The Nation August 10, 2011

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

News Ex-Oyo State Governor Kolapo Ishola dies at 77 P7 Sport U-20 World Cup: England will fall, say Flying Eagles P24 Business Senate Panel stops sale of N4.3b govt shares P11 http://www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

VOL. 7, NO. 1848 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

Salami survives plot at NJC

N150.00

ANARCHY IN UK

From Yusuf Alli and Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

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OURT of Appeal President Ayo Salami yesterday got a clean bill of health from the National Judicial Council (NJC), which refused to recommend his removal – as widely speculated - despite pressure.

But the NJC cautioned Justice Salami and asked him to apologise to outgoing Chief Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu for allegedly lying on oath against him.

Justice Salami is, however, likely to head for court on the observation of the Justice Ibrahim Auta Committee that he lied on oath.According to some NJC members, only the court can determine whether there is a case of perjury or not.

The Nation learnt that for about nine hours, members of the NJC were locked in a stormy session over the report of the Auta committee on the feud between Justice Katsina-Alu and Justice Salami.

The NJC raised the Auta Panel to review Continued on page 4

Banks refund N180b to CBN From Nduka Chiejina, John Ofikhenua, Abuja and Akinola Ajibade, Lagos

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HE three new banks have repaid the N180 billion capital obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it was announced yesterday.

Free from debt are: Mainstreet Bank Limited, Keystone Nigeria Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited. The Tier-Two capital was obtained by the defunct Afribank Nigeria Plc, Spring Bank and BankPHB Plc during the 2009 banking crises.

Continued on page 4

•Fire rips through a retail store in Manchester city centre in north-west England, following a fourth night of violence in Britain ... last night.

PHOTO: AFP

Cameron orders 16,000 police to regain London

P-61 •Mark Duggan whose death caused the riots and his baby in an old photograph. He was shot by the police.

al-Mustapha: I’ve no proof Yoruba leaders got money ‘ I

No. I did not say there was a tape where money was shared. Where highly classified meetings, like this one, are taking place in the Presidential Villa, cameras and other recording devices are not allowed.

•al-Mustapha

N a big volte-face, former Security chief Hamza alMustapha admitted yesterday before a High Court in Lagos that he has no proof that Yoruba leaders were bribed.

Besides, those who met with then Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar shortly after Chief M.K.O

By Eric Ikhilae, Judicial Correpondent

Abiola’s death were National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leaders, not Yoruba leaders, the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Gen. Sani Abacha said.

This is contrary to his earlier claim that Gen. Abubakar

met with some Yoruba leaders on July 8, 1998, the day after Abiola’s death at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The ex-CSO also told the court that all he knew about Abiola’s death were what he saw on some video recordings of the Central Recording system in the Presidency and reports from those who wit-

nessed the incident.

He admitted that neither former President Olusegun Obasanjo nor for former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, the late Chief Bola Ige, confirmed to him that Ige was made minister in compensation for the role he allegedly played during Abiola’s death.

’

al-Mustapha, however, insisted that the late Ige’s appointment was part of an accord between Gen. Abubakar and Obasanjo, adding that the National Security Adviser under Gen. Abubakar, Gen Abdullahi Mohammed, was equally Continued on page 4

•SPORTS P23 •LIFE P29 •MONEY P43 •NATION INVESTORS P47 •POLITICS P51

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

NEWS THE DRUG STORY

Weekly arrest of drug suspects at our airports, seaports and land borders gives the impression that Nigeria is just a transit for drug trafficking. But investigation by JOKE KUJENYA, LEKE SALAUDEEN and OLUKAYODE THOMAS reveal a high rate of drug consumption by Nigerians

Drug: Nigeria moves from transit to consumer nation T HE rate at which Nigerians are now consuming drugs is alarming. But like everything about the country, there is pretence that all is well, until things get out of hand.

Records from the streets, hospitals, government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity and diplomatic sources confirmed that many Nigerians are heavily into drugs.

On the streets of major cities in Nigeria, drugs are hawked like every other item. From Lagos to Port Harcourt, Abuja to Calabar, and Enugu to Sokoto, a drug like heroin, with street names, such as smack, skag and junk, usually sells for N1, 600 and N3, 200 per shot.

Cocaine, often referred to as snow, flake, coke and blow sells a little higher at about N4. 800 to N5, 000 per grand powder.

There are also Barbiturates, a.k.a. yellow jackets, reds, blues, Amy’s and rainbows but not very common and less costly. Others are street methadone, alcohol and ketamine. They are a powerful hallucinogen often referred to as Special K. Benzodiazepines is considered a family of sedative drugs. Amphetamines, known as billy or speed. Tobacco, which is at a lower rung on the list, is common in shops. Marijuana however, is another destructive herb when taken in excess. All these drugs are available in the nooks and crannies of Nigeria once you have the cash.

In Lagos, our reporter witnessed a first-hand hawker and buyer transaction at a popular drug joint at Ile-Iwe bus stop Ejigbo.

Irrespective of time of the day, buyers and sellers at the axis do business in the open without minding passerbys and law enforcement agents.

A similar scenario played out at in Kadara near Oyingbo, EbuteMetta, Lagos. When The Nation reporter visited, not only, the youths pervasive the adult were volatile.

An elderly woman told The Nation reporter about a well-dressed man who works with one of the new-age commercial banks in Lagos. She said: “Every morning, this man packs his official car on a street off the Post Office road at Oshodi, Lagos, with the name of the bank and logo boldly on the car, and stops to buy a pack of cocaine. Everyone knows him; he is young and not bad looking. But he doesn’t give a damn, he doesn’t hide his face. I am sure he will still come back tomorrow morning”.

Other hotspots for drugs in Lagos include Ikeja, especially Allen Avenue and Opebi axis, Victoria Island especially the Kuramo Beach, Adeyemo Alakaija and Idowu Taylor.

Ojuelegba, Akala area in Mushin, Apapa especially Liverpool area are other areas where drugs can be purchased anytime of the day.

Confirmation From Diplomatic Circle

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iplomats also confirmed Nigeria is not just a tran sit nation for drugs, but a consuming nation.

A report by The United Nations

•Cocaine hidden in hair brushes

Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) confirmed Nigeria’s rising profile as an international route for drug trafficking.

According to the agency, there has been a rise in the consumption of hard drugs in the country.

Nigeria is said to be an active player in the $6.8 billion West Africa cocaine market, serving as a major route and market for cocaine from Columbia, to other centres of distribution and consumption around the world.

According to the UNODC, the international drug market is burgeoning, no thanks to a network of suppliers, couriers and consumers spread across the globe but found mostly in the ever rising market in Europe.

The report linked the increase in drug use in Nigeria to the high level of corruption in the country.

When the people that are charged with stamping out the evil take bribe in order to let off drug kingpins and their couriers, what you would have is an illicit trade that will continue to boom to the detriment of the nation.

The United States accuse(s) Nigerian gangs of supplying much of the cocaine and heroin imported from the US, South America, Saudi Arabia and Europe.

The US Bureau for International Narcotics Law Enforcement Affairs reports that some Nigerians are often found to be involved in drug trafficking inside the US mostly in eastern and northern cities.

They are also detected moving drugs across the US-Mexico border.

Nigeria, according to the report, serves as transit for drugs coming from the Indian sub-continent and then on to Europe. About 2,000 Nigerians are arrested for drugs offences in the United Kingdom every year.

‘Cannabis is the most abused drug in Nigeria. And the drug abuse here cuts across age, sex and socio-economic status...there have been reports of abuse of non-conventional substances like nail polish cleaner, gasoline, lizard excreta, zakami and rubber solution. Others are cough syrups with codeine content and pit toilets.’

The bureau blame the increasing occurrences of drug trafficking trade on the door steps of the government officials and the regulatory agency – National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The report accused some Nigerian government officials of running drug cartels and using the machinery of government to shield their accomplices from arrest and prosecution.

The bureau also said despite the known ties of some government officials to drug lords, it remained a mystery that the Federal Government has turned a blind eye while these officials continue to ship the illegal consignments of drugs to both US and Europe.

According to the bureau, these government officials have moles

in the NDLEA and they use the agency set up by the government to stop the illegal trade to do business. The result of this, according to the agency, is that the agency only arrests low level traffickers allowing barons to continue to turn Nigeria into a major drug shipping, transit point. The bureau said the NDLEA lack the internal control system to enable it investigate corruption within it.

Container cargo traffic between South America and Nigeria is said to house considerable quantities of cocaine with which the Customs officers are ill-equipped to deal.

Many Nigerian drug couriers are serving prison terms in US, UK, Spain, Italy, and South America, Thailand. Some have been publicly beheaded in Saudi Arabia.

Efforts by NDLEA

B

ut Ofoyeju Mitchell, Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA said the organisation is combating both the menace of drug trafficking and abuse in the country Mitchell recalled the 450.400kg of cocaine seized at the Tin Can Island port Lagos in July 2010.

“We have won the conviction of two drug barons, a Taiwanese and a Chinese who were recently sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each in respect of the illegal cocaine import. While we have collaborated with narcotic agents of other countries in furtherance of the war against illicit drugs, I wish to note that in 2010, 6,296 males and 492 females with a seizure of 178,120.73kg of illicit drugs. A breakdown of the drugs is as follows, cannabis 174,661.59kg, cocaine 706.433kg, heroin 202.08kg and psychotropic substances 2,550.622kg, were apprehended.

As we speak, air transportation

remains the most prevalent mode of movement by major drug traffickers arrested in Nigeria. Available record points to the fact that 80 per cent of cocaine and heroin traffickers arrested between 1999 and 2010 travelled by air. Seizures of drugs have equally been made at courier companies. Most of the drug shipments by courier are in small quantities but with amazing modes of concealment. The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Command of the Agency in Abuja recently announced the arrest of six suspected drug traffickers in connection with unlawful exportation of 7.51kg of narcotics comprising 6.35kg of cocaine and 1.16kg of heroin with an estimated street value of 75 million naira” On the increase in the number of Nigerians consuming drugs Mitchell said”Cannabis is the most abused drug in Nigeria. And the drug abuse here cuts across age, sex and socio-economic status. A research conducted by the NDLEA has shown that drug abuse in the country is mainly a youth problem. Most hand drug users were exposed to the drugs between the ages of 13 and 19 when they are still in secondary school.

In Nigeria, there have been reports of abuse of non-conventional substances like nail polish cleaner, gasoline, lizard excreta, zakami and rubber solution. Others are cough syrups with codeine content and pit toilets. The abuses of unconventional substances have been found to be wide spread in the Northwest, Northeast and Northcentral regions of the country. In 2010, the Agency counselled and rehabilitated 3,589 drug dependent persons while 16 persons were referred.’Confession of an addict and a courier.e not able to lead normal lives.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NEWS THE DRUG STORY

More youths into drugs, more women into alcohol, says Dr. Erinfolami

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•Cocaine concealed in a bag containing T-shirts

‘How durgs are transported’ DRUG convict, Stanley Okonkwo has just been freed from Lagos prison after serving 10 years for drug trafficking. He was jailed for a year in Italy and was deported to Nigeria where he spent nine years.

Okonkwo revealed his experience in drug business.

“I learnt about drugs business at the age of 14 when I was in secondary school. I started with marijuana, but soon progressed to harder drugs.

“Three years later, I was introduced to a woman who got me into heroin and cocaine trafficking. It was like a school where you learn all the rudiments.”

Okonkwo admitted his gang and similar others had successfully transported drugs using speedboats and ships from secret departure points in Lagos.

He said: “Because of tight security, we carry drugs only at night and we usually plan with officers on the ship. Sometimes we use Naval officers or soldiers in countries we’re travelling to.

He said drug running had earned him millions in foreign currency.

“I travelled all over the world trading in all sorts of drugs. When you are successful and get your dollars, it’s like winning a lottery.”

Okonkwo explained how his

A

•Chairman NDLEA Mr Ahmadu Giade

gang used scheduled flights to traffic drugs.

“What we do is to negotiate with one of the pilots and get the drugs into the baggage section of the aircraft during the pre-flight maintenance checks, he said.

The traffickers, according to him, sometimes use ‘passive couriers’ – government officials who are not liable to rigorous checks.

R. Rasheed Adebayo Erinfolami is a consultant psychiatrist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and lecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. He told Olukayode Thomas that more Nigerians are coming to the hospital for treatment for drugs-related sickness.

“Before now the ones that people use in this country are: cannabis(marijuana), heroine which is common in the community more or less cocaine, those are substances that are being used. Cigarette is common, and alcohol which is very common in most of our cultural engagements, those are the drugs that have been used. ‘‘Things like angels-dust,stimulants and vitamins are not very common but they getting more important these days. Even cocaine is those that could afford it.”

