, she said will be held in Banjul, capital of The Gambia in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and in collaboration with the government of The Gambia.

BRIEF

LBHF holds colloquium today

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HE Lagos Black Heritage Festival colloquium panel two will hold today at the Vantage Beach Hotel, while the drama, Arlecchino Africano comes up at the Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos, between 8 and 10pm. The festival exhibition, The Vision of the child, and Imaging Africa: The Italina observator will open today at the Freedom Park.

The Green Mangrooves launch holds at Ibadan

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ROUND table discussion and formal presentation The Green Mangrooves will hold today at the Poetry Garden, Preboyes World, University of Ibadan, Bodija, Oyo State.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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Two agric committees set up in FCT

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HE Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Administration Oloye Akinjide Olajumoke has inaugurated two committees to revitalise agriculture in the Territory, especially in the rural areas.

The standing committees are Agriculture Transformation Implementation Committee (ATIC) and

•Mrs Akinjide

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

the Technical Committee on Nigeria incentive-based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

Mrs Akinjide who was represented by the acting Permanent Secretary, Mallam Nuhu Ahmed, said agriculture is key to solving a myriad of socio-economic problems bedeveling Nigeria.

She called on both committees to ensure success on their given assignments.

“A successful implementation of the agenda will address the needs of farmers along the value chain of key commodities where Nigeria has comparative advantage and meet the financial needs of the producers, processors and marketers through the joint initiative of the Federal Government,” she said.

She pointed out that the Federal Capital Territory has 274,000 hectares delineated for agriculture in the master plan, out of which 40,000 hectares are suitable for all year-round farming.

Mrs Akinjide noted that the FCT has farming families of 165,000,

•Farmers out of the 1.46million residents of the Territory, assuring that these would be mobilised to participate in this new direction for rural economic emancipation in a business where they are competent.

Terms of reference for the FCT

Agricultural Transformation Implementation Committee will, amongst others are as follows: “Oversee the administration of the Growth of Enhancement Support GES programme in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Agri-

‘How to check water scarcity’ GROUP, Micah Challenge Nigeria has appealed to urban residents of Plateau State and the entire country to curb the level of water wastage so that the excess could be extended to the rural communities.

The group made the appeal in line with this year’s Water Day celebration. The event held under the theme: Water and Food Security, the world is thirsty because we are hungry”.

Speaking at a conference in Jos to mark the day, the group decried the lack of water especially in the rural areas.

Micah Challenge Nigeria said good supply of water boosts agri-

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KWA Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah has hailed the Akpabio administration for delivering dividends of democrcy to the people of the state.

The commissioner, who spoke while leading some media profes-

From Marie-Therese Nanlong, Jos

culture and the general well-being of people. The group explained that lack of water accounts for the acute food shortages, poor sanitation and outbreak of diseases in the nation.

The Country Coordinator of Micah Challenge Nigeria, Mrs. Talitha Pam urged stakeholders in government and corporate organisations to collaborate in ensuring the availability of water to all, especially now that climate change is affecting everything and bringing misery upon the world.

Mrs. Pam added that there have been efforts by stakeholders to provide fresh water fit for consumption,

there is need to raise awareness between water and food production and promote more sustainable food production and consumption patterns.

According to her, Nigeria is endowed with 74 million of arable land, 60% of the Nigerian population is involved in agriculture, yet majority of the population are poor and malnourished due to inadequate water supply.

She reiterated the need for people especially in the urban areas to reduce the rate of water wastage, the people in the rural areas to cultivate water in rainy season and farmers to learn to recycle water for immediate use in the farms.

The Country Coordinator decried

high contamination of water sources in the cities, adding that water and land degradation are impacting negatively on industrial and agricultural practices.

Her words: “As the world marks Water Day, today, we have to be reminded that water is key to food security, all the food from crop and livestock production, inland or aquaculture and forest products require water.

“Food security exists when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets dietary needs for a healthy life. Lack of water can be a major cause of famine and malnourishment, poor sanitation and diseases.

culture and Rural Development; facilitate setting up of staple crop processing zones through appropriate policies and investments in infrastructure and “Provide oversight function of performance monitoring and evaluation with emphasis on getting value for money, accountability and transparency in the implementation of the transformation agenda,” he noted.

Chairman of the committees and Secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, ARDS, Mrs Olvadi Bema Madayi, assured the Minister that the committee will work assiduously to achieve the objectives of the bodies as set out in the terms of reference.

Madayi maintained that the FCT will through the committees harness the rich and enormous agricultural resources of the FCT by taking advantage of the ingredients of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme and the Nigeria incentive-Based Risk sharing Agricultural Lending (NISRAL) to boost Agricultural activities in the FCT.

Pace of ongoing projects thrills Commissioner sionals on a tour of ongoing project sites, commended the transformation in the state courtesy of Governor Godswill Akpabio’s leadership.

At the Ukpom Bridge, Umanah

expressed optimism that the bridge will be completed on schedule to link other parts of Abak and Ukpom Abak.

He maintained that the Ukpom road and bridge project is signifi-

cant as it will provide access for the people of the area to the General Hospital in Ukpum, as well as to Ediene Ikot Obio Imo and Idoro communities in Uyo. A representative of the construction firm handling the project, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, told the commissioner that the work was on course as planned and that the community was very supportive of the company in the project execution.

While stopping over at Ekom Iman–Abak dual carriageway project, Commissioner Umanah opined that Abak people will forever remain grateful to Akpabio for rewriting their history.

Umanah, an indigene of Abak, said he was satisfied with Julius Berger for the advanced stage reached on the dualised road and

thanked Governor Akpabio for fulfilling his campaign promises to the people.

While driving through Uyo, the state capital, where he made a stopover at the new flyover bridge, the information commissioner noted that the era of classifying Akwa Ibom as an educationally backward state was over.

He later went through the AkaNung Udoe Road being dualised by the state government through the Chinese firm CCECC, and maintained that with the road nearing completion, there was bound to be an upsurge of economic activities in that axis of that state that easily links Ibesikpo Asuatan, Etinan, Nsit and Ubium and Eket people with the state capital.

At the Ukpom Bridge, Umanah expressed optimism that the project will be completed on schedule to link other parts of Abak and Ukpom Abak •Umanah conducting journalists round a project site in Uyo

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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Lawmaker helps students, entrepreneurs

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MEMBER of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Yakubu Balogun, has presented N14.7m to empower student entrepreneurs in Lagos Island Local Government Area.

The presentation was made at a forum held at the Glover Memorial Hall. The presentation was witnessed by some dignitaries including Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

Balogun, while presenting the cheques to beneficiaries said 106 students in tertiary institutions across the country received bursary allowance of N25,000 each which totaled N2.65m while 235 entrepreneurs received N50, 000 each which totaled N11.75m.

He said the funds used for the empowerment programme were sourced from his salaries and allowances, including his personal pension in the civil service.

He said: “Because I believe that the Almighty God placed me in whatever position I find myself to enable me to assist my fellow human beings.

“My people have always been supporting me to actualise God’s plan in my life and I shall fsorever appreciate God and the people.”

By Miriam Ndikanwu

Balogun said the empowerment programme would be on continuous basis, even as he assured the people that he would continue to strive to support the students, traders, artisans, among others who genuinely wanted to improve their lives with such empowerment.

The lawmaker urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the packages so that they could start a living.

“A continuous assessment committee has been established to be monitoring all recipient entrepreneurs and I assure you that whoever makes judicious use of his or her funds and improvement is seen within 90 days, shall receive double packages from me,” he stated.

Balogun, however, said he had, in the past, donated four buses to convey school children to and from their schools within the constituency free, saying that parents no longer pay their children’s transport fare as a result of the gesture.

He added that as at now, over 100 elderly mothers and fathers in the constituency had enjoyed financial support of N5,000 per

•Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Hon. Yakubu Balogun presenting a cheque to one of the beneficiaries

I believe that the Almighty God placed me in whatever position I find myself to enable me to assist my fellow human beings…My people have always been supporting me to actualise God’s plan in my life and I shall forever appreciate God and the people person on monthly basis since June 2011.

The lawmaker said he had also distributed free motorcycles, tri-

cycles, grinding machines, shoemaking machines to some members of his constituency to enable them to establish their individual

businesses.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in her remark, praised Hon. Balogun for the gesture to his people, even as she urged other lawmakers to emulate his gesture by impacting on the lives of members of their communities.

One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Adewale Tayo, a student of the Lagos State University (LASU) praised the lawmaker for the gesture, saying this was the first time such was coming their way in the constituency. She called on other lawmakers to impact on their constituencies.

NRC ready for Lagos-Kano train services

By Eric Ikhilae

•Sijuwade

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ATRONS of train services are in for a good time as the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has promised the commencement of train services from Lagos to Kano by the end of this month.

NRC’s Managing Director, Mr Adeseyi Sijuwade, an engineer

gave this assurance during an inspection tour of reconstruction works in Akere, Niger State, where enhanced bridges, culverts and embankments have been erected to curb cases of flooding of rail line in the area.

Sijuwade, who expressed delight at the quality of work done by the contractor, said with the completion of Bridge 47 (one of the three strategic bridges on the Jebba-Kano rail line, assured of NRC’s planned commencement of services on the route.

NRC”s Assistant Director, Public Relations, David Ndakotsu, in a statement quoted Sijuade as saying that the corporation and other stakeholders were committed to the amendment of the Railway Act to ensure an enhanced train services in the country.

He also hinted of Federal Government’s plan to combine the development of modern rail line (standard gauge) with the maintenance of the existing narrow gauge. To this end, he said, the government has commenced the construction of standard gauge from Kaduna to Abuja and the plan to award the contract for a similar project between Lagos and Ibadan soon.

Sijuwade said the visit to Akere

by NRC’s officials was to witness the completion of Bridge 47, describing the completion of the project as a symbolic milestone.

“This is because up till about two years ago, the whole of Bridge 47 which was a six-meterlong bridge, together with the adjacent track section, a length of about 1.2kilometres, was completely washed out by heavy flooding.

•Governor Sule Lamido seem to be excited and shaking hand whlie the VC, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta handed over the university

“And over these two years, we have replaced that missing link with this embankment. We have redesigned Bridge 47 from the six meters to a 36-metre-long bridge, spanning over three peers, each with 12 meters span.

“In addition to that, we have constructed two culverts, each four meters wide, to replace the previous pipe culverts. We have also rehabilitated Bridge 46 which is a structural steel bridge of about 240 meters long.

“So, we are quite confident that with the capacity of these outlets, together with the down stream channel, which goes on for about 1.5 kilometers, bursting out to the downstream end of River Marida, the capacity we have here is one that can contain any potential flooding in this area.

“With this completion, that we have witnessed today – that of the bridge and the embankment – we are now in a position where we can start making full preparation for the commencement of services from Lagos to Kano.

“We will spend the next two weeks leaving the deck to cure and then, we will connect the rail line back, raise the embankment and thereafter, we will be talking about trial runs. I am quite impressed with the progress I have seen today,” Sijuwade said.

On efforts to amend the 1955 Railway Act, Sijuwade said there is currently an effort by the executive arm of government to

generate a separate Bill for this amendment of the Act. This, he said, is in addition to a private member Bill now before the National Assembly. He said both Bills, which will be harmonised later, are intended to cure the defects in the existing Railway Act. He said the contract for the repair of the Jebba to Kano rail line was awarded about two years ago for about N12.1b. He explained that a significant chunk of the contract sum was based on fixing the flooded area in Akere with the erection of new bridges, culverts and embankments for flood protection.

“I must say it is very brilliant.

This is a job that has been very problematic. My coming here today is to witness that recovery.

The fact that we can now boast of real commencement date for our train operations from Lagos to Kano is, for me, very symbolic.

“We are planning to acquire new coaches. Just recently we inaugurated 20 tank wagons that came for the movement of petroleum products from Lagos to various parts of the country. At the same time, we are placing order for new coaches.

“All these will be dependent on the budget which has just been approved. So, it is going to be the combination of rehabilitating our existing coaches and buying new ones. For the standard gauge project, we are certainly buying new coaches,” Sijuwade said.

In addition to that, we have constructed two culverts, each four meters wide, to replace the previous pipe culverts.

We have also rehabilitated Bridge 46 which is a structural steel bridge of about 240 meters long

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

I cannot resign to fate. I am confident that help would come one day. I am strengthened by the realisation that there are a lot of Nigerians who are always moved with pity on any one as helpless as I am. I am pleading with such benevolent Nigerians to come to my aid

Patient needs N3.3m for hip replacement

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RS Angela Eke, a 47-yearold mother of four, needs help.

What started as a mere pain in her right hip-bone has necessitated a trip abroad, otherwise she may not walk again.

In 1992 when she left her Imo State home for Lagos, she was in perfect health state. Her gait and beauty combined to make her cut the picture of a queen.

But in 2009, her health took a nosedive as she started experiencing what she called sharp and continuous pain on her right leg which she mistook as rheumatism or arthritis.

Because of the pains, she said, she resorted to self medication for several months which she said were helping in reducing the pains.

She, however, said that “the pains would exacerbate whenever she walked for a long distance, especially when she wore elevated heel shoes.

At a point, the pains became unbearable, and walking so difficult for me.”

She now walks laboriously with the aid of a walking stick.

As a result of the suffering, she was advised to visit one Ijaw woman who they said specialised in bone treatment.

“This I did and for six months, the woman did all she could. Yet there was no tangible result. After this, I started attending hospitals. I started with Apapa Health Centre. I received the treatment they could give me but the pains could not abate,” she said.

