The Nation April 6, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Free my son or face war, Clark warns kidnappers pers

Wammako: More govs set to join APC Party holds world congress nationwide

–Page 4

–Page 5

Dignitaries storm Yenagoa for Jonathan’s daughter’s wedding –Page 6

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.08, No. 2810

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

N200.00

APRIL 6, 2014

Deputy Governor, Osun State, Mrs Titi Loaye-Tomori (2nd left); Former Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu (3rd left); Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (4th left); Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare ( 6th left); Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti (7th left) and other state executives leading the crowd, during the 15th Edition of Walk to Live for Healthy Living Exercise in Ife North Local Government at Origbo Community High School, Ipetumodu, Osun State yesterday.

Gunmen kill 20 in mosque –Page 4

Abduct 2 Italian priests, Canadian nun

Presidency set to suspend emergency in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe Fears politics driving calls for suspension –Page 5

–Pages 35-36

Osun 2014: Omisore emerges PDP guber candidate –Page 7

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

2 PAGE

CAPTURED

Pakistani baby accused of attempted murder

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AHORE (Pakistan) (AFP) While many children his age are still learning how to crawl, a nine-month-old boy in Pakistan has been accused of attempted murder in a case observers say highlights endemic flaws in the country's legal system.

Baby Mohammad Musa along with his father and other family members was booked for throwing rocks at gas company officials in the working-class Ahata Thanedaran neighbourhood on February 1, the family's lawyer Chaudhry Irfan Sadiq told AFP Friday.

Inspector Kashif Muhammad, who attended the alleged crime scene and has since been suspended, wrote in his report that it was a case of attempted murder.

Nigeria becomes a huge vista of strife

Treasure hunt Local guests who had besieged President Goodluck Jonathan’s Yenagoa home to witness the traditional wedding ceremony of his daughter scrambling for cash thrown at them by a very generous federal cabinet minister from Abuja.

BAROMETER sunday@thenationonlineng.net

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F the bizarre image of skirmishes and wars his country has become is sufficient enough to disturb his sleep, President Goodluck Jonathan is not letting us in on that big and well-guarded secret.

Two Saturdays ago, the president expressionlessly announced to a visiting delegation from the North Central geopolitical zone that the military was already deploying in the zone to curb the activities of insurgents whom some have described as Fulani herdsmen. The description of the insurgents is morphing quickly and radically, from herdsmen to foreign invaders, but at least now, to the relief of the 300-man delegation from the North Central, the insurgents, whether herdsmen or foreign invaders, will meet their match.

With the deployments in Nasarawa, which started on a bad note, and Benue States, and in the already militarised but still insecure Plateau State, the entire Nigerian middle belt is all but at war. The Northeast, it is common knowledge, is in flames as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency mismanaged right from the beginning. The chances of stanching the flow of blood in the Northeast before the 2015 polls are fairly remote, but it has not stopped victims and attackers, as well as the Jonathan administration, from pelting the public with strange military doctrines and esoteric reasons for the insurgency. But more on these a little later.

The Northwest is barely struggling to

keep the peace, though Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara have repeatedly felt the edge of the sword from either Boko Haram franchises or the phantom herdsmen of indeterminate origins. The Northwest has not yet exploded into a conflagration, but a war of moderate but significant intensity is afoot there. Also, in spite of the best efforts of the security agencies, a wide swath of the South-South and Southeast have become numbing theatres of kidnapping, oil thievery, armed robbery and militia unrest.

In short, with the mild exception of the Southwest, which President Jonathan is indiscreetly and tactlessly provoking into unrest with his new political appointees and divisive use of ethnicity and religion, the entire country has become a huge tapestry of mindless and surreal skirmishes, mundane criminality and insurgency. This colourful and sanguinary fabric fraying and tearing at the edges and on all sides should alarm the most optimistic patriot. But given the president's cavalier disposition, it is either he is made of sterner stuff than we imagine or the rest of us are treasonably pessimistic

about the portents looming over this obviously distressed country.

In any case, the president has met the instability and dangerous lurch to apocalypse with the quaintest and most bizarre deductions ever. Responding to allegations by Northeast governors who travelled to the United States to give vent to their frustrations and accuse him of incompetence, President Jonathan surmised in undignified language that the Northeast governors' poor education policy in fact gave birth to Boko Haram. If they had educated their school-age children, the president argued implausibly at a rally in Bauchi State, Boko Haram would have been starved of recruits. Analysts have of course challenged the president, accusing him of miscomprehending social forces and the central and peripheral dynamics of the revolt, but he is unlikely to be swayed.

Enjoying the blame game, the North Central zone governors led by Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State euphorically suggested that the growing insurgency in their zone was a plot by unnamed political enemies to destabilise an area that was and will remain an electoral asset to President Jonathan. Not to be outdone, Borno and Yobe elders last week also called on the president not to extend the emergency declaration in the zone. After all, they suggested gravely, the government and the military could not claim to be unaware of the factors and forces undermining the war against terrorism.

The problem all along, as the discernible will have gleaned, is not that Nigeria is assailed by terror or by destabilising plots of unknown origin; the real problem is the unstatesmanlike and uncritical approach to the challenges facing the country, an approach certain to become aggravated as the North Central unquestioningly surrenders to President Jonathan's re-election shenanigans.

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Sanusi learns a big lesson

HE suspended (but in reality, sacked) Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has been under some immeasurable strain lately.

Attacked by friends and foes alike, many of whom detested the way he ran the CBN, he has probably started to understand what it means to be a lonely man. It is already clear he cannot find a court in the land to reinstate him, not with the way many Nigerian courts grant unsolicited reliefs. Nor should he expect a let up in the fiery attacks against him masterminded by a deeply resentful presidency whose convoluted interests and favoured aides he had injured by his bold talk and brash acts.

Mallam Sanusi financed terrorism, alleged the federal government and Department of State Security. Even to his enemies, most of whom were glad to see him humiliated, they will find the new allegations far-fetched. But that is the terror of government. Government is so impersonal that once they train their guns on you, it hardly matters whether they prove their often nonsensical allegations or not. What is paramount is that they take you to the showers and punish your ideas and exertions, and make nonsense of your dreams. Therefore, to take on government, even the weakest government, a potential victim needs to be above suspicion, far above the aphoristic Caesar's wife.

Few know what is on Mallam Sanusi's mind. Perhaps he would wish he had not taken on NNPC, let alone the cash cow agency's favoured minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Perhaps he would wish he had let bad enough alone after initially goofing statistically. The hugest lesson Mallam Sanusi is probably learning now may not be how difficult it is to fight government, but when and how to keep a dignified silence, the sort of silence dignified by voicing grievances only at the appropriate time.

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

COLUMN

The Nigerian postcolonial state in transition T

(Hope and hopelessness)

O both its foes and friends, the very idea of Nigeria as a nation has always been a curious but compelling proposition; a mesmerizing paradox. So also is the very idea of the state in post-colonial Africa.

The matter is so serious that the arguments about the existence of this elusive but palpable phenomenon in Africa often assume the quasi-religious fervor of the argument about the existence of God himself.

Is this state thing—to parody Bush the First—a savage monster or a caring father? If the state truly exists on this benighted continent, why is it that there is so much suffering and misery, unlike in other lands and climes where it is viewed as a stern but benevolent father? Why have Africans, at least in the past five hundred years, become a mere canon fodder for human history? It was not always like this. In pre-colonial Africa, the state even its rudimentary formation was almost at par with developments elsewhere in the world.

But it can get worse. No •Map of Nigeria human affair can remain to think out of the box of convention stagnant for long. No state can re- in Nigeria. As we have noted once in main static forever. The fate of Af- this column, whenever a fundamenrica is a gripping reminder of some tal economic crisis is disguised as a unfinished evolutionary business. It political crisis among elite, we can be has been said that although humans sure that both the explanations and first civilized in Africa, they have not the solutions offered would be false. continued to do so there. In many The truth of the matter is that predaspheres of human endeavours, Africa tory politics such as we witness in Niis witnessing a startling regression geria is dependent on predatory ecointo barbarity. It cannot continue like nomics and the notion of society as a this. Enlightened Africans must put savage and agonistic battle field. on their thinking caps.

So it is then that it was such a pleasIf Africa continues to be deemed ure watching Ben Akabueze, the Laa nuisance to the rest of humanity, gos State Commissioner for Finance a minimum form of re-colonization and Economic Planning, fielding is inevitable. We might just witness questions on television last Monday another Berlin Conference for the about the remarkable transformapartitioning of the continent all tion programme of the Lagos Govover again. If a column of humans ernment. It must be repeated in this is headed in the wrong direction, column that Lagos State has been like a heady but obtuse column of the revelation of the Fourth Republic ants heading for perdition, it must, in terms of its modernizing agenda for its own sake and the sake of hu- and the revolutionary impetus with manity, be forcibly turned back in which the battle of paradigm shift the right direction. has been waged so far.

There is no point in looking for Right from its 1999 innovative solution and salvation in the blueprint which took so much time clouds. Beware of the man whose in putting together and consumed god is in the sky, Bernard Shaw, the the energy of the cream of the NiAnglo-Irish gadfly and wit, fa- gerian progressive intelligentsia, it mously warned. Where Nigeria is was clear that something new was headed, and how it is going to get afoot in the old Colonial Protectorthere, can be glimpsed and ate. Never in the history of Nigeria analyzed from everyday occur- has a government prepared itself so rence in the nation. It is a simple strenuously for office. exercise.

Fifteen years into the dawn of Admittedly, and like all human new democratic governance in Niaffairs, it is a strange potpourri, a tur- geria, it is clear that the modernizbulently contradictory ensemble; ing and transformative impetus of brimming with horror and the pos- the Lagos State Government has sibility of progress at the same hardly dimmed. If anything, the time; redolent of hopes encrusted project has deepened under in benumbing hopelessness. But it Babatunde Raji Fashola. Fashola has provides a manual of optimism and proved a worthy successor to Bola the practical possibilities of extri- Tinubu, the original avatar of relentcating ourselves from the debris of less modernization. dysfunction.

In the light of the exemplary As the swollen and testy river performance of the duo in the field of the post-colonial state in Nige- of economic development the quesrian rushes headlong towards its tion must now be broached. Can rendezvous with destiny and his- modernization be a politically neutory, let us try to isolate in no par- tral project? Given the fact that neiticular order a few of the social ther Tinubu nor Fashola can be conforces that will be crucial and criti- sidered as flame throwing radicals cal in determining the fate of Afri- can modernization be adopted as an ca’s most populous country and po- ideology and political project irretentially its most potent human com- spective of the personal idiosyncramunity. sies of the political figures?

Ironically, it has been in the area When the issue is posed this of economic development that it has way in a country desperate for debeen demonstrated that it is possible velopment, we leave behind us such

sterile and static dichotomies as left versus right and radical versus reactionary that had set the pace for earlier debate. But this is not without some grave moral and ideological consequences. The danger in abandoning the old dichotomies lies in the fact that despite modernization and its gains, it leads to an ideologically neutered politics in which it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between right and left and progressive and retrogressive.

This is not a moot point or a mere academic tiff. Despite the flurry of modernization and the transformation of Lagos City into a glittering and alluring megalopolis, there is some carping and sniffing that the project is too elitist and not people-friendly.

The answer to this is that after successfully testing its modernizing template, the Lagos state government must now broaden its conceptual parameter and refine the paradigm with a view to lifting more people out of the poverty trap. The recent Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium which focused rightly on the plight of Nigeria’s multi-ethnic underclass may well be a sign of a shift of paradigm.

Akabueze was particularly spot on with his linkage of economic growth and development with intense capital projects as opposed to the recurrent expenditure which consumes virtually all of the state budgets in contemporary Nigeria.

His laments about low electricity generation as the key structural impedimenta to rapid growth and development in Nigeria must also worry our policy planners. For example, Lagos needs about 10,000 megawatts but currently generates only 1,000 megawatts. It will take a billion dollars to double the output to 2,000. When viewed from this perspective, the problem looks like an insurmountable mess, thanks to corruption and kleptocracy.

With its sterling vision of a new economic nirvana with the Lagos mega-city as its economic and transformative hub, the Lagos State government appears on top of its brief. The old Colony is astir once again. But it faces major con-

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu straints from the lax and laggard central government with its sloth and inefficiency as well as the cultural and political constraints of the old regional arrangement.

From its stiff and rigid body language, its polite frown of unease and Governor Raji Babatunde Fashola’s charge to the Lagos State delegation to the ongoing National Conference, it is clear that Lagos regards itself as the leader and articulating hub for the new economic miracle of the Yoruba nation which deserves some consideration and a special status.

May be rightly so, given its gargantuan GDP and sheer population.

You cannot step into the same river twice. The old regional arrangement which gave pride of place to Ibadan under Chief Obafemi Awolowo can no longer be sustained given the fact that economic hegemony cannot be divorced from political hegemony.

This is one of the compelling realities of military state creation in Nigeria that we must face. The military strategy, with the bogey of Awolowo and probably the Sardauna concentrating their mind, was to liquidate regionality as a mantra of political identity and regionalism as an ideological instrument of resistance to faulty federalism.

They almost succeeded. But as long as Lagos remains within the progressive orbit, the new contradictions can be managed and overcome. If however it were to be captured by a rival party with no truck with regional integration, the whole edifice can be brought crashing down. Mistaking this token totem of economic progress as a symbol of Yoruba irredentism, the federal authorities are bent on bringing Lagos politically to heel and the nation itself to ruination in the process.

There is a surfeit of other forces in contention for this demolition job which may render the federal efforts quite nugatory. This is where hopes of a resurgent Nigeria give way to the hopelessness of entrenched tunnel vision. While Ben Akabueze was giving his lucid disquisition on the state economy, the Nigerian military was rolling out its tanks in their awesome number in what it describes as a major operation to rid some vital Northern states of Fulani herdsmen. In recent times, these indigenous insurgents have made large swathes of the old Northern Nigeria virtually ungovernable.

Whatever its failings, the Nigerian military remains the most emblematic and powerful totem of the Nigerian post-colonial state and its ability to compel obedience and compliance to its writ and authority. The state, like some powerful deity, evokes terror and a feeling of safety at the same time, with equal ability to protect and to punish.

In its classical incarnation, the state exists to protect the people and to secure them against adverse and hostile circumstances. In exchange for this security, human beings are only too willing to surrender some of their rights and part of their freedom. The alternative is a return to the state of nature from whence they emerged and whose vicissitudes they mortally dread.

This is why in certain societies, the worship and glorification of the state takes on a religious motif. As

the linchpin and launch pad of its offensive against adversarial elements and the backbone of its defence against hostility, the military has been constant as the most critical sector of state architecture.

This is why the third isolated force should be of utmost importance to perceptive compatriots.

While the Nigerian military was waging a psychological offensive through a display of its awesome arsenal, a delegation of northern Nigerian leaders was asking President Jonathan not to renew the state of emergency in three northern states as a result of the current Boko Haram war.

Their argument is that since the military campaign has failed to stem the tide of the insurgency, it was time to explore other avenues of ending the conflict. The northern leaders came just short of saying that the military has been worsted by the Boko Haram insurgency. For the reasons that we have enumerated above, Nigeria is entering a very dangerous territory.

The defeat and even the demystification of the regular military by an irregular army always have dire and severe consequences for both the state and the nation. We cannot eat our cake and have it. Everywhere in post-colonial Africa where this has taken place, it has led to a drastic reconstitution of the state and occasionally a dissolution of the nation itself.

The list is long and seemingly endless: Ethiopia, Somalia, Liberia, the two Congos, Sierra Leone, Libya, Mali, Uganda, CAR etc. As the country is sucked into the vortex of what is obviously a borderless international war and with numerous internal militias testing its resolve, the question is: can the Nigerian military buck the trend or will it buckle under the threat?

The overwhelming of the Nigerian military will be a momentous event for both nation and continent, if not the entire world. The magnitude of the humanitarian catastrophe is better imagined. An unbroken line of refugees will stretch from one end of the West African coastline to the other. It is going to be an apocalyptic nightmare; a Dante’s inferno.

This is a unique and precarious moment in the history of the postcolonial state in Nigeria and Africa. It is clear that President Jonathan can no longer use the outcome of the ongoing Constitutional Conference as an instrument of radical surgery for the ailing Nigerian state and nation. As a belated convert to the original national clamour, he dithered and delayed long enough for the eventual gathering to suffer a dilution of agenda, a diminution of status and a dwindling of credibility.

If this was his original strategic intention, he has succeeded far beyond his hopes and aspirations.

But it is only a temporary respite.

He will soon discover that the original problems are still very much with us. Jonathan will be lucky if public revulsion and anger do not mount should the economic and security situation worsen after the conference and its huge bill. But nothing can be completely useless. Jonathan should at least use the conference as a listening post to gauge the foul mood of the nation. Once again tea leaves are rustling in Abuja.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

NEWS

•Gov Seriake Dickson of Bayela; Gov Godswill Akpabio of Akwa- Ibom State; the bride/ daugther of President Goodluck Jonathan, Miss Faith; The Bridegroom; Mr Godswill Edward; President Goodluck Jonathan; First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan; Vice-President Namadi Sambo and Gov Liyel Imoke of Cross River at the traditional marriage ceremony of the daughter of President Goodluck Jonathan in Yenegoa yesterday.

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USPECTED insurgents of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, brutally disrupted yesterday's early morning prayers (Zuhr) at Buni Gari Village in Yobe State, killing at least 20 worshippers.

The worshippers were just gathering for the prayer, the first of the five daily by Muslims, when the gun-wielding insurgents opened fire, eye witness Musa Ibrahim, said.

Buni Gari is about 100 kilometers south of Damaturu, the state capital.

Mosques have frequently been targeted by militants who threaten Muslim clerics who preach against their extremist doctrine.

More than 1,200 civilians have been killed this year amid more frequent and deadlier attacks by the sect.

And overnight, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members swept across the border into northern Cameroun and abducted two Italian priests and a Canadian nun in Maroua.

The London-based human rights organisation, Amnesty International, in a report last week claimed that more than 1500 people were killed in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States since the beginning of this year.

It cited the March 14 Boko Haram attack on Giwa Barracks, the largest military facility in Maiduguri, and said that the sect members 'staged a successful break into the detention centre and released all of those being held."

It said that Boko Haram "gave those freed the option of joining them or going home. Most chose the home option. Boko Haram then withdrew. Shortly thereafter the security forces reoccupied the facility.

"With the help of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a locally based vigilante group, the security forces then hunted down all of those who had escaped and murdered most of them."

Gunmen kill 20 worshippers in mosque

Amnesty, quoting 'eye witnesses' estimated that over 600 people were killed.

Besides, it said that "many of the inmates were emaciated and without shoes. Many also had scars indicating abuse. All of the inmates were unarmed."

The Amnesty report also profiled rampant human rights violations by Boko Haram.

The Defence Headquarters, responding to the Amnesty allegations at the weekend, said it was launching an investigation into the claims.

The DHQ said the investigation was to establish the veracity of the claim and for the authorities to take necessary action to address any human rights breach by troops.

The Defence spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade said that while the Amnesty International report did not reflect the true position of things in the military operation, the authorities found the allegation too confounding to ignore.

He said:"This report is a new dimension to the wellknown fact that the security operation in that part of the

•Abduct two Italian priests, Canadian nun in Cameroun

country was necessitated by the need to address the gross abuse of human rights being perpetrated against Nigerians by the terrorists.

"It is noteworthy that despite the peculiar asymmetric nature of the security challenge, measures have been put in place to ensure compliance with tenets of human rights and rules of engagement by troops involved in the conduct of the mission.

"Apart from inculcating the necessity for observance of human rights in troops, regular programmes have been conducted to review the human rights situation related to the conduct of the operations."

The military said it was in adherence to respect for human rights that most of those apprehended in the counterterrorist operations are being kept in custody.

He said the detention facilities have been visited by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) including International Committee of the Red Cross and others to verify the conditions of detainees, adding: "this is even in the face of destruction of relevant amenities by the terrorists who have burnt down prisons, courts and government facilities in that part of the country in the course of their ceaseless attacks.

"The claim contained in the Amnesty International's report attributing gross abuses of human right of Nigerians to both the terrorists and the security forces is quite confounding."

Italy's foreign ministry said yesterday that two Italian priests and a Canadian nun were kidnapped overnight by gunmen suspected to be Boko

Haram members in northern Cameroun.

The attack occurred in Maroua, close to the border with Nigeria, according to Italy's Ansa news agency.

The Islamist sect, Boko Haram, freely operates across Nigeria's Northeast and Cameroun's Northwest.

The Italian foreign ministry said that two priests from Italy's northern Vicenza region had been seized, but gave no other details.

Armed gunmen pulled up to the buildings where the priests and the nun were staying around 2am and ransacked them before taking the hostages, added the Ansa news agency.

The attack comes three months after the release of French priest Georges Vandenbeusch, who was kidnapped in the same region in mid-November 2013 and then held in Nigeria by Boko Haram.

One of the two priests taken on Friday night had been in Cameroun for more than six years while the second had arrived around a year ago, Ansa reported.

10 Nigerians hospitalised in South Africa after gang attack

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O fewer than 10 Nigerians are now hospitalised while 25 shops owned by Nigerians have been looted following attacks by organised gangs in South Africa.

The President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Mr. Ikechukwu Anyene, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on phone from Pretoria, at the weekend, that the attack penultimate week in Johannesburg and later spread to Pretoria last week.

He said commercial taxi drivers led the attack against

Nigerians in Pretoria while unknown gangs attacked Nigerians in Johannesburg.

Anyene said a Nigerian was in coma in the hospital when officials of the Union and the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa visited the injured.

He said: "Officials of Nigerian mission in South Africa and Union officers went round today (Friday) to assess the extent of damage done to business centres and shops owned

by Nigerians.

"In Pretoria, 25 shops belonging to Nigerians were attacked and looted by the gang.

10 Nigerians are now receiving treatment in some hospitals while one of them is still in coma."

Anyene said the gang accused the Nigerians of selling drugs to South Africans and used the opportunity to attack and loot their shops.

He added: "We have reported the incident to the police in the central business district of Pretoria, where the bulk

of the attacks took place. The South African police have made entry of our report and pledged to investigate the attacks.

"We have also appealed to our people (Nigerians) to be calm and law-abiding because the Union and the Nigerian mission were handling the situation. As we speak, we have not recorded any attack today, April 4, and everywhere is calm.''

The President said the Nigerian mission in South Africa has also pledged to take up the matter with the South African authorities.

Free my son or face war, Clark warns kidnappers •Says no to ransom demand

By Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

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HE Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday squared up to his son's kidnappers who are demanding N60 million for their victim to be released.

He warned the kidnappers to release Ebikeme, a politician, forthwith and unconditionally or 'face war'.

Counsel to the elderly Clark, Mr. Dockson Bekederemo, said by phone yesterday that the family resolved not to pay a dime as ransom to the kidnappers.

He said the family's decision has already been made clear to the kidnappers whose identities, according to him, are already known.

"We've identified all those involved now, and our position, right from the day one, is that they must release him unconditionally. They must have made a mistake of identity. And now that they have realised their mistake, they must release him unconditionally," Bekederemo said.

"If that is not done, if anything happens to him, they know the Ijaw custom very well: it is life for life.

We'll go after them, it's a declaration of war. They and their families will know no peace. This is an embarrassment to the Ijaw nation and we'll not take it from them. Clark symbolises the voice of the Ijaw man.

When they needed a voice to speak for them, he came out at the risk of his life, so we see no reason why an Ijaw son would want to embarrass this man, having made the ultimate sacrifice for them."

Ebikeme, second son of Clark, was abducted last Wednesday evening by those who had apparently trailed him to the family's ancestral village, Kiagbodo in Delta State.

They demanded a ransom of N60 million to release him.

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) had earlier told the Clarks to spurn the demand.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

NEWS

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Fulani herdsmen kill six, wound 14 in Taraba S IX more people lay dead yesterday in three Tiv and Jukun villages in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State following an attack that bore semblance with previous ones by Fulani herdsmen.

Fourteen others were wounded.

Attacked were Gassol, Takum and Donga all of which are largely populated

by Tiv as well as TundunWada, a Jukun settlement, which was reduced to ashes.

A member of the State

From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

House of Assembly representing Wukari II constituency, Daniel Ishaya Gani, said the victims are Tiv and Jukun farmers.

He described the violence as ‘very unfortunate’.

Gani who spoke to The Nation yesterday put the casualty figures at six.

However, police spokesman Joseph Kwaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) said there were no such attacks and killings in Wukari.

“It is not true. The DIG of police was in Taraba the previous day and we visited Wukari yesterday (Friday); we saw what is happening there. We addressed the issue and we believe it would die naturally,” he said.

Kwaji added that the Fulani, Tiv and Jukun have signed a peace deal to co-habit in harmony with other ethnic groups.

Former senator representing Taraba South, Joel Danlami Ikenya, said Tundun-Wada Village was completely burnt

down and some people killed by the Fulani herdsmen.

He told The Nation that the attacked village (TundunWada) is a neighbouring settlement to his village –Jibu.

“The village, close to mine, was completely burnt down yesterday (Friday) and some people lost their lives, although I don’t know the exact figure of casualties,” he said.

Gani blamed the Fulani violence on “laxity” of the state government, which allegedly paved the way for the Fulani herdsmen to acquire and bring

into the area ‘huge’ arms and ammunitions.

He said following persistent complaints from the people, the acting governor of the state, Alhaji Garba Umar, asked the Speaker, Mr. Josiah Sabo Kente, who is representing Wukari I, to ascertain the cause of the violence with a view to addressing it but nothing concrete has been done.

“It is unfortunate that Taraba South has inherited what was started in Benue and Nassarawa States,” he said.

“As I speak to you, a lot of

2015: More governors on their way to APC, says Wamakko

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•Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (right) and former Governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba during the Ward Congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Osoba's ward in Igbore, Abeokuta yesterday

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HE days of the almost two year old state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States appear to be running to an end, if signs from the Presidency are anything to go by.

The Presidency is understood to be disposed to reviewing the state of emergency in the three states following persistent pressure from elders especially in Borno.

Officials, according to well placed sources, are currently weighing the options open to government particularly the security implications of such a decision.

Sources said government might reconsider its position if elected representatives from the three states are in support of suspension of the state of emergency.

Consultations are ongoing with the elected representatives and may be extended to the Houses of Assembly in the three states.

However, the Presidency is said to be worried that politics, more than the interest of the people of the three states, is the main factor driving the agitation for an end to the state of emergency.

The state of emergency was imposed in the three states in May 2013 and renewed thereafter at six month intervals.

The current extension ends on April 19.

Only last Monday, the Borno-Yobe Peoples Forum, led by a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal AlAmin Daggash (rtd.) spoke of its opposition to further renewal of the state of emergency.

It was gathered that the position of the forum did not go down well with the Presidency with officials expressing displeasure at alleged po-

Tiv and Jukun Villages have been razed by Fulani herdsmen. Six corpses were brought and people from the villages – not only Tiv and Jukun, were being repatriated into the township.

“If nothing is urgently done to quell this violence, all residents of Taraba South would be sacked from their homes. And as it is, it is not only the Tiv, but every person in the village is now being attacked by Fulani herdsmen and their property looted or destroyed.”

ORE governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are on the verge of joining the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State said yesterday.

Wamakko who, along with Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, recently dumped the PDP for the APC said: “ More governors will soon join APC.” He spoke at his Gidan Kara Ward in Wamakko yesterday shortly after the conduct of the party’s ward congress.

He did not mention who

From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

those likely defectors are.

The governor said yesterday’s ward congress was to ratify consensus decisions taken across the 23 local government areas of the state.

He said:” The decision to use the consensus system is not forced on any of the members of the party in the state.

“It is in the best interest of the party and to foster unity as a formidable platform.”

He described the smooth and successful conduct of the congress as a good omen for the APC which, according to him, is out to protect the interest of all Nigerians.

He was optimistic about the chances of the party in next year’s polls.

Boko Haram: Presidency may suspend state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe •Fears politics driving calls for suspension From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

litical meanings being read into the imposition of the state of emergency.

The calibre of stakeholders at the briefing was said to have worried the Presidency.

The session was attended by heavyweights such as a former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, and a former Minister of Defence, Shettima Mustapha, among others.

It was, however, gathered that government is more concerned about security implications of ending the emergency as it might give more latitude to Boko Haram insurgents to operate.

Said one government source: “The Presidency is weighing its options on whether to end or sustain the state of emergency in the three states. Already, military authorities and security agencies and their leaders are making input to advise the government.

“The aftermath of the end of the emergency rule is a security challenge the presidency is more preoccupied with than political sentiments

by Borno-Yobe People’s Forum.

“The government does not want Boko Haram to take advantage of the lifting of the state of emergency to re-establish their destroyed bases.”

The source said that whatever any one might say, the state of emergency has curtailed the activities of Boko Haram and enabled troops make inroads into insurgents’ camps especially in Borno State.

The source added: “stopping the emergency rule gives room for free movement of goods and persons; access to telephone facilities and more cross-border movements. Yet, the war against the insurgency is at its peak.”

“So, if President Goodluck Jonathan will end the emergency rule, he would want the backing of elected leaders from these areas so that no one will turn round to accuse him of bias.

“The government may not extend the emergency in these states. But the presidency may wrap up consultations with the military, security agencies/ council, and elected leaders from the three states next week to make its position known.”

The source dismissed suggestions that the presidency is trying to use the state of emergency to win the three states for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s elections.

Taking a swipe at those agitating for the suspension of the state of emergency, the source said: “Under the emergency rule, most of these highly-placed people used to request for heavy security escort to go to their towns and villages in some of these states. They know the reality

but it is politically convenient.

“A lot of blackmail is being deployed; the President will also be more circumspect.”

Another source in government said: “I do not think we will extend the emergency rule in the three states.”

Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the imposition of a state of emergency in the country or any part of it.

The section says: “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the Federation or any part thereof.

(2) The President shall immediately after the publication, transmit copies of the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation containing the proclamation including the details of the emergency to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall forthwith convene or arrange for a meeting of the House of which he is President or Speaker, as the case may be, to consider the situation and decide whether or not to pass a resolution approving the Proclamation.

(3) The President shall have power to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency only when: (a) the Federation is at war; (b) the Federation is in imminent danger of invasion

or involvement in a state of war; (c) there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security; (d) there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger; (e) there is an occurrence or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community in the Federation; (f) there is any other public danger which clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the Federation; or (g) the President receives a request to do so in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.

(4) The Governor of a state may, with the sanction of a resolution supported by twothirds majority of the House of Assembly, request the President to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the state when there is in existence within the state any of the situations specified in subsection (3) (c), (d) and (e) of this section and such situation does not extend beyond the boundaries of the state.

(5) The President shall not issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in any case to which the provisions of sub-

section (4) of this section apply unless the governor of the state fails within a reasonable time to make a request to the President to issue such Proclamation.

(6) A Proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect: (a) if it is revoked by the President by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the government of the federation; (b) if it affects the Federation or any part thereof and within two days when the National Assembly is in session, or within 10 days when the National Assembly is not in session, after its publication, there is no resolution supported by two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly approving the Proclamation; (c) after a period of six months has elapsed since it has been in force: Provided that the National Assembly may, before the expiration of the period of six months aforesaid, extend the period for the Proclamation of the state of emergency to remain in force from time to time for a further period of six months by resolution passed in like manner; or (d) at any time after the approval referred to in paragraph (b) or the extension referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection, when each House of the National Assembly revokes the Proclamation by a simple majority of all the members of each House.

NEWS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

Government machinery moves to Yenagoa for Jonathan’s daughter’s wedding

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HE entire machinery of the Federal Government practically moved base yesterday to Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, for the traditional wedding of President Goodluck Jonathan’s daughter, Faith Sakwe.

From the executive arm, the legislature, the National Conference and many of the states controlled by the President’s PDP came top officials to grace the occasion. There were also traditional rulers, captains of industry and artistes.

But their efforts notwithstanding, many of the high profile guests could not enter the venue of the event held at the Nikton Road private residence of the President.

Those who made it into the palatial compound did so after much shoving and pushing by security agents who did not want to leave anything to chance.

For the third day running, residents of the area groaned under the tight security occasioned by the presence of the First Family in town and the number of guests.

Most of the roads adjoining the President’s house were closed to traffic as a result of which many of the residents

From:Mike Odiegwu,Yenagoa

could not drive out of, or into their compounds.

Guests converted many of the roads to parking lots and had to walk some distance to the President’s residence.

Even then, it was extremely difficult for many of them to get inside the compound.

Some had to leave in frustration.

In this category were some members of the State House of Assembly.

Street urchins roamed about, seeking dignitaries to extort money from.

A minister ran into a group of the urchins and once they surrounded him, he threw a bundle of money at them.

This sparked a struggle and the person into whose hand the money fell simply threw it into the air. The struggle that followed was even more intense.

Socio-economic activities in much of the city were paralysed.

Particularly hit was the popular Kpansia Market which holds every Saturday.

It was closed to business yesterday.

The security arrangement was personally su-

pervised by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Hilary Opara and the Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major.

General Emmanuel Atewe.

The roll call included the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, Governors Theodore Orji of Abia State, Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Martins Elechi (Ebonyi), Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Senate President David Mark, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih.

Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River walked the groom, Godswill Osim, his parents and delegates from the groom’s Osimotu Kingdom, Abi, Cross River to the President.

Vice-President Nnamadi Sambo, who was the chairman of the occasion, said he and Jonathan were committed to the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria.

He said their government would never support any attempt to divide the country.

He said he was greatly honoured to be part of the ceremony which, according to him, was ordained

by God. Sambo advised the couple to embrace the secret of a successful marriage which he identified as faithfulness, tolerance and honesty.

He praised Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience, for the upbringing of the bride and admonished the couple to “be faithful to each other, to be tolerant and honest. When you do this, God will manifest in your life and good luck will be your portion.”

In his remarks as the tradition progressed, Imoke recalled how Jonathan called him a couple of years ago and told him that his daughter gained admission to the University of Calabar.

He said nobody envisaged that the admission would snowball into a marital union between Cross River and Bayelsa States.

He promised that the President’s daughter was in good hands and that she would be adequately taken care of.

Handing over Faith to the groom, President Jonathan said: “With what has happened today, you have now become my son.

Congratulations my son.

We pray the marriage will succeed”.

nied involvement in the crime.

She said she was being framed by the local vigilance head who she claimed had a disagreement with one of her tenants.

Mrs. Ezeugo said the five pregnant women arrested in her house were all her tenants and their husbands had gone to bush market.

Her words: “I do not sell pickin. Those arrested in my house are all married and are doing business .I sell clothes and drinks. Nobody sells children.

“This is a case of intimidation. The head of the vigilance

group in our community threatened to ruin me; this is the result of his threats. The man said I should send one of the women living with me away. He accused the women of trying to burn his house.

“I told him I could not send her away because her husband left her in my care and I told him to allow the woman’s husband come back from bush market, then he would take his wife away. The vigilance group head refused.”

DSP Kalu said investigations into the case is in progress and that the suspects will be arraigned in court in due course.

Police smash baby factory in Delta

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HE Delta State Police Command has rescued five pregnant women and four children, aged between one and five years, from a suspected syndicate of baby traffickers.

The baby factory was discovered by the police in Oko Community, Oshimili South Local Government Area, according to the spokesman for the police DSP Tina Kalu.

A woman, believed to be the leader of the syndicate, Chinelo Ezeugo,40, is already in police custody.

The discovery was made fol-

Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba lowing a tipoff from the public.

The police said the syndicate usually recruited pregnant women and delivered them of their babies who would then be sold.

Victims were usually sourced from different parts of the country.

The police named the rescued children as Ibrahim Usman, 5, Usman Mohammed, 2, Chidera Okechukwu,5 and Abigail Ezeugo, 1, The alleged ring leader Chinelo Ezeugo, however, de-

Ondo bye-election: Militants hijack materials

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ILITANTS yesterday seized election materials earmarked for Arugbo Ward in the Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State in the bye-election for Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency.

The militants demanded compensation from government for them to release the materials.

Government refused to pay.

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, said he suspected a foul play.

He alleged that the seizure was aimed at frustrating the election in the ward.

Candidates in the election were: Kolade Akinjo of Labour Party (LP); Adewale Omojuwa of All Progressives Congress (APC), and Adewale Kutute of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .

The seat became vacant fol-

•Soldiers, policemen clash From Damisi Ojo and Leke Akeredolu, Akure lowing the death of Mr. Raphael Nomiye, on November 23, 2013.

Turn out by voters was quite high especially in In Ese-Odo Local Government Area but the militants made election there impossible.

Their grievance was that they were marginalised in the amnesty programme for repentant militants by the Federal authorities.

The materials were seized on the waterways.

Efforts by security operatives to retrieve the materials proved abortive.

Kuku, a PDP chieftain said of the seizure: “ we have reported to INEC. I spoke to the State INEC administration officers, Babakorede. I complained to him. I have also spoken to the

security agencies, particularly one Lieutenant T.K, who is in charge of security in the riverine area.

“I also confronted a navy commandant that I heard that a young man stopped the materials from being distributed in that ward.”

The Jonathan’s aide also alleged that he had been informed by some of his party agents that election materials were relocated from one of the PDP strongholds, New Jerusalem to Arugbo.

The State Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Akin Orebiyi said the commission had appealed in vain to the youths to cooperate.

Orebiyi said election for that ward might be cancelled if the youths refused to release the materials.

The State commissioner for Youths Development and Sports, Mr. Bekekimi Idiehare, alleged that some people who presented fake voter cards were being accredited by INEC despite objections from the LP. Voters turnout was low in Ilaje Local Government Area.

Results of the various units and wards were being moved to the local government collating centre at Ilaje High School in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government at press time.

A mild drama ensued between some soldiers and mobile policemen at Ajagba Junction as both of them nearly clashed when the policemen attempted to breach a barricade mounted by the soldiers.

It took the intervention of some senior military officers to stop what could have led to exchange of fire by the two sides.

NEWS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

UNIDO to establish bio – gas facility in Nigeria From: Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

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HE United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), has concluded plans to establish a bio-gas facility in Nigeria, its Director General, Mr. Li Yong, has said.

Yong stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, in Abuja.

He said UNIDO has over 50 bio-gas facilities across the world and has concluded plans to establish one in Nigeria.

According to him, the industrial facility processes waste and produces methane as well as materials which can be used as agricultural fertilisers.

He said: “The industrial facility processes waste and produces methane as well as waste materials which can be used as agricultural fertilisers.

“We are in Nigeria to support the federal government especially in areas of environmental sustainability, provision of technical support, as well as poverty reduction.”

Mallam expressed delight with UNIDO’s decision to establish such a facility in the country.

She thanked the UN body for its efforts towards helping Nigeria meet her Multilateral Treaty obligations.

The minister said: “Let me appreciate your efforts in helping Nigeria to meet her obligations towards Multilateral Treaties we have signed, like the Montreal Protocol, Stockholm Convention, Basel Convention and Minamata Convention.

“I am also aware of UNIDO’s support for the Nigerian government on the execution of Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects like reducing mercury and lead exposure and contamination in Small Scale Gold Mining by communities, through the promotion of safer mining practices in Nigeria.

“I thank you for assisting the government of Nigeria to establish one of the very few specialized laboratories in Africa for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and soil research at the University of Ibadan.”

FG defends new tariff on rice import

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HE Federal Government yesterday said the proposed tariff policy on rice will protect local investors in rice, including farmers and millers.

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said this during a presentation at the National Assembly’s public hearing on rice policy.

He added that the new policy will create jobs and wealth for Nigerians.

Adesina said that Nigeria had the capacity to become not only self-sufficient but also a net exporter of

From: Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

rice.

He explained that the Federal Government and stakeholders in the rice sector were determined to reduce the ridiculously high foreign exchange of over N365 billion being spent annually on rice import.

The country, he said, can grow rice and end the decades of dependence on rice imports from India and Thailand.

Adesina said: “All over the world, rice is the most protected and subsidised of

all commodities, with tariffs, tariff-rate quotas and tariff escalation for processing and value added.

“The high tariff has helped to jump-start great interest in domestically produced rice.

“The next phase now is to protect our local investors and our farmers who are now producing a lot more paddy rice, as well as the local millers.

“A major challenge facing the rice sector is the spate of smuggling of rice from Benin Republic”.

He said the more coun-

try imported food items that can be grown locally, the less production and the high level of unemployment and national insecurity.

The Minister said Nigerians needed to frown upon the heavy flow of import of low quality and sometimes very unsafe foods, including rice and fish, wondering why some citizens take side with importers.

He dismissed the claims by rice importers and rice processors that Nigeria is not producing enough paddy as wholesomely, incorrect and mischievous.

•Sympathisers at the scene of a tanker gutted by fire while discharging fuel at Conoil filling station on Ahmadu Bello Way in Jos ... yesterday PHOTO: NAN

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday declared that a President of Igbo extraction under the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not possible.

Spokesman of the APC in South-East, Osita Okechukwu, stated this shortly after he voted at the ward congress of the party in Central School, Ekeh, Enugu State.

The warning came amidst the conclusion of plans

by South-East Governors Forum to hold a grand rally in Enugu next weekend to drum up support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Okechukwu called on Ndigbo to shine their eyes and join the progressive train to fix Nigeria and save the country

Igbo President an illusion under PDP, says APC From Chris Oji, Enugu

from disintegration under the PDP- led Federal Government.

He said: “APC’s victory in 2015 presidential election is certain for the election is a referendum on President Goodluck Jonathan’s regime, a regime which metaphor is corruption and poor performance.

“And it will be painful if the hard -working Igbo people are not part of this historic victory.

Ndigbo should not blame any group for marginalisation.

“As our people say, Ndigbo should count the payback vis-a vis the unalloyed support they gave the corrupt and inept leadership of President Jonathan and the PDP as a party in the last decade”.

He went on: “Is it the political motivated ground breaking 2nd Niger Bridge fanfare that is not in any federal budget or the make believe Enugu International Airport? Can we in all honesty trust a president who cannot complete his own road the East-West Road in the last

four years?