Let’s look at the demography of people who are into drugs abuse?

“The data available I cannot really lay my hands on but in terms clinical practices, we see a lot more youths using the substances more than the adults.’’

What about the sex ratio, do we have more men than women or other way round?

“The sex distribution is more to the male than the female, but I must say in recent year there has been a little change in terms of substances use especially alcohol.

Before now its more of male, but you see female using alcohol more and the reason is quite obvious because a lot more of the female need to come out of the home now and seek employment, stay at work for long and probably need some form of substance to spike the system’’ But is alcohol a drug I think it is just a beverage?

“Alcohol is a drug. It is a substance of abuse and people get dependent on it and its come with many problems which is not just getting addicted or getting dependent on it. It also affect the physical system of the individual and virtually there is no system that alcohol do not touch starting from the brain, eye down to the liver and every other system in the body. So it has a lot of physical problems.

So how do you cope with the increase in the number of patient?

“We have been coping in a way, what we do basically is if an individual is abusing a substance, we start by educating him and encouraging him to leave the substance , however, depending on the substance we go more advance step in addressing the challenges, looking at the impact on the system, the physical system

altogether and see whether there are systems that have been affected and correct those areas and also if the individual now has a more severe complication like mental illness, mental behavioural changes that could happen with substance use that would be treated before the substance is being handled and when the substance is handled.”

Your final word for Nigerians at large ?

My advice is very simple, it is to live a drugfree life. That is the goal and why we are on the other side trying to counsel people, and treat patients. The way forward is to control supply and demand and the supply control is by governmental agencies as well as individuals.

•Cocaine hidden in pairs of shoes

‘My journey into drug addiction’

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ORN into middle-class family Olajide Jacobs (not real name) was destined for the top after his degree in engineering from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).

Now 53, Jacobs recalled the day he began his journey to self destruction “The journey of my detour to ruins began on a particular Monday morning. I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).

“I was invited for a job appointment in one of the oil companies. On the Friday preceding the Monday I was to go for the interview, I told a few friends that I would be going for an interview at an oil company, I told my friends that I was already getting nervous by all they were saying. And one of them, who’s dead now, but whom I will never forget, his nickname was ‘Lasco’, equally well-educated, said he would give me something to boost my confidence. Since none of my other friends objected to his suggestion, I had no misgiving about his offer.

“So, he handed me a white powdery ‘stuff’ wrapped in a transparent nylon. He told me to take some, that I would be able to face the interview panel with confidence. I still nag myself why it never occurred to me to mention it to my parents.

“On the fateful Monday morning, torrents of rain had fallen, drenching everything. The only thing I could remember was, I woke up early, had my bath and got dressed up. And I was quite nervous, I must confess. It was about 6.50am. I was to be at the interview by 8.00am. I lived at Ebute-Metta, so getting to Lagos could only take me about 20-to30 minutes.

However, I sneaked into the room and ‘took’ a little of the substance as Lasco prescribed. That was all I could remember.

“I then saw the clouds began to part for shafts of bright sunlight, through our room window, I got up and walked out to our parlour. Our home had two bedrooms and a big enough sitting room. We used to call it parlour then. I met my dad sitting there with a friend. He looked at me eagerly, smiling and asked: “How was the interview Olajide?”

“Interview? Then, my brain became alert and I ran back to the room, picked up my file and dashed out. Then, my dad stopped me and asked, ‘where are you going?’ I said: ‘To go attend the interview.’ He asked again: ‘What interview and what are you talking about Jide? Didn’t you go for the interview?’ I said: I’m about setting out sir...

“My dad looked at me, turned to look at his friend, who also had gotten up with his mouth opened and had apparently been told by my father that his son had gone for an interview at an oil company.

The man sat me down and asked why I didn’t go for the interview. I told him that I meant to go but didn’t know that I did not go until the minute I came out of the room. He then asked again what happened that made me forget. I was at first reluctant but I eventually told them the truth that a friend gave me something to boost my confidence before the interviewers. They asked what it was and I went into the room to bring out the remaining substances where I kept it.

“I felt so bad, I began to cry. I wept till my mother came in and my dad

recounted the whole story. My mother became so sick almost immediately and wept herself sore. I was furious and determined to deal with Lasco for running my life. How I wish I had not done that. I sneaked out of the house and went to Osholake Street where the pack of friends usually gather. I met Lasco. ‘Why, was it cancelled,’ he asked? I shouted, no, it was not cancelled. You made me miss my interview with the stupid stuff you gave me,’ I snarled at him.

“Just as they moved close, they all pulled back and the only explanation I could get was, it’s because I was new to the stuff and vice-versa. I was puzzled. They just dismissed me for making a big deal out of the issue. Lasco suggested I took a little to get myself together. I can’t just explain why, I took it, and that was the beginning of my drug escapades.

“Barely a month into the drug jaunt, things I never saw in our home began to happen. My father began to get overtly angry. My mother wept most of the time. She would wake me in the night to talk sense into my head. I would be sober. But once I got to my friends, all her motherly advice would frizzle out. My life disintegrated faster than I could ever imagine. Everything lost steam in my family.

“Because I was angry at the way my life was derailed, I became more dependent on drugs intake to stabilise my emotions. I started keeping away from home. The friends that led me into substance abuse became my closest confidants. I became defiant and wouldn’t care about what my father wanted for me. I thought I knew what I wanted for myself. And that made me feel much better.

“Sometimes, common sense would nudgeme to have a rethink and retrace my steps. But when I looked at the fact that my dad was not as buoyant as he used to be, feelings of hopelessness would overwhelm me and I would just shrug off the thought.

“I was about 23 , when this started. I am now 53. That’s about twentynine wasted years, right? In the process, I must have impregnated about three or four girls. I had four boys, but lost one to illness. My younger ones are doing well. I don’t go to anyone for money. Lasco died in my presence but I don’t know if I have any pity for him. He encouraged me to commit atrocious vices including hurting my dad’s heart and stealing his money. Most of the other guys have dispersed. I don’t know where they are now. None of us did well with our lives. My life is replete with regrets.”

Olajide notes, “Families of addicts suffer badly too and if the addict should be the bread-winner of his family, then, everyone in the family suffer as well. Just like me, many of my friends were and we still are, are unable to satisfy the economic requirements of our family. We get angry over little things and these are usually out of frustration. We lose temper and hit people fast or even destroy precious things just at the slightest provocation. Well, truth be told, the painful outcome of drug addiction is the aspect of drug dealers. They take advantage of our cravings for the substances and continue to supply the drugs at heavy prices and thence, we are not able to lead normal lives.”

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

NEWS

Banks refund N180b to CBN Continued from page 1

•President Goodluck Jonathan (right) with the visiting Niger Republic President Mahamadu Issoufou in Abuja ... yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said it took over the banks last Friday because they were financially distressed.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has, however, blamed the financial regulators for the banks’ failure.

While Mainstreet Bank saod in a statement that it has refunded N50billion, Keystone Bank’s Managing Director Oti Ikomi said N70billion has been paid to the CBN. He spoke at a news conference in Lagos.

Enterprise Bank has also refunded N60 billion, sources said yesterday. The refunded

sum were part of the bail-out fund pumped by the CBN into the institutions from which the new banks emerged.

The Nigerian stock market recorded its single biggest daily decline for several months yesterday as panicky investors flooded the market with open sale orders for banking stocks.

With the payment of the longterm bailout fund, the institutions, which took over the assets of the defunct banks, said they are no longer indebted to the apex bank in respect of the operations of the latter.

The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) made good its promise on Monday by fully recapitalising the

Ex-CSO: I’ve no proof Yoruba leaders got money Hafsat cautions on al-Mustapha’s tales

Continued from page 1

made Obasanjo’s Chief of Staff under the same agreement. al-Mustpaha spoke under cross-examination at the resumption of his trial before Justice Mojisola Dada for alleged conspiracy and murder of Kudirat, the late Abiola’s wife, who was killed in 1996 in Lagos.

The former security chief is being tried with Kudirat’s former aide, Lateef Sofolahan. He was cross-examined by the state’s Solicitor General, Lawal Pedro (SAN).

When confronted with the fact that those in the video he tendered before the court were NADECO chieftains, but not Southwest leaders, as he claimed, al-Mustapha said: “Yes. I said they were Yoruba leaders because I did not know all of them.”

On whether he possessed video evidence of how money was shared at the meeting he claimed was held with Gen. Abubakar, he said: “No. I did not say there was a tape where money was shared. Where highly classified meetings, like this one, are taking place, in the Presidential Villa, cameras and other recording devices are not allowed.”

When asked whether he has the video evidence of how Abiola died, he said “yes”, and added that it was among several important items confiscated from him

by Gen. Abubakar. He said all events leading to Abiola’s death were captured on a Central Recording system installed in the Villa.

“I had the tapes, but they were taken away along with many more important items that I had then. If I am not attaching respect to this court, there are a lot of things I would have said that you will find impossible to believe.

“That is why I have been asking this court to direct that all my documents and many other items, including the tapes of the unexpected of

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IGERIANS were advised yesterday not to forget the reason for former Security Chief Hamza al-Mustapha’s trial – the murder of Kudirat, the late Chief Moshood Abiola’s wife.

In a statement entitled “Delaying Justice”, Abiola’s daughter, Hafsat AbiolaCostello, who is Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on MDG’s, said: “As we watch the drama play out in the courtroom with Major al-Mustapha, I am reminded once again of the challenge that a largely civilian movement faced in forcing the military back to the barracks during the June 12 struggle. For civilians, unversed in the art of war tactics like dissembling, camouflage, blackmail, intimidation, extortion and torture; assassinations are only ever encountered on the this country; what you can never believe, be produced in court.

“The inventory of my items that I signed should be produced. Even if I will not be given, they should be brought to court,” he said. al-Mustapha told the court that it was only Gen. Abubakar that could resolve the puzzle over Abiola’s and Abacha’s death. He wondered why people failed to query why the two major figures in the nation’s political crisis then died within a month.

“That Abacha and Abiola, the two political obstacles in the country, gave way within a month is not a mere coincidence. It is too real not to be true. On the 6th of July, 1999, Chief Abiola was told to bring his family. On the 7th, he was murdered and on the 8th, these leaders were brought to the Presidency. That all these happened within three days is not a mere coincidence.

“All the detainees were to go home. Obasanjo and other detainees were allowed to go home. Why was Abiola not released? They were all to be released. That was what we agreed with Gen Abdusalami.

If he can not come to the court because he is higher than the law, let him release the 16point agreement we had with

pages of Ludlum novels. Hapless and quite naïve, it took us a while to grow the healthy skepticism needed to secure the modest gains we made in 1999.

“It seems that we have returned yet again to that age of innocence for as alMustapha holds court, we all look transfixed. When someone who drove the sadistic machinery of the Abacha regime speaks, we would do well to remember the antecedents from which he comes, to remember that he, mentored no less by General Abacha, would have learned well how to weave tales based on half-truths and sinister insinuations.

In any case, even if his allegations are taken as facts, telling us that people were to be bought off following the death of MKO Abiola should not distract us from the fact that, however cra-

him,” he said.

When asked what he knew about Kudirat’s death, alMustapha said that should be a question for the police, adding that he only learnt that some people, who were arrested, confessed to the crime.

He, however, failed to mention any of those he claimed were arrested over the murder, saying: “I can’t recall.”

“I said yesterday that the police effected arrest and confessional statements were made. Records were opened; occurrence reports were made and sent to the National Security Adviser. That was how I knew. One Mr. Adesina was among those arrested,” al-Mustapha said.

On when last he saw Gen. Abacha before his death on June 8, 1999, he said he saw him at 2 am on the day he died among some ministers and ambassadors. He failed to identify them.

“I have said that Abacha was murdered. But I will not dwell on that because that is not the issue before the court. The video tapes of Abiola’s death that I have was what brought me here,” al-Mustapha said.

On his claim that he wrote the late Ige a personal letter, al-Mustapha said under cross examination that he did not personally deliver the said letter and that though he sent it through his lawyer, the late

ven such behaviour was, these people did not kill the symbol of the movement. And pertinent to the current court case, these people did not order that his wife, Kudirat Abiola, be assassinated.

“Yet if the tragic murders of the twin martyrs are to have any consequence, the democracy they fought for should be made to work. It must be made to work for all citizens of Nigeria, not just for the ‘good guys’. This means that the judicial process should move to resolve the question of whether al-Mustapha used the instruments of state to order that Kudirat Abiola be gunned down on the streets of Lagos in 1996. For if al-Mustapha grows tired of the long wait for justice, he cannot imagine the sentiments of the woman’s seven children and of the rest of her family.”