From there, she said, they referred her to Inland Hospital Lagos. It was at this hospital that the medical personnel started suspecting that the ailment could be more severe than she thought. The drugs they gave to reduce the pains had no much effect.

It was when she went to the National Orthopedic Hospital Igbobi that a back X-ray was carried out but nothing was discovered as to the cause of the pains. Not satisfied with the situation, Mrs Eke adhered to the counsel of a friend who advised her to go to the Naval Medical Centre Lagos. There another X-ray was performed and it was discovered that it was a hip problem.

She said the doctors hinted that if she had visited the hospital earlier than she did, the actual problem would have been detected and treated

By Chinaka Okoro

on time. She added that the doctors recommended hip replacement, which preferably, they said, would take place in India.

Dr John Enebeli of San Pedro Specialist Medical Centre, Lagos said in a medical report entitled RE: MRS EKE ANGELA; AGE-47 YEARS OLD, FEMALE, “The above named patient is diagnosed with A vascular Necrosis of the right femoral head…She requires hip replacement, which would be done through surgery.”

When Newsextra contacted him on phone, Dr Enebeli confirmed that Mrs Eke needed urgent hip replacement if she should walk normally again.

Also, Dr Onyekachi, a radiologist at the Naval Medical Centre, Lagos described Mrs Eke’s ailment as “fairly flattened of the RT. Femoral head with widening rim, narrowing of the joint space and subchondral cyst& sclerosis. The LF Hip shows early degenerative changes.” This was contained in a medical report he signed on August 1, 2011.

Mrs Eke needs about N3, 372, 000 for the surgery in India. This disclosure unsettled her as the possibility of getting the fund for the surgery in India stands not within the prospect of belief. Where would she begin?

Who will keep her hope alive? All these questions surged in her mind that was in a state of flux.

“In fact, when they mentioned that I’d have to go to India for the remedy, I felt hopeless because, judged from my resource that is next to nothing, I resigned to fate. I decided to remain and wait for death to come when it will. But if God whose other name is Mercy looks down and remember His distraught daughter, let His will be done.

“I was in this state of confusion when a friend who is a medical doctor disclosed to me that help could come from people I do not know. He said that I could appeal to public-spirited Nigerians for help, adding that it would not be good enough for me to resign to fate.

“I had to consider the doctor’s advice when another friend of mine corroborated the doctor’s view. She said that she was aware of a case that was published in The Nation and people

•Christian Mothers receiving gifts during the service

•Mrs Eke helped in ensuring that the little girl went to India for surgery and the girl survived,” Mrs Eke who sounded hopeless told Newsextra.

These pieces of advice emboldened Mrs Eke to believe that there is the possibility of being alive and walk normally again. She became encouraged that one day; she will discard her walking stick and stop walking like the Biblical Jacob who limped after forcing an Angel to a wrestling duel.

She doesn’t want to remain a physically-challenged person even though she doesn’t have the over N3m that stands between her and walking normally again.

Though a teacher, Mrs Eke stated that she works as a non-teaching staff.

She disclosed that she was teaching in a p r i v a t e school and later joined the public school system in 2004 where, she said; she has not been confirmed as a teaching staff. This makes it impossible for her to get the needed fund for the recommended hip replacement.

“In the circumstances, I plead with my fellow Nigerians to come to my aid. I don’t want to lose my leg. They s h o u l d please help me to effect the hip replacement so that I will have my two legs again to be able to be useful to myself, my family and the society. My husband is jobless; and there seems to be no hope of getting out of this predicament unless public-spirited Nigerians, in their usual manner, render a helping hand,” she pleaded.

Expressing her gratitude to the chairman of Apapa Local Government Area, Hon. Ayodeji Joseph for rendering some financial help, Mrs Eke disclosed to Newsextra that the local government has been of tremendous help, not only in terms of efforts towards raising some fund for the hip replacement but also in terms of picking some of the bills she incurred while undergoing prelimi-

nary medical treatment before it was concluded that what she needed was hip replacement.

She also expressed her appreciation to members of her church-Sacred Heart Catholic Church Apapa who she said have been of great assistance.

When contacted on phone, Hon. Ayodeji Joseph said that his administration decided to render some financial helps to Mrs Eke because, according to him, health is wealth.

“We realised that she has some dependent relatives. So, whatever assistance we can render to our fellow mankind, we should. It is not only when somebody is dead that we start to buy clothing materials for uniforms and praise him or her to high heavens. We should learn how to save people’s lives through acts of charity. I urge Nigerians to save the life of Mrs Eke,” the council chief said.

Undaunted by the pains and agony she has been experiencing since 2009, Mrs Eke resolved to “fight the cause bear-like.”

She said: “I cannot resign to fate. I am confident that help would come one day. I am strengthened by the realisation that there are a lot of Nigerians who are always moved with pity on any one as helpless as I am. I am pleading with such benevolent Nigerians to come to my aid so that my life is not wasted by unkind and dangerous ailment.”

Nigerians are known for coming to the aid of the hapless, helpless and hopeless ones among them. Mrs Angela Eke’s story is another pathetic one that could move public-spirited Nigerians to an action that would save her dear life and restore hope in a seemingly hopeless family. God’s blessings would definitely be showered on those He will use to save the life of Angela Eke who needs about N3, 372,000 for a hip replacement in India.

She can be contacted on 08164850769 or 08190405752 and any financial assistance can be rendered through her Skye Bank Plc account number 1011592525.

Foundation boosts education with N510m

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HE MTN Foundation has invested the sum of N510m in three years for the promotion of education among brilliant Nigerian students and visually impaired students in tertiary institutions in the country.

Consequently, about 2,559 students have benefited from this gesture across the country, even as the target

From Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri

was to promote science and technology education as well as assist the visually impaired persons to be able to further their education effectively.

This was made known recently in Owerri, Imo state by the Chairman, MTN Foundation, Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu at the formal presentation of the third MTN Foundation Science and Technology Scholarship awards to successful candidates held at the International Conference Centre (ICC) of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).

Ahmadu whose keynote address was delivered by the Director of the Foundation, Mr. Denis Okoro recalled that about 500 students benefited from the project in 2009 when the programme started, adding that the second phase had 934 students awarded scholarship of N200,000 each.

“In line with our commitment to adding value in the Nigeria education sector and ultimately contributing to socio-economic development, we had examined the plight of many of such students. We then went ahead to extend our intervention under our education portfolio to cover scholarships, so as to contribute to optimizing their potential through education”, he said.

According to him, guided by this commitment, we recently introduced a new scholarship scheme whereby we are awarding an additional 112 scholarships to equally brilliant, visually impaired students, in addition to our support of empowerment through distribution of mobility aids and Braille materials, adding

“through the award of scholarships worth N200,000 to each of this 112 visually impaired students, thereby enabling them to pursue their education without impediment”.

He further announced that the foundation was awarding a total of 316 scholarships in the Eastern zone for 291 Science and Technology and 25 for the Visually Impaired categories respectively, while 240 successful candidates benefited in the Northern zone last. That of the South west region would be held next week.

While congratulating the beneficiaries, he noted that MTN Foundation was renewing its pledge to sustain the award for any of the awardees who maintained a Cumulative Grade point (CGPA) of 3.5 or its equivalent for the Science and Technology scholarship and CGPD of 2.5 for Visually Impaired scholarship till the end of their academic programme.

The Foundation therefore commended the Minister of Education, Prof. Raqayyatu Rufai; Minister for Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina; and the Vice Chancellor of FUTO, Prof. Cyril Asiabaka for their immense support to the programme.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of FUTO, Prof Asiabaka called on other corporate bodies to emulate the MTN Foundation spirit by identifying with the needs and aspirations of Nigeria students.

The beneficiaries that were drawn from many tertiary institutions from the Southeast and Southsouth zones expressed gratitude to MTN Foundation for helping them complete their academic programmes, while promising to utilize the money judiciously.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The emergence of new groups claiming to speak for the North is threatening to weaken the authority of the once powerful Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). Correspondent TONY AKOWE reports the contest for relevance between ACF and the emerging groups.

Are things falling apart in the North?

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HE emergence of some interest groups in the north in recent time is no doubt threatening the existence of the northern socio-political organization, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). Even though the leadership of the forum will not agree that these groups pose serious threat to their existence, it is quite clear that names on the list of the Coalition of Concerned Northern politicians, Academicians, Professionals and Businessmen feature on the top hierarchy of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the northern socio-political organization which has been the umbrella body of the north since its formation in the early days of the Obasanjo administration.

Majority of them have participated actively in the activities of the forum since formation, especially the recently held peace conference in Kaduna. But the ACF sees nothing wrong in that since, according to them, every northerner is a member of the ACF. But the question being asked in many quarters is whether this is the beginning of the end for the ACF? The emergence of the group is a threat to the existence of the ACF since its members are also drawn from the Forum. Chairman of the ACF Board of Trustees, Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Useni, was probably alluding to this when he said at the Annual General Meeting of the Forum in Kaduna last week that the a situation in which an endless stream of civil society organisations, elders committees, regional congresses, among others, are established with the intention of uniting northerners or seeking to tackle the well known problems of insecurity and underdevelopment will be taking the north back to the chaotic days of the past when so many groups sought to speak for the region with little coordination and negligible impact.

According to him, “it is too early to forget, and we need not remind northerners, particularly our respected elders, of the reasons why it became necessary, some 12 years ago to collapse all the mini groups into one Pan-Northern Forum which was given the name ACF. Elders of the north, the founding fathers of the ACF had considered that to continue to have three or more civil society organs speaking for the north showed us to be lacking in unity, focus and sincerity of purpose. It meant that the north was incapable of arriving at a common position on any issue which could be said to be the agreed northern stand”.

Useni argued that “we should not forget that the circumstances which made the establishment of the ACF necessary 12 years ago remain valid today. It is a mistake to take it for granted that the people of the north would always maintain their unity or achieve justice and progress. History has shown that unity and peace have to be carefully and vigorously cultivated and maintained. This is why we need the ACF. I am aware that some respected people, leaders of important communities and regions of the north have remained outside the ACF.” He acknowledged the fact that the emergence of these groups and civil society organizations with “each and everyone of them professing to being northerners together to work on many of the problems bedeviling the north” was “a reaction to the difficult times we are passing through and not all are intended or designed to address more than a few issues or have permanent structures such as we have in the ACF”.

Interestingly, some of those who attended a meeting called by the Junaid Mohammed-led group included former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar who was instrumental to the formation of the ACF, former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mamman Nasir, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, among others. Both Atiku and Mamman Nasir as well as former Nigerian leaders like Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar said to have been part of the meeting are patrons of the ACF. The Forum’s constitution has advisory role for all

• Useni

• Mohammed

‘It is true that there is poverty all over the country but there is much more poverty in the North than anywhere else. Insecurity is all over the country, but there is much more insecurity in the North than anywhere else. Disunity is very pronounced here. We have to do something about this. In order to understand or appreciate the position in which we found ourselves let us revisit the past’ former leaders from the north, former Chief Justices and Presidents of the Court of Appeal from the north who are automatic members of its Board of Patrons. Their involvement in the Mohammed group has given the impression that all may not be well within the ACF as prominent leaders from the middle belt have often stayed away from its activities.

Apparently justifying the coming into being of the coalition, former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, Yusuf Maitama Sule said “the problems in Nigeria and indeed in the North are two: tribalism and religious bigotry.

I see no reason why religion should be a barrier to our unity, not only in the North but also in the entire country. Nigeria is a very religious country. The Christians in Nigeria are more than any Christendom. The Muslims are more religious than any Muslim in any part of the world. “If there is justice, the people in power will be concerned and create jobs, look after the people. It is not force that will make the people obey. The world can never be governed by force, never by fear, even never by power. In the end what governs is the mind.

What conquers is the spirit. Today, what we need in the North in order to arrest the situation is unity. And we should learn from the lessons of our elders. But I beg you: let us try to revive the glory of the past. We are all brothers, if there is any trouble it will affect every one of us. Let no one think that he would escape. The problems facing us today are much greater than any problems that faced us before.

And these problems are more pronounced here in this part of the country in the North. It is true that there is poverty all over the country but there is much more poverty in the North than anywhere else. Insecurity is all over the country, but there is much more insecurity in the North than anywhere else. Disunity is very pronounced here. We have to do something about this. In order to understand or appreciate the position in which we found ourselves let us revisit the past and see how we started in the North and the East.

He said further: “I remember way back in 1949 when we started the very first organization in Northern Nigeria the NPC. What informed our decision to organise that was the political development taking place in the South. We felt that we in the North needed to be organised so that we in the North might be in the main stream; so that we might contribute our own quote; so that we might bring together our brothers in the South. “What has gone wrong?

The moral teachings of all the religion are the same. If we are to follow the moral teachings of the religions there will be no fighting. There is no religion that says you should go and pressurise someone to embrace it. The essence of every religion is love. Love is what is lacking in Nigeria. Let us teach love. Today there is poverty in the country. There is injustice in the country, if there is justice there will be peace. If there is development there will be work for everybody. We must create jobs to get people employed so that they may not be ideal. I think that is the source of insecurity.”