“Is charity not supposed to start at home? We cannot be deceived twice”.

Saying that it was still early for Ndigbo to join the moving progressive train, The APC spokesman warned that voting for Jonathan would be akin to “selling our birthright for mess of porridge”.

He maintained that under PDP, a president of Igbo extraction cannot materialise before 2027 while voting for APC would guarantee Ndigbo president on or before 2023.

The chairman of the Electoral Committee, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero, announced that 1,280 delegates had been accredited for the primary.

In his acceptance speech, Omisore said the victory was for all PDP members, commending his co-contestants for their maturity.

He said the peaceful and successful conclusion of the primary showed that the

PDP was set to chase Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) out of power.

Akinlabi and Oke said the process of the primary should be reviewed because the party leadership had allowed all contestants to use all the resources they would have used for wrestling power from the APC to fight one another.

They promised to work with whoever emerged as winner of the exercise.

Omisore emerges Osun PDP governorship candidate

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ORMER chairman, Senate Appropriation Committee, Christopher Iyiola Omisore, yesterday emerged the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 1,128 votes.

The two other contestants, former Minister of Youth Development, Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and former chairman, Defence Committee in the House of Representatives, Hon.

From: Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Busayo Oluwole Oke, scored 45 and 5 votes respectively.

Former Osun State governor, Isiaka Adeleke, withdrew from the primary twenty four hours to the exercise, alleging that the process had been manipulated in favour of Omisore by the state party executives led by Gani Ola-Oluwa.

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UPP canvasses use of electronic voting system From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

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HE United Progressive Party (UPP) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to prevail on the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the use of the Electronic Voting System (EVS) during the 2015 general elections.

UPP, however, said: “It is a common knowledge that the greatest challenge to our democracy in Nigeria is the conduct of credible and acceptable election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“The traditional ballot box system has failed repeatedly to meet minimum standard for a credible election. The Nigerian electorate has demonstrated their disappointment and disgust with the system by refusing to participate in electing people into various offices from Local Government up to presidential elections.

“It is no exaggeration to state that approximately 20% of registered voters in Nigeria actually participate in elections. Twenty per cent participation by any stretch of the imagination does not make for a participatory democracy and cannot result in legitimate mandate.”

The party, in a letter to Jonathan by its National Chairman, Chekwas Okorie, said the use of EVS will eliminate all the security challenges associated with traditional ballot boxes.

It added that EVS will save costs and eliminate the violence associated with electioneering.

The UPP explained: “Queuing at polling stations for a long time which scares decent and security conscious persons from participating will be eliminated.

“Excessive deployment of security operatives with its attendant abuses will be greatly reduced. Declaring public holidays on election days with heavy opportunity cost to the economy of the nation will be stopped.

“The fact that INEC already operates electronic voters register containing the bio-data of all eligible voters has made the transition to Electronic Voting System feasible.

“The few registered voters who do not possess GSM phones or are unable to use it for the purpose of voting may go to polling stations to vote electronically by thumb-printing on the Laptops which are already available to INEC”.

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Students, teachers, market women, elders back Fayemi From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

NEWS

EACHERS, students, market men and women as well as elderly citizens at the weekend trooped out in large number to back the reelection bid of the Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi in Efon.

Declaring their support for Fayemi's second term, they pledged to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 21 June election.

Locals all shouted the slogan of the APC as the train moved across the town until the governor arrived the campaign ground.

Other residents who could not make it to the campaign ground climbed tall buildings to get a better view of the event.

The popular Efon town square was filled with singing and dancing, as the indigenes expressed support for the governor.

Just before storming the town square, the governor had called on the monarch of the town, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare, who said all the achievements recorded in the last three and half years would speak for Fayemi at the election.

According to him, the governor would triumph in the election because his achievements were "clear, convincing and great".

Aladejare added: "As I have said it before, I would say it again: Fayemi will triumph in this coming election".

"In three and a half years of your administration, you proved it was possible to rule and govern with the electorate not govern for them".

The teachers in Efon who were led to the rally by Mr. Olusegun Ojo Israel said they are supporting Fayemi for his love for teachers and for giving them various incentives contrary to the opposition's claim that the governor hates teachers.

"We are supporting our governor because he is a good leader and has performed well in office".

The governor also stated that the support declared for him by teachers in Efon showed that he has nothing against them as being peddled by the opposition maintaining that teachers had enjoyed salary increment three times since he came to office.

He added that teachers teaching core subjects and those teaching in rural areas receive special allowance beside their normal salaries, saying "All these were meant to make teaching attractive to teachers and make them proud of their profession."

Fayemi warned the electorate not to allow politicians who misused power, promoted violence, brigandage, looting, impunity and maltreatment of traditional rulers and elders to come back to power.

Fayemi said: "Our party loves the masses but the other party don't value old men, they don't value old people, they don't take care of the aged and they don't respect the youth.

"Our government will not misbehave if you vote us in and we are different from the party that steals votes to get to power and will never respect anybody."

10 suspected ritual killers arrested in Ogbomoso •Found with human parts, recharge cards M

EN of the quick intervention unit, a vigilante group in the Ogbomoso North Local Government area of Oyo State, have arrested ten suspected ritual killers.

They were arrested at the burial ground in Isale-General behind the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital.

It was reliably gathered that movement of the suspects, who disguised as lunatics, had been suspicious to residents who alerted the vigilante

From Bode Durojaiye, Ogbomoso

group for intervention.

When they were rounded up and interrogated, five of the suspects confessed to be hired agents for ritual killers The remaining five, confirmed to be real lunatics, were set free.

Items found on the agents for the ritual killers include N5, 000 recharge cards, expensive mobile phones and human parts.

One of the agents, who claimed to be a graduate of the University of Ibadan, said he ventured into ritual business due to joblessness.

Another agent confessed that he used to kidnap people, including children and take them to a community called Ibere in the Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area for ritual killings.

Confirming the incident, the leader of the vigilante group, Mr. Yinusa Tijani, said

they were arrested following a tip off by concerned residents.

Tijani hinted that those arrested have been handed over to Operation Burst for further investigation.

The chairman of the council, Segun Adibi, who commended efforts of the vigilante group, said his administration would leave no stone unturned in fishing out perpetrators of the heinous crime.

•From right: Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi with Site Supervisor, Emmanuel Itunuoluwa (left); Project Manager, Liu Xianguang (middle), during the Governor''s inspection of construction work at the Funmi Olayinka Civic Centre in AdoEkiti....on Friday.

Kalu backs Aregbesola for second term

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ORMER governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday declared that Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, deserves a second term in office.

He spoke while participating in the "Walk to Live" health programme at Ipetumodu, the headquarters of the Ife North Local Government.

Orji admitted that Aregbesola's outstanding performances qualify him for reelection.

After a walk in the midst of massive crowd that followed Aregbesola from Edun-Abon to

From: Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo.

Ipetumodu, Kalu pointed out that being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not keep him from saying the truth about the development he has seen in Osun State.

Commercial activities was temporarily brought to a halt as residents joined the governor's train through major towns of Ife North State Constituency for the 15th edition of the fitness exercise.

As early as 8am, residents and citizens trooped out from

towns like Edun-abon, Moro and Yakooyo to join the convoy of the state government led by Aregbesola in company with Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.

The fitness exercise, a 7- kilometer, walk climaxed at the Origbo Community Unity School in Ipetumodu where members of the various towns joined officials of government and invitees to exercise and listen to address of the governor and well-wishers at the programme.

Kalu praised Aregbesola for lifting Osun.

According to him: "I am still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party but with what I have heard and seen about your governor made me to come out in the open to support good work.

"Iyiola Omisore is a personal friend of mine but I will always say the truth.

"Few days that I have spent here and the way his people talked about him truly showed that Governor Aregbesola deserves another term to complete that good work that the Lord has used him to start during his first term".

Court rules in favour of patent medicine dealers

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HE Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has reiterated its order that the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria(PCN)should stop enforcing the procedure for obtaining patent and propriety medicine dealers pending the determination of the substantive suit.

In a suit No FHC/AK/CS/ 1/2004, the court had restrained the defendants, the PCN and

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

Attorney-General/Minister of Justice, from enforcing the Medicine Vendors Licence.

The motion on notice was dated January 7, 2004 where the Court ordered both the PCN and Medicine Dealers to maintain status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The plaintiffs are the Nigerian Association of Patent and

Propriety Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) and a retired permanent secretary, Otunba Francis Olatunji.

At the hearing, counsel to NAPPMED, Wole Omotosho, told the court of the recent harassment of the patent and proprietary medicine dealers by the PCN was capable of causing a breach of peace within the state.

He recalled that the same court had granted an order of

interlocutory injunction restraining the PCN to enforce the patent and proprietary medicine vendors' licence 10 years ago.

He lamented that pharmacists were still moving about to harass his clients (NAPPMED) on issuance of licence.�

The counsel to the defendant, O.Ogunkeye, assured the court that the PCN would not do anything to frustrate the decision of the court.

'Fayose did not order shooting of APC member' From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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HE Director General of the Ayo Fayose C a m p a i g n Organisation, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, has said the former governor had no hands in the shooting and wounding of Mr. Babatunde Ogunleye.

Ogunleye, according to the Director General, Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Hon. Bimbo Daramola, who addressed a press comference, was last Wednesday shot by hoodlums believed to be working for Fayose around Adebayo area of Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state.

Anisulowo described the allegation as "wicked, baseless, malicious and representing mere tissue of lies."

According to him, the statement "was totally false".

A statement issued in Ado Ekiti at the weekend said: "Fayose has reiterated for the umpteenth time that he wants this campaign to be issues based and devoid of propaganda.

"The present leadership of the PDP will not be distracted by the APC's trantrum and mischief.

"All we are saying is that they should save their energy till June 21 when they will be disgraced out of office."

Bamidele: I'd use only local contractors From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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HE governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Ekiti State, Opeyemi Bamidele, has promised to give priority to those he called 'local contractors' over 'foreigners'.

According to him, efforts to fight poverty must incorporate award of contracts to artisans and contractors.

Bamidele spoke in IgedeEkiti, headquarters of Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, noting that the welfare of the people in all ways would be his concern if elected governor.

Bamidele maintained that the state is blessed with many competent professionals who would make it proud through execution of quality projects in construction and other areas.

He promised to pay pensioners benefits due to them regularly and without allowing arrears, pledging "to tackle the problems of youth unemployment in the state" The governorship candidate promised to make teaching attractive, adding that civil servants would equally "be given their dues in all ramifications."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

Tribal clashes kill 23 in Egypt

Crowd attacks Ebola treatment centre in Guinea

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second day of clashes between two tribes in southern Egypt has left a total of 18 people dead, officials say.

The Egyptian military said that it had intervened to stop the fighting between the Arab Bani Hilal clan and a Nubian family.

The violence started late on Friday after offensive graffiti was drawn on the walls of a local school, security officials said.

Several homes were burnt down and over 31 people were injured in the clashes.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies lying on hospital floors, while images emerged on social media showing bodies in the street.

A meeting yesterday between leaders from the two sides failed to reach a resolution.

The state news agency said 17 local schools would be closed today, the first day of the working week in Egypt.

Police failed to intervene to put an end to the violence, prompting the armed forces to step in, according to eyewitnesses.

It is not known what sparked the graffiti war that led to the latest bloodshed.

There has been tension in the past between Arab clans and ethnic Nubians, who originate from southern Egypt and north Sudan.

However, this incident is the most serious instance of ethnic bloodshed in recent years.

Ukraine threatens to take Russia to court over gas

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KRAINE yesterday rejected Russia's latest gas price hike and threatened to take its energy-rich neighbour to arbitration court over a dispute that could imperil deliveries to western Europe.

Prime Minister Asreniy Yatsenyuk said Russia's two rate increases in three days were a form of "economic aggression" aimed at punishing Ukraine's new leaders for overthrowing a Moscow-backed regime last month.

Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom this week raised the price of Ukrainian gas by 81 percent -- to $485.50 (354.30 euros) from $268.50 for 1,000 cubic metres -- and now requires the ex-Soviet nation to pay the highest rate of any of its European clients.

The decision threatens to further fan a furious diplomatic row over Ukraine's future between Moscow and the West that has left Kremlin insiders facing sanctions and standing more diplomatically isolated than at any stage since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

"Political pressure is unacceptable. And we do not accept the price of $500 (per 1,000 cubic metres of gas)," Yatsenyuk told a meeting to top ministers called to get a handle on the economic crisis that threatens to further escalate tensions in the culturally splintered nation of 46 million.

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• Afghan women line up to vote in presidential elections at a polling station in the northwestern city of Herat yesterday.

AFP PHOTO

Afghans flock to polls to vote for new leader A

FGHANS flocked to polling stations nationwide yesterday, defying a threat of violence by the Taliban to cast ballots in what promises to be the nation's first democratic transfer of power. The turnout was so high that some polling centers ran out of ballots.

The excitement over choosing a new leader for the first time appeared to overwhelm the fear of bloodshed in many areas, as Afghans embarked on a major transition nearly 13 years after the U.S.led invasion toppled the rule of the Taliban.

President Hamid Karzai, the only leader the country has known since the Islamic movement was ousted, is on his way out, constitutionally barred from a third term. International combat troops are leaving by the end of the year. And Afghans are left largely on their own to face what is likely to be an intensified campaign by the Taliban to regain power, even as authorities face higher

public demands to tackle entrenched poverty and corruption.

Men in traditional tunics and loose trousers and women clad in all-encompassing burqas waited in segregated lines at polls under tight security. At a Kandahar hospitalturned-polling station, the men's line stretched from the building, through the courtyard and out into the street. In Helmand province, women pushed, shoved and argued as they pressed forward in a long line.

The vote is the first for Afghans in which the outcome is uncertain. Voters are choosing from a field of eight presidential candidates, as well as selecting provincial council members. With three frontrunners in the presidential race, a runoff was widely expected since none is likely to get the majority needed for an

outright victory.

"I went to sleep with my mind made up to wake up early and to have my say in the matter of deciding who should be next one to govern my nation," said Saeed Mohammad, a 29-year-old mechanic in the southern city of Kandahar. "I want to be a part of this revolution and I want to fulfill my duty by casting my vote so that we can bring change and show the world that we love democracy."

Hundreds of thousands of Afghan police and soldiers fanned out across the country, searching cars at checkpoints and blocking vehicles from getting close to polling stations. Some voters were searched three times in Kabul, and text messages were blocked in an apparent attempt to prevent candidates from last-minute campaigning.

The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the balloting by targeting polling centers and election workers, and in the past weeks they stepped up attacks in the heart of Kabul to show they are capable of striking even in highly secured areas.

Yesterday, a bomb exploded in a school packed with voters in the Mohammad Agha district of Logar province, wounding two men, one seriously, said local government spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh.

Rocket attacks and gunbattles forced authorities to close an additional 211 polling centers, raising the total number that weren't opened because of security concerns to 959, said Independent Election Commission chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani. He said in all, 6,212 polling centers were opened yesterday.

Nouristani also confirmed that some polling centers had run out of ballots but said authorities were addressing the shortfall.

Chinese ship hunting for missing Malaysia jet detects "ping"

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Chinese patrol ship hunting for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner detected a pulse signal in the south Indian Ocean yesterday, the state news agency Xinhua reported, in a possible indicator of the underwater beacon from a plane's "black box".

A black box detector deployed by the vessel Haixun 01 picked up the "ping" signal at around 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, according to Xinhua.

It has not been established

whether the ping is related to Flight MH370, which went missing four weeks ago with 239 people aboard shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. Xinhua further said a Chinese air force plane spotted a number of white floating objects in the search area.

Australian search authorities also said they had yet to verify whether the pulse signal was related to MH370.

Malaysia said earlier yestesrday it had begun a formal investigation into the jet's

March 8 disappearance that would comprise experts from around the world, while the huge hunt for the Boeing 777 airliner intensified in the Indian Ocean.

Normally, a formal air safety investigation is not launched until wreckage is found. But there have been concerns that Malaysia's informal investigations to date have lacked the legal standing of an official inquiry convened under U.N. rules.Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as a cause but say the evidence, including the

loss of communica tions, suggests Flight MH370 was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometers (miles) from its scheduled route.

Defense and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference that Australia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and France had agreed to send representatives to take part in the investigation.

The extensive search and rescue operation has so far included assets from around 26 countries.

crowd of people angry about an Ebola outbreak that has killed 86 people across Guinea attacked a center where people were being held in isolation, prompting an international aid group to evacuate its team, officials said yesterday.

The violence took place in the southern town of Macenta, where at least 14 people have died since the outbreak emerged last month. The mob of people who descended upon the clinic accused Doctors Without Borders health workers of bringing Ebola to Guinea, where there had never previously been any cases.

Guinea's government swiftly condemned the attack, saying that Doctors Without Borders and other international aid groups were key to stopping the spread of Ebola.

"The international community has rapidly mobilised to help us in these difficult moments with considerable medical support and specialists on the ground at the disease's epicenter," the statement said.

"That's why the government is calling on people to stay calm and allow our partners to help us eradicate this epidemic."

There is no cure for Ebola, which causes fever and severe bleeding, and up to 90 percent of patients die from the strain that has been detected in Guinea.

A total of 86 people have died so far from Ebola in Guinea and two other confirmed deaths have been reported in neighboring Liberia. Authorities in Mali are also investigating three suspected cases of Ebola, and they have sent samples overseas for testing.

Experts say that Ebola is carried by fruit bats living in West Africa, and that it could have been transmitted to a human who ate a bat or another animal that had bitten by a bat.

Croatian police seize 800kg of marijuana

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OLICE in Croatia say they have seized more than 800 kilograms of marijuana smuggled over the Adriatic Sea from Albania in a fishing boat.

Police said yesterday that the seizure on Friday is one of the biggest ever in the country.

They say the drugs' value was estimated at some 1.3 million euros ($1.8 million).

The statement says eight Croatian and two Bosnian citizens have been detained, while the boat owner from Albania remains at large.

Police say the drugs were placed in 700 packages for distribution in Croatia and in western Europe.

The Balkan region is one of the main drug smuggling gateways to western Europe.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

WORLD NEWS

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OW did the on-going conflict that is threatening peace and security in your country begin?

As you may have heard in the media, South Sudan got into conflict last December 2013 after government successfully aborted an attempted coup by the former Vice President Dr. Riek Machar. Dr Riek Machar and his group who have now established themselves as rebels in South Sudan ignited a coup on December 15th, 2013 after being defeated in a democratic process in the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, the ruling party on an article of the constitution pertaining to the mode of voting.

While Dr. Riek and seven others in SPLM preferred secret voting for the almost 90 per cent illiterate population of South Sudan, 126 members of the SPLM National Liberation Council voted for a show of hands as the mode of voting.

This of course was not the main reason but simply the last known disagreement between Dr. Riek and SPLM from the series of disagreements he had exhibited throughout his life in the movement.

On 4th September 2013 on Television, and as published by newspapers, Dr. Riek was quoted to have said that he will not wait for the scheduled 2015 elections in the country but needed power 'now'.

In a leadership meeting on 6th December 2013 in Juba, the country's capital, Dr. Riek Machar who had been Vice President of the Government of South Sudan for eight years confronted the President with a list of six accusations naming the country to have failed in the areas of economy, foreign policy, corruption, governance, tribalism and failure of the ruling.

Dr. Riek had been responsible for about 80 per cent of the administration of the country during the interim period of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between 2005 and 2010 as the President who was then First Vice President in Sudan was most times attending to duties in Khartoum could accuse the government of failure. Dr. Riek who was also one of the Deputy Chairpersons of the SPLM was well-placed to solve all the problems he was proclaiming, if at all they were true, rather than wait and enlist them as reasons to take power from a sitting and legitimately elected President and Chairman of the ruling party.

On 6th December 2013, Riek and his group addressed a press conference in which three of them announced that they wanted to run for Chairmanship of the party and Presidency.

And in a bid to incite violence, the group attacked the personality of the President and Chairman of the SPLM and called the regime all sorts of names. The government and the party respected Riek and his group's freedom of speech and also responded through the media.

It is important to note that December 6, 2013 was the planned date of the coup. His Excellency President Salva Kiir was in France on a State Visit and Dr. Riek and his group wanted to exploit this chance to take power using a coup. This was intercepted and they ended up postponing their plan. On 15th December, the coup started with soldiers loyal to Dr. Riek attacking the main Army Headquarters to break into the stores.

Simultaneously, they attacked the Presidential Palace and the Army barracks at Bilpham.

This is the way the war started. Dr. Riek left Juba and started mobilising the army elsewhere in the country to fight the government and to remove the President.

Riek declared himself a rebel and started killing innocent people in Juba, Bor, Melaka and Bentiu. Riek mobilized many youth from his community, misled them by telling them that what they were fighting is a tribal war and that government is targeting Nuer people.

Dr. Riek Machar has a history of rebellion and breaking away from the mainstream ruling SPLM and committing atrocities and crime against humanity. In 1991, he carried out similar atrocities when he defected from the SPLM led by late Dr. John Garang De Mabior.

In that split, Dr. Riek and his forces committed a lot of atrocities in various parts of the country especially in Bor where he massacred women and children in cold blood.

His defection to join Khartoum government in 1997 and again his divorce of the Khartoum government to rejoin the SPLM in 2002 was all characterised by loss of lives of innocent people.

Just two years after our country's independence, the same person, Dr.Riek Machar attempted a coup and now forms a rebel group against a government he was in whose leadership for eight years, destroying efforts of the people, friends, partners, international organizations, multinational corporations and investors and governments of many countries who have invested so heavily to bring a lasting peace in South Sudan and above all freedom and independence.

Africa should not entertain coup de'tats any longer and I on heads of state in Africa and in the world not to hesitate to condemn such acts that undermine the fundamental role

How disagreement over mode of voting ignited South Sudan conflict Lieutenant General James Wani Igga, is the Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan. Igga, who represented President Salva Kiir Mayardit at Nigeria’s centenary celebration in Abuja, gave a blow by blow account of the bloody conflict threatening the existence of the oil rich country a.

He spoke with Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor.

• James Wani Igga of democracy.

As the world advances in governance, democracy has found fertile grounds in most parts of the world and under no circumstance should any African country condone any such attempt to violently take over power from its legitimate government or that of a neighbour.

It is therefore the responsibility to the whole of Africa and especially our bigger brotherly countries who have advanced in both governance and economic systems, a country like Nigeria whose centenary we are celebrating, to take it as a responsibility to look into the issue of the young nation, South Sudan. Nigeria being the most powerful country in Africa has an automatic responsibility to watch over its younger and emerging nations and economies and ensure that this vice of violence that has sparked like a bush fire is put off before it spreads to the rest of Africa.

Dr. Riek mobilised all the youth from his community. Of course not all of them there are many conscious people and intellectuals from the community who said this is a repeat of what Dr. Riek did in 1991 (and) they were not going to accept that. But a few youth went with him and these are the people now creating and causing havoc in our country which is supposed to be a civilised country.

So what Riek really did is just a repeat of what he did in 1991. He actually mutinied against Dr. John Garang in 1991, the SPLM went to Khartoum joined the government of Umar Bashir and then from there after six years he divorced Khartoum and came back to the SPLM, people were wondering if he had burnt this house to which house will he come. Anyway, Dr. John welcomed him with open hands. I was the sixth in the hierarchy and for the sake of unity of people of the South and our fighting movement by that time, the SPLM and so that we can get independence which we finally got we thought that it was necessary for me to step down and wholeheartedly with humility I relinquished my position and gave him my position but he was not satisfied.

He wanted the topmost position. Instead of waiting for election like any intellectual he opted to use violence. This is how the fighting actually started.

From your account of the history of Dr. Riek Machar's rebellious activities, why was he admitted back to mainstream SPLM after he broke away from the movement?

It was in good faith for the unity of our people at that time the unity of SPLM. We got independence for everybody to compete democratically. If we don't attain democracy we can't compete democratically. If indeed you feel you are with the people why don't you go and

convince the people democratically?

South Sudan is in turmoil, people are being killed and property destroyed. What is the way out of the conflict?

To say that South Sudan is in turmoil may not be the best. It is not the entire country. It is two states. It is like Boko Haram causing havoc in Yobe and Borno States but the rest of Nigeria, life is going on normally. Life is going on in the rest of the country including the capital Juba. What we will do is what I will just say that we are ready to negotiate but we must not put pre-conditions that this and that must be done. Pre-conditions like asking for the dissolution of the current government and putting in place interim government which should not include the elected President. This is a non starter that cannot hold water.

You referred to some countries supporting and supplying arms to the rebels, can you name the countries?

Well, it is not time now to name the countries.

Two years after achieving political independence after a bitter struggle South Sudan is in crisis. Is that a sign that the country was not one entity from onset?

South Sudan has been one. It is the history of the whole world. In the beginning of every country there may be turmoil. Even in Nigeria there was turmoil in early 60s. For almost two and half years (from) 1966 to 1967, Nigeria was in turmoil.

Indeed, you will see countries like Uganda, it was in turmoil, you see countries like Ethiopia. So, the beginning is always difficult. The problem is always solved with a lot of education, civilisation. What we need to do is do the right thing now and help develop the country through massive education.

Nigeria is actually one of the countries that can help us to develop the country. Nigerians can come and invest in South Sudan because there are a lot of investment opportunities in South Sudan.

Nigerians can come and invest and work in hospitals, they can work in schools and work in parts of the country. South Sudan is more or less the size of Nigeria except that our population is far smaller about ten million. But in terms of land mass, we have plenty of area that people can come and invest. We have vast areas for agriculture, we also have mineral resources like gold, diamond, uranium and others. Nigeria is well placed with her accumulative experience and expertise with which Nigeria can come and help us to develop South Sudan. But then economic development can only be when the people live in peace.

What are the attractions and packages for Nigerians who may want to invest in South Sudan?

Everybody can come and invest in South Sudan. It is not only Nigeria. Actually I want to go

to Lagos to hold a press conference, basically to inform our Nigerian investors that so far so good in Nigeria but that there are other parts of Africa with vast mineral resources like oil they have to explore. These other parts of Africa need expertise to tap the resources. I am really appealing to Nigerian business people to come and invest in South Sudan also. I will go to Lagos to hold investment conference there in order to inform our Nigerian brothers and sisters to come to their next door neighbour. Nigerian people by nature are pan-Africanists, you need to come and help us so that it can take a shorter time for us rather than a longer time as the rest of Africa did.

It is not only Nigerians by the way to be on correct wave length. It is the whole world, a lot of Chinese in their thousands are investing in South Sudan, a lot of Indians in their thousands are investing in South Sudan, a lot of Africans, from Kenya alone, there are over 50,000, Uganda over 50,000, Ethiopians over 40,000, Eritreans over 50,000, even people from the North can also be up to half a million, that is from Sudan.

So we are saying that Nigeria is our bigger brother; let Nigerians not allow the role to be played by others alone. They should come because the atmosphere is very healthy. We have investment opportunities and investment Act which can guarantee the repatriation of their profit, and Act governing their operation and also Company Act. All the investment opportunities are there especially in oil and you have the expertise. You can bring the expertise and experience to us to hit the gavel so that we can take off soon.

It is important that you have said that the crisis is actually limited in some areas not the whole country but the media especially foreign media have made it look as if the entire country is engulfed in crisis.

As if the whole house is on fire.

You are absolutely right what I'm doing is the beginning. After this you begin to relay the correct situation and the correct story. They say seeing is believing, come to the South and see for yourself. The reality is what I have told you.

You help to correct any misinformation. If you want to know the road ahead ask somebody who is from there don't ask somebody what wants to go there. I am coming from there.

The rebels are asking for election to be conducted, is there any plan for immediate election in South Sudan Yes, in our constitution as the President has confirmed time and again we are going to have election next year, 2015. And it is the national elections that Riek said emphatically on the 4th of September that he was not going to wait for the election, that he wanted power now and now. That means that he wanted to use force to grab power. So this kind of attitude should be condemned, it cannot be allowed. But our elections are there and this is the only solution by the way. What we will do is to condemn Riek now. Let us go and reconcile and begin to prepare for the up-coming election because anybody who imposes himself will not be allowed to be the President of South Sudan.

The voice of the people is bigger than what an individual says. So at the end of the day it will be the will of the people which is democracy and multi party system.

South Sudan is oil producing country. It has been shown that most countries that produce oil, corruption is rampant. How is South Sudan tackling the problem of corruption?

Yes, you are absolutely right but not only in countries where there is oil even in places where there is no oil there is corruption. But then we have to fight corruption through and through.

This was why when Riek staged the coup he said that there was corruption, that there was insecurity, that governance was not good and that the economy was failing and that our foreign policy was failing and that the direction of the party was failing. We said if all these things were failing and you are in charge of the house because Riek was really in charge of the House. If all these failed then it was him who failed. That is why we say that the only solution is to condemn him, then we reconcile and let us go and lobby to prepare for elections and this can be monitored by all people of good will to see that it is free and fair. So we are fighting corruption because by that time we were counted as the sixth most corrupt country in the world.

And we are only two years. We said what will happen if we go to five years. So we must do something. Our current government resolved to fight corruption nail and tool. So the fight against corruption is top on our programme.

You are in the country for the centenary celebration of Nigeria. You may have one or two messages for Nigerians.

First of all, let Nigerians not keep far from the affairs of South Sudan, being our leading pan Africanist. So you must be close to us.

Number one so that you help us bring an acceptable solution, this must be democratic to prepare for election next year. We are all agreed and ready for the elections. Number two is really to come to South Sudan to invest to make our country better.

Ropo Sekoni

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Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

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F course Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has always identified with the common man, as numerous ordinary Nigerians have been drinking from his well of generosity. So, it was nothing new that the 6th Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium, held at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, on March 29, was tagged ‘The Summit of the Common man’.

It was a befitting way to mark Tinubu’s 62nd birthday.

Without doubt, some of those who came to the summit would have been wondering what the common man had to do with such a prestigious hotel. The invitation card was as simple as it could come, yet beautiful. The common man can still live with that elegance in simplicity. But Lagos Oriental Hotel, where I had to park my car on the fourth floor! Won’t the common man faint on seeing the place? What would be going on in his mind on getting there?

Well, one may need to get into the inner recesses of the common man to find genuine answers to these questions. What is important for now is that as the event unfolded, no one was in doubt as to the fact that it, indeed, was a summit for the downtrodden.

Don’t forget, the common man has many names: ‘the downtrodden’ is one of them; the others are ‘the masses’, ‘the hoi polloi’.

In some instances they are more derogatively referred to as ‘the wretched-of-the-earth’. The summit turned out not to be the usual avenue for the rich and the mighty to talk to, or look down on the rest of the society, backslap and laugh heartily over champagne even as they decide who gets which oil bloc and which appointments, with due process least in their considerations.

One needed to be at the event to appreciate the effort that was put into it. Kudos to those who conceived the idea of the annual colloquium as a way of institutionalising a platform for discourse on salient national issues. This year’s is spectacular in view of the Boko Haram mindless orgy of violence and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) tragedy in which 19 Nigerian job seekers perished in their search for elusive jobs two weeks before (the colloquium). Since the common man is most affected by these tragic incidents, it is only fit and proper to ‘hear from the horse’s mouth’, as they say. The common man specially invited to the occasion came from all parts of the country and they also represented every aspect of our challenges as Nigerians, from insecurity to lack of social security even for the Older Citizens, to the chronic unemployment, to lack of capital for those who might even want to start their own business instead of roaming the streets in search of non-existent jobs, etc.

Some of the accounts were as moving as they were gripping. Take the case of 23 yearold Emmanuel who had glaucoma in the secondary school which he needed N200,000 to treat. His parents could only raise N20,000.

His dream of reading Sociology and capping it with a Master’s in Theology was seriously threatened as a result of the sight challenge.

Emmanuel is currently an inmate in Bethsaida School for the Blind, 31, Agege Motor Road, Lagos, being managed by 43-year-

Meet the common man, at Tinubu’s birthday But one VIP who ought to be there was not: President Jonathan

•Birthday Boy, Tinubu

old Chioma who was moved to found the home because some members of her immediate family were also blind. Emmanuel is sad because, according to him, the blind in Nigeria could have done better than the Steve Wonders of this world with the necessary encouragement. As with most similar homes, Bethsaida School for the Blind depends on the generosity of Good Samaritans, like the Tinubus, and at times, the inmates skip meals for lack of enough food to go round. It is a pathetic story that cannot be fully told here.

There is also Mallam Aji who lost his wife and mother of their six children to the Boko Haram sect. As a lecturer, he says he is an endangered species. The armed gang came looking for him twice and had to kill his wife on the second occasion, because they thought she was hiding him from them. Mallam Aji also lost his uncle to the Boko Haram gangs and said that troops only responded after the harm had been done, despite warnings of impending attacks by the deadly sect.

Soprinye Victor, a 2010 chemical engineering graduate of Niger Delta University came to Lagos in search of job. Unable to find one, she returned to Bayelsa, her home state, and began a hair dressing salon. This she lost to flood; she is still searching for job. She cracked a very costly joke which sent many guests laughing at first but later registered as a big indictment on the government, when she said someone told her she was not competent to speak on unemployment, as she is only three years on the unemployment queue!

Mr Ron Mgbatogu was also there to speak for the neglected Senior Citizens. At 68, and after governments have taken his tax for over 40 years, he merely has a roof over his head

“But verily, verily I say unto you, the tragedy for the Nigerian nation is for the opposition parties not to do something about the country’s dire situation. The opposition, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC) must get its axe together in its preparations for the next general elections. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sufficiently messed up the seat of power such that Nigerians must be ‘compound fools’ to return it to power. Like the fowl that is defecating in the soup pot, the party does not realise that it is already spoiling its final resting place”

but not a home of his own. He is lamenting the lack of rebates on goods and services for his category of citizens.

Farmers were also represented by Alhaji Gambo Haladu from Kano State, who spoke about the racket that fertiliser subsidy has become; widows by Mrs. Elizabeth Unah, whose husband died in the attempt to rescue their children from an inferno. Her life has never been the same ever since their breadwinner died. As for fishermen, Chief Eric Dooh, from Goi Community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State who lost his livelihood to oil pollution, stood in gap for them. The testimonies were rounded off with a video clip on the NIS tragedy. Depressing as the March 15 tragedy was, it was also a good mirror of the Nigerian society, from government’s sheer greed that will make it collect millions from jobless Nigerians, to the brutality of security agencies who treat Nigerians with contempt.

Anyone with conscience must have left that place so dejected and asking how come we are suffering like this in the midst of plenty. Who did we (Nigerians) offend that is making us go through this kind of punishment in the hands of callous leaders that keep recycling themselves?

Although, as expected, the place was jam-packed with the crème de la crème of the society, some of those who really matter were absent. The most conspicuous of them all was President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, thus prompting one to wonder whether he was not invited. If he wasn’t, that must have been a big oversight on the part of the organisers. He needed to be there to see it life, hear it life and probably feel it life. Perhaps what he would have heard and seen would have reminded him of his early childhood and thus prompted him to be more serious about governance. If he had been at that event, he would have known that corruption in Nigeria is indeed underestimated, contrary to his belief that it is exaggerated. His presence at that forum could have made him to ask more probing questions from his minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, when next she brandishes statistics showing that things are looking up in the country when they are actually looking down. I have always advocated that our big people, particularly those formulating policies must take time off their usual cocktail circuits to see and hear some of the things that we saw and heard at the summit. There is no way someone can know what the common man is going through unless the person takes time out to be with him.

Anyway, it is not too late to let the president into the proceedings at the summit.

Copies of video recording of the occasion should be sent to the Aso Rock Villa for President Jonathan’s attention and possibly, action. But my take is that the ruling party is already lost and its situation irredeemable; it does not believe Nigeria has serious challenges; the president’s position on corruption is my witness.

But verily, verily I say unto you, the tragedy for the Nigerian nation is for the opposition parties not to do something about the country’s dire situation. The opposition, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC) must get its axe together in its preparation for the next general elections. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sufficiently messed up the seat of power such that Nigerians must be ‘compound fools’ to return it to power. Like the fowl that is defecating in the soup pot, the party does not realise that it is already spoiling its final resting place.

Unemployable graduates

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N the last few weeks, I have been agonizing over the obvious disconnect between the training graduates get in higher institutions and what is expected of them in whatever industry they are supposed to be employed.

My worry is informed by how clueless many graduates are when asked what difference they can make in companies they apply to work in. Many of them assume that their certificates are enough to get them employment.

I am usually disappointed when I ask a job seeker what kind of job he or she wants and the reply I get is “any job.” My impression of such applicants is that he or she does not have any special skill.

Having a certificate is good, but been able to do what the certificate claims the applicant has the capacity to do is much more important.

Why should any employer employ an applicant who cannot add value to the productivity of his or her company? While it is true that the unemployment rate is high in the country, what is also true is that some unemployed graduates are unemployable.

Some of the unemployable graduates have a good share of the blame for not having the skills required of them due to their own passion for the course they studied, but the tertiary institutions in the country can do better in producing industry-ready graduates.

What is apparent is that there is not enough collaboration between training institutions and the industries they are producing graduates for.

Training institutions are not doing enough to know skills required of graduates and adjust their curriculum as required.

The course content of some courses in higher institutions in the country are obsolete and not industry relevant. I am aware of the bureaucracy required to approve new courses by the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) and the Nigeria Board for Technical Education (NBTE) which is a shame.

If only they realize the disservice being done to the graduates produced, the approving authorities will allow more dynamism in courses offered our universities and polytechnics.

While private universities seem to be finding a way round the problem by offering unique courses, most public universities are still steep in their old ways. Students are thought obsolete theories from outdated text books with little or no room for practical.

In the present global village, we will be shortchanging our youths if we don’t give them the benefits of contemporary education that can allow them compete with their colleagues worldwide.

The new definition of education is the ability to unlearn, learn and relearn.

There are many old ways of doing things which we must unlearn to acquire new emerging knowledge.

The Canadian example which Paul Brennan, Vice President of International Partnerships of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges shared in a recent interview is very instructive for bridging the gap between academic institutions and employers.

According to Brennan the Canadian system requires all institutes and every programme to work closely with employers and employees of the sector to help them develop and constantly adjust the content of the programmes.

“Our deans and faculty must meet with an advisory committee of employers twice a year to discuss emerging needs for jobs in the Canadian and global marketplace and what improvements to the curriculum need to be made so that it better prepares our learners to find jobs and keep them,” Brennan explained.

The unemployment situation in the country is very critical and we need to do something urgent about it starting from how we train our graduates.

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

COMMENT

What did Lamido say wrong at the confab?

A national conference dedicated to renewal or reinforcement of territorial unity is not a wrong place for the Lamido and others with courage to ignore history of nationalities I have heard our people say that we need to openly and frankly discuss our problems and seek acceptable solutions instead of allowing them to fester and remain sources of perennial conflict…. The conference is open for us to table our thoughts and positions on issues, and make recommendations that will advance our togetherness….We cannot join hands together to build a collective vision if we continue to harbor negative biases and prejudices against ourselves….Over the coming weeks, you will be confronted with complex and emotive issues, strong views will be expressed by opposing sides and some disagreements will, in all likelihood, be intense— President Goodluck Jonathan at the opening of the ongoing confab

I

N the last few days, the Lamido of Adamawa has been reported as threatening to walk out of the conference and as boasting before delegates that in the event that Nigeria breaks up, he has a country to go to in the Republic of Cameroons. He assured his fellow delegates that Nigeria’s disintegration would give him an opportunity to rule over the larger part of his kingdom than the portion he currently presides over within Nigeria. For saying this, some delegates have fired at him with caustic words for not acting in consonance with the grandeur of his office and for mentioning the taboo word,break-up of Nigeria at a conference that had foresworn not to mention such a word of national embarrassment.

Given the admonitions of President Jonathan at the conference, the Lamido has not done anything untoward or unwholesome. He has just expressed his feelings in an overtly emotive manner against the pedestrian or puerile behavior of delegates with opposing views to the rule to make 75%

of votes the basis of majority decision.To people who are transitive carriers of culture, the Lamido of Adamawa said what is crucial at a conference designed to re-launch the country. Re-launching has to be preceded by deconstructing what needs to be repaired or transformed.

Was the emir wrong in saying that his emirate extends beyond Nigeria into the Cameroons? Nigerian History101 makes this clear. Lamido is not unique in having precolonial kingdoms that extend today into other countries in Africa. The Ooni of Ife and the Alafin of Oyo make similar claims about Yoruba kingdoms in the Republics of Benin and Togo. Several Yoruba monarchs hold annual festivals and rituals that demonstrate the linkage. So can the Obong of Calabar make the kind of claim made by the Lamido.

Nothing can prevent the Sultan of Sokoto or Ekanem of Kanuri from making similar claims. During ShehuShagari’s presidency, AlhajiShugaba was deported from Nigeria for not being a Nigerian but a citizen of Niger Republic. Political folklore during the era of military dictatorship even cited several military leaders as having their ancestry in Chad, Niger, Mali, and Sudan. Such is the character of most post-colonial African countries. The Akan of Ghana are the same as the Baoule of Cote d’Ivoire, just as the Hutus of Rwanda also extend into parts of the Republic of Congo. So do the Tswana and Sotho extend beyond the borders of Republic of South Africa.

A national conference dedicated to renewal or reinforcement of territorial unity is not a wrong place for the Lamido and others with courage to ignore history of nationalities.To forget the pre-colonial history of Nigerian nationalities is tantamount todenialism or refusing to come to terms with reality.Denialism as a syndrome came

to its head during the military era, when military rulers thought and believed that cultural amnesia would reinforce inter-ethnic unity in the country, the way it was believed, it had done in the colonial army bequeathed to Nigeria at independence by British colonial overlords.

