The Nation April 22, 2013

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Friday is public holiday in Ekiti NEWS Page 10

World Bank, Nigeria in $300m mortgage deal

NEWS

Page 53

•State to bury Deputy Governor

•Fed Govt concludes $100m bond in Dec.

www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 8, NO. 2466 MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

N5, N10, N20, N50 paper notes coming, says CBN

P •Lemo

OLYMER notes - the glossy currency notes launched on September 30, 2009 by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to mark Nigeria’s 49th Independence anniversary – are to be withdrawn from circu-

From Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor, in Washington D.C

lation.

The notes were introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) when Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo was the governor. They replaced pa-

per notes.

But Deputy CBN Governor Tunde Lemo has hinted of a plan to stop the printing of small denominations of the naira in polymer notes because they fade quickly.

Lemo spoke yesterday in

Washington DC, the United States (U.S.) on the sideline of the ongoing Spring Meeting of the World Bank and the IMF. A note-printing firm – Securency, partly owned by Reserve Bank of Australia, was

contracted in 2006 to produce the polymer notes.

It cost the Federal Government some N750 million.

But, going by what the CBN Deputy Governor Continued on page 4

Presidency’s attack sparks $1b rice mills fraud claim Buhari, Tinubu ‘hard on Jonathan’ ACN: explain disparity in costs

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HE Presidency yesterday lashed out at some opposition leaders for their criticism of the government.

But, its attack sparked a furious reaction, with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) accusing the Federal Government of fraud in its $1 billion rice mills project.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, berated opposition leaders for assuming that the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration is bereft of ideas.

Okupe specifically named former Head of State Gen. Muhammed Buhari, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande and ACN National Leader Asiwjau Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the thorn in the flesh of the government.

But, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, dismissed Okupe’s claim as the cry of a desperate, sinking and terrified political party —the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .

Mohammed said the presidential spokesman presented spurious statistics and lies to Continued on page 4

•Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha answering questions from the media shortly before leaving for London where he underwent a brain scan following an injury he sustained in a car accident. No fracture was seen in his skull and he has been discharged from the hospital.

Kidnapped Lagos council chairman relives ordeal F

OR about 30 seconds yesterday, Kehinde Bamigbetan, the chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), closed his eyes, muttering: “We thank God”.

When he opened his eyes, he began to cry. He spoke in a slow but steady voice that conveyed deep sadness, despite the joyous occasion.

By Seun Akioye, Snr. Correspondent

He would stop and cry again.

A small crowd gathered to celebrate his safe return from the den of his kidnappers. Many comforting hands touched him. Intermittently, there were songs of praise to God for the safe return of the chairman who was abducted on his Ona Iwa Mimo

Street, Ejigbo, last Monday.

Outside, some well wishers gathered in groups. The celebration of his return began early for them.

Wine bottles were opened and at the sound of the cork, a shout of “KOK”, Bamigbetan’s nickname, rented the air.

Continued on page 6

•A KISS ON THE SHOULDER: Bamigbetan’s eldest sister Bisi planting a kiss on his shoulder...yesterday PHOTO: DAVID ADEJO

•SPORTS P23 •CEO P32 •JOBS P36 •POLITICS P43 •MOTORING P45

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS

Why oil theft w

•Abia State Governor Theodore Orji (second left) cutting the tape to open the sales of fertilizers at a subsidized price to Abia farmers...at the weekend. With him are his deputy, Sir Emeka Ananaba (third left), Commissioner for Information Dr. Eze Chikamnayo (left),and Commissioner for Agriculture Ike Onyenweaku (fourth left).

The involvement of politicians, foreigners and poverty are some of the reasons oil theft may not stop anytime soon, writes AFP

A

•Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu (second left), Chairman, Aninri Local Government Area, Christopher Nwobodo( second right), Managing Director, Jouf Ventures Limited, Mr. Joseph Udeh (left) and Director, Jouf Ventures, Mrs. Chinedu Udeh (right), at the conferment of chieftaincy on Senator Ekweremadu and Hon. Nwobodo and the Launch of Nenwe Civic Center held in Nenwe play ground, Enugu State ... at the weekend.

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

•From left: Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Gbenga Obadara, Chairman, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, Managing Director ,Toyota Nigeria Limited, Chandrasheker Thampy and Managing Director Infrastructure Bank Plc, Adekunle Oyinloye, at the launching of Toyota RAV4 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

•Senator Gbenga Ashafa (right), during a condolence visit to Mr. Olanrewaju Olayinka, the husband of the late Mrs Funmi Olayinka, the deputy governor of Ekiti State in Lagos.

SON,

TRAIL along the river banks deep in the Nigerian swamps winds through forest before arriving at a clearing, where the ground is black from oil and soot, puddles shimmering with crude.

A makeshift refinery sits there, its drums and pipes resembling a junkyard contraption but apparently capable of producing usable fuel from stolen oil, part of a major underground industry Nigeria says it is now trying to stop.

“The whole thing is the resilience of the people,” one man with knowledge of the illegal operation proclaims, defending what he says is local communities’ right to benefit from the vast oil reserves in the country’s Niger Delta region.

Oil companies such as Shell say crude theft has surged in Nigeria, with estimates that the country loses some $6 billion (4.6 billion euros) per year in revenue as thieves sabotage and syphon off pipelines in the vast wetlands of the delta.

The illegal refineries are only one part of the illicit industry in Africa’s biggest oil producer, and concerns have grown over its alleged international dimension.

Authorities, oil firms and industry analysts say the chain of culprits and the stolen crude itself can sometimes reach far beyond Nigerian shores.

“I’ve always said in my speeches that I believe that there are a lot of international syndicates involved,” Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of Shell’s Nigerian division SPDC, told reporters recently.

“And you don’t do an operation of this scale without involving a lot of people, both locally and overseas.”

Nigerian officials have pushed for international help in what they call

T

HE 30-minute film called “Fuelling Poverty” has been online for months, but only recently Nigerian officials have refused its director permission to show it publicly in this oil-rich nation of more than 160 million people. While free speech is enshrined in this democratic nation’s constitution, an ever-increasing drumbeat of complaints and critical articles about the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has seen authorities increasingly target journalists and others.

The film, sponsored by Soros Foundation’s Open Society Justice Initiative for West Africa, focuses on the protests around Jonathan’s decision to remove subsidies on gasoline in January 2012. Life in Nigeria ground to a halt before unions backed down. Later, a report by lawmakers demanded

•An illegal refinery

a campaign against “blood oil”.

But even if international networks have gained a foothold in the lucrative illicit trade, authorities say it could not happen without Nigerians involved.

Suspicions regarding the major players have long spread, but determining the truth is difficult in a country where even the legitimate oil industry operates in a largely opaque manner.

Allegations have been levelled against high-level Nigerian political figures as well as the military itself, though such accusations have always been firmly denied.

In terms of foreign involvement, the

Uproar o businesses and government agencies to return some $6.7 billion over the subsidy program.

Ishaya Bako, who directed the film that features civil rights activists and Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka, later applied for the right to show the film publicly. In a letter dated April 8, Nigeria’s National Film and Video Censors Board told Bako that the documentary was “prohibited for exhibition in Nigeria.”

“I am further to inform you that this decision is due to the fact that the contents of the film are highly provocative and likely to incite or encourage public disorder and undermine national security,” the letter signed by board

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

3

NEWS

t will continue in the Niger Delta

•Col. Nwachukwu

•A reservoir for stolen fuel.

PHOTOS: AFP

military says one suspect recently claimed he worked with someone in Lebanon, while a number of foreigners have been arrested, including West Africans but also recently Indians.

“They have people who are collaborating with them,” said Lieutenant Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, spokesman for a military task force in the Niger Delta region.

“They are Nigerians, and they are people who have thorough knowledge of what the industry is about.”

Locals see ‘bunkering’ as sharing in nation’s oil wealth.

The problem is dauntingly complex,

ranging from poor youths in the swamps distilling oil in the middle of the night in dangerous conditions to the higher-level smuggling of boatloads of crude outside of Nigeria.

It touches on the feeling among many residents in the delta that few have benefited from the oil wealth in Nigeria, viewed as one of the world’s most corrupt nations and where most of the population lives on around $1 a day or less.

Decades of oil pollution have at the same time poisoned creeks in a region where fishing had been a major source of livelihood, often with

few repercussions for those at fault.

Shell, Nigeria’s biggest oil producer, says most spills happen due to sabotage, but activists accuse the company of not doing enough to prevent and clean them.

Violence had previously taken hold in the Niger Delta that saw pipelines blown up, oil facilities attacked and foreigners kidnapped.

Militants claiming to be fighting for a fairer distribution of oil revenue as well as criminal gangs were responsible.

A 2009 amnesty deal greatly reduced the unrest, mainly through

r over Fuelling Poverty lawyer Effiong Inwang reads. “Please you are strongly advised not to distribute or exhibit the documentary film. All relevant national security agencies are on the alert.”

Tanko Abdullahi, a spokesman for the board, initially told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the film wasn’t banned, but was “denied classification.”

Later, in the same conversation, he acknowledged it couldn’t be shown over unspecified “security issues.”

“What is national security for Nigeria is different from that of the U.S.A.,” Abdullahi said. “We made that determination because of the content of the film.

That’s why you have regulators.”

The government’s decision has seen

more people watch the film online.

It also has sparked outrage from human rights activists and press freedom groups.

“Instead of banning the documentary ‘Fuelling Poverty,’ authorities should look into the important questions it raises about corruption and impunity in the country’s oil sector and at the highest levels of government,” Mohamed Keita, an official with the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement. “We urge Nigeria’s National Film and Video Censors Board to overturn this censorship order.”

The move to ban the film comes as Jonathan’s government, which

many voted for believing he would change the engrained interests and corruption of Nigeria’s government, has grown increasingly unpopular as extremists carry out bombings and the state-run power company cannot offer stable electricity. During the strikes, government officials put increasing pressure on broadcasters not to show images of protests, which at one point saw tens of thousands in the streets of Lagos.

Today, journalists at a newspaper face forgery charges over a story that claimed the presidency would try to disrupt opposition parties. Security agencies have ha-

payments to former militants, but many analysts warn underlying conditions that led to the violence remain unaddressed.

Criminality, including oil theft, has remained a problem since then.

Some make no apology for the illicit crude industry, referred to locally as “bunkering”.

A local chief in the delta says his community is no longer involved in bunkering — but only because soldiers have engaged in a crackdown. He says local refining allowed the impoverished community to benefit from cheap fuel. rassed reporters at a weekly newspaper that wrote about abuses by the military in its crackdown against Islamic extremists. And workers who ran a call-in radio show in the northern city of Kano face charges over talking about rumors surrounding polio vaccinations in the wake of at least nine women vaccinators being killed.

Despite the outcry, however, the apparent crackdown continues, only fueling more of the same apathy for Nigeria’s government seen by those featured in the documentary.

“We don’t have government. It’s a whole big banana republic,” barber Emmanuel Tom Ekin says in the film. “They’ve been coming telling us story all the time, deceiving us.

And right now, in our faces, they are still deceiving us.”

•Culled from AFP

“This has motivated our people to be doing the local bunkering ...

They stopped us,” said Senior Karibo of the Peremabiri community in Bayelsa state, located more than an hour by boat from the state capital Yenagoa.

The military says it has increased patrols. Makeshift refineries have been burnt down by soldiers, and locals say refining operations now mostly occur at night.

Nwachukwu shares emails from patrol units on their findings, including one where locals are warned that those involved in the illicit trade will be shot on sight.

He insists such “community relations” are only meant to frighten and that troops have not shot anyone apart from gangs they have clashed with.

According to Nwachukwu, nearly 2,000 suspects were arrested in 2012 in connection with the task force’s operations, but they are often released on bail and return to the same activity.

He says the man claiming to work with someone in Lebanon offered bribes to soldiers after his arrest and even signed a paper committing to bring more money. Despite such evidence, he was later released and is now walking the streets, Nwachukwu said.

“What we do is arrest the suspects. When we hand them over, what happens? Let me tell you what happens,” he says, before trailing off.

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

NEWS Presidency’s attack sparks $1b rice mills fraud claim

N5, N10, N20, N50 paper notes coming, says CBN Continued from page 1

said, the production of the paper notes will begin in two months.

Lemo said: “By the middle of the year, we will start to produce the second generation of lower denomination notes, now in paper, not in polymer.

“My plea is that Nigerians should exercise patience with us; it wasn’t the fault of the CBN. It was just because we had to go back to the drawing board to rethink `Project Cure’ in the light of the wish of the public that we should not go ahead with the N5000 notes and lower denomination.

“We will correct that in the course of the year.

Polymer certainly will be phased out. In fact, we are phasing out polymer. No new note is being printed in polymer now.’’

Lemo recalled that when the CBN was going to introduce the polymer currencies, its search showed that they could last longer than ordinary paper notes.

His words: “However, with the benefit of hindsight, we probably should not have dumped polymer because, yes, the substrate lasts longer, but the in-consubstrate began to fade; we didn’t realise that at the time of introduction.

“So, part of `Project Cure’ was actually to move away from polymer substrate to paper. Unfortunately, we had a push-back because of the issues around N5000 note and coins.

“The entire programme was put in abeyance.

Otherwise, by now, we should have stopped producing polymer.’’

The banker said that the CBN had awarded a contract for the printing of the higher denomination notes to a foreign company because of low capacity at the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company (NPMC).

The CBN will begin to receive the fresh notes from June.

On the campaign on the careful handling of the naira, Lemo said that it was unfortunate that it was not successful, but noted that it is a criminal act to abuse the naira - going by the CBN Act. He said: “Unfortunately, CBN is not a law enforcement institution; we left that in the hands of the law enforcement institutions and that has not kicked in.

“I still go to parties and see people spraying money; stepping on money; I see touts distributing mint-fresh money that should go to customers.’’

According to Lemo, the CBN has urged the police to step up its surveillance to reduce the abuse of the naira. The bank lacks the power to arrest people who hoard the naira to resell at motor parks and on the streets, Lemo said.

Continued from page 1

•Kanayo o. Kanayo, (left) with Kenneth Okonkwo, movie actors displaying their lifetime awards at the 2013 African Movies Academy Awards in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State…at the weekend PHOTO: NAN

2015 elections: Lamido-Amaechi presidential posters flood Minna

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ROMOTERS of the Alhaji Sule Lamido and Rotimi Amaechi presidential ticket in 2015 has taken their campaign to Minna, the Niger State capital, where the streets are flooded with the duo’s posters.

Lamido and Amaechi are incumbent governors of Adamawa and Rivers states.

They have denied any plan to

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

run.

Residents of the town woke up to find in strategic places the A2 size intimidating posters.

The posters appealed for Nigerians’ support for the Lamido/Amaechi ticket.

The posters, which have the logo of the ruling Peoples

Democratic Party (PDP), also carries the photographs of Lamido and Amaechi.

It reads: ‘’Support Alhaji Sule Lamido and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi for President 2015.’’

Efforts to get the sponsors of the posters were fruitless as nobody in the PDP was ready to own up to pasting them.

When contacted on phone, the state Secretary of the PDP, Malam Aminu Yusuf, claimed that the state branch of the party was ignorant of the poster. ‘’As I am talking to you now, I am in Kontagora attending a zonal meeting of our party. We don’t know anything about any poster. Whose poster are you talking about?’’ he queried.

disparage opposition leaders.

Okupe berated the opposition leaders for alleged insincerity at a press conference in Lagos.

He said they have a “penchant to use every platform to denigrate this nation and its government”.

He said opposition leaders were confusing innocent members of the public “and deceptively present themselves as possessing what it takes to move Nigeria forward”.

He said the merger being put together by the opposition “is made up of PDP renegades, moribund and lack-lustre ANPP, which had existed for 13 years without any meaningful impact on the polity, and the ACN, which is a one-man owned and controlled political party with no form of any internal democratic credential whatsoever and totally devoid of any form of modern liberalism”.

He accused Tinubu and Gen. Buhari of being unfair to President Jonathan.

His words: “The present National Chairman of the ACN, Chief Bisi Akande as Governor of Osun State during the same period, denied workers of a N5,500 minimum wage and eventually laid off over 9,000 workers during his fouryear reign. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who was then NLC President and now Governor of Edo State, led workers on protest march in Osun State during the period but Chief Akande remained adamant. Where then is the credential of these people to talk about job creation, promotion of workers interest and democratic etiquette?

“As I speak with you, Ekiti and Osun states, which are being governed by these opposition political parties, are embroiled in one form of industrial crisis or the other as a result of the insensitive, cruel and anti-workers policies of their present governors.

“These sets of politicians who want to desperately supplant Jonathan’s administration are promoting an incongruous alliance of political weaklings and dysfunctional Lilliputians out primarily to foster their ego and psyche

being repeatedly frustrated political power mongers; forgetting that one million giant ants can never muster the required strength to lift a concrete pole not to talk of a nationally entrenched pillar and structurally established institution like the PDP.” He alleged that the ACN always outsourced its presidential candidate from the ranks of the PDP. He added:”In 2003, their choice was Vice President Atiku Abubakar who now knows them better. In 2011, it was a protégé of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu who fitted the slot, although he was later betrayed and sacrificed on the altar of self-interest.

“Presently, the debates within the factionalised alliance suggest that they will not mind fielding another PDP stalwart as its presidential flag bearer.

“It is clear that a party that consistently over a period of 12 years has been unable to find any suitable member from its own rank and file as presidential candidate has clearly exhibited its own structural and ideological weakness and its unsuitability as an organisation capable of providing national leadership and can therefore not run an efficient or competent federal government in a country like Nigeria.”

On power, he said: “We assure Nigerians that all hands are on deck to ensure delivery of uninterrupted power supply within the shortest possible time. You will recall that this administration inherited five major problems in this sector and these are: Low generating capacity due to failure to invest in the power sector for over 20 years; comatose NIPP projects; poor and inadequate gas infrastructure and supply; dysfunctional and inefficient transmision and distribution capabilities; and non achievements of the much desired privatisation agenda.

“Of all the above five, the Jonathan administration has nearly completely resolved four out of these five challenges, leaving only the fourth item to which sufficient attention is also being dedicated. It is proContinued on page 53

Boko Haram: Presidency berates Shehu Sani, Ahmed

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HE Presidency broke its silence on the withdrawal of two members - activist Shehu Sani and Islamic cleric Datti Ahmed – from the 26member Presidential Committee on the North’s security. It said the withdrawal of the duo was shameful.

The Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication, Dr Doyin Okupe, who spoke in Lagos, accused Sani and Ahmed of being selfish for engaging in acts unbecoming of patriots.

Okupe spoke even as Presidency said there was no going back on its amnesty plan for Boko Haram.

He said: “I feel that their influence has been reduced. They wanted to do it alone and take personal glory. But with the committee in place now, they decided to pull out.

“Withdrawing from that committee is shameful. If the government invited you, you should feel free and happy to serve.”

It was learnt that the Presidency might adopt an “open” approach by mandating the amnes-

Tinubu: amnesty should be selective

A

CTION Congress National (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has urged the Federal Government to apply wisdom in working out amnesty to Boko Haram.

He said the proposed amnesty for the sect should not be given without moderation; it should be extended to a select group of the dissidents.

The former governor of Lagos State warned that granting a “blanket and unrestricted amnesty will be both unjustifiable and counterproductive”.

Tinubu observed that notwithstanding the hype that greeted the government’s proposal, the handling of the package will determine its eventual success or failure.

Tinubu spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital when he visited Governor Kayode Fayemi over the death of his deputy, Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka.

Tinubu, who also spoke on the All Progressives Alliance (APC), suggested that From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

ty committee to “begin dialogue with willing Boko Haram leaders and factions”.

Besides, the Federal Govern-

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

the planned amnesty should be offered to only those “fighting for justice and not those perpetrating evils against the country for no just cause”.

He said: “The amnesty must bring about justice and should be selective, not just a blanket approach. Those venting anger on Nigeria because there is no justice in the system should be offer amnesty. But those fomenting trouble under another guise should be prosecuted and sent to jail.”

According to him, it is wishful for anybody to contemplate turning Nigeria into an Islamic state.

“No one religion can eliminate the other in Nigeria. Nigeria is a secular state.

The Constitution recognises us as people and not as Muslims or Christians. So, we should be able to apply a holistic approach to settle our problems,” he counselled.

ment is banking on prominent Emirs, political leaders and clerics to assist in seeing the amnesty programme through.

The fate of Boko Haram detainees, their wives and children

Tinubu blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for allowing Boko Haram to linger until the loss of hundreds of innocent lives.

He said: “President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have failed in terms of security. Security is the engine-room of industrial development. No country would partner with you when you are not secured. The attacks on Nigeria and its resources have caused a lot of inflation and retardation in the economy.

“If a President is clueless about security at a time he is about to celebrate the centenary of Nigeria’s existence and 53 years of Independence, he can’t by now track and identify the root cause of terrorism, it means he has nothing to offer the country.”

Tinubu, however, noted that the amnesty remains a valid and justifiable

will depend on the recommendation of the amnesty panel.

Sani, who is the President of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), yesterday declined entreaties from prominent leaders of the North to

Continued on page 57

take another look at his withdrawal from the amnesty panel as he said there is “no change of mind” in his decision. President Goodluck Jonathan had on Continued on page 53

•Asiwaju Tinubu

ADVERT HOTLINES: 08023006969, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS

Why there is crisis in Governors’ Forum, by Dickson B AYELSA State Governor Seriake Dickson at the weekend spoke on the crisis rocking the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), saying that certain members have converted it into a manipulative trade union.

He also said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the right to form its governors’ forum, stressing that it is in tune with democracy.

Dickson opposed moves by certain elements in the ruling party to don the cap of internal opposition leaders, urging them to either imbibe party discipline or move out.

The governor also said the highest office in the land deserved the respect of the party members and Nigerians.

Dickson spoke with reporters in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on the activities of his administration, the PDP crisis and the friction in the Governors’ Forum.

He said: “The Governors’ Forum is primarily a mecha-

U.S. Corruption rating: Presidency got it wrong, says Forum From Shola O’Neil, Warri

•’We are sending Bayelsa ghost workers packing’

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Group Political Editor

nism for peer review of governors who are equal. You don’t need to be a member of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum to be a governor. It is just like your association, the NUJ. It is just a platform for peer review. It is a platform for collaborating with the Federal Government on the critical issues of development, national security and other challenges that come up.

“The Governors’ Forum is not and should not be a platform for the control of the national politics. As governors, we are not elected to run the country. We are governors elected to manage our states.

The Governors’ Forum cannot be allowed to go on as a trade union. What is happening is

that people are taking the advantage of the developments and discontent in the system, to manipulate it to suit their individual whims and caprices. But what is wrong is wrong.

‘Look at the United States Governors’ Forum, which we copied, you don’t see the Governors’ Forum there telling President Barack Obama what he should do and what he should not. We are provincial players because our mandate is to lead our states, not to run the federation. Those who have the mandate to run the federation are the President, the Vice President, the elected members of the National Assembly, the political leadership of the various parties. Those are the people that have the platform to do that”.

Dickson said, if certain is-

sues are agitating the minds of the governors, they can use some formal and informal avenues, including the National Economic Council to ventilate their views and grievances, instead of using the NGF to play politics.

He pointed out that the past PDP governors who chaired the NGF attempted to use the platform to play national politics. The governor justified the formation of the PDP Governors’ Forum, saying that it is necessary.

Urging the PDP members to imbibe party discipline, he said: “If you are in a party, you must play according to the rules of the party or get out”.

Dickson said any PDP member who is not useful to the ruling party may not be useful to another party, if he

T

•Dickson

defects from the PDP. He said the seasoned and experienced opposition leaders would always separate the wheat from the chaff, adding that they can easily isolate defectors whose ideas and principles tally with their own from political charlatans.

The governor reviewed the reforms embarked upon by his administration, pointing out that the anti-ghost workers war has started yielding dividends.

Dickson said that the monthly wage bill of N6.8b has come down to N3.8b.

Airport workers seek conversion of hotel into offices •Bi-Courtney accuses agency of blackmail

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

W

ORKERS of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have urged the management of the authority to convert the hotel being built by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) into the proposed headquarters of the agency.

The workers spoke in a solidarity message to the management of FAAN. They insisted that the relocation of the FAAN headquarters to the edifice was the only way to put the structure to the best use, given its proximity to the airport.

Last month, FAAN, in a statement by its General Manager (Corporate Communications), Mr Yakubu Dati, said it had taken over the hotel being built on lease concession by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited for the company’s alleged failure to keep to the terms of the agreement.

But Bi-Courtney, according to its spokesman, Mr Steve Omolale-Ajulo, described FAAN’s action as illegal, because it was allegedly based on falsehood and blackmail.

The company’s spokesman alleged that it was another attempt by FAAN to deceive unsuspecting public.

In a statement yesterday in Lagos, Bi-Courtney alleged that FAAN was sponsoring false stories against its chairman, Dr Bolanle Olawale Babalakin (SAN).

The statement by Omolale-Ajulo reads: “We are aware of the various sponsored stories in the media by the FAAN against BASL and our Group Chairman, Dr. Babalakin (SAN).

“Ordinarily, we should not waste our time reacting to such jaundiced and unintelligent stories from the organisation or its workers. But there is the urgent need to draw the attention of Nigerians to this ongoing campaign of calumny by the agency, after it lost all the court cases between us.

•Group Managing Director/CEO, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Paul Miyonmide Gbadebo (third left) ringing a bell when he was introduced as the CEO at the Exchange in Lagos... at the weekend. With him are Managing Director, Foods Division, Mr. Edward Jackson (left); Executive Director, Market Operations Technology, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Mr. Ade Bajomo and NSE’s Executive Director, Business Development, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri.

Presidency denies buying jet for CAN President

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HE Presidency yesterday denied the allegation by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) that President Goodluck Jonathan bought a private jet for President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, as a reward for his support during the 2011 presidential election.

CPC’s Spokeman Rotimi Fashakin said that following the spontaneous violent reaction in parts of the North to the outcome of the 2011 presidential election won by Dr. Jonathan, Pastor Oritsejafor, demanded the arrest of Gen Muhammadu Buhari.

“As a fitting reward for that execrable service and many others, Pastor Oritsejafor was rewarded on 10th November, 2012 with the gift of a Bombardier Private jet at a ceremony in which the President was physically present,” Fashakin claimed.

But reacting to the allegation yesterday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati said

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

that it was a product of an unimaginative mind.

According to him, it was a rambling statement that serves no purpose.

He said: “The statement by Rotimi Fashakin of the CPC is a thoroughly incoherent, stream of consciousness rambling that serves no purpose other than that it fits into a pattern of perpetual heckling and wolf crying by a defeated, unimaginative group that hides under the guise of being an opposition.”

“More discerning persons know the truth: that the CPC and its ACN conspirators will say anything no matter how unreasonable just so they can be seen to be saying something in the name of politics.”

“The Jonathan administration remains resolutely committed to the pursuit of the transformation agenda and will not be distracted or discouraged by those who in hustling for relevance have chosen to place their selfish interests before and above the national interest,”Abati said.

HE Forum for Justice and Human Rights Defence (FJHD) has backed a recent report by the United States (U.S.) Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Country Report on Human Rights Practices, which indicted officials of the Federal Government on corruption.

The 2012 reports of the bureau, which accused federal and state officials of being neck deep in corruption acts, was tagged “a product of Parachute Research”

by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Reuben Abati.

Also defending the government, the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said corruption cannot be erased overnight.

He said: “You cannot fight it (corruption) in 90 days. If antigraft agencies are not doing their jobs, government may review its position on them.

“I don’t accept that government is not fighting corruption.

Jonathan signed the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill into an Act. Previous governments failed to do so.

“Corruption is everywhere.

How are the states fighting it?

Apart from Lagos, no other state has domesticated the FoI Act. Corrution is a major issue.

“The government is not going to carry the burden of 50 years. The judiciary is not doing what is appropriate even when people are before the courts in corruption cases.”

The FJHD’s National Coordinator, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, a lawyer, described the report “as a welcome development as the contents of the said report are apt and correct.”

He berated Dr. Abati over his comments on the report, saying his position is “both comical and nonsensical.”

“I beg to differ with the unsolicited advice of Dr Reuben Abati to Nigerians to be wary of the US report and his further description of the said report as product of parachute researches. I call on Nigerians to rather be wary of the said unsolicited advice, as his comment is more of a by-product of a myopic and a stone aged research.

“I make bold to say that the above report merely re-echoed the feelings of many Nigerians about the massive and widespread corruption taking place in all the three levels of their government and their security, forces especially with rampant corruption in the police.

“Many Nigerians are also not oblivious of the fact that the legislature, executive, judiciary and security agencies especially the police are lacking in transparency.

How Nigeria can overcome challenges, by ex-EFCC chair

A

FORMER Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,(EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, has said that there is the need for soul searching by the leaders at all levels to address the challenges facing the nation.

She said no one could address the nation’s problems than Nigerians.

Mrs. Waziri gave the advice while fielding questions from reporters at the premises of Saint Edwards Catholic Church, Uga, in Ushongo Lo-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

cal Government of Benue State, where a thanksgiving reception was held in her honour by the Uga Mbakuha community.

A statement by her media office quoted the ex-EFCC chair as saying: “In view of the daunting challenges facing our nation at this moment of our history, we need to sincerely seek God’s help but it is obviously not enough for our people including our political, religious and commu-

nity leaders to just troop to mosques and churches on Fridays and Sundays, we all need to do serious soul searching and that’s the point frank and selfless ideas that will bring lasting solutions can come forth.” “ I am saying this because some of the things happening in our communities and country as a whole today are strange to us historically and culturally. “ We are fast losing our culture of being our brother’s keeper instead we seek the fall

of the next man. Do we do unto others what we want them to do unto us? We need to retrace our steps as a people and as a nation.

“We surely have to return to God but beyond that let’s all search our conscience and there we will find where we missed it at personal, household, community, state and national levels because solutions to our problems will not come from anywhere other than within our dear Nation, Nigeria”.

Earlier at the well-attend-

ed event, Waziri thanked her people for the honour and called for the deepening of the bond between the community, its neighbours and the government.

The statement added: “She said for years, she had been taken away from her place of birth in her bid to serve her fatherland, Nigeria, adding that the “values learnt during my early formation are what invariably demonstrated in my commitment to work, honesty and hard work in any assignment entrusted to me.

6

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 07059022999

Continued from page 1

On Friday, the kidnappers told their victim they were satisfied with him. That was when the news of his release filtered out. But he was not allowed to go until 9:30 pm on Saturday. At around 9: pm, they took him, blindfolded, into a car and drove towards a check point. He was asked to drive the car and drop it at a particular point where they would take over.

“They asked me if I could drive a manual car and I took charge of the car at 9:30 pm.

They said I should not look sideways. So, I obeyed. The first thing I did was to start singing ‘Great is thy faithfulness’,” Bamigbetan said.

The car is a navy blue Peugeot 406 with Anambra registration number NKK 553 AH. Bamigbetan’s family was full of gratitude.

The mood inside the green duplex on the lowly Eni Iwa Mimo Street was boisterous. The long faces were gone; so were the meetings.

But the singing, dancing and the prayers remained.

Rev. Bisi Bamigbetan, the eldest sibling of the chairman who had led the prayers, said: “We thank God. We prayed and fasted and God heard us. Thank God for everyone that stood by us. We nearly lost hope, I said ‘let your fear be replaced with faith’. I went upstairs to shower when I heard the shout of joy. I rushed out naked; I was not conscious.”

Bamigbetan’s twin sister, Mrs. Taiwo Jacobs, remarked: “I am so happy because we have been expecting him since Wednesday.

It got to a stage we were all crying, trying to reach people who can help us. God has remembered us. It is the favour of God that brought him back. “ Another sister of his, Mrs. Funmi Adenuga, said the family thought the kidnap would not last more than two days but the kidnappers kept the family in suspense up till the last minute.

Bamigbetan had a premonition that evil was lurking around that day because he woke up trembling with fear, he told The Nation yesterday. “I tried to find out where the fear was coming from but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to go to work that day but for two events that I had to attend. After that, I went to see our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. I had wanted to stay the night on the island but I didn’t. I even changed my usual route. I came through Ikotun while the kidnappers came through Isolo. They saw my Sport Utility Vehicle and overtook us, and then I remembered all the premonitions and fear that I had that day.”

A shot from an Ak-47 was fired to stop Abiodun Olayiwola, Bamigbetan’s driver.

Sensing danger, he tried to reverse and escape but missed his way and hit an electricity pole, forcing the car to a stop. Several shots were fired into the engine missing Olayiwola by whiskers. Then he opened the car and ran, shouting to his boss to do the same.

“Why didn’t you stop? Why are you running away? Did you do anything wrong?

Next time always stop and don’t run ok?” the kidnappers told Bamigbetan immediately he alighted from his vehicle. They bundled him into their own car, put a tight blindfold over his eyes and forced him into the car.

Then they kicked out a man who had been taken before him and drove on high speed towards Badagry. It was then they informed him that someone had paid for his life.

“The blindfold was very tight and I could

•L-R: Bamigbetan, his wife, Fatima and his elder sister, Mrs Funmi Adenuga at his residence ... yesterday

Kidnapped Lagos council chief relives ordeal They were still calling me up to the last minute, asking for money. They said I should prepare to become a widow and that they would tell me where to pick his body. I was tired and afraid. I began to beg them. But I thank God he is back and alive

‘

not even raise my eyebrows; so, I didn’t know where we were going ,” he said. But immediately his brain kicked into action and he engaged his captors. He told them they got the wrong person and all his life he had worked for the cause of the poor, both as student and labour activist. He pleaded that as Chairman of a local council, he had provided free medicare for the elderly and free education for children. The men remained silent. When they got to their destination, they brought him down from the vehicle and pushed him into a dark house.

Bamigbetan did not know the exact location of the house he was taken to but said it was around Badagry.

He said: “When you are kidnapped, you are put down so you can just hear the movement; you can’t see. The only thing you know is the point where you are picked up and dropped. The place was dark; you are put on the carpet, laid onto the carpet blindfolded.”

He lived in this darkness for two days.

That same night a phone call was put through to his wife Fatima. “Madam, we have your husband. Somebody has paid for his life, but we will not kill him if you can bail him out. Don’t call the police, rally round

NDLEA arrests undergraduates, nursing mother

T

HE Akwa Ibom Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested three undergraduates for trafficking substances suspected to be banned drugs, its Eket Area Commander, Mrs Imaette Umoumana, has said.

Umoumana, who said the suspects were students of Maritime Academy, Oron; Heritage Polytechnic and Covenant University, said: "We arrested the students at different joints during the holidays. We also arrested nursing mothers with babies, who were caught selling substances suspected to be Indian hemp, were also arrested."

She said the suspects were arrested through "classified informantion" and routine surveillance by officers of the command, adding that their cases had been transferred to the state headquarters of the agency.

Umoumana said the command had begun drug awareness guide for youths and drug dealers in the area, adding that the command was also counselling drug users to rehabilitate them.

A physically challenged man, she also said,

PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

was arrested for cultivating Indian hemp farm in his premises at Esit Eket, adding that more than 10 "joints" where illicit substances were being smoked had been closed down by the command.

At Afaha Eket Primary School, the Commander said a security officer, Ekemini Inyang, was arrested for selling illicit substances in the premises.

The NDLEA boss also said the command had arrested 30 drug peddlers with 20.9 kilogramme of cannabis between March and now.

She, however, expressed regret that some members of the public behave like "enemies" of the agency by allegedly hampering its operations, explaining: "When we go for arrests, some people will gather to fight us. Instead of appreciating our effort, they will come out and accuse us of spoiling their businesses."

She, therefore, advised communities to assist the agency with useful information that would enable it to perform its functions effectively.

‘

your friends and get the money. Then they demanded for $1m” Fatima said yesterday.

Back in their hide-out they began to question Bamigbetan on his activities. To authenticate his story, they dispatched a group to the council secretariat to verify his claims at the break of dawn. The spies went to the council secretariat and mixed with the group of sympathizers, asking questions. Nobody suspected them; they looked just normal.

“Interestingly, the second day they dispatched a group of their boys to the council to go and research and the result of that changed their attitude towards me because they said everywhere they went people said that I helped the poor and I was a nice person. They became much more realistic about what they wanted,” Bamigbetan said.

Bamigbetan said he was tied face down in the flat for the first two days. To reduce the risk of having to relieve his bowels, he began to drink water and coke. “One day, I will drink water, the next coke,” he said. In the dark room where he was kept, he could only lie on the floor. “There were AK-47 rifles everywhere and I knew it is only God that can save me through grace.”

The kidnappers were tracking the news report and soon the profile of their high calibre victim began to emerge. But the news reports almost ended the kidnap incident in a fatality. A national newspaper –not The Nation- had reported that council chairmen in the state were contributing N1, 000,000 each for his release. The kidnappers brought the paper to him and demanded an outrageous sum for his release, based on that report.

“I was able to debunk that story as a lie, that it was not true and that settled it,” said Bamigbetan. Unknown to him, however, another group involved in the negotiation for his release had told his family the same outrageous ransom. They kept pestering his wife for the money until Saturday night.

“They were still calling me up to the last minute asking for money. They said I should prepare to become a widow and that they will tell me where to pick his body. I was tired and afraid. I began to beg them. But I thank God he is back and alive,” Mrs Bamigbetan said.

According to Bamigbetan, the kidnappers were seven and they divided themselves into two categories. One group was hardened; it was responsible for the threat and abuse while the other group was more humane.

“After the younger guys took over, things became easy; they gave me a mattress to sleep on, cooked indomie for me, bought me fruits,

washed my clothes themselves and forced me to eat and take my bath.”

The kidnappers seemed to have been forced into criminality by the social circumstances in the country.

“The guys involved made a very clear point, many of them were graduates, have not been in jobs for years, and many of them have gone to take that risk, according to them, because they cannot match the millions and the billions that we talk about with what comes into their own pockets. They cannot understand why we budget billions of naira and graduates cannot get jobs so they have come to take their anger against the system. In that circumstance, one was just a victim of circumstance, it is clear no one is safe. It can happen to anybody at any time, but I don’t think we are prepared to handle this,” Bamigbetan said.

The kidnappers would not release him, until he had made a promise to take a very strong message to the government. “They asked me to take this message to the government - that they are angry. They said how can an engineering graduate not have a job for eight years and the government is budgeting billions annually. They said as the elections are coming, they too will be doing their elections with their guns.

“The boys said they just wanted to take their own share of the national cake, which has been denied them.” Bamigbetan sees this as another evidence of the rot of Nigeria under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -led government.

“It’s a social question; the need to redistribute wealth in favour of the poor and the working class has become such a very imperative necessity, if Nigeria is going to move forward. That is the message they asked me to pass on - to let people know that they are not happy having to carry AK 47 around town at the risk to their own lives. Some of them are Human Resources graduates; some of them are Engineering graduates and this is what they have to do to survive. It’s a sad commentary on how the PDP government has been able to run this country. It shows you very clearly that no sane Nigerian seeing the challenges that we have should ever allow this party continue in power. The PDP government is really exposing us to danger.”

But there was still the issue of a ransom, some online news platforms claimed N15m was paid to secure his release. Bamigbetan would not confirm if such money was paid.

He said: “All of us are still exposed; there is no protection. There could be reprisals. Who is going to protect me against reprisals? I don’t want to be too salacious with information. I may not be able to control the consequences. It is not the issue of ransom, but safety. Former Anambra Deputy Governor paid a ransom and he was still killed.”

Bamigbetan seemed to have become a changed person after his ordeal. He has rededicated his life to the service of his people and to God. He also called for a special status for Lagos State to be able to cater for the millions of residents and migrants from other states. But he insisted he would not use a police security detail.

“I don’t use security details; I have never used security details. I am not too sure if it will change now. I believe in God’s protection, I work for the poor and believe that the prayers of those people will save me. I made my mind that if I work for the people they will pray for me. It is a stronger power.”