Clement Akpamgbo (SAN) and Amobi Nzelu, the late AGF did not acknowledge receipt of the letter.

He insisted that a team of security personnel who brought him and others into Lagos from Abuja in 1999, led by former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, was under instruction to eliminate them. al-Mustapha urged the court to invite former Commissioners of Police in Lagos, Abubakar Tsav and Mike Okiro, to confirm his claim. He also asked the court to also request for the recording of Radio France (Hausa Service) news bulletin of yesterday morning where Tsav allegedly confirmed his claim.

He denied ever sending Sergeant Barnabas Jabila (aka Rogers) to Lagos on any assignment, noting that he (Rogers) was never a member of the Strike Force and the Body Guard.

The state has indicated its intention to apply for the production of the report of the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission (HRVIC), commonly referred to as the Oputa Panel, to disprove alMustapha’s claims about the Yoruba leaders, the alleged letter to Ige and his appointment as minister, among other sundry allegations.

Pedro said it was necessary

because the former CSO failed to make such allegations about the deaths of Abacha and Abiola before the panel in 2001 in Lagos and 2002 in Abuja.

He added that the move was required to put the record straight because “a lot of people outside are undergoing public trial because of the testimony given in this case, which has diverted attention away from Kudirat Abiola’ death , the case before the court”.

Earlier, the court granted leave to the accused persons to appeal its July 14 ruling refusing the no-case submission made by al-Mustapha and Sofolahan, prior to the commencement of their defence.

The court had, in the ruling, acquitted the then head of Aso Rock unit of the Riot Police, Rabo Lawal (CSP), on the ground that no prima facie case was made against him, and ordered al-Mustapha and Sofolahan to enter defence because a case has been made out against them by the state.

Also yesterday, parties argued on whether the prosecution could cross-examine al-Mustapha on the content of an October 13, 1999 statement, which he claimed to have made under duress, having not been tendered by the state while the prosecution was conducting its case.

The hearing continues today.

new banks via bonds. It issued N679billion worth of bonds.

Mainstreet received N285 billion worth of bonds, Keystone -N283 billion while Enterprise got N111 billion.

Mainstreet in a statement said it is now well-positioned to fulfill its financial obligations. “The loan repayment is a demonstration of the bank’s strong liquidity position. It is also an assurance of the safety of customer deposits and a demonstration of the bank’s capacity to play big in the banking industry.

“MBL is now in a good position to be an active player in the interbank market, handle big ticket transactions and support customer businesses,” the statement said.

Ikomi said Keystone Bank has met the N25billion capital requirement of a bank in the country.

He added: “We have met all the capital adequacy ratio of CBN, our negative shareholders’ fund has been reversed.

We have fully met the N25billion capital requirements specified by the CBN.” But the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said: “The three banks had continuous deterioration in their financial conditions; they had totally lost their capital, and their shareholders funds were negative in fact, below zero. These banks had been living on life support system of the CBN. They were not able to mobilise deposit or attract new customers, they didn’t have liquidity except the ones that they borrowed from other banks and other banks naturally will not give them a kobo but for the CBN guarantee,” NDIC Managing Director Umaru Ibrahim said.

Speaking to reporters in Abuja, the NDIC boss said the regulators didn’t have to wait until next month’s deadline. “In some cases, our parents give us deadline to find a partner and get married and if they know that you are not serious and have not found one they will find one for you. So it is more or less the case here,” he said.

He said the NDIC has extended insurance coverage to the three new banks, stressing that the decision to do so was in line with the exercise of its oversight functions to these new banks.

Continued on page 10

•Lamido

Auta Committee fails to recommend sanctions against Salami Continued from page 1

the findings of the Justice Umaru Abdullahi Fact-Finding Committee on the crisis of confidence between the CJN and Justice Salami.

The Abdullahi Committee concluded that a breakdown of communication accounted for the misunderstanding be-

tween the CJN and the President of the Court of Appeal.

A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondents, said: “We were split over the recommendations of the Auta Committee and we had to engage in a heated debate.

“The crux of the matter was whether punitive actions

should be taken against Salami or not in the light of the findings of Abdullahi’s committee that the CJN acted in good faith over the arrest of the judgment of the Court of Appeal on Sokoto Governorship Election.

“At the end of the day, we still noted that the Abdullahi committee also claimed that

the CJN has no power to interfere in any proceedings of the legally constituted court.

“Some members wanted Salami punished for allegedly lying on oath against the CJN, but others opposed it.

“After much argument, the NJC did not recommend the removal of Salami because doing so will amount to out-

right indictment of the President of the Court of Appeal, which was not the verdict of the Auta Committee.

“But the NJC recommended that the President of the Court of Appeal should be cautioned with a letter of warning and he should apologise to the NJC and the CJN over certain allegations

he made on oath, which were not true. There is inference of perjury.

“The NJC also declared the matter closed, and decided that it will not revisit it again.

Instead, the Council will work towards reuniting the judiciary.”

Continued on page 10

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

5

NEWS

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EFCC, ICPC probe NTI DG over alleged N100m fraud

HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are probing alleged mismanagement of over N100million by the Director-General of the National Teachers Institute (NTI), Dr. Aminu Ladan Shereu.

Also, a separate petition has been sent to the Minister of Education, Prof.

Ruqayyat Rufai, on a bazaar tour to India by the DG with a 13-man delegation in July and the deterioration of the institute’s standard. Investigation revealed that the anti-graft agencies received

Nigeria to strengthen security with neighbours

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday spoke of plans by Nigeria to take definite steps to strengthen security cooperation with all its neighbours, as part of efforts to check trans-border crime and terrorism.

Exchanging views with President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic at the opening of bilateral talks between delegations of the two nations at the State House, Abuja, President Jonathan said: “Terrorism and trans-border crime pose a serious security threat to all our countries. So, we will strengthen border patrols and other areas of cooperation with our neighbours, to ensure the safety of our citizens”, the President said.

On food security for the two countries, the President told his guest that Nigeria has plenty of gas and is going to establish plants to produce fertiliser suitable for the different types of soil in the country. He called on Niger to liaise with relevant officials to ensure that appropriate fertiliser was produced for their country.

President Jonathan, who is the current Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), assured his guest that his country would be re-admitted to full membership and participation in the sub-regional body’s activities during the next summit, since complete democracy has been restored to Niger.

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

a petition from a group led by one Muhammed Yushau.

The petitioners alleged mismanagement of funds

by Shereu and his management team.

They said: “Free investigation should be conducted in NTI, 98 per cent of the staff are ready to testify.

“We specifically want investigation in the following areas: ‘Arbitrary award of contracts and duplica-

‘

Free investigation should be conducted in NTI, 98 per cent of the staff are ready to testify.

’

tion of contracts to please some self-serving interests.

“That over N48million was withdrawn and paid

into a private account for the payment of marking of examination scripts in Kaduna.

“That N23million was initially budgeted for the post-MDGs workshop that was conducted recently by the institute, but the DG and Chief Executive ended up spending over N70million.

“That millions of Naira were spent on an Education tour to India by a 13man delegation from the institute without the approval of the Minister of Education.

“This trip was financed by the NTI. What a waste of resources in the current fight against corruption? They arrived India when the function remained only a day to end. What a jamboree.”

“That NTI has refused to pay Duty Tour Allowance owed to staff since 2009/2010 to date.

“That the Governing Council is not up and doing.”

Contacted, the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, confirmed the receipt of the petition against the NTI DG. He said: “We are looking into the allegations; I cannot give you the details of what we are doing.”

Our plans for inner-city roads on course, says Fashola

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ESPITE funding constraints, the construction of innercity roads in the Centre of Excellence will continue, Governor Babatunde Fashola promised yesterday.

Speaking after inspecting Akerele Street, Surulere, the governor told reporters that paucity of funds has made it impossible to get the contractors to upgrade the roads back on site.

According to him, it is important for the state to keep track of the projects contained in his campaign contract with Lagosians.

His words: “I am just doing spot inspections to see that progress is on course and that we can finish them depending on the capacity and speed of the contractor and also depending on the big challenge which is funding. We need more money to continue to keep the contractor at work and expand the scope of work that we are doing.”

The governor said that currently, work has been completed on Adeniran Ogunsanya while work is ongoing on many of the other projects like the Akerele road expansion, Bode Thomas, Ogunlana Drive, just as plans are being concluded to start work on Aguda, Adetola, Brown, Sanusi and other roads within Aguda.

“We are already looking at some inner roads in Agege.

Work has started in Agege,

•Fashola...yesterday

relocate the police station now and find alternative land for it because it is sitting on part of the 19 metres width of the road. We have told the contractor to start work from the other end so that by the time it gets to spot, we should have relocated that police station.”

The Governor said he was at Akerele Road to inspect the culvert across the Canal because there was some flooding problem there during the July 10 heavy rainfall, which was caused by the inadequacy of the culvert to

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From Franca Ochigbo and Ifeoluwa Ojo, Abuja

second mandate which is the supervision of states and council areas.

He said: “The law establishing FCC does not confine it to supervise activities of public officers for the Federal Government alone.

We are supposed to look into what the states are doing, to make sure that at the state level the governor does not give all the appointments to his own people.

“All local government areas within the state should

be considered when public appointments are being made. In the same vein that President Goodluck Jonathan appoints a Minister from each of the state of the federation, we expect that the governors will do the same in appointing commissioners and Permanent Secretaries from all wards in their local governments.

“That is why with regard to the second mandate, we will go to the level of the local government areas, to see what the chairman of the council is doing at that level, in providing primary schools, clinic, boreholes

and road network at the local level.

“With all these, there will be balancing and a sense of belonging. The government intends to use FCC to unify the country, so that when appointing people they don’t just look at a particular place but all over. We expect that in every establishment the work force has a reflection of at least 3.5 and at most three per cent representing every state of Nigeria, one per cent representing FCT, that is the aspect we are to regulate.

“From time to time, we invite these organisations for dialogue through committee,

THE Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim yesterday challenged Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General and Commissioners of Police across the country to ensure that credible and suitable candidates are recruited into the Police Force.

The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Olusola Amore in a statement in Abuja said Ringim spoke “ahead of the screening exercise which is scheduled to begin on August 15 when prospective applicants will be physically screened for the purpose of joining the Police Force.”

From Augustine Ehukioya, Abuja

PHOTO:OMOSEHIN MOSES

discharge the velocity of water, stating that, at the moment, “we have culverts of about 1.5 by 1.7 metres width and in a set of three, which would now allow bigger flow of water in Akerele”.

Giving an update on what his administration has so far done to give vent to the various directives it gave on people who built on drainage lines, the Governor said some work has started, stressing that it entails planning before embarking on such removal projects.

Federal Character Commission to supervise states, local govts

HE Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Alhaji Muhammed Ari Gwaska yesterday disclosed that the commission will henceforth monitor activities of governors by ensuring that available positions are shared fairly among the local government areas and wards.

The chairman spoke at the implementation of the FCC second mandate with the theme: “Role of external development partners” in Abuja. He said the commission is organising a threeday retreat to focus on the

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Mark: No rift with Sambo

By Mariam Ndikanwu

work is going on in Orile. We are also looking at inner roads in Ikorodu while Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Agency (LAMATA) is also working on Amodu Ojikutu Street, Ibiyinka Olorunnimbe Close and Abagbon Close in Victoria Island and Iju road in Ifako Ijaiye”, the governor said.

Fashola explained that the inner city roads will be the focus of his administration as it tries to complete other roads on which it started work during the first fouryear term. He also said he has decided to carry out an assessment of the progress recorded and possible completion dates.

His words: “My visit last week to Badejo Kalesanwo Street was to keep track and keep focus on those election promises and electoral issues which was inner roads and to which I am committed and which I also dealt with in my inaugural address.”

“At this moment, we are doing about 13 roads in Mushin and Idi Araba and that road, we inspected last week (Badejo Kalesanwo) is one of the roads in Mushin.

Its construction is being disturbed by the inappropriate location of the Ladipo Mushin Police Station, which had consequential drainage impact as well. “We have to

Recruitment for cadet inspectors on

and this committees look at the analysis from the nominal role submitted by this establishment to ensure that there is balancing. If there is none we will point out the deficiencies to the chief executives. We will now call upon them that in the next recruitment exercise, efforts must be made to do the balancing,” he stressed, The chairman said the retreat will mainly focus on the second mandate for the FCC to ensure fair and equitable distribution of social economic stability and infrastructure to all parts of the country.