Many highly placed civilians (some of whom General Alani Akinrinademust have referred to during his contribution on President Jonathan’s opening speech as collaborators in the military’s schemes to de-federalize Nigeria) have also promoted denialism as a way of forestalling any attempt to deconstruct the Nigeria constructed by military dictators. It is this attitude that induced some delegates to re-affirm in response to the Lamidothat they came to the conference as Nigerians and not with any ethnic toga or stigma, as if it was not obvious to citizens that President Jonathan did not allow nomination of Ghanians or Beninoise to the conference.

On the political level, denialism or burying one’s head in the sand like an ostrich in order not to confront the unpleasantness of one’s situation, had since 1966 led to categorizing issues for discussion at national conferences into No-go areas and May-enter zones.

It is the continuation of this military vision of Nigeria that made it mandatory for the Okuroumu advisory group and President Jonathan himself to repeat the notion of Nogo area for the ongoing conference. Nigerians are not allowed to discuss the endangerment of the unity that defines the country.

Thus delegates must have been obeying their master’s voice by shrinking or freezing when the Lamido mentioned the fact that he has a country to return to, should this one collapse.

In most countries that had to review their charter of union in the past, serious-minded people had avoided playing the ostrich with

such activities. It must not be lost on delegates that there is always a need to break eggs in order to makeomelette. Saying what appears unpleasant to many delegates, as the Lamido of Adamawa had done, does not automatically kill the country’s unity. It shouldn’t if there is already a good reason for the country’s existence. On the contrary, it may end up enhancing it, particularly if delegates choose to remind Lamido and others with his sense of history that a rule that allows 26% or even 31% to annul the wishes of 74% or 69% is capable of further reinforcing the status quo that made the conference necessary in the first place. Accepting a rule that allows less than one-third of voters to rubbish the preference of more than two-thirds can undermine the unity of any country that practices democracy.Delegates need to emphasize that most Nigerians do not live along the border and would not have any other country to run to should this one disintegrate and that the wish of such people requires as much protection as that of Lamido, if Nigeria is to be sustainably united.

Anyone that goes to a conference of this magnitude with morbid fear to speak his or her mind about what ails Nigeria should not have been there or would not have been there if nationalities had been allowed to elect their delegates. Nothing is likely to damage the unity of Nigeria the more than efforts to paper over the cracks by people with hidden agenda or occluded expectations from the opportunity to serve as delegate. As Nigerians love to say: “It is not over until it is over.” Should self-deception define the psychology of delegates, the desire for true federalism (as distinct from mere devolution of functions by a central government that arrogates supervisory authority over subnational governments) will continue to be a part of Nigeria’s political agenda and discourse, for as long as it takes and regardless of the number of conferences called to do so.

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

15

Mysterious $1 billion In the light of uproar over alleged missing $20 billion, all governors failed the Nigerian people for not asking the Jonathan administration to explain how $1 billion appeared in our federation account

F

OR the body of Nigerian governors, the news of recent payment of $1 billion into the excess crude account (ECA) by the federal government must have come both as shock and surprise.

Shock because the “windfall” came in spite of the industrial scale oil theft said to have gone on unabated in the last nine months. And, if we may add, the shady accounting practices that have left the federation account at the mercy of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC).

Surprise because the payment came days before the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) – a body, which by statute is supposed to meet monthly but which last met nine months ago.

The body had Vice President Namadi Sambo as chairman with the governors and other members of the President’s economic team as members.

For state governments that have borne the brunt of the NNPC’s, and by extension, the President Jonathan’s federal government’s irresponsible book-keeping of the nation’s oil revenue account, it is rather unfortunate that the governors opted to gloss over the question of how the federal government came by the $1 billion it paid into the ECA, or even the more fundamental question of how the federal pool could have shrunk by more than 20 percent over the last few months when the nation is not officially at war, as soon as the money came into their account.

But even more worrisome is that they failed to see the latest gambit for what it is: a well-timed manoeuvre to stave off further questions on the $20 billion which the NNPC is accused of failing to remit into the federation account.

The governors not only let the citizens down; they are by their act of indifference just as complicit in abetting the crime of impunity. While it seems understandable that the states, long cashstarved would latch on to anything to keep governance in their domains going, we certainly do not consider it right that they would so soon ig-

W

ITH the emerging denials here are there by the Abia State Government of not being responsible for the unlawful arrest and illegitimate detention of the Associate Editor of The Sun, Mr. Ebere Wabara, last weekend, the question is on whose order was he repugnantly arrested and who is the plaintiff on the suit charging him for sedition.

While in the hospital after he was released from the gulag at Umuahia on Saturday night on the said orders of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, it was learnt that Wabara was on Monday charged to court by an Umuahia Magistrate Court in Abia State. There was also an order to arrest Chuks Onuoha, the Abia State correspondent of The Sun newspaper and others the suit described as “at large.”

The “sedition” noise clamped on Wabara was that he authored certain articles which those charging him for “sedition” did not found favourable. But without mincing words, who is the plaintiff in this matter in which Wabara is being charged to court for sedition in absentia, where he is also brazened-out with 10count charge that the court said bordered on sedition, defamation of character and intention to cause dilemma in the state?

The court was not seeing that it was a sheer anarchy on the side of the police who acted to effect the arrest of Wabara simply because there was a ru-

nore the fundamental issues involved in the management of the oil proceeds – at least not with the latest rounds of questions about sleaze in the oil sector still hanging.

The point bears reiteration: it is hard to imagine the entire 36 state governors suddenly becoming tongue-tied only because there is now a prospect of enhanced revenue. Many of the governors are even reported as wishing that they take whatever the federal government deems fit to give them so that they can move on! That cannot be right.

For how long will state governments be content with living on the federal government charity? Is this latest cynical act not akin to throwing a piece of bone to a hungry dog?

How can a governor ever imagine that the succour from the sudden improvement in monthly revenue would obviate the fundamental demand for openness and transparency from the federal government and the NNPC? Why should a state governor worth his salt not be interested in the volume of crude pumped, and the price it is sold?

What is so secretive in all of these that the federal government cannot make them public to every Nigerian? Isn’t democracy about getting the government to respond to well-meaning enquiries from the governed? And why should Nigerians settle for less?

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye •Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile •Associate Editors Taiwo Ogundipe Sam Egburonu

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

Now, the point remains that between last week’s payment and the time when the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) accused the federal government of deliberately stalling the NEC meeting to prevent a discussion of the issues surrounding the alleged missing $20bn, nothing has changed. For sure, the federal government has neither shown willingness to toe the path of transparency in the management of accruals into the distributable pool, nor the NNPC more disposed to come clean on what it did with the $20 billion.

Rather, both the federal government and the governors have gone ahead to forge an unholy alliance on another front with their new resolve to hive off subsidy on fuel in their bid to shore up their dwindling revenues.

Contrary to what some state governors are reported to have feared, we do not see anything adversarial in the states demanding from the federal government the source of the payment. Aside being their right, the answers, if given, may in fact help resolve some of the lingering mysteries dogging the oil industry.

The path of honour for the governors would have been to temporarily hold off receiving the money until full accounting of its source. By not doing that, the governors of whatever stripe fell into the same moral squalor of which they have accused the president. It is sad, and it potentially compromises the search for integrity of our financial patrimony.

It paralyses any call for transparency, and heaps the slur of hypocrisy on the political class.

The point bears repeating: the federal government has an obligation to inform Nigerians about the source of the $1 billion paid into the ECA. Is it part of the $20 billion, or $12 billion, or $10.8 billion? We need to know. On their part, Nigerians must consider their abiding interest the question of the alleged missing $20 billion. Rather than faking Father Christmas with our patrimony; it is what the integrity of governance demands.

LETTER

So, who ordered Wabara’s arrest?

mour that someone wrote a petition and without verifying the foolhardiness of the petition, the mesmerized police swooped into action which some Nigerians who are lawyers are saying would cost the police and whoever that instigated them to act unlawfully, dearly at last.

As it could be deduced, the

O

NE issue that keeps borthering my mind as an Isoko indigene is the worrisome organization called Isoko Development Union (IDU) formed over sixty years ago. The purpose of creating the union which was formerly known as Isoko Union has been grossly defeated and hijacked. The name Isoko Development Union does not represent the interest of Isoko nation but its objectives focus on socio-cultural organization and nothing else.

Few weeks ago, I received a call from one of the Isoko students in Delta State University, Abraka writing his project on Isoko political development using IDU as a case study where he enquired from me whether IDU has made any Isoko person to hold any political office in Nigeria since its creation, as a student of his-

Abia State Government is playing hide and seek game in the matter of the criminally arrest of Wabara as it vehemently denied being part of the arrest on Sunday, after Wabara was arrested and released, saying in press statement by Mr. Charles Ajunwa, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia,

that the state government was not aware of the arrest of Wabara.

Does this not go a long way to tell the world of the government of pretenders that we have come to endure in Abia State?

Does it mean that the said “seditious” articles that Wabara wrote were against

the police or the court? If no, why are they so inquisitive to defend truth with mendacity?

Who is the prosecution counsel Chief Chukwunyere Nwabuko representing in this matter since the Abia State Government had denied knowledge of Wabara’s arrest?

Without hiding their faces

The Isoko ethnic nationality tory, I told him straight that IDU is not a recognized organization in Nigeria because the name does not represent Isoko entity than some voracious persons that want to bring Isoko nation down by all means. One great Isoko Archbishop granted an interview in one of the Isoko community newspapers where he said that IDU many a time invited him to see how the union can move forward but unity is the bane of progress since then. Even when some Isoko group of intellectuals agitated for the late Chief Abel Ubeku to be nominated as Isoko political father after the demise of Chief Otobo, some desperate people rebutted that ideal due to leadership inferiority complex in the land. Isoko is blessed with

agricultural produces like cassava, yam, palm oil and others. IDU has not addressed the issues of unemployment of Isoko youths, one united front, mechanized agricultural system, political recognition, infrastructural developments, cottage industries, education, oil marginalization and excesses of over-used politicians in Isoko. I doubt if Governor Uduaghan nominated anybody from Isoko to represent the ongoing National Confab which Urhobo and Itsekeri people were delisted and they fought immediately to see they were in the list of delegates across Nigeria. But IDU is only interested on political consulting than fighting for their rights. In 2011 precisely the former President- General IDU,

Elder Peter Ovie Erebi called for a mini-conference on the need to put the union in order only for some disgruntled elements to disrupt the meeting.

To God be the glory, a handful members of the union that believed on the oneness of Isoko nation attended the conference to chart a new course for development.

It is very sad that IDU that started its operation for over sixty years ago does not have an ultra-modern civic hall for their meetings than using a public hall for their regular meetings and elections which indicated that IDU still operating on community leadership system than Isoko ethnicity. If unity can take a centre stage of the Union, then IDU will remain a formidable

in shame and apologise to Wabara and Nigerians of good will for their unpleasant abuse of human rights and abuse of Wabara, the sources that are bent on dehumanising him made their blundering claims (very bogus) in the newspapers that Wabara has “jumped bail”.

This is just that he was unable to report at the police in Umuahia on that Monday, being the dictate of the police, when he was released from police cell that Saturday night.

By Odimegwu Onwumere Port Harcourt socio-cultural organization in Nigeria. Though IDU is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) but not politically organized.

That is why some learned Lagos- based indigenes are fronting for Isoko nation to join Urhobo but that is unconstitutional. If Isoko Ethnic Nationality (IEN) replaces Isoko Development Union (IDU), then the interest of Isoko will be projected nationally and internationally.

Today, Isoko nation has not got a political father since the demise of Chief Otobo because everybody in Isoko wants to be a father due to their political positions in the land. Everybody wants to be a leader without a mentorial father.

By Godday Odidi Lagos

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16

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

Of impunity and lies as campaign strategy Every town, village and community can point to Fayemi's developmental landmarks

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EHINGBEPON and Tipa ti kuku are two Yoruba words that not only have the same etymology but, indeed, mean almost the same thing – i.e impunity. They are words that best describe the PDP attitude to elections in Nigeria, but more especially in Yoruba land. Former President Obasanjo deployed Fehingbepon in declaring PDP victorious in Ekiti in 2007 as in the subsequent ‘Mama Ayoka’s macabre dance of ‘conscienceless conscience’. For this election, two events have proved they hadn’t changed one bit. These are: Buruji Kashamu’s ‘I will make Ekiti an example’ speech at Ibadan and the absolutely irreverent manner he stage- managed Fayose’s emergence acting on the orders of President Jonathan. These are clear indications that the shoeless one has bought into the ‘Tipa ti kuku’ strategy of his hatchet men in the Southwest. We would soon see more of Jonathan’s satanic schemes against mainstream Yoruba interests. In this project, his deployment of the two new Yoruba ministers to security portfolios was no happenstance. He is already primed to begin a massive funding of his captured wing of Afenifere for overt purposes to which elements of Labour and Accord had been financially induced. Arrests of APC leaders and supporters by the police on spurious charges are most likely to begin in earnest just as the PDP intends to embark on a massive buying of voters cards at totally unimaginable prices. This, in particular, should

tell Nigerians where the billions being daily stolen under President Jonathan are headed. As if the federal government is just waking up, it will now also begin to pour kerosene to Ekiti and Osun as if the product is going extinct.

As earlier mentioned, PDP is relying on ‘Tipa ti kuku’ which is to be stream rolled, like a war armada, from the Villa. Courtesy the presidency, INEC and ALL the security agencies will kowtow to the PDP. President Jonathan has started that process by making the Police ministry a Southwest heredity. The compromised man in charge will do just about anything they direct. In collusion with INEC, they will do everything to rig in the remote areas, the police and other security agencies will have instructions from headquarters to overlook their evil machinations.

On election day, APC strongholds will be deprived of ballot papers and where materials come at all, they will arrive late and in insufficient numbers. Even at its topmost level, PDP will not demur from asking INEC to just simply announce its candidate the winner boasting, ‘nothing will happen’. But a thousand and one will happen because Ekiti will not look askance; not after we have been twice cheated in the past.

For the campaigns in the meantime, the two cousins, Labour and PDP, are employing lies as campaign tools. While impunity is PDP’s preferred option, Labour has the rare distinction of being able to manufacture

lies at the drop of a hat. Happily, Ekiti people have come to see lies as consistent with the Labour party wherever it rears its ugly head but certainly worst in Ondo state where it is putting our people through a scorching regime of the very opposite of everything it promised during the last election campaigns in the state.

Rather than roads, what they see are abandoned projects and in place of new jobs, old ones are being erased at an alarming rate. It cannot but be a surprise that an oil producing state could be shouting itself hoarse over the late disbursement of Sure-P funds even where there is nothing to show for the billions received.

The PDP in Ekiti has miserably, but unsuccessfully, tried to draw a similarity between Mimiko and Fayemi lying that the latter will behave like Mimiko after his already God-ordained victory. In dismissing this arrant nonsense, I have Ondo-state born Femi Odere to thank for his highly analytical article: ‘Between Fayemi and Mimiko’ –The Nation, Tuesday, 25 March 2014.

Wrote Odere: ‘The innumerable socio-economic milestones that are geared towards the creation of jobs and wealth by the Fayemi administration within a short span of a little over three years in a state that comes second from the rear out of 36 states in terms of federal allocation speak volumes about a leader who knows what needs to be done for his people.

Mimiko, in contradistinction, flagged off his administration by announcing the construction of a Dome in Akure about five years ago. As you read this, the Dome is still under construction even after its cost had been reviewed upwards. Mimiko established a Tomato Processing factory somewhere in Akoko during his

first term. But no sooner after this factory was commissioned than the place got converted into a pure water factory. Mimiko announced years ago that a cement factory will be built in the state, but the bush where the factory was to be sited is yet to be cleared. Mimiko announced during his first term that privatisation of the state’s moribund industries is the way to go in order to spur economic growth and job creation. Oluwa Glass Factory, one of the industrial flagships of the late Papa Adekunle Ajasin administration which fell under his privatization sledgehammer is yet to produce a single piece of glass years after its privatization. No sooner than the state government relinquished its controlling equity in the Okitipupa Oil Palm Processing Factory, several financial scandals broke to rock the factory’s government-appointed Managing Director. The factory is once again comatose. The Akure-Oba Ile airport road, started during his first term at a cost of several billions of naira, still uncompleted, the mere eight-kilometre road has been re-awarded at a new cost of several billions. The Olokola Free Trade zone, an initiative of the late Agagu administration that could have been a major catalyst in spurring huge economic growth in the state was jettisoned by Mimiko because the politics of the Free Trade zone is more important to him than the economic and job-creation benefits which the trade zone would have created for the people of the State.

One can go on ad infinitum’ Ekitis, a very discerning people, need not seek any further than this testimonial to put Opeyemi Bamidele where exactly he belongs.

Incidentally he has just upped his

God will help us!

Do you now wonder why God is so busy? He has to keep tag of the things we forbid, reject, bind, loose, claim, accept, and decree, even our non-military decrees. God Will Help Us!

M

OST countries I know are guided by one philosophy or the other. You know what that is, don’t you? It is that field of study which opens unto you other fields of study without providing any definite answer to those fields of study, get my drift? What I love about it is that it is the only subject where you are permitted to ask more questions than you can give answers to, especially in examination scripts. It asks questions like, how do you know that you know what you know? Beautiful.

The only other people who ask questions like that are my children, especially when they were very young. I frequently would go like, ‘I know one of you poured this water on the floor’. And they frequently would go like, ‘How do you know? You were not even there.’ And they would turn to each other: ‘How come she knows everything we do?’ I tell you, we were real philosophers back then.

This belief system also has its compensations of course, not to mention drawbacks. Whenever steam threatens to blow out of my ears because the mate’s action or inaction has lit a fire of rage inside of me, I treat myself with a simple mental massage: the action never really happened; I just imagined it.

Better still: he does not really exist; I have been imagining him all

along. The drawback in this law however surfaces when it is time to collect the monthly housekeeping allowance. When the fancy takes him, he may decide that my dainty outstretched palm does not really exist; he is only imagining it.

This yo-yo system of questioning does not happen often in the sciences, for there, you cannot afford too many questions. Imagine what would happen if scientists monitoring the landing of a space craft, which they have just sent to space, begin to ask themselves such questions as ‘But how do we know that the craft we have sent really exists? What if we have merely imagined it?’ Were that to happen, I assure you there’ll be nothing to land in but hot soup.

So, as I was saying, a nation’s philosophy defines the actions of its citizens directed at achieving some national goals. In most countries, these goals are purposed and designed for the common good such that even the littlest person, e.g. the president’s little old lady, is given an identity within the confines of that philosophy. Call that philosophy an ideology if you like, and you will come up with different practices in different parts of the world that sound very much like what I am talking about. And so, you may come across the

Welfarist hues of the West which means essentially that even the president may benefit from social welfare, no matter how badly he governs. The Socialist hues of the East practically guarantees that a president is obliged to share his palace with the people for the common good, never mind that no good is ever common. In the South, the philosophy often disseminated is called ‘God Will Help Us’. Naturally. It means essentially that we, the people, do not get the opportunity to lift a finger to do anything for ourselves. When someone sermonized not too long ago that we should Ask Nothing of God, we all listened. Honest. But we promptly went back on our knees to do what we know best, Ask Everything of God. Why? Why not! Because He is about the only person we know who can make the oil to flow under our parcel of earth, provide buyers for the crude and then provide those who sell the refined stuff back to us; he makes the pineapple to pop out of the ground like browned toast in its due season; he brings policemen to kill the snakes in my compound, and yes, he even brings game right round to my backyard.

The other day, I watched in fascination as a large alligator lizard, the edible kind, climbed over my wall and into my compound, and I was alone in the house. The dog barked its senses out. Me, I just did my thing: I shut all the doors and screamed. God will help us.

This ‘God Will Help Us’ philoso-

phy presents rather more strongly than we know. It is used often and in nearly every conversation across the continent of Africa but nowhere more persistently than in Nigeria.

A deeply religious and prayerful people, Nigerians, from the north to the south, punctuate their very breathes with comforting words of religious wisdom. Even our goats know how to pray, I tell you; they bleat off the ‘Amen’ faster than some of our husbands across whose paths the church dares to pass once in the year – at New Year’s Eve. Hence, while traversing the land, you are bound to be assaulted by evidence of religiosity. When you call a price that the market woman does not want to hear, she tells you, ‘God forbid it’; when you accuse an artisan of cheating on the materials he has used on your work, he swears without any thought to the repercussions that ‘God is his witness’ if he has done any such thing; and when a Nigerian asks you to rub his palm with a certain sum, he swears that but for the fact that he fears God, he should not do for you what he is about to do even if it is his job to do it. Do you now wonder why God is so busy?

He has to keep tag of the things we forbid, reject, bind, loose, claim, accept, and decree, even our nonmilitary decrees. God Will Help Us! So, it has become quite natural that God sits in on all our national transactions, individual and collective. It is therefore also natural to

game by claiming that ALL the 132 towns and villages in Ekiti have mineral deposits. There is also the chimera of what he calls a welfare package for all the chiefs in the state. Lies, lies and yet more lies!

You would think he was addressing impressionable 5-year olds.

The PDP, master riggers that they are, are no better; only that their strategy is at variance with Labour party’s Joseph Goebbels’s inspired propagandist lies. They are infinitely more satanic and for them, nothing is beyond conjecture.

On the other hand, however, Ekitis already know Fayemi like the back of our palms. Indeed, his other sobriquet, apart from Ilufemiloye 1, is ‘Owi be e, se bee’ –he who fulfils promises. Fayemi only has to tell you his government would do so and so, and the town, community or individual can go to sleep. It is this trustiability that underpins his annual pre-budget statewide tours, asking the people what their priorities are for the year’s budget. It is the reason why today, every town, village and community can point to his developmental landmarks.

All these devilish schemes are highlighted that we Ekitis may be prepared to the last man to counter whatever the plans the caterwaulers may have up their sleeves. Equally important is the need for the world to know: the likes of the US, Canada, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, the AU, all of which carry the can of the aftermath of immature and antidemocratic actions of African leaders must, willy nilly, be put on notice as to what is afoot in Yoruba land, courtesy President Jonathan, and, long before the Armageddon. expect Him to mediate in certain matters. The other day, someone parked his car right in the middle of the turning to my house. Why? Just to enable him purchase an item from a nearby kiosk. This meant of course that no car could enter the street via that turning. A conversation then ensued among the very indignant occupants of my own car to wit: Nigerians are very selfish and inconsiderate; everyone thinks of himself only in every matter particular; no one has any respect for the law; yet Nigerians perform quite well in other climes. I only half-listened to all these, for I was more hungry than interested after a long day’s work. After proselytizing endlessly on the matter, the dialogue ended with no proffered solutions, so someone heaved a deep sigh, exhaled deeply and said pontifically, God Will Help Us. He said it with such authority I had a mind to ask if he had God’s word on the matter, just to be sure, like, so I could stop worrying about the whole thing.

At yet another conversation, I listened and this time participated as the nation’s woes were dissected to wit: our president listens to no man but follows only his own counsel; everyone carries on national affairs without any thought for the children unborn; the fact that stealing is reducing the country to shreds without any intervention; and the fact that everyone knows the truth about this country but no one is willing to say it because those in powerful places just do not want to know.

Then we sighed and exhaled: God Will Help Us. This time, I did ask if anyone had God’s assurances on the matter. No one answered me.

•This article was first published on a different platform in 2005, but since that time, nothing has happened to compromise its relevance.

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

17

(59)

How ASUU joined the NLC: a footnote to an underground and unwritten history

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HEN in 2007 Patrick F. Wilmot published his explosive book, Nigeria: the Nightmare Scenario, I was startled beyond all measure when I came across his bald and bold claim in the book that it was he, Wilmot, who was responsible for the historic merger of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). As a radical, Pan Africanist senior lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) for many years, the Jamaican-born Wilmot who was married to a Nigerian had been a member of the ABU branch of ASUU. I was the National President of ASUU for part of the period when Dr. Wilmot was at ABU and we did meet a few times during my innumerable visits to Zaria. But even though he was known as one of the ‘campus radicals’ of ABU, in my perception of what was happening at the time, Wilmot was not particularly active in ASUU-ABU. Thus, I was startled when I read the claim in his 2007 book that he had been the man responsible for ASUU joining the NLC by suggesting the move to the late Mahmud Modibbo Tukur who had succeeded me as ASUU National President. Wilmot’s claim is completely false and I shall have more clarifications to make on it later in this piece when I write about Tukur’s reluctance or reservations about taking ASUU into the NLC. The matter of who was responsible for ASUU joining the NLC in 1983 or 1984 (I don’t have my notes and papers with me in Cambridge, Massachusetts to verify the exact date) came up again last year when my friend and fellow writer, Odia Ofeimun, in his moving and eloquent tribute to Festus Iyayi claimed that it was Iyayi who made the historic move when he was President of ASUU. This also is not true and I called Ofeimun both to congratulate him on the brilliance and eloquence of his eulogy to Iyayi and to correct his mistaken claim that Festus had been the man who took ASUU into the NLC. Ofeimun thanked me for the correction and said that he wished that I had seen the draft of his eulogy before it was delivered so that the error could have been averted.

There was another case of inaccurate attribution of responsibility for the ASUU-NLC merger that was both far more complicated than these other cases of Wilmot and Ofeimun and throws considerable light on the whole matter and this had to do with Dr. Segun Osoba, formerly of the University of Ife, a great historian and a pillar of strength, courage and consistency in the radical movement at OAU Ife in particular and Nigerian universities in general. In a speech that he delivered to a national conference of ASUU after the death of Mahmud Tukur, Osoba asserted that Tukur himself had been the person who took ASUU into the NLC. When I read the speech I smiled ruefully at the unintended ironies in Dr. Osoba’s claim. This is because while Osoba was factually correct in stating that it was during the presidency of Tukur that ASUU joined the NLC, what he did not know, or perhaps what he had forgotten is that fact that Tukur was actually not keen

•Hassan Sunmonu, former NLC president

•Abdulwaheed Omar, NLC President

on the move and it took a lot of persuasion for him to agree to the NLCASUU merger. Moreover, Tukur’s reluctance or lack of enthusiasm was based on solid theoretical and ideological grounds that are worth returning to, that are indeed the basis of my going back to the matter nearly three decades later. So to start with, what was the historic significance of the ASUU-NLC merger and what is its enduring legacy decades after Babangida took ASUU out of the NLC? At the present time when the ties and contacts between ASUU and NLC are so intimate and regular and a good umber of Nigerian university lecturers have a keen and supportive in interest in the NLC and the lot of workers, it is perhaps difficult to imagine the vast distance that existed between Nigerian workers and Nigerian academics in the 60s and 70s before ASUU joined the NLC. The distance was so great the only a few radical academics whose number could be counted in single digits had anything to do with the trade unions. Which is why academics like Ola Oni of Ibadan, Eskor Toyo of Calabar and Ikenna Nzimiro of Nsukka stood out among their colleagues as the friends of labour in our universities at the time. Indeed, they not only stood out, they were regarded on the campuses as oddities, “communists” who were deluded in their association with workers and the trade unions. I can add my own personal experience to this observation because when, as a young lecturer, I began to associate closely and regularly with trade unionists, many of my closest friends and associates in the community of radical writers and critics looked at my trade union comrades with suspicion if not indeed with disdain!

On a much larger historical and global terrain, this was in fact something endemic to virtually all the capitalist societies of the world, this separation of workers from academics, a separation in effect of manual labour from intellectual labour. This

have to take the matter to the entire Union and its branches for approval; all I had to do was get the approval of the National Executive Council and this wasn’t difficult. All along, the ultimate objective was that we had to take the whole Union, ASUU, into the NLC. By “we” here I am referring to radicals and progressives at many of the branches of ASUU across the country. “We” were influential but small in numbers; moreover, the majority of the membership of ASUU always watched our moves and tactics with keen, vigilant interest if not with suspicion.

When Mahmud succeeded me as ASUU President “we” decided that the time had come to make the move. This was because Mahmud was not as strongly “suspected” as a “friend of labour” by the generality of ASUU members as I was. Moreover, it was well known that he was not particularly close to the trade union movement. For this reason, as the Immediate Past President (IPP) with a lot of clout in the Union, I was delegated by the radical left in all the ASUU branches to “work” on Mahmud to make him go along with the objective of taking the whole Union, ASUU into the NLC. At this point, I must now take up my earlier observation in this piece that Mahmud had important theoretical and ideological reservations about taking our Union into the NLC. The contents of his reservations and objections can be briefly summarized.

First, Mahmud thought that both in practice and ideology, the leadership of the labour movement in Nigeria was radical and progressive in name only; he thought their bark was much bigger than their bite. Secondly, he thought that at key moments in the history of the labour movement in Nigeria, this leadership of the trade union movement had sold out to employers and the government. Finally and most important of all, Mahmud thought that while in his opinion, farmers and rural communities were the most potentially revolutionary force in Nigeria because

fear had and still has a justifiable reality in the fact that an alliance of workers and intellectuals, of workers in the factories and workers in the elite institutions of education in any country in the world often shakes conservative and oppressive capitalist societies to their foundations. This was the larger historical, ideological and political background to the ASUU-NLC merger.

Against the background of this larger historical and global context, the claim that any one person has sole responsibility for, or was the single moving force in the ASUU-NLC alliance is a fatuous and misleading claim. For my generation of so-called ‘campus radicals” we drew inspiration from and followed the examples of people like Ola Oni, Eskor Toyo and Nzimiro. Speaking for myself, long before I became ASUU President, I had been attending meetings of the NLC as an unofficial observer at the then headquarters of the organization at Ojuelegba in Lagos.

And I was reporting my observations and experiences at these meetings to the radical groups to which I belonged at the time principally the Socialist Collective at Ife and the Anti-Poverty Movement of Nigeria (APMON) which had branches all over the country. And when I became ASUU President, with the permission and authority of the National Executive Council of the Union, I applied for and got official observer status at the meetings of the NLC and became quite familiar and intimate with leaders of the trade union movement in our country like “Labour Leader No 1” Pa Imoudou, Hassan Sumonu, S.O.Z. Ejiofor, M.J. Sule and Adams Oshiomhole, the current governor of Edo State who was then a middle-level leader in the trade union movement.

Again, I must emphasize the fact that only with temporal hindsight can we see now as logical and inevitable what at the time was a very steep and arduous mountain to climb. As ASUU President, it had been relatively easy for me to get official observer status at NLC meetings because we did not

they were far more extensively and cynically exploited than workers, labor leaders in Nigeria had never sought and pursued an alliance with farmers and rural communities.

As indicated in the title of this piece, this essay is merely a footnote to an unwritten history. The whole history will be written some day, hopefully sooner than later in the near future. What remains for me to say in concluding this piece is to report that in my theoretical discussions on the matter with Mahmud, I succeeded in making him pay attention to things that were going on in underground currents among workers, farmers and intellectuals in the country, things indicating that the distances between these groups were narrowing and were being transcended. It was on the strength of this that he agreed to go along with the objective of taking ASUU into the NLC. But even then, he refused to personally represent ASUU in the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the NLC as he should have as the incumbent president of our Union. Rather than take his place in the CWC of the NLC, he delegated that task to me as ASUU’s IPP and for close to three years I attended every meeting of that highest organ of the NLC as ASUU representative.

ASUU was eventually kicked out of the NLC by Babangida but the links had been irrevocably forged such that the formal, autocratic attempt of the dictator to effectively sunder the links failed woefully. Without being a formal affiliate of the NLC, ASUU remains closely connected with the national labour body. The most important expression of the legacy of that historic alliance is the fact that today and well into the future that lies ahead of us, workers and academics in our country no longer see their destinies as separate and unrelated as they once did in the long years and decades before ASUU went into the NLC. A Luta Continua!

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

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ASIWAJU Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as a leader of his people and a political powerhouse in Nigeria is not by accident. In Yorubaland, historically, leaders outside the monarchy are not chosen; they emerge. Those who are called ‘Akikanju’ are those who have weathered storms, fought valiantly and emerged victorious. The Yorubas love their folktales and rally round their heroes. They defer to the man who shows wisdom, strength and compassion in the proper measure. In the past 15 years of our democracy, no man has done this more expertly, consistently and with diligence than Bola Tinubu.

It is said that dreams come true. However, one must ask what audacity Tinubu had to dream that one day he would return home and lead his people after the military junta under the vicious and manic Abacha hounded him into exile. No man with his faculties intact would insist that Nigeria would return to democracy given the tyranny in the land at the time. However, Tinubu is no ordinary man. This man was born with the foresight and restlessness never before seen. His desire for progress consumes him so much; he is ready to sacrifice anything to see a dream come true. Unlike most politicians, his word is his bond. When he says, “I will do it,” his friends and associates know it is as good as done. Such is the character that made him the rallying point of most of the progressives who were exiled in the Abacha era. They knew in Tinubu, they would find succor, wisdom and hope. He never failed them.

Upon his return home, after fate made the possibility of democracy likely, he set out to lead the state he loved so much. Against the run of play and powerful people who seemingly had better political structures and money, he won the ticket to contest the Lagos State Gubernatorial elections in 1999. This was a time when most of those with whom he hurdled with back in London chose to not participate in the democratic process. They were suspicious of the brand of democracy that was on offer.

However, Tinubu jumped at the chance.

He had a plan. He was going to be a different governor. He was determined to teach the other 35 governors and the president how power could be used for good. The sinkholes within the ill-concived constitution and the fragility of the country at the time were not going to deter him. He had a plan from Day One. And, boy, did he deliver on it!

First, Tinubu understood he couldn’t get anything done on his own; hence he went on to secure the loyalty of everyone around him.

A story is told of how he was tempted to ask his friends to let go of their tickets, just so he would be allowed a free run at his own election. Tinubu was said to have told the gathering of elders that that would be the last thing he would do. He told them, ‘I would rather let go of my ticket than have people who sweated for their ticket go because of me.’ I believe this singular act won him the admiration, respect and loyalty of those we see around him today. They know in Tinubu they have a friend and a General who won’t fail them. They trust him and he trusts them. Very unlike a lot of politicians I know.

Secondly, after winning the elections, Tinubu quickly surrounded himself with the most competence group of men and women he could find. He reached out across the political divide to get the best hands to work with him. He even raided the private sector to get seasoned professionals for the great task of turning around the fortunes of Lagos.

It didn’t matter to him that these guys probably didn’t like him; it only mattered that they could do the job. Their tribes, beliefs or

The best should lead the rest Ode to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

•Tinubu

By Alfred Omolewa

political leanings were on little concern to him; only their competence and ability. He had in his cabinet the most outstanding individuals any political leader in the country had. Even the president would have been envious. That is how you know a man with a plan.

Thirdly, Tinubu took a firsthand assessment of the quandaries that had befallen his beloved city. Lagos was a disaster. It was a city dying from every ailment. Security was a joke, traffic was a monster, justice was for hire and the environment was toxic. The civil service was broken down and thugs ruled the streets. On top of these, the population was ballooning at an alarming rate. An ordinary man would have given up and simply chosen to enjoy the guaranteed largess Abuja was legally-bound to send in every month. But, again, Tinubu is no ordinary man. The zest with which he and his team swung into action is legendary. In less than four years, the judiciary was almost corruption-free (this charge was led by the luminary brilliance that is Yemi Oshibajo), security was vastly improved (even though the

law makes this a federal government responsibility), the civil service was computerized and recovering (despite the stiff opposition initially) and traffic congestion was being tackled (using a blend of human resources and modern techniques). In fact, Lagos began the journey to its former glory and started to act as the true center of commerce it was designed to be. Things were more organized and efficiency returned. Many of the steps the Tinubu administration took are now being copied by the federal government and the other state governments. Any leader whose impact extends beyond his immediate surroundings is a success. Tinubu triumphed.

However, Tinubu’s greatest achievement would be finding the best man to succeed him and carry on his blueprint. The ‘usual’ thing would have been for him to find a man of low esteem and competence who would be fed instructions from the Tinubu camp.

This is what President Olusegun Obasanjo attempted with Late President Yar’Adua, which turned out to be a disaster from which Nigeria is yet to recover.

Tinubu resisted the attempt to pick a ‘Yes-man’ and went for competence and abil-

ity again. He found his man in Babatunde Fashola and staked his political future on him. That bet paid off. Fashola is currently one of the finest administrators this nation has ever seen and a pride to the Yoruba race and Black people the world over. His exploits have been praised from across the Atlantic and he is seen as the major reason investors are coming in droves to invest in Lagos. They know it is a sure bet, just as Tinubu knew Fashola was a sure thing.

Tinubu must have the gift of Nostradamus.

So, what is next for this visionary called Bola Tinubu? Recently, he completed the master coup in getting the biggest opposition forces to merge and adopt a singular platform. He put his body on the line, traversing the land and pitching his dream to his would-be conspirators. It came at a cost; he lost sleep and much body weight, but the deal was sealed. The news of the registration of the new party came to him while he was recuperating from a long over-due knee surgery. He must have smiled to himself.

Not a smile of victory but a knowing smile, content that his vicarious appetite for work would get some satisfaction in the task ahead to save Nigeria from sure doom.

This man’s passion calls for a pause, though. Any man who gives his all for a good cause when he could be enjoying his retirement deserves some attention. Tinubu’s vision has been his guide. His determination for Nigeria to achieve true federalism is not in doubt. His belief that only Nigerians can save Nigeria is steady and sure. Question is: Did any past Nigerian president have this fire in his belly? Which Nigerian leader carries the credentials, passion and support that Asiwaju does? Shouldn’t Tinubu be given the room to transmit the vision and plans that worked for Lagos to Nigeria?

All the requisite ingredients that make a great leader in Tinubu. He has the charm, brilliance, competence, compassion, loyalty and patriotism every president must have to succeed. He is accepted as a friend home and abroad. His network of accomplices cut across the strata of society and regions. He is a chief in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba lands.

He has been awarded titles in Europe and America. Chicago State University, his Alma Mata, consider him a great ambassador and once held a dinner in his honour.

Only recently, President Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone said this of him: “Governor Tinubu, we should honour people like you; you have what it takes for such leadership.

Some of us are fortunate to be associated with you. We will deepen our relationship with Nigeria. For somebody like you, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has demonstrated great leadership quality we are happy to be associated with you. If we are making any progress here, it is because of the efforts and contributions people like you have made.”

What an endorsement of quality leadership! If a progressive African leader like Koroma attests to the excellence of Asiwaju Tinubu’s leadership, may be Nigerians have found the president they truly can trust. It is time to ask men of true competence to take the plunge. The best of us should lead the rest of us.

Run, Asiwaju, run!

TRENDS

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The Arogundades in 3D

OOKING for something different in the area of photography? Bored with the same old colour photos now that cell phones have turned us all into photographers? Well, many regard the black and white photograph as an art form – especially in the hands of a master.

Photographer, Oladipo Arogundade, younger brother of one-time Editor of Sunday Vanguard, Fola Arogundade, is in the vanguard of a new trend in black and white. Their outfit located at the Leisure Shopping Mall in Surulere has just unveiled the 3D Facescan - a revolutionary new concept in photography that has just arrived our shores.

Your face is scanned in 3D and then projected by laser through a block of glass three dimensionally. Rendered in black and white, the ‘captured’ image of yourself turns, swims and faces you in whatever direction you turn. It is akin to sculpture in some ways and offers the best of two worlds: you don’t have to worry about photos that fade and you ‘sculpted’ image is protected from the vagaries of weather in the transparent glass cube.

The whole process takes just a few minutes to complete and you have in your hands a cute little keepsake for the family or some loved one.

•Wole Soyinka in 3D

•FESTAC Mask

•Obafemi Awolowo

19

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

Fresh controversy over committees

Ekiti 2014: The odds against Fayose

Abia 2015: Tough fight ahead for Chukwumerije’s seat

PAGE 22

PAGES 21

PAGE 25

2015: Jonathan’s men scheme for automatic ticket Following sustained opposition of President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection bid within the PDP, his handlers are perfecting plots to evade primaries by ensuring his adoption as the consensus PDP candidate, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

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ORRIED by what sources described as the refusal of a couple of leading chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to openly endorse the second term bid of President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 presidential election, allies of the president may have embarked on a scheme meant to ensure that he emerges as the party’s flagbearer without a primary election.

Investigations by The Nation revealed that following the failure of pro-Jonathan

campaigners within the party to convince the duo of Governors Sule Lamido and Babangida Aliyu of Jigawa and Niger States respectively to renounce their rumoured presidential ambitions and publicly endorse Jonathan for another term, a plot is being hatched to prevent any form of last minute threat from the duo or any other aspirant at that.

The move, it was gathered, was borne out of apprehensions within the president’s men that if not checked, a last minute entrance into the battle for the party’s ticket by any of the aspirants currently being touted

as having presidential aspiration could rock the boat and scuttle the re-election bid of Mr. President.

A reliable source within the party told The Nation that there are ongoing efforts to convince the party leadership and other stakeholders to avoid an elective congress in choosing the party’s presidential candidate for the 2015 general election.

“Yes, there are clamour for a non-elective congress where the president would simply be endorsed by the party leaders and members as the party’s flag bearer. The argument is that

there is need for the party to avoid any form of division ahead of the 2015 election given the emergence of a united opposition in form of the All Peoples Congress (APC).

A primary election, according to those proposing the non elective congress, may trigger fresh bickering and factionalisation within the party.

A situation where the party breaks into factions few months to the general election may injure our chances in the election. That is what we are being told,” our source said.

But another source revealed

what he described as “unhidden fear of the unknown” within Jonathan’s camp over the forthcoming presidential election and how the party’s candidate will be picked.

“The truth of the matter is that there is this fear that one or two of those earlier touted as harboring presidential ambitions, especially from the northern geo-political zones, may spring last minute surprises and contest the ticket against Jonathan at the •Continued on on Page Page 20 20 •Continued

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

POLITICS

Obiano: The first seven days I F it is true that morning actually shows the day,then, citizens of Anambra State may already be getting value for affirming “continuity” when they voted for Chief Willie Obiano in the last gubernatorial elections thereby assuring a smooth transition from Governor Peter Obi to Governor Willie Obiano. Whereas Obi’s exit strategy was to finish strong hence he was commissioning projects up to his last day in office; the new governor, Obiano, practically hit the ground running with a flurry of activities at Government House, Awka and some parts of the state involving project meetings, consultations and inauguration of committees. In fact, Obiano’s emphatic take-off has left keen observers, and students of government beating their chest that indeed Anambra is on the cusp of great things in the days and months ahead.