Even though the ACF beats its chest to have achieved a lot with its peace and unity conference held in December 2011, the level of insecurity and intolerance in the north is on the rise casting a dark shadow over the intensions of the organizers of the peace conference. Observers therefore believe that the emergence of the Junaid led group is a direct indictment on the leadership and followership of the ACF and its apparent failure to address the issues affecting the north especially that of disunity, religious bigotry and intolerance. Even though the ACF communiqué at the end of its AGM was silent on the emerging groups, its spokesman, Anthony Sani said they were not in any way threatened by them. He argued that all northerners are first and foremost members of the ACF, adding that there was nothing wrong in them trying to help find solution to the current problems of the region. Sani told The Nation that the “ACF does not feel threatened by emergence of different groups of northern leaders which talk about the North, precisely because

these are not normal times. So they think they can lend helping hands in whatever form in so far as campaign against violence is concerned.

What is more, please note that when only ACF spoke man, the Sultan, Gowon and few northern leaders, spoke on issues of Boko Haram, people still accused the North for failure to speak out against the sect. That is to say the people did not believe it was enough for these leaders alone to speak for the north. That may explain why some of them met and spoke; and still some people are now accusing the leaders of hidden political agenda”.

Sani believes that the emerging groups are mere talking points saying “ACF takes the proliferation of talking points as natural concomitant to the situation the North has found itself.

These groups are members of ACF trying to help in their own way. Of course, it would be better for a single ACF to be the reference point for the North, which it is; but people, especially Southerners, want different points before they know northern positions on some national issues. But this will soon come to pass after we overcome the security challenges. After all, most members of these ad hoc groups are senior active members of ACF. Most northern leaders are members of ACF. And so any members are free to broker the dialogue, provided it is the choice of the parties’ concerned. ACF as an institution does not have to be the one to broker the talks. Anybody agreeable to the parties can do so”.

But the Arewa Youths Forum (AYF) said that it is tired of the position of some past leaders involved in the group. President of the Forum, Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, said former leaders like Generals Ibrahim Babangida, Abdusalami Abubakar, Atiku Abubakar should explain to the north why the region is the way it is today.

Gujungu said “Arewa Youths Forum (AYF) held an emergency meeting in Kaduna and other well meaning Muslim and Christian youths of the North both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, who share pains inflicted by Nigerian politics…

“It is against this background that we made the following position. That all Northern leaders who held several positions, that is Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, and others have got golden opportunities of turning our region for good but reverse was the case. This they should know and accept much of the blame. Their going round and round in search of clear understanding of our woes is a ruse, and counter-productive.”

On its part, the Arewa Renaissance Initiative contends that the ACF has failed, hence the emergence of the new groups claiming to speak for the north. National Coordinator of the group, Prof. Ibrahim Malumfashi, said that it is the failure of the ACF in achieving its set objective that has led to the emergence of the new groups, adding that, “although we share in ACF’s agony, we hasten to say that it is the architect of this proliferation. Ideally, because it is peopled by past Heads of States, retired Jurists and former political office holders at very high levels, we had expected the Forum to be the ombudsman of the north. In our view, it should have the moral authority and strength of character to call erring public officers like governors to order.”

Malumfashi, who however will not take side with those creating the emerging groups, argued that the “ACF has failed to do all these and the reason is simple. A situation where the Forum goes cap-in-hand to state governors for contributions has eroded its moral authority.

As a group, ACF can run on a shoe-string budget, especially to keep the secretariat functional.

Apart from that, we do not see the need for a big budget, let alone a hefty amount, to prosecute its activities.”

The emergence of new groups in the north has forced the question of the direction which the north is heading at this critical time. As events continue to unfold, many are afraid that the new group may not augur well for the north which tends to have found a voice in the ACF in the last couple of years. The nation is watching to see the end of the melodrama.

46

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

POLITICS Should the state of emergency imposed on 15 local governments in Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Niger states be lifted? Correspondents VICTOR OLUWASEGUN and DELE ANOFI sought the views of House of Representatives members. They expressed divergent opinions, but unanimously urged the Federal Government to release withheld funds to the affected councils.

‘National conference is the way forward’

By Musa Odoshimokhe

Emergency rule: Lawmakers call for review F

T

HE non-release of the funds for the 15 local government councils under emergency rule due to the security situation in their areas has continued to elicit concern from various quarters.

Concern has been expressed about the welfare of the workers of the 15 local government councils and belief that the lack of funds to run the various councils could further worsen the security situations.

The funds for the 15 local councils for December 2011, January and February 2012 are yet to be received as the Ministry of Finance is yet to remit their allocations for the period.

In a motion recently, the House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to release the funds meant for the 15 local government councils.

Bitrus Kaze (PDP Plateau) This followed the adoption of a motion brought before the House

by Bitrus Kaze. The lawmaker noted that, in a bid to confront the unrelenting wave of terrorism in the country and in exercise of powers conferred on the President by section 305 (1)(c) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), President Goodluck Jonathan proclaimed a state of emergency in the affected councils on December 31 last year.

“Contrary to section 162 (3) and (5) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), the Federal Ministry of Finance has withheld the statutory allocations for the months of December 2011, January and February 2012 respectively standing to the credit and payable to the local government councils where the state of emergency was declared.”

Kaze said the instrument of the declaration of the emergency rule did not in any way order the withholding of the statutory funds of the affected local government councils.

The lawmaker, who is from one of the affected states, described the withholding of the funds as “unfortunate”. He added that, “it has virtually paralyzed government activities in the 15 local councils, making it impossible for them to meet their financial obligations and thereby inflicting more hardship on citizens, staff, their families and dependants in the affected areas.”

The motion was supported by all the members.

But, some members of the House

Olabiyi Oyekola (ACN Oyo): release funds, retain emergency rule

expressed varied opinions on the situation in the local councils, particularly whether to lift the emergency rule imposed on the councils

by President Jonathan.

They also spoke on the withheld funds and what they believed should be done by the executive.

While many toed the line of Kaze on the release of funds, they were hesitant on lifting the emergency rule, in view of the prevailing security atmosphere.

“I want to believe that the state of insecurity still persists. Because before you talk of maybe it should be lifted or not, you have to look at the historical background to it. Why was emergency rule imposed in the first place, are those facts still there or not? If yes, the emergency rule should still be. But when you look at the state in its entirety, at least the machinery of the state government is still working. Based on that, the emergency rule on the local governments should be lifted. This is because the state governor is still there and he is the chief security officer of the state. And with the presence of soldiers and other paramilitary personnel, they should be able to maintain peace and order.”

The lawmaker also said, in order to allow the local governments function properly and be able to pay workers’ salaries, the Federal Government should release their funds immediately.

Sani Idris Mohammed (PDP Niger): it’s time to review the policy The lawmaker said the pains the citizens of the affected councils are going through had become unbearable.

He said: “The suffering at the grassroots is manifesting at alarming rate now and it is my belief that the situation calls for urgent intervention. There is absolute need for the Federal Government to release the funds immediately because the economic survival of the people affected is threatened as it is now. We are talking about Nigerians at the grassroots level here and what happens to the notion that the LGA is meant to bring government closer to the people? So, the earlier the funds are released, the better.

“Looking at the factors, are there no workers in the local councils anymore because of the emergency rule? Are there no contractors to be paid for executing one job or the other for the councils? The suffering and multiplier effect of the nonrelease of the funds cannot be quantified because the economic activities in the affected communities have been crippled. If that is the situation, then, of what essence is government to the people?

“Yes, we know that there are security challenges in the areas, but it is incumbent on the government to fashion lasting solution to the challenges but not to kill them off through starvation? The affected LGs’ economies are tied to the economy of the country and to have denied them of what they are supposed to benefit from is unfair. As it is, they deserve immediate compensation and the compensation should come in the way of immediate release of funds to them. Stopping the funds would not solve any problem As for the lifting of the emergency

• Tambuwal

rule, I think the government will have to review the situation on individual basis.

Adebukola Ajaja (Accord, Oyo): nothing has changed “The way I look at it is this: if the reason the emergency rule was put in place, in a situation whereby lives and property were threatened, is still present, then the status quo should remain. And from what we can all see, the situation hasn’t changed. So I feel until normalcy is restored, until there’s assurance that people’s lives are safe and the security situation has improved, I don’t think the emergency rule should be removed.”

On the withheld funds, she said: “I don’t think that is right, because putting emergency rule in place does not mean that other things are not operating, it’s just the security aspect that is compromised. I believe their funds should be released so that their salaries can be paid.

Protecting the people from danger is good, but the government should also remember that hunger can kill.

We can’t be protecting the people from Boko Haram only to kill them with starvation.”

From left: Dr. Raphael Koffi, ICT Adviser (ECOWAS Commission), Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Communications and the Cross River State Deputy Governor at the workshop for Legislators on legal and regulatory issues in telecommunications organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Calabar.

Solomon Adeola (ACN, Lagos): review after six months “Though we don’t know the criteria used in determining the emergency rule for the affected LGAs, but in some of the 15 LGAs, the security situation has not really improved and I think the declaration of emergency rule of the affected LGs is in the right direction. Moreover, since the local leadership of those affected areas could not curtail the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram, I think the declaration of emergency was better late than never.

“As for the reversal of the emergency rule, I think the government would review the situation and decide the next step. Besides, emergency rule is subjected to review in six months.

Meanwhile, I don’t think the immediate lifting of the rule is necessary now because the security situation in some of the affected LGs has not improved like those in Plateau and Borno States.

They even declared temporary ceasefire but I can’t believe them because killings are still on-going in some of those places. I think the emergency rule should stay until lasting solution is found in addressing it.

Adeyemi Adekunle (ACN, Ogun): I frown at non-release of fund “My opinion is that you cannot say because you declare a state of emergency rule in a Local Government, you have to deprive the people their lawful entitlement which is critical to the economic survival of that community. Government cannot be on a standstill since the running of the administration cannot stop. So how do you expect whoever is placed in charge of running the government to carry out his assignment? Withholding that money is even wrong constitutionally.

“On the time frame for lifting the emergency rule, I think that is subject to review by the Federal Government because there were some facts in security or intelligence reports that prompted the action of the government at the initial stage. Except there is a contrary report to what necessitated the initial action, I think the situation will have to remain as it is. What I frown at is the non-release of their monthly allocation.”

ORMER Vice Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Lagos State, Alhaji Mutiu Are, has said the way forward within the vorte national socio-political challenges is national conference.

He said it was time Nigerians converged round table to look at the factors that had brought enormous pain to the country with the determination to resolve them without emotion.

He said: “I want Nigeria to remain as one entity. Our coming together is not by our own free will, you remember the amalgamation by Lord Lugard, since we have been having one problem or the other, I think the time is overdue to call each other to the round table and discuss the issues on ground.”

Are said there was no harm in dialogue that it would help resolve illconceived assumptions that one group was superior to the other. It would also lay bare those factors that had made it difficult to administer the country in taking into cognisance the multi-ethnic nature of the country.

“We must dialogue, I don’t know why people are shying away from this. There is no position that is permanent, if you don’t want to dialogue because you are afraid that people will take power away from you. If the people do not take that power from you, God will take it; we have to dialogue because there is nothing that is permanent in life.”

The ACN chieftain stressed that the country had to redefine the current fiscal regime which was disproportionately positioned to rob Peter to pay Paul. He noted that it was this inherent mismanagement of the vast resources of the country that had brought about the various agitations rocking the country.

“We have to think about what we want to do, we must engage in meaningful talk now so that we can nip in the bud these divisions causing the country so much pain. We must discuss fiscal federalism, distribution of wealth, state police and minority challenges etc.

“We have to get to drawing board now so as to save the country from further pains and agony. I can tell you that there are lots of Lagosians who have not been to Abeokuta or crossed over to Abuja because they found satisfaction within the geopolitical zone.

Let us talk now so that we can save the country from further bleeding.”

He maintained that the ruling party had not really taken adequate step to forestall further pain in the lives of Nigerians, citing the case of the restive militants Boko Haram which was fast castrating the northern part of the country particularly with its recent killing of foreigners who were taken hostage by them.

“Now let us look at bombing, insecurity and poverty in the country. I will say an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. When we were growing up I never heard of the word terrorist; it was not in our dictionary then.

What we are facing is not religious problem at all but I pray to God that revolution should not happen in Nigeria.”

He enjoined the Federal Government to pay attention to the call for national conference because of the urgency it deserved. According to him, if the call was heeded, frayed nerves would be calmed.

• Are

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

47

THE NATION

INVESTORS Nigerian market lags behind others T

HE Nigerian stock market lagged behind in global equity recovery in the first quarter as Nigeria’s benchmark return of -0.38 per cent contrasts sharply with strong gains in major advanced and emerging markets.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the benchmark index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which tracks changes in prices of all quoted equities and doubles as Nigeria’s country index, closed the quarter at 20,652.47 points as against this year’s index on board of 20,730.63 points. This represents a drop of 0.38 per cent.

With inflation rate at 11.9 per cent and monthly average prime lending rate of 17.11 per cent, real rate of return at the Nigerian stock market culminated into double-digit losses.

Global stock market indices however, indicated a healthy recovery in the first quarter with the American stock market showing its best performance in more than a decade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Standard & Poors’ 500 (S & P 500), two key indices, of the United States (US)’s market, closed the quarter with their best performance since 1998 while the Nasdaq fared better with return that outperformed other comparable quarters.

The S & P 500 closed the quarter with some 12 per cent gain. Also, Japan’s Nikkei returned some 19 per cent gain, its best first quarter in 24 years.

Global equity recovery was driven by economic data indicating improvements in manufacturing, employment and retail positions in the US amidst other positive global economic reports.

Nigeria’s stock market performance fell significantly below most analysts’ expectations, which had predicted the current earnings season would rally the market to a positive position by the end of the quarter.