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

7

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 07059022999

Man demands 50m for unlawful detention

Posthumous award for Justus Esiri

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WO weeks after the late consummate actor, Justus Esiri, was buried in his home town, Oria-Abraka, Delta State, he bagged Africa's Best Actor award on Saturday. It was amid ovation at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) which held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

Film professionals, movie buffs, Bayelsa State Government officials, foreign observers and other stakeholders across the country gathered at the Glory Hall Cultural Center, venue of the event, which is often described as Africa's version of the Oscars.

Esiri won the award with his last work, Assassins Practice, beating Nigeria's OC Ukeje, Bimbo Manuel, Femi Jacobs and Lindani Nkosi (South Africa), Hlomlab Dandala (Ghana) and Amurin Wumnembom (Cameroon) to it.

His trophy was received on his behalf by the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Miss Ibinabo Fiberesima.

South African actress, Florence Masbe won the Best Actress award for her role in "Elelwani," beating Nigeria's Rita Dominic, Ghana's

By Ahmed Boulor and Mercy Michael

Yvonne Okoro, Burkina Faso's Mariam Ouedraogo, Cameroon's Mbutung Seikeh and Malawi's Flora Suya.

It was an evening of glory for Nigerian movies, as the Best Director and Best Film categories were clinched by Niji Akanni, for the film, Heroes and Zeroes and Kenneth Gyang for Confusion Na Wah. Lifetime Achievement Awards were also bestowed on some Nollywood veterans, including Chief Eddie Ugboma, Sir Osita Okeke Oguno (Ossy Afason), Ayuko Babu, Pete Edochie and Tunde Kelani.

Special Recognition laurels also went to ace producer, Emem Isong, veteran actors, Kanayo O Kanayo, Keneth Okonkwo, and the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN) for its invaluable roles in the industry.

Minister for Culture and

P •Esiri

Tourism, Chief Edem Duke, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan at the event, said the government was committed to helping the movie industry grow in Nigeria, adding that the N3 billion grant promised by Jonathan was still valid. He added that the framework for the fund would soon be out.

Also, Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson said his government is passionate about AMAA and its activities as he announced the establishment of Bayelsa Film Trust Fund, with an initial donation of N150 million.

Kanu foundation offers free tests

K

ANU Heart Foundation and Lagos-based Ago Medical Centre will today begin free medical test for the public to determine the condition of their hearts, including cancer and orthopedic cases.

The Coordinator/Trustee of the foundation, Pastor Onyebuchi Abia, said the idea is to screen patients' hearts for the purpose of

identifying those of them that require urgent medical attention and immediate treatment.

He said a group of doctors from Fortis Group of Hospitals, India are coming for the exercise, which he said, would hold at the Ago Medical Centre, 6, Oyinola Close, off Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos.

Contact for participation,

Abia said, could be sought at KHF, 22B, Omotayo Ojo, off Majekodunmi Street by Oshoppey Plaza, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja. The event, he added, would start from 9 am end on Wednesday.

He said registration would attract N1,000, adding that identified patients would benefit from the foundation's free surgery.

RODUCER of Silver Nitrate, David Chinedu Dingba, who was recently detained by soldiers for allegedly manufacturing bomb in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has headed for the court to demand N50 million from Nigerian Army and the Police.

Dingba, who was detained for one month in State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Port Harcourt, before he was granted bail, said he is innocent.

He said he was unjustly accused and arrested by soldiers, whom he said, alleged, had been looking for a means to dislodge him from his residence.

Narrating his ordeal to The Nation, Dingba said: "My mother teaches at Army Children School and that is why we stayed in one of the military quarters far from the army command and barracks. When a new army

T

O guard against operational hazards, Cadbury Nigeria PLC has started a safety awareness programme for its workers.

Flagging off the company's safety week - Work, Play, Live, Safe - in Lagos, the its Managing Director, Emil Moskofian, said the initiative was part of the company's culture of ensuring that global safety standards are not compromised while

Precious Dike, Port Harcourt

commander was transferred to Port Harcourt, I personally introduced to him the kind of business I do.

"Later, the army commander said I should bring the product to his office which I did, but I was surprised that he arrested me, saying what I produced resembled products used in making bomb. I also brought the goldsmith and the people I bought the mechanical tools from; they all testified that I am not a bomb manufacturer."

The suspect said while he was in detention, some military officers and policemen were asked to visit his workshop and investigate all the materials used in the business and they confirmed there was nothing found relating to explosive devices and recommended that he should be released.

"After the investigation

•Dingba

which proved me innocent, they still would not release me. The truth of the matter is that the bomb is not the issue. It is all about asking me and my mother to vacate the premises which they plan to illegally sell.

"What I do is a clean business. I buy waste chemicals from photography laboratories, distils the chemicals to collect silver nitrates and sell them to blacksmiths who turn them to earrings and such other items. It was just a knowledge acquired to defeat poverty since getting job in our society is a nightmare," he said.

Cadbury launches safety initiative trying to meet its set targets.

He said: "Safety is numberone priority in everything that we do because no matter the targets we set for ourselves, being safe while attaining those targets is key; that is why we have structured a safety programmes.

"With this 'Work, Play, Live, Safe' programme, employees

will be enlightened on the need to make adherence to safety policies a way of life. No matter the pressure, we won't compromise safety. That is why all the successes we have recorded so far have been hinged on safety. Without this being factored in all we do, we wouldn't have made much impact in the industry."

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

8

NEWS CAN backs move to tackle religious conflicts

By Paul Oluwakoya

T

Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and the Chief Executive of Lubrik Construction Company, Gilbert Sassine, inspecting the Igwuruta end of the over 14kilometre Igwuruta-Etche-Eneka-Rumuokurushi dual carriage expressway being built by his administration... at the weekend

Onaiyekan: I’m not comfortable with my national honor

T

HE Metropolitan Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has faulted the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) national honour bestowed on some Nigerians.

The cleric said he was not comfortable with being a recipient of the national honour.

Cardinal Onaiyekan spoke in Kabba, his home town in Kabba Local Government Area of Kogi State, at a reception in his honour.

The Catholic Bishop said his

From Muhammad Bashir, Lokoja

elevation to a Cardinal and the honour given him by Kabba indigenes have added to his high sense of responsibility.

He urged Nigerians to be good to one another.

Cardinal Onaiyekan called for national honours on worthy individuals who have made their marks genuinely to give the younger generation a sense of diligence and patriotism.

The Cardinal urged the Federal Government to work out a social welfare scheme for the aged, adding that such policy would make Nigerians to be more sincere and hardworking when they serve in their prime.

Kogi State Governor Idris Wada, who was represented by his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, described the elevation of Cardinal Onaiyekan as a blessing to the state.

The governor said the Cardinal is a positive reference for

the youths.

He urged him not to relent in his service to humanity and the state in particular.

Wada also urged the cleric to always pray for the administration and the state for divine guidance.

The governor said the state government was working on a policy that would cater for the aged, adding that the policy would be unveiled as soon as the modalities were completed.

A cleric, Rev Jerome Meg-

CBN probes defaulting importers of duties payment

Jonathan desperate for 2015 polls, says CPC T HE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan and his allies were desperate to win the 2015 general elections.

Jonathan’s moves, CPC said, are not hidden to the party.

The party alleged that the Jonathan administration has played up ethnicity and religious sentiments for its aggrandisement in the electoral victory of 2011.

In a statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, CPC accused the Jonathan administration of politicising Nigeria’s security by failing to deal with the Boko Haram sect or fish out its members.

This contrasted with the action the United States President Barack Obama took in dealing with terrorism, it said.

CPC said it was sad that

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

Jonathan had not shown commitment to the Boko Haram insurgency.

The statement reads: “As a party, we are not unaware of the desperation of the Jonathan regime ahead of the 2015 general elections. A administration that is unwilling and incapacitated in implementing none of the fundamental objectives (entrenched in the nation’s statute book), it now seeks to use unconscionable schemes to delude, confuse and over-awe the citizenry, ahead of the next general election in 2015.

“We stand shoulder-toshoulder with Nigerians in ensuring that the noble ideals of the rule of law reign in our land.

We shall continue to campaign against the vestiges of impunity and all forms of corruption and corruptive tendencies that

are prevalent in this Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

“The CPC is aware that the pre-eminent desire of Nigerians under this nation-space is security which, under this PDPled administration, has been an elusive phenomenon. This is sadly so because the Jonathan admnistration prefers political profiting from the menace of insecurity to obliterating the scourge from the nation’s landscape.

“After the Monday, April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, American President Obama reassuringly told a traumatised nation: ‘We do not know who did this. We will find them, and we will bring them to justice.’ In less than five days, the two suspected bombers have been decapitated.

“On October 1, 2010, there were bomb blasts near the Ea-

By Collins Nweze

T •Dr Jonathan

gle Square, Abuja. President Goodluck Jonathan, being more preoccupied with gaining some electoral credit through guiding public opinion to a decided outcome, declared to the nation: ‘It is not the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND)!’ It did not matter anymore that a formal investigation and subsequent litigious procedure have confirmed the culpability of MEND in the bombing. In essence, the Nigerian President has not only shown insularity unbecoming of a national leader but was preeminently concerned about winning his party’s nomination while the nation burnt!

Falana urges Nigerians to defend freedom of expression

L

AGOS lawyer Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday urged Nigerians to resist any move to use the machinery of state to erode the freedom of expression in the country.

The frontline lawyer issued a statement in Lagos, entitled: The Abuse of Free Speech Must Stop Now! in reaction to the clamp-down on some media houses in parts of the country by government agents.

Falana noted that despite the touted respect for the fundamental rights of Nigerians by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the freedom of expression guaranteed by Section 39

By Adebisi Onanuga

of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the nation was witnessing the progressive proscription of free speech.

He said in the last few weeks, some Nigerians have been subjected to crude harassment and intimidation by security forces for making statements or expressing views which were considered subversive by the Federal Government.

The activist listed the media houses and individuals affected to include a private radio sta-

tion in Kaduna, which was fined N2 million for allegedly embarrassing the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku; two correspondents of Abuja-based Leadership , Tony Amokeodo and Chibuzor Ukaibe, who were arrested, detained and charged with conspiracy and forgery before the Federal High Court, Abuja; Mr Yushau Shuaib, the spokesperson for National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who was sacked for allegedly embarrassing the Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Mrs Ibim Semenitari, the Rivers State Information Com-

belehin, advised the people to shun fetish beliefs and rely on God. He described the Cardinal as a man who got to his exalted position through commitment, hard work and trust in God. The highlights of the reception were the cutting of a reception cake, the renaming of a township road, setting up of an endowment fund and establishment of an annual lecture in honour of Cardinal Onaiyekan.

HE Chairman of the Southwest region of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Magnus Atilade, has backed a new interdenominational peace initiative that will engender harmony among different religious bodies in Nigeria.

The CAN regional chairman spoke in Lagos at the weekend during an interdenominational religious forum to herald the initiative.

Atilade blamed conflicts in the polity on the lack of understanding among opposing religious views.

The religious leader noted that conflicts arose from misunderstanding and a breakdown in communication, which have made Nigerians to live in suspicion of one another.

He said: “We have been working tirelessly in maintaining peace and security, especially among the two major religious bodies (Christian and Muslim) and Nigerians in general.

“The question remains: Why must I possess a knife or keep a gun to protect myself against my own brother in case of religious crisis? Why must we accept to die like fools?”

The cleric said the new initiative, which encompasses Muslims and Christians, would sustain the prevailing peace among religious bodies in the Southwest.

missioner who was interrogated by the National Security Adviser (NSA) for “security breach” over a statement she issued.

Falana declined comments on the detained Leadership Newspapers’ journalists because the matter was before an Abuja High Court.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, however, noted that the power conferred on the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) by former military dictators to impose fines on media houses has become otiose and illegal under the current constitutional dispensation.

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has begun the probe of importers who allegedly failed to pay their import duties to the Federal Government.

CBN’s Director, Trade and Exchange, Batari Musa, explained in a circular to authorised dealers and importers, at the weekend, that some Risk Assessment Reports (RARs) issued by the scanning service providers have not been collected by importers from their processing banks.

He said the implication of such uncollected RARs is that import duties may not have been paid by such importers, thereby denying the government of such revenue.

Musa urged owners of uncollected RARs issued on or before December 31, last year, and which remained uncollected till date, to collect them from their banks and pay the necessary duties, taxes and penalties not later than April 30.

NOA translates FoI Act into three languages From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

T

HE National Orientation Agency (NOA) has translated the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act into Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages.

The translated versions were unveiled in Abuja at the weekend.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Mr Mohammed Adoke said the translated versions would enable more Nigerians to understand the Act better.

Adoke, who was represented by Prof. Adedeji Adekunle, his Senior Special Adviser, hailed the NOA for being proactive.

The minister said it was necessary for Nigerians to understand the running of government, adding that the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act would provide the needed information on what the citizenry should know.

Mr Edem Duke, the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, who was represented by Mrs Nkechi Ejele, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said every Nigerian should appreciate the FoI Act. He said the Act would help Nigerians to know how government spends public funds and ask questions on the running of government affairs, which hitherto was not possible.

“This has opened our eyes to the principle of honesty, probity and integrity as a people,” Duke said.

The minister urged Nigerians to take advantage of the FoI Act and make public officers accountable to the nation.

NOA Director-General Mr Mike Omeri said many Nigerians could hitherto not discuss the content and import of the FoI Act and its relevance to the nation.

He noted that information management in Nigeria has been dogged by secrecy and censorship, which have been to the detriment of the people.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS

The Olayinka I knew,

by Bola Ige’s daughter

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HE daughter of the late Chief Bola Ige, Mrs. Funso Adegbola, has described the late Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, as simple, humble, natural and classy.

She said the deceased was a beacon of hope for women.

In her tribute, entitled: Beautiful Inside and Outside, Mrs. Adegbola said: “My heart grieved when I heard the sad news of Mrs. Olayinka’s death.

Our first meeting was at a function at the Church of Ascension, Opebi, Lagos, where she was a lay reader. I was struck by her stunning looks, even though she was wearing a white robe and a black head cover. When she took off the robe, I beheld her beauty and her exquisite taste in clothes and jewellery. When she spoke, her soft, gentle, respectful manner was even more endearing.

“After that, I saw her many times at the Ibadan home and family functions hosted by Governor Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Bisi. At a WIMBIZ conference, where she spoke about women in governance, I told myself she was the kind of woman I wanted to see in government. We desire and

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

deserve many like her- welleducated and well-exposed women, who are self-confident and of noble pedigree.

“Women and men who see good governance as an opportunity to serve, rather than a means to enrich their pockets. I was glad that the governor chose her to be his deputy and they made such a fine and formidable team.

While the governor had a background in political activism and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), she was experienced in the banking sector, so they complemented each other very well.

“My husband and I later met her husband, who is equally amiable and dapper.

His love and support obviously made her able to perform her official role creditably. He was not jealous of her success, neither did he hold her down. What a wellbalanced and exemplary couple!

“I love the fact that she never lost the essence of who she was. She was never swept off or inebriated by the euphoria of political office. She remained true to herself and her old friends.

Ekiti killing: Victim’s father demands justice

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N 81-year-old man in Ekiti State, Pa Gabriel Adewunmi, has urged the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation to investigate the killing of his son, Ayo Jeje.

Jeje was shot dead on March 30 at his family house in Erinjiyan-Ekiti by gunmen. Other members of the family, including the octogenarian’s wife, were injured.

Pa Adewunmi said: “I know all the gunmen. They shot three of my children and one died. They also shot my wife and I. My wife is lying critically injured at the Federal Medical Centre (MC). Eighteen bullets were removed from her body and 17 from my son’s body. It was the grace of God that saved us from these killers.

“What baffles me is that we know all the suspects. The police saw all the bullets, yet, the suspects have not been arraigned.

My boy is still in the mortuary.”

Pa Adewunmi said his son’s killers must not be allowed to go free. He urged the IGP and AGF to expedite the arraignment of the suspects and appealed to Nigerians to ensure that justice is done.

Ogun environmental conference tomorrow N international conference, tagged: Uplifting the Environment - Ogun State Goes Green, will hold tomorrow and Wednesday at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto in Abeokuta, the state capital.

It is expected to create awareness on the potentials of a public-private partnership for “Going Green” projects and the importance of having an environmental policy.

The conference is being organised by the Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment.

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Doctor gets automatic job in Ondo From Damisi Ojo,Akure

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VOLUNTEER surgeon in the just-concluded Rural Surgical Mission at Ijare, Ifedore Local Government of Ondo State, Seyi Olaniyi, has been employed by the State Government.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko announced this while addressing volunteer surgeons from different states in Nigeria, who participated in the third edition of the programme.

Mimiko assured the team of a sustainable partnership that would make the mission more beneficial to the people. He said arrangements have been concluded on the funding of primary health care centres to ensure effective service delivery.

Mimiko assured the people that the road leading to the Comprehensive Health Centre in Ijare would be constructed to make accessibility easier.

Leader of the team Prof. Charles said 85 surgeries were carried out.

President of the Ijare Committee of Friends Maj.-Gen. J. A. Omosebi said the programme was undertaken by the committee in collaboration with the Association of Rural Surgical Practitioners of Nigeria to complement the government’s efforts to provide quality health care.

•From left: Former Military Administrator of Old Ondo State Rear Admiral Abiodun Olukoya (rtd.); Dr. Fayemi; former Military Administrators Rear Admiral Joseph Oladeyinde (rtd., Ogun), Navy Capt. Atanda Yussuf (rtd., Ekiti) and Commodore Kayode Olofinmonyin (rtd., Ogun) praying during the ex-military administrators’ condolence visit to the governor in Ado-Ekiti... at the weekend.

Ekiti declares Friday work-free for Deputy Governor

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HE Ekiti State Government has declared Friday workfree. This is to honour the late Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, who will be buried on that day.

Mrs. Olayinka died on April 6 at St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos after a protracted battle with cancer.

She was 52.

The Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, “What I admire most about her was how she bore her cross with fortitude and smiles. When I learnt that she had battled cancer for a few years, I admired her even more! Not many of us can bear

such a cross without sullen looks and deep bitterness. She was a strong woman with a formidable spiritual strength.

She had a quiet brave endurance, despite the medical storms that assailed her.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

Tayo Ekundayo, told reporters yesterday that all government offices, including public schools, will be closed on Friday.

The remains of the late Mrs. Olayinka may be interred at a location close to the Enterprise Bank in Fajuyi, Ado-Ekiti.

Her body will arrive at Ado-Ekiti from Lagos on Wednesday for the funeral rites, which will last three days.

“Her life remains indelible in Nigeria’s history and that of women achievers. Her life, though short, was purposefilled and impactful. My heart and prayers go out to her parents, only God can comfort

them. Having lost a brother in the prime of his youth, I know their pain cannot be assuaged by human strength, but divine solace. May the Lord carry them underneath His wings.”

One killed, another injured in Lagos fire

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NE person was killed at the weekend in a fire that gutted a building on Agbe Street, Olodi Apapa, Lagos.

One person was injured.

The fire started around 7:30pm and raged on for over 90 minutes.

It was suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Fire fighters, who rushed to the scene, were allegedly attacked by hoodlums, who claimed they arrived late.

Spokesman of the National

By Jude Isiguzo

Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Southwest, Ibrahim Farinloye, decried the increasing attack on emergency workers in Lagos.

Farinloye said: “The firemen were trying to fight the fire from the base, but area boys told them to fight it from the top. The hoodlums struggled to collect the fire hose and attacked the firemen.

“Efforts to locate a water hydrant to refill our water tanker failed, as no one could

direct us to any hydrant. This assault is the third on firefighters in three weeks.

“At Ketu plank market, a fireman was critically injured and was hospitalised. A similar incident occurred at the Alade Market, where area boys destroyed fire-fighting equipment while trying to seize them from the firefighters.

“The refusal of Lagosians to give emergency workers access to disaster scenes is making prompt response difficult. The crowd at disaster

scenes is often difficult and uncontrollable.

“Motorists ignore emergency vehicle sirens and obstruct the movement of emergency workers. Emergency workers are human beings, who have families, and they will be mindful of their safety as they struggle to save other people’s lives.

“Threatening their safety will jeopardise their eagerness to respond to disasters in the future unless there is an attitudinal change by Nigerians.”

Ogun releases N340m for WAEC fees

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HE Ogun State Government has released N340 million for the payment of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination fees.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, in a statement, said the amount will cover the fees of 41,000 pupils.

He said the gesture was in line with the government’s determination to provide affordable and qualitative edu-

cation, which is one of the five cardinal programmes of the Governor Ibikunle Amosun administration.

Olaniyonu said: “As has been the case since the inception of this administration over two years ago, the government has released N340 million for the payment of the WAEC fees of 41,000 candidates. We are determined to continue to meet this obligation and others in the sector because we believe education is the catalyst for the

development of other sectors of the economy.

“The Amosun administration has, since its inception, been allocating the lion’s share of its budget to education. Twenty-three per cent of the 2013 budget went to education.”

He said the administration would continue to provide free text books and learning materials for public primary and secondary school pupils, adding that work was ongoing on model schools across

•Amosun

the state.

Ladoja’s appeal: Defective application stalls hearing

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HE Appeal Court sitting in Lagos, at the weekend, refused to hear an appeal instituted by former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja.

Ladoja is challenging the competence of the corruption charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court refused to hear the appeal on the grounds that the application filed by Ladoja’s counsel, Dr. Dapo Olanipekun, was defective.

This is the second time in two weeks that the court refused to hear the appeal.

Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, who presided over the case, said the appellant’s reply brief was wrongly titled “Respondent Brief”, instead of “Cross Respondent Brief”.

By Precious Igbonwelundu

He said: “You must have a valid process before us. The essence of nomenclature is fundamental and must be complied with.”

Olanipekun sought a short adjournment to enable him amend the application. The case was adjourned till June 20.

Ladoja, in 2010, filed an appeal praying the court to quash the charges against him.

He was arraigned with one of his former aides, Chief Waheed Akanbi, on a 10-count charge of “laundering” N4.7 billion.

Ladoja argued that the EFCC did not have enough evidence to indict him.

THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS Alaafin, Olubadan unaware of Obas’ meeting with Jonathan

Osun urges striking lecturers to resume work T HE Osun State Government has urged striking lecturers in the four state-owned tertiary institutions to resume work.

A High Court ordered lecturers of the State Polytechnic, Iree; State College of Technology, Esa-Oke; State colleges of education in Ilesa and Ila-Orangun to resume work last week, but they shunned the directive.

Commissioner for Human Resources and Capacity Building Miss Mobolaji Akande told reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, at the weekend that the demands of the lecturers have been met to a reasonable extent, despite the state’s “lean resources”.

She said: “The workers must be sincere in their clamour. The main issues, which are the implementation of the Consolidated Polytechnics and College of Education Academic Salary Structure (CONPCASS), heavy tax law, contributory pension, elongation of the retirement age from 60 to 65

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

and under-staffing have been addressed by the government’s negotiating team and the workers got the best.

“The implementation of the CONPCASS was approved by the Federal Government in 2009 and was adopted by the previous administration in Osun in the same year, but was never implemented. This administration approved the implementation from the zero level we inherited to 80 per cent.

“We offered the workers 90 per cent increase, but they rejected it at the last meeting. This is the maximum we can pay considering our meagre resources, particularly as we are going to recruit more lecturers as they requested. The government is negotiating based on its

‘Sack of Ladoja’s appointees overdue’

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SOCIO-cultural group, the Oyo Patriotic Front (OPF), yesterday said the sack of former Governor Rashidi Ladoja’s men in the administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi was overdue.

In a statement by its Chairman, Chief Jare Adepoju, the group said Ajimobi’s action was a right step in the right direction.

Describing the governor as “too large-hearted”, OPF said no politician would allow members of an opposition party that was determined to “pull him down” in his administration.

It said: “We recall that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State was vehemently opposed to the alliance between the Ajimobi administration and Ladoja.

“Ordinarily, there would have been nothing wrong with such an alliance, given the circumstances surrounding it, but with Ladoja allowing his ambition to becloud his sense of reasoning, it was an alliance waiting to collapse. And that is exactly what has happened.

“Despite the fact that Accord members were active participants in the Ajimobi administration, Ladoja and his cohorts never stopped attacking the government.

“Only a fool will allow the enemies within to pull down his administration in the name of an alliance that was not worth its name. Ironically, even the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not stood up against the Ajimobi administration the way the Accord has.

“We wish Ladoja and his Accord well in their pull-himdown approach to governance. We urge Ajimobi to concentrate on improving the state. Ladoja is not only a distraction, he is also a liability to Oyo State and an enemy to its progress.”

Okitipupa NBA demands fresh election From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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HE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okitipupa branch, Ondo State, at the weekend urged its National leadership to dissolve its current executives and conduct a fresh election.

The branch’s Vice-Chairman, Mr. Segun Lema, accused the Chairman, Mr. Amuwa Benson, of handling the election matter with levity.

But Benson attributed the delay to the planned reception organised for Justice Tayo Ikujuni of the State High Court, who is a member of the association.

He also said members, particularly the aspirants, have not been attending meetings.

Lema, a former secretary of the association, said the executive’s continuous stay in office after the expiration of their tenure is illegal.

He said their tenure expired about six months ago but Amuwa refused to conduct election.

Lema alleged that Benson’s “refusal” to conduct the election was political.

He threatened to relinquish his position, if the chairman fails to conduct the election in the next one month.

Lema said the association’s interest supersedes individual interest and urged the national body to interevene.

Benson said he had convened three meetings to discuss plans for the election, but the attendance was low.

lean resources and it is difficult to accede to the 100 per cent they are insisting on.”

The commissioner explained that the government cannot elongate the retirement age of the workers until the House of Assembly deliberates on it and makes a law to that effect.

She said: “That is a matter for legislation. Unless that is dealt with by the lawmakers, the government is powerless.”

On the tax law, Miss Akande said the state government is powerless because it is on the exclusive list of the 1999 Constitution.

On contributory pension, she said the administration inherited non-remittance of

the contributory pension from the immediate-past government, but has started remitting it.

Miss Akande said the process is ongoing, adding that most of the lecturers have received credit alerts from their Pension Fund Administrators.

On under-staffing, she said the institutions are yet to come up with their list of vacancies, so that the government can fill them.

The commissioner said the fact that the government is negotiating with the lecturers while they are still on strike showed that it was worker-friendly.

She urged the lecturers to have a rethink on the government’s offers in order not to jeopardise the future of the students.

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

•Alaafin

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HE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, and the Olubadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, are unaware of the planned meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and Yoruba obas.

Sources close to the two major traditional rulers yesterday said they knew nothing about the meeting.

It was reported yesterday that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, would lead 22 Obas to Aso Rock for a

meeting with Jonathan. According to the report, the meeting was aimed at garnering the Southwest’s support for the President’s re-election in 2015.

A source close to the Alaafin said: “We are not aware of such a meeting. The promoters of such a meeting would not even invite us to follow the Ooni for a meeting. We are currently concerned with the ongoing regional integration in the Southwest.”

A source within the Olubadan-in-Council said: “The Olubadan would never queue up behind the Ooni. I doubt if the Soun of Ogbomoso was aware of the meeting. It may be an Osun State Obas affair.”

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THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 22, 2013

NEWS

JTF impounds vessel with N310m stolen crude oil •21 suspects arrested

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HE Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta yesterday said it has impounded a vessel allegedly carrying some 2,500 tonnes of crude at Okuboto Creek in Bayelsa State.

The Sea Express was conveying suspected stolen crude oil worth $2 million.

It was gathered that the 2,500 metric tonnes of suspected crude oil contained in the vessel translates to about 18,000 barrels of crude oil.

The products are believed to be stolen from oil multinationals’ facilities in the areas.

The activities of illegal bunkerers forced Anglo Dutch firm, Shell Petroleum Development Company, to declare force majeur twice within weeks.

JTF’s Media Coordinator Lt. Col Onyeama Nwachukwu said the Task Force’s anti-oil theft raid led to the seizure.

Nwachukwu said the vessel was on the verge of filling the fourth of its compartments before it was intercepted by operatives from Sector 2 of the JTF. The vessel is in the custody of Sector 2 Headquarters for preliminary investigations.

The crew, it was learnt, are undergoing preliminary investigations before they would be handed over to a prosecuting agency.

Col Nwachukwu said a

From Shola O’Neil, Warri

barge, MONOVO-2, suspected to be engaged in oil theft was impounded on Golubo Creek while conveying stolen petroleum product.

No arrest was made in the second operation as, according to the JTF spokesman, the crew abandoned the barge and fled into the forest on sighting JTF operatives.

He said: “In another antioil theft raid in Delta State, 30 open boats conveying illegally cooked petroleum products were intercepted in Aruton and Ugborodo communities in Delta State.

“The boats were impounded while loaded with plastics tanks filled with stolen petroleum product.

“Eight illegal crude oil distillery camps were also destroyed in Oboro, Kpukpugbene in Burutu and Sagara, near Escravos in Warri South Local Government of Delta State.

“Nine steel tanks and 187 large plastic reservoirs used by the oil thieves to perpetrate the crime at the camp sites were destroyed at the camp sites in line with the mandate of the Task Force.

“During the entire operation that lasted from April 7 to 14, 21 suspects were arrested in these crime locations. “

•The vessel, Sea Express, at Okuboto Creek...yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

Fed Govt calls for unity among Bakassi leaders

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INISTER of Interior Abba Moro has called on Bakassi leaders to be united as the Federal Government pursues the proper resettlement of their people.

Moro assured that the Federal Government will ensure that they are properly and permanently resettled with their welfare and well-being taken care of.

Speaking during a public hearing organised by the

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

Presidential Committee on the Plight of Bakassi People in Calabar at the weekend, he said the essence of the committee’s trip to Cross River was to assess the various locations suggested by political leaders as the appropriate place for the resettlement.

“We have seen the places and the most important thing here is for all of us to understand that a very unfortunate situation has arisen.

“My advice is that everybody should be able to rea-

son together; we must not lose our sense of reasoning and judgment too.

“We must act in good conscience and ensure that a solution has to be found to this problem,” Moro said.

The minister advised the various communities and stakeholders to wait patiently for the outcome of the findings.

He said the Federal Government will ensure that a decision that will be accepted by all parties is reached.

Chairman of the Committee and Deputy Governor of Cross River State Efiok

Cobham said an on-the-spot assessment of the locations will help in preparing a comprehensive and holistic recommendation “Whatever happens here is not the fault of any of us in this committee, all what we want is your understanding in ensuring that we live peacefully together while the Federal Government works out the modalities for the way forward.”

He said the plight of the people will not be reduced to mere compensation but will ensure that they are well catered for as enshrined in the Green-Tree Agreement.

Five dead in Delta road crash

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IVE persons died yesterday in multiple accidents on the AsabaOnitsha Expressway. Eleven others were injured.

The victims were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, where they are receiving treatment.

The multiple accidents involved an articulated truck with registration number SNK 77 XA, a truck with registration number KWA 12

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

XA, a Mitsubishi L300 marked GDD 295 XA and a Nissan Quest marked DX 219 FST. The accidents occurred at Okwe Junction in Asaba when the truck carrying cement lost control while descending a hill.

An eyewitness said the truck hit the Nissan Quest and it veered into the

pavement at the centre of the dual carriage way.

He said the trailer driver, who lost control, rammed into the Mitsubishi bus fully loaded with passengers heading to Onitsha, crushing it against the Iveco truck which was in front.

Spokesman of the State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Julius Bassey confirmed the incident.

Achebe to be buried May 23 OREMOST novelist and author Chinua Achebe will be buried on May 23.

The Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, said this yesterday at the end of their meeting in Enugu.

The governors met with the Achebe family and leaders of Ogidi community on the funeral arrangements.

Obi said the Southeast would give the late author a befitting burial.

Achebe, he said, had portrayed Nigeria in a good light to the outside world more than any Nigerian through his literary

F

From Chris Oji, Enugu

works.

Achebe’s son, Ike, told reporters that his father deserve every honour given to him by the governors and the Federal Government.

He said his father spent most of his life fighting for a just and fair society in Nigeria.

Present at the meeting were Theodore Orji (Abia), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Martins Elechi (Ebonyi) .

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha was represented by Deputy Governor Eze Madumere.

17 queue to succeed Akpabio

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EVENTEEN aspirants from Akwa Ibom South (Eket) Senatorial District are aspiring to contest the governorship election in 2015.

Seven aspirants are from Eket Federal Constituency, six from Oron Federal Constituency and four from Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency.

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

The chairman of the Akwa Ibom South (Eket) Senatorial District Assembly, Nduese Essien, said this at the group’s meeting held at the Ekid Civic Centre at the weekend.

A communiqué at the meeting warned all indi-

genes of the district against playing second fiddle by accepting the deputy governorship.

Participants at the forum insisted that the principle of zoning and rotation would ensure equity, fair play and justice enjoyed by governors from the two other senatorial districts.

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COMMENTARY FROM OTHER LANDS

EDITORIALS

At last, Dangote refinery •Plans by the business mogul to set up refinery in Nigeria shows that it is doable

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ARRING unforeseen developments, a new refinery will be constructed in the country in the next three years. To be built by business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the 400,000barrels-a day capacity refinery will come on stream in late 2016. Dangote, who disclosed this to Reuters said it was a matter of time, the infrastructure we now have would no longer be to able to receive the amount of fuel the country imports.

The refinery, when operational, will be a big relief in a country that is a major producer of crude oil, but still imports about 80 percent of its domestic fuel needs. It is also a relief in that when operational, Dangote would have succeeded in the petroleum downstream sector where many companies that had got licenses to establish refineries have failed years after.

Nigeria presently has four refineries with a combined capacity of about 450,000 barrels per day. Unfortunately, they are all operating at far below capacity, due to decades of mismanagement and corruption which successive governments have not been able to address.

Rather, they have chosen the option of importation to augment local supplies, to the detriment of the country’s economy.

With fuel subsidy running into the trillion naira mark, importation of the commodity and subsequent subsidy payments on it have become an industry from which some people are feeding fat and are therefore unwilling to let go of the subsidy regime that has sustained them for decades.

Yet, the present arrangement is unsustainable, especially as fuel subsidy is about the single biggest item on the

country’s budget. Successive governments have realised this and their response, rather than address the problems of corruption in the existing refineries, and encouraging the establishment of new ones, has been to resort to incessant fuel price increases, the latest being the one of January last year which Nigerians fiercely resisted.

The course of the fuel price increase protests of January 2012 has revealed a can of worms that the country has been grappling with since then. Even the government that promised to build Greenfield refineries at the time seems to have jettisoned the idea.

It is against this sordid background that we welcome Dangote’s decision to set up the refinery with a capacity to refine more fuel than the country’s four aged refineries combined. In the first place, he has the financial muscle to do the business.

He also has a track record as a great industrialist.

As Dangote rightly noted, “In five years, when our population is over 200 million, we won’t have the infrastructure to receive the amount of fuel we use. It has to be done.” The refinery has to be built not only for this reason but also for the fact that a refinery of that size in the country will come with a lot of jobs for the teeming Nigerians out there who are roaming the streets in search of nonexistent jobs. Other things being equal, Nigeria and Nigerians have much to gain if Dangote goes ahead with his plan to build the refinery.

Of course we cannot but note the fears in some quarters about Dangote becoming a monopolist, with its attendant consequences. These could be genuine, es-

pecially in our country where there is no Anti-Trust law to regulate the conduct and organisation of business corporations.

But then, we should give Dangote the benefit of the doubt. This is much more so that he has said that a new refinery would still work profitably in the country even if the government maintained the subsidised fuel price, a thing that others have used as alibi to run away from establishing refineries here, preferring, instead, the lazy way out - importation.

All said, the buck still stops at the government’s desk. It is its irresponsibility that led to Nigeria importing fuel all these years, despite the fact that she is a major producer of crude oil; so it is its responsibility to ensure that an Anti-Trust law is made in the country, not just for Dangote but to protect consumers generally from oligopolistic tendencies. The time is ripe for such legislation.

‘The refinery has to be built ... for the fact that a refinery of that size in the country will come with a lot of jobs for the teeming Nigerians out there who are roaming the streets in search of nonexistent jobs. Other things being equal, Nigeria and Nigerians have much to gain if Dangote goes ahead with his plan to build the refinery’

What manner of bankers?

•Kudos to CBN for saving depositors cheated to the tune of about N6 billion. But who are the cheats?

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F banks cheated customers to the tune of between N6 billion and N8 billion in one year alone, it would appear that there are too many cheats in our banking halls. It is just as well that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the banking regulator, has checkmated them.

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, at the 2013 Isaac Moghalu Foundation (IMOF) Lecture and Symposium in Abuja, disclosed that in 2012 alone, Nigerian banks had cheated their customers to the tune of N6 billion, although the actual amount was found later to be N8 billion. But thanks to Hajia Umma Aminu Dutse, the CBN’s director of consumer protection, who ensured that the apex bank forced the erring banks to refund the money to the affected accounts.

In tandem with the lecture’s 2013 theme, “Women in leadership, the education pipeline”, Mallam Sanusi was all

‘Inasmuch as guilty banks deserve all the knocks, just announcing the foiling of a scam without announcing the guilty gives the impression that everyone in the industry could have been involved. That is not fair to the innocent banks; and certainly, it does not reinforce good banking behaviour’

praise for Hajiya Dutse: “The director of consumer protection has recovered over N6 billion in the last one year for customers that were cheated by banks. She takes sides with banks’ customers. Even when I plead with her to be gentle with the banks, she is very ruthless”. That is the way it should be. Banking is essentially a trust business. A situation in which banking halls are populated by smart alecs scheming on how to rip off unsuspecting customers, is unacceptable.

So, thumbs up for the CBN for detecting this unwholesome practice and ensuring that cheated depositors got back their money. But which banks are involved in such sharp practices? Or is it that every bank operating in Nigeria has been stealing from their customers?

Inasmuch as guilty banks deserve all the knocks, just announcing the foiling of a scam without announcing the guilty gives the impression that everyone in the industry could have been involved. That is not fair to the innocent banks; and certainly, it does not reinforce good banking behaviour.

For the guilty parties to quietly refund money they had attempted to steal amounts to no more than punishment in the closet. Future culprits are bound to take their chances, sure that such misdemeanours would hardly be public knowledge – so will the attendant odium and possible loss of business.

However, only customers who felt cheated and wrote petitions got their cases investigated; and their monies refunded.

That, of course, simply means that hundreds, perhaps thousands of others who

never complained could still have got their monies creamed off. That is not good enough. The CBN should somehow devise very effective means of independent verification that would routinely take care of such abuses.

It is important to note that prevention is always better than cure. These incidences of fraud and allied cheating are only a result of lowered professional standards, especially in banking ethics and integrity.

By all means, those involved must be punished. But that can only do in the short run. In the long run, the country’s banking industry must get a moral rebirth, if it must be deepened to capture funds from the huge informal economy.

That way, more and more Nigerians would have enough trust in the banks to deposit their monies therein, as well as do other banking transactions.

Two bodies are crucial to this banking rebirth: the regulator, CBN and the professional body, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). To make CBN’s job easier, it should continue to preach the gospel of banking integrity; and the imperative of restoring in Nigerian banking system the pristine trust on which banking was founded.

But nothing would appear more effective – and dignifying – than self-and peer-correction. That is where the CIBN comes in. It owes it a duty to its members and to the survival of the only industry from which they earn their living to ensure ethical reorientation and revival.

U.S. should focus on helping Egyptians protect their freedoms

I

N EGYPT’S secular society, conventional wisdom holds that the United States is backing the Islamist government of Mohamed Morsi and reconstructing with his Muslim Brotherhood the corrupt relationship it once had with strongman Hosni Mubarak.