While it may be very early in the day to draw conclusions on the factors that would define Obiano’s tenure as governor of Anambra State, skeptics of his abilities in government had reasoned that the first week activities are not enough yardstick to determine his grasp of the flow and ebb of bureaucracy. On the other hand, there is course for optimism amongst those who knew and believe in Akpokuodike’s abilities at surmounting the odds. Some political pundits have surmised that the carnival-like inauguration of Obiano and the seamless pace of activities in Awka Government House since then are signs of good things to come.

Obiano’s first week in office started on a high note after the Monday 17th March 2014 colourful inauguration and handover ceremony at Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka. Next day, the new governor appeared at his desk in Government House and commenced work in earnest. His first major assignment was the first Executive Council meeting, and thereafter, he appointed three principal officers and observed their swearing-in. The officers include; Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Oseloka Obaze; Chief of Staff, Professor Joseph Asike and the Principal Secretary, Mr. Willie Nwokoye. While the SSG was retained at his post from the previous administration, the two others came armed with experience from the ivory tower and the private sector respectively.

Unfortunately, as often seen in these climes allusions are already being made in some quarters to the fact that the Governor, Secretary to the State Government and the Speaker are all from Anambra North Senatorial District. But then it is a fact that the exigencies of delivering good governance outweigh parochial considerations in situations that were not necessarily created by the new governor. Whereas the SSG was retained

By Okey Onyeachonam

at his post; the Speaker has been functioning as elected in that capacity. As would be expected of a focused technocrat, Obiano marched-on unperturbed to the next assignment.

Next stop was a meeting with members of the Anambra State House of Assembly where he set the tone for a mutually respectful partnership that will bring great benefits to Anambra State. Addressing the lawmakers, Obiano said “Long before I began to take political leadership seriously, I had always known that any democracy without a strong parliament is a farce! I have known that the legislature is the true backbone of democracy and the single most important repository of the sovereign will of the people.”

Obiano told the lawmakers, “I have no doubt that if Anambra State is to make the long anticipated transition from merely aspiring to greatness to attaining actual greatness, my administration must close ranks with you. We must work together to unlock the potentials of our people and launch Anambra into a new phase of development.”

Preaching the same message of respect for separation of powers and checks and balances, the Governor observed at a meeting with Judges on Wednesday 19th march, 2014 that since our country’s recent return to democracy, nowhere has the Judiciary played its role as the last hope of the common man as it has done in Anambra State.

As Obiano put it: “Anambra’s great history with the courts does not only underscore the importance of your role in our developing society; it also shows that Ndi Anambra are increasingly becoming aware that their grievances can always be fully addressed in a court of law. This is a sign of growth. We have turned 360 degrees from where we once were to where we must be.”

The Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi, later took the governor round the Judiciary and High Court complex to take stock of structures and facilities that needs rehabilitation and replacement with a view to assisting in quick dispensation of Justice.

Same day Obiano inaugurated the agricultural committee and charged them to create agricultural revolution in Anambra State. He told the committee, headed by Professor Emeka Omaliko, “You were selected for your expertise and we want you to make specific and actionable recommendations that would enable us achieve set targets.”

To underscore the importance of peace and security in the 189 communities in Anambra State, Obiano fast-tracked consultation meetings with the royal fathers and the Anambra Council of Elders. He told the traditional rulers and elders coun-

cil, that “as custodians of our culture and tradition; leaders of thought and elders in communities, you have a big role to play in setting the ethical and moral tone for Ndi Anambra and Ndigbo in general.”

In the same vein, the governor charged the leadership of the Association of Anambra State Town Unions (ASATU), made up of the Presidents Generals of the 189 communities in Anambra State; “My administration is sparing no effort in the fight against the criminal elements that have changed the reputation of our cities. It is high time we gave red card to criminals in Anambra State and that is where you come-in. As leaders of our town unions, you must always stand up for what is right in our society, you must device a mechanism for identifying the bad eggs living among you, while we are creating better jobs for those willing to work.” Obiano warned the ASATU to avoid the niggling friction between them and the traditional rulers, and assured that his administration will work hard to eliminate the friction and build understanding that will preserve the peace in Anambra State.

He also threatened to penalize contractors and consultants handling •Obiano government projects some of whom were suspected to be doing shoddy jobs. Addressing a large group of local and foreign contractors and consultants at the Conference Hall of Government House, Awka, Obiano threatened to terminate the job of any contractor found to be performing below expectation.

He declared that his relationship with consultants would be based strictly on performance.

“We will be checking the quality of your work and so long as you are doing your job as agreed, you won’t have problems with us. For people doing designs for us, we want the best quality in terms of designs.”

In the midst of the tight schedule, Obiano showed his humane disposition when he ran to the rescue of some students involved in an accident admitted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi. The Governor did not only pick the health bill and assisted the hospital’s power supply, he also touched on his health policy for Anambra State.

Obviously Governor Obiano’s accomplishments during the first week didn’t escape the attention of ndi Anambra. Already, people are

taking stock of his steps in leadership, and not a few were willing to proffer opinions. Mrs. Oby Ude, a civil servant, could not hide her feelings: “The man has come with a lot of enthusiasm.

You can see he knows what he wants done. I must say there is business-like approach in how he goes about governance and getting everyone around him to do things.” On his part, Jerry, a Contractor had this impression about Obiano, “this man is a non-nonsense man. I pity those who will think he is not ready to bite. They may not know it yet but this is good.”

Perhaps the most telling of the observations, comes from Tessy Okonkwo, a broadcast Journalist, “I have observed and heard Governor Obiano since the Inauguration. I have seen him speak and read his lips while speaking.

The man is believable and you can almost feel it, there is a new hope for a better Anambra. My prayer is that he sustains the pace that I have seen.”

The signs are there, and no one is left in doubt that Obiano has started creating his Governorship footprints.

2015: Jonathan’s men scheme for automatic ticket •Continued from Page 19 party’s congress.

Should this happen, the president and his handlers are not sure that the party will not be negatively affected. There is even the fear that such an unexpected contest may not favour the president. To avoid this, there is a subtle move to get the party to have a non-elective congress and just get the president endorsed as the candidate.

Though there may be other people, the fear is largely about governors Lamido and Aliyu. There are talks within some quarters that the duo are still not totally given to Jonathan’s second term ambition and may still make moves towards scuttling it.

Both Aliyu and Lamido, along with five other PDP governors, led a revolt against the president’s ambition resulting in the formation of the defunct New-PDP. But while the others decamped to the APC, the duo stayed back within the PDP, insisting that they cannot leave the party for Jonathan.

Jonathan, on a few occasions, have been alleged to have expressed worry that the true position of the two governors on the party remained unknown even though they did not defect along with their five colleagues in the G7 last December to the opposition All Progressive Congress, APC. The president also has severally urged the party leadership to intensify efforts to persuade Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and his Jigawa State

counterpart, Alhaji Sule Lamido, to return fully to the PDP before activities that will herald the 2015 general election kicks off.

But the seeming inability of the party and other stakeholders to draw the duo out of their shell and prompt them into endorsing Jonathan’s re-election bid has left the president’s camp worried and uncertain.

The Nation learnt that a stakeholders’ meeting of party chieftains and government appointees scheduled for Abuja later in the week may put in a request before the party at its next NEC meeting to enable President Jonathan get an automatic ticket to fly the party’s flag in the 2015 presidential election.

Checks revealed that the meeting will discuss a recommendation to cajole the party into offering the president the right of first refusal to contest the PDP presidential primaries.

A source said: “The idea is that the party will announce that it will only conduct primaries if the president is unwilling to seek another term. Otherwise, the PDP presidential primaries will only affirm the president as the presidential candidate of the party. That is the non elective congress they are seeking for 2015.

“What is left to be seen is how they will effect this plan. For me, I’ll say unless they amend the party’s constitution, it may be impossible to get the ticket unopposed.

But again, it is not wise to underrate the ability of politicians to turn the table at all times,”.

Pundits say Jonathan faces a daunting task in his rumoured bid to contest the 2015

presidential election as there are several moves and counter-moves across the many geo-political zones of the country to stop him from having another shot at the presidency after his current tenure elapses.

Although he is still begging the questions as to his candidature, given what they called his positive body language, his aides and allies are already out in the open seeking ways of ensuring that his aspiration is not truncated by the many obstacles he currently faces.

Specifically, Jonathan battles a political rebellion from the northern region of the country where most of the leading political actors are opposed to his desire to continue in office beyond 2015. This is unlike what transpired during the 2011 elections when he enjoyed massive support from almost all the six geo-political zones of the country.

The argument of the large clan of antiJonathan forces within the north is that the President’s emergence in the saddle breached the power sharing arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which would have ensured that power remained in the area even after the death of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010.

Chieftains of both the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), the two leading socio-political organisations in the region, have persistently argued that there are abundant reasons why Nigerians should not entrust the President with the leadership of the country beyond May 2015.

Also, recent disclosure by expresident Olusegun Obasanjo that Jonathan promised to spend only one term in office and the former president’s insistence that the president should not contest in 2015 have created anxiety in the President’s camp.

“There are those who say Obasanjo’s comments may be a pointer to a major coalition against Jonathan’s second term bid. This is giving some people sleepless nights,” a source said.

“President Jonathan said, not only once but twice, publicly, not only inside Nigeria but also outside Nigeria, that he would have one term, and he said that to me. One of the things that is very important in the life of any man or any person is that he will be a man or a person of his word. If you decide your word should not be taken seriously, that’s entirely up to you,” Obasanjo had said.

An ally of the president said: “All these and more worries within Jonathan’s camp have led some stakeholders of the party, including the chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, to start canvassing for the right of first refusal for the president.

“What we want to do now is to throw the issue open and get the meeting to consider officially seeking to get the party to buy the idea in the interest of the party.

Most people may not see it, but there are very serious barricades standing tall against the candidacy of the president in 2015. This is why we want to start early and remove the barricades one after the other,”.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

POLITICS

21

AT THE NATIONAL CONFAB THIS WEEK

Fresh controversy over committees

U

NLIKE the previous week, this week could be described as largely peaceful as delegates, after debates largely agreed on most of the issues brought at the table.

Delegates adopt 70 percent to resolve voting procedure puzzle The week opened on a happy note as the contentious three-quarter or two-third consensus voting mode was finally resolved on Monday, March 31, 2014.

It follows last weekend’s adoption of 70 percent majority proposal by the “50-wise men.” It would be recalled that the committee of the wise men was strategically constituted last week by the leadership of the National Conference to help resolve the voting procedure paradox.

Presenting the report of the outcome of the group’s consultative meeting, the Deputy Chairman of the conference, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, said, “The committee met on the 25th and 26th March, 2014. Deliberations during these meetings were cordial. Delegates worked in harmony to develop and put into effective use, the spirit of consensus building with the national interest at heart.

“At the conclusion of deliberations, members reached a decision to amend Order VI Paragraph 4, XI paragraph 2 and XII paragraph 4 (e) as follows: “In the case of failure to reach consensus, the matter shall be decided by majority vote of 70 percent of delegates present and voting. That is the recommendation that committee is bringing to you, distinguished delegates.”

Third Republic Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu, representing the Former Senators Forum, moved a motion that was seconded by former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Victor Attah, representing the Former Governors’ Forum, for the adoption of the recommendation. The resolution was thereafter adopted.

Debate on President’s inaugural speech Another issue at the conference this week that caught the attention of concerned Nigerians was the debate on President Goodluck Jonathan’s inaugural speech.

Former Senate President, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, commenting on the speech said: “I stand to praise nor vilify the president’s speech. It is the speech of a leader who is worried about his country. It is a speech of great expectation and the whole country expects a lot from all gathered here.

Speaking in the same way, former Minister

•Kutigi

of Information, Dr. Dora Akunyili, who was the previous week specially mentioned in the media for not making any contribution, allegedly traced to her health condition, said she was proud of Jonathan for convening the conference.

She said: “Nigerians have for long clamoured for this National Conference. I regard this National Conference as President Jonathan’s best Centenary gift to Nigeria; it is a testimony of the fact that he is a listening President.”

The praises notwithstanding, many delegates said the agenda set in the speech is high, but that the challenge remains if the government structure would allow the conference to translate the expressed ideals to reality.

Ripples over committee chairmen, deputies As at Thursday, the controversy over the alleged reversal of already agreed way of electing committee chairmen and their deputies was still reverberating across the country.

The delegates were squarely divided on who should be vested with such powers. But after Dr. Sam Egwu explained that contrary to the provi-

sions of the standing orders of the conference, where the chairman has the powers to review the performance of committee chairmen, the norm should be reversed since the chairman lacks the powers to appoint them in the first place, Kutigi reluctantly agreed and thereafter transferred the powers to review the performance of committee chairmen and their deputies to members.

But to some delegates, the matter was so touchy that they formally protested the decision to withdraw the power of committee members to select their chairmen and deputies.

A group, which described itself as “Aggrieved Delegates,” addressed a press conference on the matter before the plenary on Thursday. The group’s spokesman, Mr Abdulwaheed Omar, said: “We are protesting against something that is being brought through the back door; the decision for the committee to select their chairmen and deputies at the committee level .

“This decision was concluded by delegates

at the plenary, only for it to resurface through the Committee of 50, who are only mandated to talk about the voting pattern.

“The leadership of the conference is using the Committee of 50 to come up with something they were not originally mandated to discuss and we are saying this is the beginning of a dangerous pattern.’’

He warned, “we are afraid if we go by this trend, only God knows what other things will be manipulated again in the same way.

“We are saying we have to practice democracy and we are demanding that this decision be reversed so that we will go back to the popular decision.

“In 2005, it was the committees that selected their leaders, why will it be different this time?.’’

It would be recalled that on March 20, an amendment to the Rule was proposed at the conference that committee members should select their chairmen and deputy chairmen from among themselves.

Pledge to be Nigerians It was not however all fire. The delegates also agreed on certain fundamental issues like the issue of serving at the conference first as Nigerians before the various interests they represent.

President Jonathan had set the tone in his inauguration speech when he said “Even though you come to the conference as representatives of different interest groups, I urge you to make a united, stronger, indivisible and prosperous Nigeria your preoccupation and reference point.’’

So, when the Secretary of the conference, Dr Valerie Azinge, announced that delegates would sit in alphabetic order, the delegates overwhelmingly supported the arrangement.

It was reported that they raised their voices in unison, saying they were at the conference as Nigerians.

“I think I have come here as a Nigerian.

We should sit in alphabetical order. If any group wants to confer on anything, they can do that after the plenary.

“I did not come here to be Yoruba; I want to be able to interact with others and see how we can have a pan-Nigerian discussion,” Chief Segun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State was quoted as saying.

On this note, so much is expected the coming week as the proper business of the conference begins to take shape.

Why Fayemi deserves second term

O

NE of the commonly heard refrains in Ekiti State, especially the capital, Ado-Ekiti, now that the gubernatorial race is hard by, is: “Fayemi will coast home – like the famous sprinter, Jamaicaborn Usain Bolt – to bag yet another gold medal, in recognition of his brilliant performance in the administration of the state.” At Adekunle Fajuyi Square, in Ado- Ekiti, not so long ago, a group of professionals, university teachers, employers of labour, students, skippers of non-governmental organisatons, pensioners, representatives of road transport workers union, amongst others, said over a period of four days, that Fayemi was the one everyone in the gubernatorial race would have to beat. Said a second-year university student, Yemisi Oladoyin-Olajide: “Fayemi looks certain to trounce every one of his challengers in the governorship race. He deserves my vote.”

Indeed, as most of the interview subjects said, Fayemi’s name is literally written in almost all the towns and villages of Ekiti State, which is, interestingly, one of the most homogeneous states in the Nigerian federation. “Fayemi”, said a lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ado-Ekiti, who craved anonymity “is synonymous with the development and attendant transformation of Ekiti State: Fayemi means good roads; Fayemi is another name

By Nduka Uzuakpundu

for peace, security and orderliness; by Fayemi, most of the people of Ekiti State will tell you, reference is made to rural development, which comes with the empowerment of farmers, swift response to the needs of the thousands of pensioners in the state; the name Fayemi reminds me and a majority of the people of Ekiti State of food security, a promising improvement in electricity supply, prompt payment of workers’ salary, within the limits of available resources in the state government’s till; Fayemi, put tersely, symbolises transparency, good governance, aggressive, but constructive, drive for internally-generated revenue, aimed at fattening the revenue base of the state.” The lecturer from Oye community, who said he had a picture of Fayemi proudly nailed at a visible point in his office, added that “far from being patronising, Fayemi has, so far, placed Ekiti State on a very high pedestal. His record of people-oriented development and urban renewal, such that poverty is fast receding from the affairs of the state; tax-payers are happy with him; so are pensioners (my aged dad one); add school children and women, who are pleased that Ekiti State, under the Fayemi administration, is a region of peace; a veritable tourists’ mecca, as a result.”

A warrior – because he’s well conversant with the laws and principles of conflict; an unblinking apostle of

•Fayemi Awoism – because he has followed the late sage’s political examples and applied his style of leadership to his administration in Ekiti State; and as one of the numerous activists who fought – at great risks – for an end to stratocracy, in the interest of democracy, Fayemi has, thus, made it almost a fait accompli that he is well-deserving of a second term in office, since he sits high in all

the people’s hearts – especially tax-payers and voters.

Not surprising though, as one psephologist and Programme Director at Centre for Good Governance and Poverty Alleviation, Ado-Ekiti, Mr. Adekunle Ade-Marthenes, 54, said, “the fact that Fayemi is synonymous with administrative brilliance, which makes him the best governor, in nearly two decades’ history of the state, makes one think that he actually did his homework, thoroughly, before offering to serve. One suspects that Fayemi knew well that public administration needs the guts of a warrior, especially in a state like Ekiti, which was why, as someone who has studied conflicts at top educational level, he felt competent to govern the state. Besides, it takes the war strategy of a Fayemi, who had to fight back, in the face of hairless injustice after the 2007 elections, to launch a debilitating, massive counter-attack – with a touch of Ekiti parapo – against his enemy to claim victory at the law court.

Ade-Marthenes, who wears a shiny, black toothbrush moustache, argues that in that historical victory, Fayemi –

and impliedly the APC – passes well for a rejection of electoral fraud. He argues, further, that because of the Fayemi administration’s serpentine list of people-oriented feats, it would be an interesting academic exercise to probe into why all the governors of Ekiti state, save only Fayemi, were pretty far from being responsive to the aspirations and needs of the people of the state. Said AdeMartenes: “All past governors ought to be compelled to give an account of their stewardship.” Well . . .

But what is paramount to all stakeholders in Ekiti politics, for now, is the 2014 gubernatorial race. And if a majority of them agree that , indeed, there’s little vacancy at the State House, in Ado-Ekiti, it may well be because Fayemi, the incumbent, has, in keeping with Abraham Lincoln’s “with malice to none, but charity to all”, inadvertently, rented every available space with people-oriented projects – in justification of the taxpayers’ money. Such projects could be found in areas where the leaders are vociferously censorious of the APC. Currently, there is a spirit of latter-day Ekiti parapo, as drums are being beaten, enthusiastically, is support of Fayemi’s campaign for a second-term in office.

•Uzuakpundu is a Lagos-based journalist.

22

POLITICS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

Ekiti 2014: The odds against Fayose

C

ONTROVERSIAL politician, Ayo Fayose, never gets tired of referring to himself as a street-wise, grassroots politician with the magic wand to win elections.

Responding to a question on his chances against the incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Fayose said rather boastfully: “I will defeat Fayemi just like I defeated his godfather, Niyi Adebayo.”

The Afao Ekiti-born politician, who crept into the political consciousness of the South West state in the early 2000, was apparently referring to his unexpected victory against the then incumbent governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, in the 2003 governorship election.

But can he re-enact his 2003 feat against an incumbent, who has received applause within and outside the state on account of his impressive performance in the last three y e a r s ?

W i t h i n Fayose’s camp, confidence has soared that he has all it takes to challenge Fayemi at the polls.

The Nation gathers that Fayoses’

Unperturbed by the fierce opposition to his victory at the primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Ayo Fayose’s confidence that he would pull an upset in the Ekiti State governorship poll come June 21 has not waned. He, however, has a huge hill to climb to make his dream come true, writes Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo optimism has also been boosted based on the support he is receiving from the presidency and the national leadership of his party, which recently issued him the Certificate of Nomination in spite of objections by other aspirants who contested for the PDP ticket against Fayose.

Sources disclosed that Fayose’s victory at the primary gladdened the hearts of the powers-that-be, who regard him as a “rugged politician that can deliver when the chips are down.”

Albeit for a different reason, we learnt that palpable excitement also rent the air in Governor Kayode Fayemi’s campaign organisation as soon as the news of Fayose’s victory at the PDP primary filtered in.

This is because Fayemi’s supporters and many other stakeholders in the state believe that PDP’s choice of Fayose, in spite of his “political baggage,” could ensure a smooth sail for Fayemi in an election believed to be a threehorse race among three po-

•Fayose

litical parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Labour Party (LP) and the PDP. A house divided within Following the controversial primary that produced Fayose, other aspirants including a former deputy governor of the state, Abiodun Aluko; former Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade; Senator Gbenga Aluko; Adeyanju Bodunde; Omoyeni Adebisi, to mention but a few, have repeatedly argued that Fayose will be a hard sell for the party.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja last week, Aluko reiterated the opposition of the G13 to Fayose, who, he claimed, is facing serious charges in various courts.

Aluko added, “In most communities in Ekiti, it is shameful to be seen following Fayose. As a matter of fact, the majority of our people are now saying that it is better to stick with Gov. Kayode Fayemi than to follow Fayose.”

Warning the national leadership of the PDP on the consequences of fielding Fayose, Aluko continued, “Already, our party is facing a serious meltdown in Ekiti. But if the PDP insists on fielding Fayose, a majority of our supporters will leave the party…if they insist on Fayose, we wish them good luck.

June 21 is around the corner.”

Posers over Fayose’s eligibility to contest Beyond the opposition within the PDP against Fayose, questions are also being asked as to whether the former governor is eligible to contest the June 21 governorship election having been impeached in 2006 by the state House of Assembly.

Fayose, according to Aluko, “is not eligible to contest any election until 2016 when his impeachment would have run the mandatory 10-year period of grace.

The recent ruling by an Ekiti High Court that the PDP candidate has a case to answer in respect of the N1.2billion poultry farm case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also being cited by many PDP stakeholders as sufficient enough to ‘replace Fayose with a credible candidate.’

Will traditional rulers support Fayose?

During his iron-fist rule as governor from 2003 to 2006, the fear of Fayose was the beginning of wisdom for many traditional rul-

ers in the state.

The running battle the former governor had with the traditional institution while his tenure lasted has once again taken the front burner as campaign for the governorship election gets under way.

However, his undisguised cold relationship with the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, generated the most tension, with Fayose once allegedly threatening to depose the influential monarch.

There are insinuations in certain quarters that the monarchs, who largely determine the pattern of voting in their respective domain, may work against Fayose at the poll.

But in a recent interview, Fayose dismissed reports that he is not in the good books of traditional rulers in the state, noting, “I have a cordial relationship with a majority of the traditional rulers in Ekiti. They are solidly behind me. Just wait and see.”

Between Ekiti elites and Fayose As governor, it was an open secret that Ayo Fayose brooked no opposition. His usual refrain was: “you are either for me or against me.”

For the elites who dared to call his bluff, they have a not-too-palatable story to tell.

One of such influential indigenes is Chief Afe Babalola, a foremost Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is revered as one of the founding fathers of Ekiti.

His disagreement with Fayose was alleged to be one of the reasons the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who is a close friend of the respected lawyer, moved against the former governor and subsequently imposed a state of emergency in the state.

Will Babalola, the Founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), whose voice carried tremendous weight in Ekiti, throw his support behind Fayose? That is a puzzle many are eager to unravel.

Another prominent lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, who is an indigene of Ilawe Ekiti, is also an unrepentant critic of Fayose.

On more than one occasion, Falana had been involved in a verbal warfare with the then sitting governor over his alleged autocratic style.

Igbimo Ekiti yet to take a stand The Igbimo Ekiti, the umbrella organisation of all Ekiti indigenes led by former Secretary of Health, Chief Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, The Nation gathered, will play a major role in determining where the pendulum of victory will swing in the June 21 election.

While the organisation has not taken a formal position on the candidate to support at the election, it is, however, believed that a majority of its members are positively disposed to Governor Fayemi’s re-election.

With all these odds against Fayose, it remains to be seen how far he can go in the June 21 poll.

Rivers : Wike’s guber ambition suffers set back as Ijaw, Ogoni, others kick

T

HE much whispered gubernatorial ambition of the Supervising Minister for Education, Chief (Barr.)

Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, may have run into some major bumps, before proper kick off following incessant public display of opposition to his candidature by leading blocs in the politics of the oil rich state.

Sources within the Grassroot Development Initiative (GDI), the political camp of the embattled Minister, say the recent agitations against his 2015 governorship bid across the state by political groups and ethnic nationalities came as a rude shock to Wike and his handlers.

“The open hostilities to his ambition by group like the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ijaw Democratic Front (IDF), Kengema Unity Forum amongst others, came as big blows to the aspiration of the Minister. While we know that these groups alone cannot determine who rules the state, the public display of opposition to his candidature is worrisome.

By Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor

We didn’t see them coming. Otherwise, we would have countered the moves. The people you saw out there were not representing the opinion of the real people of these areas. the people understand why the state needs to jettison the idea of zoning and get a strong leader in 2015.

But we are undeterred as we are ready to reach out to all quarters in our bid to give Rivers state the best governor in 2015. We are going to tell the Minister not to be bothered by the antics of the opposition. We view the development as the antics of a few people opposed to his well intended ambition,” Comrade Bernard Fisher, coordinator of the Wike Youth Alliance (WYA) said on Friday.

Last week, Ijaws in Rivers State declared that the next Governor of the state must come from any of the Ijaw speaking communities. They were very clear in their insistence that a governor of Ijaw extraction in 2015 is non-negotiable.

To press home their points in the past weeks, several Ijaw groups took to the streets across the state to propagate the gospel of an Ijaw governor for rivers state in 2015. At all the rallies and protests, the people said they will not negotiate nor compromise with any other ethnic group over the matter of who rules the state next.

A pro-Ijaw for governor group, the “Ijaw Project”, while inaugurating its local government officers in Port Harcourt recently, demanded for a true Riverine governor come 2015. Speaking through its DirectorGeneral, Comrade Somina Wokoma, the group decried the absence of development in the riverine communities, but expressed optimism that the only panacea to the lopsided development in Rivers State is the emergence of a Governor from Ijaw extraction in 2015.

Similarly, Ijaws under the auspices of the Ijaw Democratic Front (IDF) last week covered at the popular Alfred Diette Spiff Civic Centre, Moscow Road in the Port

•Continued on page 24

•Wike

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

POLITICS

23

Mark at 66: Strides of a statesman

N

IGERIA’S incumbent President of the Senate, Senator David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark is a man of very few words but endowed with overflowing good conscience and love for the country.

Hate him or love him, Senator Mark has remained a recurring decimal, steadfast and committed to the political stability of Nigeria. With a very successful military career and a challenging but blossom political engagement, Mark’s staying power can easily be traced to his honesty, unwavering commitment to the ideals of nationhood, courage, team spirit and uncommon ability to forgive foes even at the risk of his life.

His approach to decision making is unarguably rational. His style is akin to 1978 Nobel prize winner in Economics Herbert Simon’s satificing model of decision making. This model is a decision making strategy or cognitive heuristic that entails searching through the available alternatives until an acceptability threshold is met. Mark’s strength is in consulting widely before taking a decision that are agreeable and ultimately beneficial to the majority of people.

To the less knowledgeable about this enigma, Senator Mark is just a simple, not flamboyant and unarguably unassuming public officer. But in our clime, nothing is too simple that it cannot be misunderstood.

Most of the time, his frankly disposition is misinterpreted by many and sometimes results in needless controversies. In all, however, he has always been vindicated albeit triumphantly.

One easily and widely reported case was that as Communications Minister, he was quoted to have said that “ Telephone is not for the poor,” after he took the infamous but courageous step to cut telephone lines of the high and the powerful, including Dodan Barracks manned by his boss, former Military President Ibrahim Babangida to recoup vast sums of money owed the then Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL). Yet, nobody can deny the tremendous lift in NITEL under Mark from a cash - strapped agency to a profitmaking institution. Besides, NITEL staff profited from a new and indeed enhanced salary package. Mark raised the morale of the workers and that of NIPOST. The hitherto dwindling fortunes of the agencies rose in such a way that they no longer depended on government subventions to survive. One thing is instructive here, that what Senator Mark did was a clarion call for subscribers to live up to their responsibilities to wit; if you own a telephone line or receives the services, pay your bills. Today, unlike the past, majority of our country men and women have access to telephone lines courtesy of the Global Service for Mobile Telecommunications (GSM) and we all pre-pay before the services could be rendered. NITEL under Mark remains the foundation for GSM operators in Nigeria now. Regrettably, our own NITEL is dead on account of huge debts, while other GSM providers are smiling to the banks. In our country, we are just too quick to vilify public officers without the slightest compulsion, the import of the message or policy notwithstanding.

Only recently, Mark while declaring open a retreat for National Assembly Correspondents in Umuahia, Abia State, examined the pros and cons of the emergence of social media networks, appreciated it for the spontaneous nature in the dissemination of information to a larger number of audience unlike the traditional media. But he was quick to point out the challenges and therefore suggested the need to regulate the operations and provide a feedback mechanism. Again, many Nigerians protested against Senator Mark thus thwarting the message and the messenger. Regrettably, few weeks later, a very promising Nigerian, Cynthia Osokogwu, was lured through the social media (Facebook) to her death in a most, gruesome manner.

Controversial as his statements may seem, Mark remains resolute believing in the sanctity of the truth and will continue to do only those things that would bring honor and glory to our fatherland.

His coming into politics nay the Senate in 1999 was circumstantial. On return from exile, in 1998, all he wanted was a quiet private life in his Otukpo, Benue State country home. But destiny had a different mission and his people, including late Andrew

•Mark

By Paul Mumeh

Agom of blessed memory, saw in him a visionary leader. They enlisted him into the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He ran for the Senate and was elected. In 2003, he returned to the upper legislative chamber, representing Benue South Senatorial zone.

Even when it seemed over for him in 2007 and indeed ready to bow out gloriously, again his constituents urged him on.

He returned to the Senate and destiny entrusted in him to be elected the President of the Senate. But his emergence as the 12th President of the Nigerian Senate did not come so easy. He had to contend with very influential and powerful forces who craved for the exalted position too.

His kinsman and former governor of Benue State, Senator George Akume, was the one propped up to pull the rug off his feet. The combined forces of ranking senators; Nuhu Aliyu (Niger State) and Senator Gbemi Saraki-Fawora (Kwara State) had stepped down in the high wired political maneuvering to pave way for Akume’s emergence. But nothing stops an idea whose time is ripe. So Senator Mark emerged victorious with 69 votes against Akume’s 39.

Lest we miss the point, there is the tendency to ignore the huge importance of that epochal event but it bears mentioning that the sanity, maturity, stability and entrenched democratic culture now characteristic of the upper legislative chambers is a direct result of that credible democratic exercise when the Senators were allowed to chose their presiding officers without external influence or encumbrances.

Even before his emergence as the President of the Senate, Mark has always pursued a pan-Nigeria agenda. He believed in the oneness, and indivisibility of Nigeria.

Worth mentioning was the critical intervention of the Senate at a time of grave national peril - the invocation of ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ in 2009 when a determined but unlucky former President Musa Yar’Adua fell ill and was unable to perform state functions. The Doctrine of Necessity was invoked to propel then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act. That singular action of the Senate unarguably saved the nation from the precipice. In addition, the mediatory roles of the Senate during national challenges, especially during fuel subsidy riots of January 2012, bears eloquent testimony of Mark’s leadership quality.

Although, the Academic Staff Unions of Colleges of Education and Polytechnics are at the moment on strike on account of disagreements with the authorities, Mark’s Senate intervention in the resolution of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) protracted impasse with federal government is also worth mentioning. Under Mark’s leadership, the freedom of information bill was passed into law while the amendment of the 1999 constitution was substantially altered although expectation is still high in many quarters, especially on the demand for state creation. Hope is not lost as agita-

tors went back to the drawing board to tackle the legal hurdles.

Only recently, Mark was on song when he displayed uncommon wisdom and maturity in the issue of defection in the Senate.

Under Mark’s Senate Presidency, the Senate is united, indivisible family irrespective of political party affiliation. It is a house of equal rights and privileges.

As the true representatives of his people, Mark has continued to let them feel the impact of dividends of democracy. He has single handedly built and donated a multi- million Naira complex for the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Otukpo study centre, an annual scholarship dubbed David Mark Scholarship Scheme (DMSS) for which over 10,000, especially indigent students have benefitted since 1999, an 18- hole green golf course with not less than 30 staff, a development now attracting international golfers and put Otukpo on the world map, Joy Fm Radio station employing about 50 staff and the attraction of greater Otobi Water Dam project to address the water crisis in the area as well as the construction of the OtukpoOweto road project. Just last week precisely 29th March 2014, the Federal government approved the establishment of College of Medical Sciences of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Otukpo campus , courtesy of the Senate President.

Of major attraction is the fact that the new campus is coming with a modern Teaching Hospital for which the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Professor Juluis Okojie says would meet the needs of the environment. This project offers a veritable epoch making platform for employment and health needs of the people. Besides, it is a great midas touch to economic activities in Benue and environs.

By April 8, 2014, Mark would mark a milestone of 66 years sojourn on earth.

Born in the non-descript and serene village of Akpegede in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State on April 8, 1948, Mark seems to have been destined for the top. After completing his primary school at St. Francis Catholic Practicing School, Otukpo, he proceeded to the prestigious Nigerian Military School (NMS), Zaria, where he laid the foundation for what turned out to become an eventful and indeed accomplished career in the military. After graduation from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, Mark’s professional skills in the military were further sharpened in some of the most elite military training institutes in Europe, Asia and America. What began as a childhood fancy to appear in crisp military camouflages to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria, turned out to become a fulfilling career where Mark’s leadership credentials stood as an invaluable asset to all formations that he had the privilege to serve, not the least of which was as military governor of Niger State , Communications Minister and Director, Signals Corps in the Nigerian Army.

As Mark turns 66, our only hope and prayer is that the Almighty God continues to endow him with the needed strength and wisdom to carry to logical conclusion at the end of his term, the plausible transformation and evolution that the 6th and 7th senate has come to witness under him. Needless to add that all the accolades and recognitions that are daily being bestowed on the president of the senate are well deserved. But more poignantly, there are calls to spur him for further dedication and selfless service to our fatherland in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.

— Mumeh wrote from the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Jonathan’s anticorruption crusade

A

LTHOUGH President Goodluck Jonathan has been in the saddle as chief executive now for about 17 months, his leadership is yet to acquire a distinct character.

This could be understood within the context of his emergence last year. He was at once expected to work towards realising the objectives of the administration he inherited from his boss and predecessor, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and at the same time prove his mettle in good time ahead of the 2011 presidential election. How well he performed the delicate task is open for debate now.

What can be said is that Nigerians appear to understand that he was walking a tight rope. He was easily forgiven his misdeeds and inaction because of the peculiarity of the circumstances. When again he became his own man in May, he told an expectant nation that had rewarded him with overwhelming votes that he would not allow leakages in the government coffers. He said Nigerian money would be spent developing Nigeria. He took the stand as soon as he was sworn in on May 29.

During the past week, he repeated the pledge. He told the ministers, as he sworn in another batch, that his government would kick out and prosecute whoever is found to have converted public treasury to private estate. He gave instruction that all the ministries should be probed by the law enforcement agencies and whoever is found wanting should be made to face the law. It appeared sweet as the president reiterated his commitment to the war. He is commander-in-chief and he sought to define the war that he would be fighting.

But, does he have the will to really fight graft? Could he succeed where his predecessors failed? There is very little to suggest that he has other strategies of fighting the hydraheaded ill. Many of those he has appointed were part of the last administration. It is obvious that they were not brought back on account of performance.

There are too many pending questions, yet to be answered.

At a point, there was a man called Makanjuola, a permanent secretary in the ministry of defence. The Obasanjo regime alleged that the man was found wanting in the handling of the ministry’s fund. But, what has happened to that case? It is about ten years since Makanjuola was eased out of the system.

But, the founder of Transparency International did not think it necessary to see the prosecution to its logical conclusion. It could of course be said that Jonathan had nothing to do with that case.

The same could, perhaps, be said of the Ndudi Elumelu case. The man, as chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power probed the allocation to and expenditure by the sector under the Obasanjo regime. It made staggering revelation but the matter was covered up. In no time Elumelu and co became the accused. What happened to our money under the watch of Obasanjo? Did Elumelu and co receive gratification as alleged? No one knows the truth. What is certain is that money has not been recovered and no one has been punished. Neither are the accused acquitted.

If all these took place between 1999 and 2007, what about the more recent case involving the former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor. He was thrown out of office and hauled before a trial court for alleged corrupt practice. That was only a useful tool to keep him out of range ahead of the election. Now, all forgiven and forgotten.

The immediate past leader of the ruling party, Alhaji Bello Haliru is also in court in respect of the Siemens case. But, that was not sufficient to disqualify him from appointment as Defence Minister. The case has not been decided. But, if a man has a graft case hanging around his neck and is yet to be exonerated of blame, should a government that wants to be taken seriously appoint him to a high profile office.

It appears to me that nothing has changed and nothing may change soon. It is business as usual. All the officials understand the language and will go for the kill. By the way, where did all the money spent on prosecuting the election come from? Ministers who assisted in arranging and packaging the fund have been brought back. But the president wants to fight corruption.

I believe that we are in for it. More than two-thirds of the national wealth will continue to be flushed through invisible pipes. In the next four years, we should look forward to more Scania bus scandals, Fougeroule affair, Identity card sleaze and Siemens contract scandals. Anyone, institution, body or government that insists on doing things same way has no right expecting to have a different result.

Note: This piece first appeared on this page 2011. Three years into the life of this administration and about five into the Jonathan Years, has anything changed? Good Lord, save us.

24

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

POLITICS

S

URROUNDED by approximately a thousand souls all sitting down on a traditional handwoven mat known as tabarma, they all kept silent in a deep reflection listening to the Imam as he renders special prayers for the departed.

They all sat, in a tiny room covered with a thatched roof, with legs folded in a yoga-like fashion, thinking of the dead and how the departed left a vacuum that would take time to fill.

All around, tears were being wiped away by the mournful crowd.

In that serene atmosphere, deep inside the Sokoto northern hinterland, in a town referred by locals as Ungushi, sitting among locals and sharing their griefs, was Nigeria’s number four citizen, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. Dressed in his now-famous white babban riga, dan ciki and a white cap to match, his presence and sense of humility edified the sombre gathering in no small measure.

However an hour later, outside the crowded but tranquil room, it was a different ball game altogether.

There, a swarm of people, mostly youths and the elderly, gather to shake the hands of a man who has today come to symbolise their hopes and aspirations.

Ungushi is a settlement geographically located in Kebbe, one of the two local government areas that make up Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency of which the Speaker is their representative in the National Assembly. An entity with years of history, the residents are known for their hard work, dedication and farming skills.

On this particular day, Tambuwal’s visit brought about pure joy to the community, and the elation on their faces says it all. Here they are, proudly engaging a person who they helped - with their votes to become a member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, before he subsequently became it’s Speaker.

As they shove one another, hoping to catch a glimpse, and a handshake, with their representative, Tambuwal took his time to condole them individually. Of those among •Continued from page 22

Harcourt Main township to make known what they called their determination to take their pride of place in the affairs of the state.

Speaking at the event, the International Co-ordinator of the group, Comrade Kenneth Robinson said that the major reason of the information of IDF is to ensure that an Ijaw man occupies the Brick House in 2015. Comrade Robison who declared that there is an existing zoning formula in the state alleged the marginalization of the Ijaws and other riverine communities since 1999.

On its part, MOSOP, a sociocultural organisation of the Ogonis, recently reiterated its opposition to the emergence of an Ikwerre person as Governor of the state in 2015. Wike hails from the Ikwerre axis of the state.

The group warned that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may lose votes from the oil-rich but highly impoverished kingdom if its governorship candidate does not come from that axis.

Describing the alleged endorsement of Wike by the state chairman of the party, Felix Obuah, as “a sentimentally disappointing approach representing a huge conspiracy against the Ogoni gubernatorial move that is of grave concern,” MOSOP said the action was “an appalling and shameful re-

The common man in Tambuwal

• Tambuwal

By Imam Imam

them whom he knew personally, he caught up on old times, reminiscing and thanking them for being there for him at all times.

What may strike a first time witness to events at Ungushi, and many other similar places visited by Tambuwal, is the ease with which he interacts with the people. Devoid of any exhibition of the power of the office he occupies, Tambuwal drove for almost three hours without siren, gun-wielding MOPOLs or security details guiding his movements to pay his respects to the people he holds their mandate in trust. He decided to meet his constituents for a frank and honest discussions about life, politics and farming.

A thing or two about what was said at Ungushi is worth repeating here.

Standing under a Neem tree with two elderly men, one of them said: “My son,” he told this writer, “in my many years on earth, I have heard, and seen, how politicians come this far (to Ungushi), to either deceive us the first time, or attempt to deceive us another time. But with Aminu Waziri, things are different. Unlike other politicians, it is not yet an election year but here he is commiserating with us and listening to us talk to him. This is how it should be between a leader and his people.”