SENATE President David Mark yesterday denied any conflict of interest between him and Vice-President Namadi Sambo over business transactions.

He spoke in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan.

The statement said Mark and Sambo were mutually working together for the success of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan and “ have no frosty relationship of any kind between them.”

“It is also a huge lie to impute that Sambo is interested in selling NITELto a nameless foreign investor that is prepared to pay $968 million while Mark has a preference to sell NITEL to an indigenous operator, Globacom, for $450 million.”

Ologbondiyan said Mark was neither a member of the National Council of Privatisation nor the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

HOS holds last meeting with NCE From Franca Ochigbo and Ifeoluwa Ojo, Abuja

THE Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, yesterday held his valedictory meeting with the National Council of Establishment (NCE) preparatory to his retirement on September 29.

Disclosing that yesterday’s emergency meeting of the NCE was his last as HOS, Prof Afolabi stated that he would not hold another meeting with the NCE again before his retirement.

He said: “The main objective of conveying this meeting is to consider the creation of some cadres which are key to the attainment of the desired changes in the core mandate of the public service on policy design and implementation.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NEWS Explosive uncovered in Bauchi From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

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DEVICE, suspected to be an undetonated explosive, was yesterday found in a gutter at Anguwar Ngas, a densely populated community in Yelwa area of Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital.

It was discovered at about 6am and detonated.

Like the bomb that went off at Mammy market of Shadawanka Army Barracks, on May 29, the Yelwa bomb was planted a few metres from the popular Buruku, beer parlours, where there were also many homes and business premises.

Yelwa has very low and low income earners whose residents are Christians that fled the metropolis due to ethnoreligious crisis which began about six years ago.

50% of Kano litigants are women, says commissioner

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ANO State Commissioner for Justice, Maliki Kuliya Alkali, yesterday said over 50 per cent of litigants in the state are women.

He attributed the increase to high rate of divorce, blaming the prevalence of early marriage for the trend.

Alkali spoke in Kano when he received a delegation of the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA).

He urged the association to sensitise women on HIV/ AIDS and other issues that are

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

inimical to the development of women.

The commissioner urged FIDA to use its position as an agent of justice and equity to encourage legal reforms for the wellbeing of women and children.

Alkali noted that lack of sensitisation causes marriages without counseling, adding that most marriages were without the medical history or status of couples.

Gaidam inaugurates varsity’s Governing Council From Duku Joel, Damaturu

Two dead, four injured in Jos over cow theft N

O fewer than two people died and four others were injured yesterday during a midnight raid of a Fulani settlement in Bisichi, Jos South Local Government area of Plateau State.

The Nation learnt that over 400 cows were rustled by unknown raiders of the set-

From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

tlement.

The Chairman, Plateau State chapter of Miyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji

Muhammad Nura, said the residents suspected that the invaders came from Shen and Du districts of the local government area.

Nura said over 40 cows were recovered from the

area, adding that members of his association and men of the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crises were still combing the area for more recovery.

But the STF spokesman, Capt Charles Ekeocha, told The Nation on phone that he was yet to get details of the development at press time.

No arrest has been made.

Hearing begins at Kwara governorship tribunal

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ROPER hearing of the Kwara Governorship Election Petition began yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its candidate, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), tendered before the tribunal certified true copies (CTC) of documents with which they would argue their allegations of widespread rigging and manipulations of the ballot.

The petitioners are challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) declaration of Abdulfatah Ahmed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the April governorship poll.

They averred that Belgore won the highest number of

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

valid votes and are, therefore, praying the tribunal to declare him winner.

Documents tendered included CTC of Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC25b and voter’s register for Moro Local Government.

The petitioners could not tender some of the documents because of what its counsel, Charles Edosomwan (SAN), called a protracted delay from the INEC, preventing the petitioner from accessing and making copies of the materials.

Tribunal Chairman Justice Ngozi Emehelu chided INEC for the delay.

She noted that it was inexcusable for the umpire to have

failed to make the documents available to the petitioners more than two months after the election.

Justice Emehelu said: “I am shocked to hear that, at this stage, the petitioners are yet to be granted access to some of the documents.

Apart from the fact that an order has been granted the petitioners to get copies of the documents, it is a matter of right that the petitioners be given the documents with which they applied to prove their case, so long as they are prepared to pay the necessary fees.

“I, therefore, find it puzzling that more than two months after the election, INEC has not made such documents available. We should be conscious of time

and avoid anything that could delay the trial.”

The petitioners are Belgore, his deputy Joshua Adeyinka, and ACN. The respondents are Ahmed; his deputy Peter Kishra; PDP; and INEC. The tribunal admitted the documents tendered as exhibits, because the respondents said they had no objection to their presentation.

The respondents said any objection to the documents, if there was any, would be raised during their addresses to the tribunal.

The petitioners yesterday called a witness from Moro.

They have 10 days of trial to prove their case; the respondents have five days of trial to respond.

Hearing continues today.

Y

OBE State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam yesterday inaugurated the Governing Council of the state-owned university, the Bukar Abba Ibrahim University, with an appeal to its members to make it a world-class academic institution.

Gaidam lamented the challenges of the university at inception but expressed optimism that it would be useful to the state and mankind.

He said: “The setting-up of an administrative and policy machinery with the appointment of a Chancellor and a Governing Council crowns our efforts in encouraging the university to maturity.”

The governor said the state had spent about N2billion on infrastructural development since 2007, adding that the government had also begun an ambitious staff development scheme.

Committee to boost security with IT

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HE Police Assistance Committee (PAC) has begun an information technology (IT) training programme for its members to enable them relate online with the police and other security agencies.

Its Director-General, Dr. Martins Oni, said the programme would boost security and facilitate quick dissemination of information to

assist the Police and other security agencies in crime prevention and detection.

The PAC has created email addresses and telephone numbers for its members.

Oni urged state commands, area commands and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) to allow PAC members access to their stations and relate with them online and physically.

‘FCT is a problem to neighbouring states’

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IGER State Governor Babangida Aliyu yesterday said the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is a major problem to neighbouring states, especially in the transportation sector.

The governor spoke in Minna, the state capital, when members of the FCT Task Force on Traffic Management of High Capacity Bus Routes visited him.

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

Aliyu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Land Transport, Aviation and Inland Waterways, Ndako Idris, noted that the FCT Administration planned without considering the neighbouring states.

He said this had caused a major challenge to states around the FCT.

Emir of Askira dies From Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri

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HE Emir of Askira in Borno State, Alhaji Muhammadu Askirama II, is dead. He died at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) after a protracted illness. He was 83.

Askirama became the Emir in 1965, ruling for 46 years.

He was elevated to a first-class emir by the immediate past government of Ali Modu Sheriff last November for his contributions to the development of Askira Emirate Council in Askira Uba Local Government.

Askirama was buried yesterday at the Askira Royal Grave Yard. Governor Kashim Shettima and traditional rulers in Borno, Gombe and Adamawa states attended the funeral.

. Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi (right); the Permanent Secretary, Baba Umar Farouk (first left); Segun Fayose, Head, Corporate Communications, MultiChoice Nigeria; Vina, a finalist of the Big Brother Africa (BBA) reality television show (second right); and Karen Igho, winner of the show, when they visited the minister.

Tribunal rejects CPC candidate’s request for more time

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HE Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal yesterday rejected an application by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) governorship candidate in the April 28 election, Haruna Yunusa Saeed.

He could not prove that Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa was not validly elected by majority of lawful votes.

His counsel, Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), prayed the tribunal for an additional 14 days to enable the petitioner prove his point.

The tribunal, however, granted him one day to call expert witnesses to submit their report on the inspection of electoral materials.

Tribunal Chairman Justice Garba Kwajafa said the tribunal has no power to

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

tamper with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, which provides only 14 days for the petitioner to prove his case.

Lead counsel to the petitioner, Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), had asked the tribunal to grant them additional days to prove their case.

He said the request became necessary because of the short time available to the tribunal since Ramadan began, adding that security consideration and the delay in securing needed electoral materials from INEC contributed to the delay.

Akintola said: “Up to this time, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to deliver the necessary electoral docu-

ments to the petitioners in respect of some local governments, particularly Kaura Local Government.”

According to him, the tribunal is supposed to sit for nine hours daily, including Saturdays, saying the sitting hours were cut down because of the Ramadan.

He urged the tribunal to consider the circumstances and grant the application.

Counsel to Yakowa, Joseph Daudu (SAN), and that of INEC, Emmanuel Toro (SAN), opposed the application on ground of incompetence and inconsistency with the provisions of the Electoral Act. Ruling on the application, Justice Kwajafa said 14 days were the maximum given by the Electoral Act for the petitioners to prove their case.

He said the tribunal has no power to tamper with the provision of the electoral law.

Granting the additional one day, Justice Kwajafa said it was a compensation for the day the tribunal did not sit.

He also granted the petitioner’s application asking the tribunal for permission to invite expert witnesses to submit reports on the inspection of election materials.

Justice Kwajafa noted that although the application was deficient, the tribunal could not shut the petitioners out because of an order for the inspection of the election materials had been granted.

He said: “It is only fair that they be allowed to present their report within the new deadline, which is this Wednesday.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NEWS Oyo celebrates appointment of CTION Congress of Alaafin’s son Nigeria (ACN) sup-

A

porters in the ancient city of Oyo, Oyo State, yesterday held a rally to celebrate the appointment of Alaafin’s son, Prince Hakeem Adeyemi, as Chairman of the Transition Committee for Atiba Local Government.

A motorcade of about 60 buses, drove round major streets of the town with the sipporters jubilating over the appointment.

Traders at Akesan market were not left out, as they joined the rally to the Alafin’s Palace.

Receiving the crowd on behalf of the Alaafin, the Basorun of Oyo, High Chief Ayoola Layinka I, extolled the vir-

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

tues of Prince Adeyemi.

He described him as “hardworking, compassionate and committed to the well being of his people.”

Chief Layinka said: “Prince Adeyemi’s immense contribution towards improving the socio-economic lives of the people of Atiba during his tenure as chairman of the local government, during former Governor Adebayo AlaoAkala’s administration, is a clear testimony of his capability to deliver.”

Prince Adeyemi thanked the people and promised to deliver good governance.

Osun Assembly okays Ige’s son, six others as commissioners

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ON of former Attorney-General of the Federation, the late Chief Bola Ige, Olumuyiwa, was among eight commissioner-nominees screened by the Osun House of Assembly on Monday.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola, on July 27, forwarded a list of 14 commissioner-nominees and 20 Special Advisers-designate to the House.

At Monday’s screening in Osogbo, the state capital, Olumuyiwa, who is an architect, told the House that he would contribute his quota to the development of Osun if given the opportunity.

The lawmakers told him to take a bow, praising his father’s contribution to the growth of democracy in the country.

The first Speaker of the Osun Assembly, Mr. Adewale Afolabi, was the first nominee to appear before the House.

He was also asked to take a bow.

Others cleared are Mofolake Adegboye, Adewale Adedoyin, Prof. Oluwabukola Olawoye, Bashir Ajibola and Sikiru Adetona.

‘Yoruba leaders’ reaction to al-Mustapha hasty’

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ETIRED Methodist Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu has described as “hasty and illogical,” the reaction of some Yoruba leaders to claims made by the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to late General Sanni Abacha, Major Hamza al-Mustapha.

Bishop Ladigbolu told reporters in Oyo town yesterday that jumping into conclusion and calling al-Mustapha names were uncalled for.

He said: “If we don’t have skeletons in our cupboards, the wisest choice is to wait for the CSO to exhaust his claims and allow former Head of State Abdusalami Abubakar to respond to the allegations.

“There’s no smoke without fire. While I do not accept alMustapha’s claims, I believe they need further probing.”

Bishop Ladigbolu described al-Mustapha as a knowledge-

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

able person, whose claims are too weighty to be hastily dismissed.

“Yorubas believe their leaders are not greedy, but trustworthy and patriotic. A million al-Mustaphas cannot diminish their virtues.

“Yet, without the testimony of General Abubakar, who was accused of giving bribe, the Yoruba nation will not be satisfied. Abubakar should tell us who collected the alleged bribe from him.

“Unless we wait for the testimonies of others, our response could be partisan and prejudicial.

“If they say Al Mustapha is being sponsored, we want to know by whom and for what purpose. What is more, the court has the right to subpoena General Abubakar because the allegations against him are serious,” he said.

Robber killed in gun duel with police •Truck crushes cyclist

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SUSPECTED armed robber was on Monday shot dead in Lagos during a gun battle with policemen.