A last-week depression had erased

Stories by Taofik Salako

modest positive gain carried into the week and built up some losses for investors. The ASI, which had opened the last trading week of the quarter with a positive year-to-date return of some 2.3 per cent, lost 2.6 per cent in the last trading week as investors readjusted portfolios.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Mr Bismarck Rewane, had predicted that there were possibilities that the Nigerian stock market could rally substantially in March to neutralise the

decline in February and retain positive returns for the first quarter.

Rewane noted that risk perception has shifted and revaluations of equities have become compelling following the sell-off in the previous two months.

According to him, fundamentals of the quoted companies and general market outlook remain strong and stronger corporate actions could lift the benchmark return index at NSE back into the green.

He had pointed out the sustained recovery in the global stock mar-

kets amidst strong corporate earnings and improving economic data, which might support recovery in economies such as Nigeria, where foreign investors play active roles.

The first quarter performance has raised concerns about the possible market performance this year. Analysts at FSDH Securities projected that the stock market would recover in 2012 with a possible full-year benchmark return of 13.30 per cent.

But Managing Director, GTI Securities, Mr Tunde Oyekunle, said the performance of the stock market in

the first quarter was fair given the macroeconomic situation and the state of liquidity in the financial system.

According to him, the first quarter was characterised with many issues such as the oil-subsidy reduction, which impacted negatively on investible funds.

He added that the confidence of local investors has not been fully restored and the dominance of the market by foreign investors leave the market susceptible to external shocks.

•From left: Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Financial Reporting Council, Mr Jim Obazee; Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and Director-General, Consumer Protection Council(CPC), Mrs Ify Umenyi during the first bi-annual workshop for trade and investment correspondents and business editors in Abuja at the weekend.

Demutualisation: Stakeholders decry SEC’s interference

S

TOCKBROKERS and stakeholders in the capital market have decried what they described as an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to railroad the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) into demutualisation without due process and involvement of its members and owners.

As the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee on capital market and institutions is set to begin fresh public hearing this month, stockbrokers and other stakeholders have called for a review of the

demutualisation process being pushed by SEC. The allege that it had ulterior motives other than the development of the stock market.

Some operators, who spoke in confidence, said SEC could not be trusted to-be-impartial-in the demutualisation of the NSE given its meddlesome roles and conflict of interests.

In a paper made available to The Nation, Managing Director, Maximum Investments and Securities Plc, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, said members of the NSE should be the ones to decide the propriety and

pace of demutualisation of the Exchange while SEC should concern itself with providing level-playing regulations.

According to him, the whole approach to the demutualisation of the NSE raised suspicion and all stakeholders should be wary of the consequences of a rushed process.

“One is of the view that the centre of this issue is the control of the heart of the NSE. This is because prior to 2008, the NSE was seen as a money making venture. That is why those who only had rumours of the operations of the capital mar-

ket became overnight experts,” Unegbu said.

He said the process of demutualisation should pass through a process duly initiated and run by members of the NSE since broker dealers with seats on the Exchange are also its owners, with all the voting rights conferred by ownership.

He said rather than the undue concentration on demutualisation of NSE, SEC should concern itself with developing competitive market place by encouraging development of alternative stock exchanges

and products that could deepen the market.

“We have one monopoly Exchange. Do we have plans to register additional Exchanges that can enhance competition? Why can’t we concentrate on setting up additional Exchanges that can compete with one another? What we hear at the moment is that we want to create a “world class market based on international best practices.” What is the basis of the measurement? Is this not the case of the pregnant •Continued on page 48

Forecasts H1 June 2012 NIGER INSURANCE Gross Premium N2.73b Profit after tax N212.95m MUTUAL BENEFITS Gross Premium N2b Profit N885.633m REGENCY ALLIANCE Gross Premium N812.596m Profit after tax N256.437m LEARN AFRICA Turnover N1.06b Profit after tax N58.336m TOTAL Nigeria Turnover N46.676 b Profit after tax N942.1m MRS OIL Nigeria

Turnover N51.20b Profit after tax N712 m ETERNA Turnover N27.64b Profit after tax N563.834m OKOMU OIL PALM Turnover N2.667b Profit after tax N1.044b STANBIC IBTC BANK Net Operating Income N16.805b Profit after tax N2.737b ASL Turnover N1.084b Profit after tax N101.355m GT ASSURANCE Gross Premium N3.892b

Profit after tax N710.62m CORNERSTONE INS Gross Premium N1.223b Profit after tax N80.01m OASIS INS Gross Premium N562.500m Profit after tax N79.868m AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS Gross Premium N1.215b Profit after tax N107.213m BERGER PAINTS Turnover N976.303m Profit after tax N88.258m SCOA Nigeria Turnover N835.0m Profit after tax N18.200m

DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY Turnover N38.251b Profit after tax N3.49b STUDIO PRESS NIG Turnover N3.375b Profit after tax N20.422m JULIUS BERGER NIG Turnover N80.125b Profit after tax N2.55b INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS Gross Premium N1.41b Profit after tax N250.450m EQUITY ASSURANCE Gross Premium N2.45b Profit after tax N287.283m

STANDARD ALLIANCE INS Gross Premium N2.142b Profit after tax N475.964m CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE Gross Premium N6.917b Profit after tax N805m PRESCO Turnover N2.60b Profit after tax N800.9m RT BRISCOE Turnover N4.553b Profit after tax N38.437m FIDSON HEALTHCARE Turnover N1.770b Profit after tax N132.754m

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

48

THE NATION INVESTORS

Banks to source capital to boost capacity M

ANY Nigerian banks are considering raising new funds to boost their lending capacity, although the average capital adequacy ratio in the banking industry remains substantially high.

Investment banking sources said many banks were considering raising new capital mostly through debt and quasi-equity instruments, given the slowdown at the equity market.

Already, one of the intending banks has nearly concluded a tier two capital deal that would see injection of some N32 billion into the bank. Sources in the know of the deal said they expected the bank to wrap up the transaction within the second

Stories by Taofik Salako

quarter.

Another bank that had recently suspended its proposed equity issue due to the recession at the equity market was said to be considering issuing debt instruments to raise funds for Nigerian and other African investments.

Sources said banks were being proactive to ensure adequate long-term capital plan for their expansion plans.

Recent analysts report indicate that Nigerian banks are generally adequately capitalised with several banks deemed overcapitali sed based on the level of their current capital.

According to analysts, most of

the banks are adequately capitalised to absorb losses without requiring emergency capital injections in case of any further write-offs.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) requires banks to maintain a minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 10 per cent. Besides, at least 50 per cent of a bank’s capital must comprise paid-up capital and reserves, otherwise known as core or tier 1 capital.

Recent analysts’ report indicated that most Nigerian banks kept a base of 15 per cent to provide some capital buffer.

Latest audited reports of banks showed that most banks have capital adequacy above the minimum requirement of 10 percent.

‘Insecurity, poor infrastructure slow foreign investments’

I

NSECURITY due to political, civil and ethnic unrests and poor infrastructural facilities have increased the risks associated with investments in the economy.

It has also detracted the competitiveness of the economy for foreign investments.

Speaking at the 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) in Lagos, president of CIPM, Mr Abiola Popoola, said heightened insecurity that resulted from spate of bombings and killings has further compounded the adverse effect of decaying national infrastructure. Besides, he said it has reduced the attractiveness of the country for foreign in-

vestments.

He said the violence exacerbated by the unprecedented destructive activities by the North-based Boko Haram group has affected internal growth agenda and inflow of foreign investments.

According to him, the heightened insecurity coupled with decaying infrastructural facilities increased the level of risk for current and potential foreign investors leading to significant decrease in level of inflow of foreign investments.

He said the CIPM would continue to advance the course of national economic development through quality manpower management.

Popoola, who was reappointed

at the AGM unopposed, said CIPM would soon introduce human resources practitioners’ licence in furtherance of its statutory powers to regulate and develop human resources practice in Nigeria.

“This license, which will have a fixed validity period, will go a long way in ensuring that practicing professionals are put in positions of responsibility for people management,” Popoola said.

He added that the new license would promote the acquisition and application of knowledge and

skills by practitioners since they must prove the adequacy of their knowledge and competence to renew their licence at the expiration of its validity period.

Popoola said CIPM has been positioned to better contribute to the self actualisation of its members and development of the economy.

He noted that CIPM had inaugurated an electronic library to widen the horizon and knowledge while it successfully conducted its maiden career and entrepreneur fair that exposed participants to

modern trends in job requirements and business management.

Popoola reiterated his commitment to the development of the institute promising to work with all stakeholders to further improve achievements in the new business year.

“I am confident that with all hands on deck, we shall take quantum leaps towards early realisation of our vision of being the foremost people management institute in Africa respected across the world,” Popoola said.

Stanbic IBTC assures on improved performance

C

HIEF Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mrs. Sola David-Borha has assured that the bank has been strategically positioned to achieve higher growth in the years ahead despite the tough operating environment.

Against the background of the bank’s performance in 2011, DavidBorha said the bank performance in the immediate past year was in line with its strategy of building a franchise which can generate sustainable risk adjusted returns to its shareholders.

According to her, continued investment in building a cost efficient and customer friendly branch network combined with innovative and attractive bouquet of banking products and growing base of stronger customer relationships yielded very pleasing loan and deposit growth in 2011 despite the testing operating environment.

David-Borha said the bank remains on track to achieve its long term strategic growth and profitability by continuing to mitigate exposure to unforeseen shocks and prioritising asset quality through diligent and systematic approach to risk management.

“The loan book grew by 42 per cent, well ahead of the overall market growth rates, and our deposit book by a significant 57 per cent.

These results demonstrate that our strategy is bearing fruit and positions us towards realising our objective of being the leading endto-end financial solutions provider in Nigeria,” David-Borha said.

She added that the bank’s aggressive branch expansion project remains on course as the overall objective is to avail a growing number of Nigerians access to Stanbic IBTC Bank’s rich bouquet of services and products.

According to her, with the bank

already present in all the 36 states of the country, including the FCT, the bank made significant investment in expanding its footprint last year, growing the branch network by 21 per cent from 141 in 2010 to 171 branches in 2011.

She noted that as a result of investment in branch expansion and the continued focus on excellent customer service, the number of customers, volume, and value of transactions on the bank’s ATMs grew by 16 per cent, 26 per cent and 91 per cent respectively.

She pointed out that the bank has continued to maintain its traditional signature capital strength and healthy liquidity position throughout the year.

She added that access to an extensive depth of experience from within the bank and the Standard Bank Group has put Stanbic IBTC Bank in an enviable position to generate growing value for shareholders in 2012.

She assured that all other fundamentals of the bank are being strengthened for enhanced performance and efficiency in the years ahead.

Audited report and accounts of Stanbic IBTC Bank for the year ended December 31, 2011 showed a profit before tax of N11.2 billion in 2011 as against N13.5 billion recorded in 2010. Profit after tax dropped from N9.5 billion in 2010 to N7.4 billion in 2011. However, gross earnings rose by 19 per cent to N67.4 billion in 2011 compared with N56.7 billion recorded in 2010.

Total assets grew by 44 per cent to N554.2 billion in 2011 as against N384.5 billion in 2010. Total operating income increased by 17 per cent to N56.5 billion compared with N48.4 billion in previous year.

Gross loans and advances to customers went up 42 per cent to N266.6 billion compared with N187.1 billion in 2010.

•Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sara Reng Ochekpe and ACE Event Management’s Managing Director, Mrs Tracey Nolan-Shaw at meeting in Abuja.

Demutualisation: Stakeholders decry SEC’s not to jump into the arena. It is not interference a member of the Exchange and sheep whose time to give birth is

•Continued from page 47

not due deciding to give birth to a premature “baby” because others whose time are due have given birth? The premature baby will certainly die,” Unegbu said.

According to him, the crux of the issue is that the process of demutualisation should be initiated and concluded by members of the exchange and the role of the regulator will be to set the rules rather than pushing for the process.

He pointed out stock exchanges were seen as the barometer and the heartbeat of the economy because of their important role in the financial sector noting that the possibility that for-profit exchanges may

fail and create serious problems if listed companies suddenly find it difficult to raise capital and investors face reduced liquidity for their holdings.

“We have one major stock exchange (the NSE); we think the regulator should concern itself with measures that will control the problems that usually face corporate bodies driving for profit. The regulator should ensure that a demutualised Exchange should maintain certain financial ratio, proper corporate governance structure and transparent operations. It is in fact theoretical and practically sound for the regulator

should not through proxy own or be seen to teleguide the operations of the Exchange,” Unegbu said.

A former president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Unegbu said rather than SEC pursuing the demutualisation of the NSE, the apex capital market regulators should encourage investors to set up other exchanges so that risks of failure of a major demutualised exchange can be mitigated.

He cautioned that the process of demutualisation of Exchanges is a recent event and it is too soon to access the success of the Exchanges that have demutualised in the developed economies.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 3-4-12

Shareholders applaud Zenith Bank •NSE lists N20b Ekiti bond

S

HAREHOLDERS yesterday commended the board and management of Zenith Bank. They also approved the distribution of N30 billion as cash dividends for the 2011 business year.

The shareholders, who spoke at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank in Lagos yesterday said the performance of Zenith Bank in 2011 and the dividend recommendation were reflective of the quality of its management and board of directors.