The second elder quipped: “We have seen people, some from among ourselves, who rise to positions of authority but we have never seen any one

as simple and as humble as Aminu Waziri. His generosity can be likened to great leaders before him. I will compare him in this regard with Sardauna Ahmadu Bello and Sarki Musulmi (Sultan) Attahiru 1.”

As he made his way to his car after bidding the elders farewell, little did he know that another group of youths would lay ‘ambush’ for him outside the town. Chanting solidarity songs, Tambuwal came out of his car to be mobbed by them in a show of love and appreciation for what he has been doing on their behalf in Abuja. There also, he renewed his pledge to serve them honestly and diligently at all times.

In the period since Tambuwal came to national consciousness, he has not lost touch with his base. Importantly, he has maintained what the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Okunade Sijuade, described as ‘the proper upbringing’ the Speaker passed through from his formative years. Perhaps taking a cue from past leaders with inestimable value to their communities, those who know Tambuwal closely say he is humility and simplicity personified.

From the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill, to Martin Luther King, Aminu Kano and Nelson Mandela, there can be as many ways to lead people as there are leaders. Of particular reference here is Malam Aminu Kano. Before he died, over three decades ago, Malam preached and championed the cause of social justice, environmental harmony and spiritual purification. He upheld the universal principles of truth, honesty, sincerity and keeping to time. Today, these are virtues commonly attributed to Malam’s namesake, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

The Speaker, like Malam in Kano, was, as one writer observed, a proponent of the Usman Dan Fodio lifestyle of talking ‘to the people in simple, clear language; referring to their history and culture; composing songs to convey precise messages; living, eating and clothing self in the same way as the ordinary people; being accessible to all, high and low, educated and illit-

Wike’s guber ambition suffers set back sponse to our quest.”

Responding to the statement, President of MOSOP, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, said “the deed in our view, is not only a deliberate infringement on fairness but also politically inept, insensitive and unfortunate.

“It is clear that the Ogoni governorship quest is most popular and widely and overwhelmingly supported within and outside Rivers State. The PDP would be losing a golden opportunity to monopolise and secure to its electoral advantage the huge Ogoni voting strength if it fails to commit her platform to any Ogoni seeking to govern Rivers State in 2015.

The sustained unguarded and inflammable utterances and actions of the PDP state chairman, demonstrably betrays a devious attempt at scuttling Ogoni political interest and it is unacceptable.

If the untoward development is not addressed, it would require inflexible Ogoni response. We are aware that Chief Obuah is acting a script, as we know the forces at play. However, the stance reflects an implicit admission of what we have all along been suspecting.

Again, is it not unfair that while Rivers West and East senatorial districts have produced Governors of the state under a zoning understanding, efforts are being made to deny Rivers South East Senatorial District of the opportunity others have enjoyed?”

At a recent rally to sensitize the public about its aspiration, the group said it would pursue the governorship project with the same “vigour, collectivity and articulation with which it fought environmental injustice in addition to effective mobilisation of the Ogoni society.”

In another worrisome development, some youths in the PDP in Rivers State last week threatened to dump the party if its leadership fails to call Nyesom Wike to order. Their threat was a reaction to the rumored endorsement of Wike as the sole candidate of the PDP in the 2015 governorship election in the state by some influential members of the party.

The youths, under the aegis of PDP Third Force Movement (PTFM), in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, alleged that the purported endorsement of the minister was orchestrated by the trio of the chairman of PDP in the state, Chief Felix Obuah, national vice chairman, Prince Uche Secondus and Wike himself.

The statement, which was signed by PTFM secretary, Oprite Amachree, said, “This is highly condemnable by us. It makes a caricature of the principle of equity, justice, fairness and adequate representation practised by our highly esteemed party.

“This act by the trio is aimed at sabotaging the presidential and gubernatorial successes of our great party in Rivers State.”

The youth said unless the party chooses a more amenable and less controversial candidate, it is bound to loose the votes of its teeming members across the state at the 2015 general election.

Aso, a group loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Niger Delta Renaissance Organisation (NDRO) has warned the minister of state for Education, should be prevailed upon by chieftains of the ruling party to avoid heating up the polity with his ambition to succeed Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in Rivers State come 2015.

The group, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said Wike’s gubernatorial ambition amounted to insult on the collective interest of the people of Rivers South East Senatorial district and the state. Signed

by NDRO’s Spokesman, Mr. Kingsley Bejikini, the statement lamented that despite the contributions of the Ogonis to the present democracy, an individual would seek to hold the people to ransom due to his inordinate ambition.

The group said; “As strong supporters of the Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid, we view the stance of the minister as a threat to the ambition of the President and the unity of the state.”

It observed that there were sound minds in Ogoni land and the Rivers South-East senatorial district that stand a better chance

erate; and above all being morally upright, honest, sincere and truthful to the cause of the people.’

Tambuwal is the quintessential politician who has defied the notion that politicians, especially of the Nigerian variety, cannot say the truth to the powers that be while still in power. By now, Nigerians have come to identify their number four citizen as a fearless representative whose words and deeds are not at variance with the hopes and aspirations the men and women of his country.

The story of Tambuwal is the story of courage. His meteoric rise to the top of the Green Chamber of Nigeria’s National Assembly only reaffirmed his position as a master tactician in a discipline built on the philosophy of self respect, fair play, hard work and the spirit of give and take.

In a recent speech to honour Aminu Kano, Tambuwal described the legendary politician and statesman as a person who is “unquantifiably and inescapably admired today principally for his firm stand on the path of truth, human rights and empowerment of the talakawa, whom he viewed as a social group battered by the colonial and post-colonial state’s mechanism of exploitation and dis-empowerment.”

To many Nigerians, if there is any political office holder who the above description properly fits, it is Tambuwal himself. In a clime polluted by years of sheer indiscipline and unfulfilled promises, the optimism, and testimonies openly exhibited by the people of Ungushi should naturally serve as a notice to others.

No doubt, Nigerians deserve to benefit from what the voters of Ungushi have been benefiting from since 2003.

•Imam is the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Speaker Tambuwal

to deliver the dividends of democracy and would not be confrontational to the President as the Wike-led group want people to believe.

Sources close to the Minister revealed that the development have left him undecided over what to do about his governorship ambition. Wike, who was expected to officially announce his goober aspiration and resign from the federal cabinet last week is said to be gripped by fear following incessant open objection to his ambition.

“After the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by Prof. Attahiru Jega released its election time table, President Goodlcuk Ebele Jonathan has ordered that any minister in his cabinet who has a political ambition should resign voluntarily without delay.

Nyesom Wike was set to quit the Federal Executive Council (FEC) since he has the ambition to become the next Governor of Rivers State.

But he could not do that because there was need for him to review some development back home in Rivers state. You know too well that his aspiration is based on his willingness to serve the people. He needs to be sure of what the people are saying. Of course there are issues to resolve. It is not that he has dropped his ambition. He is merely consulting wider,” a state official of the party told The Nation on Friday.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

• Chukwumerije

POLITICS

• Ohafia

25

• Ohuabunwa

Abia 2015: Tough fight ahead for Chukwumerije’s seat

S

INCE he won his first electoral victory as the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District on the ticket of Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in April 2003, Senator Uche Chukwumerije has held forth, winning all the senatorial elections in the area.

His greatest challenge came when he fell out of favour with the party’s leadership, following his opposition of the third term agenda of the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Chukwumerije eventually decamped to the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in 2006 and was reelected to the Senate in April 2007.

The current chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, who served as Minister of Information in the dying days of the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida and as Minister of Information in the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan, was again reelected on the PDP platform in the April 2011 elections.

But as the 2015 senatorial election approaches, some forces within PDP are gathering to claim the seat from Chukwumerije, who is believed to be interested in retaining it.

Abia North, is made up of Arochukwu, Bende, Isiukwuato, Ohafia and Umunneochi council areas.

Chukwumerije hails from Umunneochi Local Government Area.

It would be recalled that between 1999, when Nigeria returned to elective democracy and 2003, the senatorial zone was represented at the upper chamber by former military governor of old Imo State and former Minister of External Affairs, General Ike Nwachukwu, who hails from Isuikwuato Local Government Area. He was succeeded by Chukwumerije from Umunneochi, who has retained the job since then.

The 2015 challenge Some political and traditional rulers in Ohafia Local Government Area, which claims to have consistently given Chukwumerije the highest bloc votes, have come out to declare their interest in the senatorial seat.

Some sources allege that the attitude of these leaders towards the candidature of Chukwumerije in 2015 has changed tremendously since February this year, when some stakeholders from Ohafia Local Government Area, made public

The race for Abia North Senatorial seat, currently occupied by Senator Uche Chukwumerije, is heating up even as feelers confirm that the Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, is still interested in picking the PDP ticket in the zone in 2015. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, in this report, attempts to capture the build- up intrigues within PDP.

their determination to take the seat from the incumbent and to promote the candidature of the Managing Director of Trans Atlantic Agency Limited (TASAL), Chief Uche Ohafia.

The Nation investigation reveals that it all began at a meeting of traditional rulers and some leaders of thought of Ohafia, on November 20, 2013, in the palace of Ebiri of Elu and Ezie Ohafia Udumeze, at Elu Ohafia.

According to an insider, “It was there that the elders of Ohafia agreed to support Chief Ohafia for the senatorial seat of Abia North in 2015.”

According to our source, most of the speakers at the meeting alleged that since Chukwumerije has been representing them at the Senate, he has not attracted enough federal government presence at Ohafia Local Government.

TASAL boss, Chief Ohafia himself was quoted recently as explaining to newsmen why his people want a change and why they want one of their own to occupy the seat in Abuja. “Nobody can say why he has failed to show his presence, why people cannot reap the benefit of his representation. Ohafia people are most affected, that is why they are crying out.

Ohafia people want somebody to be there, at least for once. We have never had somebody there. Chukwumerije may have done well in other areas, but as it concerns Ohafia, he has not done well. Everybody is crying out, including myself, so we need a change. When you go down there (Ohafia), you would see what I mean. Go to Ohafia and see what is happening there.

There seems to be no representation from

the National Assembly.

Uche Chukwumerije has not done enough for Nde Ohafia; I don’t know why. But he is somebody I admire, even during the war.

In fact, he was my hero during and after the war when he was Minister of Information. But I really don’t know what happened with Ohafia. The simple truth is that Ohafia people need somebody to be there,” he said.

Aside Ohafia, another business executive from Ohafia Local Government Area, whose name has been mentioned in the race for Chukwumerije’s job within the PDP family is Onuoha Ogba, the Managing Director/CEO of Bourdex Nigeria Limited, a telecommunications company. Ogba hails from Abiriba.

“Although not much may have been said about the senatorial ambition of Bourdex, I can assure you that he has a lot of supporters both in Abiriba and the surrounding communities. Abiriba is one community that has not been given its fare share of political positions in Abia North.

We believe the senate seat should be given to our candidate in 2015 as it would help to make up for all the marginalisation of the people of Abiriba since 1999. We have been neglected for too long,” said Onyekwere Oteh, one of the youth leaders in the area.

Still within PDP, aspirants for the seat have also been identified in other local government areas within Abia North.

Hon. Moses A. Ohuabunwa (MAO), from Arochukwu Local Government Area, is another top politician that is being linked with the ambition of contesting for Chukwumerije’s seat in 2015. A PDP

chieftain, MAO represented Arochukwu/ Ohafia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 1999. He was the Deputy Leader of the House from 1999 – 2003 as well as the Leader of the South East Caucus. He was reelected in 2003 and became the leader of the ECOWAS Parliament till 2007.

He has since remained active in politics, both in Abia State and at the national evel. For example, in 2011 General Elections, he was made the Director of Contact and Mobilisation of the Abia State PDP and he later became a member of the National Working Committee of PDP. His people in Arochukwu are alleging that it is their turn to produce a senator.

They, like the Ohafia Local Government and other local government areas, are also alleging that they have not received enough federal government presence directly attributable to Chukwumerij’s representation.

But Chukwumerije, whose legislative interests, as posted in his official website, include “social welfare and infrastructural development,” has, as his set target, what he described as “dignity of Senate within the framework of constitutional democracy.”

Using these as a reference point, Chief Uzoma Onyedika, a political scientist and an admirer of Chukwumeri’s style of politics, pointed out that those who are making claims that distinguished senators like Chukwumerije have not performed, on the ground that they have not attracted enough physical federal government sponsored infrastructure, may have missed the point. “The primary duty of a senator is to make good laws that will help the society. If we want to judge any of our senators, it would be fair to base our assessment primarily on their contributions in the law making process.

“If any of the aspirants argue that it is their turn to produce the next senator, whatever that means, I will say that is another plank of the debate. But if the argument is that a senator’s performance should based on the number roads he built, I take exceptions to that. For Chukwumerije and Abia North politics, the question I will like his critics and those angling to take over his job to answer is, has he failed in his legislative duties? If not, it will be unfair to base agitations to take his seat on the bases of non performance.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

26 POLITICS

ripples •Kaka

•Dimeji

•Dariye

•Oshiomhole

•Maku

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

28

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

GLAMOUR

IN VOGUE

By Kehinde Oluleye

Tel: 08023689894 (sms) E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

e l i t a s r e V n i e c n a eleg e c a l r e e sh

•Fade Ogunro

•Kate Henshaw

•Eunice Efole •Inimfon Etuk

G

UESS what’s back in vo These elegant, sexy and gue after a short time off? Sheer fabrics! sophisticated fabrics ha and dramatic ret ve made a sud secrets of a great looking urn to the social scene. As we all know, one ofden dress is the fabulous desig the Sheer lace fabric has been n and its distinctive cut. int rod uc ed int o fashion over the centur these have been revived ies the current mode of dress.and reintroduced according to their suitabilit and y for And as you must have no tic ed , she er lace dress especially tho design in-between is the se with thing is that they are gre must-have dress of the moment. And the fitted good at on bo th ski rts and trousers. These unique fabrics are too fan fabulous and tastic to be ignored.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

GLAMOUR

29

Ways you didn’t know you could use coconut oil •Elisa Salazar-Chukume

•Chioma Olisah

30

GLAMOUR

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

R&B sensation and first lady of EME Records, Eniola Akinbo, popularly known as Niyola, tells Adetutu Audu her favourite things.

1

Favourite shoe designer I love Guiseppe Zannotti 2

Favourite perfume Creed; Love in Black 3

Favourite make-up line Depends on what exactly; I like Mac, Imman, L'oreal and Maybeline 4

Favourite food Yam and garden egg sauce 5

Favourite designer bag Celine Croc mini luggage 6

Favourite book Art lover, A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim 7

Favourite holiday spot Hawaii 8

Niyola’s

p o t

0 1

Favourite fashion designer Eli Saab 9

Favourite car I like mini SUVs but none in particular 10

Favourite piece of jewellery Rings

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

GLAMOUR

31

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

32 GLAMOUR

ADETUTU AUDU

08023849036, 08112662587

crownkool@yahoo.com

Bamanga Tukur plans superlative wedding for son

C

OME 19 April, 2014,the Lagos social scene will be shaken to its foundation, as the former Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, plans a superlative wedding for his son, Ahmed. The younger Tukur will be tying the nuptial knot with Karimot Bamisedun, a daughter of a popular business tycoon, Alhaji Rotimi Bamisedun from Ikorodu, Lagos State, at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites. Many highpowered and influential personalities from all walks of life are expected to grace the occasion even as aso-ebi and invitation cards have been sent out.

Wosilat Okoya gets another grandchild

L

AGOS socialite and businesswoman, Wosilat Okoya, is getting ready for yet another babysitting.

Thanks to her eldest daughter, Bisola, who gave birth last week in Chicago.

And trust Wosilat who is the only sister of Lagos billionaire and industrialist, Chief Rasak Okoya, sources said she is preparing to relocate abroad to take care of her grandchild. The baby is the second for Bisola, who got married to Lagos businessman, Jide Tokan.

Bisola, no doubt, has a laudable pedigree. She takes after her mother with her dazzling looks and her swanky dress sense. The beautiful lady runs Baker's House, a bakery and pastry outfit.

Dewunmi Karen Igho Ogunsanya's wife back to school bows to cancer

S

UCCESSFUL businessman and Chairman of MultiChoice Nigeria, Dewunmi Ogunsanya, is bereaved. The amiable lawyer-cum-businessman lost his wife to cancer last week in Europe. The late Ogunsanya, we gathered, had been battling with the illness for a while before finally succumbing to it last week.

B

IGBROTHER Amplified edition 2011 winner and actress, Karen Igho, is back to school. The busty on-air personality who is arguably the most controversial but loveable Nigerian celebrity on the scene, we gathered, is currently in UK studying.

Insider squealed that she is studying Business Administration and Management at Newham University.

Rumours were flying a few months ago that the BBA star was in the UK for the treatment of cancer-related illness.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

GLAMOUR 33

Anselm Tabansi dreams Fahrenheit Maison

Bella Disu brings forth baby No2

B

T

ELLA Disu, nee Adenuga, Globacom's Group Executive Director, has given birth to her second child.

The baby is the billionaire businessman Mike Adenuga's second grandchild. Bella, sources disclosed, relocated to America a few months ago in preparation for the tiny tot.

Bella has been described as the apple of her billionaire dad's eyes. Little wonder he gave her an elaborate wedding in 2010. Bella is also the first to give the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) recipient a grandchild.

I

HAT Anselm Tabansi's Fahrenheit Hospitality Group is popular in the hospitality business is no news. Well, the gist is that the brain behind Svengali Designs has his hands in a new pie. The new edifice located on the Island, we learnt, is dubbed Fahrenheit Maison.

Tabansi, a lawyer-turned-interior designer is a force to reckon with in the hospitality business and many fun-lovers have high expectations of the new edifice.

Secret pain Emeka Etiaba endures

F there was one burden that lawyer-turned politician, Emeka Etiaba, had, it was becoming the governor of Anambra State. Twice he made spirited attempts to shake the political establishments of Anambra State and occupy the Awka-based government house; and twice he was defeated.

The son of Anambra State ex-deputy governor, Virginia Etiaba, we gathered, still eyes the Anambra State government house and he is not resting on his oars to make his dream come true.

Aisha Babangida's Ifedayo Adedipe's new love growing popularity

F

OR many who have been wondering what has been happening to the former First Lady of Zamfara State, Hajia Aisha Babangida, we can tell you for free that apart from overseeing her late mother's school, El-Amin International, the first daughter of the retired gap-toothed General is also fully involved in a nongovernmental organisation, White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, a global group with specific interest in women all over the world.

Recently, White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood was represented in 158 countries across the world and it is proposing to partner with the National Assembly for safe motherhood for all women. Sources said she is also planning to re-invent her late mother's Better Life programme.

No doubt, beautiful Aisha has stepped into her mum's shoes as she gives largely to charity through her foundation.

I

FEDAYO Adedipe, SAN, belongs to one of the royal families in Akure. A successful lawyer with a thriving law firm in Port Harcourt, we gathered, is eyeing a seat in the Senate. He was said to have contributed to the development of various projects in his constituency.

Adedipe has put in 34 years in the legal practice. Among his big briefs are the Odi massacre, the former Aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode's case with the Economic and financial crime commission and also the former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili's case.

34 GLAMOUR/OUT & ABOUT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

Adeyemi Ikuforiji became Aare The speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji was honoured with a chieftancy title, Aare of Alaketu and his wife as Yeye Aare of Ketu Eruyun, Epe. The well attended event was held at RCM Primary School.

Ketu Eruyun Epe Lagos.

By: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

Aare Adeyemi Ikuforiji and Yeye Aare Olumayowa

Alaketu of Ketu Kingdom, HRM. Oba Adegboyega Adefowora and wife

L-R: Hon. Dayo Saka Fafunmi and Deputy Speaker, LAHA, Hon Kolawole Taiwo

L-R: Oba of Lagos, HRM. Oba Rilwan Akiolu and Ayangburen of Ikorodu, HRM. Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi

L-R: Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora and wife, Olanlesi

Retd. Justices George Oguntade and wife, Modupe

Pa. Athanasius goes home Mr. Henry Chidi Ojinere, Group Managing Director/CEO, LCD International Limited, and his brother, Engr.

Emma Ojinere, buried their late father, Pa Athanasius Ojinere Odom.

The funereal service was held at Annunciation Catholic Parish, Umuchieeze, Ihitteafoukwu Ekwerazu, Ahiazu Mbaise LGA of Imo State. After the funeral rights, guests were entertained at the Henry's country home.

Mr. Henry Ojinere and wife, Kechi

Chief A.C. Aguduba (right) with Engr Chris L-R: Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and former Iheagwufe SSG, Imo State, Chief Chris Okewulonu

L-R: Chief Innocent Nwoga, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Emeka Ihedioha R-L: Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly, L-R: Mr. Kelvin Agbaegwu and Chief Steve Onu Hon. Ben Uwajumgu and Chief. Ugoha Ibekwe and Mr. Henry Chidi Ojinere

L-R: Dr. George Echebelem, Kingsley Eze L-R:CyavibaOsuji,UgoEzeandObinna Aguneliewu and Chief Dennis Okwu

L-R: Mr. Kanayo O. Kanayo and Nze Law Biaduo

37

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

GROUNDED Nigeria’s growing army of unemployed pilots

38 MAGAZINE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

•A cross section of trainers and pilot trainees at the NCAT, Zaria

Nigeria’s increasing grounded pilots The monster of unemployment spares no sector as Assistant Editor, Investigations, Joke Kujenya, discovered when she recently met with a few out of about 200 unemployed pilots in Lagos.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

MAGAZINE 39

g

•Continued on Page 42

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Photo: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

44 MAGAZINE

BOLA ARAGBAIYE

‘Ajasin’s honesty annoyed hangers-on’

I

N his palatial living room in Oluyole area, Ibadan, and with his bifocal glasses, he was reading old newspapers aloud with a red pen between his fingers, underlining some lines as he was reading.

At a point he would take some of his articles, under the pen names, 'Peeping Tom' and 'Bola Aragbaiye', the two columns he ran in Sketch and Tribune newspapers.

Once in a while, he would shake his head and with his voice raised, say “So, I wrote these articles?"

Seeing this reporter excited him, he smiled and in a soft voice, said, ''I remember in our days when we worked hard, damning consequences and would boldly write to condemn what was condemnable, and there were minimal errors unlike nowadays when newspapers are riddled with errors, praising people unworthy to be praised. Though there are some errors in today's newspapers but the crop of today's journalists are really trying their best considering the insecurity and the assassinations prevalent today while all these did not happen during our time." He removed his reading glasses, turned to the reporter and said, "Now I am ready for the interview."

On how he was appointed by the late Pa Ajasin, he said, "He taught me at Imade College in the 50s, he knew me very well as he was also a friend to my late father, Ajinaja Aragbaiye. They were both childhood friends coupled with the fact that he knew me as an honest and easy-going man. That was why he searched for me while I was then working as a journalist with the Sketch. The old man said he was looking for one of his students whom he knew inside out. He had wanted a person from his home town who was up and doing and not corrupt.

After much consultations, I reluctantly agreed and went to apply for leave of absence in 1979. I spent a term with Papa.

But unfortunately, while the second term started, there was a coup in 1983, and when the military struck, we were sent packing. I then returned to my desk to continue my job.”

Straight as a rod He described the late governor and leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) as an honest man who would not compromise, "He wouldn't use the government resources for private matters no matter what. I remember when the commissioner for works said they wanted to paint the Government House in Alagbaka House, Akure when the president was about to visit the state, he declined, saying the amount was too much. The more he was pestered, the more he became angry, telling them he would not waste government funds, This was to the annoyance of hangers-

Bola Aragbaiye, husband of popular Gospel singer, Funmi, was editor of the defunct Daily Sketch and he later became Chief Press Secretary to the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin, a former Governor of the old Ondo State. He recently went down memory lane with Taiwo Abiodun at his home in Ibadan. on. Another instance was the time when they were holding a party to entertain some guests, when one of the food contractors jacked up her price from N5,0000 to N10, 000 to supply fish. The contractor thought the old man would approve it because she came from the same town with him. But Papa disappointed her and said there was no money and they couldn’t be spending government money anyhow."

According to Aragbaiye, Papa’s honesty affected him because he does not have a house of his own just like his boss, "When Papa Ajasin was removed from office, he had nothing extra! When he left the office, his account was in red. If you are working with Papa you had to be as modest,” he said.

Politics now and then Aragbaiye is of the view that politics then and now cannot be compared to each other. According to him, “Tthen we had great men like the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria with good and beautiful manifestos. He became the envy of others. In all sincerity, all other political leaders respected him and feared him, for he was truthful, bold, well experienced and the greatest. The party had vision, plans, and they executed their plans such as free education at all levels. In those days you enjoyed reading newspapers to learn new English from these politicians. I remember the Daboh and Tarka saga, 'if you Daboh me I will Tarka you.’We heard the phrases, ‘ timber and calibe’, ‘ political juggernauts’ etc. In fact, politics then was full of fun. And when one politician criticised another, he would not go and assassinate him unlike today when it is all about political assassinations. We need to understand that politics means to serve not to kill.”

Aragbaiye, who started his journalism career in Nigerian Tribune and left in 1967 as a senior reporter, later went to the Sketch and left as an editor. He decried the way government-owned media houses are collapsing and in distress. According to him, private media houses are better managed and more independent than the government's.

On his experience as a reporter, he said when he started practicing, it was not because of money but for the love and interest of the job.

“We were the

voice of the voiceless, so we were working for the public and the downtrodden. The honour bestowed on us was great. In fact, journalism gave me more honour, fame and respect. I met prominent Nigerians through this profession, I had interviewed some past heads of state like the then General Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, Chief Ernest Shonekan, the late President Samuel Doe of Liberia and many important personalities I cannot remember to mention now.”

Brown envelope syndrome On whether the idea of brown envelope existed in his time, he asked, “What do you mean by brown envelope? That is what I detest in my life. I can swear that I have never in my life demanded or received any bribe or brown envelope before reporting any news. What for? While I was working as a reporter or as an editor, I met many people and I never asked or demanded for money. Even when offered, I used to reject it and ask what for?

“I can remember great Nigerian musicians such as Evangelist Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade, the late Sonny Okosun, the late Christy Essien and many others who used to come to me, and whenever they released their records, would ask me to help them to announce or use it as features or be interviewed or for publicity. I would use their stories, interview them without asking for a penny. Many are still alive, you can go and ask them. When I turned 70, Baba Miliki, I mean Evangelist Obey came here to play for me free of charge. Obey released my wife's first album without collecting money from me on his label, DeCross. If you mention my name to King Sunny Ade, he would say 'Egbon' ( big brother). He recognises me anywhere and on any day, and

I think that is more than enough for me. What is money? I wonder why we put value on money without remembering one's reputation. I believe good name is better than silver and gold, I don't believe in brown envelope, it destroys one's reputation, yes it does. But I am sorry for saying that, for that is my own personal opinion, if it sounds strange.”

Nigerian media needs improvement Talking about his primary constituency, the media, he agreed that things have changed and not as hard during his time. In his words, "It is even better now, things are better in terms of remuneration, working tools, but the welfare package should be improved. Today, journalists are facing persecution, they are being killed for writing news or investigating stories and it was never like this during our time. There was nothing like Freedom of Information Bill.

(FoIB). We faced hardship and the salary was poor but we still enjoyed our job."

He is sad that the Sketch titles have vanished from the stands, saying, “I will be grateful if the Yoruba people or Yoruba states can resuscitate it. I rose to become the Sunday Editor. Each time I passed through the head office, I feel sad. The Yoruba are blessed with education, gifted with wisdom and endowed with foresight. They are brilliant and resourceful. Not only that, they are great and it will be sad if the Sketch dies off like that.”

He said at 70, he is grateful to God. He now relaxes at home by going through newspapers and reading. “I am compiling my cuttings, planning to produce a book from it, not to make money but for posterity sake. I have nothing doing but reading the Bible and counseling people. I have done my own duty in journalism, it is left for you younger ones to continue where we people stopped."

He said he does not regret his choice of journalism as a profession. “I love the job, and if I reincarnate, again I would become a journalist. I went to the University of Lagos and Cardiff Polytechnic, (now University) in the United Kingdom. One of my children read Mass Communication and he is doing his Phd in London. I love writing features because of its creativity in writing.”

The greatest period of trial was when he was chief press secretary because many thought he could help them financially. “I used to tell them that I would never take government money to satisfy anybody. While there, I had good friends and also some who refused to understand me did not like me. But I will not take what did not belong to me. It is high time we stopped living false lives. Many went into the government to steal, to show off and amass wealth. What is wealth? You cannot go with your wealth to the grave. I believe in honest life and that is what our parents taught us.”

Another one was a time when they were holding a party to entertain some guests, when one of the food contractors jacked up her price from N5,0000 to N10, 000 to supply fish. The contractor thought the old man would approve it because she came from the same town with Papa but he disappointed her and said there was no money and they can't be spending government money anyhow.”

ROAD TO BRAZIL

WORLD CUP With Emma Okocha

47

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

New WOMAN

48

PILLOWTALK YETUNDE OLADEINDE molaralife@yahoo.com

Raising a voice for the Nigerian girl With Temilolu Okeowo temilolu@girlsclub.org.ng 07086620576 (sms only)

Proverb of the week If you close your eyes to facts, you will learn through accidents. ~ African proverb

Life Nuggets Tenacity II

D

Etiquette

ON'T raise your voice when talking to your father, mother, or any member of your family who is older than you.

A-Z of a wonderful personality

T

Considerate:

HIS means to be careful not to hurt or inconvenience others. In our everyday life, we are bound to come across people and associate with them in one way or the other. This we should be conscious of in our behavior, mannerism and even in our speech. A lot of people can't be bothered about how anyone feels or whether their actions inconvenience others. These sorts of people are very self- centered.

Anyone with a wonderful personality will be very considerate because he/she, in one way or another has other people's interests at heart. We should always remember that the world was not created only for us but for every other individual.

C

FINAL WORD

HASTITY does not belong to the past. It saves you a lot of trouble, preserves your beautiful destiny and stands you out from the crowd. You are better off not engaging in pre-marital sex. Stay chaste!

Miss Temilolu O.Okeowo is the founder of Girls Club of Nigeria an NGO for girls of secondary school age aimed at influencing a positive change. She published her debut-book for girls-THE BEAUTY OF LIFE as an undergraduate and has other books and publications. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2003 and is a Certified Forensics Examiner.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

ETCETERA

56

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

POLITICKLE

To Whom It May Concern

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

THIS is to certify that the bearer, Endurance Wazobeah, completed a course in Economics and Conflict in Society at the University of Life between 2009 and 2013 and is, therefore, fit for employment.

His Bachelor of Social Science (combined honours) degree is documented proof that he passed through the university and the university passed through him – the former to a greater degree, considering the meagre resources at the bearer’s disposal while in school. The rather unfortunate financial circumstance of Mr Wazobeah was no fault of his, we assure the prospective employer. A succession of wayward leaders since the country’s independence from the British should be held responsible – as should the former colonial masters in a more remote sense.

Mr Wazobeah is certainly not to blame for the ‘mistake of 1914’ otherwise known as the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by Sir Frederick Lord Lugard. Nor is he responsible for the bungling of the First Republic, the ensuing Civil War, successive military coups and scrapping of progressive regional governments, mismanagement of crude oil proceeds, crass corruption, introduction of austerity measures and the Structural Adjustment Policy, let alone consistent naira devaluation, mounting foreign debts, obscene cost of governance, militancy, terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping, police brutality, intractable power failure, debt repayment instead of development, and fuel subsidy removal.

In addition, Mr Wazobeah would not touch with a long pole official economic policy relics in the mould of Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), Mass Mobilisation for Self Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Economic and Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Directorate of Food, Roads, and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI), National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS), its state version and other ideals nudged by policy somersaults and erratic budget implementation to the graveyard of ideas.

At any rate, Mr Wazobeah comes highly recommended, even if the same cannot be said for his estate, being in the entirely mobile value of three weather-beaten shirts, two woebegone trousers and frayed underwear topped off by patched socks and a used pair of open-mouthed brogues. On a more positive note, he emerged top of his class, excelling in nearly all his courses and remaining a firm favourite of his sociology and economics teachers, all of whom valued him as readily available reference material in case studies of the effect of endemic poverty.

Blessed with prodigious amount of self-belief, Mr Wazobeah in turn contested the offices of class representative, hall representative and eventually student union leader while on campus. And in turn he didn’t come quite close to winning, being, as pointed out earlier, a man of lean resources (you know how these things work in the society). He lacks not leadership qualities, however, as he has demonstrated on more than one occasion the critical attribute of resilience backed by the experience of disappointment and a remarkable ability to take defeat on the chin.

Mr Wazobeah counts among his strengths unremitting loyalty to benefactor, boss and brethren. He can also be counted upon to work his socks off – as physical evidence reflects – on assignments. You will find him easy to work with as his ambition of personal development and enduring relevance to organisational growth and the wider society’s economic emancipation should tally with any forward-looking set-up’s.

You will also find him amenable to technical concepts following his resourceful adoption of the widely-acknowledged campus feeding formula: the 1-0-1, 0-1-1 or 1-1-0 and, in dire straits, 0-1-0 or any of the other two variants in the single-feed category.

Suffice it to say that his conduct was satisfactory.

Signed: Management The University of Life

QUOTES Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

—Nikita Khrushchev

Jokes Humour

The Loophole AN aspiring young lawyer was sitting in her office late one night, when the devil appeared before her.

He said to the lawyer, “I have a proposition for you. You can win every case you try for the rest of your life. Your clients will adore you, your colleagues will stand in awe of you, and you will make embarrassing sums of money.

“All I want in exchange is your husband’s soul, your children’s souls, the souls of your parents, grandparents, and the souls of all your friends and law partners.”

The lawyer ponders this for a moment, then finally asks, “So, what’s the catch?”

Wife or Mistress AN architect, an artist and a scientist were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress.

The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship.

The artist said he enjoyed time with his

mistress, because of the passion and mystery he got thus.

The scientist said, “I like both.”

“Both?”

“Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done.

Higher Stakes A SHY fellow brought his date a bouquet of flowers on Valentine’s Day. She threw her arms around him and kissed him long and hard. After the kiss, he turned and bolted for the door.

Shocked, she said, “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t!” he said as he ran out. “I’m going to buy you some jewelry!”

Crazy Doctor A FAMOUS surgeon went on a safari in Africa.

When he came back, his colleagues asked him how it had been.

“Oh, it was very disappointing,” he said. “I didn’t kill a thing. I’d have been better off staying here in the hospital.”

•Adapted from the Internet

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Writer’s Fountain EALING with the pain of writing: Everyone suffers from of a tragic childhood by being kind and depression at some point in life. It’s natural nurturing and, even more unreasonably, not and healthy. As writers and many involved in dying when he was very young? Suppose that the creative arts may find, the loss of a loved alcohol and other mind-altering substances held no great attraction to him? What chance would one can inspire an enduring piece of work.

But suppose a writer, by a cruel twist of fate, he have then of becoming a successful writer?

Perhaps a very good chance. Because, we is not genetically predisposed to clinical depression or some other cool mental illness may think, the actual act of writing provides all (there seems to be a new one to choose from the trauma that a writer needs.

Combine erratic hours or social isolation every day).

Suppose his parents had blown his chances with lack of exercise and natural sunlight, selfdoubt, financial worries and the feeling that Human ways: success is in someone else’s hands and the typical •Most dust particles in your house are made stress facing writers are enough to turn even from dead skin. the most cheerful wordsmith into a miserable •Intelligent people have more zinc and one. copper in their hair.

So does the enormity of writing a book •Midgets and dwarfs almost always have sometimes threaten the writer’s sanity? How normal-sized children, even if both parents does the writer push through to the other side, are midgets or dwarfs. to where literary light and refurbished •Most caucasian babies are born with dark enthusiasm await? Or how does he cope with blue eyes which normally change colour those dark moments of self-doubt or the after birth. occasional sense of futility? How does he deal •Most people hear better out of their right with the umpteenth rejection slip? ear.

The ambitious writer would take a number •Latin Americans have two last names or steps to clear the clutter in his mind and recharge surnames. his batteries.

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Nigeria’s rising club of money launderers Page 58, 59

D

R. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has assured that the cassava, wheat composite flour policy being promoted by the Federal Government through the ministry will go on as planned.

The minister was reacting to a newspaper report (not The Nation), which alleged that the Federal Government may have quietly abandoned the cassava, wheat composite flour policy, allowing it to quietly die out.

In a statement issued by the minister and made available to The Nation over the weekend, the minister described the report as totally false and baseless.

In the statement which reads in part, Dr. Adesina said: "The claim is totally false, concocted, baseless and represents mischievous conjectures of a faceless cabal of wheat importers to discredit

•Verghese

-- Page 53

Who bears the cost when consumers seek redress?

'Nigeria can attain selfsufficiency in rice production if…'

Page 61

Page 63

No going back on cassava-wheat bread flour policy -Minister

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf efforts to substitute for imported wheat with crops produced in Nigeria.

"They are afraid that we are succeeding. I don't expect flour millers importing wheat to be congratulating the emerging success of our efforts. For years, the wheat importers and their apologists have denigrated and sabotaged every effort to reduce Nigeria's spending of over N 750 billion annually on wheat imports. They are happy making money while their actions create poverty, joblessness and undermine Nigerian farmers. This time, they will not succeed. There is no going back on the cassava

flour inclusion in wheat flour for bread and confectioneries."

Expatiating, the minister disclosed that his ministry has been implementing a wellcoordinated and integrated series of interventions to ensure the success of the cassava flour substitution policy. "We are putting in place all the building blocks for sustainable market development for cassava-wheat flour bread in Nigeria. Much progress is being made."

According to the minister, in order to ensure that the cassava-wheat flour composite flour for bread is used by master bakers, over 720 bakers have been trained since 2013 in the production of 20% cassava-

wheat flour bread, and many of them now produce cassavawheat flour bread on a regular basis.

"They include Shoprite (Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, and other outlets in the country), Park and Shop bakeries (Lagos and Abuja), Zuma bakeries (Abuja), Fortunate bakeries (Ilorin), Wonderloaf (Ekiti), Sweet Sensation bakery (Lagos and Abeokuta), Iveno Bakery ( Ughelli), Food Concepts (Abeokuta, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt), to mention a few.

This year, 5,000 Master bakers will be trained in production of 20% cassava-wheat flour bread. The bakers are being supported with equipment and

working capital to produce cassava-wheat flour bread.

Consumers buying the cassava bread daily attest to its great taste. Cassava-wheat flour bread has become one of the most popular by Nigerian bread consumers in these shops."

The ministry, he emphasised, has also engaged the wheat millers in demonstrations that inclusion of cassava flour in bread has no effect on the quality, shelf-life, volume, or taste of the bread, and it is accepted by their principal clients, the 450,000 Master bakers that bake over 90 percent of Nigeria's bread.

"At a baking event conducted at the Silverspoon

bakery in Lagos, March 2728, 2014, and attended by several wheat millers and leadership of the Master bakers across the country, bread baked from wheat flour mixed with 10percent and 20 percent cassava flour were subjected to consumer acceptance and quality tests by food technologists from the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta."

The minister further disclosed that there is a groundswell of support for the policy by stakeholders across a wide spectrum of audience, many of whom have scored the initiative high on account of its innovativeness.

Lafarge restates commitment to cement industry

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•From left: Mr. Hassan Umaru, representative of ITF Director-General, Mr. Robert Malzachar, Head of German Dual Vocational Training (DVT) Project and Mr. Michael Derus, German Consul-General, at the ITF and German DVT partnership MoU signing ceremony in Lagos…recently.

Photo: BIODUN THOMAS DAVIDS

German Consul assures on massive investment in Nigeria

N

IGERIA stands to benefit from the massive investments from German companies and counterparts from the European Union, Mr. Michael Derus, German ConsulGeneral, has said.

Derus gave this indication at the flag off of the German Dual Vocational Training Partnership with Nigeria (DVT-PWN) in Lagos, last Thursday.

The DVT-PWN, he said, will give incentives not only to German companies but also to European and other companies coming from

By Biodun-Thomas Davids abroad to set their feet on Nigerian soil for investments, adding: "The global success is taking place not only in Nigeria, but also in the USA. It is a programme with the presentation of the state of the earth training. It's important for not only individual success but also for sustainable development and success of groups of companies."

Speaking further shortly after the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Delegation of German Industry and

Commerce in Nigeria and the Industrial Training Fund/ Industrial Skill Training Centre(ITF/ISTC), Ikeja, he was of the view that though it borders on bilateral relationship programme with Nigeria, it is, however, driven with deliberate and direct initiatives geared towards achieving professional skills, adding that " companies with interest in manufacturing and production in the country will find it interesting."

Expressing confidence on the manpower for the training, he said, "I have a labour force here that is well trained and have up-to- date -knowledge

about doing the work."

While responding to questions on capability of the training in curbing unemployment in Nigeria, he was of the view that, "that might definitely be a contribution on long term effect; one programme of this kind may not make obvious safety in employment situation in the country, but of course it is going to make contribution to that purpose."

Speaking in the same vein, the DVT-PWN Coordinator, Kehinde Stephen Awoyele, an engineer, said, curbing unemployment was one of the objectives of the training.

AFARGE Cement, WAPCO Nigeria Plc has said that it is not afraid of completion, as it is the only way to bring the best out of the cement industry.

Speaking at the customers' forum at Eko Hotel in Lagos, the chairman of the company, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, said what stakeholders and Nigerians are witnessing today in the cement industry is a mere competition activity and an attempt to fight rough.

He said that no matter anybody is saying, Lafarge product remains the best.

He said: "I must be quick to add here that we do not abhor competition in Lafarge. In fact, we view competition as the only good thing for any industry and the society at large, as it brings out the best in the player, especially when it is healthy.

"We pride ourselves as the cement manufacturers with the largest product range in Nigeria, thanks to the innovative, value adding and consumer-centric culture of our parent company which is rubbing off on us in WAPCO. "No matter how hard they try to cover the truth, it will always prevail. Cement consumers in Nigeria know what is good for them. The professionals in the industry know that which is suitable for the different applications," Osunkeye stressed.