The slain victim and four other members of the gang, who were operating on three motorcycles, laid siege terrorising the residents of Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, until they were confronted by anti-robbery operatives from Bode Thomas Police Station, following a distress call.

Police spokesman Samuel Jinadu, who confirmed the report, said a member of the gang was killed during crossfire, while others escaped.

By Titilayo Banjoko

He said a locally made pistol and a live cartridge were recovered from the gang.

Also, a commercial motorcyclist, Sarafa Awolesi (24), was yesterday crushed to death by a truck on Ayayo Road, Imota, Ikorodu.

It was gathered that the MAN Diesel truck, marked XM 524 KRD (Lagos) and driven by Isiaka Tiaminu, lost control and hit Awolesi.

Sources said the victim died on the way to the hospital.

A police source said Awolesi’s body has been deposited at an undisclosed morgue.

•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi (middle) being welcomed by the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Onyeabo Ihejirika to his office at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja...yesterday. With them is Etiti State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation Mr. Funminiyi Afuye (left).

Ex-Oyo governor Ishola dies at 77

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ORMER Oyo State Governor Kolapo Ishola is dead. He died yesterday morning in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, a few hours after returning from the United Kingdom.

The late Ishola was governor between 1992 and 1993, He turned 77 in June.

The immediate-past chairman of Akinyele local government, Segun Olayiwola, said the late Ishola must have passed on between 6am and 6.30 after reading the Bible.

“At 5am, a relative phoned the late governor to inform him of the death of a friend, Alhaji Agba at Moniya.

“The late governor was shocked by the news. He demanded for the Bible and read Psalms 101 to 109.

“At about 6am, he told his family he wanted to have some rest. He passed-on in his sleep,” Olayiwola said.

A source at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said the late Ishola was brought to the hospital “already dead at 8.30am yesterday” and his body has been deposited at the hospital’s

•Ajimobi, Akinjide, others mourn From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

morgue.

Sympathisers have besieged the deceased’s Ikolaba home to condole with the family and a condolence register has been opened.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi, in his condolence message, said it is unfortunate that the former governor died at a time when his contributions were most needed in the state.

He described the late Ishola as “a man who promoted politics of peace and development, and left legacies in the state that mark him out as a leader to be ranked in the pantheon of great men.”

Ajimobi said he felt a personal sense of loss because the late Ishola was a close associate of his late father.

He urged the family members to be comforted by the fact that the late Ishola lived a fulfilled life and prayed that God would grant him eternal rest.

Ajimobi urged public office holders to emulate the deceased and leave legacies be-

hind.

Early mourners at the late Ishola’s home include ex-Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, his deputy Taofeek Arapaja and some key members of his administration.

Alao-Akala described Ishola’s death as “a shock,” saying the deceased was not ill.

Elder Wole Oyelese, a former minister, said “Ishola’s death has left an indelible mark in the sands of time” and urged his children to sustain his legacy.

He said: “Moments like this, when our loved ones depart to the great beyond, are moments when humanity should ponder on the brevity of life and the ephemeral nature of the so-called good things of life, which push man to ride roughshod over his fellow man.

“The only pursuit that can give man immortality is to leave legacies in the hearts of men.”

Senator Lekan Balogun said: “He was a gentle man. This is a sad loss to the people of Oyo

State. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.”

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister of State Mrs. Olajumoke Akinjide described the late Ishola as “an astute politician and seasoned administrator.”

She said: “His death was unexpected and is a great loss to Oyo State, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to which the late politician has made immeasurable contributions.

Former Transport Monister Chief Ebenezer Babatope said: “The late Ishola was a politician who loved his country passionately. He was an easy going man who never had time to nurse animosity against fellow mortals. He was kind gentle and humble.

“His Christian banner was without stain throughout his life. His was ever punctual and his contributions were pungent, positive and constructive.”

The widow, Olubukola Grace, is yet to come to terms with her husband’s death.

Ado-Ekiti marks festival amid fanfare

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HE grand finale of the annual Udiroko festival of Ado kingdom took place last Saturday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

The festival marks the beginning of a new year for the people.

As early as 10am, eager indigenes had started trooping sto the Palace, which was the venue of the event.

By 1pm, the Palace was filled to capacity.

Amid intermittent booming of guns, the people sang in Ekiti dialect and there were various displays of traditional dance steps.

Indigenes of the town from far and near appeared in their numbers, richly attired in blue coloured Agbada and Sokoto for males, and Iro and Buba for females.

They beamed and exchanged pleasantries.

Prayers and benedictions came in volumes from the an-

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado Ekiti

cestral throne of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, Aladesanmi III, while his subjects took turns to pay homage by kneeling, prostrating and assuming whatever form they felt lent eloquent reverence to the throne.

The day also offered equal opportunities to non-indigenes to show appreciation to the traditional head of a town that has become their home.

The entire area was festooned in various traditional clothing materials, while sculptures that must have survived the millennia dotted strategic spots in the palace, perhaps offering sentinel services to mortals.

The festival attracted dignitaries and indigenes abroad.

Oba Adejugbe urged his subjects to unite and address

crucial problems confronting the town.

He stressed the need to boost agriculture and enhance industrialisation in the town.

The Oba appealed to the gathering to make generous donations for the development of the kingdom, including the completion of the open air amphitheatre at the palace.

Governor Kayode Fayemi, who was at the event, informed the gathering that the urban renewal going on in Ado-Ekiti is neither punitive nor vindictive, but an effort at developing the state capital.

He said: “This is a necessary move that all of us would be proud of at the end of the day. It is the intention of government to make the pains as minimal as possible.”

President of Ado Progressive Union Alhaji Saka Gida-

do appealed to the state government for the provision of new transformers in order to put to maximum use the 133 KVA transformers at Omisanjana, Ado-Ekiti.

Dignitaries at the event included Ekiti State Deputy Governor Mrs. Funmi Olayinka and her husband; wife of the governor Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs. Grace Laoye-Tomori; Founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola; Senator Babafemi Ojudu; Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele and the Odoba of Ado-Ekiti, Chief Alex Adegboye.

Others were the Editor of The Nation Newspapers, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso; former deputy governor of the state, Chief Paul Alabi; members of the state executive council; traditional rulers; Princes and Princesses and various communities resident in Ado-Ekiti.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NEWS Govt to take position on Ogoni oil spill MINISTER of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani AlisonMadueke yesterday said the Federal Government would soon make a statement on the report of the Presidential Committee on Environmental Survey/Clean-up of Ogoniland.

This was contained in a statement signed by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Dr Levi Ajuonuma, on Monday in Abuja.

It said the minister has promised that government would study the report with a view to taking an action plan on its recommendations.

The minister, however, noted that government’s position would emerge after due consultations with all stakeholders.

“We will be glad to address this issue once and for all, because we all know the implications of oil spillage on human life and the eco-system.

“It is absolutely imperative that the Federal Government and the operators in the oil and gas industry collaborate to ensure that this type of oil spillage is averted and that when it occurs, urgent attention is given to it,” she said.

Blueprint on road reconstruction coming, says Fed Govt A BLUEPRINT for the reconstruction of all federal highways across the country will soon be out, Works Minister Mike Onolememen said yesterday.

He assured that the Federal Government has initiated the process to kick-start the dualisation of the Second Niger Bridge in the next few weeks.

The minister spoke while hosting the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in Abuja.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan had assured, during the campaign, that the second Niger Bridge would be dualised and completed.

“He (President) is making good his promise by ensuring that work starts after the next federal executive council meeting.”

His words: “The government is trying to put in place major national trunk roads that traverse through major crannies of the country.

“We are doing everything to make sure they are smooth.

“We know that Nigerians travelling by road go through untold hardship.

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

Accidents are recorded daily on these roads and we don’t feel good about it.

“We want to turn the situation around for good.

“As a matter of fact, we will be partnering the National Assembly to help in funding.

“We do not have road fund agencies, so we are unable to tap into a number of resources out there that can be helpful in finishing most of our road infrastructures .

“We will be looking forward to partnering with you to ensure that this gap is closed in our effort to reposition our roads.

“The Enugu/Onitsha highway incidentally is a road that is dear to our heart, even the Onitsha/Enugu highway because it is a continuation of that particular axis. Yes, something is being done about that.

The Niger Bridge will be put in place as soon as possible.

“On the dualisation of second Niger Bridge, the matter is very critical. It is one of the

things that has been discussed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

“I can assure Nigerians that by the grace of God, we should be able to kick-start the process for the dualisation of the second Niger Bridge project.

“In the past three weeks, the Minister of State and I have been busy to prioritise most projects in this country in line with the directive of Mr. President.

“If you look at the major economic outlets in this country, they are not in good condition, and this affects our national economy, that is why about two weeks ago, I personally led a team to Lagos to inspect the road leading to the port.

“I am pleased to let you know that a lot has been achieved in trying to put that road in good and motorable condition.

“We have also visited the Kano Maiduguri road, it is also of utmost importance to us because of its commercial

importance, and we all know that Lagos and Kano are the utmost commercial cities, apart from Onitsha in this country.

“Lagos, Onitsha, Benin, Enugu, have been in the state of disrepair for sometime. I am glad to inform you that since last week, we have got the contractor handling that part of the road to go back to work as we speak. They have started re-constructing the road.

“We are confident that in about two months, the road will be put in good and proper condition to alleviate the suffering of the people.”

Ekweremadu urged the minister to do all he can to ensure proper repairs of the roads.

He said the Niger Bridge is almost collapsing and needs attention.

“Something should be done about the bridge. Works ministry is not expected to fail, if the ministry fails then the government of the day has failed.”

‘I was not sacked’ THE Vice-Chairman, National eGovernment Strategies Board, Olu Agunloye, has said he was never sacked from the board.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday, Agunloye denied the statement credited to Joshua Fumudoh and Felix Obada.

The statement reads: “The Board of National eGovernment Strategies (NeGSt) never met on August 5 as the Obada-Fumudoh fabrication puts it.

“Neither the NeGSt board Chairman Prof O. Angaye nor myself attended any Board meeting on August 5 as claimed by Obada and Fumudoh.

“Gbenga Adebusuyi is the lawfully appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive of NeGSt and was not and could not have been sacked by the Obada gang on August 5.

“On August 5&6, Obada and Amagada stormed NeGSt office in Abuja, ostensibly with the backing of the Minister of Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada, who is the wife of Felix Obada, to take over NeGSt. “Thereafter, they forcefully collected NeGSt letterheaded papers and undisclosed amounts of cash. This has been reported to the Police.

“Adebusuyi and NeGSt management team had taken appropriate actions to assure confidence of shareholders and the Federal Government of Nigeria, which has a 10 per cent equity in National eGovernment Strategies through NITDA and Ministry of Science and Technology.”

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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HE Edo State House of Assembly yesterday passed a supplementary budget of N21,121,30.346 sent to it by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

According to the budget, N7.2 billion was approved on bond servicing; Drainage, sewage and environment took N2.6 billion while Ministries, Departments and Corporations had N2.4 billion.

Oil and Gas Commission was given N1.8 billion; Ministry of Health and the Hospital Management Board got N1 billion; Rapid Response Agency was allocated N150 million.

Others: Directorate of Administration N80million; Ministry of Finance N127 million; Board of Internal Revenue N350 million; House of Assembly N50 million, special allowance for judicial workers N50 million, pension N600 million, bank charges N2 million.

N500 million was voted for contractual obligation. Energy N700million; Works and Roads N3billion; government counterpart cash contribution N5million.

Speaker Uyi Igbe summoned all commissioners to appear before it to brief the Assembly on their financial incomes and expenditure since they resumed office.

Igbe said the briefing became necessary to ensure further development in the state.

Schools yet to open in Edo From Osagie Otabor, Benin

F

•Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (right) and Chairman, Board of Directors, Vintage Press Limited, Publishers of The PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN Nation, Mr. Wale Edun during Edun’s visit to the governor in Abeokuta...yesterday

Alkali, Tukur, others jostle for PDP chair

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LEVEN candidates from the Northeast geopolitical zone are aspiring for the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Another 177,147 postions are to be contested for during the congresses and convention of the party.

The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), last Thursday, approved the guidelines and timetable for the congresses and national convention which will begin

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

from January 7, next year.

The exercises will begin at the ward level and climax at the national convention in Abuja on February 25, where national officers of the party would be elected.

Among those seeking to lead the party are Hassan Adamu; Chairman of the African Business Roundtable Bamanga Tukur; former Bauchi State Governor Adamu Muazu; two members of the National Working Com-

ICT centre inaugurated

A

Supplementary budget passed

KWA Ibom State Deputy Governor Nsima Ekere has identified unemployment as the major cause of anti-social behaviour in the society.