For the most part, it’s an untrue and unfair story. But the fact that so many prominent and well-educated Egyptians believe it is an indication of how the Obama administration is failing to conduct or even articulate a coherent policy for post-revolutionary Egypt.

Egyptians who believe in the Morsi-as-Americanclient theory point to his close cooperation with President Obama during last year’s fighting between Israel and Hamas, the announcement of $250 million in fresh economic aid by Secretary of State John F. Kerry during a visit to Cairo last month, and Washington’s low-key response to Mr. Morsi’s violations of democratic order. Mr. Morsi, like Mr. Mubarak before him, seems to be allowed a free hand to repress opponents and concentrate power in exchange for keeping peace with Israel and cooperating in hot spots such as the Gaza Strip.

The reality is that the United States is not so much propping up Mr. Morsi’s government as it is flailing in its attempts to build a working relationship with it and exert influence. While U.S. cooperation with the Egyptian military, which has walled itself off from the civilian government, remains strong, there has been little in the way of strategic cooperation between the administration and Mr. Morsi in recent months. A proposed visit by the president to Washington was twice postponed and is now on hold.

Mr. Kerry’s aid announcement was aimed at coaxing Mr. Morsi into finalizing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out Egypt’s crumbling economy. U.S. officials hoped the pact would serve the political purpose of forcing the Islamists to compromise with the secular opposition to win public toleration of IMF-mandated austerity measures. But Mr. Morsi short-circuited that strategy by seeking, and quickly winning, $5 billion in aid from Qatar and Libya — funds that should allow the government to avoid both an IMF deal and a financial collapse before October, when new parliamentary elections are now expected.

With the Arab money in hand, Mr. Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders appear increasingly disinclined to heed advice, appeals or even criticism from Washington. A proposed law that would eviscerate civil society groups and ban congressionally funded organizations such as the National Democratic Institute from operating in Egypt is moving forward. Senior leaders have been spewing anti-American rhetoric. An expression of concern by the State Department about a criminal case brought against a television satirist prompted an angry response from the ruling party.

The right way for the administration to regain its footing in Egypt is neither to pivot toward backing the secular opposition nor to seek accommodation with the government. Instead, the United States should have a policy centered on widening and preserving the democratic opening that followed the 2011 revolution. The administration should speak more, including from the White House, when free speech, free assembly or free elections are threatened; it should find ways to continue and increase its support for Egypt’s civil society. It should reach out more to opposition leaders, while making clear to them and to the military that non-peaceful means for challenging Mr. Morsi’s government are unacceptable.

In short, the United States should worry less about influencing or cooperating with Mr. Morsi’s government and more about helping Egyptians defend liberal values.

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 •Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon •Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: The disposition of corporate organizations to the development of intellectualism in our educational system is a very disturbing one. No nation can liberate it citizens from modern imperialism without the adequate education of its people. No country can hope to have an enviable future when it fails to appreciate, support, develop and reward its intellectual class.

I witness, daily, a mass decampment of our young people from what I term ‘real education’ to entertainment and frivolous interests. A sur-

S

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

National Mathematics Centre’s awards vey of the current trends on Nigerian campuses will reveal the scary statistics. Students no longer have interest in programmes and event with essential academic content.

What catches their fancy is any of the huge shows where music stars and celebrities are brought in to arouse their sensations.

I cite one example – the National

Tales from a failing state

IR: When countries beat their chests about providing adequate security of both the lives and belongings of their citizens, that Nigeria will do so is becoming increasingly doubtful. The doubt arises from the failure of successive governments to deliver basic dividends of responsible governance to the people, from whom they have either derived or seized political power. An implication of those years of neglect of social service delivery by government is the widening disconnect between it and the people it ought to serve.

One worrisome result of that ‘disconnect’ is kidnapping, which has become a serious social problem in Nigeria.

Kidnapping was relatively strange to Nigeria until February 2006. What began with abductions of foreign oil workers by rampaging members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and allied groups has now assumed a dimension that requires crucial, decisive and nonpartisan action from the current Nigerian leadership.

Since then, kidnapping has flourished; it now serves as both a means of making ‘fast’ money and ‘negotiating’ for the release of persons in custody for alleged links with terrorist groups. The spate of kidnap of persons for ransom, and sometimes ritual, has lengthened Nigeria’s presence under the global spotlight that has already fetched her ‘laurels’ for such systemic deficiencies as corruption, electoral fraud and recently, pardons for convicted persons among

others.

All these have spurred keen watchers of events to conclude that Nigeria is showing symptoms of a failing state, if not an already failed one. In June 2012, the Research Institute of Economics and Peace released its Global Peace Index, in which Nigeria came sixth in a list of world’s 10 most dangerous countries to live in. Sadly, all of the surveyed countries are from Africa.

On February 16, the Jama’atu Ansarul Musilimina Fi Biladis Sudan (JAMBS), believed to be a splinter group of the Boko Haram terrorist organisation, kidnapped seven foreign workers from a construction firm in Bauchi State, only to claim to have killed the foreign nationals a month later. The murder, as the group claimed, followed a perceived planned attempt by Ni-

gerian and British security operatives to secure freedom for the hostages.

I am drawn to the General Objective in Section 14, Sub-section 2(b) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, which is unequivocal about the fact that security and welfare of citizens is a fundamental responsibility of the Nigerian government.

The section saddles the Nigerian government with the duty of protecting the lives and belongings of every citizen, from whom it derives all powers and authorities.

Universally, governments owe this duty to their citizens and aliens within their territories and beyond. Some nations will freely go to war in love for their citizens!

•Agboola Odesanya University of Lagos, Akoka

Mathematics Centre, Abuja, which recently concluded the National Mathematics Competition for university students in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to buttres this trend. This contest drew participants from over 20 universities (out of over 100 universities in Nigeria) including the universities of Ibadan, Ilorin, Imo and Lagos as well as several others from across the six geo-political zones of the country.

The competition’s objective, I believe, is to stimulate the mathematics acumen of students and translate the exceptional performances of the contestants into visible national development. However, the best overall undergraduate student did not get so much as a N500 Mathematics textbook. Does this not sound ridiculous? It is a shame and a disgrace to our collective sensibilities. It reveals how much aspersion we cast on the development of intellectual capacity in Nigeria.

Four contestants from University of Lagos were among the top eight in the contest. The best five are supposed to represent the country in the yearly international competition in

Bulgaria sometime in August this year. None of these students got any prize in cash or kind as reward for making their universities proud.

Though I learnt the NMC promised to employ the best five but are we not tired of promises in this part of this world? What is with politiciansturn-academics and their promises?

Beauty pageants are held on campuses and their winners, (the top 10) return home with visas to international editions, cars, laptops, highpowered phones, and millions of naira as cash prizes. Music talent shows are held in country and their winners get huge record deals worth millions of naira, cars, fame and an overnight rise to stardom.

Why can’t the National Mathematics Centre get overwhelming support for a national competition such as this? I ask the centre to come out and tell Nigerian students why it cannot, at least, help keep the light of intellectualism shining. If all our students go into music and beauty pageants because they see it as more rewarding, where are we, then, headed as a nation?

Bill Gates just announced a $100,000 reward for any young person who comes up with a new-generation condom. Where are the Bill Gates of Nigeria? Corporate organizations and brands should help to support the development of the intellectual class. Music and Entertainment should not be the only things that interest us!

•Joshua Oyeniyi, Lagos

A note to my dad on his birthday

S

IR: It is normal and often a cliché for people to address their fathers as mentors, role models and a source of inspiration.

This sometimes, is not always true, especially when the values and philosophies of a father are not reflected in the son who claims he is a protégé.

For me I have actually been mentored, pampered, scolded, molded, instructed, cared for by this man whom I have grown to love and admire.

A man would have me sleep on him all through the night. One who would always come to pick me up

in nursery and primary school despite his schedules. This same man has taken the pain of sending me to the best schools anyone would ask for. This man has brought himself so low at one point that my siblings and I would have the best in life.

A man who would allow me sit with him on the driver’s seat on our way to the village. One who shouts on me and comes back the following morning to apologise to a fiveyear- old. Who carries me to bed each time I doze off in the sitting room. This same man made out time to teach me how to tell the time with our wall clock.

Interestingly, the signature I append today on documents, this man drafted it for me. A man who took me to secondary school and tertiary institutions on my first day in school, stayed with me until I was finally registered. He still came all the way from Eastern Nigeria to Abuja for my visiting days. It is because of this same man that I have been privileged to be who I am today.

The lessons and values I learnt from him are now what drive and I instill same in my three lovely sisters. To crown it all, this same man is still the same and has not changed

one bit. He made out time to teach me how to drive; in fact, he has taken the pain of trying to find a suitable mate for me!

As he marks another year of his birth, please join me and celebrate this man of integrity, love, care, a leader of people, an indefatigable fighter, an ever loving husband (my mum has never bought a phone), and an inspiration to myself and siblings.

Happy birthday to Engineer Nicholas Ej. Azubuike Osuagwu.

•Emeka Davies Azubuike, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

COMMENTS

W

HAT is the definition of madness? There may not be a straightforward and definitive answer. On the complexity of insanity, Chinua Achebe’s thoughtprovoking short story, The Madman, published in Girls at War and Other Stories (1972) provides enlightening insight. The protagonist in the narrative, Nwibe, a successful figure in an Igbo rural setting, is about to take the Ozo title, a prestigious honour in the community. Then the bizarre happens.

The tragic hero stops for a bath at the local stream on his way from the farm. A naked lunatic, who has gone to the stream for a drink of water spots Nwibe’s loincloth, gathers it, wraps it around his waist, and speeds away with it. In a mindless reaction, Nwibe pursues the mischievous crazy man right into a crowded market, and the original difference between the two men is erased as onlookers redefine the characters. Nwibe’s world comes crashing down. He is viewed as a madman, and unworthy of the revered decoration he craves.

Indeed, there is a sense in which the latest bombshell from Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Islamist group Boko Haram, re-enacts Achebe’s creative work. Suddenly, reality has become hallucinatory, and no one seems sure anymore of anything. Just when the federal government, based perhaps on self-righteous calculations, sought to make peace with the destructive desperadoes, the unbelievable happened.

Rubbishing the government’s consideration of amnesty for the group, Shekau stunned the world with a statement that not only questioned social perception of its activities, but also extended the boundaries of human judgment. According to his reasoning, in a recorded audio message in Hausa, “Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon.”

To go by Shekau’s logic, it is clearly appropriate to ask in reverse, “What wrong have the Nigerian government and the Nigerian people done?” His coup de theatre perfectly demonstrates what American novelist Phillip Roth describes as “the ecstasy of sanctimony.”

Shekau’s grudge statement was certainly significant for its revelatory quality, even if it fell short of listing the group’s grievances and saying why it is the government and the people that should be considered for pardon. However, it

‘There can be no clearer indication that the government itself is, regrettably, a casualty of mindlessness. It is ridiculous to think that forgiveness can be forced on people who refuse to acknowledge their wrong, and even consider the accuser the guilty party.

N

OVEMBER 16, this year Chinua Achebe would have been 83 and so the yearly celebration to mark his birthday, an annual ritual for the literary world would at least assume a different form from this year. From primary school at St Phillips Central School Ogidi, Anambra State and Central School Nekede, Owerri, Imo State, Achebe left his footprints as a very brilliant student having obtained full scholarship to Dennis Memorial Grammar School Onitsha and Government College Umuahia. At Umuahia he completed his secondary school in a record four years instead of the five, passing the Cambridge ordinary level with five distinctions and one credit. The credit ironically was in English Literature. For a student nick-named “Dictionary”, he must have felt disappointed.

He proceeded to University College Ibadan through a nation-wide entrance examination. At Ibadan, he was admitted to study medicine but changed to the arts at the expense of losing his bursary scholarship and had to pay tuition.

After graduating, Achebe moved on and commenced a career with the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) in 1954.He moved rapidly up the ladder and was appointed Director of External Broadcasting. Whilst at NBS, he utilised his spare time in writing.

The turning point however was an encounter at Ibadan with his English professor who told him that his entry in a short story competition” lacked form”. Achebe declared thereafter “it dawned on me that despite her excellent mind and background, she was not capable of teaching across cultures, from her English culture to mine. It was in these circumstances that I was moved to put down on paper the story that became Things Fall Apart.

Yet, Things Fall Apart, the epic ground-breaking novel would have been lost to the world. Achebe himself told the story of how in his naivety he sent the original and only manuscript of the novel to a typing agency in London for an expert touch in typing and preparation for publishing. Strangely the agency went to sleep after receiving full payment of £32 (thirty two pounds) from Achebe. In 1956, this was a lot of money. Anyway by some fortuitous turn of event, his colleague at NBS, an English lady, Angela Beattie’s intervention saved the day and the agency returned to Achebe a typed and well prepared work ready for publishing.

Achebe once reminisced “I look back now at those events and state categorically that had the manuscript been lost, I most certainly would have been irreversibly discouraged from continuing my writing career.” And the world never would have read such intriguing, captivating and enthralling stories of not only Things Fall Apart where Achebe expressed himself in naked gratitude to his Igbo culture and history but also No Longer At Ease, Arrow Of God, A Man Of The People, Anthills Of The Savannah etc. Nigerians especially

Who needs Shekau’s pardon?

By Femi Macaulay contained an even more profound revelation about his state of mind and the psychology of the group. It is mind-boggling that the group seems convinced of its self-presumed innocence. Is this an acute case of denial, or a self-justification inspired by a warped morality? Or could he be right in his claim that the group is the wronged party, rather than the wrong, in this hell of a story? Is there an ethical confusion that makes the sect right and society wrong?

Ordinarily, Shekau’s words would have made his mental health suspect. But can we be sure of the representative of madness? Can we with certainty label him insane on the basis of his implied defence of his group’s murderous bent?

Who are the mad ones, Shekau’s fundamentalist militia or those who have dignified the group by supposing that it would appreciate the civility of pardon?

It is even more perplexing that the government seems frozen on the idea of forgiving the group’s atrocities. In an equally dramatic and incredible response to Shekau’s putdown, the Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak, insisted on finding a way to forgive the rudely remorseless. He told the press, “The decision of the Federal Government to set up the committee to work out modalities to grant amnesty to members of the sect is on course. No pronouncement by any individual or group or an attempt to blackmail government will stop it.”

There can be no clearer indication that the government itself is, regrettably, a casualty of mindlessness. It is ridiculous to think that forgiveness can be forced on people who refuse to acknowledge their wrong, and even consider the accuser the guilty party. It is noteworthy that the Niger Delta militants who are beneficiaries of a governmental amnesty accepted that they were wrong in their belligerent approach, even though their grievances were considered reasonable.

Their armed protest against alleged inequitable distribution of revenue from the oil-rich region and environmental degradation was largely selective in its targets, and focused more on abduction of oil workers for ransom and disruption of oil-producing activities, although there were a few cases of bombings that affected the civilian population.

In the case of Boko Haram, the government has an unrepentant adversary with motives that do not speak to reason.

At the heart of the group’s insurgency is the dream to Islamize the country and enthrone the Sharia. It has become increasingly radicalized since 2009, and its terror tactics has resulted in a reported death toll of an estimated 10,000 victims in the northern part of the country. In its reign of terror, the group has struck against the United Nations (UN) House, military and police facilities, churches, media offices and prisons. Other targets include a beer parlour, the

convoys of a state governor and a respected emir, and a motor park. The group has no compunction about taking the lives of others, men, women and children; and even sacrificing the lives of its own members through chilling suicide bombings.

Evidently, the Boko Haram army and the pardoned Niger Delta militants share a common ground in the objective to make the country ungovernable, but the logic of parallel probably ends there. The truth is that the religious fundamentalists are in a world of their own, well beyond the material and ethical considerations that prompted the warriors of the Niger Delta to have a rethink. Boko Haram does not subscribe to the morality of the secular state, and apparently has no need for silver and gold.

However, it is interesting that the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) recently resumed open hostilities against the government, and threatened to expand the range of its targets to include mosques, hajj camps and Muslim clerics. Although this reversal was initially premised on the trial and imprisonment of the group’s leader, Henry Okah, in South Africa on charges related to terror acts carried out by the group in Nigeria, it has obviously developed into a kind of counterpunch against Boko Haram.

If MEND carries out its threat, the consequence will be a balance of terror. It remains to be seen, though, whether such development will tame Boko Haram. It is remarkable that MEND, which was itself a beneficiary of governmental amnesty, has plans to return to the trenches against a group that is disdainful of state pardon. There is the possibility of opportunism in MEND’s posture, but it is not without a positive side in its opposition to the killer religious zealots.

In this picture, the government cannot have a redeeming image. It shows that amnesty for terror champions is perhaps too easy and too cheap, and probably lacks effectiveness as a deterrent. Counter-terrorism should seek to overpower violence, not overlook criminal brutality.

• Macaulay is on the editorial board of The Nation

‘The decision of the Federal Government to set up the committee to work out modalities to grant amnesty to members of the sect is on course. No pronouncement by any individual or group or an attempt to blackmail government will stop it’

The eagle on Iroko has flown home

By Victor Emeana would probably not have known Achebe’s perspective in what is arguably the most lucid diagnosis and remedy of the Nigerian problem in The Trouble With Nigeria. And indeed a most revealing account of the Nigeria-Biafra war may also have been lost in There Was A Country.

Achebe was not just a great story-teller; he was a literary Pan-Africanist. Through his writing he contributed immensely in redirecting the orientation of the rest of the world on their dim perspective of African culture and history. He was literally saying particularly to our colonisers – before your arrival, we had a story and are proud to tell it. One of the more common features in the barrage of tributes and eulogies following the news of his death is that he was a patriot apart of course from his obvious literary feat. This is just as well because in his essays, lectures, interviews, books etc he had continued to engage the Nigerian question by not only pointing clearly at what the problem is in “The Trouble With Nigeria” where he put the problem squarely on leadership but also by suggesting remedies. His now famous rejection twice of the national honours was not as disrespect to Nigeria but as a protest of inept leadership.

Similarly when he ignored sometime ago an appointment to the board of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) made over the radio, he was simply telling the government that things are not done that way.

Achebe’s long sojourn in the USA following a road accident which consigned him to the wheel chair for over two decades until his death did little to limit his intellectual contribution to the Nigerian project. Not long ago he gave a reverberating keynote address via video-conferencing at the 25th anniversary of The Guardian newspapers in Lagos, also his son Chidi Achebe delivered on his behalf an address at the Rainbow Book Club literary conference in Port Harcourt.

Only recently, at the 2012 Achebe Colloquium on Africa held at Brown University Rhode Island USA December 2012, the large gathering of intellectuals brainstormed on the theme “Statecraft in the African Renaissance Amidst Regime Change”. His Excellency Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State personally delivered a much acclaimed paper.

Achebe’s’ contribution to the Ahiajoku Lecture Series will remain invaluable reference material for a long time in the future. He was a man who naturally respected money and material acquisition but had clearly delineated boundaries which they did not cross. The story is told of a popular

American musician who chose to title his upcoming film “Things Fall Apart” and when informed that Achebe had a copyright to the title he bragged that he would pay him off and offered a million dollars which Achebe rejected, informing him the title was not for sale not even for one hundred million dollars. Achebe would be leaving not only a legacy of principle, forthrightness, uncommon courage, classic story-telling etc, but an intellectual family of a wife who is professor of psychology, four children, two of whom are professors of history, one assistant professor of medicine and the other a writer all in the USA. Recognition, honour, awards etc, competed for his attention.”Things Fall Apart” published in 50 languages and selling over 12 million copies contributed enormously in making Achebe easily the most widely read African Writer on the globe. Just to mention a few from the Publisher’s blurb—he received the Honourary Fellowship Of The American Academy Of Arts and Letters, honourary doctorate degrees from more than 30 institutions, Nigerian National Merit Award , Nigeria’s highest award for intellectual achievement. In 2007 he won the Man Booker international prize for lifetime achievement. Many expected he would have received the Nobel Prize for literature; the fact that he did not, never, in any way diminished his stature as the leading African writer in the world.

• Emeana sent this piece from Abuja.

‘Yet, Things Fall Apart, the epic ground-breaking novel would have been lost to the world. Achebe himself told the story of how in his naivety he sent the original and only manuscript of the novel to a typing agency in London for an expert touch in typing and preparation for publishing. Strangely the agency went to sleep after receiving full payment of £32 (thirty two pounds) from Achebe’

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

22

COMMENTS

D

ECISION making in the face of uncertainties has been an integral part of the human organization. Confronted with such uncertainties, man in the medieval age, took resort to consulting oracles and sundry soothsayers to predict the future for them. Decisions were therefore taken depending on the perceptions of those concerned and sometimes in conformity with the instructions of the seers.

Though these practices have not completely disappeared, they are increasingly getting irrelevant in modern day calculations that place heavy reliance on science and empirical theory. Science has been able to develop a variety of models not only to analyze, interpret and predict future occurrences but more importantly to aid decision making.

That is the major concern of Decision Theory. Essentially, the theory deals with the principles for making correct decisions. Both in our daily lives and the running of modern governments, leaders face serious challenges of decision making. And the success of such decisions is intricately tied to the level of available information and rational calculations that go into them at the level of formulation. These entail rational calculations, choice, risks and payoffs.

Today, the Jonathan administration is confronted with a serious challenge of decision making in respect of the Boko Haram insurgency. The card on the table is whether to grant amnesty to the deadly religious sect or not. Northern leaders of various shades have been at the vanguard of the campaign for amnesty arguing that it holds the ace for the resolution of the seemingly intractable insecurity in that part of the country. They want the Jonathan regime to give it a trial.

But this idea has been vehemently opposed by the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN and many other well meaning Nigerians who would rather have the war concluded very decisively and culprits punished accordingly. All along, the government has not been swayed by the calls for amnesty or dialogue predicating its reasons on the fact that the group had remained largely faceless. But key northern leaders amongst them, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar have remained unwavering in their belief that amnesty is the solution to the festering problem.

Emeka OMEIHE 08121971199 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Amnesty and its payoffs Apparently succumbing to pressure, Jonathan had a forthnight ago set up a committee to advise the government on the desirability or otherwise of amnesty for the group. But the authentic leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau scorned the move stating that it was they who are in a position to grant pardon to the federal government. From all Shekau said, proceeding with the amnesty deal for his group is bound to be an exercise in futility. That ought to have been the end to the entire idea. But northern leaders have pressed on urging the president to trudge on with the move. The issue now is the propriety of granting amnesty to a group that has unabashedly repudiated the entire idea.

Should the Jonathan regime still proceed with the idea of amnesty despite opposition to it

by CAN whose members have suffered incalculable losses; the rejection of same by those for whom it is meant and the not too convincing reasons for placating a largely unprovoked murderous group? That is the hard decision Jonathan has to take. And in this he is left with two options- to grant amnesty to the sect or not to grant. He has proceeded further to set up a 26-man committee to engage the Boko Haram sect. Its terms of reference are to develop a framework for the granting of amnesty; setting up of a framework through which disarmament could take place within a 60-day time frame; development of a comprehensive victims’ support programme and development of the mechanisms to address the underlying causes of insurgency that would help to prevent future occurrences. Even then, two key nominees

I

HAVE lived through several administrations since the creation of Osun State and none has had the sort of visible impact that Governor Rauf Aregbesola has had in so short a time. Perhaps what makes the difference is that no governor before him has approached the issue of the environment from a deliberate policy perspective as he is doing. He has developed a coherent policy on the environment, with a focus on health, which he has been implementing since he took office.

Previously the situation in Osun was characterised by heaps of refuse everywhere, resulting from people uncaringly dumping waste in any open spaces they deemed suitable for that purpose – on roadsides and road median, in streams and rivers and just about anywhere. Another prominent feature of the landscape was the ubiquitous markets that opportunistically sprang up everywhere, with their enormous capacity for generating garbage. It needs little emphasis that we have had to live with the resultant untoward health implication, and we actually lived through the flooding consequent upon silting and blocking of waterways by refuse. Flood-occasioned destruction of lives and properties is one of my most enduring recollections of the reign of the last administration in the state.

Ogbeni Aregbesola, on assumption of office, declared a state of emergency in environmental sanitation, with his O’Clean programme aimed at ridding our environment of filth and getting the people to have a change of attitude in the way they treat the environment. The 90-day emergency period saw a mandatory weekly sanitation exercise in Osun and the weekly cleaning of markets and places of work. This is strengthened by the daily street cleaning exercise by the O’YES volunteers.

Obviously, ridding the streets of garbage heaps requires a waste management policy. The government of Aregbesola is no less impressive in this area. Besides

‘Aregbesola’s environmental policy also covers urban development and beautification.

Here, indiscriminate market activities are being discouraged, while ultra-modern market complexes are being constructed around the state’

Dr Datti Ahmed and Mallam Shehu Sani have declined the offer. Both have issues with the composition of the committee and the sincerity of the government. Incidentally, these two personages command the respect of the sect.

Decision theory is concerned with the rational choice open to Jonathan in the face of the conflicting signals on the matter. It also envisages that the option he eventually settles for should be that which will minimize his losses in the event of the worst outcome.

Should he still proceed with the exercise despite the conflicting signals from the north? And what are the consequences of aborting the process at this point in time?

Rational calculations instruct that he should still go for the amnesty deal. What are the reasons? Northern leaders in whose domain the insurgency is largely domesticated have said time without number that that is what is needed to stem the tide. Even the two declining leaders share this view.

Added to this is the seeming inability to

‘The northern elite now has a daunting burden to discharge by ensuring that the sect accepts whatever propositions the government may come out with as a solution to the killings in their zone’

win the war on the battle field. If Jonathan does not yield, there is everything to suggest that the insecurity will continue. It may even assume greater ferocity as some of those at the vanguard of the amnesty campaign could now find reasons to further fuel the insurgency to score the point that it is a consequence of the refusal of the government to buy the idea. This is a foreboding possibility.

But then, there is no guarantee that amnesty is the necessary and sufficient condition to stem Boko Haram insurgency. There is therefore the possibility of policy failure. This could arise either from the discordant tunes from the north; the fact that there are many factions of the Boko Haram insurgents or the absence of facts on the ground to support amnesty as a therapeutic response to terrorism. The latter point is given credence by the fact that terrorism which the sect purveys is a global phenomenon and no where has it been solved through amnesty. Unless ours is substantially propelled by other factors, there are ample reasons for skepticisms regarding it capacity to stem the tide. There is thus the chance of failure. But the government should not be deterred by this. Failure could also arise from the type of package the committee would come up with; how it is received by the sect as well as the victims of their atrocious undertakings. It is therefore clear that the path to the success of the 26-man committee is strewn with dangerous thorns. Even with all these, the idea should be given a trial.

Where whatever recommendations they arrive at fail to stem the tide, the government can now feel safely betrayed by the northern elite. The point would have been sufficiently made that those who have been at the vanguard of this campaign did not have the confidence of the sect. They would have lost any iota of credibility they purport to hold on issues concerning the insurgency and the objective conditions that sustain it. Then, the government can take liberty to do whatever it deems appropriate to stem the slide without apology to anyone.

The northern elite now has a daunting burden to discharge by ensuring that the sect accepts whatever propositions the government may come out with as a solution to the killings in their zone. Fears have been raised about monetary gains being at the center of the amnesty calls. Such fears must be proved wrong. We are all watching!

Osun’s changing environment

By Alabi Oyeleke getting the people to clean up and gather their refuse, collection and clearing of rubbish have been a fruitful partnership between government and private waste collectors who charge fees, but go into the inner streets where government trucks cannot reach. And there is the fee-free government alternative, but which requires taking one’s refuse to designated collection points for onward evacuation to landfill site for processing. The green-painted garbage trucks – and I’ve seen scores of them – with their peculiar honk are now a part of our daily morning traffic in Osun. The waste management is aimed at achieving an integrated system that will comprise transfer-loading-stations in all the local government areas of the state, from where the refuse would then be carted away to the central landfill site.

Recycling facilities that are still under construction are a component of the system. These facilities, meant to enable the re-use of plastic waste, are to be complemented by a buy-back scheme for plastic waste for a more effective control of the hazards constituted by plastic bottles and pure water sachets.

The environment policy includes the comprehensive dredging and de-silting of the quite numerous streams and rivers across Osun to make for free-flow of water.

Anybody who is well familiar with the landscape in Osun State would understand what it means to take up the dredging and de-silting of its extensive network of streams, rivers and tributaries. Yet, this is precisely what the Ogbeni Aregbesola’s government has been doing, and is still doing, even now, because the dredging and desilting are still ongoing. The exercise has covered streams and rivers extending over large areas, including IpetuIjesa, Ife Ilesa, Ejigbo, Iragbiji, Ode-Omu, Iwo, IlaOrangun, and Osogbo, the state capital. In Osogbo alone, more than 15 rivers, streams and canals are being dredged and de-silted.

The effect of all these dredging and de-silting activities has been the safety of the lives and properties of the people of Osun from the devastation of flooding that has been their lot under the immediate past administration in the state. It is on record that there has been more rain since Aregbesola came into office yet there has been no flood, especially in Osogbo, unlike the tragedy that

flooding has wreaked in neighbouring states in the South-west.

Aregbesola’s environmental policy also covers urban development and beautification. Here, indiscriminate market activities are being discouraged, while ultramodern market complexes are being constructed around the state. Notable among these are Dagbolu, Aiyegbaju and Aje markets, which are all in various stages of completion.

The beautification project involves the development and modernisation of strategic spaces for public use in a manner that enhances the landscape architecture of our cities. The Hassan Oladokun Park at Gbongan Junction and the Freedom Park at Old Garage Roundabout stand out in this regard. The beautification also involves a massive tree planting exercise, for which some 2.5 million seedlings of different tree species have been purchased.

The trees are intended to line the major roads right from the Oyo State border into the heart of the major cities in Osun, including the state capital, Osogbo. The trees will not only serve as beautifiers, they will also serve as checks to erosion, as well as help to limit the negative impact of stormy winds, not to mention their roles in reducing greenhouse gas emission.

In only two years, Ogbeni Aregbesola’s environmental management is already a legacy that will be better appreciated.

• Oyeleke writes from Osogbo

‘The beautification project involves the development and modernisation of strategic spaces for public use in a manner that enhances the landscape architecture of our cities. The Hassan Oladokun Park at Gbongan Junction and the Freedom Park at Old Garage Roundabout stand out in this regard’

25

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

We want a SONCAP programme that would serve its purpose; a programme that would be dynamic, where all the identified loopholes would be effectively plugged thereby making it difficult for the plaque of substandard products to continue to dominate the Nigerian business space.

-Dr Joseph Odumodu, DG, SON

ISSUES

JOBS

Protecting depositors’ funds from abuse - P. 27

Local content push for job prospects - P. 36

News Briefing Dangote upbeat on economic outlook DESPITE challenges facing the country, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has reassured of more investments in the country.

- Page 26

‘Nigeria requires 10 outsourcing centres’ FOR Nigeria to maximise the benefits of business process outsourcing (BPO), 10 BPO outposts should be created, the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), has said.

- Page 26

Who becomes TUC president?

WHO succeeds outgoing President-General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Comrade Peter Esele whose tenure expires in June?

N33.6b remitted to Nigeria in 2012, says World Bank N

IGERIANS and other residents in the coun try received a total of N33.6billion or $21billion last year in remittances from their relatives, friends and business associates, the World Bank has said.

According to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, issued at the weekend, Nigeria accounted for 67 per cent of the $31billion total inflows to sub-Saharan Africa last year, followed by Senegal and Kenya.

Noting that remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa have been recovering from the contraction associated with the global financial crisis, the report said growth has been modest.

The World Bank said: “In 2012, the region is estimated to have received about $31 billion in remittances, only about a one per cent increase over 2011. Nigeria is by far the largest recipient of remittances in the region, accounting for about 67 per

DATA STREAM

MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N7.560 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation 11.9% Treasury Bills 7.08% Maximum lending-22.42% Prime lending - 15.87% Savings rate 2% 91-day NTB 15% Time Deposit 5.49% MPR 12% Foreign Reserve $35.8b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 242.1 $ 156 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 238 RIYAL 40.472

From Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor in Washington D.C

cent of the inflows to the region in 2012, followed by Senegal and Kenya. Zero growth in flows to Nigeria in 2012 is partly attributable to the feeble labour market recovery of its major remittance source countries in Europe, the UK in particular. Remittance flows to Nigeria and the rest of the region are expected to grow significantly in the coming years to reach about $39 billion in 2015.”

The report stated that officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries grew by 5.3 per cent to reach an estimated $401 billion in 2012. It added that remittances to developing countries are expected to grow by an annual average

Telcos pay N200b taxes yearly

- Page 29

COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$107/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound

• Global payments hit $514b

T

ELECOMMUNICATIONS firms operat ing in Nigeria pay an average of N200 billion in taxes yearly, the founder, Agusto & Co, Bode Agusto, has said.

Speaking at EPIC Learning & Development Limited forum in Lagos, Agusto said the sector has been attracting billions of dollars, adding that its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from less than one per cent in 2001 to about six per cent in 2011.

Also, in nominal terms, sales rose from about N30 billion in 2001 to N1.5 trillion in 2011 while job creation moved from hundreds to thousands.

He said the telecoms sector “paid tax of over N200 billion to federal and state governments in 2012.”

According to him, investment in infrastructure and entrenchment of sound corporate governance in the execution of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) are two critical factors needed to be achieved to boost the economy.

He said though economic development is expected to improve in Nigeria in the next decade, an investment in infrastructure and proper implementation of PPP projects in Nigeria will place her ahead of other African countries.

“There is need for significant investment in infrastructure.

There is a lot of work to be done in infrastructure investment to enable Nigeria to re-

By Collins Nweze

alise its potential,” he said, adding that the government has no business in business, except acting as a regulator to the system.

Agusto said PPP projects involve the delivery of infrastructure to the people and needs regular budgetary allocations for repairs and maintenance after completion.

He said because political considerations outweigh economic considerations when planning and executing these projects, competitive users’ fees are not charged and used for the maintenance of these assets.

He insisted that the key to improving the governance of major projects in Nigeria’s public sector lies in reforming the operating model for the executing, managing and delivering these projects.

He advised that when executing major projects, particularly infrastructure projects, government should partner with the private sector because by doing so, economic and social considerations will outweigh political considerations.

It also makes funds available to the project to improve while reporting will be more open and transparent. “There is also tendency that projects will be subject to timely independent audits annually while government will be able to act as a truly independent regulator,” he said.

of 8.8 per cent for the next three years and are forecast to reach $515 billion in 2015.

It, however, observed that given that many migrants send money and goods through people or informal channels, the true size of remittances are much larger than these official figures.

The top recipients of officially recorded remittances for 2012, according to the report, are India ($69 billion), China ($60 billion), the Philippines ($24 billion), Mexico ($23 billion) and Nigeria and Egypt ($21 billion each).

Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Lebanon.

“As a percentage of GDP, the top recipients of remittances, in 2011, were Tajikistan (47 per cent), Liberia (31 per cent), Kyrgyz Republic (29 per cent), Lesotho (27 per cent), Moldova (23 per cent), Nepal (22 per cent), and Samoa (21 per cent),” the report added.

Besides, the World Bank said remittance flows to developing countries have more than quadrupled since 2000, stressing that global remittances, including those to high-income countries, are estimated to have reached $514 billion in 2012, compared to $132 billion in 2000.

Further breakdown of glo-

bal remittances showed that The East Asia and Pacific region received an estimated $109 billion in remittances in 2012, about $5 billion lower than the estimate we made at the end of 2012, due mainly to a downward revision of inflows to China by the same amount. Remittance inflows to the region were an increase of 2.5 per cent over the 2011 value of $106 billion.

Remittances to Eastern Europe and Central Asia are estimated to have declined by 3.9 per cent to about $40 billion in 2012, partly due to the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar (lowering remittances in dollar terms). Officially recorded remittances to the region are expected to rebound in 20132015, exceeding the pre-crisis peak in 2014 and reaching US$52 billion in 2015 according to the report.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

26

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 7. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 9. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Aero 12.20 13.30 15. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 16. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 17. Arik 13.45 14.45 18. IRS 14.00 15.20 19. Aero 14.10 15.30 20. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 21. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 22. Arik 15.50 16.50 23. Aero 16.00 17.20 24. IRS 16.30 17.50 25. Arik 16.50 17.50 26. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 27. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 29. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 20. Arik 18.45 19.45 31. Aero 19.20 20.40

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LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00

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LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

Team, stated that what Nigerians need most at present is economic empowerment and that it is only a working population, whether selfemployed or engaged, that could be economically empowered.

He explained that economic development of the country rests more on the shoulders of the private sector operators while government’s strategic role is to ensure conducive environment by putting in place right policies that will encourage the setting up of businesses.

Dangote said all hands must be on deck to ensure the realisation of Nigeria’s economic turn-around dream.

He, therefore, urged local investors to complement the efforts of the Federal Government at ensuring the success of the economic agenda by delving to manufactur-

ing as one of the means of empowering Nigerians through job creation.

Dangote promised that he would do all within his power to ensure that any investment he makes is job creation-focused, urging other investors to do same for the nation to be where it ought to be by 2020.

The business mogul noted that it was only through the active involvement of the private sector that infrastructure deficit could be tracked and tackled by the government, adding that countries whose economy have made appreciable impact on the citizenry have done so through manufacturing.

To buttress his position, Dangote referred to a report published last August by the renowned Global Consulting firm, McKinsey on the economic potential in Nigeria and a host of other African countries.

08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20 12.15 12.45 09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

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LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

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LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15

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LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

ESPITE challenges facing the country, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has reassured of more investments in the country.

Dangote, who spoke at the weekend when a group of entrepreneurs visited him in his office in Lagos, urged Nigerians not to be discouraged by various challenges facing the nation, saying they are necessary steps needed for the nation to rank among the best industrially in years to come.

Last week during a breakfast session with media chiefs on the occasion of his 56th birthday, he said his Group was almost through with preparations for the establishment of a refinery, saying there is no alternative to establishing industries if jobs are to be created.

He said his investments would be tailored towards job creation to alleviate poverty among the people.

Dangote, who is a member of the National Economic Management

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40

LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Aero 10.50 12.30 5. Arik 11.40 13.00 6. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 7. IRS 13.30 15.00 8. Arik 14.00 15.20 9. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 10 Arik 16.10 17.30 11. Aero 16.15 17.30 12. Arik 17.10 18.30

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik

Dangote upbeat on Nigeria’s economic outlook D

08.00 18.00

LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30

• From left: MD, Ouch Couture, Uche Nnaji; a musician and fashion designer, Sasha P (Eclectic); Chief Financial Officer, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman and CEO, Modela Couture, Mr Bayo Adegbe, during the choosing of the top 10 finalists of Sterling Bank Sketchamania Challenge in Lagos ... at the weekend.

F

‘Nigeria requires 10 outsourcing centres’

OR Nigeria to maximise the benefits of business process outsourcing (BPO), 10 BPO outposts should be created, the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), has said.

President, ISPON, Dr Chris Uwaje, who spoke at a forum organised by the National Information Technology Development (NITDA) in Lagos, said outsourcing has become a strategy to multiplying the resources in the information technology (IT) sector, especially when it is realised that youths make up about 63 per cent of the population.

“Nigeria should have at least 10 outsourcing output. Lekki should be an outsourcing zone and Ikeja can be made an outsourcing corridor. A section of Otigba Market (Computer Village) can be turned into an IT outsourcing enabled institute so that people can be trained on the norms and standards on what outsourcing should be.

“Perhaps, outsourcing for our

By Lucas Ajanaku

banking industry holds a huge potential. Our banks are opening branches in West Africa and they are moving to East Africa and London; they should be able to establish the service that will enable good delivery over there from home. So, it is a job enabler,” Uwaje said.

According to him, outsourcing is another way of diversifying reources allocation, adding when an outsorucing centre is created, either regionally or in hubs, it would reduce the desire of young Nigerians to travel out of the country because the jobs they are going to search for overseas are already created.