He said there is sub-standard cement in Nigeria, adding that cement quality is not responsible for building collapse in the country.

He said the Backward Integration Policy of the Federal Government has gone a long way to consolidate the growth and gains of the cement industry where production capacity has moved from over two million metric tonnes in the past decades to about 28 million metric tonnes installed capacity in 2013.

Echoing similar sentiments, the managing director, Mr. Lafarge Cement Wapco, Mr. Joe Hudson, said the company will continue to maintain its leadership role in the market.

He said the customers should not be discouraged by some negative campaigns going on in the country, as the company will continue to produce quality products and maintain its partnership with the customers.

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BUSINESS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

Nigeria's rising club of mo n The recent survey by the United Statesbased Global Financial Integrity which ranked Nigeria 7th among the largest exporters of illicit funds worldwide, in the view of analysts, portends serious danger for the nation's socio-economic wellbeing. In this report, Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Joe Agbro Jr. examine the issues

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F the result of the recent survey by the United States-based Global Financial Integrity which ranked Nigeria 7th among the largest exporters of illicit funds worldwide, is anything to go by, then it is correct to say that the nation's image launderers sure have a lot of work to do to change the perception of the country in the eyes of the international community.

According to the report.

Nigeria had lost $155bn to money laundering and other illegal outflows, representing 19 per cent of the total of $854bn outflow from Africa to the developed economies.

To the discerning public, the survey is a sad commentary on the supposed anti-graft war being pursued by the current administration.

While providing his own perspective, the president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Ismail Bello, said the report indicated that a lot has gone wrong with the war on corruption.

Bello, who spoke at a conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Lagos, entitled, 'Money laundering, terrorism financing and identity theft', said it was disheartening to note that money launderers had made the United States-based Global Financial Integrity to rank Nigeria 7th "out of the 20 largest exporters of illicit funds worldwide with a total figure of $129bn from 2001 to 2010."

Bello, who delivered a keynote address on 'Global perspective on terrorists financing, money laundering and identity theft, pointed out that the Western world was paying lip service to the fight against money laundering.

He said, "If they were really against theft by government officials in developing countries, they would not readily accept stolen money in their countries."

"However, while they rail against corruption, they create framework which permit them to receive stolen money with banks.

Some of these monies end up in real estates; others are hidden in fake offshore companies and investment institutes."

Describing money laundering as a major problem to the economy, the LCCI president noted that looting had reached an 'epidemic proportion.'

This, he according to him, portends a bleak economic future for the country if nothing tangible and effective is done to arrest the cankerworm working against the nation.

To combat the vices, Bello said Nigerians must imbibe the practice of demanding for accountability from public officials.

In addition, he said banks must employ the use of modern

technologies to establish second and third level links which identify transactions as potentially suspicious.

The LCCI boss, who regretted it was not possible for the Federal Government to police itself, however, recommended that in addition to normal anti-money laundering controls, banks must focus on the terrorist funding angle, using knowledge derived from the data bank of case studies.

He added, "The topic of this conference is so appropriate and timely in the face of security challenges we are facing as a nation and globally as human. The various insurgents around our country and the world at large with the kind of dimension and the consistency at which it is being pursued shows that it requires concerted effort both locally and internationally."

In his own assertion, the president/chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr. Segun Aina, said money laundering, terrorism financing and identity theft could slow down the rate of the nation's economic advancement.

Aina also said the economic crimes could hamper expected growth in the financial system, if not nipped in the bud.

While noting that the economic vices could negatively affect capital inflow into the country, the CIBN president said the illegal financial practice could also erode public trust in the integrity of the financial system.

These, he said could result to capital flight, destabilisation of financial institution and ultimately economic collapse.

Aina, who was represented by the deputy registrar, CIBN, Mr. Tade Fadare, said successful war against the economic crimes could only be achieved if the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, the global body for anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism, was implemented.

A fresh perspective It is anybody's guess why money laundering crime is still rampant in the country, given the offensive by the different law enforcement agencies like the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Special Fraud Unit (SFU).

Speaking in an interview with The Nation over the weekend, Dr. Chris Onalo, Registrar/Chief Executive, Institute of Credit Administrators (ICA), offered a plausible explanation as to why we the country has continued to witness an upsurge in money laundering crime in recent times.

In his view, at the centre of the problem of money laundering is lack of sincerity of purpose among

all the tiers of government.

"Basically, if the government wants to win the war against corruption, it can win. Here and there you find cases where the big ones are caught for money laundering offences but they go scot free. The government is seen to be abetting and abating corruption in the country," he said.

Waxing philosophical, he said: "As they say, a house divided against itself cannot thrive. So, it behoves the executive and judiciary to cooperate in real terms in full sense of honesty, love for the sovereignty of the country. Judiciary must cooperate with the executive."

The ICA boss further observed that the anti-graft war seems to have hit a brick wall because the ruling class adopts double standard.

"The reason we have not recorded any success with the corruption was is simply because there are sacred cows. How do you explain a situation where top level personalities involved in corruption are given a slap on the wrist and you let them go?" he queried.

The judiciary, he stressed, "should not be seen to be abdicating its role and pretend that they love the citizen more than the law."

Pressed further, he said: "It might interest you to know that in the eyes of the international community, Nigeria is not taken serious as far as the anti-graft war is concerned even though we claim to

have established all manner of antigraft agencies, they appear not to be doing their job as well as they should."

Onalo was unsparing of the banks. "I also want to stress that the financial institutions are not helping matters because no money moves out of the country without the knowledge of the banks. But because some of the banks are desirous of reaping where they did not sow, they try to provide protection for the culprits because they want to keep the amount involved. I have said it before that we have appetite for making quick money."

On the socio-economic implications, he said the effect on the economy is colossus.

"International investors are scarred and the few honest ones are not happy too. Some of these money launderers are afraid to invest these money in job creating endeavour.

So there is no input to invest that to create jobs. The toll on the economy is colossus, it is a very bad trend. In the eyes of global investors, Nigeria is still a troubled spots for business."

On the way forward, he said, the government must place the searchlight on itself.

International dimension Nigeria is not alone. In the view of former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, African countries lose between $50 billion and $60 billion annually through illicit financial flows (IFF).

Mbeki was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja while presenting the Progress Report of the High-Level Panel on IFF at the just concluded 7th AUECA Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance.

Mbeki, who served as the Chairman of the panel that was set up by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in 2012 to look into the nature of illicit funds in the continent, said: "In order to understand the impact of this phenomenon on Africa, we decided that we carry out a number of country case studies in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Algeria, Mauritius and South Africa."

He explained that the huge sums did not include capital flight, saying it came from proceeds of commercial transactions through multinational companies, criminal activities and corruption.

He lamented that monies which would have been used to provide infrastructure and social amenities for poor African population were transferred to other countries, leaving the continent in poverty.

Mbeki said the situation was occasioned by the weakened tax regime of some countries in the continent, adding that proper mechanism needed to be put in place to check the trend.

"In terms of the phenomenon of

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mo ney launderers

mispricing, the estimates are between $50 billion and $60 billion which the continent loses as illicit financial flows, with capital flight not included.

"From our study, it is quite clear that the continent is losing huge volume of capital which would have been used for investment and the process of industrialisation," he said.

Mbeki said the study was conducted to enable the panel draw up a comprehensive report generally on the continent, as it was not possible for it to prepare a country-by-country report.

He added that the panel's findings showed the main beneficiaries of IFFs from African countries were developed countries and emerging economies, which were Africa's major trading partners.

According to him, illicit financial flow had posed developmental challenges on the continent, in terms of draining hard currency reserve, reduced tax collection, deepening income gap, depleting investment and weakened governance.

The Liberian Finance Minister, Amara Konneh, said IFF had drained the continent of hard currency and deprived her of resources needed for human capital development.

Konneh urged African leaders to put in place measures to stop further outflow as well as ways of recovering what had been taken

away.

"Multinationals are responsible for the outflow, through trade misinvoicing and tax haven, by taking advantage of some countries' weak tax regime,'' he said.

Elites to blame for upsurge in money laundering The upsurge in money laundering which the country has been experiencing has been largely placed at the feet of top government officials and their cronies.

This was the view expressed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Barrister Segun Momoh, in an interview with The Nation.

According to him, graft in the country is multi-dimensional and it stems from the government as the largest spender.

"There is a saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune," Momoh said. "When you look at it from that angle, those that are in authority somehow are the ones that are really involved in all these things. In other words, they use some people as pawns. Some people will definitely pay the price for the crimes of other people. You'll also discover that there are some situations where they make one or two people that are involved in money laundering into positions.

And you see such people, immediately, they leave their positions, they are arrested. And somehow, they prepare their bail.

And during the process of that bail, such person is appointed either a

minister or Special Adviser or something."

Being specific, he cited the issue of Ayo Fayose, former governor of Ekiti State who is currently facing graft charges for alleged fraud of over N736m in the Integrated Poultry Project which he initiated while he was governor.

"Fayose has a case to answer and he is already contesting (election)," he said. "And he has already approached the court to suspend his trial until after elections, knowing full well that if they are successful with the rigging and he comes into power, that (the case) will hold until the end of his tenure again."

Despite the case he has to answer, Fayose was recently elected the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

Recently, Fayose's counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), had pleaded before Justice Hobon Adamu at the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti that the case against the former governor be adjourned to a date in July after the governorship election. His prayer was, however, not answered as next hearing was fixed for May 6.

As it is, the bulk of graft representing the hugest amount has the involvement of government officials. Some of the cases lingering before the EFCC include that of former Ogun State Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel who is facing a 38 -count charge bordering on fraudulent conversion of land and diversion of public funds, former aviation minister, Stella Oduah, who spent N255m to buy two bullet-proof BMWs and the N4.7bn allegedly laundered by Wale Babalakin on behalf of convicted former Delta State governor, James Ibori. Another graft case involving top government officials is that of the $620,000 bribery allegation between lawmaker Farouk Lawan and businessman Femi Otedola.

Anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) have been founded to tackle graft but these efforts have not suppressed graft in the country. Under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, FATF, which put Nigeria as one of the 23 noncooperative countries in the international community's efforts to fight money laundering, the EFCC was established in 2003. The ICPC had been established earlier in 2000.

On the EFCC's website, there is a list of wanted persons by the organisation.

But, while the efforts of these two bodies have paid off, the gains remain at best marginal. And Momoh advised that a measure that could check money laundering is strengthening the existing security institutions like the police.

"The position of the IG (Inspector General) in Nigeria is political and it is not supposed to be," he said. "If the institution is such that when it is time for the IG to retire, automatically, the next person in rank steps in and would only be acting pending when he is approved after screening from the Senate. I think that is what it is supposed to be. So, if the head is not appointed but earned it through hard work, then such a person cannot be easily bought over."

Asked if he thinks the country can win the war against corruption, the lawyer replied; "We can if people like us refuse to be frustrated but it will take time."

From left: Chairman Man Export Promotion Group (MANEG) Mr. Tunde Oyelola, Executive Director/CEO, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo, and Special Assistant to Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Femi Boyede, during the NEPC and MAN Export Promotion Group (MANEG) interactive session in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

NEPC boss restates commitment to export promotion Stories by Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

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HE Federal Government remains committed to the promotion of the non-oil export market, the Executive Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo has said.

He gave this assurance at the quarterly meeting of the NEPC/ MAN Export Promotion Group, held at MAN House, Ikeja, Lagos, over the weekend.

According to the NEPC boss, the Federal Government was committed to the growth and development of the non-oil sector considering the impressive strides recorded in the sector in the past year.

Citing the performance scorecard of the sector in the outgoing year, Awolowo said: "The country recorded a slight increase in the performance of non-oil export in 2013 with a total export value of $2, 970, 107, 354 as against the $2, 561, 243, 645 recorded in 2012.

"In addition, non-oil export to ECOWAS countries recorded a remarkable improvement by 20 per cent in 2013 with a total export value of $375, 338, 935 as against $312, 477, 744 and $2,76, 527, 169 in 2012 and 2011 respectively," he said.

He further revealed that The Netherlands is the number one importer of Nigerian non-oil exports with a total 583, 334, 478 in 2013 with 72 per cent among the top 10 nations that have become the destinations of the Nigerian non-oil exports."

Echoing similar sentiments, in his remarks, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, who was represented by his Special Assistance, Mr. Femi Boyede, said the Federal Government was desirous of growing the non-oil sector of the economy in order to ensure even development in the country.

Speaking earlier, Chairman, MAN Export Promotion Group, Mr. Tunde Oyelola, in his welcome address highlighted some of the challenges export manufacturers contend with, even as he urged the NEPC to step up efforts to ameliorate the bottlenecks.

Specifically, the MANEG boss said the suspension of the export expansion grant (EEG) scheme and the non-acceptance of the NDCC for payment of duties was affecting the performance of non-oil exports in the country.

"As we speak, our members have over N64billion of unused NDCC at hand and over N87billion of NDCC claims for the EEG applications they have submitted to NEPC. This frequent interruption with the use NDCC is more or less like government issuing cheques hat will not be honoured and this situation is gradually eroding the efforts made by exporters, making them lose confidence in government policies and the successes recorded over the years in the non-oil exports."

From left: Past Chairman, Community Development Advisory Council, Alhaji Moshood Dosumu, Hon Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi, Baale of Ebute-Olofin, Chief Nugboyon Amosu,during the handing over of Iworo-Ajido Micro Water Scheme donated by the Lagos state government to the community recently.

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HE Federal Government through Rural Finance Institution Building, RUFIN, programme, under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has disbursed loan facility worth N1.1 billion for rural empowerment and development.

This was revealed by the National Coordinator, RUFIN, Mr. Azeez Olumuyiwa, while making a presentation of RUFIN's Programme Implementation Report for the 8th Supervision Mission, in Abuja, recently.

Olumuyiwa said the money was disbursed through micro-finance banks which were linked with the rural people who had access to the loan facility to develop their businesses and farms, thereby raising their standard

FG disburses N1.1bn loan facility for rural empowerment From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja of living.

He said: "We are working closely with 11 financial nongovernmental organisations in the 12 RUFIN states. We are also working closely with 65 micro-finance banks, and 12 financial cooperatives. What we do for them is to develop their capacity, linking them with the rural people, farmers in 36 local government areas, linking them to the source of finance. Between 2013 and 2014 they have been able to mobilise and give credit worth N1.1 billion to the rural people.

"So they have been able to

•Creates 20,460 jobs in 12 states disburse this amount to the nook and crannies of the operating states close to over N2 billion has been made available to the groups at the village level."

He added that the programme has created 20, 460 jobs in the 12 states of Adamawa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi and Benue. Others are Edo, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Imo, Oyo and Zamfara.

"In Lagos for instance, many groups in Epe LGA after linkage and credit from LAPO but two canoes per person and employed two person per

canoe to fish for them. A lot of other similar stories run through the various states. In the various participating states, 18,720 beneficiaries have been lifted out of poverty as a result of enhanced access to financial services and increase in income from Agricultural and Micro Enterprises", he added.

According to him, RUFIN does not give loan directly to rural people, but rather work with the micro-finance banks and financial NGOs in order to surpass the N1.1 billion of 2013 in 2014.

Firm calls for CSR entries

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RUContact CSR Nigeria - organisers of the annual SERA's (Nigeria CSR Awards) have released the entry for the 2014 edition of the awards.

Tagged: ' Creating an Enabling Organisational Culture for Sustainability', it seeks to strike a balance between the giant strides that Nigerian businesses are making in CSR and their internal process alongside their openness to public scrutiny especially as it affects social, environmental and governance issues.

Commenting on the proposed awards, Dr. Ken Egbas, coordinator of the project, said: ''The 2013 edition proved a milestone in the annals of the awards as it saw the unveiling of the new statuette designed by R.S. Owens - The USA base company that produces the world renowned OSCARS and Golden Globe Awards statuettes.In 2014, we intend to further up the ante and put together a world class spectacle that the whole country would be proud of.''

According to the organisers, submissions of entries close on May 17th, 2014, after which nationwide verification exercise commences. Entry forms can be downloaded online at www.serang.com, while the SERAs grand finale is scheduled for October 18, at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

ZTE donates ICT laboratory to Police Children School

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•From left: Brand Manager, Johnnie Walker, Gbolahan Sani, winners of the third Johnnie Walker Step Up to VIP Lifestyle Promo, Mr. and Mrs. Ayodeji Balogun and Marketing and Innovation Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Austin Ufomba at the presentation of the BMW Car won by the couple at Guinness Head Office, Ikeja, Lagos‌recently

How environmental activities threaten water resources management

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HE sustainability and management of the abundant water resources in the country is being threatened by environmental activities such as land degradation, climate change, deforestation and rapid population growth, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe has said.

Ochekpe stated this during the National Consultation on Water in the Post-2015

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T was an unusual day when some residents were personally given gifts by Governor Fashola for registering with the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA).

The registration, which has been ongoing, saw some people emerging as lucky winners when their numbers were announced among the 100,000 to 500,000 winners in the list of registered residents.

While some got home appliances such as deep freezers, fridges, the luckiest of all the winners was threeyears-old Master Somtochukwu David Okolie who emerged as the 400,000 registered Lagosian and won a bicycle and his mother carted away other gifts.

At the event, Governor Fashola encouraged all residents to register noting that it is a governmental, centralised, trustworthy and

From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja Development Agenda last Thursday in Abuja.

The minister who was represented by Head Technical Support Services in the ministry, Mr. Effiong Bassey said that all these activities have placed tremendous pressure on water resources.

She said: "Many water bodies in the country have been polluted at an alarming

rate through illegal mining", adding: "Poor farming practice, dumping of waste and effluents discharge from industries, which render them unsuitable for use downstream."

Ochekpe noted that world population would increase to 8.3 billion people to 2030 and feeding a world of 8 billion people would require a more efficient use of water.

She, however, urged stakeholders to ensure and

provide measures for improved management of the resources as it would promote water security, peace, stability and prosperity at local and national level.

Also in his address, representative of the Global Water Partnership Nigeria, Mr. Muslim Idris said the National Consultation would focus on water resources management, waste water management and water quality.

Fashola presents prizes to registered Lagosians Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie comprehensive source of information that would assist the state with decision-making process and allocation of resources as it contains important and vital information about residents of the state.

Shedding more light on the activities of the agency, the General Manager, LASRRA, Ms Yinka Fashola who spoke to The Nation in her office in Ikeja encouraged people to take advantage of the massive resources deployed by government to bring the registration centres close to their residencies and places of businesses. She said the registration card is produced and issued at no cost to all residents while registration is equally done free of charge.

She said initially the

agency moved at a slow pace but is now up to speed as they have established permanent stations in all Local Government and Council Development Areas of the state.

Ms Fashola who hinted that the agency will unleash over 1,000 registration and field officers in Epe followed by Badagry and lastly Lagos Island and Ikeja, in two weeks time, further disclosed that they will use schools as focal points because of the space for ease of registration and parking of cars for those who would drive in to register. She, however, refuted the insinuation in some quarters that the registration is for taxation purposes, insisting that nowhere in the registration process are questions asked to disclose people's income.

She said, rather, the process is to help government capture

the demographic statistics of the people for good and even development.

She said: "Our data collection is anonymous, the information is not people specific but in general terms such as knowing the number of residents in a particular street or local government.

Government needs to know where a particular infrastructure is most needed for instance to know how many children are under four years or the number of women of child bearing age, age bracket of working class residents and the statistics of non economically active people.

This will help for instance in projecting the location of children hospital, expansion of schools, transportation services and other strategic infrastructure."

By Joe Agbro Jr.

ECOGNISING the need to introduce children early to information technology, ZTE Nigeria Limited on Thursday donated a modern ICT laboratory to the Police Children School, Ikeja, Lagos.

At the commissioning which held at the school premises, it was all joy as the teachers, pupils, and other stakeholders of the school showed appreciation through cultural presentations and speeches.

And on hand to witness the occasion were the representative of the Chinese ambassador, Xu Yuansheng and the director of Education of the Nigeria Police, DCP Ibrahim Kabiru.

The ICT laboratory has 20 internet-enabled desktop computers with 18 months internet subscription, UPS, HP laser printer, chairs and tables, and two split unit air conditioners. A five KVA generator to back up power supply was also donated to the school by the company.

Speaking on behalf of Hao Fuqiang, the managing director of ZTE, the deputy managing director of ZTE, Brielle Gao, said the donation was part of the ZTE's corporate social responsibility and the company would not just stop at the donation but will ensure regular maintenance, saying "our engineers will be visiting periodically to assist in staff training and equipment maintenance."

On the choice of the Police Children School as beneficiary, she said, "we at ZTE sees the police as a strategic institution in promoting peace, law, and order necessary for national development and business growth. You will agree with me that while a policeman is busy at dangerous assignments trying to protect lives, property, and business, his child deserves the best education."

She also said ZTE plans to make similar donations to other schools.

Appreciating the company, the head teacher of the school, Mrs. Gladys Akeremale, said, "We are very happy today that you fulfilled your promise."

Commissioner orders sellers of used clothes to vacate Asa River bank

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HE Kwara State Commissioner for Environment and Forestry, Alhaji Usman Mora, has ordered sellers of fairly used upholstery materials beside Asa River, Edun junction, Ilorin to vacate for the channelisation of the river.

Mora gave the directive at the weekend at a meeting he held with the executive of the Association of Fairly Used Upholstery Materials in his office.

He added that the order was informed by need to prevent further loss of lives and property experienced in the past due to flooding.

Mora, however, assured that the federal and state governments would ensure that the river was channelled properly.

Mora explained that for successful completion of the project, there was need for some demolition processes near the bank of the river.

He, therefore, urged traders in the area to relocate before demolition commences.

The chairman of the association, Alhaji Yahaya Aremu, promised to ensure that a suitable place was sought for his members' relocation.

More ships with petroleum products arrive in Lagos

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HE Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says that more vessels carrying petroleum products have arrived in the Lagos ports.

The NPA disclosed this in its daily publication, "Shipping Position", at the weekend in Lagos.

It said that two vessels, carrying general cargo, had also arrived and waiting to berth at the various terminals.

The NPA also said that it was expecting the arrival of 51 vessels at the Lagos ports from April 4 to April 30.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

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LTHOUGH the country is a major consumer and importer of rice in Africa, spending over N1bn daily or N356bn annually on rice importation, experts hold the view and very strongly too that the country has what it takes to attain self-sufficiency in rice production.

Nigeria is the world's second largest importer of rice behind China, with annual imports of 2.1 million metric tonnes.

A seemingly silent revolution is taking place in Doma Council area of Nasarawa State.

An initiative of an integrated firm, Olam Nigeria Limited, the silent revolution is in the form of an ambitious rice project, which is already changing both the economic and physical landscape of the community.

A visit to the community shows a quick transformation of the hitherto mass land, and desert portions into cultivable area for rice production. Trucks move in and out bringing artisans, workers or merchants buying or selling items required at the farm site.

For a first time visitor, any location in the farm appears like standing in the middle of nowhere, because the cleared land for cultivation, or already cultivated portions spread like lush ground of several kilometers seek your admiration or commendation. To say that the company in question, Olam Nigeria Limited has impacted the community in no small way is to state the obvious. And truly, it is doing so in a most profound way. In that the farming has come with a lot of benefits.

Through an ambitious rice project covering several kilometers of hitherto forlorn land, the company has provided a means of regular income for the people, and at the same time attracted a level of development.

Unlike in some of the surrounding communities, the average fellow you encounter in the community either has a direct connection with the company or has a relation or friend eking a living off the firm.

But much more, the rice is such that would trigger development of monumental dimensions while playing key role in the food security agenda of the Federal Government.

Speaking on the impact the company was making in their lives and community, Alhaji Kushunta Adi, the community leader of Ijiwo, a settlement in the area, said: "Before the coming of Olam to our community, most people in this area were idle, which is not good, but today, the story is different. In fact, at that initial time, most of excavators on the project were foreigners, but today, the company has employed many of our youths and this is helping many families here."

According to the community leader, what Olam is doing in their community is worthy of emulation by government at different levels and other companies which have operations in Nigeria.

"In fact what they have done here is enormous. I believe if the Federal Government can copy them, the country would be better. If we have one or two other companies like this in Nigeria, it will be difficult for us as a country to import rice."

By Adi's estimate, between 60 - 70 per cent youths were being economically empowered in the company's operations.

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'Nigeria can attain self-sufficiency in rice production if‌'

•Sunny Verghese, Group Managing Director/CEO, Olam International Limited

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf Another native, Adagoso Zakari was equally full of praise for the company. Adagoso, who hitherto had no regular means of income, said life before and after Olam could not be compared.

He said since the company employed him as rice block manager, there has been a big improvement in his circum•Akinkuotu stances.

Adagoso said unlike before when he had to toil on a between three and four acres of rice farm with little nothing to show for it, that Olam's coming dramatically changed things for him, as at today, he is managing a farm of about 20 hectares.

He said besides himself, that at least another estimated 70-80 per cent people from the community were beneficiaries of the Olam capacity building and economic empowerment programme on rice farming.

"We have been suffering for years before Olam came. Today, I can tell you that without Olam people would not be able to do anything called farming. Before when we farmed on our own, it would yield two-three tones but today, I know the right amount of fertilizer I am supposed to apply to my farm to make it to yield."

Echoing similar sentiments, an elated Mr. Sunday Uloko said the company has done excellently well in the community as many natives have come to understand farming better because of the magnanimity of the company which they initially received with suspicion. "In fact, most of the people had thought that the company had come to worsen their economic woes by taking over the activity from them, but their experiences overtime proved otherwise. Instead, Olam, convinced that the agriculture sector and in particular rice farming needed better technique, took it upon itself to

train the local farmers."

Abdul Salami from the Andoni community in the area, "many of us have come to understand farming better beyond just pouring in seeds in the soil", he said adding that companies like Olam active in the agriculture sector should be supported.

According to him, the Federal Government deserves commendation for its transformation agenda, of which agriculture should play a pivotal part, but added that Nigeria has huge market for rice, and that Olam has already keyed into the market, through which it is creating about 1,000 employment daily, and that more than 85 per cent of the natives are touched by the operations of the company.

Mallam Abdulsalami Anmena, a native who works as farm officer in Olam and liaison officer between the company and the community, said the company enjoys healthy relationship with the community, adding that the latter has made huge investments in the community.

Mr. Reji George, General Manager, Olam rice farm would commence milling of 200,000 metric tonic of paddy in Doma Council by June 1, 2014 He stated that the company cultivated 6000 hectares of land to ensure adequate feed to feed its huge installed capacity ultra model.

According to him, the farm on low land is being cultivated through irrigation twice in every year to boost rice production in the country.

On the ban of rice importation, he noted that this may not be the right time to do it, despite the fact that his company's activity would tremendously help to ameliorate the challenges faced in the country dependence on imports.

"I believe it should be a gradual process, before you ban rice or any agricultural commodity you must have to develop the local strength of rice production."

He said the Federal Government is doing a lot in transforming the sector, especially against the background that other countries have achieved a reasonable level of internal dependence on rice cultivation saying there is no reason Nigerian could not do the same.

Giving more insight on the issue of ban on rice importation, George said: "If you plan the ban of importation of rice, companies like Olam is into commercial production of rice with 6000heatares in two cycles; making it 12,000 hectares that would definitely help bridge the demand and supply gap, and with support from other companies, in addition to the role government is playing, in few years time we would be able to bridge the demand and supply gap and we would be able to be self sufficient in rice production."

He hinted that more than 1000 people are employed on the farm on daily basis and more than 90 percent of them are indigenes of the community.

He said when the project is completed they intend to mill 75,000mt of paddy rice and they have commissioned 3000 out growers farmers within and outside Nassarawa state to produce 20,000 of paddy rice by May 15. ``The tractors were operated

by Malawian at first but now we have trained the indigenes currently operating at by the machine, and we can fully say now that most of our manpower is sourced within the local community."

Echoing similar sentiments, the Chairman of Rice Processors of Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, said the volume of locally processed rice as of last year stood at 750,000 metric tonnes while the target was one million to 1.5 million metric tonnes.

Despite the efforts at hitting the target and all the policies that have gone into making it a reality, locally made rice has remained almost unavailable in the local markets where smuggled variety holds sway.

"But there is disconnection between the processors and the market. It is part of what will explain why many consumers are not able to lay their hands on these local varieties. Government is trying to link them up with these producers so that they can buy from them rather than import paddy rice for processing."

The president of Rice Millers, Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria, Mr. Tunji Owoeye, said eliminating smuggling completely would facilitate both the backward integration policy as well as the agricultural transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

He also commended the National Assembly for their efforts at trying to bring the issues in the sector, especially tariff, under control.

Owoeye said the government's heeding the association's call would check the influx of smuggled rice into the country.

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Customer service in a cashless society

T

HE apex bank announced the commencement of the test phase of the cashless initiative with Lagos being the major commercial nerve centre of the nation in January 2012.

This was scheduled to last for a period of three months with full implementation commencing in March 2012 for Lagos and the test phase in Abuja and other states. It was however reviewed and given an additional extension of about three months with sanctions taking effect from 1st of June 2012.

The policy was aimed at reducing the volume of cash by all and sundry, eliminating or reducing the amount of money laundered therefore nipping financial misappropriation in the bud, increasing the efficiency of banking operations by reducing the time spent on consummating transactions, improve on the safety and ease with which people access funds in their account, reduce and possibly eradicate tax evasion.

Others include, to drive the development and modernization of payment system in line with vision 2020 and to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth.

These restricted individuals to a daily cash withdrawal/ deposit limit of N500,000.00 and N3,000,000.00 as the approved daily deposit/withdrawal limit for corporate account holders above which charges would apply.

A processing fee of two percent applies to individuals who exceed the approved daily deposit limit and three percent for exceeding the stated withdrawal limit. For their counterparts who maintain a corporate account, a processing fee of three percent and five percent applies for going beyond the approved daily deposit and withdrawal limit respectively.

Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the federal and state governments were among the bodies made to enjoy exemption on the accounts operated by them solely for the purpose of revenue collection.

Sadly, this development has had an adverse effect on third party transactions as the value of certain transactions can no longer be paid off at once, as issuing a single cheque in situations where the amount would exceed the approved limit. Initially, customers did not find the initiative friendly as those who depended heavily on cash and cheques for payment had to wait for longer days before the cumulative value accrued, a good amount of money was also lost to charges where caution is not taken.

All commercial banks were therefore saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that all their e-banking channels were up to par with the needs of the varying categories of their clients.

To this extent, it became imperative for all existing e-channels to be up and running at all times. This includes the ATM, Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, POS, Mobile Money, etc.

For banks lagging behind in some of these e-banking technologies, the initiative presented itself as an opportunity to improve on the types and quality of services that were already made available by the trailblazers in the industry. Most of these applications now allow for local and foreign funds transfer, bill and utility payments, Top up, cheque pre-confirmation to mention a few.

Small and medium scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) became the main target market for POS machines, with the issuing banks willing to deploy the device, and educate their clients about its use.

Reluctantly, more Nigerians have embrace the debit card technology as access to funds in one's account for more services are now available via most ATMs apart from the enquiry and cash withdrawal it was once popular for as well as different online payment platforms.

Despite the advancement in the alternatives so far provided by financial institutions, service providers, product manufacturers and online trading firms, customers remain cynical about many of these solutions. Many are gripped by the fear of losing their funds to fraudsters who may gain unauthorised access to their account through the use of their debit cards for transactions on these channels. Some support their position with the reluctance and time taken by their banks to resolve their dispense error issues over the ATM with some claims unaccepted.

They state that the disclaimers boldly displayed on most banks mobile and internet banking sites provide an easy way out for the bank to avoid liability or responsibility should anything go wrong.

Rather than receive the POS terminals as a welcome development to improve the face of their business and increase sales by virtue of the indulgence of impulse spending which transacting with debit/credit cards permit, merchants perceive it as an imposition on them by their banks whose officials are quick to state the charges that would accrue to the bank from its use rather than its benefits to the merchant. A good number of these terminals when deployed are left idle and unused because the imposed charges by banks often exceed the set limit by CBN and rip these merchants of the meagre profits they make from sales.

Commercial banks in Nigeria now have targets set at increasing the number of customers they have signed up on their various e-banking platforms. Some have departments or desks set up solely for this purpose. Aggressively, the members of staff saddled with this responsibility launch out to meet up with the task set before them but record a less encouraging success.

62

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

BUSINESS

NIPCO reopens, begins loading of petrol T

HE Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) reopened over the weekend after 13 days of closure, the News Agency Nigeria (NAN) reports.

An official of the company, who spoke on anonymity, told NAN in Lagos that the company was reopened following

the intervention of the State Security Service (SSS). ``The meeting took place at Abuja last Thursday, where all the aggrieved parties were represented.

"Although the meeting continues today (Friday), SSS directed that the company should be reopened immediately while amicable resolution of the dispute would be

sorted out," the official.

The official said the company was reopened at about 10.30 a.m, adding that the loading of petroleum products had started for distribution to marketers.

He said the reopening of the company would further ease the scarcity of petroleum products experienced in some parts

of the country.

NAN reports that over 200 trucks had been loaded with petroleum products for distribution to marketers.

It would be recalled that NIPCO was shut by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on March 24 following a dispute over who heads the company union.

Tambuwal, Reps seek support for bio-safety law From Victor Oluwaegun, Abuja

T

HE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal has expressed optimism about the advantages of Bio-safety bill to the growth of the Nigerian economy, of passed into law.

The speaker said the law would prevent indiscriminate dumping of genetically modified products (GMOs) in Nigeria by the industrialised world.

Tambuwal, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja while declaring open a one-day sensitisation workshop on the need for a bio-safety law in Nigeria, noted that the nation's quest to attain food security and economic development by the year 2020 would be assured with the law, Represented by the House leaser, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, the speaker said, "This is very timely in the sense that biosafety is the hallmark of agricultural revolution with regards to increased crop yield which benefits and compositions should be known by the people to build confidence.

"That can only be possible if there is legislation in place to check the abuse of the technology by experts or even the farmers."

Earlier in her presentation, the acting director general of National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof.

Lucy Ogbadu, said the agency has used the biological processes of microorganism for more than 6,000 years to make useful food products, such as bread and cheese.

She also said the process has been used to preserve diary products, produce beer, rum, vinegar and more recently in agro-industry, for the micro-propagation of disease-free plants.

"In medicine, we have used it for the development of pregnancy test kits and the production of insulin, she added.

xxxx

Quality products will boost Nigeria's economy - SON

M •From left: Deputy Managing Director ZTE Nig. Ltd Brielle Gao, representative of Chinese ambassador Xu Yaunsheng and representative of Inspector-General of Police, DCP Ibrahim Kabiru, during the commissioning of ICT Laboratory, donated to Police Children School, Ikeja , Lagos by ZTE in Lagos recently.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

T

HE Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has attributed the prevailing fuel scarcity in Abuja to pressure from motorists in the neighbouring states.

The Abuja DPR Zonal Controller, Mr Aliyu Halidu, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja at the weekend.

Halidu, who was reacting to recurrence of petrol scarcity in Abuja and its environs, said that there was enough supply to take care of the need of motorists in the nation's capital city.

The controller, who said Abuja receives up to 120 trucks of fuel daily, said ordinarily, 100 trucks of petroleum products was supposed to serve the city without any problem.

While noting with concern that in spite of the availability of fuel in the city, there were still queues in filling stations, Halidu said the influx of motorists from neighbouring states was compounding the

DPR says pressure from neighbouring states cause of fuel scarcity in Abuja fuel scarcity problem.

According to him, most motorists in the neighbouring states come to Abuja to buy fuel because of the availability of the products. ``The supply to Abuja fluctuates between 80 and 120 trucks per day. ``Also, why we have queues even if we have 120 trucks in Abuja is because the environs are not being served and they are dried. ``If anybody comes to Abuja, the tendency is there to say look let me fuel my car before I go back. ``Those coming from Niger, Nasarawa and Kogi congregate here to take fuel. ``There are commercial vehicles that come with dry tank and they fill their tanks here before they go back," he said.

Another contributing factor, according to him, is the

stable pump price in Abuja, which he attributed to the effective and efficient monitoring measure put in place by the agency.

Halidu explained that the agency most often prevent the marketers from hoarding and diverting the products, stressing that there were times the agency would force them to sell to motorists.

According to him, the agency at times does routine checking to ensure that the products released are discharged at the stations.

He said that in addition to ensuring that products were being sold at official pump price, the DPR also tried to make sure that stations sold with maximum number of pumps. ``We also work on Saturdays and Sundays because we don't want any problem in the city," he said.

Halidu therefore warned

marketers against hoarding of products because DPR surveillance teams were on ground, stressing that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to offending marketers.

NAN reports that queues became noticeable again in some petrol filling stations in Abuja and its environs during the week.

Investigations revealed that although motorists queued for hours to buy fuel, vendors were getting fuel at ease to sell at parallel market rates.

The vendors operated with jerry cans in the precincts of most of the filling stations that had fuel.

The fuel vendors were making brisk businesses selling the product at exorbitant prices by the road sides.

They sell 10 litres for between N2, 000 and N2, 500 as against N970 at N97 per litre.

Subsidy: Tank farm owners urge FG to pay all importers

T

ANK farm owners on Friday appealed to the Federal Government to pay the subsidy due to all petroleum products importers to enable the association members be in business.

Mr Enoch Kanawa, Executive Secretary, Jetty Owners and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners Association of Nigeria, made the appeal in an interview with the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Kanawa said that for weeks now, tank farm owners had not had petroleum products to distribute.

"This has affected majority of our members because the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, (DAPPMAN), which supply products to the tank farms, had not been paid," he said.

When contacted, an official of DAPPMAN, who preferred anonymity, said the association members were yet to get subsidy for products imported.

The official said the 47 members of the association were being owed N47 billion.

He said that the interests to be paid on the loans which the members took from the banks to import petrol had risen to N7 billion.

He said that the government had always advocated that there should be a level playing ground where all parties should be treated equally.

He said that the association members should also be settled to stop the scarcity if other oil marketers had been paid.

Kanawa appealed to the Federal Government to pay the association members to ease scarcity of petroleum products.

RS Oluremi Ayeni, the head of Trade Development Unit, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), over the weekend advised the manufacturing sector to produce quality products to boost the economy.

Ayeni gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the ongoing Enugu International Trade Fair.

She said that the manufacturing sector had been a major player in the advancement of economies worldwide. ``One of the major challenges facing the sector is getting the business community to embrace standards. ``Products manufactured here should be kept in specific standards and certified. The certification gives Nigerians the assurance on the quality of the product," she said.

She expressed regret that consumers were in the habit of patronising substandard products due to the lower price. ``People claim that because of cost they will buy any product they can afford and this is not good for our economy," she said.

She said that manufacturers producing substandard products were doing disservice to the sector. ``We now encourage our companies to make sure they registered their products so that we can trace who is responsible for bringing what into the Nigerian market. ``We have zero tolerance for substandard products because if you put money there you will end up spending more on the long run. ``We want sustainable growth in Nigeria and the benefit of standard is that your products will outlive you," she said.

Ayeni said that SON was concerned with influx of adulterated products into the market.

She said that one of the benefits of products registration was to work with brand owners as well as identify counterfeited ones.

She commended the Federal Government for taking measures to empower relevant government agencies to clampdown on substandard products.

3rd edition of Niger Delta Trade fair holds in Benin

T

HE third edition of the Niger Delta Mega Trade Fair will be holding in Benin, the Edo state capital, from April 11 to April 26.

Prince Onoiton Okojie, Principal, The Cubic Expressions Ltd., event managers of the trade fair, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin over the weekend.

The theme of the proposed trade fair is ‘Niger Delta: The Need to encourage Effective Private Sector Investment for Maximum Economic Growth.’

He said the trade fair would serve as a veritable platform for exhibitors and investors from within and outside the country to showcase their products and services.

According to him, there is a huge, untapped and burgeoning market in the region.

He said the fair would create more opportunities for investors to create new businesses and explore the vast business environment in the nature- endowed Niger Delta region.

"We are building on the modest successes of the previous editions of the trade fair in the state.

"This year's edition will be much bigger and better organised as new innovations are being introduced to make it a success,” Okojie said.

64

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

When Kickstarter campaigns bomb, it may not be so bad

S

•Workers load sacks of cement at PT Holcim Indonesia distribution centre in Tanggerang

Holcim in $40 billion cement merger with Lafarge H OLCIM Ltd. (HOLN) and Lafarge SA (LG), the world’s two biggest cement makers, are in advanced merger talks to create a company with $40 billion in sales and better able to deal with production overcapacities and higher energy costs.

The companies are exploring a merger of equals that would build on their “strengths and identities,” Jona, Switzerland-based Holcim and Paris-based Lafarge said today.

Bloomberg News reported the discussions earlier today.

Lafarge rose 8.9 percent in Paris trading while Holcim gained 6.9 percent in Zurich.

A deal would allow the cement producers to cut costs by combining their production operations as some of the industry’s kilns run at a loss after the recent global recession eroded demand for building materials. To improve returns from energy-gobbling plants, Holcim in August agreed to swap assets in Ger-

many and the Czech Republic with Monterrey, Mexico-based Cemex SAB (CX), the biggest cement maker in the Americas.

“There is still massive oversupply in the industry,” Ian Osburn, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said in an interview.

A deal would help Holcim and Lafarge to “cut a lot of costs and dominate a few more markets.”

An acquisition spree before the financial crisis, including Lafarge’s 10.2 billion-euro ($14 billion) purchase of Orascom Cement in 2008 and Holcim’s $4.1 billion deal for Aggregate Industries in 2005, widened the •Akinkuotu dominance of both companies.

A transaction may face scrutiny from regulators in markets around the world and Osburn said the companies would need to sell assets in Europe and the U.S. The deal would face reviews in Europe, especially in France, as well as in Spain and Germany, he said, while regulators in Russia, Hungary and the Czech Republic may also examine the transaction.