Ekere said if youths were employed, most criminal acts currently experienced in the Niger Delta would be reduced.

The deputy governor spoke in Eket during the inauguration of the Job Network Centre, an ICT-based facility, established by the Senator

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

representing Akwa Ibom South, Helen Esuene.

Ms. Esuene said the centre would ease the burden of job search by unemployed youths in the Senatorial District.

Ekere described the centre as a well thoughtout initiative. He reiterated the resolve of government to partner the private sector to provide employment for the youths in Akwa Ibom.

mittee (NWC) Prof. Ahmed Rufai Alkali (National Publicity Secretary) and the Acting National Secretary, Dr. Musa Babayo.

Alkali and Babayo are both from the Northwest to which the party had zoned the office of the national chairman.

Others are former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ibrahim Bunu; former Minister of Police Affairs Adamu Maina Waziri and former Chairman of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) Gambo Lawan.

Also in the race is the former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Abubakar Kawu Baraje; Ahmed Ali Gulak and former Minister of Petroleum Resources Prof. Jubril Aminu.

In addition, 200,000 candidates are expected to contest for the 177, 147 positions.

The Ward Executive Committees are made up of 17 of-

ficials each and 162, 724 positions are expected to be filled up in the January 7 ward congresses that would be conducted in 9,572 wards nationwide.

Thirteen thousand, nine hundred and thirty two officials are to be elected at the local government level, where the party maintains an 18-man executive committee in each of the 774 local governments.

At the state level, 407 officials are to be elected to man the party affairs in the 11man executive committees while 60 officials would be elected at the six zonal committees made up of 10 officials each.

Besides, new members of the 12-member NWC would be elected along with additional 12 deputies at the February 25 national convention that would cap up the party’s congresses and convention.

OLLOWING the suspension of the strike embarked upon by workers in Edo State, academic activities are yet to commence in public schools.

In many primary and secondary schools in Benin, the gates were locked.

Some teachers were seen hanging around outside the premises while in the schools whose gates were opened, teachers were seen discussing.

Many of them declined to speak but at Idia College, a teacher, Florence Okosun, said the few pupils who came to school were taught.

She said teachers would be motivated to work if the salary is good.

The head eacher, Mrs. Dorothy Igbinovia, said 80 percent of the pupils did not resume school yesterday.

Mrs. Igbinovia said teachers were teaching and hoped that the students would resume for academic work today.

Some of the pupils, who spoke to The Nation, described the strike as ill-timed.

They said they were happy to be back in school but said they might be rushed to take examinations immediately.

“It was a very painful period because we were supposed to start our promotion examination. It really affected us.

Some teachers have not completed their scheme of work,” they said.

Commissioner for Education Ekpenisi Omorotiomwan said the strike was unnecessary.

Omorotiomwan said the state would not recover what it lost to the three-week strike.

His words: “We’re happy that the strike has been called off. It was unnecessary in the first place. The strike affected all of us.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NEWS

Pensioners disrupt NIPOST services in Ilorin

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UNDREDS of retirees of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) locked up the Post Office headquarters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, for several hours on Monday over the non-payment of their pension arrears.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the retirees had stormed the Post Office in the early hours of the day to lock up the gates.

They prevented the workers and customers from entering the premises for many

•Protest non-payment of arrears hours.

When NAN visited the Post Office, the protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: Pay Us Our Pension Now; NIPOST, Federal Government: We are suffering in silence; Pay us now; President Jonathan, please intervene now in our problem, among others.

Riot policemen in six Hilux vans arrived at the scene to maintain security and prevent a possible breakdown of law

Cholera outbreak attributed to poor sanitation

the Police Command to embark on the peaceful protest on Monday.

“But we are surprised that the police forced the gate open to disrupt this protest,” he said.

Bamidele urged the Federal Government to consider their plight and pay their pension arrears to prevent further suffering and loss of lives among the pensioners.

He said more than 36,000

Why I sacked 19 perm secs, by Almakura •Governor approves N18,000 minimum wage

From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

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HE recent outbreak of cholera in Plateau State has been attributed to lack of hygiene and proper sanitation among many households.

The government said it was reintroducing the Sanitary Inspectorate Unit (Duba Gari, in Hausa) to monitor sanitation in each household.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Sarah Yusuf, urged the residents to ensure a clean and safe environment, saying this is the best way to avoid diseases.

Speaking with The Nation yesterday in her office in Jos, Mrs Yusuf said government’s efforts at maintaining a clean environment were being thwarted by residents who saw sanitation as a burden or punishment.

She said it was the reason the government introduced the exercise to ensure the residents keep a clean environment.

Mrs Yusuf said: “Recently, there was an outbreak of cholera, which government tried to control. This came as a result of dirty environment. People need to know that keeping the environment clean is a daily thing; it is not about keeping a particular day as sanitation day.

“I drove round Jos and I observed that the refuse dumps are in bad shape.

We need to address this issue and re-orientate the residents on the need to keep a clean environment.”

The commissioner deplored the lack of toilets in most houses, noting that many tenants were at risk of infections.

“A lot still need to be done about sanitation. We all need to work as a team and sensitise the public so that we can have a clean environment.

“The public thinks government wants to disturb the residents when we asked them to keep their environment clean.

The public needs to cooperate with the government to ensure a clean and safe environment,” she said.

and order.

After several hours, the policemen forced the gate to the Post Office open and allowed the workers and customers into the premises amid protest by the retirees.

The Chairman of the pensioners, Mr Francis Bamidele, said efforts by the retirees to get their money since March had failed.

According to him, the retirees took permission from

NIPOST retirees participated in the protest, adding that this also happened all over the country.

Bamidele alleged that the NIPOST management and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) had been delaying the payment of the arrears.

He said this had been on since the verification began in March.

Efforts to reach the NIPOST management and the OAGF were unsuccessful.

•Almakura

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ASARAWA State Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura yesterday explained why he sacked 19 permanent secretaries.

The governor has ap-

proved the N18,000 minimum wage for all categories of workers.

Almakura spoke in Lafia, the state capital, at the inauguration of new 19 permanent secretaries to replace those sacked.

He retained seven from the previous administration of Aliyu Akwe Doma.

The governor said he took the action to insulate the civil service from undue politicisation, which had compromised merit for mediocrity.

The new appointments, he said, “is in line with the policy of this administration, which is anchored on the need to carry out a holistic reor-

FCTA to sanction illegal park operators From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

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HE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday began the verification of the titles of about 1,000 park operators in the territory.

It said this would identify operators of illegal parks.

The Chairman of the exercise, Barnabas Atiyaye, told reporters yesterday in Abuja at the opening of the verification that the initiative was taken to identify misuse of plots and monitor future operations.

He said after the verification, plots discovered to have been converted to other uses would be revoked.

Atiyaye said genuine title holders would be certified and a comprehensive report submitted to the FCTA for appropriate action.

He said the exercise was aimed at ensuring that park operators adhere to the guidelines of the FCT Administration.

Atiyaye said park operators would pay a non-refundable fee on the size of the plot for the verification.

Kogi ACN urges INEC to conduct credible polls

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HE Kogi State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free and fair governorship election in December.

INEC has fixed December 3 for the governorship election following court judgments that extended the tenure of Governor Ibrahim Idris and five other governors.

A chieftain of the party, Hamza Sherrif Aliu, told reporters in Lokoja, the state capital, that all eyes would be on INEC in the governorship election.

He noted that the ACN primaries for the April elections were the least controversial of the parties in Nigeria.

The party chieftain urged the party’s leadership to improve on its achievements through a better internal democracy.

Aliu said the party’s members appreciated the defection of former Governor Abubakar Audu into the party, adding that he stands tall among other aspirants.

He urged the party’s supporters to rally round Audu and work in harmony for the victory of ACN in December.

ganisation of the civil service”.

According to him, the appointments were aimed at improving performance and due process in the management of public resources.

To domesticate the tenure policy of the Federal Government, Almakura said Nasarawa State “has approved that henceforth, permanent secretaries shall hold office for a term of four years”.

He, however, said the tenure would be renewable for another four years, subject to satisfactory performance.

The governor urged the permanent secretaries to be

fiscally disciplined.

Almakura said the Head of Civil Service had been directed to monitor and evaluate the performances of the permanent secretaries to gauge their performances.

On the N18,000 minimum wage, the governor said: “In consonance with the workerfriendly posture of this administration, I have approved the payment of the new minimum wage for all categories of workers in the state civil service.”

He said the government has set up a technical committee to work out the modalities for payment with effect from this month.

Nasarawa begins screening of 18,000 workers From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

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HE Nasarawa State Government yesterday began the screening of its 17,825 workers and warned that those who do not comply with the exercise might lose their salaries from the end of this month.

A letter by the Permanent Secretary, Civil Service Secretariat, Maimuna Abdullahi, on behalf of the Head of Service (HOS), Amos Akawu, warned civil servants to be serious with the exercise.

He said only those cleared by the screening committee would get their salaries.

The government had issued a circular to the workers, directing them to collect and fill a form and attach their passport photographs.

It urged them to return the completed forms with the original letters of their employment as well as their letters of last promotion, when they appear for the screening.

The chief executives of establishments were directed to monitor the exercise.

They were asked to ensure that the Directors of Administration and Supplies as well as Staff Officers of ministries arrange the graded files of officers, supervise the exercise and ensure security for the files.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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RAMADAN NEWS Cleric cautions politicians on public funds

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THE Chief Imam of Bida, Niger Satate Sheikh Adamu Liman-Yakatun has appealed to political office holders to eschew materialism, and ensure the wellbeing of the electorate who voted them to power.

Sheikh Liman-Yakatun made the appeal on Sunday in Bida, at the annual Ramadan Tafsir.

“Politicians in the country should rather focus attention on how to better the lives of Nigerians through the execution of various developmental projects,’’ he said.

The cleric who stressed the need for people, especially those in leadership positions, to have the fear of God, said nobody would be buried with “any penny” on him or her.

He also called on the wealthy ones to remember that they would give an account of their deeds to God as well as how they made their riches.

He warned that “those who got their riches through corruption or cheating will be punished on the day of judgment”.

Sheikh Liman-Yakatun said rather than flaunting their wealth before the poor, wealthy individuals should use such to establish industries, so that the large number of unemployed youths could be gainfully employed.

“Instead of saving large sums of money in foreign accounts, it is better they use it in our country so that our nation can move forward”, the religious leader added.

The cleric also advised Muslims to continue to fear God and to emulate Prophet Muhammad to receive the blessing of Allah.

Wamakko establishes 48 feeding centres

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OKOTO State Governor Aliyu Wamakko has created 48 feeding centres in different parts of the state to assist less privileged Muslims in breaking their daily fast.

Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Prof Musa Maitafsir disclosed this in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto.

Maitafsir urged clerics that

would deliver lectures at the centres and other places in the state to preach the gospel of peace and harmony among Nigerians.

He said religious tolerance and understanding were needed to enhance peace and progress in the country.

He said that preachers must stick to the Holy Qu’ran and the Hadith for the sustenance of harmony and tolerance among Muslims.

The Commissioner called on wealthy Muslims to take advantage of the Ramadan period to assist the less privileged in the society.

He explained that the blessing attached to Ramadan period in giving alms to the needy would make the givers to observe the holy month in comfortable condition.

The Commissioner expressed satisfaction at the

quality of food provided at the centres and appealed to the general public for peaceful conduct at the venues.

“We at the committee level will do everything possible to ensure smooth distribution of food items to all the centres,” he said.

About N281 million was approved by the government for the 48 Ramadan feeding centres in the state.

Zamfara Deputy Governor for lecture

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HE Muslim Media Publishers Association of Nigeria (MMPAN) will hold its first annual Ramadan lecture which would focus on peace and unity among Nigerians.

Chairman of the group, Alhaji Jafaru Yakubu said the lecture will address peaceful coexistence in Nigeria.

Deputy governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakala and Senior Special Adviser on Islamic affairs to

Kaduna State governor, Mallam Halliru Maranya are expected to speak on Crisis and violence are great challenges to our corporate existence as one nation; this will help in restoring peace in our society.

Kaduna State Governor, Mr Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa will be the chief host. Other expected governors are those of Yobe, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, Kwara, Alhaji Ahmed AbdulFatah, and Sokoto, Alhaji Aliyu Wammakko.

•From left, Guest Lecturer, Abdul-Rosheed Salman; Alhaji Dhikrullah Hassan; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Mr Bashir Ajibola, during the Ramadan Lecture, entitled: Worship, Faith in Allah and Belief in Qur’an, held at Government House, Osogbo, Osun State yesterday.