“The world becomes a global village, because you are going to earn a lot of money and it is not just for international market itself,” he said.

According to Uwaje, if the country focuses on her immediate environment, she could take advantage of the sub-regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and explore a lot of opportunities to develop and set the pace in the region. “If we focus on our environment, for instance, if you look at the treaty in the ECOWAS sub-region, you can do a lot of things there. There are 252 million people in West Africa; Nigeria is 160 million, Ghana is 22 million and the rest are 14, 7 and 3 millions. We have a large of opportunities that we can seize.

Outsourcing is a great venture for the knowledge economy,” he said.

He, however, identified certain challenges on the way of BPO. “The broadband is just trying to emerge as a core infrastructure. We should not forget that it will be delivered through 3.2 mega hertz (Mhz) spectrum and we have constraints, although they are being tackled,” he said.

‘Insurance penetration ’ll create jobs’

T

HE Managing Director, Royal Exchange General In surance Company (REGIC), Richard Olutayo Borokini, said the firm is expanding its operations to the Southeast to deepen insurance penetration in the region. He said the step would assist in creating jobs, adding that the firm has opted to establish a functional office in Enugu to actualise the plan.

In a statement, Borokini described Enugu as a functional watershed location from which Royal Exchange customers in the Southeast can access premium insurance prod-

By Uyoatta Eshiet

ucts, and experience excellent customer service.

“We have noted the centrality of Enugu and its importance in the historical and socio-economic development of the region, and it is our firm belief that Royal Exchange can leverage on this to take insurance deeper, to more of the critical mass of the people,” he said, adding, “our desire is to deliver value-added service to the discerning customers in the region.

He said the firm’s new focus on

retail insurance means that more job opportunities will open up through “our agency programme, thereby complementing the government’s efforts to meaningfully engage the youths of this country,” adding the company has recognised the low insurance penetration in Nigeria and is embarking on a deliberate policy of developing and deploying an extensive branch network, replete with the requisite skilled manpower, throughout Nigeria, to reach out to the masses and elicit their interest in insurance.

Lagos adopts open tender

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst. Editor

T

HE Lagos State government is adopting an open ten dering process in contract procurement and management, the Commissioner of Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Femi Hamzat, has said.

He spoke on the sideline at the weekend during the ministerial briefing on the activities and achievements of his ministry in the last one year.

He said the key strategies adopted to achieve open tendering is the direct funding of road rehabilitation and construction, private sector involvement, front loading of projects and a robust monitoring of projects.

Hamzat said the administration is also mindful of the quality of contractors engaged to handle key infrastructure projects in the state.

As a result, the government, he said, sanctioned some contractors for shoddy jobs, removed their names from its list and sacked them from site. He cited the contractor handling Awolowo Road in Ikorodu, saying he was sacked for poor quality construction among others.

He said the state is determined to promote intermodal transportation system and as such has put in place the critical infrastructure that will enable it to take off.

He said three prototype jetties were being provided along the East to West axis of the state at Ipakodo, Osborne and Badore.

He said the government is working on 180 roads and would deliver most of them before the year ended.

He said the government attaches importance to road construction, adding that it believes that it is one of the first class socio-economic infrastructure with demonstrated impact, such as stimulation of economic activities, which affects Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Other positive impact of competitive infrastructure, he argued, is reduction in transaction and trade costs which creates competitiveness.

On the Lagos/Badagry Expressway, the commissioner said the government would deliver the project on schedule.

BUA Sugar Refinery gets Kogi govt’s blessing

K

OGI State Governor, Cap tain Idris Wada, has allo cated land to BUA Sugar Refinery Company for the establishment of a sugar refinery plant in the state to grow the state economy and boost employment opportunities for the youths.

Governor Wada made this known at the weekend when Group Executive Director of BUA Sugar Refinery, Alhaji Kabiru Rabiu, and his team paid him a courtesy visit in Lokoja, the state capital.

He said the state is blessed with abundant human and natural resources. He called on investors to take advantage of the enabling environment provided by his administration to develop the state.

He said the land was allocated for the establishment of the sugar factory because agriculture is one of the major priorities of his adminstration.

The BUA chief had earlier requested from the governor a piece of land for the establishment of a sugar industry in Bassa Local Government Area of the state. The request was granted by the governor.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

27

ISSUES

Protecting depositors’ funds from abuse The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is taking extra measures to protect depositors’ funds in banks with Holding Company (HoldCo) structure.

COLLINS NWEZE writes that the banking watchdog sees insider-related loan abuse as likely threat to the arrangement.

S

INCE the 2009 reform, there have been lots of activi ties in the banking sector. The activities include the overhaul of the risk management structures; adoption of 10-year tenure for bank chief executive officers; repeal of universal banking and the adoption of Holding Company (HoldCo) structure.

HoldCo, a conglomerate formed for the purpose of holding controlling interest in several companies, enables a corporation to diversify its investments, manage other firms, and contribute to the growth of its subsidiaries in other sectors. Five banks have keyed into the HoldCo structure with four completing the process in November, last year. The banks that have adopted the HoldCo structure include FirstBank of Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa and First City Monument Bank.

Union Bank is yet to complete the process.

To curb excesses and insider abuses, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is watching closely the HoldCo structure.

The CBN took the step to ensure that the lenders do not abuse lending privileges presented by the structure, which was introduced after the CBN set aside the universal banking regime in 2010 and gave banks the option to either divest all their non-banking subsidiaries and become pure commercial banks or form a HoldCo. The banks’compliance with CBN’s regulation on the Scope of Banking Activities & Ancillary Matters, No. 3, 2010 requiring the separation of commercial banking business from other financial services businesses led to the establishment of HoldCo. CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido confirmed during this year’s Renaissance Capital Investors’ Forum in Lagos that banks are restricted from lending to their HoldCos to protect shareholders’ funds from insider abuse. Any bank that violates the rule, he said, would have the loaned funds deducted from its shareholders’ funds as return capital.

The thinking is that although the regulator has under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) mandated the banks to adopt the structure, there is also need to monitor their operations to forestall abuse. The HoldCo structure allows commercial banks to be properly ring-fenced from the other non-commercial banking activities.

CBN Director, Banking Supervision Mrs. Tokunbo Martins said should the HoldCos breach single obligor limits without the prior approval of the CBN, such loans would be regarded as impairment to capital, or deducted from the lender’s capital base.

She said for the purpose of credit transactions, the rule covers banks’ related parties, listed as financial holding company (FHC), and other subsidiaries within the HoldCo structure.

Also, credit transactions by the bank within the group would be treated as FHC lending to a bank within its group. Also, the bank should treat the loan as a liability, but credit by a bank to its FHC would be regarded as a return of capital and deducted from the capital of the bank in computing its capital adequacy.

However, bank lending to subsidiaries within its group, especially where the credit is fully secured, would be assigned a risk weight of 100 per cent, otherwise it would be deducted from the capital when computing capital adequacy.

What HoldCo entails The HoldCo, which will have a separate board, will own the bank and its subsidiaries as separate and independent entities, reporting directly to the board of the HoldCo. While some banks opted out of this structure for reasons favourable to them, few others believe it is the best way to go in their business while adding value to new and existing shareholders.

According to the CBN, the review of risk weights assigned to some identified exposures is without prejudice to the risk management control functions put in place by banks to mitigate credit concentration risks. It is also in

• CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido

line with its risk-based supervisory agenda.

Martins said the recent crisis in the banking industry highlighted several weaknesses in the system, key of which was the excessive concentration of credit in the asset portfolios of banks.

Challenges before HoldCos The HoldCo structure adopted by some banks will face adverse tax implications, especially, excess dividend tax, tax experts have warned. Taiwo Oyedele, a chartered accountant, said based on the tax law, where the dividend paid by a company is higher than its taxable profit, the excess dividend will be subjected to 30 per cent tax.

He explained that should a HoldCo receive dividend from its bank subsidiary, and then redistributes the dividend, it will be subjected to 30 per cent excess dividend tax, not withstanding that the subsidiary that earned the profit had paid 30 per cent income tax. Also, withholding tax at 10 per cent is always deducted before distributing the profit to the HoldCo. He said banks had previously faced the similar challenges under the universal banking model on their exempt income.

“Where tax exempt income has been excluded from the determination of taxable profit, but forms part of the distributable profit available for dividend, this will result in the dividend paid being higher than the taxable profit,”

‘Aside the challenge of taxation, the structure is in the interest of stakeholders. A HoldCo structure will increase earnings for investors and also in line with the CBN’s policy, boost transparency and accountability’

he said. Oyedele said the problem will become more pronounced under the HoldCo structure since there will be at least one company between the bank and the shareholders.

Also, the Managing Director, Partnership Investment Company Plc, Victor Ogiemwonyi, said banks that have adopted the HoldCo structure will have to contend with the burden of double taxation.

Ogiemwonyi, who is also a Member of Council, the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), said subsidiaries of banks that adopted the structure have to pay taxes as well as the quoted company. He said aside the challenge of taxation, the structure is in the interest of stakeholders. He said the HoldCo structure will increase earnings for investors and is also in line with the CBN’s policy boost transparency and accountability.

But the management of FBN Holdings Plc has said the tax challenge has been handled. Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bello Maccido, said the HoldCos, at inception, faced a major concern over possible interpretation of tax statutes that would lead to the double taxation of dividends. There was also concern about the magnitude of transaction costs that would be incurred by the banks in responding to the change in regulations.

“It was, therefore, necessary for HoldCos to seek mitigation of some of these costs through waivers and concessions from the regulatory authorities. It was very clear that without government’s intervention, the companies would have faced possible challenges in this regard,” he said.

Maccido said the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC) has created the platform for the HoldCos to table their tax and transaction costs problems to regulators and supported the idea of creating an industry working group.

He said the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in concert with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) team was instrumental to ensuring that the tax issues were heard and resolved in good time to meet the CBN deadline.

•Continued on page 28

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

28

ISSUES

Protecting depositors’ funds from abuse •Continued from page 27

He noted that the Securities & Exchange Commission, NSE and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) were receptive to discussions on ‘reduction of transaction costs’ for bank holding companies.

Experts said the tax statutes, as at 2010, did not contain specific provisions for taxation of pure non-operating holding companies as envisaged by CBN. The tax issues that came up for discussion include: Avoidance of Double Taxation on Dividends Received by the companies, Minimum Tax, and Administration of Withholding Tax (WHT).

However, a Council Member of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Ayodele Otitoju, said any tax resolution that does not involve the institute is not backed by law. He said taxation is legal and any action taken against its statutes will not stand.

“The CITN should be party to that resolution. Any tax deduction not backed by law remains an illegal deduction and can be addressed in court. Any change to tax law should pass through the legislative process,” he said.

However, Chukwuemeka Eze, a tax expert and lawyer, said taxing dividend from HoldCos amounts to overkill. He said it is only when the dividend is reinvested or transmitted into further ventures that it should be taxed. “The dividend can only be taxed if it is reinvested at a second venture; otherwise, it amounts to double taxation. The position of the law is that it is only when the money is reinvested, that it should be subjected to further taxation,” he said.

Besides the taxation, analysts said managers in HoldCos also face other challenges. A banking analyst, Equity Research, at Renaissance Capital (RenCap), Adesoji Solanke, said as expected under this type of evolution, there is a lot of value moving around. However, he said it was too early to determine the extent to which value would be lost or created under this new structure, or the degree to which the need for new capital becomes more apparent or diminished post-deal.

He said there were some challenges expected as the banks adopted new structures.

For instance, since the HoldCo likely has a controlling interest in several corporations, he said management might have limited knowledge in the industry, operations and investment decisions of the controlled company. Such limitations, he said, might result in ineffective decision-making.

Sylvester Okafor, a business Executive at Rockview Financial Services Limited, said there could also be a problem with a change of control. He said: “With a new reporting structure in place, former management reports to a larger group of shareholders and new board of directors even as it protects the interests of the subsidiary’s shareholders. Therefore, competing interests between management might result in contention and poor decision-making, which can negatively affect share prices,” he said.

Okafor said minority shareholders might also face challenges with HoldCos, because while the HoldCos pay taxes on profits from their subsidiary companies, shareholders pay taxes on dividends received from them.

He explained that with a new controlling shareholder, minority shareholders must pay more to maintain their previous shareholding and replace the directors. This change of control may cause contention between the shareholders and the HoldCos. “Additionally, many of the holding company’s investments may have unprofitable assets or business lines. If the holding company engages in similar industry sectors, management may face systemic risk, or conversely if the company is engaged in dif-

• Onasanya

• Oduoza

• Mrs David-Borha

• Balogun

ferent industry sectors, the holding company may fall susceptible to several volatile market changes that make it difficult to mitigate risk. This can result in residual losses that the holding company may not have envisioned before purchasing the corporations,” he said.

businesses under four broad business groups namely Commercial Banking, Investment Banking & Asset Management (IBAM), Insurance and Other Financial Services.

Onasanya said under the new structure, existing shareholders of FirstBank have been migrated to FBN Holdings via a sharefor-share exchange between the shareholders of FirstBank and FBN Holdings.

Also, FirstBank’s shareholdings in each of the HoldCo subsidiaries and the associated investments have been transferred to FBN Holdings while FirstBank’s shareholdings in each of the IBAM subsidiaries have been transferred to FBN Capital Limited, also owned by FBN Holdings. However, the restructuring will not alter the beneficial shareholding structure of the FBN Group, but it would enable it to grow its franchise both within and outside its borders.

The Stanbic IBTC Bank has also completed its transformation into a HoldCo structure with the delisting of the bank’s shares and listing of the shares of the newly formed Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc on the NSE. Before this decision, Stanbic IBTC Bank had struggled all through this year, its worst in recent times. The bank opened with year-to-date negative return of 11.45 per cent as at November 22, 2012. Although Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ listing market capitalisation of N130.3 billion fell short of Stanbic IBTC Bank’s closing value of N137.81 billion, the HoldCo structure could form a major springboard for significant capital appreciation in the period ahead.

Analysts said subsequent capital gains could impact on underlying values of shareholders, who had benefitted through the share restructuring process. Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Mrs. Sola David-Borha, said the HoldCo would consolidate the strengths and expertise of different business unit and enhance the group’s ability to drive future growth.

Which banks are involved?

Already, five banks have keyed into HoldCo structure with four completing the restructuring as at last November. Already, FirstBank of Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa and First City Monument Bank have adopted the HoldCo sructure. But Union Bank is yet to complete the process.

FBN Holdings has been listed on the NSE after delisting FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, transferring its shares to FBN Holdings.

FBN Holdings comprises FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, FBN Capital Limited, FBN Life Assurance Limited, FBN Insurance Brokers Limited and FBN Microfinance Bank.

FBN Holdings, the new entity, is organised along four major business groups, including commercial banking, investment banking and asset management, insurance and other financial services.

The Managing Director, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Bisi Onasanya, said the new structure will present a better deal for its shareholders, especially as they got equal proportion of their shares in the FBN Holdings. He said the bank has off-loaded First Registrars and some other subsidiaries, while existing subsidiaries, including FirstBank, have become a subsidiary of the FirstBank of Nigeria Holdings (FBNH).

Onasanya said the new structure would enhance its competitiveness, streamline operations across non-bank financial services and exploit opportunities for synergies among the subsidiaries.

According to him, there is also the need to align and cluster similar or overlapping

‘The HoldCo will ensure that commercial banks’ retail depositors are not exposed to risks associated with non-banking activities of others in the group. Also, customers will continue to enjoy the services provided through other subsidiaries by keeping existing lines of businesses, and so the employee base would not be affected adversely’

“The HoldCo would guarantee significant benefits to shareholders, employees and customers. Under the new structure, Stanbic IBTC will be averaging the global network of Standard Bank Group, Africa’s biggest banking group in terms of assets and earnings, to which Stanbic IBTC belongs,” she said.

David-Borha also said HoldCo structure is consistent with the group-wide approach of the Standard Bank Group, which would allow the various subsidiaries to call on the group-wide expertise of the parent model.

She noted that the HoldCo would ensure that the commercial banks retail depositors were not exposed to the risks associated with the non-banking activities of others in the group, and that customers of Stanbic IBTC and its subsidiaries would continue to enjoy the services provided through the other subsidiaries by keeping existing lines of business, “and so the employee base would not be affected adversely.”

The Managing Director, United Bank for Africa, Phillips Oduoza, said given the bank’s exponential growth and investments across Africa, it was beginning to derive significant values from these investments hence the decision to have a HoldCo. That decision, he said, would keep its entire bank and non-bank subsidiaries in the group.

Under the new structure, a non-operating company to be listed and known as UBA Holdings Plc, would become the parent company of three intermediate holding companies namely; United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA Africa Holdings Limited and UBA Capital Holdings Limited.

The UBA, holds the Nigerian commercial banking businesses, including the bank’s branch in New York, UBA Pensions Custodian and UBA FX Mart; UBA Africa Holdings Limited holds and oversees all the African commercial banking businesses, excluding Nigeria, while UBA Capital Holdings Limited holds all the group’s investments in non-commercial banking businesses.

Chairman, FCMB, Jonathan Long, said the decision to form a holding company was in line with CBN’s directive to banks to separate the non-banking subsidiaries from commercial banking. He added that the bank decided to adpot this arrangement, so that the non-banking businesses within a holding company would deliver and unlock value to the shareholders.

He said the new arrangement would see the migration of shareholders of FCMB to the Holdco, via a share for share exchange, sale of other disposable subsidiaries and transfer of permissible non-banking subsidiaries and investments from the bank to the Holdco.

According to him, the companies that would be transferred to HoldCo include: FCMB Capital Markets Limited, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, CSL Trustee Limited, First City Assets Management Limited, Legacy Pension Managers Limited and the bank’s investments in Samba and Kili Private Equity funds (managed by Helios Investment Partners).

The Group Managing Director, FCMB, Ladi Balogun, said the arrangement was done in such a way that it would benefit the shareholders, stating that they should continue to support the bank in its efforts to deliver high returns.

Shareholders’ views The Co-ordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Boniface Okezie, said the HoldCo structure remains a good arrangement, especially it is what the CBN wants.

He said the shareholders have no choice because they cannot go against the will of the regulator, but can only watch to see how the structure pays off.

“I don’t have any problem with the structure once there is food on my table. We have embraced the structure provided our dividends are paid and corporate governance is adhered to,” he said. He said in running the HoldCos, banks are not expected to go against the Bank and Other Financial Institutions (BOFIA) Act. The National Co-ordinator of Nigerian Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA) Sir Sunny Nwosu said the structure will protect shareholders’ value and lead to increased capital market valuations.

Also, Farouk Umar, president, Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARN), said the restructuring will result in greater value and provide each entity with easier access to long term capital to finance growth.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

29

30

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

MONEY LINK Okonjo-Iweala: skilled workforce to drive Vision 20:2020

N

IGERIA needs skilled workforce to stimulate the economy to achieve the Federal Government’s Vision 20:2020 Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala‘ has said.

Speaking in Lagos during a threeday orientation for interns under the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), supporting the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) project, she said such feat would make the country become among the biggest 20 economies in the world by 2020.

Okonjo-Iweala, who was represented by Project Director of GIS, Peter Papka, said the agency was established by the Ministry of Finance as part of the SURE-P, and is expected to prepare young job seekers between 18 and 40 years, for the work environment before they are employed.

Papka said Okonjo-Iweala, would by month-end, hold meetings with International Oil Companies (IOCs), banks, telecoms operators and other leading private sector businesses on how to galvanise the economy

D

IRECTOR-GENERAL of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Emeka Ezeh, has said the agency has reduced the cost of contracts in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by over N420 billion in the last in 15 months.

Speaking at the opening of a retreat for chief executive officers in Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), in Topo Badagry in Lagos at the weekend, Eze said the bureau will continue to ensure that there is transparency in the bidding process for contracts in Nigeria, even as all competent contractors will be given a level playing field to demonstrate their capacity to deliver.

He explained that the BPP will continue to work hard to ensure the cost

Stories by Collins Nweze through job creation. He said similar meeting would be held with Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), which have capacity to create over 40 per cent of Nigeria’s job requirment.

Aremu O., also from the Finance Ministry, explained that the GIS provides graduates with quality temporary work experience to make them stronger candidates for job openings in the labour market.

Such experience, he said, would also boost their chances of becoming selfemployed. “The scheme will improve job placement opportunities for graduates by providing them with the opportunity to acquire professional skills, training, and work experience through a one-year internship placement,” he said.

He said though the exercise is a shortterm measure, GIS has high prospects for job creation, improve the welfare of youths and achieve the inclusive growth objective of Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

He said during the period of in-

monthly stipend of N18,000. Such interns can use the opportunity to gain working experience and enhance their employability. The project has started registration of such firms and over 83,000 beneficiaries have been registered. This is beyond the threshold of 50,000 allotted for the scheme in a year. Deployment of such beneficiaries has commenced,” he said.

GIS Communications Adviser, Mrs. Mary Ikoku, said companies searching for the right employees to fill vacant positions always ask for four or five years experience but many of the graduates do not have such experiences because they never worked before. However, by training these interns, they are able to get the required experience to confidently secure their dream jobs in the market.

She said the GIS, remains a sub-component of SURE-P, targeted at delivering employment opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming unemployed graduates. He said participants must be graduates that have finished their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or obtained their certificate of exemption before they can participate. She regretted that some of Nigeria’s graduates are not employable, but these trainings would sharpen their skills. She said participants must be between 18 and 40 years. She said

ternship, the Federal Government will be responsible for paying a monthly stipend to the interns while the participating institutions/firms would be expected to provide adequate opportunities for training and mentoring the interns.

He said the GIS is targeting up to 50,000 graduate interns yearly. He said the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) is based in the Federal Ministry of Finance and is responsible for administration and management of the GIS. “The process of selection is not competitive, as the Federal PIU would like to give an opportunity to all private/public firms to take part in this national intervention,” he said. He said the orientation exercise is aimed at preparing hired interns for the working environment and skills acquisition. Such, he said, would also guide partnering firms and interns on the GIS, especially on their roles and responsibilities.

The GIS, which started in 2012 to create opportunity for graduates to be attached to organisations, where they can work for a year and enjoy a

BPP saves N420b in 15 months doing business in Nigeria is reduced through the elimination of multiple registration and pre- qualification as well as tendering that should be increased to give chance for equal competence and capabilities.

Eze said the bureau has gone far in the registration, classification and categorisation of contractors and consultants working or intending to work on Federal Government projects.

This he said is covered in the Public Procurement Act 2007, which expects the bureau to maintain a national data base of the particulars of Federal contractors and service providers for ease of information sourcing, and analysis in conformity with the needs of

the new Information Age. He said: ” Public officials are now also beginning to see public funds as monies to be spent with care, and with high sense of responsibility. Added to these gains are a resultant improved budget implementation and performance in terms of project delivery.”

He said as the programme develops, the cost of doing business in Nigeria would be reduced through the elimination of multiple registration and pre-qualification and the tendering process should increase at the end of the day, coupled with the better grouping of contractors, consultants and service providers of equal competence and capacities.

S

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

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 350m 150m 350m 138m 350m 113m

MANAGED FUNDS

OBB Rate Call Rate

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 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 28-04-2012 “ 14-04-2012

GAINERS AS AT 19-04-13

SYMBOL AGLEVENT RTBRISCOE FO IPWA LEARNAFRCA WAPIC PZ UNITYBNK GUARANTY UBA

O/PRICE 1.40 1.80 14.14 0.62 1.39 1.16 39.20 0.67 23.30 6.75

C/PRICE 1.54 1.98 15.55 0.68 1.52 1.25 42.00 0.70 24.21 7.00

CHANGE 0.14 0.18 1.41 0.06 0.13 0.09 2.80 0.03 0.91 0.25

AIRSERVICE DNMEYER CAP JOHNHOLT AFRIPRUD UTC DANGSUGAR JAPAULOIL STANBIC CORNERST

O/PRICE 4.20 1.53 41.00 1.66 1.79 0.75 7.90 0.65 13.00 0.53

C/PRICE 3.78 1.38 37.00 1.50 1.62 0.68 7.22 0.60 12.26 0.50

Exchange Rate (N) 155.2 155.8 155.7

Date 2-7-12 27-6-12 22-6-12

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD NGN GBP

147.6000 239.4810

149.7100 244.0123

150.7100 245.6422

-2.11 -2.57

NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-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

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% 11.8%

July ’12

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

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%

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

CHANGE 0.42 0.15 4.00 0.16 0.17 0.07 0.68 0.05 0.74 0.03

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m 113m

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12

LOSERS AS AT 19-04-13

SYMBOL

test in Lagos State.

In a statement, Group Head, e-Channels, Skye Bank Plc, Mr Chuks Iku, said that to ensure the success of the exercise, branches of the bank in Kano and Abuja have been trained and had consequently commenced customer education in relation to how PoS could be used, providing product knowledge and creating awareness about the policy and other payment channels. He said the awareness exercise would commence in the other states ahead of the roll out.

DATA BANK

Tenor

NIDF NESF

SURE-P is investing in critical infrastructure, Information Technology, social safety nets, oil and gas among others. She said the over time, refineries can be built through the scheme.

Director, After School Graduate Development (ASGD), Funmi Adeyemi, one of the facilitators, said the interns were being trained to support and add value to the organisations where they work.

She advised the interns to build selfconfidence and develop the needed skills that will enable them to secure the right jobs when the opportunities arose.

Over 83,000 beneficiaries have been registered, which is beyond the 50,000 allotted for the scheme in a year. She advised the youth on the need to be efficient, competent and team players as such skills will enable them to fit into the organisations where they work.

Skye Bank targets 15,000 PoS KYE Bank Plc has concluded plans to deploy 8,000 Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in states covered by the second phase of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy. This is in addition to 7,000 PoS already deployed in Lagos being the total figure to 15,000.

The CBN recently announced that

by July, the cash-less policy would be extended to Ogun, Anambra, Rivers, Abia states and the Federal Capital Territory after a successful pilot

FGN BONDS

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

•Dr Okonjo-Iweala

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH 9.17 9.08 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE INVE 138.34 137.92 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 147.87 147.13 LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.80 0.78 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.15 115 BGL NUBIAN FUND 1.07 1.05 FBN MONEY MARKET FUND 100.00 100.00 FBN FIXED INCOME FUND 1,000.00 1,000.00 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,801.67 1,795.78 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 15.86 15.09 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 1.33 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 1.80 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 10,855.53 10,528.92 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUNDARM AGGRESSIVE

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank P/Court

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000 8.0833

8.5000 8.0833

Movement

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

31

MONEY MARKET REPORT

FAAC allocations, T-Bills’ sales reduce inter-bank rate

I

NTER-BANK rate declined by 104 basis points last week due to increased market liquidity from the monthly Federation Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) injection and treasury bills (T-Bills) repayment.

About N217.98 billion treasury bills were repaid last Thursday, in addition to over N200 billion monthly statutory funds injected the previous day, bringing total inflow to the market to N417 billion.

Olakunle Ezun, Currencies Analyst, Ecobank Nigeria, said the call and overnight and seven day money market rates fell to 10.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent. The three-month Nigeria Inter-Bank Offered Rate (NIBOR) fell to 11.5 per cent, though less activities were done on the tenor. The interbank secured lending (Open Buy Back) also fell to 10.25 per cent for banks and discount houses.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) liquidity management remained active and supported by the circular issued last August reviewing its guidelines for how banks access its Standing Lending Facility window and Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) foreign exchange auction and CBN's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to hold the rate unchanged at 12 per cent on March 19, 2013.

With market liquidity of about N191 billion last Friday, CBN might continue its liquidity management to ensure price stability.

Forex utilisation by sector (% share)

Source: FBN Capital Research

NDIC The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called for the establishment of an investor protection scheme to protect the interest of small investors in the capital market and to boost public confidence among the investing public.

NDIC Managing Director, Umaru Ibrahim, spoke when he hosted the Executive Council of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in his office in Abuja.

He said the scheme is imperative to the development of a stable capital market, adding that the corporation has been advocating a framework for the Investor and Small Insurance Policy Holder Protection Schemes in collaboration with the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) study group.

The NDIC Chief Executive also lamented the over-concentration of stock-broking firms in certain parts of the country, saying this does not augur well for financial inclusion. He therefore advised the institute to mobilise resources for securing licences to spread such opportunities to other parts of the country. He further suggested that in line with Agent Banking model by the CBN, the institute could engage the services of some agents in various parts of the country to reach out to small investors.

He also reiterated the need for partnership with the Institute in capacity building, particularly with the corporation's bank examiners to acquire more skills in capital market operations which would assist them in conducting consolidated risk-based supervision.

FBN Fund The FBN Money Market Fund, managed by FBN Capital Asset Management, has been assigned "Aa(f)" rating by Nigeria's foremost research, credit rating and risk management company, Agusto & Co in its first quarter rating result.

In the report published on its website, rating firm said the evaluation comes less than a year after the Fund was launched. It said the Fund is deemed to have "minimal to low risk of investment loss due to net asset value volatility".

According to the report, the rating is supported by good credit quality of underlying assets. All investments must have a minimum 'A' rating and at least 25 per cent of net assets are invested in short term Federal Government Securities.

"The Fund has conservative investment guidelines with respect to interest rate risk. All investments mature within 365 days, with a maximum weighted average maturity of 90 days. The portfolio manager is well qualified, with over 13 years of liquidity and investment management experience," it said.

The Managing Director of FBN Capital Asset Management, Michael Oyebola expressed satisfaction with the rating saying his firm has created a balanced suite of mutual fund products which are accessible to varying levels of investors.

ICAN The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has given 795 members its Fellowship award. Speaking at the weekend after the conferment of the award on the recipients,

•President

Goodluck Jonathan

By Collins Nweze

ICAN President, Adedoyin Owolabi, said the accountants attained the status between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2013.

"As a professional Institute, we have every reason today to celebrate the attainment of this special status by these award recipients. This conferment is the highest professional status that can be attained by any member of the prestigious accountancy profession worldwide," he said.

He said the conferment is in line with global practice and means that recipient has demonstrated professional knowledge, skills and excellence in the discharge of their duties.

He added that the recipients were expected to continue to exhibit an unwavering commitment to ethical values of accountability, transparency, honesty and integrity as espoused by the profession and the institute.

Forex demand Foreign Exchange (Forex) demand by authorised dealers consisting of the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators dropped to $4.29 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, CBN External Sector Development Report, has said.

The report said the 34.2 per cent decline, when compared with third quarter performance and 59.4 per cent when compared with the levels recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2011.

The report also showed that dollar has continued to dominate external reserves as the currency constituted 84.3 per cent of the $43.83 billion reserves as at December 31, 2012. The figure represents an increase of $3.15 billion compared with its level of $33.81 billion in third quarter.

Other currencies in the basket included; Euro (5.9 per cent), Chinese Yuan (1.9 per cent), GB Pounds (1.9 per cent) and SDR (5.9 per cent).

A review of the management of external reserves revealed that the portfolio was composed of fixed deposits (48.6 per cent), funds under Asset Management (20.1 per cent), Joint Venture Company cash call (0.1 per cent) and current account (6.3 per cent) as well as Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) (2.3 per cent).

Taxation The stability and growth of world economies will depend on their adaptation of efficient and effective tax policies, President Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) Sunday Femi Jegede has said.

Speaking ahead of the 15th Annual Tax conference holding from May 7 to 11 at the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel, Calabar, Cross River State, the CITN boss explained that how tax revenues are generated and spent by different levels of government should be of utmost concern to civil society groups, local communities and entire population. He said such awareness would help put the needed checks that will bring lasting development to the people.

He explained that the conference with theme: Global stability, revenue generation and economic growth, will serve as unique opportunity for participants to interact with tax administrators and policy makers that will be attending from different parts of the continent and globally.

He said the conference is being organised

by CITN. The lead paper will be presented by Niger State Governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu while Acting Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed Mashi will be Chairman of one of the sessions.

Also expected at the event is Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio as Special guest at the Gala Nite and his Cross River State counterpart, Liyel Imoke, as Special guest at the opening ceremony.

Also to attend is the immediate past President of West African Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI), Prince Kunle 'Quadri and other stakeholders in Nigeria's tax administration as well as representatives from the academic community.

Professor Akin Oyebode of the University of Lagos will be one of the discussants.

Corruption Forensic expert, Mr Steven Powell, has urged accountants to work toward getting Nigeria out of the list of corrupt nations. Powell, who is the Managing Director of ENS Forensics Limited, South Africa, spoke at the Fifth Convocation Lecture of the Nigerian College of Accountancy (NCA), Jos, a Postgraduate Accountancy College owned by the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). ``My challenge to you is to get Nigeria away from the list adding that accountants have practical roles to play in the future of the country as Nigeria being perceived as a highly-corrupt nation," he said.

Powell said the association is happy about the upcoming whistle blowing legislation in Nigeria. ``In Nigeria, people are so scared to come forward and blow the whistle. Staff should be courageous to come forward with information without fear. When dealing with organised crime syndicates, if the whistle blower's identity is disclosed, his life is in danger.

But if the identity is not disclosed, is hard to get the whistle blower and his life is safer,'' the forensic expert said.

He urged accountants to report fraudulent practices to the law enforcement agencies, adding that accountants should also be vigilant. ``Make sure your organisation adopts the necessary control measures as an auditor. Do not look the other way, act with honesty and

‘The call and seven -day money market rates fell to 10.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent. The three month Nigeria Inter-Bank Offered Rate (NIBOR) fell to 11.5 per cent’

integrity. Powell suggested that there was need to change people's lifestyles. He urged the postgraduate students to pursue careers in Forensics which he described as rewarding," he advised.

DMO The Debt Management Office (DMO) last week at its monthly auction of bonds raised N104.8 billion ($670 million).

Based on FBN Capital report, the DMO tentatively offered Nigeria's long bond in February to raise just N15 billion and may have been surprised by the bid of N79 billion for the paper.

It said the total sales target is higher than its projection given that the agency had raised N285 billion (gross) in just three months and that the approved 2013 budget sets domestic borrowing (net) at N577 billion.

"The auctions in the past year have generated demand comfortably above projected sales, a rare exception being September. Many offshore investors may favour the longer dated treasury bills but few, if any liquid government bond markets match the yields available in Nigeria.

Also, the shift by domestic institutional investors from bonds to equities has not been dramatic," it said.

It said the market rally since last August is driven by tight monetary policy is not exhausted, and that yields on the more liquid bonds may narrow by 100 basis points in the first half of the year.

MasterCard MasterCard Inc., which is under pressure from France to cut card payment fees, said European consumers are increasingly using credit and debit cards for purchases, dismissing the region's sovereign debt crisis, Bloomberg report has said.

"Our business in Europe has been growing really well. The sovereign debt issue isn't affecting consumer confidence in the way that it might," Ann Cairns, president of international markets at the company, said in an interview in Dubai.

MasterCard Inc said it is expanding even as Europe's financial crisis enters unprecedented territory after Euro-area finance ministers agreed to a tax on Cypriot bank deposits at the weekend.

IFC The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has said it is working with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to build a collateral registry system that will make it easier for banks to lend to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

Speaking at the SME Toolkit Global Partner conference held in Lagos, IFC, Nigeria Country Manager, Solomon Quaynor, said the corporation has realised that banks do not want high risk transactions, synonymous with lending to SMEs. He said the corporation is also partnering with 10 local banks to de-risk lending to the subsector.

He said the SME Toolkit launched in the country

by IFC, IBM and EDC Pan African University, will enable the entrepreneurs to effectively manage their businesses. He, therefore, said the IFC has stepped in to de-risk such loans by providing financial infrastructure and developing collateral registry that will assist banks in lending to the subsector.

Quaynor said since a lot of the SMEs do not have landed assets, except receivables, IFC is working with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ministry of Trade and Investment to build a registry system that should include the ability of SMEs to borrow from banks.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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THE CEO

‘Pension funds should bridge growth gap’ Experts believe that there are many uses to which pension funds should be put if well managed. One of them, Mr Adebayo Jimoh, the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Odu’a Investment Limited, in this interview with BISI OLADELE, says the cash can be given to the money and capital markets to enhance economic development.

O

DU’A Investment Limited is a major player in the economy and also a member of Association of Developing Finance Institutions in Africa, an offshoot of African Development Bank (ADB), whose business is development financing? Is the group funded by the government or the private sector?

Development financing is purely the business of the government. It is the business of the government because it needs to provide an enabling environment and resources that are attractive. By the word attraction I mean finances that have long gestation period because most issues of development are not short-term. And if they are not short-term, the returns on them are also not short-term.

They are long-term projects that touch on the life of every sector of the economy, essentially the rural sector. But it has to be funds that have attractive interest and it has to be single-digit interest with handsome moratoria period that could create breathing space for the investors. It should not be a choking fund. Neither should it be a risk-free fund; it should be in-between a choking fund and a risk-free fund. The aspect of development finance requires a huge fund which the Federal Government provides. lf you look at the African Development Bank, it has a charter that compels every member-nation to provide funds in a pool so that the development bank now identifies critical areas of intervention that would have long lasting effects and benefits for a greater majority of people within the sub region.

What other sources of financing do governments in African countries have? Are we exploring enough of these funds, particularly in Nigeria?

Essentially, apart from the internally generated funds coming from the resources of government, bonds that government raises, hedge funds that industrialists and people that want to invest put into a system like a basket, there are also the special development funds of some continents, such as the European Development Funds and the American Development Funds. They are special funds meant for specific interventions like afforestation, HIV/AIDS, funds for educational development, skill development, funds for intervention in areas like polio, funds for development in floods and natural disasters. All these funds are available through some specific international agencies but there are checklists; there are some processes and conditions, specific requirements.

The most important one is the counterpart funding. Although European funds come free, you must be able to provide your own counterpart fund to ameliorate what the overseas funds will provide which will be able to accomplish the task.There is no half-measure

• Jimoh

Profile Qualifications

B. Sc; M.Sc in Industrial Psychology

Background

Technocrat, administrator, industrial psychologist

Previous Position

Lecturer; Executive Director

Experience

31 years

in development finance fund. If the project, for instance, is N100 billion, the international agency, say from the China Investment Bank, wants to give an aid to Nigeria for construction of a bridge and the cost of that fund is N100 billion, they will provide N70 billion and the Federal Government must show the capacity to provide that counterpart fund.

When they start, they must accomplish it. But we, most times, make mistakes because these funds do not necessarily come out in cash as liquidity. Most of them come as materials, equipment, resources, people, infrastructure and even consultancy. So, a development fund is a conglomeration of several input and most times the benefit are not necessarily for the receiving country. The benefit could be for the donor country, especially in the areas of food aid because they try as much as possible to find ways of exporting to support their home grown institutions. For instance, if they are farmers and they have excess harvest, they will say they want to give you aid and you will start clapping, but it is not necessarily free. There is no free lunch anywhere.

Are there funds like these which are home-

grown in Nigeria?

Yes. Our pension funds serve as a good example. But, unfortunately, it is being abused.

These are supposed to be funds that are to bridge development gaps. If our pension funds go into the capital market rather than being kept in stagnant banks and are growing wings to fly as we are seeing, what do you think will happen to our capital market if N30 billion comes into the capital market?

There will be serious activity. If these funds are made available to the lending institutions, the simple economic principle of demand and supply will apply. There will be more funds going into the economy than even the demand, and what will happen to the interest rate? It will come down. The real sector will have access to these funds. People will buy into the bonds that our states are taking, and if our liquidity improves and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is able to monitor that, it will help our economy than going to take loans in hard currency at very lower rate but when you bring the money into this country they will give them out at higher interest rates. So, there are funds in this country, the

pension funds, the stock market funds which are supposed to be used for providing these interventions for our activities back home and that will at least bridge the gap on the foreign loans that we get.

How would you describe the state of development financing in Nigeria compared with other African countries?