Lafarge estimates in its 2013 annual report that last year it

had a cement market share of 34 percent in France, 40 percent in the U.K. and 10 percent in Germany and Spain. It had a market share of 12 percent in the U.S. and 7 percent in Russia.

Holcim didn’t provide market shares for individual markets.

Holcim now employs 71,000 people in about 70 countries while Lafarge has about 65,000 workers in 64 markets.

News of the discussions lifted construction and materials shares in Europe, helping the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rise to a six-year high.

G e r m a n y ’ s HeidelbergCement AG, the world’s third-largest maker of cement, rose 4.3 percent in Frankfurt.

Holcim Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana became the first outsider to lead Holcim when he joined the 102-year old Swiss company in February 2012. Drawing on his past experience of overhauling steelmaker Aperam, the French national has embarked on a similar cost-cut-

ting program, using the same “Leadership Journey” label he employed in his prior post.

At 181-year old Lafarge, CEO Bruno Lafont has been slashing expenditure, pushing sales of higher-margin services and selling assets to repair a credit rating that has fallen one level below investment grade amid a slump in European construction and rising energy prices.

Lafarge’s 750 millioneuro 4.75 percent notes rose as much as 3 percent to 111 cents on the euro today, Bloomberg data show.

Moody’s Investors Service rates Lafarge Ba1 and Holcim two levels higher at Baa2.

At least four billionaires own shares in Holcim or Lafarge, including Egypt’s richest person Nassef Sawiris, Belgium’s Albert Frere, Switzerland’s fourth-richest individual Thomas Schmidheiny and Georgiaborn Filaret Galchev, according to Bloomberg data.

Culled from www.bloomberg.com

Blackstone said to reach $5.4 billion agreement for Gates

B

LACKSTONE Group LP (BX), the world’s largest buyout firm, reached an agreement to acquire industrial-products maker Gates Global Inc. (GGI) from Onex Corp. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $5.4 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The deal will be announced as soon as today, said the person, who requested anonymity because discussions are private. The buyout would be Blackstone’s biggest privateequity deal since taking over Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. seven years ago.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Blackstone, declined to comment on a potential deal agreement, which was reported earlier today by the

Wall Street Journal. Officials for Onex, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Gates didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Blackstone’s dealmaking has been stagnant as rallying stock markets in 2013 led to high prices that the firm chose to pass on. Its private-equity group deployed $5 billion from its funds last year, the same as in 2012, as New Yorkbased Blackstone kept “getting outbid,” President Tony James said in a January earnings call.

Blackstone would be paying 9.6 times Gates’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the year ended September if the agreement is for $5.4 billion. The median multiple for deals over $250 million has ranged from 9 times to 11

times each quarter in 2012 and 2013, according to PitchBook Data Inc., a Seattle-based research firm.

Gates, based in Denver, filed in December for an initial public offering. The company, which makes power transmission belts, fluid hoses and other industrial equipment, is owned by Canadian buyout firm Onex and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which pursued a dualtrack exit of their investment by exploring both an IPO and a sale. The company, led by Chief Executive Officer Jim Nicol, posted sales of about $2.9 billion for the year through September, according to the IPO registration statement filed with U.S. regulators.

Gates was acquired in 1996

by London-based Tomkins Ltd., which was purchased 14 years later for about $4.5 bil-

lion by Onex and Canada Pension Plan. Onex took a 56 percent stake and Canada Pension Plan a 42 percent interest.

Gates sells products to customers including Deere & Co., Daimler AG and Bombardier Inc., with North America accounting for half its sales, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Private-equity deals globally stand at $164.8 billion this year through April 3, a 48 percent increase from the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Blackstone acquired Hilton (HLT) in 2007 for $26 billion, a transaction completed by the firm’s private-equity and real estate units. The firm’s real estate funds purchased Centro Properties Group’s U.S. shopping centers for $9.4 billion in 2011.

OMETIMES Kickstarter campaigns bomb. But as Michael Barney knows, you still can learn valuable lessons.

Newtown Square-Pa.-based Barney ran the campaign in question at the end of last year to raise money for his fitness product, called Ab Monster, which promises a way to get a really good core workout. His goal: $80,000. Amount raised: $4,196.

He also plans to donate a portion of sales to A World Fit For Kids, an LA-based charity aimed at teaching inner city children about health and fitness.

Barney originally created the Ab Monster to solve a problem. A lifetime basketball player and exercise enthusiast who also spent eight years in the army, he ended up going through three five surgeries–four on his knee and one his lower back–in two years. They pretty much made it impossible for Barney to engage in the rigorous workouts that had been a part of his daily routine for a long time. “With all those surgeries, I was sitting around doing pretty much nothing,” he says.

What he really wanted was a way to get back in shape and, especially, target the area known as the core. Nothing he encountered at the gym did the trick. Then, about two years ago, he came across an old roller ball mouse in a box filled with computer stuff. The roller ball, of course, allowed the mouse to move in any direction.

In the middle of night, Barney snapped awake with an idea. He would create a product that would allow unrestricted, multi-directional movement and, as a result, exercise all those core muscles at one fell swoop. A commercial aerospace commercial writer, he hired engineers and artists he knew to do initial production drawings, a and a design engineering firm to create the look.

Then a friend suggested that Barney, who was funding the project with his own savings, try Kickstarter. It seemed like a good way not only to offset some of his costs, but also to get feedback from customers and see how much interest there was in the market. So he decided to launch a campaign.

Trouble was, he didn’t learn until afterwards a few of the cardinal rules of successful crowdfunding. For starters, like a great many Kickstarter campaigners before him, “I assumed it was such a great product, that would carry it, “ he says. As a result, he did very little behind the scenes marketing to build up interest. Then there was the matter of how much to ask for. Figuring it would be best to raise enough to cover his costs, Barney listed a goal of $85,000–a really high number.

He also included ten reward tiers when, he says, four to five is best. The campaign didn’t come close to raising its goal.

But there were definitely upsides. He got 92 backers, for one thing, indicating real interest in the product. For another, some of them offered ideas, a few of which he ended up incorporating.

Now, Barney is planning to run a new campaign, starting May 1, to coincide with national fitness month. This time, he’s hired an expert in retail and crowdfunding, as well social media and public relations specialists. And, he’s asking for $3,500 to help fund a work-out video .

He also researched 26 charities to pinpoint the one with a mission that jibed best with his own. The plan: to donate $1 to A World Fit for Kids for every product he sells; retail price will be $49.95, although it will be less for Kickstarter backers.

And he’s going to feature a success story on his site every quarter. The organization, he says, “goes deep into the mental and physical aspects of teaching kids healthy habits.”

It’s also fortuitous timing for the charity. “We’re 90% funded by state and federal after-school grants and we’ve been looking to diversify our financing,” says CEO Normandie Nigh.

Culled from www.forbes.com

65

Exhibitors express low patronage at Enugu Fair Page 66

H

OW did you start or find yourself in printing?

I started immediately after my secondary education.

I went to work in a printing press and I discovered that printing has the potentials to take me where I want to be in life. I was the unofficial printer in my university back then - that is, the Lagos State University, though I didn't study printing but Chemistry. After my university education, I went into printing fully and I can tell you that I have never worked for anybody or sought employment even till the present moment.

I started by putting money together and I had one or two people that believed in me.

We set up solar associates, solar printing press and to the glory of God, it has been really eventful. In setting up the firm, we had a clear cut objective - to be the best in what we do. We wanted to make sure that we were successful in our industry and we worked hard towards it.

Along the line, I moved away from core printing into equipment procurement. I moved away from that and now supplying more equipment to people.

What was your start-up capital?

I started with N15 million. I bought my first printing equipment in year 2000, and my first major printing equipment which cost me about N3 million and it may interest you to know that, that equipment was actually manufactured in 1960. If you are going to buy a brand new equipment now, you will need to cough out about $1 million. You can see how capital intensive printing is.

Over time, within a space of six months, I was able to buy two more. That time, the business was still very good, very lucrative; you don't have to compete with people abroad, but today it is a different ball game entirely.

How many employees do you have?

Let me justify that by saying that printing is a small cluster. An average printer will have five staff. If you look at Somolu for instance, I'm not exaggerating, there are over 300, 000 printing units and each one employs at least five people. So, when we now put everything together, we now discovered that they were actually like a giant. When we started, we employed close to 15-20 people and we had to pay their salaries on a daily basis. I know printers in Nigeria that employ 500 people and I know others of 200 and I know printers that make billions of naira every year.

So far, how has the journey been and what has been your experience?

Looking at the trend of developments, what I have discovered is that printing is easily associated with people that are not educated; whereas I also discovered that here, people that are edu-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

'Most banks are not SME-friendly' At a time when a lot of graduates wait endlessly for unavailable jobs, Olugbemi Malomo, a graduate of Chemistry from the Lagos State University, took his fate in his hands, opting to be an entrepreneur. In doing this, Malomo veered off completely from his field of study, settling into printing business. Today, he is the Managing Director/ CEO, PrinterQuip, a top rated printing firm in Lagos. In this interview with Bukola Afolabi, Malomo talks about his life as a printer, the challenges and how government's policies and banks' indifference to lending a hand to the printing industry has almost made the sector comatose. cated and went into printing have been able to make it in a big way. I have since realised that we don't have sound policies guiding the vocation in this country. The way the business is being practiced here, everybody is a printer. In fact, in every family, there is a printing contractor. That is how they have privatised the industry.

Though there is supposed to be regulations guiding the industry, but the regulations seem to have failed because we have not seen the result of any regulation.

What sort of policies are you referring to, and how has that impacted on your operations?

In this industry, government doesn't really reckon with us and the state of the industry today has made a lot of people to run away. In fact, a lot of people are closing their press.

To start a standard printing press now you may need up to $10 million. Let's put it this way, if government or anybody wants to do a job like N100 million and you take it to Dubai to do, the kind of office or company of printing press in Dubai that would do that job for you will probably be worth 10 million Euros and that's over N1 billion. Now, this guy in Dubai, he probably collected facilities from bank and he is going to payback over a period of 10 years; he probably will be paying a one-digit interest and when you come to Nigeria, no bank is going to borrow you that kind of money. It is only about one per cent of the printers that a bank can borrow such money. Yet, this percentage doesn't need that money, because the capacity they have, they can't even feel it. So, they don't need to expand. Now, the 99 per cent doesn't have enough capacity.

But why is it so?

It is because of the way the banks are structured. The banks are structured to lend money to a certain privileged people.

All over the world, people have realised that for SMEs to grow, banks alone cannot fund the SMEs, even in the UK. So, what they are doing is they are looking for alternate funding. Let us also realise that we are not saying funding is free; we are not saying just go to the bank and get money, that's not what we are saying. What we are saying is that the condition that the

xxx •Malomo

banks lay down for people to borrow money are too stringent. Even in the UK, where they will get a single digit, where they will get enough period of time, governments are now creating intervention of alternative funding. Now there has been a lot of noise from government that people who need this fund have not been actually benefiting from it. Let's look at the printing industry for instance; people are losing their job by the day because all of a sudden, they are competing with Malaysia, which some years back was competing with Europe.

People in Europe come to Nigeria to find job and when they get this job, it is cheaper for them to go and produce in Europe because the guy is probably paying very low interest on the equipment he has bought. Also, the guy is not going to pay for diesel like all that we are paying; when the production is done, like a book for instance, they bring it in as educational material under free duty. But if I am going to produce the same book locally, I import my paper, I pay up to 30 per cent as duty. So, I can't compete with them because the

policies of government are inconsistent, particularly in the printing industry.

Does this imply that government policies are an albatross for the printing industry?

The policy of the government favours people that are privileged. Not only the executive arm of government is culpable, even the legislature is culpable. For instance, the very first bill the late President Yar'Adua signed into law was the bill establishing the Chartered Institute of Printers. But the legislators were against it, arguing that why should printers agitate to have a charter status? I tell you today that if all printing presses are going to go on strike, the nation will be held to a standstill. All over the world, printing is the highest employer of labour. In America, it is number three, in UK it is number 14.

In Nigeria also, outside traditional farming, printing is the highest employer of labour and if this people don't have jobs to do and government is talking about job-creation, the first step to any job creation is to sustain any existing job. You can't say you are creating jobs when people are losing their jobs.

Coming back to the policy, the

policy of the government doesn't favour us and aside that, we need to have a policy that would determine the way printing as a business will be run.

We don't have a national policy of printing. We have a national policy of book production and we got to know that when that policy was formulated, printers were not even represented. So, how can you talk about the policy of book without the printer? So I think the government needs to see the printing industry as a potential job generating avenue in Nigeria.

When you started, how easy was it for you to get credit from the banks?

The truth is that it has never been easy. In fact, back then, I usually say I hate bankers and the reason is very simple. One, it is easy for them to sit down in the corners of their offices and begin to tell you to go and bring your mother, bring your father, bring everything before you get a loan. But when they leave banking, how many of them have you seen that are able to run successful businesses. Can they run a business with their approach? If you are asking me to pay back a credit facility I obtain to run my business in six months, then what option do I have? Fold up! That is why we are saying we need a valid funder. We are not saying funding is free. If you look at developed nations, like the UK, the kind of funding they have from a cooperative and that cooperative guarantees one another.

The person in that cooperative knows you, he knows when you changed your car, he knows when you want to marry another wife and he knows that if you are getting that money, and not paying back, you are going to prevent other people from getting the same facility. Here in Nigeria, the moment you can't speak good English you can't access money.

But the federal government, through the Bank of Industry, released funds to assist industrialists. From your submission above, does it mean that people don't have access to such funds?

I don't think so; it is actually what they make people believe. For instance, a colleague of mine wanted a loan of N100 million from the Bank of Industry to buy printing equipment. He wanted N100 million and has a property of

that value, so he can be said to be qualified for the loan.

Now, they say that is not enough. They wanted to be sure that when he buys the equipment he will be able to make money from it, which is not wrong. So, the BoI now requested that he should provide an order from potential clients guaranteeing that they would continue to give him order. Recently, the Central Bank Governor said that banks should not print their cheques abroad again, and now the question is some companies that went to bank to borrow money. You want to print, you want to get licence from central bank to print cheque book and they said okay. Do you know what the bank was still demanding for? The bank was still demanding that they should go and get a guarantee that they are going to patronise you before we give you money.

One, if you can't give the printer guarantee, for them to get a service from you, how do you expect other people to guarantee? And in fairness also, the bank of industry sacked some people, but they are just less than one per cent.

In fact, they are giving people who don't want the money the facilities. If you want to get one naira from that you should have a collateral of three naira. So, if I don't have that collateral, I am not qualified to get facilities from the bank of industry. So, that's the way it works. We are not doing banking in Nigeria; what we are doing is trading. You give money to the highest bidder. What is the purpose of banking? Is it to make money? Banking is so sensitive to the economy of a nation that the purpose is not only to make money. I think there has not been proper regulation in banking. There was a time that banks were compelled to set aside a certain percentage of their profits for SMEs. As far as I am concerned, they are not doing banking in Nigeria, we are only doing saving.

What is your advice to people going into start-ups?

One, understand the business. It is very important.

Why do you understand the business? You understand it by having that interest first, you learn in that business.

Nobody wants to learn. Everybody only sees the financial gains. It doesn't work like that. Understand the business, that's the first stage.

When you understand the business, you will be able to make good progress. Two, be honest. Don't take shortcuts.

When you take shortcuts, you will be cut short. It will pay you for a moment, but at the end of the day, you will be cut short. Three, you must be prepared to show a lot of resilience. You have to be prepared for the bank to come and carry your wife. You have to be prepared for them to come and carry your car.

This is the advice and if you have all that, I think you will be able to survive.

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S

OME Foreign exhibitors at the ongoing 25th Enugu International Trade Fair have decried the low patronage at their various stands one week into the fair.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu at the weekend that this year's fair witnessed low turnout of visitors than previous ones.

Mrs Grace Mensah, who came from Ghana, expressed disappointment at the low patronage by visitors. ``By this time last year, I had sold a good number of my products, particularly clothes and textiles, but this year's own is very poor.

"I am calling on the organisers to do something about it because it will discourage participants, especially those of us from outside the country from participating in subsequent fairs,'' she said.

Another participant from Egypt, Mr Mohammed Hassan, called on the government as well as the Enugu chamber of commerce to erect permanent structures at the fair to avoid damage of their goods by rains.

Hassan, who regretted

Exhibitors express low patronage at Enugu Fair that some of his goods had been damaged by the rains, appealed to the chamber to also device means of controlling noise and making the environment more conducive. ``In this fair, we do not have toilets where we can go and ease ourselves. This is very bad because you see people defecating everywhere.

"The chamber should also see ways to get buses to this place so that people can come and patronise us,'' Hassan said.

Mr Jonah Nnamani, the Marketing Manager of Innoson Group of Companies, attributed the problem to the location and high gate fees to the fair.

According to him, the location of the fair at the outskirts of the coal city is one of the reasons for the low turnout. ``As you can see, this fair is located at the outskirts of the

city and it discourages people from coming to the fair as they will pay not less than N500 for transportation. ``Again, the gate fee of N150 is also on the high side.

The organisers should look into these issues before fixing the price.

A dealer in household items and kitchen utensils, Mr. Kanayo Nwafor, said he had recorded minimal sales since the fair started a week ago. ``Since the fair started, I have had very few visitors at my stand unlike last year; I think the problem is from the hike in fuel price by some oil marketers in the country. ``I think ECCIMA should have organised some buses to ply from the town to the fair like it did the first time it relocated to the permanent site,'' he said.

Reacting to the development, Mr. Emeka Okereke, the Director General of ECCIMA, expressed optimism that the volume of

patronage would increase.

According to him, it is a normal trend in our fairs because people usually embark on last minute buying. ``Enugu has a trend; every year, we witness the same thing. I am very sure that as from today, things will generally improve because people like embarking on last minute buying. ``Trade fairs in advanced countries are not just for buying and selling, but also for exhibitors to get contacts,'' he said.

On the toilet situation at the fair, Okekere, said the chamber had made 16 toilets available for men and women, adding that those defecating outside were irresponsible.

He disclosed that the chamber had set up a tax force to arrest anyone defecating outside.

The fair, which commenced on March 28, will end on April 7.

Farm consultant tasks poultry farmers on cleanliness of farm premises

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R Jude Okwudili, the Chief Executive Officer, Platter J Nigeria Ltd, a poultry consultancy firm, on Friday tasked poultry farmers to maintain a clean environment, to curb high mortality of birds.

Okwudili told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that cleaning the farm was the best way to avoid snakes coming into the farm to kill the birds.

He decried the fact that poultry farmers were not concerned about the growth of bushes around their farms, thus making them haven for snakes. ``The only thing that can attract snakes to a farm is dirt. Once the farm is dirty, definitely snakes will be attracted to come and when they see the birds, they kill them. ``I want to beg poultry farmers to maintain cleanliness because that is the only way mortality can be curbed or managed. ``The farm should be cleaned twice a week or more.

I have ensured that the workers in my farm clean the place almost on a daily basis, '' Okwudili said.

The agricultural consultant also encouraged farmers to ensure that dead birds were buried properly.

Okwudili noted that when a dead bird was thrown away instead of being buried, it could attract wild animals to farms.

NAN reports that some poultry farmers in Otta, Ogun, had begun to experience mortalities due to snake bites on their birds.

While commending the Federal Government for its Agricultural Transformation Agenda, Okwudili called for more attention on the poultry sub-sector.

He noted that crop farmers were more favoured by the programme in terms of fertiliser and maize seed distribution.

Okwudili, however, urged the government to support the Commercial Agriculture Development Project, adding that through the project, the company employed about 300 workers.

Minister urges local farmers on patronage

T

• Cross-section of members of the Association of General and Private Medicine Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) during the distribution of drugs to members by PATHS2, a DFID-funded initiative in Lagos...recently

Expert optimistic on Nigeria's manufacturing sector

A

LHAJI Aliyu Abubakar, the Katsina State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, over the weekend says that the manufacturing sector in the country is on the path of sustainable growth.

Abubakar spoke in Enugu while addressing journalists at the ongoing 25th Enugu International Trade Fair.

"I have seen here our capacity to harness our natural resources for the progress of Nigeria. This is an effort to lay

T

HE Director General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr Segun Oshinowo, at the weekend urged organised labour to maintain industrial peace in the power sector.

Oshinowo said at a news conference in Lagos that electricity was key to the development of the nation. ``The threat by the NLC and the National Union of Electricity Employees to shut

solid foundation towards growing the manufacturing sector," he said.

Abubakar said that with the products at the ongoing fair, small and medium-scale industries in the country had good potential.

The commissioner said that Nigerians needed to be proud of the abundant human and natural resources in the country.

Abubakar said that Katsina was well represented at the fair due to the love it had for the

business community in Enugu state.

"We brought our potentials that cut across our abundant natural resources and the capacity of our human endeavour.

"We want to portray and showcase our culture for the international community to see what we have done," he said.

The commissioner said that the industrial sector had received unprecedented boost following the state

government's investments in the power sector.

"The state government is now in a joint venture with a German firm to generate 40 megawatts of solar energy added to the completed 10 megawatts wind mill project.

"There is another joint venture of 20 megawatts of solar energy in the pipeline. ``So, in a very short time we shall have 70 megawatts of energy being generated by the state government," Abdullahi said.

NECA boss urges organised labour to maintain peace in power sector down the DISCO over unfair labour practises will further worsen the electricity situation in the country,'' he said.

Oshinowo said that NECA was shocked that the unions could actually carry out the threat and shut down the activities of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company. ``It was completely out of

place; it was a wanton display of impunity in the act of industrial relations,'' he said.

According to Oshinowo, the country has institutions that have been set up and laws that are well articulated for the unions to address industrial issues.

He said that the trade

union's right was a fundamental one that every employer must respect but due process must be followed for the employers to acknowledge such rights. ``The fact that an employee belonged to a union in his former company does not automatically qualify him to belong to the union.�

HE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, has urged Nigerians to patronise local agricultural products, to support the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in job creation.

Adesina made the call over the weekend at the inauguration of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) Headquarters, official shuttle buses, guest house and the association's official web site in Abuja.

The minister noted Nigeria is the largest world's largest cassava producer was that the government was more determined to become the largest processor of the product.

He said the government was working hard to ensure higher percentage inclusion of cassava flour in bread. ``Anytime you buy Nigerian bread, you are supporting a Nigerian farmer and making sure that the income goes into the Nigerian community. ``The only way you can create jobs is to buy what is produced, processed and marketed by Nigerian farmers; by so doing, you are creating jobs for your own children," he said.

Adesina underscored the need for Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan to excel.

Earlier, the President of the association, Rev. Segun Adewumi, commended the efforts of the government toward in recovering the ``lost destiny of Nigerian farmers'' through the GES scheme.

He requested that government intervention in the agriculture sector be shifted from subsidy on farm inputs to the provision of finance facilities.

According to him, the funds can be used to settle the interest rate on agricultural loans obtained from the capital market taken by the Bank of Agriculture (BOA). ``Let market forces determine the price of farm inputs; let us have real commercial agriculture that willd generate millions of jobs for youths and revenue for government at all levels," he said.

Adewumi noted that the Agricultural Mechanisation Department of the ministry had provided 190 tractors, 10 boom sprayers, 10 cassava planters and harvesters for the association.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the event was the presentation of NCGA membership card 001 and 002 to President Jonathan and the minister respectively.

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E keep hearing about the God’s factor, which is the theme of your 2014 convocation. What is it really all about?

It simply means the God’s dimension in a man’s life. I have often preached that you can succeed without God. So, one does not really need God to succeed?

Sure, it is not compulsory.

Man can succeed without God but many of us have chosen to succeed with God. Success with God lasts forever; it is transferable and peaceful. Success without God is never lasting.

Often times, before the seemingly successful person dies, everything is gone. You may see the wreckage but the glory is gone.

So, the God’s factor simply means choosing to succeed with God; entering a covenant of lasting success through God. Many have said they would want to succeed with God but He takes too much time. Why does God like to keep people waiting, almost endlessly?

I have handled this question in several meetings with pastors. Someone sent me a message on Face book on how she has been paying her tithes and everything without results.

First, God does not bestow wealth on people He cannot trust. He takes us through a process because many have been tested with money and misbehaved. Our souls are so important to God that He wouldn’t give us anything that will destroy them. He prefers to save souls than bless people with money.

Two, nobody likes to wait.

These days, people just love the micro-wave blessings. But God is not in a hurry. He takes time to build our capacities.

Someone may have just N1 million and start acquiring more women but someone else might have dozen or more without misbehaving. God takes us through a process to test our faithfulness. He does not bless people who are not kingdom-minded.

He wants people who will not hoard resources but choose to serve as channels of blessings to others. Anybody that will misbehave with wealth will go through a long route to get it. God simply takes His own time; it is we who say He takes time because we are counting the chronological time. If in 1994, I was given N10 million, I probably would have misbehaved. Some pastors did not even wait to have N1million before misbehaving. So, God is not in a hurry at all.

People equate prosperity with righteousness these days.

But is it possible to be rich as a Christian and not be in good standing with God? Yes, it is very possible. You can have money and not be a child of God though you are in the church. And also you can be righteous and have real money, stupendous money.

Stupendous money?

‘Nigeria does not need a Christian or Muslim President’

The General Overseer of Victory Life Bible Church (VLBC), Abeokuta, Ogun State, Apostle Lawrence Achudume, believes Nigeria needs only true leaders and not religious bigots. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola ahead of the 2014 convocation of the church. Excerpts: Yes stupendous money and I am using the word very deliberately.

But some Christians say they don’t want mega wealth because it could lead to mega troubles Mega wealth only means you have mega mouths to feed. If God blesses you, He would place people you are to bless with it around you. If God blesses you, He sends those in needs. There are people who need the money God has given you. The more you give, the more you receive.

But many Christians are acquiring these days and hardly dispensing. How come they are still blessed?

They will soon run dry if they don’t dispense. The money is not for them. When God gives you money, He has an assignment for it. If you hoard the resources, you are setting yourself up for a big fall. God will not come down to dispense money; He sends it through willing vessels to the needy. If you keep it to yourself, the money will kill you because you are afraid the money won’t return. But that is not how God operates.

What has told you about 2015 elections?

One, Nigeria will not break. Anybody saying Nigeria will break might break but Nigeria will remain indissoluble. Nigeria will not split in any form whatsoever and it does not matter who is saying the prophecy. The elections would be peaceful. Whoever God has determined to win regardless of what people say and do. I don’t see any crisis in 2015 at all. There would be noise but then everything will end.

There would be rumbles?

Of course, that is normal with human beings. It doesn’t matter who wins and loses.

Somebody who contests elections and does not win will cry out.

The bother is that politicians are playing religious politics… … That is very childish and wicked thing to do.

What would you be telling your members?

From time, I have always told them to vote according to their consciences. I tell them to vote for only those they consider competent.

You won’t endorse?

No, I won’t because there are people of different political persuasions in my church.

It won’t be fair to say they should vote for somebody.

worship. As a respect and honour, he can greet the brethren but to campaign on the pulpit is dishonourable. A pastor who does that has lost his honour.

What vision do you have for convocation 2014?

If you look at the crop of invited guests, you will see it is huge. From Mensa Otabil to Dr Felix Omobude, Paul Eneche and Dr Abel Damina, you see the list is really inspiring. We are bringing a generation of three ministers for a balanced diet at the meeting.

My desire is that we should know God for who He is and not what we can get from Him. Until then, we cannot be serious Christians. Many of us don’t really know Him; if we do, we won’t do half of the things we do. That is why the theme is living a triumphant life: The God’s factor.

If we know God, our politicians won’t misbehave though they come to church. I learnt in Jos that one of the people the EFCC is investigating is a board member of the commission. How can there be fairness and justice?

You seem to be an endless builder of multi projects. What is driving you?

I think it is just the vision.

I keep building auditoriums upon auditoriums. God was dealing with me sometimes ago and He said, ‘it takes structures to make a city’. And you know the structures in a city determine the people who live in the city. For us in VLBC, we are building again not because I wanted but because I realised that God wants it. If I had my way, I won’t do it because it is costing millions.

But I am not under any pressure because it is not my work. God is just doing it.

Where we are hosting the convention is a miracle. Maybe I have the anointing of Solomon to build You once said you don’t hold anything against anybody. How are you able to forgive people easily?

You know even my wife asks me whether I am a human being. Sometimes I don’t know how to explain but when people do the wrong thing, it doesn’t enter my head.

I don’t know how God did it.

So, it’s easily for me to forgive and move on. Till date, I don’t know how to quote people on whatever they said. I don’t know how to record wrongs.

I know people do something but I can’t remember. I have also come to know man by nature is evil. It is only when people do right that I am surprised. I realised that when I keep malice, I am destabilised and cannot plan or pray well. A pastor has so many problems already, why add you to it? Offence is a trap to destruction.

xxx

•Achudume

Even if God tells me who will win, I will allow people make their choices. Some of their relations are contesting and even if your brother is going to lose, you must vote for him.

So I won’t bother myself. But anybody who plays religious politics is bad. We don’t need a Christian or Muslim leader but a true leader. We need incorruptible leader who stands for Nigeria, not for Muslims or Christians; not for South or the North but Nigeria.

Religion should be a private affair. A leader should not throw his religion on people’s faces or impose it. You are voted by Christians and Muslims. Go to your church or mosque but do justice when it comes to administration. But religion has always played major roles all over the world.

Check Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. Even in the States, religion plays out. But it is just getting here now because of some fundamentalists.

If the president wants to come to VLBC between now and 2015, would you welcome him?

Why not? He is a Christian and even if he is not, he is most welcome. The church is always wide open to people from everywhere.

Would you allow him to canvass for votes?

No, I won’t because the pulpit is not for campaigns.

To do that is to put the church in troubles. The church is for

NEWS

Motherhood is divine call, says cleric

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HE President of Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun, has appealed to mothers to see their roles as a divine call for which they would give account to God. He urged them to pray for their children and families aside from taking proper care of their husbands.

Akinosun said this while preaching at Christ Apostolic

Church Oke Iye Ulai Idi Ayunre, Ibadan, at the 30th anniversary of the call of Prophetess Abigail Aimakhu into the gospel ministry.

He urged all women to emulate Aimakhu’s faith, who was obedient to her divine call despite of many challenges.

Aimakhu explained how God called her into the ministry despite her initial reluctance, saying she has faced

many challenges in the process.

She thanked God for the many miracles in the ministry, especially the healing of a vagrant psychotic, who had been at Idi Ayunre for over 20 years.

Aimakhu called on members of the public with information to come forward so as to re-unite the woman with her relations.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

WORSHIP NEWS

COLUMN

Let’s work together, Uche pleads with Christians, Muslims

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HRISTIANS and Muslims must learn to tolerate one another and collaborate for national development, Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Samuel Uche, has stated.

He said all the different religious groups need one another, stating that none can exist on its way.

Uche spoke last week at a media parley ahead of the city wide crusade of the Archdiocesan of Lagos billed for April 10-11.

Stressing that Nigeria belongs to all, the prelate stated that those working towards imposition of any particular religion in parts of the country are misguided and misinformed.

By Sunday Oguntola

No religion, he stressed, can survive on its own.

Uche also berated those beating the war drums, dismissing them as myopic and novice.

War, he explained, cannot solve anything but will only bring more sorrow to Nigerians.

According to him: “There is so much insecurity in the country, massive unemployment and so much poverty.

“We do not want anybody to put religious sentiments into these. There is the need to deemphasis religion and tribal sentiments as a reason for fomenting trouble in the country.

“So we are appealing to both Christians and Muslims to

come together and cohabit peacefully.”

Uche challenged Nigerians, irrespective of their religious and tribal sentiments, to condemn the activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

He said: “Boko Haram is evil. We must all as a nation rise up to condemn the sect and also pray fervently for the peace and progress of the country.”

He crusade, according to him, is aimed at praying for the nation and empowering Nigerians through the initiatives of the Prelate’s family NGO-Care and Touch Foundation.

He assured that free medical screening would be available from 2pm daily during the crusade aside from the spiritual blessings.

The Pastor-In-Charge of Shepherd hill Baptist Church Obanikoro Lagos, Rev. Israel Kristilere (middle) with his wife, Oluwatoyin and other guests at the presentation of his five new books and 17th wedding anniversary… recently

Presbyterian Church canvasses true federalism T

HE Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has challenged delegates at the on-going National Conference to enthrone true federalism and the nation’s secularism.

It said these will form the basis for the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the first quarterly meeting of the General Assembly Executive Committee (GAEC) in Calabar, Cross River State.

The communiqué, signed

by the Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church, Most Rev. Prof Emele Mba Uka and the Principal Clerk, The Rev. Ndukwe Nwachukwu Eme, expressed delight with the commencement of the Conference.

It urged delegates to courageously tackle the issues before them in the spirit of justice and fair-play.

The church also commended President

Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration for a possible referendum to back up the decisions of the Conference.

It praised the decision of the Northern States Governors’ Forum to abolish the payment of secondary school fees in the northern part of the country.

It however called for a total declaration of free primary and secondary education throughout the nation as a uniform system of investing in our children to secure their future as the leaders of tomorrow.

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Is there no balm in Gilead?

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ITHOUT any doubt, health stands out as the greatest asset of life. When a man’s health is challenged, everything he has loses value. That is why the world says, “Health is wealth.”

In the world today, healthcare is one of the most costly services. That is why God is visiting you with free health and cure now (Jeremiah 33:6-7).

God does not only want you to be spiritually robust; He wants you to be physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally robust (3 John 1:2).

When you are hurt, God is hurt.

He is hurt because He had already fully paid the price for your total health (Isaiah 53:45). You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20). You don’t pay for any product twice.

Your body has been redeemed from the corruption of sickness and disease. Your body is now to glorify God, not the devil.

Who is this Great Physician?

He introduced Himself as the Physician that was prophesied by Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 8:19-22. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick... (Matthew 9:12). His Name is Jesus.

On the Cross, Jesus carried on His head every sickness and disease that have tormented you. Jesus paid the ultimate price to credit total health into your account and my account.

We are told that He received 39 wicked Roman stripes that had iron thorns attached to them. When they whipped Him and pulled it, it drew flesh

from His Body and His Blood gushed out. Jesus painfully received 39 of them, for every form of classified sickness and disease that the world will ever know (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:45).

The end came to all our sicknesses and diseases. For surely He had borne our sicknesses and carried our pains, therefore, every pain and sickness has become illegal (Isaiah 53:45). The end came to every torment, when Jesus rose from the dead; the deal was sealed and you are now free (1 Peter 2:24).

Every health issue was fully settled before they began to rear its ugly head. Every sickness and disease bows to His authority (Philippians 2:9-11).

This is what qualified Him as The Great Physician.

What is His Great Prescription?: Understand that behind every sickness and disease is the spirit of infirmity; that literarily translates as the spirit of sickness, according to Luke 13: 11, 13. Also, behind every affliction of sickness and disease is the wickedness of the devil at work (Job 2:7). The devil’s stronghold is darkness: his power is called the power of darkness (Luke 22:53; Psalm 74:20; Ephesians 6:12). But the strength of darkness is in the absence of light.

Every time you turn on the light in your room, darkness gives way (John 1:1-5). When the light of the Word breaks forth, your health springs forth speedily (Isaiah 58:8). God’s Word is the all-purpose Balm in Gilead. God’s Word is the greatest Balm for the cure of all manner of sicknesses and diseases (Psalm 107:20; Matthew 21:8; Jeremiah 8:19-22). When

you are lighted by the Word, you are in command. You don’t need to pray to be healed, just pray to be lighted. When light comes, darkness packs out instantly.

What is this Prescription Worth?: The Word of God is the all-purpose Balm for the allround restoration of your health and vitality (Proverbs 4:20-22; Luke 5:17). There is no other source in this world that compares with the efficacy of the Balm in Gilead. This Balm does not only answer for the living; it answers, also, for the dead (John 11:25, 39-44). Every other medicine only attempts to cure, but the Balm in Gilead guarantees cure and beyond that, guarantees restoration (Job 33:21-25).

Friend, the power to key into divine health, is the preserve of those who are children of God. Are you a child of God? You become a child of God, by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be God’s child now, if you haven’t been, by saying this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner.

Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan, to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again!”

I will continue with this teaching next week. Exceeding Grace and the Unspeakable Gifts of God are your portion this year!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books: Keys To Divine Health and The Healing Balm and Satan Get Lost!

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners.

We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m. and 10.45 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Rededicate to divine assignments, church leaders charged Ex-leader appeals to warring factions in CAC

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HE former General Superintendent of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Daniel Oloye, has appealed to warring factions in the church to give peace a chance.

He asked leaders of the groups to drop their personal agendas and work for the progress of the church.

Oloye spoke last Sunday at the 26th anniversary of the Christ Apostolic Church Transfiguration Hill Zone, Ajuwon, Ogun State.

The weeklong celebration attracted government functionaries, traditional rulers, captains of industries and church leaders.

Decrying the disunity in the church, Oloye said the leaders must close ranks to fulfill the end time mandate of the church.

He pleaded: “Let us reconcile with God and with ourselves without any delay because we will one day personally give accounts of our stew-

By Adeola Ogunlade

ardship here on earth and it will be very unfortunate if, because of our quest for positions, we miss heaven and our rewards.”

Oloye noted there would always be differences since the church is made up of human beings.

He however said Chris-

tians must learn to resolve such differences “so as not to give room for the devil to scorn us and make mockery of our faith in Christ.”

The Chairman of CAC Transfiguration Zone, Pastor Emmanuel Odejobi, said the anniversary was a celebration of God’s grace, love and faithfulness to the church which are innumerable.

C

HURCH leaders have been urged to win souls for God rather than engage in blind pursuit of materialism.

The General Overseer of the Christian Pentecostal Mission (CPM) International, Dr Obiora Ezekiel, gave the advice at the last Back-to-Bible conference of the church with the theme

glorious divine nature.

The annual conference, which held at the Ajao Estate Lagos international headquarters of the church, is aimed at imparting and re-igniting the fire of Pentecost that dismantles carnal and worldly reasoning.

Ministering at the conference, Ezekiel challenged ministers to remain stead-

City of David’s women offer free treatments

N

O fewer than 1000 residents of Oshodi, Igbosere and Bamgbose in Lagos have benefitted from the free medical treatment of the Arise Women Ministry Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) City of David Victoria Island.

The convener of the programme, Pastor Siju Iluyomade, said the gesture is patterned after Christ who not only fed the hungry but also healed the sick.

By Wale Adepoju

She informed there had been six outreaches at Makoko, Ebute Metta and Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) among others with over 5000 people treated for minor ailments.

The initiative, she said, is to attend to the well-being of the people to ensure their health is on the front burner, adding: “Without healthy women the country will never grow.”

Iluyomade said people were screened diabetes, hypertension, malaria and pneumo-

nia, among others.

She said that the life expectancy of 52 years for women in the country as stated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is disturbing.

Iluyomade said God is concerned about people’s welfare, especially their health, adding that this was the motivation for the group.

On the quality of the treatments offered, she explained: “We offer treatments similar to what they will get at the Primary Health Care Centres

(PHC).

“If we found complicated cases, we refer them to any secondary or tertiary facility closest to the patients”.

She identified hypertension as the most common ailment detected among the tested women.

“I don’t know if it is stressinduced or caused by people’s lifestyle. Also, there are cancer cases. We hope the next initiative will be able to bring fund for cancer research into the country,” she stated.

fast and focused in their divine assignments.

He urged them to put on the divine nature of God to enable them focus on the things of heaven.

He said it is spiritual empowerment that will bring solution to many sick souls in churches.

He called on ministers to improve their standard by rising to their responsibility of healing spiritual wounds.

Ezekiel charged them to meet the need of this generation through awareness, enlightenment and unveiling the hidden truth.

He said today’s churches need serious discipline and salvation of souls which attracts rewards.

He tasked pastors to build and disciple believers to the level where they will know the truth and resist the love of money, killing, deceit and hatred.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

73

74

T

NEWS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

FG distributes three million books

HE Federal Government has commenced the distribution of free three million exercise books to pupils across the country.

This is part of efforts to meet the 2015 target of delivering basic education to children within the school age.

The distribution, according to the office of the MDG, is aimed

From: Faith Yahaya, Abuja

at easing the burden of poor families.

The books are also expected to stimulate the interest of pupils to embrace education and quit the streets.

Speaking at the event in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs,

Dr. Precious Gbeneol, said the distribution would help cut cost and reduce the burden on parents.

She said: “Giving these free books is a complementary thing to what the Federal Ministry of Education is doing.

“We are trying to reach out to the indigent pupils, who for one reason or the other, are not

able to afford books. Giving them these books will ensure that they come to school.

“It will further enhance our attainment of the goal in ensuring that they complete a basic course of education. We have done it before and we will continue to do it. We will ensure that our target is met.

“We are helping them cut

cost. The costs of textbooks and exercise books vary from one school to another and the cost of education varies too.

“The cost of an exercise book is about N70, so if a child gets up to 10, expenses will be reduced”.

Gbeneol noted that government’s efforts in the educational sector are yielding positive results, stressing that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report of last year showed that in 2012, primary school attendance ratio was 71.0 per cent, which represents 10 per cent improvement in comparison to 2008.

She said 83.9 per cent was in urban area, while 63.4 per cent

was in rural area, adding that secondary school net attendance ratio was about 54. 8 per cent, while rural area accounted for 46.2 per cent.

Gbeneol said MDGs has made available over N113.75 billion of debt relief to the Federal Ministry of Education from 2006 to date to implement programmes and projects bordering on girl-child education.

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, (UBEC), Mr. Dikko Abdullahi, who was represented by Mr. Pius Osaghae, assured that he would ensure that the exercise books were distributed.

Ogbomoso recreation club marks 25th anniversary

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•L-R: Representative of the Vice Chancellor and Dean, Faculty of Science, Federal University, Lafia, Prof. Martin Ogbe; Director General National Gallery of Art, Abdullahi Muku and Registrar, Idris Jibrin during a courtesy call by NGA for the institution of a prize for best student in the Dept. of Visual & Creative Arts in Lafia...recently

HE Ogbomoso Recreation Club (ORC) is to mark its 25th anniversary on Saturday, April 12, 2014, with a series of activities.