Salami survives plot to remove him from office •Continued from page 4

Responding to a question, the source said: “Salami will remain the President of the Court of Appeal because the NJC did not recommend his removal at all.

“The NJC does not want Salami out because the issues at stake were more personal and politically induced than being judicial.

“There was pressure, no doubt, but the NJC resisted the plot to ask Salami to quit because it was not convinced of any cogent basis for that.”

As at press time, another top judicial officer, who also pleaded not to be named, said: “I think we have not heard the last word because the Council cannot make a pronouncement on perjury, only a competent court could do so.

“There is no doubt that Salami will certainly head for court on the decision of the NJC. It is also a good development that Salami has not been asked to quit. This will enable him to fight his case in court.

“By asking Salami to apologise to the NJC and the CJN, they are laying a landmine for the eventual removal of the President of the Court of Appeal. The politicians behind the travails of Salami will not relent in their plot.”

The source said the NJC also ought to establish the fact that the CJN lied on oath too.

The source added: The CJN, in his affidavit sworn to on the 7th of March, 2011, deposed on oath as follows:“7(i) That I did not any time whatsoever interfere in any from or manner with the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal. (iii) That one of the complaints is the petitions was that the judgment about to be delivered by the Court of Appeal in respect of the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal had leaked. (vi) That I, therefore, called the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal by telephone to come to my

Chambers. (vii) That when Hon. President of the Court of Appeal came to my Chambers, in the presence of Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher, I told him I had received a complaint that the judgment to be delivered in respect of the Sokoto Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal had leaked. (viii) That the Hon. President of Court of Appeal, Justice I.A. Salami, OFR admitted that the judgment had leaked. (ix) That I showed him the petitions I had received in respect of the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal and told him that the only way to maintain the integrity of the Court was to reconstitute the panel, as that was the proper cause of action to take. (xvii)That the only step I took in my capacity as the Chairman, National Judicial Council, was to direct, vide letter No. NJC/CA/DM/ IV/48 of 19th February, 2010, that the judgment that was to be delivered in the Sokoto Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal ‘be put on hold’ pending the investigation of the petitions I had received. That I did not, in the letter under reference, direct the Panel on the Sokoto

Gubernatorial Election Appeal not to deliver judgment.”

The depositions contained in the CJN’s affidavit were controverted by the PCA in his affidavit sworn to on the 31/3/2011 in the following depositions:“4.(iii)That to my knowledge, there were no allegation of judgment leakage and no judgment, whether actual or leaked was shown to me by the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria . (iv)That with particular reference to the deposition in paragraph 7(viii) of the aforesaid affidavit of Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria , I did not admit (to the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria ) that the judgment in the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Appeal had leaked. (v) The Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria actually instructed me to direct the Panel of Justices hearing the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Appeal panel to dismiss the Appeal which I told him I could not do. (vii) The Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria instructed the Justices of the Court of Appeal in the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Appeal panel not to deliver judgment which had been reserved.

5(i) That it was on the 8th day of February, 2010 that the Hon. Chief Justice invited me to his office. (vi) That each of the petitions Annexures 2 and 3 is dated 15th day of February, 2010, seven (7) day after the Hon. Chief Justice called me to his office in the presence of Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher. (vii)That as at 8th day of February, 2010 there was no petition against me on any issue.”

“At page 96 Paragraph ‘U’ of the Umaru Abdullahi Panel’s Report, it was found that there was no evidence of leakage of judgment that was about to be delivered in Sokoto Gubernatorial Appeal. It was also found that the petitions did not state that there was leakage of judgment.

“Above all, from the uncontroverted deposition in the affidavit of the PCA, the petitions upon which the CJN purported to have asked the PCA to disband the Sokoto State Appeal Panel was not in existence at the time the CJN called the President to his office and ‘advised’ him to disband the panel.

“Who then is lying on Oath in the present circumstances? With the finding of the NJC Panel, headed

by Hon. Justice Umaru F. Abdullahi CON, it is crystal clear that the depositions contained in the CJN’s affidavit are not true. The CJN therefore lied on Oath.

“The aforesaid affidavit, having woefully failed to establish any allegation of leakage of the said judgment, the only valid and correct position is the affidavit of the PCA. If the petitions upon which the CJN based his directive were not in existence, the only conclusion is that he called the PCA to prevail upon him to take certain steps in the Sokoto State Election Petition Appeal, an act which was not based on any complaints by the parties to the petition.

“Paragraph ‘K’ of page 85 is to the effect that the CJN and NJC have no constitutional powers to interfere in any proceedings of a legally constituted Court. Paragraph ‘M’ of the same page 85 is to the effect that the CJN acted in good faith.

“It is noteworthy to observe that lack of statutory or Constitutional powers to support an action negates good faith. It is therefore absurd for the panel to conclude that the CJN acted in good faith.”

Banks refund N180b to CBN •Continued from page 4

Asked if the immediate past management of the three banks failed in their duties, Ibrahim gave the past management a pass mark. He said: “These management teams did their best, they took over banks that have suffered abuses and they tried to rehabilitate them as much as they could and put them in a position to attract suitors.”

Eleven out of 14 banking stocks whose shares were not affected by restraining orders by market regulators recorded price depreciation, which exacerbated the overall market situation.

Three banks that were taken over by the government last Fri-

day are under full suspension while four other banks undergoing the process of recapitalisation are under technical suspension.

Benchmark indices at the stock market dropped by 1.93 per cent as shares supply overwhelmed demand, which worsened the Nigerian year-to-date return to 9.1 per cent. This implies that the stock market had in the past seven trading session lost about 5.5 per cent.

Banking stocks index has lost 11.24 per cent since the announcement of the revocation of licences and nationalisation of three quoted banks- Afribank Nigeria Plc, Spring Bank Plc and Bank PHB Plc last Friday. Overall, in the past seven days, banking stocks have

lost 13.81 per cent, a major downtrend driving the steep decline at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which benchmark index had dropped by 5.5 per cent in the past seven trading days.

The All Share Index (ASI) at the NSE closed yesterday at 22,519.32 points as against its opening point of 22,963.11 points while market capitalization dropped from N7.34 trillion to N7.20 trillion. The NSE banking Index dropped from 317.33 points to 303.93 points, representing a decline of 4.2 per cent.

NLC President Abdulwahed Omar in a statement said the apex bank appointed the Interim Management of the banks, which could not perform maximally even after

a bailout with tax payers’ money.

He questioned the assurance that the bridged banks (Mainstreet Bank, Enterprise Bank and Keystone Bank) would not collapse.

The congress insisted that the regulators were unable to check the bailed-out banks “after escaping narrowly through hasty and inconclusive mergers.”

The congress, said Omar, while acknowledging the injection of funds into the new banks for sustainability, the CBN must further guarantee confidence in the banks by ensuring that depositors are able to withdraw funds as desired without hindrance, and continue to give public assurances that none of the banks would be allowed to fail.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

We have huge infrastructure deficit in many of our countries. I believe the solution is to continue to grow world class capital markets.

It is important because for us to deploy the wealth of our nation on investment, to realise our full potential, we can raise the funds we need for infrastructure from the capital market and transform our economy.

-Aruma Oteh, DG SEC

Enugu workers to go on warning strike

OPEC cuts oil demand growth forecast on economy

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MPLOYEES of the Enugu State Govern ment have threatened to start a three-day warning strike today to protest the government’s refusal to pay the N18,000 national minimum wage.

The workers took the decision on Tuesday in Enugu at a rally jointly organised by the state chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council.

Addressing the workers, state NLC Chairman Chukwumaife Nze said the workers rejected a government circular that added only N10,000 and N5,000 for workers on grade levels 0106 and levels 07 and above.

“We observed with dismay that the state government in a circular dated August 4, 2011 and signed by the Head of Service, Mr Denis Eze, started a salary which added only N10,000 for grade levels 01-06 and N5,000 for levels 07 and above,” Nze said.

The labour leader, however, called on the government to withdraw the circular and implement the chart submitted to it by the organised labour without any delay.

He said the government had invited the labour unions for further negotiations and assured that they would not accept anything less than N18,000.

Efforts to reach the HOS failed as he was said to be attending a meeting at the Government House, Enugu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that activities at the state secretariat were paralysed as all offices were locked while the workers trooped to the rally ground for the meeting.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$109.7/barrel Cocoa - $2,856/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢78.07.pound Gold -$1,161/troy ounce Rubber - ¢146.37/pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N7.3 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation -10.2% Treasury Bills -2.64% Normal lending -24% Prime lending -18% Savings rate -3% 91-day NTB -6.99% Time Deposit - 6% MPR -8% Foreign Reserve -$34.7bn FOREX CFA 0.281 • 213 £ 241.00 $ 150.7 ¥ 1.5652 SDR 240.3 RIYAL 39.3

By Daniel Essiet with agency report

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• From left: General Manager, Global Markets, Keystone Bank Limited, Mr Funsho Shobande; Chief Risk Officer, Mr Biyi Olagbami and Managing Director/CEO, Mr Oti Ikomi, during a press conference at Victoria Island, Lagos ... yesterday.

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

Fed Govt plans 7,220mw power generation by December T HE Federal Govern ment is planning to in crease power generation from the current 3,700 megawatts (MW) to 7,220 MW by December this year.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Sheikh Goni, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday, noting that power is a major challenge facing the economic development of the country.

He said the challenge is disturbing the government and it has continued to explore ways to find a solution to the problem to improve the well-being of Nigerians.

Goni, who spoke while receiving a delegation from the United States, added that the

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

power reforms that started in 1999 had received a radical approach under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

He said because of the zeal to address the matter, the government had set a target of improving the power and energy sector to 40,000MW by 2020.

He noted that to achieve the objective, the government requires partnering with the United States on power.

He said: “Nigeria has 18 hydro power plants, 106 thermal power stations spread across the country with the total generating capacity of 3000MW.

However, plans have been put in place to raise this capacity to 7220MW at the end of 2011 and 14,018MW by the last quarter of 2013.

“The objective is to progressively improve performance in the sector to achieve its optimum and provide the much needed transformation of the economy.”

Goni said there are indications from records that Nigeria and the US had demonstrated genuine commitment to strengthening relations and revamping the power sector.

The momentum gained, according to him, would be to improve performance in the power and hydrocarbon

industry.

He observed that achieving the set target would require the continued commitment of the US partners in the areas of technical cooperation, capacity building and above all, American investment in the sector.

He said that Nigeria was committed to providing the enabling environment politically, industry regulation and guarantee safety of all investors in the sector, noting that the drive was eloquently demonstrated by the appointment of a substantive Minister of Power, whose credentials in power and energy matters are recognised internationally.

HE Organisation of Pe troleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has cut its forecast for global oil demand growth this year as worsening economic outlook curbed consumption in developed economies.

The revision from OPEC in a report yesterday follows reductions by other forecasters, such as investment bank Barclays Capital, as slowing growth hits consumers and businesses.

“Dark clouds over the economy are already impacting the market’s direction,” OPEC said in its monthly report. “The potential for a consequent deterioration in market stability requires higher vigilance and close monitoring of developments over the coming months.”

World oil demand will increase by 1.21 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, 150,000 bpd less than expected last month. Growth next year was lowered only marginally, by 20,000 bpd to 1.30 million bpd.

Economic gloom has been weighing on oil prices and, officials say, causing some concern in OPEC. Brent crude slumped to the lowest in six months on Tuesday, dipping below $100, before rebounding towards $105.

“Economic worries along with high oil prices have affected OECD oil demand,” OPEC said. A revised report received minutes before its embargoed release removed the words “high oil prices” from the sentence.

“Oil demand in the OECD is expected to continue its contraction after a temporary rebound last year.”

N35.3b Eleme Petro-Chemical Company not profitable, says BPE DG

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HE Director-General of the Bureau of Pub lic Enterprises (BPE), Ms. Bolanle Onagoruwa, yesterday told the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee probing sales of public firms that the N32.4 billion Eleme Petro-Chemical Company was never projected to make profit for the Federal Government.

She said 75 per cent of the company’s shares were sold in line with the Privatisation Act to Ndorama, 10 per cent to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), 7.5 per cent to the community, 2.5 per cent to staff and five per cent being held by the Federal Government.

She said: “It was never managed properly. The company was a significant loss-maker and a drain on the Federal Government. It was projected that it would not be profitable for its buyer for several years.”

She also disclosed that the remaining five per cent

• Senate Panel stops sale of N4.3b govt shares From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

equity held by the Federal Government in Eleme was offered up for sale to Ndorama at N4.3 billion.