I would say that there are two institutions that have done very well in Nigeria over the past three years. The first one is the Bank of Industry (BoI). It has been able to identify some specific sectors that require interventions and I know that it is able to support some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the textile industry, in the arts and craft, some SMEs in the power sector. I also know about the Bank of Agriculture (BoA). These banks have done well in providing funds at single-digit interest for investors in that sector. Looking at it from that angle, those development finance institutions have performed well and I commend their management. Beneficiaries are accessing these funds and they are also paying back because these funds are being better managed unlike before when people saw them as national cakes and never repaid. They also provide them with support, including extension information services and follow-up to ensure that the funds taken are applied into what they are supposed to use them for. They even offer input and not just necessarily cash. I will say that the critical ones among our development finance institutions have done very well.

Did any subsidiaries of Odu’a Investment access such funds?

Yes. We are able to access the funds for graduates of our farmers’ academy where we were able to secure loans for our graduating students in agriculture through the Bank of •Continued on page 33

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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THE CEO

‘Pension funds should bridge growth gap’ •Continued from page 32

Industry.They have been able to fulfill their obligations. Default rate is minimal.

How well are the graduates of Odu’a Academy applying these loans?

They are doing well. We have graduated over 500 farmers from our academy in Ede, Osun State and they have been able to access this fund through the Quick Intervention Fund of the Osun State Government. Also in Awe, I can conveniently tell you that the first two sets of graduates have been able to access the funds through their cooperatives.

How about patronising the private sector, particularly in developing infrastructure in Nigeria?

No government can do it alone.

Actually, what I mean by government’s major task of providing funds for financial institutions to use is that the institutions will engage the private sector to utilise the funds. The private sector cannot provide the development funds because they want to make profit.

The policy of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is great and that is what can be used to develop this country. However, what we have noticed in this country is inconsistency in policy for most of these infrastructural development programs. There is a need to have a standard rule of law guiding the operations the government will have with the private sector so that it can become more encouraging for Foreign Direct Investment to come in and support that. But if they know that there are no standard policies whereby another government comes in and proposes another condition to reverse the policy, then it cannot work.

What about business financing, particularly in the real sector where Odu’a Investments Limited has some subsidiaries? In what ways do you think businesses in Nigeria can access better funds to help them run more profitably?

To access funds by business enterprises in this country, there is a need for all businesses to do the NEEDS analysis before they can identify what they need the fund for and will be able to match the resources that they will take with the actual output in terms of what they will be able to produce with those funds so that there will not be an hitch whereby loans are taken and can hardly be repaid. There is a need to gather data, have information along with a strong business plan.

Jumping out to source for funds is not desirable. People usually say they are travelling abroad to look for investors or funds, but they need to first get information as to the opportunities available in Nigeria. What are they going to use the fund for? Most times they lack this information or some of the business plans that are prepared are just updated without really re-visiting.

So, I am saying that it is not just about the need to source for funds that is important, but what you are going to do with this fund and to make for sustainability of the operations of the company. It is also important for the company to prepare a good bankable document that will show that what I am investing this fund on would provide optimal returns on my investment.

Without that, most institutions go out for funds and before you know it, they run into serious problems and that is what has led to AMCON to have taken over several companies, including some companies that you don’t think should be in the basket of AMCOM. It is a misnomer, but I am honestly advising investors to check their data properly before they jump into loans or funds that are available in the market for investment. The bank manager will always smile when they want to give you these loans, but if you refuse to pay then that becomes a problem.

With the high interest rate on bank loans, how will you describe the future of this business and business financing in Nigeria?

‘If our pension funds go into the capital market rather than being kept in stagnant banks... what do you think will happen to our capital market ...? There will be serious activity. If these funds are made available to the lending institutions ... There will be more funds going into the economy than even the demand, and what will happen to the interest rate? It will come down. The real sector will have access to these funds’

• Jimoh

If the high rate regime continues and the inflation rate is said to be coming down, it does not tally. It creates a bleak future for industry because the industry will not be able to get into meaningful activities that would enable them to make profit, to have returns and pay back these loans. There will be a limit to which you can increase your prices if the interest rates are low and the money supplied into the economy is also being highly regulated, whereas the interest rate in banks are still high, so there is a mismatch.

So, it’s a bleak future for industry if the interest rate continues this way, there is no way by which they can cope. Coupled with the fact that the cost of doing business is rising, in terms of power, security, water, people, and even normal communication. All these fixed cost are very high. My appeal is for the banks to find a way of at least, bringing down interest rate and the CBN through its monetary policy regime, can do this. The answer is to look at ways of meaningfully utilising our pension fund in a proper manner than being stolen and taken outside this country to other countries. Those countries are now benefiting from it than us. There are some countries whereby their banks will even beg people to come and take loans at zero per cent rate because they are awash with cash.

But why don’t we have such banks in Nigeria?

We do not have such banks in Nigeria because the people are afraid to put money here. There are controls, checking, monitoring processes of deposits and the supply into the economy is still very low, and there is huge demand because our infrastructural needs are still many.

We do not have institutions to check many things here. We do what I call fire-fighting. We are yet to build institutions that will regulate, monitor and create activities for industry, for the people, society and we will continue to move round in circles.

This conglomerate has shifted focus to real estate in the last few years. Why? I will just say it is a paradigm shift from what we used to do because we just shifted from just trading in the capital market and we saw that the capital market was going to have problems and we needed to identify a good sector because we have the advantage after a strong SWOT analysis of the strength, weaknesses and opportunities of Odu’a. We have advantage to go into real estate investment because we have good locations and we also have the wherewithal to partner with a lot of other people, because most of our associate companies, our subsidiaries, are all in the building sector of the industry. They include WAPCO/Lafarge is in cement, Nigerite is in roofing, Askar is in paint; Nigerian Wire and Cable. We are working in synergy with these institutions that are still very strong. Again, there is huge demand for what I call gated estates in this country. There is more demand for shopping malls because our people are becoming more enlightened, coupled with the fact that the five Odu’a owner-states have started urban renewal projects, and all what Odu’a can do is to support the urban renewal projects by also building to support the people that are coming out to look for opportunities into these new areas of real estate buildings.

Your administration has built massive properties. Can you share the value of the real estate portfolio of the conglomerate?

The value of our real estate portfolio as at the last time evaluation was done about two years ago was close to N76 billion. We have been doing some investments since last year. I think that is a very strong level in our real estate development

• Jimoh

‘The government should venture into afforestation and start producing woods that will be used in buildings. The greatest challenge is cost of materials’ which I believe can even grow better by the time we do others, because we still have a lot of real estate redevelopments to do in some strategic locations. By the time we finish with the Heritage Mall, we are thinking on moving into those locations and the five states. And I can tell you that Abeokuta is our next port of call where we are also trying to replicate a shopping mall like the Shoprite there.

Very soon, you will be inaugurating the Heritage Mall, which is believed to be the largest shopping mall in the Southwest. What informed your choice of Ibadan as the location? Why not Lagos?

What informed our choice of Ibadan is basically the fact that Ibadan is a very strong growing economy in terms of people, in terms of opportunities and in terms of the historical nature of it, being a regional capital of Southwest Nigeria, and if Lagos already has three malls, of course, based on our research and business plans, the next port of call is Ibadan.

As a major player in the real estate business, what are the challenges facing that sector?

The major challenge facing the sector is the cost profile. You will recall that early last year, the Federal Government was very worried with the high cost of input for building, especially cement and the government had an intervention by calling the manufacturers of cement and there came the issue of undercutting and underpricing between some of the manufacturers. But I will say to you that cement is still better, but there are other aspects, such as the metal, iron rods and the steel. That leads me to the need to call on the Federal Government to revisit the steel industry. The steel industry has to come back because close to 80 per cent of our steel and iron rods materials are still imported, whereas we have the resources, just like we have the resources for manufacturing cement, that was why the Federal Government was able to control the price of cement because close to 90 per cent of our demands are been manufactured locally. If they are able to do that for the Ajaokuta Steel Industry, Delta Steel, they should go back to the drawing board and revisit our steel industry. It will assist in bringing down the prices of most of our building inputs. A lot of our aluminum pro-

files are imported from China while we have the aluminum smelting industry in Akwa Ibom State.

There is a need for the Federal Government to get that place fully privatised and all our steel industries too, so that they will start operating perfectly well. The government should venture into afforestation and start producing woods that will be used in buildings. The greatest challenge is cost of materials.

How have you been able to raise the profile of this conglomerate since you became the GMD about seven years ago?

The first thing I think we have succeeded in doing is to raise the morale of our people. We have been able to improve the level of capacity of our staff. Most of our staff are now well-groomed in addressing issues of investment, infrastructural growth, capacity building and issues in industry development. We are also providing assistance for our states in terms of training. As we speak, I can say we have provided several trainings to enhance the capacity of our people and by extension, those people we have the opportunity to empower. Secondly is the environment. I think it is a thing of joy that the greatest legacy of the Yorubas (Cocoa House) that was dead for over 18 years is the pride of everybody including some states, as they have Cocoa House as part of their logo. In terms of reaching out to our states, we are building shopping centres in some states.

In Osun State as we speak, we are building a big shopping mall called Aje International Market in Osogbo, The first phase comprises 600 shops and it is almost ready and will be inaugurated in April. We are going to do the same in Ondo State. It will comprise 3,000 shops but we are doing them in phases. We have built our relationship with the youths, scholarship schemes for graduates, undergraduates, nurses, and empowerment schemes for the farmers’ academy because the youths are the future and they should not be idle. Another program which is coming up is just an icing of the cake for us to always remember our great heroes in the past, is a museum which is completed now and Prof Wole Soyinka has agreed to commission it and we are going to do a lot more. What we have been able to put in Odu’a now is a standard you can only grow.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

34

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 19-04-13

Sterling Bank grows Q1 profit by 96% •Investors stake N27b on equities TERLING Bank Plc recorded impressive growths across key performance indicators in the first quarter, consolidating the strong performance outlook that had marked its earnings reports in recent years.

Key extracts of the profit and loss accounts for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 showed that Sterling Bank’s profit after tax rose by 96 per cent while profit before tax increased by 85 per cent. The net profit growth signaled robust returns outlook for investors as earnings per share rose by 89 per cent from 9.0 kobo recorded in first quarter 2012 to 17 kobo in first quarter of 2013.

The report, prepared in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), showed gross earnings of N19.84 billion as against N16.21 billion recorded in comparable period of 2012. Profit before tax jumped from N1.63 billion to N3.02 billion while profit after tax leapt to N2.72 billion as against N1.39 billion.

The report underlined continuing improvement in the bank’s cost efficiency and growing market share. Pre-tax profit margin was 15.2 per cent in first quarter 2013 as against 10.1 per cent in comparable period of 2012. Deposits increased by 13.1 per cent within the three months from N466.85 billion recorded in December 2012 to N528.10 billion in March 2013. Total assets grew by 11 per cent to N645.07 billion as against N580.23 billion recorded in December 2012.

With stronger balance sheet, the bank continued to further economic growth and development. Loans and advances improved from N229.4 billion in December 2012 to N247.6 billion in March 2013. Shareholders’ funds firmed up to N49.30 billion compared with N46.64 billion that opened this year.

The first quarter report came

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By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

on the heels of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012, which showed a well-rounded performance with significant growths in incomes, profitability and assets management and efficiency.

The 2012 full-year report showed that the bank consolidated its growth and seamlessly harnessed the synergies from its recent acquisition with both outward and underlying performance indicators indicating marked improvements.

While gross earnings grew by 51 per cent, pre-tax profit doubled by 108 per cent while the proportion of non-performing loans to total loans portfolio improved considerably to negligible 3.8 per cent as against 4.8 per cent in previous year. Net interest margin improved from five per cent to 5.2 per cent underlying increasing profitability of the bank’s core banking operations in spite of the tough operating environment.

Gross earnings stood at N68.9 billion in 2012 as against N45.7 billion in 2011. Adjusted for income from discontinued operations, profit before tax grew by 108 per cent to N7.5 billion in 2012 as against N3.6 billion in 2011. With net profit after tax of N6.95 billion in 2012, the board of director has recommended 100 per cent increase in cash dividends to shareholders from 10 kobo paid for the 2011 business year to 20 kobo for 2012.

Commenting on the results, Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Yemi Adeola, said the bank was well-positioned to sustain its growth noting that overall growth was being driven by improvement in core banking operations and efficient cost management.

According to him, the bank has been implementing several key initiatives to widen customer base and enhance cus-

tomer satisfaction.

“We have also revamped our retail strategy through a number of initiatives for low end customers. Our physical infrastructure is being upgraded to capture a high-street retail look and feel; and restructured along the lines of hub and spoke delivery platforms,” Adeola said.

He reassured that ongoing initiatives would make the bank to be more efficient and profitable reiterating the commitments of the board and management to continuously deliver better and competitive returns to shareholders.

Meanwhile, investors increased stakes on equities by 10.8 per cent to N26.68 billion last week with 27,624 deals swapped for 2.11 billion shares.

Turnover at the stock market had stood at 2.19 billion shares valued at N24.94 billion in 33,100 deals in the previous week.

The banking subsector remained the core of market’s activities with a turnover of 1.44 billion shares worth N11.90 billion in 12,764 deals. Volume in the banking subsector was largely driven by activities in the shares of Wema Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, which altogether accounted for 627.60 million shares worth N4.38 billion in 3,720 deals, representing 29.7 per cent of aggregate turnover for the week.

The market’s pricing trend was dominated by bearishness, which reduced market’s year-todate average return by 1.55 per cent. The All Share Index (ASI), the main index that tracks all equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), slipped to 32,993.97 points as against the week’s opening index of 33,514.14 points. Aggregate market value of all equities dropped from value on board of N10.713 trillion to close the week at N10.547 trillion.

The market was overtly bearish with 49 decliners against 28 advancers. Dangote Sugar Refinery lost N1.33 to close at N7.22. Capital Hotel recorded a loss of N1.18 to close at N5.09.

On the upside, PZ Cussons Nigeria chalked up N6.50 to close at N42. Forte Oil rose by N1.41 to close at N15.55 while Cement Company of Northern Nigeria rose by N1.16 to close at N10.50.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 19-04-13

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22 , 2013

35

EQUITIES WATCH

Email: taofad2000@yahoo.co.uk

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, the most capitalised construction company, has shown strong resilience in recent months. With year-to-date return nearly thrice of average return at the stock market, Julius Berger Nigeria appears to have substantially regained steam. Recent fundamental appears to provide supports for future price valuation. TAOFIK SALAKO reports.

What consideration for Julius Berger?

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N the average, the Nigerian equity market has done comparatively better than the previous returns. With average year to date return of 17.50 per cent as value on board today, equities have generally in the past four months showed a salutary consolidation of the cheery recovery in 2012, when the market posted a breakthrough full-year average return of 35.45 per cent. While the average market position has been relatively remarkable, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has shown exceptional resurgence. Unlike in the previous years when it was on the worse downside of the lull in the market, a four-month year-todate return of 52.9 per cent places the construction company as one of the most bullish stocks so far this year. The pricing trend this year is better appreciated against the background of the marginal full-year return of 9.65 per cent in 2012 and a mind boggling return of -36.8 per cent in 2011.

From a high of N62.26 in 2011, Julius Berger Nigeria had closed 2011 at its low of N31.60. It sank further to a low of N19.86 in 2012 before it picked up the market's recovery mood to close at its high of N34.65. For a stock that had traded at a high of N61.88 per share in 2010, the price ceiling in 2012, though a recovery; was albeit a slow momentum. The share price appears to have shrugged off the muddy drags of the previous years. At a high of N67 per share, its highest in recent years, it has traded within a high and low price band of 93.4 per cent. In spite of the recent lull fueled largely by the propensity to profit-taking, it has retained more than two-quarters of its capital gains. Julius Berger opens today at N52.99 per share

Structural strengths Julius Berger Nigeria's share steady price has been helped by operational fundamentals, showing that the construction giant has increasingly become efficient and profitable. This

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2008

has seen steady increase in returns to shareholders. Latest audited report and accounts, for the year ended December 31, 2012, showed a much more profitable company as stronger intrinsic profit-making capacity magnified otherwise moderate growth in turnover.

While turnover increased by 19 per cent, profit after tax rose by 82 per cent, pushing up basic distributable earnings per share by similar rate from N3.68 in 2011 to N6.68 in 2012. This enabled the company to increase gross dividend from N2.88 billion distributed for 2011 to N3 billion for 2012, representing dividend per share of N2.50 for 2012 business year as against N2.40 paid for the 2011 business year.

The company's fundamental outlook is generally strong. Total turnover rose from N169.41 billion in 2011 to N201.57 billion in 2012. Gross profit increased by 33 per cent from N33.62 billion to N44.84 billion. Profit before tax rose by 24 per cent to N12.34 billion as against N9.93 billion recorded in 2011. Profit before tax nearly doubled from N4.41 billion to N8.0 billion. Net assets rode on the back of larger retained earnings to increase by 55 per cent from N8.12 to N12.62.

Beyond the surface, underlying fundamentals were stronger. Gross profit margin improved from 19.8 per cent in 2011 to 22.2 per cent in 2012. Pre-tax profit margin increased slightly from 5.9 per cent to 6.1 per cent. Returns on total assets and equity improved from 5.8 per cent and 43.2 per cent to 6.9 per cent and 78.5 per cent respectively. Even with the increase in cash payout, the sustainable dividend outlook remained robust with dividend cover of 2.67 times in 2012 as against 1.70 times.

Sustaining the winning streak The latest audited report built on impressive performance in the previous year, cementing a robust medium-term outlook. Audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2011 had shown appreciable im-

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provements in key underlying fundamentals with lower financial leverage, improved financing structure, better returns on resources and stronger liquidity. With net earnings per share rising by 75 per cent to N4.07, the company increased cash payouts by 20 per cent from N2 for 2010 business year to N2.40 dividend per share. Gross profit margin improved from 17.1 per cent to 20.1 per cent while average pre-tax profit margin increased to 6.1 per cent as against 4.6 per cent in 2010.

Group turnover stood at N169.41 billion in 2011 compared with N173.69 billion in 2011.

Gross profit grew by 14.5 per cent to N34.09 billion in 2011 as against N29.76 billion. Profit before tax rose by 30 per cent from N8.01 billion to N10.4 billion. Profit after taxes leapt by 74 per cent to N4.88 billion in 2011 as against N2.80 billion. Earnings per share rose from N2.33 in 2010 to N4.07 in 2011. On the basis of improved earnings, the company distributed N2.88 billion as cash dividends for the 2011 business year as against N2.40 billion paid for the 2010 business year. Notwithstanding the 20 per cent in cash payout, the company's dividend sustainability outlook improved considerably with a dividend cover of 1.70 times in 2011 as against 1.17 times in 2010. Net assets per share also increased by 32 per cent from N6.44 in 2010 to N8.51 2011.

Besides, underlying returns to shareholders and other assets improved considerably with return on equity rising from 36 per cent to about 48 per cent. Return on total assets also improved from 5.3 per cent to 6.1 per cent.

When change is good Besides the growths in sales and profit, the 2012 performance is significant as the first fullyear report after the partial divestment of the foreign core investor and internalization of the significant part of the company's processes and designs. In 2011, Bilfinger Berger SE, the majority core investor in Julius Berger

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Nigeria Plc, which held 49.87 per cent equity stake, sold 10 per cent of its equities to a Nigerian shareholder. Thus Bilfinger Berger now holds 39.87 per cent equity stake. The reduction in shareholding of Bilfinger Berger increased shareholdings by Nigerians from 50.13 per cent to 60.13 per cent, putting Nigerian shareholders as the controlling investors.

Besides, Julius Berger Nigeria purchased a majority stake of 90 per cent in Julius Berger International GmbH (JBI), an engineering and services company based in Wiesbaden, Germany. This assured of key-support in planning, procurement and capacity building. In order to also strengthen its corporate independence, the company had earlier enhanced its on shore and off shore technical and logistic capacities by the establishment of a subsidiary, Prime Technology Design and Engineering Nigeria Limited for the provisions of design and engineering support services to the Company. It had also incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary-Julius Berger Medical Services Limited, to undertake medical services to its employees and stakeholders.

Still a robust outlook Building and construction industry still holds immense potential. The largest country in Africa, with some 170 million population, Nigeria is in critical need of development of infrastructure and this has continued to grow year-on-year. With steady Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth, the outlook for the construction industry remains bright as it is generally accepted that the level of GDP per capita positively correlates with the level of construction activity. Julius Berger Nigeria's strategy has shown that it has clear positioning strategy. Chairman, Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) Plc, Avm Nuruddeen Imam (rtd), recently noted that Nigeria retains enormous potential as a developing nation with immense opportunities, especially in the private sector and downstream industries, which are attracting not only Nigerian, but also international investors. "Such investors are looking for a dynamic partner who can deliver expert work to global standards, who is able to meet their demand for quality within the necessary timeframe and has Nigeria specific know-how. Our goal is to be the first choice contractor for such potential clients and the Julius Berger Group's business model, including a logistical partner in Germany, makes this goal possible," Imam said. He outlined that the company had made significant investments in research for materials technology and construction products, which led to fabrication of its own bitumen emulsion for road construction and production of plaster made with materials sourced locally.

These investments and innovations have supported Julius Berger Nigeria's traditional strengths as the leading construction company.

In a market still haunted by the shadows of the recent recession, investors want assurance of strong fundamentals and clear business strategy. These are the factors underlying the consideration for the company's share price.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

36

DUE DILIGENCE

Unilever Nigeria: Walking tight rope

By Taofik Salako

Financing structure

•MD, Unilever Nigeria, Thabo Mabe

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LUGGISH top-line laid the ground for a tight performance for Unilever Nigeria Plc in 2012 with key performance indicators stunted at almost the same level as in previous year. Audited report and accounts of Unilever Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2012 showed almost a standstill position as the conglomerate struggled with slowdown in sales and rising interest expenses. While it ostensibly leveraged on largescale global purchasing power to reduce relative cost of sales and create larger top-line profit, a double in financing charges sapped the midline, leaving the conglomerate with almost flat bottom-line.

With negligible 1.5 per cent increase in profit after tax and just difference of 8.0 kobo between distributable earnings per share and previous dividend payout, the company was constrained to retain dividend payout at N1.40 per share. The constraints also reflected in underlying returns, which slipped to lower levels in 2012. When further related to its share price, which has grown significantly since the previous year, the bottom-line indicated declining yields for the conglomerate.

Besides, the balance sheet structure of the multinational weakened considerably during the period.

Building up larger negative working capital, a surging gearing ratio complicated the financing and liquidity outlook. Probable immediate assets fell further below relative liabilities, which, when taken with lower equity funds, could induced further financial leverage.

Unilever Nigeria’s total balance sheet size increased by 13 per cent from N32.25 billion to N36.50 billion. Current assets had dropped by 8.4 per cent from N16.13 billion to N14.78 billion. Total long-term assets meanwhile improved significantly from N16.12 billion to N21.72 billion. Total liabilities however grew by 17 per cent to N26.46 billion in 2012 as against N22.62 billion in 2011. Liabilities had grown on the back of 18 per cent increase in current liabilities from N18.9 billion to N22.33 billion and 11 per cent rise in long-term liabilities from N3.72 billion to N4.12 billion. While paid up share capital remained unchanged at N1.89 billion, shareholders’ funds inched up from N9.64 billion to N10.04 billion.

The underlying financing structure weakened in 2012 with debt-to-equity ratio of 43 per cent as against a zero immediate bank loans in 2011.

The proportion of equity funds to total assets also slipped from about 30 per cent to 28 per cent while current liabilities increased to 61 per cent of total balance sheet size as against about 59 per cent in 2011.

Long-term liabilities amounted to 11.3 per cent of total assets in 2012 compared with 11.5 per cent in 2011.

Efficiency

Tight cost management and stable productivity underpinned a relative efficiency outlook. Although there were no data to determine actual cost per head relative to output, the overall operating cost showed a somewhat stable performance. Total cost of business, excluding financing charges, was 84 per cent of total sales in 2012 as against 84.9 per cent in 2011. It had in the previous year achieved considerable improvements in employee productivity and cost management with average contribution of each employee to the bottom-line improving appreciably from N6.19 million in 2010 to N7.46 million in 2011.

Profitability

Unilever Nigeria’s profitability outlook was coloured by the almost standstill in its market share. The profit and loss accounts showed spirited efforts by the management to

cushion the adverse impact of the top-line slowdown on the bottomline, holding tightly to costs. In the immediate, the cost management strategy helped to stabilise both actual and underlying profitability measures. Turnover stood at N55.55 billion in 2012, a marginal improvement on N54.73 billion recorded in 2011. Cost of sales meanwhile dropped by 2.4 per cent from N34.72 billion to N33.90 billion. Lower cost of sales nudged gross profit to N21.65 billion in 2012 compared with N20 billion in 2011, indicating an increase of 8.2 per cent. Total operating expenses, including administration and distribution expenses; rose by 8.3 per cent to N12.74 billion as against N11.77 billion in previous year. While non-core business income was steadied between N215 million in 2012 and N209 million in 2011, a 119 per cent increase in finance charges from N428 million to N935 million impacted negatively on the bottom-line. Profit before tax thereafter closed 2012 at N8.19 billion as against N8.02 billion in 2011. Profit after tax was also almost flat with negligible increase of 1.5 per cent from N5.52 billion to N5.60 billion.

Underlying profit-making indices also showed similar top-down stiffness. While gross profit margin improved from 36.6 per cent in 2011 to 39 per cent in 2012, average pretax profit per unit of sale was stunted at 14.7 per cent. Return on total assets slipped from about 25 per cent to 22.4 per cent while return on equity dropped slightly from 57 per cent to about 56 per cent.

Further earnings analysis showed earnings per share of N1.48 in 2012 compared with N1.46 in 2011, a difference of 2.0 kobo. The bottom-line obviously provided no headroom for dividend increase, no matter the consideration of the directors. The board of directors thus reasonably decided to retain dividend payout at the same rate. Gross dividend and dividend per share remained unchanged at N5.30 billion and N1.40.

Unless it unlocks new opportunities, there is little room for any future dividend increase with dividend cover at 1.06 times and 1.04 times in 2012 and 2011.

Governance and structures

Unilever Nigeria is the earliest publicly quoted conglomerate. With some 100,000 shareholders, it has one of the largest diversified shareholders base. Incorporated in 1923, it was listed on the stock exchange in 1973.

Individual and institutional Nigerian shareholders currently hold 49.96 percent equity stake in the conglomerate while Unilever Group holds 50.04 per cent majority equity stake through Unilever Overseas Holdings B.V. There were no notable changes on the board of the company during the year. His Majesty Nnaemeka Achebe still chairs the board of directors while Mr Thabo Mabe still leads the executive management team as managing director.

Unilever Nigeria complies with international best practices and codes of good corporate governance.

It is one of the predictable compa-

nies in terms of voluntary compliance with extant rules and regulations.

Analyst’s opinion

The performance of Unilever Nigeria in 2012 belied the general optimism that the conglomerate would harness recent investments in capacity expansion and new products to sustain a robust performance trend. While cost management strategy helped to stabilise both actual and underlying profitability measures in the immediate period, the sustainability of such in the absence of top-line breakthrough is doubtful and precarious. The conglomerate thus needs to open up new market opportunities to stimulate the top-line while sustaining the commendable cost management strategy. Besides, it had been noted that though its low liquidity position might not pose a serious drawback given its overall credit worthiness and global group, Unilever Nigeria needs to back-up its rapid expansion and ambitious target of doubling its business size with appropriate financial mix, especially equity funds that can provide the much-needed linchpin for long-term growth. The rising gearing ratio and declining liquidity underline the urgency of financial rebalancing. For Unilever Nigeria, the overall performance outlook for 2012 is a red flag alerting stakeholders to rework growth strategy.

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Liquidity

Fiscal Year Ended December 31 Nmillion

2012 12 months

% change

2011 12 months

Profit and Loss Statement Main Business Segment Total turnover Cost of sales Gross profit Operating expenses Interest and other incomes Finance expenses Pre-tax profit(loss) Post-tax profit (loss) Basic earnings per share(kobo) Gross dividend (Nm) Cash dividend per share (kobo) Net Assets per share (kobo)

NA 55,548 33,902 21,646 12,739 215 935 8,186 5,598 148 5,296 140 265

0.0 1.5 -2.4 8.2 8.3 2.9 118.6 2.1 1.5 1.4 0.0 0.0 3.9

30,835 54,725 34,723 20,002 11,765 209 428 8,018 5,515 146 5,296 140 255

19,266 21,719 5,638 14,778 36,497

35.0 34.7 3.9 -8.4 13.2

14,267 16,123 5,426 16,127 32,250

14,782 4,359 22,333 4,122 26,455

-8.0 0.0 18.2 10.7 17.0

16,068 0 18,892 3,723 22,615

1,892 10,043

0.0 4.2

1,892 9,635

Balance Sheet Assets: Fixed assets Total long term assets Trade debtors Current assets Total assets Liabilities: Trade creditors Bank loans Current liabilities Long-term liabilities Total liabilities Equity Funds Share capital Total Equity Funds

The liquidity position of the conglomerate weakened further in 2012.

Current ratio, which generally relates easily available assets to similar potential liabilities, declined to a low of 0.66 times in 2012 as against 0.85 times and 0.99 times in 2011 and 2010 respectively. The negative working capital further built up to approximately 14 per cent of total sales in 2012 compared with 5.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent in 2011 and 2010. Debtors/creditors ratio closed 2012 at 38 per cent as against 34 per cent in 2011.

Fiscal Year Ended December 31

2012 %

2011 %

Financing structure Equity funds/Total assets Long-term liabilities/Total assets Current liabilities/Total assets Debt/Equity ratio

27.5 11.3 61.2 43.4

29.9 11.5 58.6 0.0

Profitability Gross profit margin Pre-tax profit margin Return on total assets Return on equity Dividend cover (times)

39.0 14.7 22.4 55.7 1.06

36.6 14.7 24.9 57.2 1.04

Efficiency Pre-tax profit per employee (Nm) Staff cost per employee (Nm) Cost of sales, operating exp/Turnover

7.46 3.50 84.084.9

Liquidity Current ratio Working capital/Turnover Debtors/Creditors

0.85 5.1 33.8

0.66 -13.6 38.1

JOBS THE NATION

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

37

Local content push for job prospects

The local content policy is all about domestication of technologies and skills. The policy, according to information communication technology (ICT) experts, will open job opportunities for the unemployed, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE

F

OR the unemployed, all hope is not lost.The local content policy introduced to drive the information communication technology (ICT) sector unlocked some activities hitherto not done in the country. The Ministry of Communication and Technology initiated the idea to encourage patronage of locally-produced ICT products.

The policy promotes domestication of technology, using indigenous capacities and resources. Subsumed in the policy is employment generation. In fact, the initiative is expected to lead to the development of skills in the country.

Before now, critical components, such as hardware/software production,were farmed out to expatriates believed to have higher level of competence. The arrival of local producers, such as Omatek, Zinox and Vedan, did not change the situation because they all import and assemble ICTs’ facilities.

But with the growing advocacy for adoption of local content by stakeholders’activities done by expatriates are being handled by Nigerians and this is creating employment. Stakeholders say the essence of local content is that globally it comes with substantial job prospects, if

well-implemented. They said Nigeria has a huge market, adding that it would not be long before people start creating jobs in the ICT industry locally. They said lower, semi and highly skilled people would get jobs in the industry soon.

They said jobs would be available for researchers, software developers, programmers, marketers, technicians, welders and iron benders, among others.

The Managing Director, Teledon Group, Mr Emmanuel Ekuwem, said the local content initiative revolves round five major areas namely the hardware, software, physical infrastructure, technology inte-

gration and expertise. Ekuwem said there were immense job’opportunities in the five areas, urging Nigerians to explore them for growth. He said the areas are of critical importance to global ICT industry, adding that nothing can be done successfully without them.

He said Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Global System for Mobile (GSM), communication operators and Code Division Mobile (CDMA), among others, would provide skilled and unskilled labour through the local content policy.

•Continued on page 38

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

38

JOBS

Local content push for job prospects •Continued from page 37 “There are thousands of welders in Aba, Owerri, Enugu, Ogbomoso and other places in Nigeria who can weld steel well.

Why should telecoms companies or ISPs import readymade towers or masts from Europe and the United States when we have welders who can do the jobs perfectly at lower cost? With local content policy gaining prominence, we should be expecting huge employment prospects soon. Many welders and their auxiliaries like suppliers of iron, and steel would experience a boom in business activities. In the long run, directly or indirectly, jobs would be created for the teeming population,” he said.

He said many people would get jobs as a result of technology integration soon, arguing that the policy creates room for people to combine different technologies together to achieve the desired objectives.

Ekuwem said there are Nigerians who can develop good software, stressing that they would get more jobs to do it when the local content policy is fully implemented.

“Since the likes of Nigerian Computer Society(NCS), and the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) are firmly on ground, it would not be long to see more Nigerians venturing into software development to maxmise the gains of local content. It would be amasing to know that there are huge prospects in software creation locally,” he added.

According to him, the market of

Nigeria Chairm an Vice • Commi ssion Commu nication Eugene Juwah

• Ms Omobola Johnson

producers of barb wires would increase, as a result of the execution of local content policy.

“Why should we import barb wires to fence the sites? Why should we import portakabin for generators installed at the sites? he asked rhetorically.

He said these things can be done locally, stressing that people would leverage on local policy to produce them in large quantities and further create jobs. He advised Nigerians to go for skills acquisition in ICT, arguing that this is the only way they could reap from the implementations of the policy.

The Chairman, Zinox Technologies, Mr Stan Leo Eke, said the in-

troduction of local content policy would create jobs for people, arguing that the unemployed would get jobs when more telecom plants are sited in the country.

Speaking during a stakeholder’s forum in Lagos, Eke said the industry will use the Nigeria Content Advocacy Initiative (NiCADI) to drive local content initiative and further bring more Nigerians into employment nets. NiCADI is an advocacy project that promotes local usage of ICT facilities, competence, among others.

Eke said Veda Computers and Omatek, among others, have provided jobs in the country, adding that more people would

•Eke

be employed as new plants roll out operations. He said Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) operating abroad would be invited to produce semi and final ICT products at cheaper rates in Nigeria. He said when this happens, more opportunities would be provided for job seekers in the country.

He said: “Backward integration is the trend all over the world. There is a flipside in the production of ICT facilities globally. The level of activities among the producers, suppliers, and sellers is inter-changing. We are trying to ensure that OEMs get a space to operate in Nigeria. By this, products that

are hitherto shipped into the country would be produced locally. The development will provide jobs, increase productivity, and grow the economy.“ He said an appreciable level of competence is required from Nigerians, who want to get jobs through the local content concept. He said research and development cuts across every facet of production of ICT‘s accessories, adding that the area would need more workers.

Eke said people in ICT are in futuristic business than their colleagues in banking and the oil and gas industry, observing that the prospect is brighter for as many Nigerians that are ready to earn a living in the sector.

The President, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr Lanre Ajayi, agrees. Ajayi said the local content policy comes with a lot of benefits for the operators and the economy in particular. According to him, the benefits include creation of a viable market for operators, increase in capacity, transfer of skills, among others.

Lanre said the job’ potential are numerous, noting that people will get employed irrespective the ICT skill they have when local content policy is introduced in the country.

He said the bulk of the software used in Nigeria are imported from Europe and the United States, adding that many would leverage on the local content policy to develop their own websites for growth.

CAREER MANAGEMENT

B

EING invited to an interview means you’ve passed the first test - your application must have made a good impression. Now you need to prepare yourself for the interview to make sure you are successful at this stage.

Before your interview. Research the company If you are invited to an interview you should spend some time researching the company. This will give you confidence should you be asked any question on what the company does. It will also allow you to ask the employer questions.

You could contact the company to ask for an information pack or you could look at their website.

It’s helpful to find out the following things about the employer: • what they do, make or sell?

• who are their customers?

• what sort of organisation are they?

• what is the job likely to involve?

• how can you best fit your skills to match the job?

Plan for the interview Find out what the interview will involve to make sure you’re prepared.

If you have a disability, all employers must make reasonable adjustments for you to have an interview. If you need the employer to make particular arrangements - for example, to help you get into the building contact them before your interview. This is to make sure they can make these arrangements.

You should think about who will be interviewing you. If it is the person who would be your manager if you got the job, the interview may be more detailed. If it’s the personnel manager, the interview may be less detailed but could still be as testing. Find out how many people will be interviewing you and their positions in the company. This will help you prepare for the kinds of questions they may ask.

Finding out how long the interview is likely to last will give you an idea of how detailed the interview will be. You should also find out if you will have to take a test or make a presentation.

Job interview quick-guide

By Olu Oyeniran

Plan your journey Consider travelling to the company the day before the interview to check how long the journey will take. If necessary, ask the employer for directions, bus routes or details of where you can park your car. You should plan another way of getting there in case something unexpected happens (such as your car breaking down, or your train being cancelled). If you have a disability, let the employer know so they can make any special arrangements.

Creating the right image Deciding what to wear for the interview will depend on what sort of work you will be doing. Decide what to wear and get your clothes ready the day before. You don’t have to buy a new outfit. Aim for a neat, clean and tidy appearance, if you look good it will help you feel good.

Gather together the information you’ll need at the interview Remember to take a copy of your CV or application form to refer to. Prepare notes or cue cards to help if think you might need a prompt during the interview. Take items the employer has asked you to bring along for example: references, certificates or your driving licence.

Re-read the job advert to refresh your memory and to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

Prepare for the questions you might be asked An employer will ask you a lot of different questions at an interview to find out about you and your skills. It is always best to prepare. Following is a list of common questions • Why do you want to work here?

• Why did you leave your last job?

• Have you done this kind of work before?

• What did you do in your last job?

• What kinds of equipment can you use?

• How long have you been out of work and how do you spend your time?

• What makes you think you are the right person for this job?

• Why have you had so many jobs?

• Why have you only had one job?

• Why should the employer take you on?

• Aren’t you overqualified?

• How do you get on with people?

• What makes a good team member?

• How do you cope with pressure?

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

• What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?

• What wage do you expect to earn?

• How often were you absent from your last job?

• When would you be available to start?

• Do you have any questions?

Finally Try to get a good night’s sleep.

On the day before you leave Give yourself plenty of time to get ready and make sure you’ve got all the relevant paperwork with you. If you are delayed, contact the employer as soon as possible to explain, apologise and arrange another appointment.

When you arrive You should aim to arrive about ten minutes before the interview time. When you arrive give your name to the receptionist or whoever is there to greet you.

Try to relax and keep calm, chat to the receptionist, or whoever greets you before going into the interview. This will help calm you and remember that the interviewer can be just as nervous as you.

At the interview Accept that it is natural to be nervous and that you may have a fast heartbeat, clammy hands and ‘butterflies’ in your stomach.

These are your body’s natural way of meet-

ing a challenge, and in small doses it can help you.

You will make an impression in the first few minutes. It takes this time for people to assess you and store this information. Once you have made a first impression, it’s hardly ever changed. It’s important to make a good first impression.

If you’re nervous your voice may sound shaky and squeaky. Practise deep, slow breathing before you get to the interview.

This will slowdown your heart rate and help you avoid taking quick shallow breaths. Or before you are called in, repeat “I am calm and confident. I am successful” 10-20 times or any time you feel butterfly in your tummy/rising tension. It works!

After the interview • Write down some notes on the questions asked and where you thought you did well or poorly. This will help you prepare for future interviews.

• Send a “thank you” letter to the interviewer(s) thanking them for their time and reminding them that you are still interested in the job. Do this within a day or two of the interview and be sure that you spell the interviewer’s name correctly!

• Follow-up by contacting the organisation if you have not heard anything from them by the date that they agreed to contact you.

• If you don’t get the job, consider calling the interviewer for some feedback about the interview: Did I seem adequately prepared?

Was there something that I did not demonstrate? How could I do better in a future interview?