In a statement by the Social Secretary, Adebayo Babatunde, the event is to kick off with a Golf Tournament at 7am. This is to be teed off by the President of the Club, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, the immediate past governor of Oyo State.

According to Babatunde, this “will be followed by the commissioning of projects signifying the completion of the original master plan of the club, while a book chronicling the evolution of the club over the

last 25 years will be presented to the public.”

The Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, is the special Guest of Honour while Engr. A.K Amadu, the Executive chairman of Ahmak Engineering Company Ltd. is the chairman.

Among eminent persons to be honoured at the anniversary are Chief Layi Akano (Pakiotan), Chief Bode Adewuyi, Akanmu Elijah Ayanwumi, the architect who designed the edifice and Foluso Aremu, a lawyer. To be honoured posthumously is Prince Oyetunji Oyewole.

The anniversary is to be rounded off with an all night dance.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014 CHANGE CHANGE OF OF NAME NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oladipo, Oyenike Mary, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adekunle Oyenike Mary. All documents bearing my former name remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Safurat Aledeh Ahmsed, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Safurat Aledeh-Eromosele.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Mutiat M. Aderonmu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mutiat M. Afolabi. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OYENPEMI

UMAR

CHANGE OF NAME OLADIPO

AHMSED

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I formerly known and addressed as Zainab Umar, now wish to be known and addressed as Zainab Suleiman Garba. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ilorah, Obiageli Stella, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nnemeka Obiageli Stella. All former documents remain valid.

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General public should please take note.

ILORAH

AROTIBA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oluwatosin Abiodun Arotiba, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluwatosin Biodun Oladapo. All former documents remain valid.

Independent National Electoral Commission and general public should please take note.

ISMAILA

OSANEBI

ANEKWE

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I formerly known and addressed as Miss Sorbarisere Joyce Nwineewii, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sorbarisere Joyce Samuel. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLORUNFEMI

CHUKS-EJESI

OLAYISADE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olayisade, Taiwo Oluwatoyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Longe, Taiwo Oluwatoyin. All former documents remain valid. Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and general public should please take note.

JIMOH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Chuks-Ejesi Chiamaka S.M., now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chineke Chiamaka S. M. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I Olufemi Olakunle Samuel and Ogunfemi Olakunle Suraju refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as Oluwafemi Olakunle Samuel All former documents remain valid.

Toptech Engineering Limited, Nigerian Agip Co. Ltd and general public should please take note.

AMUSA

I formerly known and addressed as Amusa, Arasi Adesina, now wish to be known and addressed as Amzat, Arasi Adesina. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OKON

GANIYU

AJABOR

I, formerly known and addressed as Ajabor Monday Nkeoyeasua , now wish to be known as Abel Monday Nkeoyeasua. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

OLANIPEKUN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oludolapo Comfort Olanipekun , now wish to be known as Mrs Oludolapo Comfort Daramola. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

PETER

I, formerly known and addressed as Enosegbe Omodiagbe Peter , now wish to be known as Enosegbe Omodhagbe Peter. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

NWAHIRI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwahiri Rita Chinonye, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ejim Rita Chinonye. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

ADEBAYO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adebayo Omoloro Nadia, now wish to be known as Mrs. Adeleke Omoloro Nadia Omolara Ebunoluwa. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Rose Bassey Okon, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rose Kingsley Etuk. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OPUTE

ADEGBITE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Onifade Olajumoke Olasumbo, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oladipupo Olajumoke Olasumbo. All former documents remain valid. Foreign High Commission and general public please take note.

OGUNLEYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. NWAOGU GOODNESS UGOCHI, now wish to be known as Mrs. GOODNESS-SAMUEL ABINOKHAUNO. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I Akerele Kehinde and Mrs. Famuagun Kehinde Mary refer to one and same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Obamuagun, Kehinde Mary. All documents bearing my former names remain valid. General public should please take note.

NWABIA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwabia Ifeyinwa Scholastica, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezeonyeasi Ifeyinwa Scholastica. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adegbite, Aderonke Abosede, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abimbola Aderonke Abosede. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Ogunleye, Olabayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Oluwaleye, Olabayo Emmanuel.

All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State University, AdoEkiti, NYSC and general public should please take note.

AYANSEUN

BOSUDE

I formerly known and addressed as Aina Samuel Ayanseun and Samuel Ayanseun Owolabi, now wish to be known and addressed as Ayanboye Samuel Ayanseun. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

UGWE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adekunle, Kehinde Salimat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajibade, Kehinde Salimat. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Bosude Funmilayo Motunrayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Adekunle Funmilayo Motunrayo. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Annas Ugwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Doorsuur Annas Aguji. All former documents remain valid. Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, University of Ilorin, Kwara State and general public should please take note.

ADENEKAN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adenekan Kabirat Oyinlola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ajani Kabirat Oyinlola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADEKUNLE

OSHISANYA

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Oshisanya Khaphilah Ibironke, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Adeleye Khaphilah Ibironke. All former documents remain valid. general public should please take note.

EMONTON

I formerly known and addressed as Emontonghan Ann Ebimor, now wish to be known and addressed as Shanu Ann Ebimor. All former documents remain valid. FCT, SEB and general public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I,AMEDU JACOB ATTAH and AMEDU ATTAH VICTOR refers to one and the same person. now wish to be known as AMEDU ATTAH VICTOR. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Obiajiri, Chika Precious, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Madu, Chika Precious. All former documents remain valid.

Enugu East Local govt. and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Jimoh, Moshida Joke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogungbemi Moshida Joke. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressedas Miss Opute, Eseoghene, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Omokhuale Eseoghene. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I,SUNDAY .D. DICKSON and DICKSON GODWIN OGWUCHE refers to one and the same person, now wish to be known as DICKSON GODWIN OGWUCHE. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

SONTAN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ganiyu Omolola Karamot , now wish to be known as Mrs. Saliu Omolola Karamot. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

NWINEEWII

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, ARUNGWA IKENNA BENEDICT and IHEANACHO IKENNA BENEDICT, refers to one and the same person, now wish to be known as IHEANACHO IKENNA BENEDICT. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

OCHONOGOR

OBIEFULE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Magdalene Anthony Utuk, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Magdalene Anthony Prosper. AAll former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NNADOZIE

Formerly known and addressed as Nnadozie Edmund Umezulike and Osoluka Edmund Nnadozie, now wish to be known as Lukas Edmund Zulike. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sontan Oluwafunke Odunayo, now wish to be known as Mrs. Bisuga Oluwafunke Odunayo.

All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Rafat Taiwo Ismaila, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rafat Taiwo Yusuf. All former documents remain valid. Yagba East LGEA, Kogi SPEB and general public should please take note.

UTUK

IKHUORIAH

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I formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwamaka Lynda Anekwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nwamaka Lynda Ostermeier. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ochonogor Mercy Ebele, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okpue, Mercy Ebele. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressedas Olorunfemi Julius Ayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Omotowa Olorunfemi Ayo. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ADERONMU

ONIFADE

NWOSU

OKWUDIKE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. OKWUDIKE ZENIOYE DORIS, now wish to be known as Mrs. DORIS ZENIOYE KOSHI. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

OKORO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. EMILIA NNOROM OKORO, now wish to be known as Mrs. EMILIA NNOROM ANOKWUTE. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

ANGAYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. ANGAYE JENNIFER TIMINIPRE, now wish to be known as Mrs. JENNIFER TIMINIPRE TURNAH. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

IBIKUNUMA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. IBIKUNUMA SUSAN, now wish to be known as Mrs. ZWAANS IBIKUNUMA SUSAN. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

ELEKI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. ADA GBOLU ELEKI, now wish to be known as OTOKINI ADA OGWUCHE. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

OBIAJIRI

NWAKAEGO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyeji Catherine Nwakaego, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezedimma Catherine Nwakaego. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Nig., NYSC and general public should please take note.

AKINOLA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Akinola, Morenikeji Jumoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ezedimma Catherine Nwakaego. All former documents remain valid. Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta and general public should please take note.

OKOROBIA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okorobia, Chinasa J., now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Njoku, Chinasa Josephine.

All former documents remain valid. Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Railway and general public should please take note.

ONYENAGOROM

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyenagorom Cynthia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyemekara Cynthia Chidimma. All former documents remain valid. The Alvan College of Education, Owerri, Imo State and general public should please take note.

ADEBAYO

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NYSC and general public should please take note.

SALAMI

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General public should please take note.

ONUOMA

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AKOMOLAFE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Aderonke Adetutu Akomolafe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aderonke Adetutu Aina-Scott. All former documents remain valid. Fidelity Bank Plc. and general public should please take note.

ABHULIMEN

I, formerly known and addressed as Abhulimen Victor Eromosele, now wish to be known and addressed as Abhulimen Victor Eromosele Ave David Okolo Dodo Isreal. All former documents remain valid. University of Benin and general public should please take note.

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NEWS 75 UNESCO honours Ikuforiji in US

H

ONOUR has come the way of Lagos Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, again less than two weeks after he was installed as the Aare of Ketu Kingdom.

The World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations in New York, United States conferred the 2014 ‘Builder of the Universe’ award on the Speaker.

The ceremony took place in New York last Thursday.

A release from the Chief Press Secretary to the speaker, Rotimi Adebayo, while presenting the award, stated that the President of US Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres & Associations, Mr. Guy Djoken, said Ikuforiji was given the award in recognition of his ‘‘exemplary work ethic and performance’’ as well as his ‘‘commitment and dedication to help make the world a better place for future generations.”

By Oziegbe Okoeki

According to him, the Speaker’s “contributions to the development governance and human resources, particularly in Nigeria are adequate enough to fetch him a prominent place in the history of global ethics and sustainable development.”

Ikuforiji expressed gratitude to the organisation, promising to sustain his developmental agenda and do more for mankind to survive.

“I thank you very much for this unexpected but wonderful honour. I want to assure you that this is a challenge for more work, more dedication and more efforts to make the society a better place for our peoples around the globe,” he said.

WFUCA is an international organisation that promotes global ethics, sustainable development and social media.

TCN Oshogbo begs for funding

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HE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in Osogbo region has cried out for rescue from underfunding.

The General Manager (Technical), TCN Osogbo region, Engr. Vincent Aligwara, called for the intervention of the company’s board, which had been on a facility tour of Osogbo region since Thursday.

Aligwara said adequate funding had become necessary and urgent to avoid system collapse.

According to him, the Osogbo transmission region like others are facing a myriad of challenges, including paucity of fund, aging 132KV lines, lack of operational vehicles and most recently, replacement of the 4T1 150MVA transformer that got burnt at Osogbo region last March 7.

He said: “Some of our 132KV lines were constructed long time ago. In this regards, Osogbo-Akure and AyedeSagamu are mostly affected.

“These lines are not loaded optimally and as result can snap. The Osogbo-Akure line is more critical because it supplies two state capital cities – Akure (Ondo State) and AdoEkiti (Ekiti State).

From: Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo.

“Work centres and sub regions under Osogbo region lack healthy vehicles to effectively meet up with the increasing challenges of maintaining the sub-station equipment and transmission line patrol.

“We have been on minimal funding for a very long time.

Our funding is not based on the present economic realities and no business can thrive when economic indices are ignored”.

The General Manager prayed for urgent release of fund from the company’s headquarters “so that trace award should be completed before October.”

The chairman of TCN Osogbo region’s Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, Comrade Samuel Alade and secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees in Osogbo region, Comrade Mudasiru Adeniyi, implored the board to intervene and address some of the challenges facing the company.

Responding the leader of the visiting team, Prof. Peter Akpe, who is the chairman of the TCN board, assured that their complaints would receive urgent attention.

Madam Okafor goes home

M

RS. IYOM OKAFOR (nee Eke) alias Nzegwu of Umuatulu Awovu Village, Enugwu Ukwu in Anambra State is dead.

She was 82 years.

The deceased was a prominent member and chorister at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and later St Mark’s Catholic Church Enugwu Ukwu.

She also played leading roles in the activities of the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) of the parishes.

She is survived by two children, Mrs. Ngozi Okeke and Mr. Emma Okafor, an Abuja- based businessman.

Funeral activities commence on Thursday May 1 end with a thanksgiving

•Okafor

mass at St. Mark’s Catholic Church Enugwu Ukwu on Sunday May 4.

76

APC WARD CONGRESSES

Smooth exercise in Lagos T

HE ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held peacefully in Lagos State yesterday.

The voting and consensus methods were adopted to elect and ratify party officials in the wards.

The exercise went smoothly with party officials monitoring all the wards, except for a few exceptions in areas where late arrival of electoral materials and inability of delegates to locate the venue of the congresses created little hitches.

Party chieftains, including outgoing state and local government party officials, were sighted moving from wards to wards in the state.

At Bariga Ward 3, materials for the congresses arrived late

By Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor

in spite of the early arrival of INEC officials and security agents.

But accreditation and other pre-election process started immediately and the exercise was a huge success following the adoption of the consensus method agreed to by all members present.

At Erikorodo Ward in Ikorodu, party members complained that the venue was difficult to locate but were glad that materials and officials arrived early for the exercise.

A delegate, Fesobi Afobaje, urged the party to move the next congress to a more

accessible and easy to locate area of the ward so as to ensure the participation of more party members who found it difficult or out rightly impossible to locate the current venue.

The situation was different at Ward 4, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government. A total number of 1, 820 registered members were accredited as at 12.00p.m.

Voting commenced almost immediately after and the exercise was peaceful all through.

At Oduduwa Primary School, Mushin, there was a massive turn-out of party members eligible to vote.

Voting and accreditation went smoothly and the exercise ended by 3.00pm following the adoption of both the consensus and voting methods as agreed to by party members present.

Peaceful congress in Ogun

T

HE ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) went on peacefully yesterday in Ogun State.

The party adopted the consensus method to pick executives in some of the wards.

However, there were little hitches in some areas occasioned by late arrival of electoral materials and inability of delegates to locate the venue of the congresses.

At Ita-Agemo, Ward 12, materials for athe congresses arrived late although there were presence of INEC officials and security agents.

At Orile-Ilugun Ward 5, party members who turned out to exercise their voting rights complained of change of venue

From: Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

without notice.

But, the situation was different at the Gateway Secondary School, Ita-Iyalode, Ward 11, Abeokuta North Local Government Area. A total number of 1, 820 registered members were accredited as at 12.00p.m.

At Sacred Heart Catholic College, Oke - Ilewo, Ward 11, Abeokuta South Local Government, there were massive turn-out of party members eligible to vote.

Amosun described the exercise as hitch-free and peaceful.

Speaking at his Agura Ward in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area,

Amosun noted that reports from across the state showed that the election of ward executives for the party was commendable.

He noted that Ogun State has always set the standard in notable things.

Amosun said: "It is not easy to organise and conduct this kind of thing. With this success, I think we should commend the organisers and the party at large".

The governor was also at the Igbore ward of former Governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba in Abeokuta to observe the conduct of the congress where he appealed to the party members to conduct themselves peacefully as the APC is noted for peace.

Yobe executives emerge by consensus

A

LARGE number of officials that contested the ward congress elections from Yobe State yesterday emerged through consensus.

Our correspondent, who visited some local government areas to monitor the elections, observed that no elections

From Duku JOEL, Damaturu

were held in most of the wards across the state as the stakeholders had previously agreed on consensus candidates.

There were some disagreements in places like Maisadari/Waziri Ibrahim Ward in Damaturu Local Government, Hausari in

Nguru Local Government and Ngelzalma A in Fune Local Government where the people insisted on election.

It was observed that the exercise went on peacefully across the state without any hitch, just as economic activities in the cities were not disrupted.

Adamawa ward congress deferred

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HE All Progressives Congress in Adamawa State has postponed its ward congress due to late arrival of materials.

The Interim Committee Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Salihu Baba-Ahmed, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yola yesterday.

"Materials were brought yesterday (Friday) which is late. We have scheduled a meeting of stakeholders by

4pm today to fix a new date for the congress.

"I want to use this opportunity to further urge our party members to continue to bear with us and remain calm as everything possible will be done to ensure hitch-free exercise," Baba-Ahmed said.

A former chairman of the defunct CPC, Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri, who spoke on the development, said that with late arrival of materials, the

congress was not feasible.

Waziri said this was also because the people that paid for forms to participate in the congress were yet to obtain the forms.

"Those that paid for forms were yet to obtain the forms.

We need about two to three days to enable them obtain the forms, fill and return them.

"We will use the meeting of stakeholders today to fix an appropriate date for the congress," he said.

Exercise hitch-free in Gombe

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has conducted its ward congresses in Gombe and Kwami Local Government Areas with large turnout of party members.

The congress were peaceful at Herwagana, Nasarawo, Shamaki and Jeka da fari wards of Gombe metropolis and the members elected their leaders without rancour.

The newly elected Chairman of Shamaki Ward, Malam Salisu Mohammed, expressed happiness over his victory and promised to deliver on the mandate given to him.

Malam Sani Ali, Hajiya Zainab Usman, Sanusi USman, Chairman, Assistant Legal Adviser and Organising Secretary of Herwagana Ward, respectively, said they were

grateful to their members for peaceful congress.

One of the electoral officers, Malam Babangida Babayo, said the members conducted themselves peacefully.

In Kwami, Komfulata and Gadam Wards of Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe, the members conducted themselves in an orderly manner.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

THE NATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6, 2014

NEWS

Obiano orders demolition of illegal structures

Lagos moves to tackle environmental challenges

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By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

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HE Lagos State Government has said that it is working on a collaborative partnership that would help tackle environmental challenges in the state.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, disclosed this at the weekend while addressing participants at a three day retreat for staff in the ministry.

He said plans are on for the various agencies in the ministry to synergies and evolve with policy that would ensure cleaner, healthier and sustainable environment for the general well-being of the state.

Bello said the aim of the retreat was to identify grey areas in the discharge of statutory responsibilities of the ministry and its agencies as well as foster a cordial working relationship among them.

The commissioner, who flagged –off the retreat, added that it would further avail agencies within the environment family the collective insight into environmental challenges and also serve as a platform for harnessing solutions that would foster a sustainable environment.

He also stated that environment agencies in the state ought to imbibe regular collective consultation culture so as to engender institutional framework rather than individual entrenchment.

Bello appealed to participants to take full advantage of the retreat and interact productively to bring about a more sustainable environment in the state.

APC-USA endorses Aregbesola, Fayemi

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HE All Progressives Congress, USA Chapter has endorsed Governors Rauf Aregbesola and Kayode Fayemi for another four years in office.

At the APC-USA National General Meeting in Connecticut, USA, members evaluated the performances of the two governors and concluded that the duo have performed excellently well in office and have earned another term in office to continue their good works and also complete some of the projects they started.

APC-USA commended the governors for their exemplary services, dedication and love for the welfare of their people and for radically changing the art of governance in the country. It expressed its full support for the governors and promised to deploy its resources to monitor the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States and expose to the whole world any acts of rigging or thuggery.

In a statement by Tony Ike IsamaKunle Masha, APC-USA Interim Chairman, he said “APC-USA calls on Nigerians especially the people of Osun and Ekiti States to come out in large numbers to support and vote for Aregbesola and Fayemi. We cannot allow antipeople, anti-democratic, and known criminals and thugs to take over power in Osun and Ekiti states.”

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•L-R: Wife of Lagos State APC Chairman, Mrs. Toun Ajomale; wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope –Adefulire; wife of Ogun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funbi Adesegun and President-General of the Market Women and Men of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, during the International Women Day Rally 2014 at Police College Ikeja, Lagos... at the weekend.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

New identity card to serve as travel documents, says NIMC boss

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HE New Smart National Identity card would be used as a travelling document when it is launched and issued, the Deputy Director of the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC), Mr. Abdulhamid Umar, has stated.

He also informed that an independent laboratory and field test conducted card has shown it is compatible with the security recommendations and standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Umar stated these while fielding questions from journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at the weekend.

He explained that the card personalisation facilities had passed the User Acceptance Test, which was followed closely by the successful testing and validation of the EuroMasterVisa (EMV) compliance testing.

This test, he said,

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

showed that the new National Identity Smart Card can be used at Point of Sale and ATM machines for transactions currently available on the conventional ATM cards.

A different source close to the commission also confirmed that arrangements have been made for the card launch to herald the commencement of the e–ID Card issuance to Nigerians.

The source disclosed the process is being slowed down by lack of funds.

“There are plans to precede the card issuance with a massive awareness campaign that is only held back by lack of funding,” the source said.

“NIMC had called on Banks and Telecom companies to support it so it can scale up enrolment activities, which have been hampered by the non performance of the private sector companies CHAMS Con-

Ashafa preaches religious tolerance

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HE Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Housing, Lands and Urban Development, Gbenga Ashafa, has stressed the needs for peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.

He charged Nigerians to shun religious sentiments and tolerate one another.

The Senator, who is a Muslim but married to an Anglican Christian, spoke at the launching of a new book titled: “S.B.J. Oshoffa, the enigmatic spiritual leader of our time” at the Celestial

Church of Christ, Olajuwon Tejuosho Cathedral recently.

The author, Edith Oshoffa, stated that the 242-page book revolves around the biography and divine call of Rev. SBJ Oshoffa.

Ashafa, who was special guest at the launch, expressed his desire and interest in seeing a more religiously tolerant Nigeria where people relate with one another and are judged not by religion but the contents of their character.

sortium Limited and OnesecureCard Limited who were given a concession to create enrolment centres,” the source added.

It was gathered that the commission is seeking cor-

porate sponsors to support its programme because the budget of the commission which had not been fully released in the past two years was cut by 75 per cent.

HE Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano, at the weekend ordered some structures cited in unauthorised spots in the 33 area of Onitsha be pulled down.

Some illegal structures and perimeter fences built on government lands very close to the road were affected in the exercise.

Irked by the spate of brazen erection of structures in locations that violate the original master plan of the three major cities in the state, Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, Obiano expressed disgust over the preponderance of illegal structures in the states.

He wondered how anyone could embark on a real estate development spree in the state without paying attention to global best practices such as the city master-plan and right of way.

Sending a strong signal to land speculators and property developers in the state, Obiano said:”My administration will not tolerate flagrant violation of the law and any encroachment on government property by anybody irrespective of their social status.

“People should learn to obey the laws of the land by complying with the guidelines on urban development.”

He warned speculators to steer clear of government properties because they would be held accountable, stressing that those who do the right thing had nothing to fear.

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SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Magical Mata inspires rout

EXTRA

APRIL 6, 2014

America NGO to build Soccer Academy in Osun

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UAN Mata scored twice as Manchester United warmed up for their Champions League showdown at Bayern Munich with a comfortable 4-0 win away to Newcastle United.

A lacklustre first half came to life in the 39th minute when Mata curled an exquisite free-kick past Rob Elliot and into the top corner, and the Spaniard then showed great composure to make it 2-0 five minutes into the second half after being found in the box by Javier Hernandez.

Hernandez added a third with a predatory finish from Shinji Kagawa's pass and Mata provided another moment of magic to set up the fourth as a clever backheel allowed Adnan Januzaj to fire home and complete the rout.

Anders Lindegaard did have to pull off a couple of superb stops to deny Papiss Cisse but Newcastle were disappointing throughout and boos rang out around St James' Park at the final whistle.

Man City beat Southampton 4-1 to keep title fight alive

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ANCHESTER City beat Southampton 4-1 to keep their title fight alive, though the win was overshadowed by a serious injury for Jay Rodriguez.

Rodriguez came into Saturday's contest having scored five goals in his previous four outings to boost his hopes of making England's FIFA World Cup squad, but a nasty-looking knee injury sustained midway through the first half at the Etihad Stadium - looks set to keep him out of the tournament.

Yaya Toure gave the hosts the lead after just three minutes from the penalty spot after Jose Fonte's lazy trailing leg felled Edin Dzeko in the area.

A similar incident involving Jack Cork and Pablo Zabaleta allowed Rickie Lambert to equalise from the spot, but City regained their advantagelate in the first half as Samir Nasri stroked home David Silva's exceptional pass.

And Manuel Pellegrini's side enjoyed a two-goal cushion at the break through Dzeko - making his 150th City appearance and hailed as a "transformed" player under the Chilean by director of football Txiki Begiristain in the week.

Second-half substitute Stevan Jovetic rounded off the result with just his second Premier League goal 10 minutes from time.

The win keeps pressure on Premier League title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool, with Pellegrini taking his side to Anfield next week for a clash that could decide the destination of the trophy.

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Mata celebrates his second goal, scored just five minutes into the second-half

Odemwingie decries bad boy tag ...confirms reconciliation with Keshi S

UPER Eagles striker Osaze Odemwingie has stated that he is neither a bad boy nor a money grabber as being painted by his former club, West Brom.

Odemwingie made the clarification even has lifted the lid on the dressing-room rows that are causing the Baggies to plunge towards relegation.

According to the in-form Nigerian striker, there is a cartel of powerful players who dominate West Brom and that bullying and discrimination are also involved.

Odemwingie told Daily Express that he suffered similar fate like 20-year-old Saido Berahino, who was punched by his team-mate James Mor-

rison days back even as he que- Berahino, r i e d t h e l a c k a d a i s i c a l Meanwhile, Odemwingie approach of West Brom to the has confirmed that all is now well between him and Super issue.

“I have been painted as the Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi. bad boy and the money grab- "I have been speaking with ber,” said Odemwingie. “I am the coach (Keshi); it's the only not. I would have accepted right thing to do,” he told some of the blame for what Supersport.com “I had to be happened if the club and the humble and make a step foragents would have accepted ward towards my senior colsome as well, but they would not.

“What Berahino is facing now I faced.”

IGERIA National Odemwingie went on to League (NNL) side, challenge the senior players at Stationery Stores, West Brom to criticise themselves rather than pick on oth- have appointed Fatai Amoo as heir head coach, ers as it is the case with tsupersport.com can report.

Amoo will now resume immediately and is expected to take charge of the club's The Super Eagles goals talis- league match against Unicem man who is expected to lead Rovers at the Onikan Stadium Nigeria's forward line at this today. summer's World Cup in Brazil, The former 3SC coach, currently has 12 goals to his supersport.com learned, has credit for the Yellow Canaries been in the background workwith strike partners, Moussa ing with Stores.

Sow and Dirk Kuyt close to his Amoo actually oversaw the heels with 11 and 10 goals grooming of more than 100 respectively. players in the past 45 days for the club.

Taiwo Eneagwa, who worked in the capacity of head ENGLAND coach previously, will now Man City 4 -1 S'pton assist Amoo alongside a forA/ Villa 1 -2 Fulham Cardiff 0 -3 C/Palace Hull City 1 0 Swansea Newcastle 0 - 4 Man Utd Norwich 0 1 WestBrom U P E R E a g l e s Chelsea 3-0 Stoke midfielder, Nnamdi Sunday Fixture Oduamadi was on target Everton v Arsenal for Varese, as the side secured SPAIN a 4-2 win over Juve Stabia, in Barcelona 3 - 1 Real Betis an incident-filled Serie B GERMANY game.

Augsburg 1 - 0 Bayern The Nigerian striker found Frankfurt 2 - 0 Mainz 05 the net in the 21st minute to Nurnberg 0 - 2 M'bach five Varese, who were playing Stuttgart 2 - 0 Freiburg away from home, a 2-0 lead.

Bremen 1 - 1 Schalke 04 Loris Damonte had shot the

Stores hire Amoo as head coach

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Emenike fit for Galatasaray clash

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UPER Eagles striker, Emmanuel Emenike is expected to lead out Turkey giants; Fenerbahce when they play Galatasaray in a top of the table Turkish Super Lig tie today.

The Nigerian international, who fired blanks in the 3-0 spanking of compatriot Taiye Taiwo's Bursaspor last weekend, is eyeing more goals in the biggest match of the week.

Emenike informed that he's fit and ready to add his quota to the success of the team in Sunday's titanic clash.

“I'm ready and if fielded will give my best to ensure that we take the points at stake.”

Emenike's goals have contributed to Fenerbahce's current standing as league leaders with 60 points in 26 games and they really have nothing to lose, even if they play badly against rivals Galatasaray, who are 2nd on the log with 50 points in 27 matches. But pride will be at stake in this game which is expected to attract a large turnout of fans of both teams.

leagues."

The 32-year-old then took the time to commend Super Eagles psychologist, Dr. Robinson Okosun for the role he played in ensuring a truce was called.

Odemwingie is widely expected to earn a recall to the Nigeria squad when Keshi names his provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.

Results

mer defender of the club, Collins Ebitimi also known as Barbed Wire.

"Stores has hired Fatai Amoo as head coach. Taiwo (Eneagwa) continues as his Assistant, as well as Collins Ebitimi also known as Barbed Wire.

"They just used the opportunity to formally make the technical changes. Fatai (Amoo) had been grooming over 100 players over the past 45 days," a club source disclosed on Friday.

The Lagos club also made massive changes to their playing personnel by recruiting 25 new players and retaining seven from the existing squad just before the transfer window of the country's second tier closed this week.

Oduamadi on target as Varese win away

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visitors ahead in the second minute.

Luigi Vitale scored the two goals for the home side, both from the penalty spot. The first was put away in the 40th minute to make the score 2-1.

The second penalty was scored in the 67th, after Leonardo Pavoletti had put Varese 3-1 up.

United States (USA) based Non Governmental Organisation, NGO; Bridges To America is planning to build a world class soccer academy in the Osun state.

The academy is coming to Osun courtesy of a joint effort of Bridges To America and Destination America headed by a Nigerian, Dickson Egbukonye.

Founder and CEO of Bridges To America, Mr. Adams Miles, said a series of programmes have been lined up that will prelude the unveiling of the academy very soon in Osun State. On the programme is football clinic. He said the first part of the clinic was held in February, while another one was held at the weekend in Ilesha.

“After the clinic, we are going to organise a soccer competition tagged Bridges Cup which will be played by a group of 20 boys and girls. The winners of the Cup will pay a friendly visit to America in an exchange programme for further exposure,” said Miles, who came to Nigeria last week with a delegation of young America female footballers and coaches for the clinic in Ilesha.

Opeifa Padfootball tournament ends in Lagos

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AGOS State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa has reiterated his commitment to popularise padfootball; a play station entertainment game, in the state.

Opeifa said padfootball is another way of empowering the teeming youth of Lagos, some of whom may not have the opportunity of going to school, but are showing strong proficiency in computer games.

To this end, Opeifa said that the annual Padfootball competition, which has been staged in Agege, Orile Agege and Ifako Ijaiye areas of the state in the last three years, will soon go state wide to give more Lagos youth the chance to showcase their talent in the grassroots sports competition.

"Padfootball is a unique sport which is being played on a play station. I think it is high time we begin to look into how to tap the hidden talent of the Nigerian youth apart from the regular sporting activities. It is amazing to note that though many of the participants in this competition may not be able to express themselves in good English, they have been so excellent in the handling of computers to express their God-given talent on the play station. I'm so happy that these boys have not disappointed me and I'm looking forward to seeing when Agege will have a champion at the state level because this competition will go state wide very soon,” said Opeifa.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

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QUOTABLE "Why should I allow somebody possessed by the devil to waste the lives of our people because I want to be governor? "A minister has continued to threaten that he would waste so many lives in the primaries. "I am boycotting the primaries, I will participate when our party decides to conduct a free, fair and violence-free primaries."

SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 8, NO. 2810

—Former Governor of Osun State, Isiaka Adeleke, while announcing his withdrawal from PDP's governorship primaries in the state.

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FTER what must rank as the most extraordinary feat of realpolitik ever, former Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose, has been made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard-bearer in the June 2014 governorship election in the state. The choice before the party big wigs in Abuja was to either get Mr Fayose elected or appointed as candidate. In the circumstance, neither election nor appointment was applicable or appropriate. He had to be made a candidate by the most pernicious sleight of hand the party could muster. With his coronation on March 22, a crowning that is unlikely to be overturned notwithstanding the grumblings from within the state PDP and from among those who contested the ticket with him, Mr Fayose will in June take on Governor Kayode Fayemi for the now ennobled governorship seat of Ekiti State.

Mr Fayose, it will be recalled, ran a populist campaign from 2001 to 2003 to win the governorship seat. But he was impeached in 2006, a year before his first term in office came to an end. The feisty 53-year-old is a study in irony. He has been out of power for about seven years now, and he tends so easily to overreach himself, not to say exaggerate his puny gifts.

In his rather violent but abridged first term, he enunciated and implemented horrendously amateurish policies. Not only did he do very poorly in his three years in office, he also reacted very badly to challenges to his power in the typically intolerant fashion of African rulers.

Though Mr Fayose is still being tried for alleged corrupt practices, it is striking that the same PDP – not a different PDP – has found him a fit and proper person to fly their flag in the coming poll. The manner of his emergence itself may have been dubious, and his opponents in the party either weak and ineffective or embarrassingly ingratiating and unprincipled, however, party bigwigs at the state and national levels have curiously and even joyfully turned a blind eye to the strong-arm tactics he employed in muscling his cocontestants into submission. This has prompted many commentators to judge the real objectives of the party in the Ekiti election to be both deceptively intrusive and brutally detached. It must take a huge dose of cavalier politics, they argue, to plot such intrusive machination, and unprincipled indifference to ignore the salient implications of being represented by a man apparently so shorn of ideas and honour as Mr Fayose.

The only explanations for this strange choice of candidate seem to be located in

Fayemi, Fayose, Bamidele and Ekiti poll the unearthly inability of the PDP federal government to be identified with noble ideas and standards.

First, it is suggested that what the PDP hopes to achieve is not really to win the governorship, but to have a fighting chance of winning sizeable votes for the presidential election in 2015. If this was the aim, the party would still need a man with some dignity and noble carriage, not to say common sense or native wisdom to prise a healthy amount of votes from the ruling party in the state. It is also suggested that having dismissed Mr Fayose’s co-contestants as incapable of discomfiting the more cerebral Dr Fayemi, the Jonathan presidency was prepared to embrace a roughneck.

Since Dr Fayemi is expected to conventionally assail his opponents with much learning and self-assurance, the PDP probably guessed that only a southpaw, a brute and a scoundrel could unhorse him.

The choice of Mr Fayose is however more importantly a reflection of the nature and character of the PDP and the Jonathan presidency.

The two entities reinforce each other’s callous disregard for sane and elevated politics.

They are obviously not thinking in terms of the great heights the country should aspire

to, or of the fine ideas it should project. The image of Mr Fayose is settled.

No one disputes his mediocrity or his predilections for strong-arm tactics, or even, as evidenced by his last days in office, of his lack of coordination and composure and of his inebriated and insensate gibberish under pressure.

What is in dispute, in effect, are what strange motives gingered the Jonathan presidency into abandoning all pretence to principles, principles the president says are anchored on his frantic Pentecostal theology.

There is a general consensus that Mr Fayose indecently and brutishly secured the candidacy of the PDP for the Ekiti poll. There is also hardly a whisper against the open and indisputable fact that he is the wrongest candidate to represent the PDP in the election. If the state and national PDP expect him to win, they have not disclosed on what ideas, past achievements or even penitence they base their expectations.

Mr Fayose has not propounded any idea, nor can he, for he is incapable of the robustness and sophistication that Ekiti has managed to acquire in the past few years. As for achieve-

Osun poll may scarify Southwest politics beyond imagination

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F care is not taken, the 2014 and 2015 polls in the Southwest may signpost the collapse of normal politics as we know it. Given the way former Osun State Governor Isiaka Adeleke was choked out of the PDP primary in Osun, it is feared that President Goodluck Jonathan’s plan for Southwest polls may be strewn with all sorts of perils and premonitions. He has placed the unscrupulous Musiliu Obanikoro as his point man in Lagos and empowered him with the position of Minister of State for Defence. Mr Obanikoro has remorselessly begun to use illicit powers to muscle his home state and perceived enemies, and in general to undermine the peace and prosperity of his geopolitical zone.

The president and his party have also placed the impetuous and coarse Ayo Fayose in Ekiti as a countervailing force to Governor Kayode Fayemi, and are prepared to back their surrogate all the way in furtherance of the president’s determination to take the state from the APC. Dr Jonathan is also preparing to seize Osun by appointing into his cabinet the lachrymose and unconscionable Jelili Adesiyan as the Minister of Police Affairs, a man whose nauseous ties to Iyiola Omisore are well known. Between Mr Adesiyan, who was accused of having a hand in the assassina-

tion of former Minister of Justice, Bola Ige, and the overambitious Mr Omisore, a former deputy governor, a web is being spun to suffocate the APC and retake the state.

Perceptive south-westerners must however be worried about the kind of politics the president is playing in the Southwest. His point men in the zone are all disposed to violence, and they are all backed by limitless federal power.

Their brief is to ‘capture’ the zone, and they will stop at nothing to carry out that brief. In other words, if the Southwest escapes the grip of Mr Obanikoro in Lagos, Mr Fayose will grab them by the neck. And if they escape Mr Fayose in Ekiti, the duo of Adesiyan and Omisore will asphyxiate them. Taking Ekiti and Osun is to Dr Jonathan non-negotiable if he is to win the next presidential poll. He has a point to prove, and an axe to grind, for Dr Jonathan has never really hidden his loathing for a zone that appears to him proud, censorious and denigrating of others. But that zone is incidentally the only zone that still gives a semblance of peace and good governance in the country, a zone which he is nonetheless willing to turn inside out whatever the consequences.

Southwest leaders however appear engrossed with the road to Abuja. They must rethink their strategy if they are not to relive the First Republic all over again, when Obafemi Awolowo embarked on a fruitless

journey to the centre and ended up losing the Western Region. Dr Jonathan, I must warn very seriously, is obsessed with taking Ekiti and Osun this year. Since he cannot take them peacefully and on the merit of PDP candidates, he will attempt to take them by force. He will not spare anyone, and he will not care what happens, notwithstanding his sweet words about peace and democracy. The APC must recognise that given the rapid descent to anomie all over the country, the courts are no longer an option as a tool of reclaiming legitimacy. If they do not win on first ballot by making it impossible for Dr Jonathan’s forces to practice their malfeasance, then they should forget it.

Should Dr Jonathan have his way, the consequences will of course be grim and swift. If, as we know, he shrugs his shoulders at the harvest of deaths in the Northeast and elsewhere, he will be prepared to even numb his arms and legs should the Southwest yield to violence. In addition, he will attribute the disaster, with the connivance of amoral and desperate Southwest factions like Bode George, rump Afenifere and Olusegun Mimiko, to the zone’s APC leaders. Since he is not a democrat, Dr Jonathan will always be poised on the edge of tyranny, eager to romp into authoritarianism at the slightest prompting, if we let him.

ments, there is none for him to showcase, and he cannot dredge up any even by the uncanniest abracadabra. As far as remorse goes, he has sworn to some sort of personal conversion without indicating exactly in what areas of his indistinguishable worldview he practices newness of life, and has also sworn to some sort of maturity without demonstrating any practical evidence of the wisdom that sometimes comes with age.

If normality prevails, Ekiti is unlikely to dignify Mr Fayose with even 10 percent of the votes. (See box). They were grossly mistaken about him in 2003; they won’t like to be caught with pants down again or, after having achieved some sanity and enviable heights in decorous politics, succumb to the lure and fantasies of the juvenile politics propagated by Mr Fayose. However, his entrance into the race and the helping hand the federal forces are expected to give him, are likely to make the June poll a two-horse race between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP. For all his faults, Mr Fayose is a colourful politician, exuberant, gregarious but simple-minded.

These attributes are unlikely to be vitiated by his mediocre ideas and lack of philosophical depth. And so, he will draw attention with his egregious remarks, whip whatever crowd he is able to rent into some animated frenzy, and hope, like his PDP counterparts in Osun State, that whenever he foments trouble, Abuja will back him up.

The logic of Nigerian politics favours the ruling party in any state except where its performance is woeful. The APC government in Ekiti has brought a lot of practical and implementable novelties to the state. On account of its programmes and projects, the party is certain to receive a good hearing.

And having been governed for about four years by probably the most cerebral governor in the country, and notwithstanding the poor finances of the state, Ekiti is not expected to want to fix a problem that does not exist.

So, where does this leave the Labour Party whose ambitious candidate is the former ACN/APC man, Opeyemi Bamidele? My guess is that he will be strangulated in the middle. The APC and PDP will hug all the limelight, and the LP candidate will be left in the shadow of the two, shouting himself hoarse and receiving little hearing and sunlight. It is possible Mr Bamidele indeed has a great programme for Ekiti and a passion to do right by the state, but he has the misfortune of facing in one election both a performing APC governor and a federally-backed and boisterously loud PDP candidate. His timing is appalling, and his haste exposes to his many admirers a great flaw in his character – an unwholesome and devastating lack of a sense of proportion.

Dr Fayemi is of course not impeccable.

He incredulously began his re-election campaign even before he became the candidate of his party, thereby indicating unnecessary overconfidence. His opponents may have no democratic credentials whatsoever, but he himself will need to polish his democratic credentials, for his distinguishing qualities, nobility and definitive and futuristic leadership claims rest on those credentials. In a country rife with false democrats and open and closet tyrants, Dr Fayemi’s blots are unlikely to diminish his campaign, let alone threaten his anticipated victory. But he must be acutely aware of the need to project his democratic credentials and beliefs with deep, effortless and philosophical conviction. His admirers must not sense that these values are merely expedient rather than intrinsic.

If peaceful elections can be guaranteed – a tall order given the presence of Mr Fayose – the June poll may even end up an anticlimax. Mr Fayose’s scaremongering and PDP’s chicanery can only be effective in a close race.

With the passage of years, Ekiti voters have become more aware of their environment than during the Fayose or former Governor Segun Oni years. They will forcefully try to sustain the heights they have attained nationally, for the alternative will be too grim for them to contemplate.

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Website: www.thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 E-mail: sunday@thenationonlineng.net Editor: FESTUS ERIYE