Audited report and accounts of Zenith Bank for the year ended December 31, 2011 showed that group gross earnings rose by 27 per cent from N192.49 billion to N244.07 billion. Profit before tax also grew by 21 per cent to N60.7 billion as against N50.02 billion recorded in 2010. Profit after tax stood at N44.2 billion compared with N37.41 billion in previous year.

The bank also recorded strong growth in balance sheet as total assets rose by 22 per cent from N1.9 trillion to N2.31 trillion. Total deposits increased by 25 per cent from N1.32 trillion to N1.65 trillion. Shareholders’ funds also improved from N363.6 billion to N380.34 billion. The gross dividend of N29.83 billion represents a dividend per share of 95 kobo.

President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr Faruk Umar, said the emergence of Zenith Bank as the most profitable bank

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

was commendable.

In his remarks, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu urged the bank to maintain its growth model and shun any acquisition that could disrupt its steady progression over the years.

In his address to the shareholders, chairman, Zenith Bank, Sir Steve Omojafor, said the performance of the bank in spite of the difficult operating environment attested to the durability and resilience of its brand.

According to him, the report is an eloquent testimony to the sound financial health of the bank and the commitment of the bank to delivering superior returns to its shareholders.

Speaking in the same vein, group managing director, Zenith Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele said customers’ satisfaction remains the core focus of the bank and it would continue to help customers unlock the real values of their businesses.

Meanwhile, the N20 billion Ekiti State Fixed Rate Infrastructural Development Bond 2018 was yesterday admitted to the official list of the NSE just as the state government promised to fully deliver all the projects related to the bond issue within 24 months.

Speaking at the closing bell ceremony to mark the listing of the bond at the NSE yester-

day, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said the state decided to source funds from the capital market to fund its rapid transformation agenda.

He noted that the revenue accruable to the state through internally generated revenue and federal allocation would not be sufficiently adequate to cope with the high level social economic development of the government encapsulated under its eight-point development agenda.

According to him, infrastructural development is a major component of the development agenda and requires substantial funds outside the routine revenue accruable to the state.

Fayemi recalled that Ekiti State had earlier under the Adebayo Adeniyi’s government accessed N4 billion from the capital market, which it used judiciously to develop landmark projects and several core assets of the state including the Ekiti House in Abuja, the Oju Olobun apartments in Lagos, governor’s office and many good roads.

He assured that the net proceeds of the N20 billion bond would be used to finance carefully selected projects that could boost the economic base of the state.

He said the projects earmarked for the bond would be completed within 24 months, pointing out that the government has already awarded several of the projects as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

He promised to render quarterly progress report on the projects to SEC, noting that Ekiti operates an open and transparent system.

Fayemi outlined that a total of 11 road projects have been awarded and shall be funded to completion from the bond proceeds.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 3-4-12

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

55

MONEY LINK

Microfinance Fund to address sector hitches

T

HE establishment of Microfinance Development Fund (MDF) will address imperfections confronting the sub-sector, the Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) ,Umaru Ibrahim, has said.

Ibrahim, told The Nation that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) plan to deepen the financial market has made the establishment of MDF imperative.

The CBN said it was working to deepen the financial markets through the introduction of new products and appropriate control structures.

When established, the MDF would assist in addressing teething

By Collins Nweze

challenge of underfunding for microfinance institutions in the country. It would further complement past and current efforts aimed at strengthening the microfinance subsector of the financial system, improve financial inclusion and by implication, improve the nation’s Gross Domestic Product’s (GDP) rate significantly.

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in a statement tagged: ‘The Nigerian Financial System: Regulatory Trends, Opportunities and Challenges’, said efforts were also being made by the to consolidate on the achievements recorded so far by the

country in the development of micro finance banks by strengthening the regulatory frameworks and other guidelines. This also includes formation of National Microfinance development Strategy with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the recent signing of a major agreement with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

To strengthen the microfinance subs-sector, the CBN has also instituted new guidelines for their operations. Under the new rule, microfinance banks would operate under three categories, which include Unit, State and National Microfinance banks.

A unit of the bank is authorised to operate in one location without branches/cash centres and is required to have a minimum paid up capital of N20 million. The state microfinance bank is expected to have a minimum paid up capital of N100 million. It is equally allowed to open branches within the same state or the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

But the national microfinance bank is authorised to operate in

MTN partners Stanbic on mobile money

T

ELECOMMUNICATIONS services provider, MTN, and Stanbic IBTC Bank, have signed an agreement on the provision of mobile money services to Nigerians. In a statement, Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of the two organisations said the partnership represented a major step in Nigeria’s e-payment segment and would facilitate the provision of secure, convenient and user-friendly mobile money services to millions of people across the country.

According to the CEO of MTN, Mr Brett Goschen, MTN’s partnership

‘Africa equity investment hits $25b’

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HE private equity market in Africa is now worth $25 billion, Chief Executive Officer, African Venture Capital Association, Mrs Michelle Essome has said.

Speaking ahead of the African Venture Capital Association ninth Annual Conference holding in Ghana, Essome, said foreign funding expected after the forum will boost economies and businesses in Africa.

The conference tagged: Africa: The Rising Giant,’ will hold between April 22 and 24 in Accra, Ghana.

She said huge flow of international funds is expected as big American and European fund managers are billed to attend the forum in search of opportunities to invest in African companies, she said these will be instrumental in kick starting change and encouraging economic growth at the national levels.

She stressed that private equity mobilisation is critical in fostering

By Collins Nweze and Daniel Essiet

development through investments in new and existing businesses. This, she explained, has potential benefits for the continent’s economies.

She said the continent needs an improved economic environment such that the level of foreign in-

vestment will increase in the foreseeable future.

Chief Executive Officer, Africa Capital Alliance, Okey Enelamah, said Africa is the current investment frontier for the world, adding that the continent cannot be ignored. He said there is need to create attractive investment climate for the continent for capital to be attracted.

FirstBank named ‘Best Retail Bank in Nigeria’

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IRSTBANK of Nigeria has won the Best Retail Bank in Nigeria Award” at the just concluded Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards in Singapore.

In a statement, the bank said it won the award as a result of its firm commitment to innovative development of retail banking products and processes in Nigeria.

Organised annually by the Asian Banker magazine, the award is re-

nowned for its rigorous and transparent process in selecting outstanding financial institutions in retail banking.

According to Chris Kapfer, Director of Research of the Asian Banker, the awards represent the benchmark for measuring the performance of banks in retail banking across Asia Pacific, Central Asia, The Gulf Region and Africa. Along with FirstBank in Africa, Kenya Commercial Bank,

Absa Bank of South Africa and National Bank of Egypt were nominated and won in their various categories.

FirstBank’s spokesperson, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney said the award is an indication of the effectiveness of the bank’s various transformation programmes, which are aimed at raising the bar in terms of developing and delivering unique retail financial products to all levels of customers.

FGN BONDS Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

NIDF NESF

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 150m 150m 138m 138m

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

OBB Rate Call Rate

7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 3-4-12 SYMBOL

O/PRICE

OKOMUOIL ZENITHBANK ACCESS PORTPAINT GTASSURE NESTLE UPL AGLEVENT STERLNBANK GUARANTY

29.41 12.40 5.61 3.79 1.27 400.10 3.28 1.32 1.14 13.80

113m EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

INTERBANK RATES

C/PRICE

CHANGE

30.88 13.00 5.88 3.97 1.33 418.50 3.43 1.38 1.19 14.39

`1.47 0.60 0.27 0.18 0.06 18.40 0.15 0.06 0.05 0.59

Year Start Offer

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

Current Before

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

153.0000

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Dec ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 12.6%

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

21.00 12.01 10.68 1.01 8.50 0.81 4.28 2.30 0.64 2.14

C/PRICE

19.95 11.41 10.15 0.96 8.08 0.77 4.07 2.19 0.61 2.04

CHANGE

1.05 0.60 0.53 0.05 0.42 0.04 0.21 0.11 0.03 0.10

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

113m

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.8 155.8

Date 29-2-12 27-2-12

113m

155.7

22-2-12

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

LOSERS AS AT 3-4-12

OANDO CADBURY PRESCO CONTINSURE BERGER PAINTCOM NASCON MAYBAKER JAPAULOIL BAGCO

By Adline Atili

with Stanbic IBTC Bank was in accordance with the Telco’s promise to empower its customers by providing them with improved services and more innovative applications. “Deployment of the mobile money service in Nigeria is gradually changing the process of managing financial transactions in the country. We are proud to partner with Stanbic IBTC Bank on facilitating this positive change,” he said.

He added that mobile money, while bringing banking services to the unbanked, also opens up a wide range of benefits and value-added services to the banked sector, including corporate, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual customers.

CEO of Stanbic IBTC, Mrs Sola David-Borha, said the partnership would avail the bank of MTN’s nationwide platform to provide mobile payment services and in the process, break down the traditional barriers hindering financial inclusion of millions of Nigerians. This, she said, would bring low cost, secure and convenient financial services to urban, semi-urban and rural communities across the country.

DATA BANK

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

more than one state, including the FCT. It is required to have a minimum paid up capital of N2 billion and is allowed to open branches in all states of the federation and the FCT, although subject to prior written approval by the CBN. This, the CBN said, will strengthen the balance sheet of microfinance banks and create better opportunity for them to key into new businesses under better risk management procedures.

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE 9.17 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE 1,177.37 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 99.76 THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.75 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.08 BGL NUBIAN FUND 0.89 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,666.70 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 8.13 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 7,283.10 THE DISCOVERY FUND 193.00 FIDELITY NIGFUND 1.67 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

9.08 1.00 1,160.06 99.49 0.72 1.08 0.88 1,663.73 7.74 1.33 1.80 7,090.03 191.08 1.62

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank P/Court

Previous 04 July, 2011

Current 07, Aug, 2011

8.5000 8.0833

8.5000 8.0833

Movement

56

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

NEWS

Sambo, Mark, Tambuwal, Ribadu, others hail Tinubu

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OR Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, there is no retreat, no surrender in his push for democratic ideals .

The former Lagos State governor rededicated the rest of his life to defending Nigerians against injustices and the abuse of the democratic process.

Tinubu said he was “just getting started” at 60.

He spoke Monday night while responding to encomiums showered on him at the 60th birthday dinner held in his honour at the ThisDay Dome in Abuja by Senators and House of Representatives members under the aegis of “Friends of Asiwaju.”

Tinubu’s hosts, including Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and former antigraft czar and ACN presidential candidate Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, extolled the democratic credentials and humane disposition of the ACN leader.

“I am strongly determined to continue the crusade that justice, fairness, democracy and freedom and liberty will reign in our country and we will unlock the prosperity of this country for greatness of our children and generations yet unborn. We owe it a duty to them; we owe it a duty to our nation, economic prosperity, stability, happiness, freedom and liberty,” Tinubu said of the tributes.

Sambo said Tinubu deserved to be celebrated on his 60th birthday.

In his goodwill message read by his Political Adviser Abba Dabo, the Vice President said: “The first is his enormous and sacrificial contributions to the struggle to free Nigeria from decades of military rule. If he had not become the governor of Lagos State, history would still have recorded him as one of the heroes of the democratic struggle in Nigeria.

“We must also appreciate Asiwaju’s role in growing democracy by conscientiously and methodically building the Action Congress of Nigeria.

Although I belong to the other side of the political divide, the great PDP that is a colossus and has been trouncing all other parties, I cannot but acknowledge that the ACN has become one of the most formidable actors in Nigeria’s democratic theatre. It offers Nigerians a credible alternative and helps to keep authoritarianism at bay.

“Our celebrator of today has done so much for the democracy and freedom which we all enjoy and sometimes, take for granted. We owe a lot to him and I dare say that the vibrancy, growth and sustainability of our democracy will continue to depend on the tenacity, dedication, and political sagacity of patriotic leaders, like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”

Mark, represented by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, lauded the doggedness of Tinubu in his pursuit of truth and justice. He congratulated the ACN Leader for his attainment of such high political altitude and for “donating” his wife, Senator Oluremi, to the National Assembly to continue the good work.

He said: “To me I think he is an enigma, somebody who could actually provide a platform for his people to exercise their right within Nigeria.

Beyond that, he is also somebody who could help the deepening of democracy in Nigeria by providing an alternative platform for Nigeria. “ In his goodwill speech read by Deputy Minority Leader Abdulraman Kawu, Speaker Tambuwal said: “The Asiwaju exemplifies the Chinese saying that a diamond can neither be polished without friction, nor perfected without trials. For 20 years since he first represented Lagos West Senatorial District in 1992 under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), he has been in the forefront of every major political change in Nigeria.

“Love him or not, there is no doubt

•Asiwaju Tinubu(left) with Hon. Masari

•Mallam Ribadu (left) and Opadokun

•Senators Ibrahim (left) and Boroffice

•Lamel(left) with Alli

•Senators Ashafa (left) Uzodinma, Odunsi and Obadara

•Hon. Faleke and his wife Bukunola

•Mr Segun Erewa and his wife Abike From: Victor Oluwasegun, Sanni Onogu and Dele Anofi, Abuja

that he has become a remarkable leader, a fearsome opponent and a legendary tactician.

“His record in Lagos State, his combative politics, which enabled the Action Congress of Nigeria to sweep the Southwest in the last elections, and his charismatic leadership, has made the Asiwaju the undisputed leader of the Yoruba race and a Nigerian icon.”

Ribadu gave an emotional rendition that bordered on the personality of Tinubu, intermittently addressing the celebrantor directly.