• Don’t get discouraged! Interviews are about both parties finding the right fit for the job. Doing better interviews is something that can be developed through preparation and practice.

•Oyeniran is the Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Associates. He can be reached on Jobsearchhow.com.ng Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

39

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

LABOUR

Who becomes TUC president?

W

HO succeeds outgoing PresidentGeneral of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Comrade Peter Esele whose tenure expires in June?

This is the question many members of TUC are asking ahead of its triennial delegates conference in June.

The presidents of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Sunday Olusoji Salako have indicated interest to succeed him.

Launching his campaign for the job, Kaigama said his vision was to consolidate on the achievements of Esele and taking the trade centre higher.

He said he would execute a housing project and consolidate on the mass transit system established by the out-going administration.

He listed part of his achievements as spearheading the last two upward review of salaries for civil servants in Taraba State, making the workers among the best paid in the north.

He said as a branch chairman of his union, he instituted a welfare programme for the union members, “which now stands at about N70 million.”

Salako, who unveiled his manifesto, at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, vowed to raise

Stories by Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

the bar to consolidate on the gains of the outgoing president-general.

Salako said: “I vow to raise the bar to consolidate on the gains of the outgoing President-General, Comrade Peter Esele, with a functional and well-equipped secretariat, highly skilled and motivated staff, with a robust platform for social change and justice for workers, as well as with solid intervention thrust that promotes industrial democracy in Nigeria, if elected.

He pledged to ensure that TUC is equipped with multiple streams of income to meet its obligations to the toiling workers in Nigeria.

While urging other aspirants to key into the moving train of TUC’s development projects by alligning with him to take the labour centre to the next level, he said all TUC’s affiliates, as well as the three contestants, should support him to win the coming election to enable the labour centre to take a stand on matters that affect workers.

He said: “We have an enormous amount of common ground between our affiliate associations in TUC that would consolidate on the gains of comrade Esele, and so there is no reason for us not to work together.”

Arguing that trade unions, civil society and citizens have a major role to play in nation-

building, the labour leader called for the support of other aspirants for him to effect change in the country’s labour movement.

He said: “We will observe in passing, the core role of the trade unions in various institutional settings in the protection of the rights and welfare of workers, campaigning against unfair and unjust labour practices, championing the cause of progressive labour legislations, and proceed to their more strategic mandate in building the Nigeria of our dream.

“And that is what we in ASSBIFI stand for to achieve when I become the President-General of TUC, with the support of the affiliates unions in the coming delegates’ conference in June this year.”

Salako said he would use his office for the progressive, articulation, propagation and affirmation of popular political, economic and social causes and ideals essential for the egalitarian transformation of trade movement in Nigeria.”

Given the fact that Nigeria is faced with high unemployment rate, Salako insisted that it is only when a strong economic and monetary union is in place that unemployment would be reduced. He said this would be achieved during his tenure, if elected. He urged more commitment from the three tiers of government to provide opportunities for

Oronsaye allays fear of job loss

F

ORMER head of Service Mr Stephen Oronsaye has allayed civil servants’ fear of job loss over the planned merger or scrapping of some government parastatals.

Oronsaye said the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, recommended the “Traffic Light Model” to address such challenge.

“The merger of some agencies and parastatals with similar mandates will not lead to unemployment as insinuated. People should go and read the report,” he said.

He explained that the model categorised workers into green, amber and red to ensure screening and that only redundant workers would be laid off.

Oronsaye explained that green represents qualified and active workers, adding that such workers would be absorbed.

He said amber represents workers who require adequate training while workers in the red category would be laid off for nonperformance.

“The model that is recommended in the report is the Traffic Light Model, green, amber and red.

“If you are green you remain, if you are amber you will be trained and if you are red, it means stop, you are of no use,” he said.

AU seeks 2% reduction in unemployment yearly

T

HE African Union Commission (AUC) has appealed to member-states to reduce youths and women unemployment by two per cent yearly.

AU Commissioner, Labour and Social Affairs, Dr Mustapha Sidiki, made the appeal at the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Economic commission for Africa (ECA) joint forum on youth employment in Addis Ababa.

He said: “We should strive to ensure that in the next 50 years all workers, whatever the sectors, have access to decent work, decent income, appropriate social protection regimes, better working and living conditions.

“We should also strive to fulfil our commitment to reduce youth and women unemployment by two per year, which requires bold steps toward the functioning labour inspection, social protection, dialogue, placement of service, labour market information, policy planning and monitoring and evaluation.”

Sidiki urged governments of AU memberstates and stakeholders to work towards reducing poverty, ensuring social cohesion and inclusive pro-poor growth by focusing on outcomes of growth process that would benefit workers and other members of the society.

He said: “On the average, more than 70 per cent of the African workforce is engaged in the informal economy and rural sector activities and the labour market does not address the needs of the workers in these sector in terms of social protection, skills development, employment services and workforce management.’’

He said the challenges applied to the small and medium enterprises, which are poorly covered by the services offered by the labour market institutions, in particular the labour inspection and public employment services. “ We need to look beyond the 10 per cent of workers in the modern sector, listen to the majority of the workforce in the informal economy and the rural sector and join efforts in bringing them into the economy to secure decent jobs.’’

While presenting the Joint Youth Employment Initiative for Africa (JYEIA), Ms Ginette Nzau-Muteta of the African Development Bank, said: “It was being launched on the background of serious and ever worsening unemployment problems for young people in most African countries.“ Muteta said the programme was a response to the call by AU member-states at the summit in Malabo in July 2011 to tackle youth unemployment in Africa “and is also part of the follow up to the 2004 Ouagadougou Declaration and Action Plan to the same effect.’’

The programme, she said, is to increase and improve youth employment in Africa, adding that it would be organised under three components of policy support, implementation support and knowledge for informed action.

• Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu

The initiative is part of the AU’s Ninth Ordinary session of the Labour and Social Affair conference.

•Esele

youth through, self-employment initiatives, as well as a sustained economic growth.

Second Deputy President General of TUC, Comrade Adeshina Lasisi, said if elected, Salako would support the Federal Government’s entrepreneurship programmes to grow the economy, adding that youth innovation projects hold the key to unlocking unemployment.

NUJ’s ultimatum expires Wednesday

T

HE two-week ultimatum given by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to media houses to clear backlog of salary arrears expires on Wednesday.

The picketing is scheduled to start today.

NUJ and NLC gave the ultimatum two weeks ago, warning that at its expiration, they would picket media houses that didn’t comply. The picketing is scheduled to start today.

The decision came on the heels of journalists being owed many months without plan for payment.

NUJ President, Mohammed Garba said: “We are worried that major newspaper owners making several millions of naira as profit, owe their employees several months of unpaid salaries.

“How do we talk of sanitising the industry and the profession when some media organisations are aiding corruption by that act.”

The NUJ is working with sister unions, Radio Television And Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU) and the National Union of Printing and Publishing Workers (NUPPROW).

Garba pledged the support of the NUJ for the bill seeking appropriate sanction for employers that refuse to pay workers.

•From left: Director-General, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Mr Ajibade Peters; Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Emeka Ezeh and Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Hon Uzor Azubuike, at a retreat for chief executive officers PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE of parastatals, at ASCON, Topo, Badagry, Lagos ... at the weekend.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

40

Africa Business

South African SMEs to get $80.5m boost

A

S part of its corporate plan, South Africa’s Small En-

terprise Finance Agency (Sefa) has annonced it will give out over R737 million ($80.5 million) to more than 15,000 small firms – most of which are micro enterprises – to create at least 18,000 jobs.

Speaking to the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on economic development concerning its corporate plan for 2013/ 14, Safa’s chief executive, Thakani Makhuvha, said the agency hopes to double lending and the number of business owners financed – with disbursements reaching almost R1.6 billion ($175 million) to over 34,000 small firms in the next five years.

The agency is also looking forward to expanding the pilot project it has with the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants in a programme which takes young graduates and trains them on how to assist small businesses, from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga while rolling out further nine branches or satellite offices per year, which would be colocated within Seda or IDC

branch offices, to add to the 11 regional offices it already has.

Sefa lends between R500 ($55) and R5 million ($546,000) to small, micro and medium enterprises through retail finance intermediaries, via banks, using its credit guarantee scheme, and directly to private individuals.

Makhuvha said the cost of Sefa lending finance to business owners is expected to fall from 44c – for every rand disbursed in 2013/ 14 to 25c for every year lent out in 2017/18.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has committed over R987 million ($108 million) as a shareholder’s loan to the agency until the end of 2014/15, with an option of a further R400 million capital injection in two years time.

IDC’s chief executive Geoffrey explained that the transaction had been structured as a loan and not a grant because there had to be a chance for the IDC of recouping the loan to ensure that Sefa funds sustainable businesses.

“What we are not planning on doing is that we give funding to Sefa and that they then become reckless,” he said.

Embattled South African Airways gets new CEO

S

OUTH Africa’s government has named a new chief executive for troubled state airline South African Airways, following a rash of resignations and dismissals in recent months.

“Monwabisi Kalawe has been confirmed as the cabinet approved chief executive officer (CEO) of SAA,” Public Enterprises Ministry spokesman Mayihlome Tswete told AFP. Kalawe is managing director Compass Group SA, a South African-based food service giant with operations in over 50 countries and CEO of the Thebe Tourism Group.

His only experience with the aviation industry was a stint as general manager of the airport in Cape Town in 1998.

He is the third person to take the helm of SAA since a walkout last September by chairwoman Cheryl Carolus and her board.

Siza Mzimela quit as the chief executive a week after the depar-

ture of Carolus and her board. He was replaced in October by Vuyisile Kona. But Kona was sacked in February.

The chief executive of SAA’s low cost airline division Nico Bezuidenhout has February overseeing the airline’s operations.

No starting date has been set for Kalawe, but government wants it to be “as soon as possible.”

Public Enterprise Minister Malusi Gigaba said Kalawe was the best candidate for the job even if he has little experience in the aviation sector.

“What SAA needs is not a pilot but a business leader. We were looking for somebody who would be able to lead the business to drive a turnaround plan,” he told Eyewitness News.

Last year, SAA ran up operating losses of 1.3 billion rand (108 million euro; $142 million) for the financial year 2011-2012, hurt by the global economic slowdown and soaring fuel prices.

South Africa to become Top 20 tourist destination by 2020

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OUTH Africa’s tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has expressed optimism that Africa’s largest economy may become one of the world’s top tourist destinations by 2020.

Speaking at an event in New York, van Schalkwyk revealed that the country’s tourism sector grew by 10.5 percent, surpassing global estimate.

“Last year we grew at more than double the world average – 10.5 percent for January to November 2012, compared to a global average growth of 4percent,” he said.

“With growth rates of more than double the world average and quadruple the world average if one takes overseas visitors into account, we can look back very favourably

on 2012.”

With these statistics, van Schalkwyk says South Africa stands out as a top tourism destination in the world.

“Visitors to South Africa stand in awe of how much this country has to offer, which includes the variety of experiences, the value for money, our world-class tourism infrastructure, and of course our culturallydiverse people.”

To boost the country’s tourism sector, van Schalkwyk said SA will focus on building its business and leisure tourism.

According to the Minister, “It is by far fastest growing segments of our economy — 9.6 per cent — and we intend that to be in the double digits soon.”

•Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Bank Limited, Mallam Ahmed Kuru (left) receiving the ‘Leadership Banker of The Year Award 2012,’ from Alhaji Shehu Malami, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Kenyan shilling weakens slightly as importers seek dollars

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HE Kenyan shilling weakened slightly early on Friday, weighed down by dollar demand from importers and banks covering their positions before the weekend.

But traders said the local currency could firm next week aided by foreign investor inflows into bonds.

Leading commercial banks quoted the shilling at 83.80/84.00 at 0748 GMT, slightly weaker than the 83.70/90 it closed at on

Thursday. It is 2.6 per cent firmer so far this year.

“We are looking at a little position-covering ahead of the weekend and some corporate dollar demand as we come to the end of the month,” said Bank of Africa’s head of trading Peter Mutuku. “But offshore interest in the bond auction next week will provide some support.”

The central bank is scheduled to auction five-year and 15-year Treasury bonds worth up to 25 bil-

lion shillings ($298.3 million) on April 24.

Debt yields rose in the run-up to the presidential election on March 4, because of concerns about a repeat of the violence seen after the previous poll five years earlier.

But yields have fallen since this year’s vote passed off peacefully.

“We anticipate further gains on the local currency to be aided by foreign investor flows,” said African Banking Corporation in a daily note.

African Philanthropy Forum launched

T

HE Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) has announced the formation of its most recent regional affiliate, the African Philanthropy Forum (APF).

Like the GPF, the APF will take the form of a peer-learning network of philanthropists — grant-makers and social investors — committed to advancing equity and opportunity in the developing world. APF members in particular will work to contribute to the expansion of strategic philanthropy by Africans in Africa, while taking part in the GPF’s global community.

“Twenty-seven out of 30 of Africa’s largest economies are experiencing extraordinary economic growth.

This represents an enormous opportunity to advance the social good,” said Jane Wales, president/CEO of Global Philanthropy Forum.

“But that growth, while robust, is not always broad-based. And development, while rapid, is not always inclusive. And so poverty persists. These generous African men and women — many at the height of their careers — are determined to change this reality and ensure that the benefits of economic opportunity are more evenly shared,” he said.

The startup phase of the APF will be guided by a core cadre of philanthropists dedicated to the APF’s goals. Among them is Tony O. Elumelu, a leading African entrepreneur and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. He noted: “Africans are now setting their own

development agenda, and the vision behind the African Philanthropy Forum is to create a platform that aligns our collective efforts to transform the continent from within. We are using our own models of philanthropy and our deep understanding of the local context, while leveraging strategic partnerships across the continent. Our efforts are bolstered by the overwhelming support from our international partners, who are committed to assisting our work.”

MasterCard Foundation President/CEO, Reeta Roy, also a member of the cadre, added: “The early members of the APF are coming together to promote ethical leadership and have made a commitment to mentorship of other emerging philanthropists throughout the continent. And because the APF members will be embedded in the global community that is the GPF, their influence will be felt well beyond the continent.”

James Mwangi, CEO/ managing director, Equity Bank and chairman of the Equity Group Foundation, agreed, noting: “Africa has come of age and can now compete with the rest of the world. Just as our economic innovation offers inspiration for others outside of Africa, so now can our philanthropy.

Through the APF and its connection to GPF, we have an opportunity to inform the flow of philanthropic dollars from within and from outside the continent.”

“Africa has a deep-rooted culture

of giving and mutual support but few formal philanthropic institutions,” added Toyin Saraki, founder and president of the WellBeing Foundation Africa. “I used to think that the key missing ingredient was money. Strategic philanthropy requires getting to the heart of the problem. In the case of the health, education and rights of women, that starts with expectations — the expectations of women and of society more broadly. My hope is that emerging APF members will use all tools at their disposal to solve problems at their source.”

Among the founding members of the APF taking part in the leadership cadre are pioneer African philanthropists representing Southern, East and West Africa. They include Executive Chairperson of the Higher Life Foundation Tsitsi Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe; Hylton Appelbaum, managing director of the Donald Gordon Foundation of South Africa; Kenyan Manu Chandaria, founder of the Chandaria Foundation; Kenyan James Mwangi, CEO and Manager Director of the Equity Bank and Chairman of the Equity Group Foundation; Benin-born singersongwriter Angelique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill ambassador and founder of the Batonga Foundation; Nigerian Toyin Saraki, Founder and President of the WellBeing Foundation Africa; and Nigerian Tony Elumelu, Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Also joining the core cadre is Reeta Roy, CEO of the MasterCard Foundation.

i k s w o d n a w Le lash eyes Madrid c

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

RIVERS POLITICS The two caucuses in the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of State for Education, Hon. Nyesom Wike, are fighting for the soul of the party, ahead of the 2015 general elections. BISI OLANIYI examines the muscle flexing between the “home-based politicians” and “the Abuja forces.”

Amaechi, Wike and battle for 2015 I

N two years’ time, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi will vacate the State House, Port-Harcourt, following the completion of his second term in office.

In 2012, he had peeped into the future, advising his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to zone the governorship to another zone. Amaechi, who is from Ikwerre, declared that it would be improper and unfair for another Ikwerre man to succeed him.

However, the supporters of the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who is from Ikwerre, believe that the governor’s push for zoning is targeted against him. Wike is believed to be eyeing the governorship or the Senate in 2015.

The crisis broke out between President Goodluck Jonathan and the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum also appears to be shaping the preparations for the next elections in Rivers State. Observers point out that the minister is the face of the President in his calculations to checkmate the governor, ahead of 2015.

The ruling party is now a divided house and Wike has emerged as the internal opposition leader in the state.

His brief, sources said, is to wrest the control of the party with the governor as part of the strategies to neutralise him.

Obviously,Amaechi is influential as NGF chairman, despite the emergence of Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio as the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), which was set up to clip the wings of the Rivers governor. Amaechi was the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2007). He was also the Chairman of Nigerian Speakers’ Conference.

Wike, a lawyer, was the Chief of Staff under Governor Amaechi. He was the Director-General of the Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011, before was appointed minister in 2011. He was elected twice as the Chairman of Obio/Akpor local government. While in office as the council boss, he served as the President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Local Governments Forum (CLGF). Last year, Amaechi appointed Wike’s wife, Eberechi Suzzette, as a judge. But that did little to stem governorship/senatorial ambition of the minister.

The senator representing the Rivers East Senatorial District, George Sekibo, is also scheming to succeed Amaechi. But party sources said that the governor is uncomfortable with his ambition because they are from the same senatorial district. Senator Sekibo is relying on his closeness to the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, who hails from Okrika in Rivers State, to get the PDP ticket. Thus, analysts have predicted a titanic battle at the primaries.

What is working in the governor’s favour is that he has performed, especially during his first term. His achievements are visible in the education, health, agriculture and power sectors. But most Rivers people are complaining that he has relaxed in his second tenure.

They also express surprise that he has stopped his surprise routine inspection of projects. They pointed out that his NGF assignment has been a distraction.

Most of the roads rehabilitated, reconstructed or dualised by his administration are going bad. His critics also allege that the jobs were given to politicians and incompetent contractors, unlike what obtains in the neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, where Governor Apkabio patronises Julius Berger Construction Company for high quality jobs.

It is evident that Amaechi is concentrating on his 2015 ambition to be politically relevant. This is contrary to his earlier promise of going back to lecture at his alma mater, the University of Port Harcourt, following the expiration of his second term. Amaechi had said it would amount to selfishness, if he is succeeded by another Ikwerre man.

When the governor started nursing a senatorial ambition, he knew that it would be injurious to Sekibo. He had the plan to influence another juicy appointment for the senator as compensation. However, the paln changed when Wike’s governorship or senatorial ambition blew open.

Sources said that Amaechi started to eye the Vice-Presidency, based on the partisan calculation that a northern presidential candidate is possible in 2015. There have been rumours that Jigawa State Governor Sule

• Amaechi

‘We should hold on and allow the full process of the law. We will appeal the judgment.

We strongly believe that at the end of the day, justice will be done.

The PDP is one. We will come out of this stronger and more united as a family’

• Wike

‘The supporters of the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who is from Ikwerre, believe that the governor’s push for zoning is targeted against him. Wike is believed to be eyeing the governorship or the Senate in 2015’

Lamido is interested in the Presidency. This has pitched Amaechi against his Niger Delta kinsman, President Jonathan, who is believed to be interested in a second term.

Recently, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, accused Amaechi of poor performance, adding that he was using the state funds to bribe people.

He lamented that Port-Harcourt, had become a slum.

But the governor fired back, describing Orubebe as a failure.

Last week, Amaechi suffered a major setback when the Rivers State PDP executive led by Chief Godspower Ake, was removed by an Abuja High Court, presided over by Justice Ishaq Bello.

Justice Bello affirmed the election of a parallel executive led by Felix Obuah, who hails from Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni Local Government Area, where former Governor Peter Odili, who has described Amaechi as an ingrate, hails from. The factional executive is loyal to Wike.

Obuah went to the court to challenge the emergence of Ake in February 2011, alleging that his election and other members of the executive committee were not democratic.

Before his emergence as the Rivers PDP chairman, Ake was the National Vice Chairman of the ruling party in the Southsouth.

Obuah’s suit was initially slated for hearing before Justice Abubakar Talba, who gave the controversial judgment in the case involving the Director of the Police Pensions’ Fund, John Yusuf. But the suit was later transferred to Justice Bello.

In the judgment, Justice Bello declared that his court had jurisdiction over the matter and adopted the affidavit of the Chairman of the PDP, Edo State chapter,

Dan Orbih, who in his affidavit stated that the results being paraded by Ake, did not emanate from the congress that he conducted in Rivers state.Justice Bello also overruled the video evidence tendered to prove that Ake was the duly-elected chairman. The Obuah-led executive is likely to be inaugurated this week.

The Ake-led executive has asked for a stay of execution of the judgment, pending determination of its proposed appeal.

The Publicity Secretary of the Ake faction, George Ukwuoma-Nwogba, said: “We should hold on and allow the full process of the law. We will appeal the judgment. We strongly believe that at the end of the day, justice will be done. The PDP is one. We will come out of this stronger and more united as a family.”

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said Amaechi was studying the judgment.

To observers, its is the beggining of the political drama within the PDP, ahead of 2015. Besides, the proposed merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), may create problem for the ruling party.

The main opposition governorship contenders; Dr. Abiye Sekibo of the ACN, and his APGA contender, Sir Celestine Omehia, were “defeated” by Amaechi at the April 26, 2011 election. Before the merger, they planned to contest in 2015.

With the latest development, either Sekibo, who is a former Transport Minister and an former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) in the Odili Administration or Omehia (Amaechi’s cousin, from the same Ubima in Ikwerre Council) will step down, for the opposition political parties to rally round the candidate of the APC. Amaechi has not thrown his weight behind any of the governorship aspirants in the PDP. But sources said that he has a soft spot for the 42-years old Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Dakuku Adolphus Peterside. He hails from the coastal Opobo, the headquarters of Opobo/ Nkoro Local Government Area.

Peterside, who is the former Commissioner for Works, represents the Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Constituency. He is favoured to take over from Amaechi by many PDP stakeholders, considering the Rivers upland/riverine dichotomy, which has shaped politics in the state.

Amaechi is from the upland part of the state.

Senator Magnus Abe, who represents Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, is also eyeing the governorship.

If he wins, he would make history as the first Ogoni man to be the governor of the state, since its was created on May 27, 1967.

Abe stood by Amaechi and remained loyal, when it was politically tough him, before the Supreme Court ruled that Omehia should vacate the State House for him.

Senator Abe was the Information Commissioner under former Governor Odili. He was a state legislator between 1999 and 2003, serving as the Minority Leader. He later defected from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to the PDP. If Abe, who hails from Bera, emerges as the next governor, the agitation for the creation of the Bori State by the Ogoni people and their neighbours may fizzle out.

The Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate in 2007, Prince Tonye Princewill, who later defected to the PDP, is interested in the job.

Princewill is the son of the paramount ruler of Kalabari Kingdom, King Theophilus Princewill. No Kalabari person has served as the Rivers State governor.

Amaechi’s deputy, Tele Ikuru, an engineer who hails from Ikuru, Andoni Local Government Area, is another contender.

If Ikuru does not get the governorship or senatorial ticket of the PDP, as a loyal deputy, Amaechi may nominate him for a ministerial or ambassadorial appointment.

During the governorship elections, in Rivers State, the upland/riverine dichotomy is always played up. The next polls may not be different.

With the decision of the Ake-led executive to appeal the judgment, it is not very clear which way the pendulum will swing. But it is obvious that the battle line has been drawn.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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POLITICS Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed spoke with ADEKUNLE JIMOH on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crises, national insecurity and other partisan issues.

Anambra 2014: Ngige, Ekwunife, Ubah begin mobilisation

‘Amnesty to Boko Haram should be conditional’

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HAT is your reaction to the allegation that you and some PDP governors are planning to defect from the party?

In Nigeria, we play politics with everything. It is not true that I am planning to leave the PDP. It does not make sense for me to leave the PDP for another party. PDP is the biggest party in Africa. Why would I be dumping a big party for a small party? It does not make sense to me, personally. Why would I move from a national party to a regional party? As it is today, PDP is the biggest party in Africa and the only national party. Other parties are regional. And by the grace of God Almighty, it is the ruling party in Kwara State. So, there are the reasonswhy I will continue to remain in the PDP. I will continue to strengthen the PDP because it is the only fair platform today that has been able to manage its differences. Other parties also have differences, which have reduced them to the regional levels they are.

They all started as national parties, but became regional levels because they could not manage their differences. We take opinions and try to correct our stance because we do not have monopoly of wisdom. We are open to corrections from well meaning Nigerians who can suggest alternative ways by which we can deliver service.

Plans are underway to grant amnesty to the members of the Boko Haram sect. What is your opinion?

It is unfortunate that, in Nigeria of today, we are faced with an unprecedented security challenge. I must commend the Federal Government in its effort to check all sorts of violence, whether in form of Boko Haram or attack on ethnic groups as we have in the clash between ethnic nationalities and nomads. We have other security challenges in forms of kidnapping, attack on Federal Government installations such as crude oil pipelines. They require a very critical look.

Amnesty is very simple. What do we mean by amnesty? It means that we should pardon those who have committed crimes against the state.

That is what it means. Start with our brothers and sisters in the Southsouth.

They had a grievance about degradation of their environment, largely from exploration and exploitation. On the strength of that, they felt that they needed something to make them feel part and parcel of the country, hence they tried to frustrate the lifting of crude oil.

The Federal Government suggested amnesty for the militants at that time.

It could be recalled that when amnesty was suggested for the militants, it was vehemently opposed by Nigerians who wanted to know why we give amnesty to those who have wilfully

taken up arms to destroy Federal Government and oil companies’ installations?

However, it became clear that the path to amnesty was a possible path to peace because the whole essence was to achieve peace. When there is peace, then we can talk about justice.

When we talk about justice we can now talk about equity.

Peace has to come first. As we have it today, there is an insurgence of an Islamic group in the North in the name of Boko Haram. We all know that it has nothing to do with Islam because, for those of us who are Muslims, we know very well that there is nothing that they preach that is in consonance with the tenets of Islam.

Everything they stand for negates the very principle and policy of Islam.

However, they have engaged in wanton destruction of lives and property of innocent Nigerians. The question is: how do we arrest this situation?

What were the problems that led these young men into taking up arms along with non-Nigerians to create havoc on our people? Destroying everything we stand for, trying to create problems that could probably escalate into civil war. We begin to see the relevance of amnesty, forgiveness of this group of people. What is the cause of amnesty and what is the result of amnesty, if we grant it? What have they brought to the table that they stand for? The Southsouth youths came out with an environmental degradation issue, joblessness, lack of infrastructure. It was understood. It was clear.

And there were negotiations and amnesty was brought in. Since then, we have a peaceful environment, at least in our context.

Amnesty is desirable for the Boko Haram to the extent that they are able to bring to the fore, the issues they have against the system. These are the areas they think they have been shortchanged as a people, as Nigerians.

Then, we can begin to look at what manner of peace and pardon will be made available to this class of people.

We can then come together again and move on as a people. So, it is neither here nor there. We cannot stand up and say amnesty is not desirable or amnesty is desirable. We must begin to look at the issues that will determine whether they deserve amnesty or not. Let us see, firstly, the face of the people we are speaking with.

Secondly, what is their grievance against the system? What is it that they have against innocent women and children that they are throwing bombs at? What is it that they feel should be done rightly that is not done right?

This implies that the concept of dialogue should come in first. When dialogue comes in, then, the issue of amnesty will follow. I feel that with that

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

A • Ahmed

kind of approach, we will begin to see some succour coming to our people that find themselves in this tough terrain where there is a high level of insecurity and they cannot on their strength carry out their normal activities. We need to give it a critical look. To the extent that we are facing a challenge which we have never seen before, we must approach it in a way and manner we have never done before.

If we begin to allow the thing to be politicised, that is, these are Muslim dissidents, or these are a group of aliens or these are just people who are just out to create problems and we try to shove them away with a wave of the hand, we will not be solving the problem. The cost of peace is not too much.

To the extent that I do not support amnesty for every group that comes up, having gone into willful destruction of lives and property, having gone into creating problems for the country and now, we begin to see it as a way of getting our own share of the national cake. It should not be misunderstood. Because, before you know it, another group will stand up in one other guise, create mayhem and ask for amnesty. On the strength of that, an armed robber could as well ask for amnesty. So let us be very careful about how we design amnesty.

We must understand what is on the table. Whoever is talking about amnesty, must bring something to the table.We will then look at it and see how they fit into driving us as a nation to desired level of progress and growth in the comity of nations.

The Federal Government is assisting the state in the area of road construction...

The issue of roads cannot be taken for granted, especially as it relates to economic growth and safety for our people.

On the strength of that, from the inception of our administration we’ve taken it upon ourselves to ensure that all our state and rural roads are put to proper useable levels. We have also made several efforts in getting all Federal Government roads rehabilitated and made motorable for our people in Kwara State. Our effort is already yielding fruits.

We have drawn attention to the IlorinKabba Road that is in a state of disrepair. This has not only hindered movement of our people but also encouraged armed robbers to attack vehicles plying the road.

HEAD of the governorship election in Anambra State, there are four top contenders aspiring to succeed Governor Peter Obi. They have been campaigning across the 21 local government areas.

The aspirants are former Governor Chris Ngige, who is representing the Central District in the Senate, House of Representatives member from the Anaocha,/Njikoka/Dunukofia Constituency Hon. Uche Ekwunife, Senator Andy Uba, and the businessman, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah.

Ngige is contesting on the platform of the Action congress of Nigeria (ACN). Ekwunife and Ubah belong to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Uba is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Other light weight aspirants are playing hide and seek game. The only thing that shows that they are scheming for the position is that they are collecting chieftaincy titles in the communities.

Ekwunife has set up her campaign teams in three local governments; Anaocha, Njikoka, and Dunukofia. She told our correspondent that the campaign teams for other councils would be inaugurated next week. The federal legislator has already branded her campaign vehicles.

Also, Ngige has declared that he was battle ready. Already, the ACN senator had doled out over N300 million to his followers. He also gave the party and many supporters cars and money.

Besides, Ngige and Ekwunife had held consultations with the traditional rulers in the 21 local governments on their ambitions. They said

that since they would not contest the poll in the Diaspora, they had to be close to the communities.

Ngige said: “It is operation totality and earth quake. I do not need any further introduction in the state and I believe in doing things early enough.”

Ekwunife said: “My brother, delay is dangerous. Some of us who are close to our people should be able to tell them where we are going, what we are doing. I see no reason why I should be contesting election in Anambra and I will be staying in Abuja everyday. But I will love to attend to the sittings in the House of Representatives. That is the only thing to keep me there”.

• Ekwunife

‘APC ‘ll liberate Nigeria’ From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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NDO State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftain Mr. Tunde Imolehin has warned the Federal Government and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against interfering in the activities of the electoral commission. He said the allegation that they were making moves to prevent the registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was worrisome.

Imolehin said that the merger of progressive parties would strengthen democracy and good governance because there will be a viable opposition after the merger.

The politician who spoke in Akure said the days of the PDP in power were numbered.

He added: “Even, the progressives in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) know that a merger is the only option now because of its collateral strength.

APC will come alive, especially when it is supported by many progressive governors who are party leaders in their respective states.”

Imolehin lamented the poor state of the economy, pointing out that the woes have been aggravated by corruption.

He said the situation in Ondo State mirrored the ineptitude at the centre, urging the people of the state to take their destiny in their hands.

Imolehin added: “The last governorship election was full of irregularities.

ACN did not loose that poll. Its third position was premeditated, but with the proceedings at the tribunal, the party will triumph because there was a precedence.”

My plan for Ekiti, by Aluko

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KITI State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Senator Gbenga Aluko has unfolded his plans for the state.

He said industrialisation and infrastructural development will be the priority of his administration, if elected as the governor in the forth-coming election.

The Ode-Ekiti-born politician represented Ekiti South Senatorial District in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly between 1999 andf 2003. He defeated Prince Dayo Adeyeye of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

At the PDP primaries, Aluko will face no fewer than 14 aspirants, including the former governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, the former deputy governors, Chief Abiodun Aluko from Ikere-Ekiti, Mrs. Abiodun Olujimi and Mr. Bisi Omoyeni; Minister of Police Affairs Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd), Prince Adeyeye, and former House of Representatives member, Mr. Aribisala.

Aluko, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said that infrastructural development will enhance industrialisation and attract investors to Ekiti State.

He called for power shift to the South District, saying that the zone has been marginalised.

The politician pointed out that, since 1999, the district has not produced the governor, urging the PDP to zone the slot to the area in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.

•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, (left) receiving a letter of condolence from Katsina State Deputy Governor Alhaji Abdullahi Faskari over the death of his deputy, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, in Ado-Ekiti.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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MOTORING

New Haval 5, Wingle unveiled

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FAO CICA Nigeria Limited, distributor of Great Wall range of vehicles has unveiled two new models - the Haval H5 SUV and the upgraded Wingle Pick Up. These vehicles are already on display at CFAO CICA showrooms nationwide.

Mastering urban fashion trend, enjoying dynamic passion life, Haval H5 is a new developed city SUV based on the mature Haval SUV platform. The exterior design is smart and the sharp headlights.

The H5 adopts a design of streamline and muscular appearance with exquisite beauty of curves. The radiator grille gels well with the lower air dam and on the lower part of the bumper are round fog lamps.

From the side, the SUV looks great with a high waist line and the oversized wheel arches which cover the big 17inch rims. The hood flows seamlessly into the waistline while the prominent contour line under the door handle extends from the front wheel arches to the rear of the vehicle. Encompassed with high reliability, high security, low fuel consumption and high emission standard, everything looks well put together and the H5’s strong proportions disguise its origins.

Equipped with a Mitsubishi sourced 2.4-litre petrol engine which develops 200/2500-3000 Nm/rpm of torque, the SUV is available with a five speed manual transmission.

•Haval 5 Stories by Tajudeen Adebanjo

There is also a low range gearbox which proves useful for off road use.

CFAO CICA Nigeria Commercial Manager Idris Siyaka, described the Haval H5 as Great Wall’s “icing on the cake.”

“It is trendy and would definitely

change people’s perception of SUV’s in Nigeria,” he said.

Continuing, Siyaka said, there is a prevailing sense of ruggedness coming from its chassis, and the amazing pliancy of its suspension makes it extremely suitable to be used as a workhorse that one can punish without remorse.

On the upgraded Wingle Pick Up, Siyaka explained that Great Wall has raised the quality of its vehicles to highest standard in their segments with array of quality materials.

“Great Wall wants to be recognised as a premium brand, hence it has improved in quality

with the brand Philosophy of focus, dedication and specialization. Drivers with high taste for details are also expected to fall in love with the Wingle admirable interior materials as well as intuitive controls and extensive number of standard and optional features that distinguishes the new pickup,” he said.

FERMA upbeats on roads maintenance

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HE Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has restated commitment to sustaining maintenance of all Federal roads nationwide.

A member of the agency’s governing board, Otuekong Nkanga made the remarks in Asaba while addressing newsmen at the conclusion of his tour under the Rapid Road Recovery programme.

Among projects Nkanga inspected were vegetation control and de-silting of drains along the Benin Bypass by workmen under the FERMA SURE-P Public Works scheme, cutting and patching of potholes along Benin – Ekpoma – Auchi – Okene road, construction of concrete lined drains at Ekpon along Ewu – Uromi – Agbor road, as well as overlay of carriageway of Agbor – Abraka – Amukpe road in Delta State.

The Board member said the agency has completed several intervention projects including bridge repair and reconstruction as well as major potholes and cracks through direct labour works and contracts.

He said the tempo of operation will be sustained to ensure the achievement is not compromised by

the impending rains.

According to him, the current FERMA Board has resolved that its members would routinely monitor all FERMA works all over the country to ensure they meet specifications, as well as adding value to the national economy.

Nkanga solicited support of all stakeholders towards implementation of the 2007 FERMA Amendment Act, especially the 5 per cent fuel users’ charge 40 per cent of which accrues to FERMA and the remaining 60 per cent to established State road maintenance agencies.

According to him, to continue to rely solely on budgetary allocation for road maintenance as is currently the case falls short of international best practices in road maintenance management and the requirement for maintaining the 34, 100-km Federal roads which have been neglected for several years.

He enjoined Nigerians, especially road users, to make proper use of the roads by desisting from all road abuses, especially overloading of articulated trucks, dumping of refuse on roads and drains, as well as wrong and dangerous parking of trucks and tankers on the highway.

ABC Transport expands operations

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ANAGEMENT of ABC Transport has commenced the first phase of its fleet expansion programme. The expansion sees the injection of 24 new coaches, the first batch numbering nine have already been taken delivery of, while the remaining batch - 15 is due for delivery in Nigeria not later than August.

The current brand of ABC coaches is equipped with surveillance monitoring camera for security purposes on-board and with speed limiters for speed controls. To make booking

easier and more accessible to customers, ABC on-line ticketing has been enhanced to allow passengers book on-hold and pay later at their bank of choice.

ABC Shuttle Service, a short distance intercity operation, has equally received a boost from the ongoing fleet expansion. New Toyota Hiace minibuses will be deployed before the end of the year, to augment the existing fleet plying the south east and southsouth routes.

Consequently, Port-Harcourt to Uyo now runs on an hourly schedule.

•Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) Managing Director Dr Dayo Mobereola (left) presenting keys of four patrol vans for BRT lanes enforcement to Task Force chairman, Mr. Bayo Suleiman

Honda begins free Check-up

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HE Honda Place (THP) has commenced free checkup camp for customers with old and new Honda models at three locations.

They include Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.

The company’s Head of sales and marketing, Mr. Deepak Daryanani said the check-up camp will offer a comprehensive 40-point check-up and a thorough examination of the engine, suspension, transmission, electrical system, underbody, AC, exterior among others.

Daryanani added that the check-up camp would also avail participants’ series of discounts on products and services.

He listed some of these offers as special discounts on old models; parts and labour charges, full body spray and up to 50 percent discount on wheel alignment and balancing.

Other incentives are 25 percent discount on parts for

models earlier than 2005 though excluding service parts and 15 percent discount on parts for 2006 – 2008 Honda model years.

He said the objective of the campaign is to provide the best of products and services while also availing customers an unprecedented value-added experience.

“The services are designed to help customers rediscover the value of their cars and appreciate the commitment of the dealership to the brand,” he said.

Customers, Daryanani said, would be trained on fundamental ways to maintain their vehicles and keep them in top shape to avoid needless breakdowns.

“The training will include regular and routine inspection of car, tips on managing emergency situations as well as driving tips and safety features,” Mr. Daryanani added.

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

46

DISCOURSE

Nigeria’s transformation and leadership lessons Text of a paper delivered by Senator Ken Nnamani, former Senate President, at the centenary celebrations of the Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan Oyo State.

• Continued from last Thursday

Transformational Leadership and National Development N this context, transformation refers to pro found and radical change that orientates a nation or an organization in a new direction and takes it to an entirely different level of effectiveness. Unlike ‘turnaround’ (which implies incremental progress on the same plane) transformation implies a basic change of character and little or no resemblance with the past configuration or structure. In the previous section, I argued that what Nigeria requires is national transformation – a major break from misery to prosperity, and that this can only be achieved by a transformational leadership.

So what is a transformational leadership?

Transformational leadership is a concept developed by organizational psychologists to describe a leadership that enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These mechanisms include connecting the follower’s sense of identity and self worth to the project and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their community, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with a national vision. Transformational leaders create a vision and are able to carry people along in the realization of the vision. Transformational leaders fundamentally alter the parameters of the status quo through providing a vision for the future and then investing the time and effort in having others share that vision. Through sharing the vision, they clarify the present, explain how the past has influenced the present, and promote a view of the future. I will shade more light on understanding transformation later in this presentation.