He said: “You are such a man, who have touched my life in a most profound way. You are a true friend. You

•Senator Nnamani

•Mahmud (left) with Gwarzo

•Senators Solomon (left) Akume, Odunsi and Mantu

PHOTOS: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•Mr. Edun (left), Okoya-Thomas and Mr. Dele Belgore

are a leader. You have shown that you are a true Nigerian. Today, as I stand here, I am the manifestation of what I am saying of Asiwaju. I hope people will get what I am saying.”

Senator Gbenga Ashafa, the chairman of the eight-member coordinating committee for Friends of Asiwaju, described Tinubu as “a man born at the time he is mostly needed. A man whose aura and scent of existence, are not only building structures for posterity, but redesigning legendary strongholds and platforms upon which the Nigeria of our dream shall stand in the nearest future, God willing.”

At the occasion were former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mike Okiro, former Deputy Senate

President Ibrahim Mantu, Senate Minority Leader George Akume, Emir of Borgu, Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, Mr. Olawale Edun, Minority Leader in House or Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Senators Adegbenga Kaka, Esther Nenadi Usman, Sola Adeyeye, Ajayi Boroffice, Aisha Alhasan, Garba Lado, Ganiyu Solomon, Femi Ojudu, Magnus Abe, Chris Ngige, Jide Omoworare, Joshua Dariye, and Gbenga Obadara.

Also there were: Lagos Deputy Governor Mrs. Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, former Speaker Aminu Bello Masari, Tambuwal represented by Kawu, House of Representatives members Ayo Omidiran, Abike Dabiri Erewa, Oyetunde Ojo, Razak Bello-Osagie, Bimbo Daramola,

•Akwa Ibom Deputy Governor Nsima Ekere

Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, Opeyemi Bamidele, Mike Ogunnusi, Ifedayo Abegunde, Abiodun Faleke and Jumoke Okoya-Thomas They included: Chief Audu Ogbe, the chairman of Southsouth Senators Forum, James Manager, Secretary of Southeast Senators Forum, Hope Uzodima, Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his Oyo State counterpart Abiola Ajimobi, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, forrmer spokesman to late President Yar’Adua, Segun Adeniyi, Demola Seriki, Chief Mrs Oprah Benson, governorship candidate of ACN Benue, Prof Steve Ugbah, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Abu Ibrahim, ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Ayo Opadokun and Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

57

NEWS

PDP’s witnesses contradict selves at tribunal T HE drama at the Kogi State Governorship Election Tribunal continued yesterday as witnesses of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contradicted themselves.

The first witness, a PDP ward supervisor during the election, Lawani Osebi Fidelis, said voting was peaceful in his ward, adding that there was no rigging.

He claimed to have voted at polling unit 002.

But, during cross-examination by counsel to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Fidelis’ name and photograph were found in the voters’ register for polling unit 005.

Confronted with this information, the witness admitted that the register showed that he was not accredited to vote that day.

He said he monitored collation of results in the ward from morning till the end, whereas collation of results started late in the day.

S

By Joseph Jibueze

This contradiction drew laughter from the audience.

ACN and its candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, are challenging the election of PDP’s Captain Idris Wada as governor in the last December 3 election.

The second PDP witness, Ahmed Yahaya Baba, admitted that there were discrepancies in the figures recorded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the result sheet for his polling unit.

While the total number of valid votes recorded on the result form for his unit was 159 and the total number of voters on queue was also 159, INEC recorded 42 ballots as rejected votes.

When added to the total valid votes, they came to 201 votes, which were in excess of the 159 voters said to be on queue during voting.

INEC’s counsel Mr. Yusuf Alli (SAN) drew the attention of the judges to the fact that the voters’ register with which the first witness was cross-examined was not the register for his unit.

This drew the ire of Chief Charles Edosomwan (SAN) and Ozekhome, who insisted that Alli should not prejudice the mind of the tribunal as the witness was shown to have registered in the unit where his picture appeared in the register.

The tribunal Chairman, Justice Suleiman Ambursa, intervened and restored calm.

The third witness, Aro James Korede, said the 12 polling units in his ward were distances away, adding that he monitored collation from morning till the end.

This suggested that he was never present at any of the polling units in his ward where he claimed to have monitored the election.

Pensioners die in crash

IX executive members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) yesterday died in an accident on the Okene-Lokoja Road in Kogi State.

The accident, according to an eyewitness account, occurred about 11 am when a truck with no registration

number heading for Obajana, left its lane and rammed into a TYT Sienna bus with registration number AH 710KNE coming from the opposite direction.

The source said the six occupants died on the spot.

They were reportedly coming from Okene and heading

for Lokoja to attend a meeting.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kogi State Command, took the bodies to the Specialist Hospital in Lokoja.

The Kogi State Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr. Mikel Olapade, confirmed the accident.

Civil Defence parades suspected ritualist HE Kwara State Comued our investigation. It was in Ilorin mand of the Nigeria on Monday morning that we

T

Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) yesterday paraded a suspected ritualist in Ilorin, the capital.

The suspect, Ibrahim Abubakar, 35, was said to have been arrested in Omu Aran, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government.

The corps Commandant, Al-Hassan Audu Akor, said the suspect was arrested with some human parts, including that of a missing commercial motorcyclist, John Olalekan.

Akor, who said the corps acted on reports of the missing commercial motorcyclist, added that intelligence and surveillance work led to Abubakar’s arrest.

O

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

He said the suspect claimed to be an herbalist and a cattle rearer from Ilorin, but lived in Omu Aran. The victim reportedly hailed from Otun in Ekiti State.

His words: “On March 26, there was a report at our office in Omu-Aran that a commercial motorcyclist was missing. We immediately started searching for the victim. On March 28, we found his body at the back of Government Day Secondary School, Omu Aran.

“Some parts have been removed. The head and the right hand have been cut off.

The body was later taken to the mortuary and we contin-

received information that a suspected ritualist has been found. We went to his home and accused him of selling Indian hemp. He denied. Our men then searched his home and discovered human parts cut into pieces and roasted.”

The NSCDC boss said other items recovered were two locally-made rifles and charms.

He added that the suspect claimed the parts were those of a monkey brought to him by a friend.

Akor said an examination conducted at the Omu Aran General Hospital revealed that they were human parts.

He said the suspect has been handed over to the police, adding that more arrests have been made.

Oyo: Ajimobi doesn’t have 1,000 aides

YO State Government yesterday debunked the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it employed 1,000 aides for Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

The government said the allegation was a reflection of the absurd desperation of the party to mislead the people of the state.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo, the government said Ajimobi is among the most frugal governors in the history of the state. It added that the governor would rather conserve than fritter the state’s wealth on frivolities.

The government noted that PDP’s assumption that council chairmen’s aides were the governor’s showed

By Olamilekan Andu

that the party was led by ignorant people.

“It is too elementary to know that the state government is different from the local government. It is a shame that at the level of its leadership in the Southwest, PDP does not understand this elementary difference,” it said.

The government wondered if the PDP had not recovered from the trauma of its grand ouster from the

I

Government Houses in the Southwest to the extent that it was confusing Oyo State with the PDP-controlled states in parts of the country where state governments employed thousands as governor’s aides.

The statement reads: “When this government took over, one of the vestiges of decadence it inherited was the high number of aides of the former governor. The governor (Ajimobi) promised never to repeat the same blunder.”

Ekiti group meets Saturday

NDIGENES of Usi-Ekiti in Ekiti State will meet on Saturday at the town hall.

The Publicity/Social Secretary of Egbe Omo Usi, Mr. Tokie Bimbo Adebayo, urged indigenes to attend the triennial meeting, which will start at 10am.

According to him, officers that would run the affairs of the group in the next three years would be elected at the meeting.

58

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

NEWS

Rainstorm destroys 50 houses in Oyo

A

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

HEAVY rainstorm has destroyed over 50 homes in Aseeke-Oroki, Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo State. It blew off roof tops, rendering hundreds of residents homeless.

When The Nation visited the area yesterday, the residents were seen packing their belongings out of the destroyed buildings.

The rainstorm reportedly lasted about 30 minutes on Monday night.

The value of the destroyed property was put at millions of naira.

The property include household materials, over 30 electric poles, high tension electricity cables and a transformer.

The road to the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education was blocked to traffic by fallen high tension cables and electric poles.

Workers of the college found it difficult to their offices.

Most of them took alternative routes.

Two of the affected residents, Adekunle Adedeji and Mustapha Bashir urged the state and local governments to assist them. They said they could not cope with damage.

The rainstorm also destroyed about 10 other houses and a newly constructed eight–bedroom bungalow, in Saabo.

Residents of Oroki have urged the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to remove the fallen high tension cables and electric poles to avoid electrocution.

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Yoruba groups back Sovereign National Conference

HE leader of a self-determination group, “Atayese”, Mr. Tokunbo Ajasin, yesterday called for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference in Yorubaland as a prelude to the proposed Conference of Ethnic Nationalities in the country.

He said six other Yoruba self-determination groups, including the Coalition of Self-Determination Groups (COSEG), Apapo Oodua Group, and Agbajo Yoruba Group led by Gen Alani Ak-

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

inrinade (rtd) are ready for the Yoruba conference, urging Southwest governors to use the state electoral agencies to hold a referendum to determine its outcome.

Ajasin, who addressed reporters in Lagos, said: “We need a Sovereign National Conference in Yoruba before the Conference of Ethnic Na-

tionalities. Our focus is the restructuring of the polity.

We advise that ethnic groups should hold mini-conferences and referenda that would give them the power of autonomy, using the state electoral agencies”.

He added: “Nothing is sacrosanct about Nigeria. It is a man-made thing. Only God’s action is final. Nigeria is kept together by the force of arms.

It is not a voluntary union.

We have sent our proposals to all the members of the state and National Assemblies from the Southwest on true federalism we stand”.

Ajasin maintained that trends in advanced countries have shown that federations with flawed and faulty foundation harbour the potentials of collapse, unless component units sit down to agree on the basis for peaceful co-existence.

Atuche’s trial: Court admits more LAGOS High Court, exhibits Ikeja, yesterday ad-

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mitted three new documents from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to be added to the exhibits in the ongoing trial of the former Managing Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Francis Atuche.

The court has thus admitted 200 exhibits since the trial began.

The new documents admit-

PUBLIC NOTICE AKIN-AGUDA I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mary Oluwaseun Akin-Aguda now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mary Oluwaseun Oyeniyi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

AROWOSERE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Arowosere Oluyemisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Niyi-Faleye Oluyemisi. All former documents remain valid. GTBank Plc and general public should take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

OLAORE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olaore Adeniyi Olapeju (Nee Awe), now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Awe Olapeju Adeniyi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

By Adebis Onanuga and Precious Igbonwelundu

ted include a certified true copy (CTC) of a letter of incorporation of a company, Petrosam Oil and Gas; an internal memo of the defunct Bank PHB dated February 15, 2007, entitled: Approval limit for credit availment; and a letter from the dank, dated October 28, 2009. The letter showed that there were no records for the opening of some accounts for certain companies.

Jonathan reappoints JAMB Registrar

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has approved the re-appointment of Prof. Dibu Ojerinde as Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for five-year tenure.

The approval routed through the Education Minister Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’I was contained in a statement issued by the minister’s media aide, Mr. Aliyu Othman.

The statement said the President’s approval was conveyed to the JAMB Registrar by the minister.

•Fom left: Representative of the President of the Association of Table Water Producers in Nigeria (ATWAP), Mr James Okonkwo; Representative of the Director-General of the National Food and Drugs Administration Commission (NAFDAC), Mr. Udoekpo Ekpo; NAFDAC Deputy Director, Regulatory Affairs, Mrs. Jane Omojokun and Managing Director, Impact Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Mr. Jasper Onyeka at a workshop for packaged water producers in Enugu...yesterday.

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Abia House passes N129.9b budget

HE Abia State House of Assembly has passed the 2012 Appropriation Bill into Law and will soon present it to Governor Theodore Orji for his assent.

The House increased the budget by N7 billion from N122,390,433,920 to N129,959,325,170.

According to the House, the 2012 budget, christened Budget of Transformation, will stimulate economic growth and grassroots development, facilitate industrialisation in Aba through private public

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From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

partnership and create an enabling environment for investments in the oil and gas sector.

The approved budget has a recurrent expenditure of N58,838,997,070 and capital expenditure of N71,120,328,100.

Projects captured in the budget include the building of a new Government House, roads, International Conference Centre, new secretariat for civil servants and water schemes.

The House ordered the suspended commissioners and 17 Local Government Transition Chairmen to appear before it for "re-screening and re-affirmation".

The suspended commissioners are Okechukwu Ogah (Health), Emma Nwabuko (Local Government/Chieftaincy Affairs), Kingsley Mgbeahuru (Works), Solomon Adaelu (Poverty Alleviation), Ike Onyenweaku (Agriculture), Don Ubani (Information), Akujobi Nkoro (Petroleum) and Mrs. Joy

Alozie (Women Affairs).

Others are Charles Ogbonnaya (Deputy Chief of Staff], Ukpai Agwu Ukpai (Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties) and retired Captain Agwu Udensi (Security Adviser).

The transition council chairmen are Frank Ibe (Umuahia North), Ikeokwu Nwankwo (Ukwa West), Mrs. Nnenna Obewu Onwuka (Ohafia), Onyekachi Nwaulu (Obingwa), Dr. Nath Iheanacho (Umuahia South) and Ikerionwu Okarime (Bende).

Okogie begs for time to comply with court order

ATHOLIC Archbishop of Lagos Archdiocese, Cardinal Anthony Okogie, yesterday urged a Lagos State High Court on Lagos Island to give him more time to comply with its judgment ordering him to relinquish the estate of a dead person.

The court had asked him

Continued from page 4

One month after he stepped out of office, Obasanjo was installed BOT chairman on June 28. His predecesor and former ally, Chief Anthony Anenih who was pushed out by the amendment was displeased and wrote to the Southsouth governors in a tone that betrayed his emotion.

An indication that Obasanjo’s influence on the party and the men he had installed had begun to wane came to the fore as his bid to instal Dr. Sam Egwu, a former governor of Ebonyi State as national chairman of the party in 2008 failed. Both Egwu and

By Joseph Jibueze

and two others to hand over the estate of the late Olusola Afolabi to his widow, Claudia, and her children, within 90 days.

In a motion by his lawyer, Mrs Priscilla Kuye, the cleric sought for extension of time

to prepare and file a statement of account of stewardship of the estate from June 12, 1987 to March 2009.

Okogie said his request was due to the inability of the banks to provide detailed information on the estate as requested.

The claimants - Olufunmilayo Florence Afolabi, Olu-

toyin Catherine Afolabi and Olubunmi Elizabeth Afolabi suing as beneficiaries of the estate of late Afolabi, had asked the court to remove Okogie, Oluyomi Afolabi, Olasoji Peter and the Probate Registrar of the High Court of Lagos State as administrators of the estate.

What future for ex-President?

Anyim Pius Anyim, a former Senate President who had the backing of ex-Military President Ibrahim Babangida had their ambitions quashed as a dark horse in the race, Vincent Ogbulafor received the backing of the state governors who controlled the delegates.

The two frontrunners were forced to withdraw.

Then, in 2009, the Obasanjo-influenced amendment was reversed. The old provision in section 12.77 was restored. It reads: “The Board of Trustees shall elect a Chairman and a Secretary from members of the Board. The Chairman and Secretary shall also be members of the Na-

tional Executive Committee.”

The chairman and secretary are only allowed to serve a single term of five years.

Had he not resigned yesterday, Obasanjo’s term would have expired in June.

Although there had been suggestions that he should give up the post given the poor performance of the PDP in his zone in the last elections, there was no threat to his holding on till June.

Now, he is out. What role would he be playing in the politics of the Southwest? Is it an indication that he has given up on the assignment?

Is it an admission that only younger elements could take

on the Action Congress of Nigeria in the zone? Or, is the septuagenarian suggesting that age is beginning to catch up with him?

Whatever, the reason, the PDP has entered into a new phase. Obasanjo is largely formally taking his hands off the plough. It is now left for Dr. Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, newly elected party chairman Bamangar Tukur and Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola to prepare the party for 2015. Besides, in the Southwest, the baton has effectively been handed to Oyinlola and Zonal Chairman Olusegun Oni to direct affairs.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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NEWS Kidnappers demand N100m From Osagie Otabor,

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•Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi (fourth right) , Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru (third left) with members of the Senate Committee on Gas and Natural Resources when the committee visited the Governor in Port Harcourt...on Monday.

World Bank Presidency: Nigeria ‘ll have no say, says NBA president

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IGERIAN Bar Association (NBA) President Joseph Daudu (SAN) yesterday said Nigeria will have no influence on whether Finance Minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the next World Bank President.

He said only the powerful nations will decide.

Asked if Mrs OkonjoIweala has enough support at home, having been endorsed by President Goodluck Jonathan, Daudu said local support will count for little.

He spoke with The Nation after inaugurating the Badagry Branch of the NBA. It brings to 91 the number

•Lawyers open Badagry branch

By Joseph Jibueze

of the association’s branches.

Daudu said: “Mrs OkonjoIweala is a good candidate, but whether the world powers will allow her is a different thing.

“Nigeria has no say in what happens.

“It is the people outside that have a say. So, it depends on what the world powers decide.”

Daudu declined comment on whether it would be right for President Jonathan to run in 2015.

“I have not heard him

speak on his intention to run.

If we hear, we will consult and then know what to do.

“Right now he is the President and there’s no vacancy,” he said.

In his speech at the inauguration, Daudu spoke on the need for lawyers to realise their “professional destiny” and to eradicate the menace of fake lawyers.

He said lawyers need keep themselves abreast of new laws and legal developments in relevant spheres of their calling.

“The National Assembly constantly churns out new

legislations, conducts public hearings, stakeholders’ meetings and other oversight functions.

“The question is: how many lawyers or branches keep abreast of these developments or those of the law courts?” he asked.

Daudu said lawyers need to regularly update their knowledge and invest at least 25 per cent of their income in their firm.

The NBA President described the menace of fake lawyers as an affront to legal practice, saying one way to eradicate it is for the Supreme Court to update the roll of lawyers till this year and make it mandatory.

How Edo election’ll be fought, by PDP candidate

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•ANPP suspends Odigie-Oyegun •LP rejects consensus candidate

HE governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Maj-Gen Charles Airhiavbere, has spoken of how the July 14 election will be fought.

He, Chief Tony Anenih, Governor Adams Oshiomhole and the PDP will be in the ring.

Airhiavbere said his endorsement by traditional rulers in Edo Central was an indication of what would happen on July 14.

He spoke after PDP members in Edo South held a meeting at the residence of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia in Benin City.

According to him, “the election is among me, Anenih , Oshiomhole and

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From Osagie Otabor, Benin

PDP. “I don’t believe in ethnic politics that seems to be what the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) stands for.

“You can see the emotions involved and now the Edo South PDP leaders have endorsed me.“ The communique issued at the end of the meeting said PDP leaders have accepted the candidature of Airhiavbere.

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANNP) in the state has slammed an indefinite suspension on its former vice- presidential candidate, John Odigie-Oyegun for alleged anti-party activities.

This was contained in a

statement by the Chairman, Stephen Aimufia and five executive members of the party.

They said they were disappointed at a statement credited to Odigie-Oyegun that Oshiomhole had performed well to merit a second term.

The officials said the statements do not represent the thinking and aspiration of the party.

According to the statement, “they were the personal views of the former governor.

“We hereby reiterate that Solomon Edebiri remains the governorship candidate of the ANPP in the July 14 election.”

But Odigie- Oyegun described the action as of no

consequence.

According to him, “they have been trading with the party and they can go on.

“They have no disciplinary rights over me and I have rights to air my personal views. I wish them luck.”

But the Labour Party has rejected Edebiri as its candidate.

A coalition of seven parties, including a faction of the LP, adopted Edebiri as its consensus candidate.

LP Chairman Sam Omede said the party has not adopted any candidate.

Omede said Edebiri was adopted by a faction of the party against directives of the party’s national body that the NLC state chairman, Emma Ademokun, should reconcile warring factions.

Sylva denies corruption allegation

ORMER Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva yesterday denied the corruption allegations levelled against him in a financial report.

The report, which was submitted by a committee set up to look into the financial status of the state, accused Sylva of mismanaging state funds.

The former governor accused the committee, headed

by Timi Alaibe, of trying to witchhunting him for politi-

From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

cal reasons.

In a statement by his media aide, Doifie Ola, Sylva said: “Any normal investigation of government expenditure would try to demonstrate how the financial laws were flouted.

“The Alaibe committee did not attempt to do this.

“It simply compiled the incomes that accrued to Bayelsa State within a carefully selected period tar-

geted to smear Sylva and assumed that there were no needs met in the period.

“The report did not demonstrate any flouting of the state’s financial laws and regulations.

“If anyone has proof of such contravention, they know where to go. And where to go is not an illegal committee unknown to the laws of Bayelsa State and Nigeria.

“The allegations thrown up by the power usurpers

are too weighty to be handled by people with vested political interests in the state and whose track record and history smell of corruption.

“The report is at best biased, petty and heavily tainted. This is yet another manifestation of the constant distress in the camp of those who recently usurped power in Bayelsa State as they live in perpetual fear of Sylva and guilt of the harsh judgement of democratic humanity.”

Benin

BDUCTORS of the father of Minority Whip of the House of Representatives Pa Samson Imarhiagbe are demanding N100million.

Pa Imarhiagbe (75) was abducted bygunmen at his residence in Urhokuosa village, Edo State, on Monday.

The Minority Whip, Samson Osagie, said the kidnappers have contacted the family.

He said they were still negotiating with the kidnappers and frowned at statements credited to police spokesman Etim Bassey, who said the Command was yet to be briefed.

Osagie said the matter was reported immediately to the police.

Hospital to invoke no-work-no pay

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HE gates of the Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Uselu, Edo State, were yesterday locked as labour leaders forced workers to embark on a three-day warning strike over the appointment of Dr. Osasu Olotu as the Medical Director.

Workers were not allowed into the hospital.

But the management threatened to invoke the nowork-no-pay rule on any worker, who stayed away from duty.

It said the Joint Action Committee that called for the strike was not a recognised body.

The hospital’s spokesman, Efe Stewart, at a briefing yesterday, said some ‘dissident staff’ were hiding under labour unionism to pur-

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

sue selfish and clandestine interest.

He said the activities of the staff were illegal.

Stewart, who urged the staff to go about their normal duties, appealed to security authorities to wade into the situation to prevent it from degenerating.

The Uko N’ Ibiwe of Benin Kingdom, Edoba Isibor and the Aiwerioba of EguaeIyoba Uselu, Ighagbon Igbinoba, recanted their statements made yesterday in favour of the acting management.

They said they were misinformed about happenings in the hospital and that it was the prerogative of the Federal Government to appoint the hospital head.

Osun governor to deliver Ekiti newspaper’s lecture tomorrow

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SUN State Governor Raufu Aregbesola will, tomorrow, deliver a lecture at the maiden anniversary of a leading community newspaper in Ekiti State, Fountain Newsbreak-

er.

The lecture, entitled: Roles of Community Newspapers in Making Government Accountable to the Grassroots, will take place at the Crownbiz Hotel, on Iworoko Road, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

Fountain Newsbreaker, whose chapel executive has just been sworn in by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), will honour some distinguished personalities on the occasion.

Among those expected to receive awards are: the wives of Oyo and Ekiti State governors; Mrs Florence Ajimobi and Erelu Bisi Fayemi, for their life-touching programmes.

Others are: the Special Adviser on Direct Labour to Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Mrs Mobolaji Tunde-Suara, and the Executive Director of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Prof Solomon Oluwafunmilayo Badejo.

Group berates Jonathan’s aide over comment on Tinubu, Aregbesola

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GROUP, Action Youth Movement (AYM), yesterday decried a statement credited to the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Intergovernmental and Multilateral Relations, Dr. Pius Osunyikanmi, on some national leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The group said Osunyikanmi spoke on an Ondo State Government-owned broadcast media programme, Sunday Splash, where he allegedly described ACN aspirants as political merchants of former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Osunyikanmi, a former Ondo State Commissioner for Education, reportedly said Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola was not capable to be

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

governor and that the former Labour Party (LP) state Chairman, Dr. Olaiya Oni, left the party because of his selfish aims.

In a statement by its State Coordinator, Mr. Dada Olawale Eminence, the group said the former aide of Mimiko did not show the decorum of a thoroughbred Yoruba man.

“Asiwaju Tinubu’s and Ogbeni Aregbesola’s political achievements in restoring the Yoruba nation’s dignity made the people in the Southwest to vote for the ACN in the last elections. Their pedigrees have proved that they are working for the development of the region. It would be wrong for someone like Osunyikanmi to insult them.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012

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FOREIGN NEWS

Mali’s move to get Nigeria’s support stalled

‘Impeach Jonathan now’ •Continued from 4

•Falana urges ECOWAS to flush out coupists

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HE move by Mali’s Junta to get the support of Nigeria towards arriving at an exit strategy suffered a setback yesterday as the Nigerian government declared that it cannot do anything outside the directive of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The Capt. Amadou Aya Sanogo-led military junta had on March 22 overthrown Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré.

To find soft landing for the Junta, the leadership yesterday dispatched a delegation led by Col. Blonkoro Samake to Nigeria to seek her support and a mutually agreeable exit strategy for the Junta.

They met behind closeddoor for over five hours with Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, who received them on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The details of the meeting and the requests of the Junta were not made public.

But before the meeting commenced, the leader of delegation, Col. Blonkoro Samake said the delegation was in Nigeria to explain the situation in Mali to the Ni-

From Eric Ikhilae and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

gerian government.

He said the military junta is facing a lot of challenges from the Tuareg insurgencies, who he said are getting support from outside Mali.

Ashiru said he was directed to receive the delegation on behalf of President Jonathan, who is on vacation.

The two sides, however, failed to issue a joint communiqué.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, the ministry’s spokesman, Mr. Ogbole Amedu Ode said the Nigerian government insisted that the military junta must return power as it cannot recognise any military government in Africa.

According to him, further consultations will continue on the requests of the Juntas with ECOWAS leadership and stakeholders in Mali.

Former President, West African Bar Association (WABA, Femi Falana has also urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure a termination of the rein of the coupists.

Falana, in a statement yesterday, doubt the commitment of the coup leader, Cap-

tain Amadou Sanogo to his promise to restore the country’s Constitution when he and others have refused to relinquish their political offices.

He argued that the military government was no longer justified in seizing power when the Tuareg rebels have remained unrestrained since the coup.

“The military junta’s removal of the government, the dissolution of the democratic structures and the postponement of the general election scheduled to take place on April 29, 2012 are illegal by virtue of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and good governance.

“Accordingly, the Economic Community of West African States has suspended Mali from the regional body and imposed diplomatic and financial sanctions on it with a view to forcing the military junta to restore all democratic structures in Mali.