There are four core elements of transformational leadership that we need to note: • It involves individualized consideration – the leader is deeply concerned about the needs of his followers. The leader gives empathy and support, keeps communication open and places challenges before the followers. This also encompasses the need for respect and celebrates the individual contributions made by the followers.

• It is driven by intellectual stimulation – the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks and solicits followers’ ideas. Leaders with this style stimulate and encourage debate and creativity in their followers. They nurture and develop people who think independently. For such a leader, learning is a value and unexpected situations are seen as opportunities to learn.

• It is based on inspirational motivation – the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers. Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Followers need to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act. Purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives a group forward. The visionary aspects of leadership are supported by communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful and engaging.

• It is guided by idealized influence – the leader provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, gains respect and trust.

Nigeria requires leaders that will articulate visions that will drive the nation’s transformation process - leaders who will dream dreams and mobilize Nigerians to buy into those dreams. Such leaders inspire a clear mutual vision for the nation, a clear mission that all citizens will commit themselves to. Nigeria’s transformational leaders must be able to build virile teams that will work with them to transform the polity - not political lightweights nominated by godfathers being rewarded for political patronage. The leaders must satisfy two indispensable conditions: They must be trustworthy and be able to communicate their visions. Trust and confidence in a leader is the single most reliable predictor of effective followership. On the other hand, effective communication requires a successful application of analogy, metaphor and vivid illustration as well as emotion, trust, optimism and hope so the vision can secure the attention of followers. Trust is the combination of competencies, constancy, caring, fairness, candour and authenticity. Nigerians have not seen much of leaders

I

they trust and who will model the best virtues that they desire to see in themselves and in their children.

Nigerians need transformational leaders who have the ability to create the vision, inspire and motivate the people, and through consistent, persistent and focused guidance, empower individuals to achieve great results.

We need people who will unite rather than divide the people; people that are genuinely interested in serving rather than being served. In the context of our current development challenges, transformational leaders are needed to recreate our value system, replacing patronage appointment with one based on merit and restoring the moral tenor of our public officers. Nigerians need leaders that will inculcate a healthy work ethic in the citizenry, amongst other ways, by developing fair reward-incentive schemes that motivate hard work. Finally, Nigerians need leaders that will boldly address our national identity crisis; people who would forge one united people out of the diverse ethnic nationalities that comprise our nation. Without this kind of leadership, our quest for national development will take a long time to be realised.

Fundamentals of Transformational Leadership At this point, it would be pertinent to consider the fundamentals of transformational leadership. What kinds of preconditions are required to produce a transformational leadership? There are several of these preconditions but I think that the following are very essential.

Electoral legitimacy Free, fair and credible elections are crucial elements needed to produce accountable leadership. As I noted above, transformational leadership is by its nature accountable. Transformational leaders carry the people along in developing and implementing their vision. The last general elections were a marked departure from the past where electoral malpractices and subversion of popular mandate were the order of the day. We now need to build on the gains of our last elections by continuing to improve our electoral process which will lead to our producing transformational leadership.

Rule of Law Rule of law, underpinned by an independent court system, is a major precondition for the emergence of transformational leadership.

Rule of law is built on a predictable legal framework that helps to ensure settlement of conflicts. It also helps to ensure respect for rights and contracts, including the social contract.

Under a socio-economic and political system based on rule of law, expectations between the government and the governed are clear. This way there can be a clear pattern of engagement between the leaders and the followers.

Anti-corruption Nigeria is widely cited in the international community as an example of a country where corruption is systemic and institutionalised.

That perception will easily frustrate the required international collaboration and partnership we need to grow Leaders of today need to make the needed sacrifice to fight corruption in Nigeria. It is only when this is done that we would expect a transformational leadership to emerge in Nigeria. The anti-corruption agenda introduced by the Obasanjo administration in 1999 has laid the groundwork for the fight against corruption. What is left is to give the EFCC, ICPC and other anti corruption agencies the independence they need to do their job without fear or favour. The 5th Senate, which I presided, passed a bill to give full and unfettered independence to these anti-corruption agencies, matched by a first line charge on their appropriation/budget. But this was never signed into law. The current administration probably needs to intensify efforts in that direction.

Peace and Security Peace and security are essential preconditions for evolution of transformational leadership.

No leader, no matter how effective, can make

substantial developmental strides under the atmosphere of conflict. The current Boko Haram insurgence in the North and the conflict in Jos, Plateau State are major challenges that must be addressed for Nigeria’s hope to produce transformational leadership to be realised. The success achieved in the oil-rich Niger Delta is an indication that with commitment and dedication as well as sincerity and good policies situations of conflicts can be transformed. The ongoing implementation of the Niger Delta Amnesty programme introduced by the Yar’Adua / Goodluck administration has proved a good example in conflict management. Let me also warn that the Boko Haram insurgence now spreading down the southern parts of the country into Lagos spells disaster for this country if not addressed and contained. Let us consider for a moment the serious implications and the possibility of the 2015 elections not being held in some parts of the north because of the Boko Haram insurgence. How many electoral officers will risk their lives to supervise elections in those troubled areas, and what implication that would have for the results of that election.

Our policy makers and experts need to look closely at the threats and see whether there are tips that can be drawn from the Niger Delta experience and elsewhere that would provide insights to conflict management around the country.

Leadership Lessons from Super Eagles Success at AFCON 2013 Today, Nigeria is in the sun, feted by the world. The ‘giant of Africa’ is now being perceived as a real giant in the field of soccer. Once again, the name Nigeria now stands for excellence and achievement and not for fraud and incompetence. Yes, we have not yet conquered the Boko Haram terrorism. We have not stamped out the menace of kidnapping. Poverty in the land is still excessive. But something has changed in a period of about three weeks. The Nigerian football club, the Super Eagles, defeated the rest of African teams at the just concluded African Cup of Nation (AFCON).

The misfiring nation has won Africa’s greatest football event. The world media that have consistently branded Nigeria as a poster child of waste and corruption now toast the Nigeria as a winner.

As Nigerians celebrate the improbable success of Stephen Keshi’s previously unknown and mostly domestic footballers, it is important to remember that no expert sports analyst both at home and at the international scene believed Coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi when he declaed confidently that his team was capable of going all the way to the cup final.

Even the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) disbelieved its coach and looked forward to the usual underperformance from the Nigerian team. Football fans at home laughed off any suggestion that the ‘Super Chickens’, as the Super Eagles were derisively described by the irreverent Ivorian football analyst, Mamadu Gaye, could win the tournament. As we continue to celebrate the achievements by Keshi and his boys, most of us who have spent our entire adult life in the quest for that elusive change, that paradigm and attitudinal change which is necessary for our national renaissance, and our national emancipation which has been perennially still-birthed, now understand that it will require nothing short of a complete “Keshi-like- transformation” to be realized.

Nigeria needs transformation. We need to move away from a rent-seeking, unproductive economy to one that return is only for investment of efforts in productive activities.

We need to be transformed into a diversified economy that focuses on innovation and creativity in all the value-chain of production and not on consumption and superficial change of completely knocked down parts imported from the industrialized west. In this case, we need to resemble more of Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia and less like Mali, Equatorial Guinea, and Somalia.

In Politics, we also need transformation

‘Nigeria is widely cited in the international community as an example of a country where corruption is systemic and institutionalised. That perception will easily frustrate the required international collaboration and partnership we need to grow Leaders of today need to make the needed sacrifice to fight corruption in Nigeria’

•Senator Nnamani

badly. Our politics should be one based on the simple concept of citizenship. Every citizen should have the right to determine who governs him. As I already stated, this means that elections must be free, fair and credible.

President Jonathan has done so much to make our elections free and fair. We need to protect that achievement and ensure we deepen the democratic character of our elections. We need transformation towards a politics that is responsive to the needs of the Nigerian people and capable of guaranteeing competence at every level of government. We need transformation toward a form of governance that distinguishes leaders from criminals and does not make corruption the mode of governance.

No matter where we seek transformation we cannot get transformation without a new vision and perception and without a change of values and norms. We must be bold to identify what needs to change and where we have to put the knife to work. We must have transformers to enable us achieve enduring transformation.

After Keshi, we have no excuse why we cannot succeed as a nation in transformation. The mantra of transformation now has to be real because Stephen Keshi and the local footballers have supplied us ample lessons on how to secure real transformation. We are now surrounded with a cloud of witness and we have no excuse. While a cursory or surface assessment of the recent improbable feat by Keshi and his ‘boys’ at AFCON 2013 might not readily indicate a linkage between transformational leadership in our political sphere and football tournament venture, yet, a deep and insightful review of the lessons from the AFCON 2013 success certainly provides clear and unmistakable lessons for those at the leadership sphere.

Understanding Transformation Before delving into the lessons from the AFCON 2013, I would like to shade a little more light on this much touted word, “transformation” which has defining attributes.

Transformation is defined by the Business dictionary as “profound and radical change”. The Reference Dictionary termed it “a seemingly miraculous change in the appearance of scenery or actors”. The first definition speaks of ‘radical change’. It therefore means that transforming our national political economy requires ‘profound and radical’ actions. The definitions suggest something as divine as ‘miracle’ as being necessary for transformation. They also indicate that you need to take extra steps to identify the principal agents for this miracle as the ‘stage actors’. Transformation means that you are superseding previous performance or previous state of being. In a biological language, transformation is akin to the process by which an organism, say a butterfly, transforms from a simple to an advanced stage of life. The pathways of transformation are the pathways of radical change because they are formidable odds to overcome. A conservative strategy will not achieve transformation because it will be using the resources of failure to deal with the requirements of success. That is the pathology of the Nigerian state. Our destiny calls for bold and radical actions. But throughout independence, we have always shied away from the call of duty by continuously travelling on the path of cowardice and compromise. Instead of dealing fatal blows to identified ills of yesterday, we have dressed them up in borrowed garments and given them just a slap on the wrist.

Continued on Page 47

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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

DISCOURSE

Nigeria’s transformation and leadership lessons

selfless leadership.

Our leaders if transformational, can defy every odd stacked against our economic well-being, and lift us to the summit of nations. We have just witnessed such a feat in foot-balling lesson, it is now up to our leaders to be determined to display such resilient attribute in leading us out of our economic doldrums.

Conclusion of text of a paper delivered by Senator Ken Nnamani, former Senate President, at the centenary celebrations of the Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan Oyo State.

Conclusion We noticed that each time the super eagles of the AFCON 2013 took to the field, they represented every nook and cranny of Nigeria. There were only 11 Nigerian players on the pitch, but they were representing the 36 states and FCT, the 774 local government areas, the 250 ethnic groups and 160 million Nigerians. It did not matter that many states or ethnic groups did not have any players on the field. It did not matter that most of the players were from one part of the country.

Each time we entered the pitch, we saw them first and foremost as Nigerians who were working their socks off to bring glory to the country.

Each time they scored, we all celebrated irrespective of the Player’s state of origin or religion.

Those who play up ethnic and religious sentiments for political purposes in Nigeria may wish to look at football or sport more closely. They need to renew their minds. When we assemble a team of ministers and other public officers to govern us, it is in our interest for them to succeed. We must see them as “playing” for Nigeria, not their ethnic groups or states. Their success is success for all Nigerians; their failure is failure for all Nigerians. If the minister of works is an Itsekiri or Idoma and all our federal highways are put in excellent shape, who benefits?

All Nigerians! After all, Sunday Mba or Ahmed Musa scored for all Nigerians, not for the south or the north!

Meanwhile, while support for super eagles was National, irrespective of “tribe and tongue”, ethnic and religious manipulations dominate our polity.

Much of the opposition to the present administration in some parts of the country has nothing to do with performance. Of course, there are many people who are genuinely disappointed with Jonathan’s performance so far, but there are also those whose only grouse is the part of the country Jonathan comes from. Because of this, they wish him nothing but failure (some were wishing that super eagles would not win the Nations cup so that Jonathan would have nothing to celebrate, forgetting completely that it is Nigeria, not Jonathan that would be honoured by the victory). This sort of mind-set is tragic. If Jonathan fails as Nigeria’s president, all Nigerians will suffer the consequences. If he succeeds, Nigeria will be a better place for us. That’s simple logic.

If the Eagles had failed to win the Africa cup of nations, the heartache would have been Nigerians’ not Jonathan’s alone. Because they won, Nigerians all over the world are over the moon, happy as we still are. The joy and peace is ours!

The prosperity is ours! Until we develop a mentality that puts Nigeria first, we will continue to fall prey to hate and discord; and we are not learning the right lessons from AFCON. Henceforth the mantra should be: “Nigeria first’’ and should be the mentality at all times”.

It is true that football is not exactly politics.

There is more at stake in politics than in football.

In politics, our politicians are usually portrayed as constantly bickering over who gets what, mostly for selfish gain. They care little about the ordinary Nigerians. Mediocrity and greed are the order of the day. This should not be the state of politics in Nigeria. Politics in Nigeria should be played as a sport. It should be about excellence and service. The winner should be gracious and the loser should accept defeat in dignity. In sports, the ingredients of success are merit, hard work and teamwork. We should model our politics after sport. We should build a political team that is committed to winning. To win in politics will be to produce political leadership that leads to social and economic transformation. Just as Stephen Keshi conquered pessimism and indifference to restore the dignity of Nigeria in football, our political leaders can get around the present pathologies and launch Nigeria quickly into the orbit of transformation. Just as Stephen Keshi made a clean break with our tired and inefficient system of recycling dead woods, and gave fresh legs opportunity to shine at the big stage, our political leaders can dream again and go to work with can-do kindred spirit and make Nigeria a praise in the world.

What Keshi has done to our sports we can do to our politics. We only need to be courageous as he was and do away with our penchant for recycling failures in the name of zoning, quota or keeping faith with the past. The future belongs to those who can marshal the right people to deliver the right action plan. This is the main lesson of Nigeria’s historic victory at the 2013 AFCON. Let us turn around and see in ourselves those qualities that others have seen in us for which they envy and even hate us. For Nigeria I see hope. Up “the Greats of Ibadan Grammar School” I thank you for your kind attention.

• Continued from Page 46

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E cannot begin the journey of great ness except as we are willing to shake off the debris of mediocrity.

Trust me, this is not the work cut for timorous souls. As the legendary Florentine political philosopher, Niccolo Machievelli, warned us that a reformer must wear a brass hat because those who benefit from the status quo will attack the reformer and the beneficiaries of the better tomorrow are so diffident that they would not identify that it is in their interest to support the reformer. So, transformational leadership must be a courageous leadership. For transformers must fight many battles. And no battle is won by the cowardly. Stephen Keshi must be a man of courage. And his gang of untested warriors must have a lion’s heart to go out there and trounce the likes of Ivory Coast. It must take courage to face down the tribe of football officials in Nigeria whose bungling in the past has been the gist of newspaper reports. It must be the work of courage to give the attacking midfield position to ‘homeboy’ Sunday Mba; and for the son of Mba twice on a Sunday stop almighty Ivory Coast and irrepressible Burkina Faso from cup glory.

Herein is the second lesson of AFCON. Coach Stephen Keshi ran a formidable transformation agenda’, and achieved his 100% goal, in spite of the huge odds. He was courageous to depart from the official script of the NFA and the Sports Ministry. He rebuffed pressure to bring to the team players whose quality and commitment are dubious. He suffered the cynicism and distrust of sports officials and Nigerian analysts and remained focused on the need to change the fundamentals of Nigerian football. After Keshi, our football will no longer be the same. We have new expectations that will rattle any time-server in the coaching crew of the Super Eagles in the future. That is what is called transformation: a clear departure from the status quo. This calls for courage. And as Senator John Mcain rightly put it, Courage is not the absence of fear but the determination to go ahead in spite of what threatens us.

Thirdly, transformation happens when people have sufficient understanding of the crisis of the moment and able to go beyond the ordinary to work out a different kind of results. First, there must be a cognition that the old ways will not work. Keshi would have been in fool’s paradise if he believed that he could assemble the same old undisciplined footballers without any motivation and commitment to excellence and achieve anything of note in the tournament. No. He needed a new team to achieve a different result.

This is one lesson we need to learn from Keshi.

Our political recruitment system is incapable of producing the sort of political leadership we need for radical change. We are stuck in the old recruitment system which is based on quota system, ethnicity and other base considerations other than merit. This has deprived us of great performance. But Keshi did it differently. He set out with a mission statement, assembled a team that is not based on federal character but rather based on ability to add to the team strategy and execute a game plan. While the entire nation sceptically mocked his vision, and the international community wished his mission away, he was inspired by his unflinching patriotism and was able to inspire his boys to post excellent performances in the field of play. Within an incredible brief pre-tournament bonding period of six weeks, they conquered what took the 1994 ‘dream team’ five years to achieve. As the AFCON success triggers our celebrations of centenary of nationhood, it is remarkably clear that transformation and rebirth is possible for Nigeria in political and economic development even in less than a decade.

What is missing is a clear strategy built on realism, positive radicalism, dogged determination, discipline and an unwavering sincerity of purpose.

AFCON affords us lessons in science of change management. Perhaps, we need our management scholars to research on how Keshi achieved a strong chemistry between the local and foreignbased players. In the past the failure to achieve team spirit has spelt doom for the national team.

But that changed with this team. The management strategy was solid. We saw see fluidity in their play and sense of mission. Every player had his matching order and he executed it with precision and accuracy. There were no discord and bickering in the field of play as we saw in the Ivorian team. Keshi’s Super Eagles proves the thesis of the Harvard Professor of Management, Richard Hackman, ‘’that what matters most for great performance is not individual skills and talents but team composition and management.’’

According to Hackman, a disorganised team of super-brats will achieve less than a team of average performance who reinforce each other’s ability and have an enabling environment to perform. Great performance is a function of great management. Keshi provided that management in the field of play. Nigeria needs it in the field of political and economic management to become the 20th leading economy in the world in the next decade.

Doing things differently The transformation that the US people had witnessed and enjoyed from the last most improbable four years, serves as pointers to the sort of changes we seek. The US citizenry could not get enough of Obama’s administrations’ whole hearted transformation agenda; hence he earned an unprecedented second term landslide victory.

In such a transformation, there is no recourse for second or third best in the primordial guise of ethnic and tribal balancing. The key decider should be; who can make a positive difference, not who comes from where. That the AFCON success was a totally Nigerian affair – everybody, from the players to the technical crew, were indigenous shows that we are quite capable of surmounting all our adversaries. The players were chosen as the best eleven and not ‘selected’ to equalize and assuage ethnic suspicions, both imaginary and real. The ironic lesson therefrom is that while there was feigned anger and outcry over the seeming ethnic imbalance of Keshi’s tribal-insensitive choice, the result of that ‘poor decision’ is now being praised as some of our nation’s best in two decades! The exhaustive outpouring of cross-sectional and cross-religious joy should equally serve as lessons for those who stoke and raise ethnic tensions over meritocratic selection of leaders in Nigeria. Let us put forward our best steps always.

Always deploy the best from 160 million Following the super eagles AFCON 2013 triumph, a political party stated that “If Nigeria will always field its best eleven in all human endeavours, be it sports, economy or politics, and also allows a visionary rather than a waffling dreamer to lead the team, the country will always be a world beater. That is the lesson from the Super Eagles’ class of 2013.” Words are cheap; however, it is now up to us to practice our post AFCON 2013 postulations.

Prior to Keshi’s ‘against all odds’ success, allegations of bribery and favoritism had bedeviled our national team. Highly patriotic but domestic league players who don’t earn in hard currency had stood no chance against their hard currency earning contemporaries in making the national team. Keshi’s AFCON 2013 lesson here is that we should eschew corrupt practices in our head hunting exercises at public agency levels. Also, our political class should be drawn from the best crop

‘Our political recruitment system is incapable of producing the sort of political leadership we need for radical change. We are stuck in the old recruitment system which is based on quota system, ethnicity and other base considerations other than merit.

This has deprived us of great performance. But Keshi did it differently. He set out with a mission statement, assembled a team that is not based on federal character but rather based on ability to add to the team strategy and execute a game plan’

•Senator Nnamani

of individuals on offer, not the highest bidders.

Nigeria is failing simply because we do not deploy our finest to tasks. In a winning football team, there is team spirit; there should equally be team spirit in our public and political spaces.

Where there are suspicions of disparity in standards of team players, the morale gets dangerously weakened.

AFCON 2013 conquest is a clarion call on all of us to start believing in our nation and in ourselves. Lack of collective patriotism and not want of policies has been our bane. AFCON 2013 has thought us that, for Nigeria to develop in all endeavours, we must always put forward our best. It does not matter if the best is from a particular ethnic group, they will work for our overall interest. Rather than play divisive and ethnic cards, we should focus the rest of our efforts on establishing a strong mechanism and institution of government to forestall abuse of office and ensure optimal public service. It is only that way that we can achieve our illusive developmental goals.

A transformational leader should work to earn support.

From the AFCON 2013 victory, we learnt that social acceptance and support for a transformation agenda is equally important, but the leadership driving the transformation must work hard to earn the trust and support of Nigerians who are understandably skeptical, having been severally and serially let down by leadership deceit and perennial failures occasioning empty promises of change. The transformational leader and his team must display sufficient honesty and genuine desire to transform. It must be transformation by leadership example.

Because of past leadership failings, a transformational leader will be initially greeted with negativity until he proves his mettle. Nigerians initially showed skepticism and lack of faith in our national contingent to the 2013 AFCON. However, a transformational leader should be encouraged by the later surge of total support by Nigerians to the team. The lesson is that there is a bandwagon effect to winning; our leaders must record some quick win successes that will trigger the bandwagon support effect.

The Super Eagles who failed to even qualify for the last AFCON defied all odds to triumph at the next attempt. Keshi’s transformation agenda should spur transformation in our public service attitude. Our past failings should not daunt nor haunt us; rather, we should be upbeat and bullish about our chances of success and triumph as a nation.

The solutions to internal problems lie within: self belief Nigerians could not watch the AFCON 2013 proceedings on their local television channels, partly because BON had joined the bandwagon by thinking that “Keshi’s squad of locals were going nowhere”. Strong rumors had it that even our sports ministry did purchase return ticket after the unconvincing first group match. The lesson here is that leaders are nurtured not churned out. The team got better with each game, and we must have self belief, believe in our leaders plans, and give them support.

To believe in our internal capacity entails believing in our youths, who are our tomorrow’s leaders. This in turn requires serious investment in all tiers of our educational institutions. Transformation must touch our nursery, primary, universities and research centres.

Inspirational leader can rally an under-dog troop to victory Keshi’s leadership attributes was an essential part of our AFCON success. He brought good judgment, composure and serenity to his leadership role, in spite of all odds. As a nation, we have like our football team of the recent past, often struggled due to an absence of focus and

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With ekpoita :funtreatsvilla@yahoo.com / 08077706130

COUNTRY CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1.German City (6) 3.South American Country (4) 5. Top European City (6) 8. Republic, formerly of Denmark (7) 10. Country, SE of Europe (7) 13. World Power, abbrv.(3) 14. W/A Country (6) 15. Sovereign Entity (5) 16. First Capital of Nigeria (7) 17. Eastern Nigerian City (3)

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HUMOUR sHoWBlITzz Fleetwood Mac announces 2013 concert tour

Rock band Fleetwood Mac kicked off its 34-city United States concert tour April 4 in Columbus, Ohio, Live Nation has announced.

Tickets go on sale Dec. 14.

The “Fleetwood Mac Live 2013” arena tour included stops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees last took their show on the road in 2009 with the sold-out “Unleashed” concert tour, Live Nation said.

The new tour also marked the 35th anniversary of the release of their classic “Rumours” album, which has sold more than 40 million copies.

“Having started Fleetwood Mac with John McVie in 1967, it has always been so gratifying that despite the various incarnations, the band has survived.

Throughout the years, though, the one thing that has remained constant is our fans. I am looking forward to getting back behind the kit, reconnecting with the fans and sharing the stage with my fellow band members,” Mick Fleetwood said in a statement .

“After spending four days at Lindsey’s house working on music and one really fun day doing a crazy photo session, I am quite excited about next year. Everything seems to be falling into place. 2013 looks like the year of Fleetwood Mac,” Stevie Nicks said

Pep Talk

People & Culture VIETNAMESE PEOPLE

The culture and people of Vietnam are very hard to describe unless you have actually experienced them.

As I am not Vietnamese, and although I am interested in Vietnam, have never been there, I had to keep these reports on the people and culture to the facts I found in numerous references. If you wish to get a more personal view of culture and life in Vietnam, please go to our Viewpoints section.

The people of Vietnam have a unique and fascinating culture that has been shaped by thousands of years of history. Their culture has been influenced by many other civilizations: the ancient peoples that once inhabited the land, the Chinese, the French, and most recently, the Americans and Russians. From all these outside influences, and centuries of war, oppression, and hardship, they have formed, and maintained their culture. The people of Vietnam are hard working and feel strong ties to their families. They are well versed in the arts, and have made several contributions to the world of literature. Aside from their painful history, the Vietnamese people have a culture and many customs, all their own.

DOWN 1.Western Nigerian City (5) 2.Where Julius Caesar Reigned (4) 4.Nigerian State (3) 5.Nigeria’s Commercial Capital (5) 6. Central American Country (9) 7. Fmr. US Colony (6) 9. Coca Growing Country (8) 10. Fmr. Unit of USSR (6) 11. Spanish City (6) 12. French W/A Territory (5)

HUMOUR pastor and a church sister were Being

Intimate under a tree,not knowing,a smoker was up on the tree hiding & smoking. After the act,the sister asked the pastor, did u use condom?

Pastor: no!!!! why?

Girl: supposing i get pregnant who will take care of the baby?

The pastor replied,“let’s leave it to the one above. Suddenly the smoker jumped down and shouted, U DEY CRAZE? LEAVE WETIN 4 WHO? NA ME bleep AM? An American, an English man, and a Nigerian were on a ship. Suddenly the Devil appeared and said, “Drop anything in the sea, if I find it I will eat u, If I can’t, I will be your slave!” The American dropped a pin, the Devil found it and ate him. The English man dropped a coin, the Devil found it and ate him too. The Nigerian opened a bottle of water, poured it in the sea and said, “Na today be today, go find am!”. *A Nigerian man fainted outside Mr. Biggs (an eatery). Soon a crowd gathered around him and someone suggested, “Give him some water, it will help.” Hearing this, the man opened one eye and said, “Commot from here, if na water I wan drink, I for go faint for water board…” (Translation: “Get lost! If I needed water, I would faint in front of a water facility) *A man sits on the balcony having drinks with his wife, and he says, “I love you!” She asks, “Is that you or the beer talking?” He replies, “It’s me… talking to the beer.” *A husband comes home from Church, greets his wife, lifts her up and carries her around the house.

The wife is so surprised and excited! She asked with smiles, “Did the Pastor preach on being romantic?” Out of breath the husband replies, “No, he said we must carry our cross.”

A man brought his elderly father on visit to Lagos from the village for the first time. After dinner, the son asked the father: Son: “Father, should I bring you Coca-Cola?”

Father: (not knowing what Coca-Cola means), “You can bring the Kola now, but as for the Coca, you can keep it till later.”

Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks. – Johann Gottfried Von Herder

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS Presidency’s attack sparks $1b rice mills fraud claim Continued from page 4

jected that within the next 12 months, the problems affecting transmission and distribution will be substantially resolved.”

On infrastructure, Okupe said: “Nigerians are already reaping the benefits of government’s investment especially, on ongoing road rehabilitation projects, some of which are on the verge of completion. Notable of these are the KanoMaiduguri, Port HarcourtEnugu, and the Benin-Ore road which now takes commuters less than three hours as against 13 to 17 hours previously.

“The second Niger Bridge will be completed in the next 24 months, other things being equal.”

He added: “To ensure that Nigeria has in place industrial capacity for international

quality grade milled rice that can compete with imports, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance concluded arrangements to facilitate the acquisition of 100 large scale integrated rice mills, with a total capacity of 2.1 million MT, to be located across the country, owned and operated by the private sector. This is being acquired under a low interest rate facility of $ 1 billion from the China EXIM Bank. For the first time in history, Nigeria will have the full industrial capacity to mill and replace all the rice it currently imports – and become an exporter of finished rice to other African countries.”

Reacting, Mohammed said Okupe got it all wrong. He said: “I will start with Tinubu, Buhari, Akande and ACN that he disparaged.

“If truly ACN is a one-man party and that one-man party can win six governorship seat, 20 senators, 69 members in the House of Representatives, and about 170 assembly members all over Nigeria, I will rather belong to that kind of party.

“If, as Okupe said, Gen. Buhari is a political liability like the Asiwaju and such a man could be able to win 12 million votes with such political liability, I will rather belong to the same party as that man.

“As for Chief Bisi Akande, even his detractors admit that he has the most purposeful, most transparent and most people-oriented administration and his legacy still stands today.

“On the figure Okupe is brandishing; they are fictitious, suspicious and completely misleading. How can anybody tell Nigerians that in

year 2012, in which Nigeria experienced the worst flood that washed away many rice farms, that Nigeria actually recorded 140 per cent increase in rice production?

“He (Okupe) said government is taking $1 billion facility from the China Exim Bank for 100 large scale integrated rice mills with a total capacity for 2.1 million metric tonnes.

In other words, each rice mill is costing $8 million. But we know that a private farmer in Jigawa State is getting a similar rice mill in higher capacity for only $1.7 million. So why the discrepancy?

“Is the Federal Government fleecing Nigerians of over $6 million on each rice mill? We will, in due course, furnish Nigerians with accurate figures and numbers in respect of the volume being imported and at what cost.”

World Bank, Nigeria in $300m mortgage deal

A

MAJOR revolution in Nigeria’s housing sector is underway.

The World Bank is partnering with the Federal Government to develop a $300 million mortgage financing structure for affordable houses.

Besides the joint venture, local banks are to collaborate with the government to develop a mortgage vehicle to manage housing development.

The project will be mainly private sector-driven, with the government having a marginal share.

Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in the company

From Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor, in Washington D.C

of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, made the disclosures yesterday at the ongoing World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings, holding in Washington D.C, United States (U.S).

The minister said the World Bank facility would attract a zero per cent interest; 0.7 per cent commitment charge; 10 years of grace; and 40 years repayment period.

She put Nigeria’s housing deficit at 17 million, which she said, has been growing by two mil-

lion annually.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said that the government has urged states willing to pioneer the scheme, to remove the impediments on land acquisition, issuance of certificate of occupancy and other constraints on land-related issues.

According to her, six states, Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bauchi and Anambra states, have all signified to participate in the pilot phase.

She disclosed that the guidelines for setting up the structure of mortgage financing in the country is already being worked out and that by the end of the year, the institution will be in place.

It will become operational early next year.

The minister also spoke of a plan by the government to float a Eurobond before the end of this year, stressing that a timetable has been developed to that effect.

“We will do a road show in June in the relevant markets in London and New York, among others,” Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said.

She said the Eurobond will be used to finance power sector and gas development.

“The government plans to conclude the $100 million Diaspora bond by December this year.”

Boko Haram: Presidency berates Shehu Sani, Ahmed Continued from page 4

Wednesday named a 26-man Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North.

A top government source told The Nation: “While the government is leaving a window for those with direct link to Boko Haram leaders to have a rethink, it is going ahead with the amnesty plan.

“The fact is that not all Boko Haram leaders are opposed to dialogue or amnesty. The committee might start its dialogue with some leaders of the sect who have offered to cease fire.

There are also some leaders in detention who can offer recipe on the way forward.

“Do not forget that Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, had opened discussion with 11 key commanders of Boko Haram in May last year, including one of the top leaders of the sect, like Sheikh Asheku.

“Although the meeting was at the instance of the governor, others who participated were a representative of the InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, the Borno

State Director of State Security Service (SSS), the state’s Commissioner of Police, an intelligence officer from the military along with the state deputy governor, Mustapha Umar Zannah.

“What I am saying is that already there are some platforms in place to open dialogue with Boko Haram by the amnesty committee. The tone of dialogue or amnesty may serve as impetus to the spiritual leader of the sect, Imam Abubakar Shekau and other commanders declared wanted.

“The ultimate discussion and reconciliation with Shekau would serve as the icing on the cake.”

Another source said: “The government is also depending on some Emirs and leaders in the North to facilitate dialogue with the leadership of the sect led by Shekau.

“Some Northern leaders and clerics are begging Shehu Sani and Dr. Datti Ahmed to change their mind to serve on the dialogue committee.

“We are hopeful that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.”

When asked if he has had a rethink, Sani said: “I have no change of mind at all.”

Tinubu: amnesty should be selective Continued from page 4

means to stop bombings and killings in the North, saying the move would equally offer avenues for the compensation of those still alive among the victims.

On the formation of the APC, Tinubu said all the leaders of the ACN, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All

Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) would do everything possible to assure success.

Recalling the historic convention staged in Lagos last Thursday to seal the merger, Tinubu described it as “a watershed for the formation of a roadmap for the progress of the country in all facets”.

54

THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 22, 2013

THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 22, 2013

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THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS

•Obi (third left) with: Rev Anokwulu Sabastine (left); Comptroller of Prisons Patrick Ondoma; Bishop Ezeokafor; Mrs Obi; Deputy Controller of Immigration, Chigbata Alfred and Rev Jonas Benson Okoye with the inmates after their confirmation.

Bishop confirms 50 inmates in Awka

Agency to build 500-km roads in Abia From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

T

HE Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP) will build 500-kilometre rural roads across Abia State.

The Commissioner for Information, Eze Chikamnayo, said the project, which is in partnership with the Federal Government, would be executed under the RAMP programme.

Chikamnayo said the government had made sufficient financial commitment to benefit from the RAMP project, which is paying its counterpart fund.

The commissioner said eight of the 16 roads begun last December in Aba by Governor Theodore Orji were ready for inauguration.

Chikamnayo said arrangements had been perfected for the pilot programme of the “Ochendo Liberation Farm”, in which 750 youths would be trained for three months and empowered by the government.

He said over 30 hectares of land each has been acquired at Abiriba, Ukwa and Ikwuano local governments.

Illegal structures demolished

T

HE Anambra State Government has begun the demolition of

illegal structures on drainage channels and waterways in Onitsha and environs.

Governor Peter Obi, who supervised the exercise at the weekend, said it was part of measures to protect the area from flood.

Obi said the exercise would be extended to all parts of the state and would involve demolition and removal of illegal structures on water channels, including those passing through markets.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

He said the government would open up blocked drains, clean up the environment and recover roads encroached upon by land speculators and developers.

The governor warned against street trading and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

Obi regretted that residents have continued to frustrate government’s efforts by blocking the drains with illegal structures and refuse.

ABSU to honour Obi, others HE Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, will honour two governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Peter Obi (Anambra) with Honoris Causa degrees at its 22nd Convocation on April 26.

Also to be honoured is the Chief Executive Officer of Masters Energy, Uche Ogah.

T

T

Rivers handovers vocational HE Rivers State Govtraining centre

ernment has handed over the Vocational Training Centre at Port Harcourt Primary School built by the Rotimi-Amaechi led administration to a German Company for a six-year contract period.

Commissioner for Education Dame Alice Lawrence said this at the weekend during the signing of the Vocation Training Agreement before the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Wogu Boms, in Port Harcourt.

Mrs Lawrence said the project is part of the economic reform agenda of the administration to create employment opportunity for the people.

She said the government is desirous of collaborating with the private sector in

improving the vocational skill and competence of Rivers people, towards empowering them vocationally to make them self employed.

She said the training curriculum shall be designed in accordance with German standards and also make provision to accommodate local conditions and circumstances, including local trainers and training managers.

The commissioner said the programme of engagement as contained in the Agreement, are divided into phases, A, B, C, and D, saying that, the company shall be responsible for the daily running or implementation of the programmr while the Rivers State Government shall be responsible for general supervision.

C

ATHOLIC Bishop of Awka Diocese Rev Paulinus Ezeokafor yesterday confirmed 50 inmates of the Nigerian Prison Amawbia. The inmates were sponsored

by Governor Peter Obi and his wife, Margaret.

The bishop, who was at the prisons on a visit, donated a bus to facilitate the movement of inmates to court.

He said the visit was to give the in-

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka and Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

mates a sense of belonging and encourage them to reform for proper integration into the society when they are freed.

The bishop regretted that some criminals are groomed and nurtured by politicians, who use them to promote violence to achieve their selfish interests.

Ezeokafor urged prison workers to see their work as a vocation that should be carried out with dedication and commitment.

He called on the Federal Government to accelerate the reform of the prison, saying the inadequate facilities in Nigerian prisons were unacceptable.

Obi assured that the state would provide all necessary assistance to improve the prison conditions.

ACN leads in Edo local govt elections HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Edo State is leading in the local government elections results released so far.

It has won in seven local governments.

The local governments are Orhionmwon, Akoko-Edo, Estako-East, Estako-Central, Igueben, Esan South East and Egor.

At Egor, Victor Enobakhare won with 10,152 votes against 1,951 garnered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Akerelejola Joseph won in Akoko-Edo with 41, 496 votes against 5,171 votes of the PDP candidate.

Joseph Ikpea got 14,145 votes in Esan South East.

Roland Ibierutomwen won in Orhionmwon with 29,059 votes against 5,843 votes of the PDP. Julius Asemota garnered 16,292 to win in Igueben and Abdulmalik Suleiman got 23,262 votes in Estako East.

Emmanuel Momoh won with 9,293 in Estako Central.

Chairman of the State Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) Solomon Ogoh, who announced the results at a briefing, said results were expected from seven local governments.

He said elections were cancelled in four local governments.

Ogoh gave the names of the councils as Esan West, Esan North East, Oredo and Ikpoba-Okha.

He said the rescheduled

T

‘I didn’t breach electoral laws’ From Osagie Otabor, Benin

M

INISTER of Works Mike Onolememen has denied allegations by Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhohe that he breached electoral laws during last Saturday’s local government elections.

Onolememen said he could not have breached the law when no election was conducted in Esan North East Local Government, where he was to vote.

Oshiomhole had on Saturday accused Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and Onolememen of breaching the electoral laws by moving about with mobile policemen to intimidate voters The governor said Igbinedion and the minister should be tried for breaching electoral laws.

Though Igbinedion could not be reached for comments but Onolememen said there were no elections in his local government.

“There was no election in the area. As we speak, all the electoral materials are still at Uromi Police Station and elections are scheduled to hold next week. So how could I breach electoral law where there were no elections?”

•Govt calls for calm •ANPP, PDP reject results From Osagie Otabor, Ben Ogbemudia, Benin , and Gbade Ogunwale Abuja

elections would hold on April 24 and 25.

The Commissioner for Information, Louis Odion, has appealed to residents to be calm and go about their businesses.

He said: “Come Wednesday, we urge eligible voters in Esan West and Esan North East to go out and vote.

“On Thursday, those in Oredo and Ikpoba-Oha will vote.

“Be rest assured that enough security arrangements would be put in place to ensure safety of voters.”

The PDP has described the preparations and conduct of the poll as shoddy.

A statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, yesterday said: "For weeks, our local chapter in Edo has raised concerns about the shoddy preparations by the government and the State Independent Electoral Commission.

"The PDP under President Goodluck Jonathan has successfully proved that Nigeria can put the history of flawed elections behind it with the 2011 general elections adjudged locally and internationally as the most credible in our recent history."

The PDP and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) rejected the results of the elections.

The parties said the local government elections were a sham and called for the resignation of EDSIEC members.

PDP Chairman Dan Orbih said the elections were characterised by shortages of election materials.

Orbih, who called for new elections, said the party participated for the love of democracy.

He said the party was also rejecting what he termed “the staggered arrangement of the rescheduled elections”.

He said: “We are hearing rumours of results of an election not held.

“It was clear at the beginning that EDSEIC was not ready for the election.

“We are ready to collaborate with the electoral body to conduct a free and fair election.”