“However, in the face of mounting pressure locally and internationally, on the junta to relinquish power, Capt. Sanogo announced on April 2, 2012 that the 1992 Constitution of Mali and all state institutions had been

•Capt. Sanogo

restored. But since the military rulers have not resigned their political posts, the Constitution remains in abeyance.

“In the light of the foregoing, we call on the military junta to step down forthwith and restore constitutional order. Apart from isolating the military adventurers, the ECOWAS should take urgent steps to flush them out of power without any further delay.

“In justifying the illegal removal of the democratically elected government of the Republic of Mali on March 22, Capt. Sanogo did claim that the Armed Forces had decided to seize power because of the inability of President Ahmadu Toumani Toure to contain the Tuareg rebellion.

“The rebels have since captured more towns in the country and threatened the stability of the West African region,” he said.

The party said by openly and gleefully saying, at the inauguration of the church at his Otuoke hometown that “the managing director of Gitto made him a promise to build and donate the church to Otuoke community after he (the President) had complained of the aging structure of his church,” the President has demonstrated that he is either not conversant with the Constitution he swore to uphold or thinks very little of the laws of the land.

“Either way, he should be held accountable for his deeds,” the statement added.

The party said it would amount to wishful thinking to expect the country’s anti-corruption agencies to probe President Jonathan’s admission of soliciting and receiving bribe, hence the call on the National Assembly to handle the issue.

The party warned that attempts to twist the facts and make it seem as if the President did not solicit the bribe will not work, as Nigerians are too smart to be hoodwinked.

“If the President and his supporters deny that he indeed solicited the bribe - as he admitted at

the inauguration of the church – we challenge the Presidency to play on national radio and television – the unedited audio and video recording of his speech at the occasion for all Nigerians to hear and see. Experts must also be called in to verify that the tape has not been tampered with in any way,” the ACN said.

Presidential spokesman Dr. Reuben Abati’s comments could not be obtained last night. His phone rang repeatedly, unanswered. He also neither acknowledged not sent responses to SMS to his mobile phone.

But a national newspaper yesterday reported that going by ‘fresh facts’, it was the Otuoke community and not the President that requested the Italian Company to renovate the church.

According to the report, during President Jonathan’s father’s burial in 2008 – by which time he was the Vice President – the officiating ministers urged the President’s friends to come to the aid of the church by renovating its ageing facilities.

It was the appeal that the company heeded and renovated the 400-capacity church, the newspaper reported.

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www.thenationonlineng.net

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.7 NO.2085

WHO SAID WHAT ‘The report did not demonstrate any flouting of the state’s financial laws and regulations. If anyone has proof of such contravention, they know where to go. And where to go is not an illegal committee unknown to the laws of bayelsa State and Nigeria’ TIMIPRE SYLVA

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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ROFESSOR Paul Krugman, Economics Nobel Laureate and columnist at The New York Times, is the most unlikely person to lecture journalists on how to go about practicing their trade. All his life he’s been an academic until 1998 when he was offered a monthly column by Fortune, the American business magazine, and by Slate, an online American magazine. This made him a “parttime journalist,” to use his own self-description.

Apparently his writings impressed The New York Times; in 2000 it offered him a twiceweekly column. In no time this earned him the highest praise from some of the most literate and influential magazines in the world.

The Economist, for example, called him “the most celebrated economist of his generation.”

The Washington Monthly said he was “the most important political columnist in America.”

Three years after he started writing for The New York Times he reduced much of his column into a book. He called it THE GREAT UNRAVELLING: From Boom to Bust in Three Scandalous Years. The book revealed how the radical neo-conservative policies of the George W. Bush administration took the American economy from boom in 2000 to bust in three short years. He attributed the collapse to the greed, corruption and blatant dishonesty of the Bush administration.

In exposing the financial crimes of the powerful and in also showing how the Bush administration turned the American politicaleconomy into what another journalist, Naomi Klein, called “a privatised police state,” – more about her presently - Krugman warned critics like himself to expect the authorities to lash back viciously and to use the most fear-mongering tactics imaginable to make any rational discussion of issues difficult, if not impossible.

He called the anti-dote he prescribed for reporters against the neo-conservatives’ tactics “the rules of reporting.” They numbered five.

Those rules seem as applicable in Nigeria today as they were in America under Bush.

First, says Krugman, you must assume that a “revolutionary power” will lie to you through its teeth and must never assume that its policies, right or wrong, are made in good faith.

For Krugman’s revolutionary power, you can easily substitute the present administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for reasons we shall see presently.

Second, says Krugman, do your homework to discover the real, as opposed to the declared goals of such a power. What its members did before they had power, he said, is a sure clue to their real intentions.

Third, he said, such a power does not feel obliged to play by the existing rules because they never regarded the existing system as legitimate.

Fourth, such a power, he said, is intolerant; it does not accept the right of others to criticise its actions.

Finally, said Krugman, the objectives of a “revolutionary power” have no limit and can therefore never be appeased no matter the concessions.

People and Politics By

MOHAMMED HARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

A tale of three countries

•Krugman

President Jonathan, unlike Bush, did not inherit a booming economy. Quite the contrary; fiscal responsibility flew out of the window from the very first year his chief benefactor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, became president in 1999. And throughout the rest of his seven years as president he never kept faith with the annual budgets the National Assembly approved and he signed into law.

However, 12 years on and with nearly three years of the late President Umar Yar’Adua in between, President Jonathan seems to have taken the fiscal irresponsibility of his predecessors to new, hitherto unimaginable, heights, or more accurately, depths.

Nothing speaks louder about our current fiscal mess than the nearly N1trillion he has voted for security in this year’s budget, nearly a third of the budget. Compare this to Obasanjo’s last security vote which, at N213 billion, was less than a tenth of his budget for the year.

Of course Boko Haram had not reared its head then, but as Obasanjo himself has implied, its threat is not of such magnitude that should attract the humongous budget President Jonathan has voted for security. It is wrong, Obasanjo has said for the president to say Boko Haram posed a greater threat to Nigeria’s integrity than our civil war of 1967 to 1970.

Next to the scandalous security vote as evidence of the Federal Government’s fiscal irresponsibility – some may even rate it tops – is the nearly N2trillion that it says has been spent on oil subsidy last year in scandalous contrast to the N250 billion that it had voted for it – this in itself a scandalous enough figure.

The fiscal irresponsibility of the Jonathan administration is not the only thing that should give nightmares to anyone concerned

about the future of Nigeria. Of even greater concern is its apparent determination, like the Bush administration, to outsource even the most basic responsibility of government to the private sector.

In her 2007 book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, Naomi Klein, the journalist I mentioned above, calls this “(the joining) of Big Government forces with Big Business to re-distribute funds upwards...” through the exploitation of the feeling of insecurity among the people created by disasters, natural or man-made.

Klein shows, with graphic facts and figures and anecdotes, how the Bush administration had manipulated 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, among others, to pursue the neo-conservative doctrine of outsourcing even the most basic functions of government – police, prison, security, health, education, etc – to the private sector, mostly, she says, on a cost-plus, no-bid or selective-bid, bases.

In an essay in a collection of essays titled War With No End which I once referred to on these pages not too long ago, Klein showed how the country (israel) whose protection has been the central piece of America’s foreign policy – no price for guessing the name correctly – no longer has any interest in peace in its Middle East backyard, or for that matter, in anywhere else.

Israel, as we all know, has since become the world’s greatest exporter of security and surveillance hardware and soft. “Now,” she says, “rather than seeking stability in the interest of economic growth, Israeli businesses have been some of the noisiest cheerleaders for war.”

Disaster, man-made or otherwise, she said, is no longer considered a threat to growth by the corporations that make up the security sector. Instead they see disaster as a growth market which “many are doing everything to protect...”

With American, Israeli and other Western “security experts” crawling all over Nigeria under the guise of helping the Jonathan administration fight the Boko Haram terror, is it any surprise that the president is trying to re-create Nigeria in the image of the countries these experts come from? Is it any surprise, for example, that Nigeria has been turned into a country under siege by the very security forces that are supposed to protect its citizens, like the Israelis have done in Palestine?

The most glaring evidence of his decision to outsource even the most basic responsibility of government is the no-bid, cost-plus multi-billion Naira contract it awarded to a hitherto unknown private company with the incongruous name of

HARDBALL

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan began a one-week vacation on Monday. But according to his spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, “he will remain in Abuja during the period and continue to deal with all essential affairs of state.” The break would only take him away from his usual work routine, not from work entirely, Abati added. The statement is not ambiguous, and this column, which religiously observes its own annual vacation, and occasionally, one-week vacations, wishes the president a good rest. However, the statement does not tell us why, of all places, the president preferred to stay back in Abuja. The Federal Capital City is of course maturing into a fine city, and Nigerians look forward to the day when the federal government will demonstrate enough competence to make the city a tourist destination, not a police (security) state harassed by Boko Haram extremists and insensitive, siren-blowing megalomaniacal government officials.

One-week vacation cannot be equated with

Does Jonathan know how to rest?

annual vacation, and we must hope that Jonathan has a better and more restful plan for his annual vacation. But vacation is vacation, no matter how short. We do not expect the president to mask his stay in Abuja with any excuse, let alone dealing with “all essential affairs of state.” Anywhere he is in Nigeria, and indeed in the world, it is still possible for him to deal with all essential affairs of state. At any time during his short or long vacation, the president can cut short his rest depending on the severity of the situation demanding his attention. As far as rest or vacation goes, except Jonathan is not cut from the same cloth as the rest of humanity, there is simply no way he can have a rest staying back in Abuja and continuing “to deal with all essential affairs of state.”

Surely, a one-week vacation can still take him on a restful tour of and visit to any of the following destinations in Nigeria: Yankari

National Park; Obudu Cattle Ranch, which he has visited before; Oguta Lake Holiday Complex; Gurara Waterfalls; Birikisu Sungbo Shrine; Gashaka/Gumpti Game Reserve, and a host of others. But if he is not persuaded by the appropriateness or exquisiteness of these destinations, he can forward appropriation to build three or four presidential holiday resorts. It is unlikely that the National Assembly is so populated by philistines that we cannot find a helpful majority to encourage the president to begin constructing at least one resort in spite of the harsh economic climate.

Jonathan’s predecessor, the late Umaru Yar’Adua, was too hobbled by illness in his short stay in office to let us know how he would have holidayed, or how developed his artistic mind was. Another predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was a veritable peregrinator, a footloose nomad who loved to travel round the world. The confusion among his biographers was

Global Wealth Vessel Specialist Agency (GWVSA) to secure our water ways.

Section 14 (2) (b) of the Nigeria’s Constitution is explicit about the responsibility of government for the security and welfare of the country’s citizens. “The security and welfare of the people,” it says, “shall be THE PRIMARY purpose of government.” (Emphasis mine).

It goes on in Section 20 to say that “The State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria.”

The Constitution does not say how this should be done. The president can, of course, delegate his executive powers to others including his vice-president and ministers. However, it is stretching the logic of the Constitution’s authority for the president to delegate his executive powers to argue, as some senior government officials, including the Minister of Transport and the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administrative and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the agency directly responsible for vessel movements on our water ways, have done, that this includes outsourcing the security of our waters to a private company.

In an interview with the Sunday Trust last Sunday, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, the NIMASA D-G, asserted that government has not given the GWISNL a contract to secure our waters. He has even gone further to insist that government “did not give or award any contract to any militant,” in refutation of widespread claims that the company belongs principally to Mr Government Ekpemukpolo, a former Delta militia leader who once took up arms against the Nigerian State.

The concession that was granted, he says, is for the company “to provide electronic platform system that will enable NIMASA to police the territorial water ways and bring accountability in terms of vessels that are coming in or going out or trading on our territory.” The GWVSA staff, he says, will not bear arm.

The obvious question to ask is should it not be a primary responsibility of our Navy to provide itself with such a platform? Another question is what qualified GWVSA to provide the platform? Has it had any previous record of providing such service? And so on and so fourth.

In a way, the self-elected leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin Clark, provided an answer to why the concession was awarded to GWVSA in an interview with the press over the weekend. “If,” he said, Tompolo, who lives on the water cannot be allowed to secure where he lives, is it in the North that he can be given such a concession? We are tired of this blackmail where whatever is due to our people face unnecessary blackmail.” (Sunday Sun, April 1).

Clearly the difference between Nigeria and the countries advising us on how to fight terror is that whereas their governments have colluded with the private sector to fight an economic war in favour of their rich and powerful class, ours have been fighting a war to enrich the kin and cronies of those in government.

And anyone that dares say so should expect a vicious counter-attack.

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•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above determining which countries or cities he did not visit during his eight years in office.

Jonathan, Nigerians are happy to note, has not demonstrated the same inventiveness in travels as Obasanjo. But they can’t help noticing his nearly permanent melancholy, his disinterestedness in the arts, and his sometimes awkward and distinctly unpresidential manner he takes umbrage.

If the president will not take advice to rest properly, and make it delightful and enjoyable, the National Assembly should think of legislating melancholy out of him and future presidents. Life is too short, and presidential tenure too transient, to be frittered away cooped up in the stressful precincts of Aso Villa. But if he must closet himself in the Villa, let him summon a few famous writers, film makers, actors, and great musicians to meet minds with him on restful and entertaining issues. For a president not as gregarious as we expected, summoning the ‘mountain’ to himself should do him a world of therapeutic good.

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