Orbih criticised the movement of military personnel during the elections.

ANPP’s Deputy National Chairman Solomon Edebiri called for the cancellation of the elections.

He urged the people to seek legal redress.

Tanker explosion kills five in Niger

F

IVE persons were killed in Mokwa, Niger State, at the weekend when a tanker carrying petrol ran into 10 stationary vehicles on the Jebba-Mokwa highway.

The driver of the ill-fated tanker and four others were burnt to death.

Ten vehicles, houses and property were also consumed by the interno.

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

It was gathered that the accident occurred when the tanker from Ilorin, Kwara State, lost control at Saw Mill area, some few meters away from the local government secretariat and ran into the stationary vehicles.

The area went aflame, razing houses and shops on the

ever-busy road, causing a traffic on the road for hours.

An eye witness, Mohammed Ndagi, said lack of functional fire fighting equipment worsened the situation, as residents and sympathisers watched helplessly as persons and materials were burnt.

The Secretary of Mokwa Local Government, Mohammed Goro, dispelled rumours

that the secretariat was gutted by the fire.

Police spokesman Richard Oguche confirmed the incident. ‘’I will give you details of the incident today,” he said.

Of the five bodies recovered, two were burnt beyond recognition.

The bodies of the victims have been deposited at Mokwa General Hospital.

THE NATION MONDAY APRIL 22, 2013

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NEWS Taraba council chief seeks peace with Plateau From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

T

HE sole administrator of Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State, Alhaji Bello Yero, has urged Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang to prevail on the Caretaker Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nanman Darko, to stop the residents from killing their Taraba counterparts at the boundary between them.

Yero spoke at the weekend in Ibi when The Nation visited the local government to ascertain the level of security.

A dozen of traders from Dampar community of Ibi were allegedly robbed and killed by Langtang “criminal militants” penultimate week.

“They laid ambush, accosted, robbed and killed innocent Dampar traders, who attended a market in Langtang and were returning home,” Yero said.

He added: “The attacks and killings must stop. The Langtang Local Government chairman should secure his side of the boundary. When Langtang residents attend our markets, they go back safely. But when my people attend their markets, they don’t return home.”

The Ibi council chief said he had visited Darko, on three occasions, for peace talks.

According to him, the council chief promised to track down the suspected criminals but has reneged on the promise.

Till now, he has not done anything,” Yero said.

Yero expressed dismay that even when he met with the member representing Langtang South in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Joyce Ramnap, on the matter, the lawmaker could do nothing.

He alleged that Langtang residents have continued their offensive against Ibi residents.

Yero said: “I am securing my own side of the boundary, but they are not doing anything. They should be seen doing something.”

•Pastor Kumuyi... yesterday

I

‘ I didn’t believe I’ll walk home with my legs’

T was a miracle that excited tens of thousands of worshippers. Monica Aina, a former worker of the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, walked with the aid of crutches to the Night of Supernatural Deliverance held by Deeper Life Bible Church.

A few hours into the twoday programme, she walked with her two legs, raising the crutches to show the miracle in her life.

Aina and some 20 others gave testimonies that they were healed of various ailments after prayers by the General Overseer of the church, Pastor William Kumuyi.

The programme was held at the Deeper Life Conference Centre on Kilometre 42, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Worshippers attended the programme from various parts of the country. The church was filled up.

Before Pastor Kumuyi’s message, districts’ pastors gathered worshippers under different makeshift tents for prayers. The church’s orchestra, whose members were clad in white shirts and black pants with black ties to match, literally electrified the atmosphere with spiritual songs.

The church bubbled throughout the period of the programme with religious activities.

•Miracles at Deeper Life’s Night of Supernatural Deliverance

By Wale Ajetunmobi and Joseph Jibueze

At exactly 10:35pm, Pastor Kumuyi mounted the pulpit.

He spoke for an hour, taking the gathering into a prayer session. Speaking on the theme: If Foundations be Destroyed, What Can the Righteous Do? Pastor Kumuyi based his message on Psalm 11:3-4.

He told the gathering what God says about the righteous and their rewards, advising the worshippers to lay godly foundations.

According to him, many people are in tribulations because of the satanic foundations their forebears laid.

For believers suffering from their ancestors’ sins, Pastor Kumuyi said righteous foundations could be restored in their lives through restorative prayers of the righteous and the retentive power that works in the body of the righteous.

The cleric reassured of the promises of the righteous to the Lord.

He listed some ailments, such as tuberculosis, intestinal problem, blindness, physical disabilities and spiritual attacks, that could be cleansed from the bodies of the righ-

teous. Thunderous “Amen” greeted each prayer the pastor said.

Kumuyi said the only antidote to human challenges is a closer relationship with God and a life wholesomely devoted to God’s will.

He noted that while perilous times may not abate, the wise must seek to build bridges to God rather than run helter-skelter for solutions elsewhere.

The cleric said Satan has been responsible for diverse afflictions in the lives of people and the problems confronting nations.

The escape route, he stressed, is Christ Jesus.

Drawing instances from the scripture, Pastor Kumuyi said the power that unchained the woman bound for 18 years with a spirit of infirmity was still potent enough to set free as many as were willing to be close to God by faith.

He urged believers to repose their faith in God, adding that the weapons of a Christian’s warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to pull down strongholds.

The cleric also said believers have not only received redemption but have also been given restorative power to deliver the afflicted.

Seven die in Lokoja-Abuja road crash

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EVEN persons, including two children, died on Saturday in a motor accident on the Lokoja-Abuja road.

An eyewitness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that their mother also died in the crash.

The eyewitness added that the accident occurred at noon at Gaba village.

Confirming the accident, the Kogi Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Mohammed Garba, told NAN that the accident involved two vehi-

cles.

He said the vehicles, an articulated one, with registration number (Adamawa) GYA 96 AA and a black Golf car with registration number (Lagos) LSR 721 XB, collided as they were negotiating a bend.

Garba added that the bod-

ies of the victims have been deposited at the morgue of the Ankuri Hospital, Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

He said three other persons, who sustained serious injuries in the crash, were taken to the Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, for treatment.

Mark mourns Benue ex-Deputy Governor Ajene

S

ENATE President David Mark yesterday mourned a former Benue State Deputy Governor Ogiri Ajene, who died in a London hospital after a brief illness.

The late Prince Ajene was the deputy governor for eight years under Governor George Akume, now Senate Minority Leader and senator representing Benue Northwest.

In a condolence message to the government and people of Benue State, Mark said the state has lost one of its “forefront and dependable political leaders”.

A statement in Abuja by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, said Mark received the news of Ajene’s death with shock.

•Aina with the crutches... yesterday

•The worshippers at the event...yesterday

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

The Senate President noted that the late Ajene was an astute politician who had the capacity to mobilise followers.

With Ajene’s death, Mark said Benue State has lost one of its political leaders who as ever ready to uplift the people.

“Ajene was a leader in his own right. He was outspoken.

He was a team player who carried his people along. We shall miss his political sagacity. We shall miss his humour.

We shall miss his contributions.”

The Senate President urged the government and people of Benue State, especially the

bereaved family, to take solace in the fact that the late Ajene lived an eventful and accomplished life worthy of emulation.

He prayed God to grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest.

The late Ajene was a twoterm deputy governor. He was a councillor and served his community for three years in the council’s legislature.

He retired into a quiet life until former Governor Suswam appointed his wife, Comfort, Commissioner for Tourism and Culture. Her name was again forwarded to the House of Assembly last week for another appointment as a commissioner, following a shake-up in the State Executive Council (Exco).

When the news of his demise filtered into town, many sympathisers trooped to his home and wept uncontrollably.

Chia Addingi, the former Special Adviser to Suswam (when he was governor) on Electoral Matters, described the late Ajene as a gentleman who served the state and his people without blemish.

Addingi said the former deputy governor would forever be remembered.

Jacob Ajene, the deceased’s brother, said the death has thrown the family into confusion and left a vacuum that would be difficult to fill.

Obi and Oju Local Government chairmen as well as members of House of Assembly were seen signing the condolence register at press time yesterday.

By 11:30pm, worshippers, who experienced miracles during the prayers, were called out to share their experiences.

Monica Aina relived her ordeal before she was miraculously healed of a hip joint fracture.

According to her, she was invited by a neighbour to the programme.

Aina said: “My problem started in June 2009. On the day, after I alighted from a bus and wanted to cross to the other side of the road to enter my place of work, I was knocked down by an Okada (a commercial motorcycle) that was moving on high speed.

“For almost 20 minutes, I passed out. Some good Samaritans took me to the side of the road and called my employers to take me to hospital. It was there they told me I had a fracture on my hip joint.

“The incident happened a few months before my wedding. An operation was performed on my hip: a metal plate was embedded in my body to hold my hip, pending the time I would have money to perform another operation abroad.

“My parents had to beg my husband to do the wedding before they spent more money on medical operation. I did my wedding with these two crutches (raising them up).

After my wedding, three op-

erations were performed on my hip joint in hospitals in Kaduna, Lagos and Ogun states, but all to no avail. My husband almost divorced me because of my hip problem.

“Some brethren invited me to this church and I attended the February programme. I never knew I would receive my blessing today. I walked into this church with my crutches; I didn’t believe I would walk home with my two legs. This is the wonder of God through Pastor Kumuyi.”

A Ghanaian, Mrs Mercy Doe, who was healed of an unexplainable ailment in her brain and limbs, also relived her travail. There were other worshippers who experienced miracles and shared their ordeals.

The special service recorded several miracles. Participants testified to their instant deliverance following prayer ministration by Kumuyi.

A man, Tope Agboola, was jubilant that he was delivered from strange voices and invisible personalities that had termented him.

Agboola said it was the affliction that caused his deportation from London, the United Kingdom, after he developed a mental problem. But on Saturday night, he said he heard the sound of strange personalities flying out of his body with a terrifying speed.

MISSING TRAVEL DOCUMENT THE PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORMED THAT A TRAVEL DOCUMENT -e-PASSPORT - BELONGING TO MRS MABEL WURAOLA OSHINOWO IS MISSING. THE TRAVEL DOCUMENTS GOT MISSING OPPOSITE CAC JEBBU BASSA,RUKUBA JOS PLATEAU STATE ON 3RD APRIL, 2013. THE TRAVEL DOCUMENT ISSUED AT JOS WITH NO: A03228093.

IF FOUND PLEASE CONTACT MRS. MABEL WURAOLA OSHINOWO ON 08037030861 OR THE DIVISIONAL POLICE HEADQUARTERS, RUKUBA BASSSA, JOS.

PUBLIC NOTICE THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD CHURCH Notice is hereby given that the above named Foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part C of the Commission and Allied Matters Act L. F. (Cap 20), 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

Pastor Vincent Dare Olowo—————————President/Founder 2.

Mrs. Esther Amba olowo——————————Secretary THE OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.

To preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all people everywhere to the saving of their souls 2.

To preach and teach the word of God 3.

So as to set at liberty those who are sick, oppressed in bondage of sin 4.

To prepare people for the second coming of Christ Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General of the corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SINGED TITILAYO T. AKINBIYI (MRS.) GREEN & AKINBIYI, SOLICITORS #16B AGIP ROAD RUMUEME PORT HARCOURT (08033170774)

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FOREIGN NEWS

Musharraf in custody for two weeks

ECOWAS ministers meet on regional highway

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COWAS Ministers of Works/ Road Infrastructure, Transport, Finance and Justice from five countries will meet today in Abuja to agree on strategies towards the construction of a homogenous highway from Lagos to Abidjan.

The countries are Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.

The Abidjan-Lagos corridor covers a total distance of 1,028 kilometres and carries more than 75 per cent of trade in West Africa.

It connects Lagos, Accra, Cotonou, Lome and Abidjan, which are considered as some of the largest and economically most dynamic cities in Africa.

Besides, it links vibrant sea ports serving Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – the three landlocked countries in the region.

The one-day meeting according to a statement issued by the regional body follows a directive from the Heads of State of the five countries who met on the margins of the 42nd ordinary summit of regional leaders on 28th February 2013 in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire for the ministers to further improve the Lagos-Abidjan corridor.

The ministers is expected to deliberate and agree on an implementation plan with a clear indication of responsibilities and correspond-

ing implanting stakeholders.

They are also expected to benefit from presentations from some of the development and technical partners, such as the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO), the World Bank and the African Development Bank who have some ongoing activities on the corridor.

Their report will be presented to the Presidents of the concerned Member States at the margins of the 26th May 2013 summit in Addis Ababa.

Also expected to attend the ministerial meeting are the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), the French Development Agency (AFD), the AbidjanLagos Corridor Organization (ALCO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Osprey Investment Group of the United Kingdom, and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).

ECOWAS and its development partners have made several interventions in order to facilitate transportation on the corridor. These include improvement of road infrastructure, restructuring of border posts as well as soft transport facilitation interventions to improve the free flow of persons, trade and transport.

Somali reporter killed

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SOMALI journalist working for the government broadcaster was shot dead outside his home in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday, the fourth reporter to be murdered in the country this year, the union of journalists said.

Mohamed Ibrahim Rageh, who worked for Somali National Television and Radio Mogadishu, was killed by unknown assailants as he returned home after work, according to Abdirahim Isse Addow, director of Radio Mogadishu, who was quoted by the National Union of Somali Journalists.

Three other journalists had been killed in Somalia so far this year, the union said.

Rageh’s murder came a week after at least 30 people were killed by a car bomb, suicide bombers and gunmen at Mogadishu’s law courts and a car bomb explosion near the airport.

The attacks were blamed on Islamist militants al Shabaab, who afterwards warned of more to come.

Western and Somali officials are concerned al Shabaab, which was driven out of Mogadishu two years ago but still control some mainly rural areas, may be regrouping and seeking to rebuild their strength in the capital.

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Y some byzantine mathematical mysticism, the world led by the United Nations, at about four months ago formally stopped anteing the casualties of war in Syria at 70,000 dead.

In any circumstance and in this our unfortunate universe any death for that matter and in this circumstance is awfully not only condemnable but regrettable.

When the ‘Arab Spring’ sprung out of genuine mass uprising against despotic, mostly sit-tight leaders in the sub-region, it was intended mostly as a call to regime change.

Those who saw the handwritings on the wall, recognizing the tenacity of their systematically oppressed and politically marginalised masses, took to their heels to seek solace in other lands or simply gave up to the inevitable, fiesty gales of the winds of time.

Some like Moammar Gaddafi, who woefully misread the trend on account of his very rabid take on sophistry and his implacability, paid dearly with his life ironically with one of his iconoclastic emblem to his perpetual claim to fame: His Golden Pistol, haven been pulled out of a filthy drain pipe, near his home town of Misrat.

But those are the lots of despots who fail to heed to the dictates of their people.

With Syria’s 46 year old Bashar al-Assad, the mass movement has taken a bizarre and blood-letting campaign that has no end in sight in his Syria.

•Musharraf

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AKISTAN’S former leader Pervez Musharraf has been remanded in judicial custody for two weeks over claims he illegally detained judges in 2007.

Mr Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan between 1999 and 2007, was arrested on Friday.

The High Court ruled that the allegations amounted to an act of terrorism and ordered him to appear at Islamabad’s anti-terror court.

Mr Musharraf has described the case against him as politically motivated.

exile.

However, he has so far failed in his bid to register as a candidate with election officials.

His lawyers said it was unclear whether he would be detained under house arrest, in policy custody, or in jail.

APML spokesman Muhammad Amjad said Mr Musharraf would fight the allegations in a higher court.

Judges are determined to prosecute Mr Musharraf over his decision to dismiss judges including Chief Justice Mohammad Iftikhar Chaudhry.

He is accused of keeping the judges under house arrest for about six months in 2007 after he imposed emergency rule.

Mr Musharraf was brought to the court under heavy security.

The BBC’s Shahzeb Jillani, outside the Islamabad court, says angry lawyers shouted slogans calling for Mr Musharraf to be tried for treason.

His supporters and opponents clashed inside and outside the court.

Italy: President Giorgio Napolitano re-elected

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TALIAN President Giorgio Napolitano has been re-elected following a cross-party appeal to run for office again to resolve a growing political crisis.

Mr Napolitano, aged 87, secured the required 504 votes in parliament.

Politicians had turned to the widelyrespected president after five rounds of voting failed to produce a successor.

A caretaker government has been governing Italy following February’s inconclusive general elections.

The political deadlock has compounded concern about the stability of Italy whose economy, the third-biggest in the eurozone, is mired in recession.

On Saturday, Mr Napolitano became the first president in Italian history to secure a second seven-year term.

He easily won the simple majority of votes out of 1,007 electors.

Global Focus DAYO FAKUADE, Foreign Editor

daborgu@gmail.com

The externalities in the Syrian crisis What started out in a small city of Deraa was not a military endeavour, it was just a protestation against misrule, colossal corruption and a simple call for governmental reform. None of these were ever undertaken even in spite of earlier promises made by the president when he inherited power from his late father, Hafez in 2000.

Going by all these and the imperative for peace in the global enclave we live and cherish, questions have focused on the whats and whys of the reticence and footdragging that has been going on in the international community in redressing the calamities that is daily plaguing the poor people of Syria, lest we wake up again to the early nineties Ruwanda. under our very nose.

Its been said that the 70,000 dead

Last month Mr Musharraf returned from years of self-imposed exile hoping to lead his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party into the general election next month.

Mr Musharraf’s return was always a political gamble. Now it looks increasingly like a miscalculation. That surprises many who see him as an astute tactician. Some put it down to egotism - a personal conviction that he’d command public support and be swept back into power, capitalising on disillusionment with the main parties.

There’s much focus on the role of the military now. It’s moved on since his departure but he is still one of theirs and his arrest without bail makes him the first army chief to be put in prison. Some suggest the army saw advantages in his return - a way of dividing electoral opinion and weakening the next coalition. Others say military chiefs warned him against coming back but may still be willing to broker a compromise, perhaps by pushing him back into

‘What started out in a small city of Deraa was not a military endeavour, it was just a protestation against misrule, colossal corruption and a simple call for governmental reform. None of these were ever undertaken even in spite of earlier promises made by the president when he inherited power from his late father, Hafez in 2000’ in Syria figure continued to be bandied about because of the in-

Mr Napolitano put forward his candidacy after the appeal by main party leaders - both on the left and right.

“I consider it necessary to offer my availability,” said Mr Napolitano, who had been due to step down on 15 May. “I cannot shun my responsibility towards the nation,” he added.

Demonstrators outside the Italian parliament building in Rome. Photo: 20 April Protesters outside the parliament denounced Mr Napolitano’s reelection And in a brief address shortly after the vote, Mr Napolitano acknowledged that the situation in the country remained “difficult”.

“I strongly hope that in the next few weeks, starting in the next few days, all sides will fulfil their duties, with the aim of strengthening the institutions of the state,” he added.

Italian party leaders earlier urged parliament to “show unity” in re-electing widely-respected Mr Napolitano.

Outside the parliament building in Rome, protesters held a rally against the push for Mr Napolitano’s re-election.

Many demonstrators were supporters of Beppe Grillo, the leader of the 5Star Movement.

Mr Grillo denounced Mr Napolitano’s re-appointment as a “coup d’etat”.

explicable, indefensible, embarrassing and bungling inability of the super powers to get their acts together in surfing the moral tide of conscientious justice for the suffering people of Syria. Of course with hitting and bombings from both the government and rebel forces, the killings are becoming daily higher and horrendous and the powers that be at the UN need a wake up call to once and for all intervene more decisively and effectively.

Thomas Paine, that world acclaimed writer, essayist and pamphleteer extraordinaire reminds us of why the cause of America is the cause of all mankind. This could be reversed as the cause of all mankind should be the cause of America.

So America needs to step up to the plate and deploy all it can both diplomatic arm-twisting and other to stand up to Russia and China.

On the logistic end supplying arms to the rebels coalition in Syria will be a hard sell in America going by the not too distant military assistance to the Mujahedeen during their brutal endeavour with the Soviets, which eventually led to the birth of the Taliban and its ultra-militant terrorist wing the al-quada which later came to harm America in 9/11.

Yet with global leadership comes responsibility.

The Russian and Chinese connections are purely business and a continuation of whatever is left of the cold war. But this is no time

for ideological posturing.

The man in the middle is not a normal human being. In like manners of all tyrannical despots, he gave a rare television interview in Damascus last week where he declared with unwavering equanimity that failure for his administration in this war is unthinkable, thus translating to warnings of further future slayings of hapless women and children.

He has accused all manner of peoples and governments of unduly interfering with his government, he has deployed Russian – made scud missiles against his own people. There has been allegations of chemical weapons deployment in his morbid craze to cling on to power by all means and he has recently refused entry to UN weapons inspection team to verify the veracity or otherwise of his use of chemical weapons against civilian targets in his desperate attempt at depicting the rebels as the enemy.

The Syrian crisis has claimed too many lives, internally displaced uncountable others with lots and lots more living in trauma and languishing in inhumane refugee camps in neighbouring Jordan, Turkey and southerly enclaves.

The conscience of men of goodwill needs to be aroused to stand up to do the right thing in the face of this atrocity.

The strident call of UN Secretary –General Ban Kim-moon needs heeding and America needs to take the lead in this respect.

•Napolitano

THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

63 PUBLIC NOTICE FOLORUNSO JOSEPH MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL

SPORT EXTRA

Efe Ambrose wins SPL title with Celtic

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UPER Eagles’ defender, Efe Ambrose added another silverware to his career as Celtic FC were crowned the Scottish Premier League champions for the second year running, after scoring four second half goals to thrash Inverness 4-1 at the Celtic Park in Glasgow on Sunday.

Ambrose, who was part of the Nigerian squad that won the 2013 Africa Nations Cup in South Africa, saw 90minutes of action as Celtics secured its 44th Scottish championship.

Celtic went into the match needing just a point to be crowned winners of the SPL and played to a barren first

half at Celtic Park.

The hosts, who were playing without head coach Neil Lennon on the touchline after he was banned for three matches earlier this week, could have taken the lead at the hour mark through Nigerian defender Efe Ambrose but his free header from six yards out went way

•Celtic players celebrate their title success

over the crossbar.

A minute later, the hosts got the breakthrough, after Kris Commons threaded a pass into the stride of talisman Gary Hooper before he slid the ball through the legs of a defender and into the corner, sending the supporters into frenzy.

Barely four minutes after grabbing the lead, Joe Ledley collected a cut-back from the right, took a touch before sweeping in a low shot from 15 yards to make the score 2-0 in favour of the hosts.

With 73 minutes played, Hooper killed off the match with his second of the game and a quality finish from the near post.

Greek striker Georgios Samaras finished the rout with two minutes of normal play remaining after his run on the left wing before cutting into the box and smashed in a shot which went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Aaron Doran scored a consolation with a neat finish into the bottom corner but the strike could not stop the already partying Celtic fans.

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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as he stood between Rangers and goal.

However, Emeka Eze could have snatched a late winner for the home team in the dying moments of the encounter when he faced an empty net, only to blast his effort off target.

The first half ended goalless even after Rangers attacked the visitors for most of that period.

The Nigerian club recorded 10 corners to Libolo’s one in the first 45 minutes, but no positive result came out of the efforts.

Striker Efe Yarhere was caught offside at least four times as the home team pressed for a goahead goal.

Newly signed goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim was captain with Ugonna Uzochukwu

brought in as makeshift centre half alongside Madu Chibuzor in the absence of injured Cyril Oriaku, Pape Sane and Ekene Iwuorie.

The second leg will be played in a fortnight at Libolo over 200 kilometres from the capital city of Luanda with the winners qualifying for the moneyspinning group phase of the competition.

Kanu lures Arsenal scouts to Edwin Clark’s tourney

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HE Chief Scout of Arsenal is expected to storm Akwa Ibom, venue of this year’s Edwin Clark U- 18 Football Tournament to see the football talents that are abound in the country.

This was disclosed by the Emmanuel Omijeh, the Chief Executive Officer of Rudder Sports Management, organisers of the tournament.

“The competition will hold between May 16 and 25 in Uyo and Eket in Akwa Ibom State.

The grand finale is already scheduled for May 25 to honour Chief Edwin Clark on his birthday”, Omijeh disclosed.

“Coming out of the Africa

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja Cup of Nations in South Africa as African Champions, we want the tournament to reach out to the grassroots, and every nook and crannies of Nigeria.

“This made some of the exInternationals like the Super Eagles’ coach Stephen Keshi, Ex- Eagles’ handler, Samson Siasia, Peter Rufai, Taribo West, Austin Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo to come together to say just as they honour former South Africa President, Dr. Nelson Mandela with the Mandela Cup then decided to do something like this for Chief Edwin Clark that has been there for all of us.

Chief Clark has always identified with the youths of this country.

“Also there is dire need to replace the old talents with the younger ones. So, the tournament will be used to discover new talents and also give the young boys the opportunity of showcasing their talents to the outside world.

“Kanu Nwankwu, as I speak with you has travelled to England to speak with the Chief Scout of his former club Arsenal as well as African scout of International Soccer Bank and Simon Kalika. We know these people and otherswho are yet to be confirmed. These people

will be in Akwa Ibom to watch these kids and at least two or three among them would be given the opportunity to play for Arsenal, VfB Stuttgart and some notable clubs in Turkey.

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He was of the opinion that only active engagement of boxers can bring out their best and would produce new boxers to replace the aging ones.

“In order to checkmate the dwindling fortunes of the game, I think we need to copy what is being done in Lagos by organising monthly boxing tournaments in Ibadan, so that

we can discover more talents and actively engage our boxers.

“I recall that Oyo State performed brilliantly in KADA Games and Garden City Games, but slid back in Eko 2012. Same thing is happening at the national level. This is the game that first earned Nigeria global acclaim, when Asuquo Bassey, popularly known as

•Kanu

Hogan Kid Bassey won the feather-weight boxing title in Paris in 1957.

“I must commend Governor Raji Fashola for the lofty idea because with these boxing shows we can easily get the country back on track to regain its lost glory in the game of boxing”, Akintunde, a property manager noted.

Osun State Federation Cup kicks off today

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HE 2013 Osun State Federation Cup also known as Challenge Cup will kick off today and the finals will be decided at a yet to be decided date.

Matches will be played at three venues namely the Army Barracks Playing Field, Ede, Ife Anglican Grammar School, IleIfe and Leventis Foundation

School, Ilesha.

Three matches will be decided today according to a release made available to newsmen by the chairman Osun State Football Association, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi.

Wusu FC of Ede will lock horns against Soccer Star FC of Ilesha in the opening match at Ife Anglican Grammar School, while Ifelodun FC of Ikirun will

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE MINISTRY 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of the souls of the humankind in all Nations, thereby bringing them to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

2. To rebuild the members, raising them as disciples for Christ, and preparing them for the rapture.

3. To educate members on the knowledge of the Christian truth as established in the Holy Bible, and as the Holy Spirit reveal the mind of God from time to time.

4. To establish branches all over the world.

5. To establish discipleship schools where workers and ministers are produced for the works of Christ kingdom on earth.

Any objection should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 565, Ndola Square, Wuse zone 5, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Rev. Folorunso Joseph (08020838591)

PUBLIC NOTICE THE REBUILT CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY CHURCH The general public is hereby notify that the above named church, with its headquarters in Lagos has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja; for registration under part C of the Company and Allied matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. FOLORUNSO JOSEPH - PRESIDENT 2. MRS. OYENIKE JACOB - SECRETARY 3. NATHANIEL AGHEDO - TREASURER AIMS AND OBJECTIVE OF THE MINISTRY 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of the souls of the humankind in all Nations, thereby bringing them to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

2. To educate members on the knowledge of the Christian truth as established in the Holy Bible, and as the Holy Spirit reveal the mind of God from time to time.

3. To rebuild the members, raising them as disciples for Christ, and preparing them for the rapture.

4. To establish branches all over the world.

5. To establish discipleship schools where workers and ministers are produced for the works of Christ kingdom on earth.

Signed: Rev. Folorunso Joseph (08020838591)

The Nation presents: THE SPIRIT OF CHARITY A special report on EMERGING NIGERIAN PHILANTHROPISTS AND A COMMEMORATION OF 100 YEARS OF THE ROCKEFELLER

FOUNDATION Featuring:

Oyo Boxing Association boss plans monthly tourney PPARENTLY bothered by the dwindling fortunes of the of boxing in his State and Nigeria generally, the Chairman of Oyo State Boxing Association, Baron Akintunde Opaleye has finalised plans to introduce a monthly competition, where boxers who train all week round, would have the opportunity of testing their might in a competitive atmosphere.

The boxing enthusiast who was among the candidates screened by the National Sports Commission, Southwest Electoral Committee at Obafemi Awolowo Stadium Ibadan, ahead of elections into National Sports Federations offices, bemoaned the decline suffered by the sport in the state while speaking with newsmen over the weekend.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. FOLORUNSO JOSEPH - PRESIDENT 2. MRS IFEOLUWAPO JOSEPH - SECRETARY 3. LANRE JACOB - TREASURER

Any objection should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 565, Ndola Square, Wuse zone 5, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Rangers held by Angola's Recreativo IGERIA’S Enugu Rangers were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Recreativo Libolo of Angola in a CAF Champions League third round tie.

Rangers deserved to win as they attacked their opponents relentlessly from the blast of the first whistle, but Landu in goal for the Angolans proved his class

The general public is hereby notify that the above named ministry with its headquarters in Lagos has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part C of the Company and Allied matters Act 1990.

trade tackles with Orolu FC of Ifon Osun at Leventis Foundation School and Adeniji FC of Ila Orangun will battle Nigeria Nation-Wide League side, Ilesha West FC of Ilesha at Army Barracks.

Last year semi-finalists in the state Prime FC of Oshogbo, Ajiroba Ooni FC of Ile-Ife and Grays International FC of Ede are all drawn bye.

• Nigeria’s top 10 men of charity • Africa’s best 10 emerging philanthropists • World’s best givers and foundations • Why people give • Of personal donations, foundations and CSR • Nigeria’s top corporate givers • Philanthropy as tonic for brand value • 100 years of the Rockefeller Foundation and why it will last forever Publication Date: Sunday, May 26, 2013 For enquiries and interviews, call Steve (08033124151) or Dan (08033010395)

WHO SAID WHAT

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL 8 NO 2,466

‘We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Nigerians in ensuring that the noble ideals of the rule of law reign in our land. We shall continue to campaign against the vestiges of impunity and all forms of corruption that are prevalent in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’ ROTIMI FASHAKIN

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

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PIECE of news passed last week like a whiff. But I saw it as the whiff that precedes a resounding slap in the face.

The finance minister, who likes to be called the coordinating minister of the economy, could not brook criticism. So she fired the socalled erring staff of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) because he accused the boss of ethnic favouritism. We call that tribalism in Nigeria.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala likes to be considered a genius, and she carries a supercilious air of the world’s top economic technocrat. No wonder she wanted to be the top boss of the World Bank, even though she does not know that the Breton Woods institution inspires a philosophy that contradicts a developing nation such as Nigeria. Well, one would expect that having worked in such multicultural setting as the World Bank, she would be the last person to fire a person for exercising his right to self-expression.

She cannot say she is not a politician because we saw her on television sporting a PDP outfit at a rally even if she danced like a nerd.

She has, on paper, deferred to the democratic tenet that flourishes in an atmosphere of discordant peace, where everyone can defy because we deify differences.

But that is not the real thrust of this column.

She let a man, whose name is Yushau Shuaibu, NEMA’s spokesman, to go because he accused the minister of favouring her ethnic relatives.

What strikes me is that a pattern is developing, and I am not interested in throwing blame.

The pattern inhabits such names as Rose Uzoma, the former immigration boss, Azubuike Ihejirika, the chief of army staff and Stella Oduah, minister of aviation. All of them, including Okonjo-Iweala, belong to the same ethnic group, and they have been charged with a tribal tunnel vision.

The last of such stories came from the heart of the army when Major-General Ihejirika, the first Igbo soldier to head the army since Ironsi, was petitioned as looking only within his ethnic cocoon for choice positions. It was a tempestuous story, and the army chief blazed out a defence of his stewardship. But it had no such detail as to quiet nerves. He did not reel out statistics. Rather he lashed out at his accusers and imputed motives. The motives may be correct. The accuser was an Hausa-Fulani who was probably in jingoistic fury that his ethnic brothers had lost their prime as the avatars in the nation’s hierarchy.

Not many were satisfied, but the matter quieted. The army chief may have his points, but he did not take the patience to satisfy a variegated nation about the integrity of his stewardship. The aviation minister, Stella Oduah, also fell into the storm. But, in the same fashion as the army chief, her defence lacked the detail and balance that would sate an intellectual curiosity.

Shuaibu’s article excoriating the finance mistress did not give much detail. But the

RIPPLES JONATHAN ORDERS PDP TO WIN 32 STATES IN 2015–News

...even as the PDP government has performed WOEFULLY

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchsam@yahoo.com 08054501081(sms only) •NMMA Columnist of the Year

Invisible Nigerians

•Dr Okonjo-Iweala mistress of the economy ought to have acted with grace and not with the hectoring fury of an Amazon. What concerns me is not whether the allegations are out but that a hypocritical nation has allowed the grudges to fester. The fury has sublimated in the courtesies of silence, or what the Senegalese novelist Sembene Ousmane calls the perfidy of lies and hypocrisy of rivals.

We cannot forget that we dwell in a nation riven by ethnic duels today. The crisis in Pla-

teau State between the so-called indigenes and settlers smouldered surreptitiously for years before it moved from community to a cumulus of fear and slaughter. Boko Haram is ostensibly a pious movement but all over it seethes the tribal angst. We cannot forget that the injustice that fomented the senseless killings of the Igbo in the 1960s followed pent-up resentments over what was the domination of the ethnic group in the civil service.

I have no doubt that this is not a nation, as Okoi Arikpo once said. We are a nation state. It is a nation of nations in which individual components pass the years in mutual suspicion. But we have lived together for over five decades and the concept of Nigeria is even a century.

Yet we still live in the words of the American writer with the “haunting fear that someone somewhere might be happy” because of one ethnic group or the other’s progress.

If it is true that these allegations resound with facts, then we should not let them go under.

Normally such matters ought to be scrutinised with thoroughness by the National Assembly in the fashion of the immigration boss who lost her job because it was true. If they are not true we ought to be satisfied by the report of a disinterested party and not the official line of the accused.

When the Hausa-Fulani held sway, the Igbo spoke vociferously about marginalisation, and this writer on many occasions invested ink in support of giving the Southeast its fair share. It is an irony that the same group should be in

HARDBALL

that position today.

The Hausa-Fulani did not apologise for holding the nation’s jugular, and we resented that then. Even President Goodluck Jonathan, who rode to power on the southern wave, is inspiring charges of pursuing an Ijaw agenda in the Niger Delta. When these charges are thrown, the cynical response is that it is their time. When will it be the time of fairness for Nigeria?

The United States has fought this prejudice for over a century, and it still rankles the nation in spite of installing a black president in Barack Obama. But we have seen institutional sensitivity in the nation. Charges like these cannot go without thorough investigation.

The Hausa-Fulani swaggered and we fumed.

We do not want that to continue because to allow grudges to gather in the sewers of a nation’s subconscious is to postpone the day of duel that often is inevitable.

The Yoruba never complained of marginalisation until recently. They have cried that the present dispensation under Jonathan has pooh-poohed the nation of Kaaro ojire. They have lashed back that the Yoruba had the speaker slot, but how do you choose for a person what he should have. But is the position of speaker sufficient to sate a people with the second largest ethnicity in the land? That chops logic.

However, I have often told the Yoruba that they brought marginalisation on themselves because they voted for Jonathan without insisting on the quid pro quo in such democratic investment.

What is clear is that we still live in a nation of idols. To simplify philosopher Plato, we have moulded idols. Here we have idols of the tribe, idols of the faith, and they all add up to idols of hate. Each tribal bigot continues to see, not Nigeria, but Hausa, Ibibio, Itsekiri, Igbo, Yoruba, etc. Others are invisible.

When I read the novel The Invisible Man by the black writer Ralph Ellison about how the black man was invisible in the United States to the white man, I had to witness it myself to appreciate the pithy truths of his narratives. You could enter an office with a white person, and a person who knows you both may greet the other person as though you were not there. I experienced this.

We have this in our country, and we act as though hell is other people, apologies to Jean Paul Sartre. It is time to crash the tunnel wall so we can see who sits on the other side.

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Okonjo-Iweala could speak more circumspectly

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Y her confession, Dr Ngozi OkonjoIweala, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and also Minister of Finance seems to be the target of online ethnic slurs, some of which she said were vicious, provocative and full of innuendoes. She is unhappy that she is being vilified in both the regular media and unregulated social media for allegedly favouring people of Igbo origin in public service appointments. She is right to feel uncomfortable with the accusations, for as she argued, most of the appointees used as examples in the allegations against her actually assumed their various offices before she became minister.

But if she is really worried, she must find more effective ways of dispelling the rumours circulating about her lack of fair-mindedness. So far, the allegations have not gone away, and in fact may become even more complicated as a result of her distinctive approach to the problem. Last week, a newspaper reported that she complained to the leadership of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) over an article said to have been written by the agency’s image maker, Yushau Shuaibu. The article reportedly argued that Okonjo-Iweala favoured professionals of Igbo extraction in public service appointments and promotions.

According to the report, Mr Shuaibu has since been relieved of his position on account of the trenchancy and inflammability of the article.

It is doubtful, however, whether the allegations against the minister will go away soon, no matter how many people are sacked on account of her complaints. There is of course

no proof that she is guilty of what she is accused of. In fact it is possible that her accusers are misinformed on her role in the promotion of Igbo officials in the public service. But there is no doubt that she is handling the allegations rather pigheadedly, if not insensitively. For instance, while responding to some of the allegations against her during a lecture she delivered at the Ola Ndi Igbo symposium in Lagos a few days ago, she offered explanations that were far from satisfactory. Miffed by the allegations, which she said were unfair, she had declared during her presentation entitled “Values, Mindsets and Culture” that she couldn’t give a damn – like President Goodluck Jonathan once said – what people said about her.

Said she: “Somebody wrote an article on this saying that I have come there to prosecute an Igbo agenda, and then I saw another one saying this a big lie what has she done for the Igbos?

She is there with Jonathan prosecuting a Southsouth agenda. So I thought that was wonderful.

So my point is, I don’t give a damn. If the people got their on merit, they deserve it and we will stick with it as long as we know they didn’t get it through the back door.” But this idiosyncratic defiance was probably the tamest part of her reaction to the allegations.

Hear her again, and note the hint of persecution complex: “There is something ethnic, and I am going through it now. If you check on the internet there are articles saying that OkonjoIweala has gone ethnic, but I believe in merit and competition and I don’t really care what part of the country you come from as long as

you can do your job, and that has always been my tenet. So, actually Igbo don’t find that I am that convincing because, I think, in Nigeria, we need to have a culture of merit. But by the way, when you think of merit and competition Igbos don’t do badly and that is a problem, we do rather well. Somebody said everybody in the financial sector is Igbo then they began to list people like the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Director-General of Stock Exchange, Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission, Director-General of Debt Management Office, myself and Sovereign Wealth Fund.”

Not only did she miss the import of the complaints against her style, especially on the issue of her interpretation of merit, she incredulously gave the impression that merit could not be compromised by subjectivity and that given Nigeria’s ethnic pastiche public officials did not need to be more sensitive and more restrained in public service promotions. Worse, it beggars belief that a minister of her standing could sound so ethnically triumphant by gloating that “when you think of merit and competition, Igbo don’t do badly, and that is a problem, we do rather well.” How very smug! As a minister OkonjoIweala needs to be magisterial, wiser, more temperate and circumspect in her utterances.

Any minister, Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, who makes the kind of utterances credited to her should be censured for unacceptable indiscretion. And this has nothing to do with whether she is guilty or innocent of the allegations levelled at her.

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