“The shares have not been transferred. The approval is pending. We received the funds in an escrow account and it’s still there. The transaction was done in March 2011. The BPE escrow account is maintained in Stanbic Bank,” she added But the Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee, Senator Ahmed Lawan, directed the stoppage of the proposed sale of the five per cent Federal Government shares, stressing that it contravenes the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) Act of 1999 which states that the highest limit of shares that can be sold in Eleme is 75 per cent.

He said: “We want the five per cent to remain. We have received a letter from BPE that you have received money for the five per cent sold to Ndorama. Ndorama should have their money back, whether the money is in escrow account or not.

“The NCP is in place and the Technical Committee has no power to transact that sale. The law allows Ndorama only 75 per cent shares, nothing more.” He stated Speaking before the committee yesterday, the Managing Director of Eleme Petrol Chemical, Manish Mundra, disclosed that the plant that was in a shambles when the Ndorama took over is now operating at 100 percent capacity utilisation.

According to him, what the company produced in the first two months of the takeover is more than what the company produced in the

two years prior to the takeover which resulted in the payment of N12.9 billion dividend shared between the Federal Government and the host community.

“It never produced up to 15 per cent of its capacity utilisation within 8 years before the privatisation.” He stated On the sale of Delta Steel Company the BPE DG, Onagoruwa also informed the committee that, the National Council of Privatization was not sitting when the company was sold.

Stressing that the buyer, Global Infrastructure, only submitted an expression of interest but did not submit any technical bid, she said that BUA Group Limited, which emerged as the highest bidder, was denied the right to follow through on the offer.

It was also disclosed that the sale was done through the

Ministry of Power and Steel following directives from the Presidency in flagrant violation of the NCP Act. According to her, BUA which initially bidded $20 million and later increased its bid to $25 million and an additional $5 million was denied the sale. Global Infrastructure was given the company after intervention from the Presidency and the Ministry of Power and Steel. The Ministry of Justice was brought in to perfect the deal.

“There was a bid and BUA won. The NCP Chairman submitted details to the President and the directive thereafter was that it (the company) should not be sold for less than $25 million. The ministry took a major role in the sale.”

The former Director General of BPE, Dr. Julius Bala, said: “I was made to know that I was on my way out of the BPE at that time and I had no real option than to sign. There was an approval and I signed.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule

US urges energy mix in Nigeria

MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1.

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LAGOS – UYO 10.35

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LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 08.00 18.00

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

mand is met.

He added, however, that more work was required on the Nigerian end to enhance investor confidence in the industry by reforming its policies to ensure certainty and clarity in matters relating to contracts and security of investment, among other issues.

Pascual further noted that the United States was willing to support the nation in its quest to eliminate gas flaring or reduce it to the barest minimum, pointing out that reducing the excessive amount of gas flared in the country would do a lot to improve power as the gas saved from flaring could be channeled for use at the power plants.

“Nigeria flares gas which could be used to produce electricity and significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gas and mitigate climate change,” he stated.

MOAN sacks officers over anti-agency activities

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

LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

He stated that the nation’s economic growth is constrained by insufficient electricity generation capacity which results in a lack of sufficient, reliable and affordable power supply.

“The Nigerian power sector has operated largely under a vertically integrated inefficient monopoly.

The insufficient generation and supply of electricity is caused by low and unsustainable investments by the government over the years, he said, adding: “The situation has resulted into business leakages where indigenous and foreign companies have relocated to neighbouring countries as the cost of doing business in Nigeria was no longer profitable.”

He said the United States government has noted the impressive efforts of the Nigerian government to

implement reforms in the energy industry, ‘’and we want to assure you of our co-operation to deepen and broaden such reform that would enhance the opportunities within the industry and enable the country to maximise its resources for the benefit of the citizens.

“We equally recognise the importance of working with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to create a platform for increased long-term investments in the petroleum sector, especially in the face of increasing demand for energy across the world.”

He noted that with the expansion of global economies, especially of countries, such as India, China and Brazil, there is every possibility of greater demand for energy, adding that Nigeria, as one of the biggest producers of petroleum resources globally, has a major role to play in ensuring that this de-

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From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30

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HE United States Special En voy and Co-ordinator for In ternational Energy Affairs, Ambassador Carlos Pascual, yesterday urged Nigeria to take a look at the development of renewable energy to enhance its mix.

He spoke at the Second Energy and Investment Working Group meeting in Abuja.

He said the American government has given a grant to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission to develop a framework for investment incentives to independent power producers utilising renewable energy resources.

Pascual added that the partnership would focus on five critical areas, including energy reforms, long-term investment in the petroleum sector, the eradication of gas flaring, renewable energy and improved transparency in the nation’s energy industry.

• From right: Managing Director/CEO, Bank of Industry, Ms Evelyn Oputu receiving the agreement from Executive Director, Theatre Royal Stratford East, London, Miss Mary Caws, at the signing ceremony in London between the bank and Pioneer Theatres Limited for securing Theatre Royal as venue for the Nigerian Village, during the London Olympic Games in 2012. With them are Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida (left) and President, Nigeria Olympic Committee, Mr Sani Ndanusa.

Edo targets N2b IGR monthly

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O sustain the massive infrastructural projects being executed by the Adams Oshiomhole-led government, the Edo State is targeting a monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N2 billion.

Chairman, Board of Internal Revenue, Oseni Elamah, who disclosed this to select journalists in Edo State, projected that with the planned introduction of consumption tax, the state’s IGR is expected to hit N2billion by December.

From a meagre N250millionN300million monthly IGR, which Governor Oshiomhole inherited when he came into office, the state’s revenue has increased to N1.3billion monthly following the cost-cutting measures adopted by the governor.

Under the new tax regime, which will become effective on September 1, Elamah said the state intends to use Information Technology to drive the tax collection since it does not have enough human resources to do so.

He urged hotels and restaurants (about 892) to register to avoid being penalised.

“They (hotels and restaurants) have been given up till August ending to register since June. If you come and register voluntarily, you pay no cost, but if you fail to register, you are either liable to six months’s imprisonment, a fine of N2million or both depending on how the judge feels,” he said.

The Internal Revenue Board chair said Edo State was exploring the IGR option in addition to traditional sources of financing government’s projects namely, federal allocation,

By Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor

loans, bonds and Public-Private Partnership.

He said the Edo Project Optimise IGR is centred on the introduction of a consumption tax of five per cent of the total bill paid by a customer of a hotel, events centre, bar or restaurant in the state.

The law, which has already been passed by the state’s House of Assembly, is cited as Hotels and Events Centres Occupancy and Restaurants Consumption Law of Edo State. It is directed at a person owning, managing or controlling any business or supplying any goods or services chargeable under Section 3 of this law, “shall collect for and on behalf of the state, the tax imposed by this law based on the total amount charged or payable by the consumer in accordance with the provisions of the law.”

Elamah explained that any hotel, restaurant or other business affected by the law shall within 30 days register with the board upon the commencement of the law and file with the board a report stating: total amount of payments made for chargeable transactions during the preceding reporting period; and the amount of tax collected during the period, among others.

“If a collecting agent fails to file a report and remit taxes collected within the time frame allowed under the law, the agent shall in addition to interest payable under Section 12 of this law, pay a penalty of 10 per cent of the amount of tax due,” Elamah added.

He reiterated that despite the tight resources, the Edo State government

would deliver democratic dividends to the citizens of Edo State, especially on infrastructure development, jobs creation and provision of healthcare and education.

The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Osarodion Oghie, who represented Governor Oshiomhole, recalled that Edo was in devastated form when his administration took over.

“The Comrade Governor promised to make a change in spite of the obvious difficulties on ground and chose education, infrastructural development and employment creation as focus.

With his frugal disposition, he plugged all leakages and cut the cost of running government across board, a step which saved N7 billion in one year for the government,” Oghie disclosed.

“In spite of all the hurdles on the implementation of the transformatory road map for Edo State, Oshiomhole, he added, “had executed programmes and projects that would guarantee improved quality of life for a great number of Edo people.

A visit round some of the project sites indicated that a network of serviceable roads bridges and drains have been constructed. Nearly 19,794 square kilometres of the state’s land mass has turned into construction sites.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Louis Odion, told journalists that over 190 projects were ongoing with over N120 billion committed to their execution and that proceeds from the consumption tax would be utilised in completing the projects.

HREE national officers of the Mobile Advert Loading and Offloading Agency of Nigeria (MOAN/LOLAN) have been removed by the agency.

This followed the last week’s purported suspension of the president of the agency by the three, which they announced in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

In a communiqué at the end of its general meeting in Lagos, on Monday, MOAN said it viewed with seriousness the activities of its former Secretary-General, Mr Nicholas Ekwo, Treasurer, Mr Gan Adewunmi and Assistant Secretary-General, Mr Richard Osakwe, adding that the decision to expel them was taken because they disrupted the July 23, 2011, meeting of the agency in Port Harcourt, after the president had indicted them for non-performance.

According to the communiqué, the three has no power to suspend the President of the agency, Otunba Mike Osimen Eboziegbe, as announced, or any other official.

The five-point communiqué said the general meeting has, therefore, passed a vote of confidence on Eboziegbe and other officials of the agency.

Besides, the communiqué said the three have been replaced by Bukola Oguntola as SecretaryGeneral, Emmanuel Asuquo (Treasurer) and Arthur Obiora (Assistant Secretary-General), while Bonaventure Agu was elected the Director of Public Affairs and Afiz Lawal as the Chairman of All State Chairmen.

The meeting also endorsed the appointment of Messrs Essien Archibong, Sunny Ikem, Robert Oriabure, Emeka Ugu and Empror Osahon, as well as Chiefs Nathaniel Aladesiun and Mike Adekunle, to endorse MOAN national clearance certificate, henceforth.

It similarly endorsed the appointment of Falana & Falana Chambers as the Legal Adviser of MOAN and mandated the chamber to write to the four expelled officers on the decision of the general meeting and take any legal action where necessary against them.

The communiqué announced that the 2012 clearance certificate of the agency, costing N250 each, will be launched in the first week of September, while the second batch of certificates were shared to the over 20 state chairmen at the meeting.

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ISSUES

Prospects and challenges as GSM clocks 10 The Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) has come a long way since 2001 when the telecoms industry was liberalised and a revolution inadvertently triggered, setting the country on the path of exponential growth. The revolution has made communication easier and cheaper, turning the country into the largest telecoms market in Africa. Despite these achievements, there are still challenges which need to be addressed, say stakeholders. ADLINE ATILI writes.

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HE journey to the GSM era was long and tortuous. For many Nigerians, the use of telephone was hitherto considered a privilege. One, they could not afford it; two, the process of acquiring it was cumbersome. All these changed in 2001 with the coming of the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). That year, the then Obasanjo administration issued four new digital mobile telephony licences to usher Nigeria into the information age. Since then, the telephone business has not been the same. And telephone was no longer the exclusive preserve of the rich as former Communication Minister and now Senate President, David Mark said way back then in the 80s.

The Obasanjo administration prioritised the development of the telecom sector through private investment in mobile cellular, after virtually nothing to show for many years of state investment in fixed line telecommunications. This proactive and visionary move marked the start of the country’s Information Communication Technol-

• MTN Chief Executive Officer Brett Goschen

• Airtel CEO Rajan Swaroop

• Globacom Group Chief Operating Officer Mohamed Jameel

• Etisalat CEO Steven Evans

ogy boom and the journey into the digital age. Several milestones have been achieved in the telecoms sector since then, many of these bringing prestige to the country.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), “With over 106 million connected lines, over 90.5 million active subscribers, penetration rate of 64.6 per cent and an investment of over $18 billion within the period, Nigeria is taken as the fastest growing telecom market in Africa and one of the fastest in the world. The country has the highest mobile broadband connection in the continent and has excelled in market deregulation and regulatory activities, thus leading the way for others to follow.”

The advent of GSM and the digital revolution in recent years have impacted almost every aspect of national life in this knowledge-based information age. We have seen a rapid shift from voice to data, from analogue to digital technologies and the increasing role of wireless that creates greater mobility for users. Mobile communication is also shaping the future of the young.

Today, the world of telecom is a booming

business arena that not only creates new grounds but also new business opportunities. This boom has resulted in increased communications services, online information gathering and research, e-learning, ecommerce, e-banking and other services that are expanding access to the digital world and opportunities.

The last decade has seen telecommunications services dramatically transform the world, enabling innovations and productivity increases, connecting people and communities, and improving standards of living and opportunities across the globe.

While changing the way individuals live, interact and work, telecom has also proven to be a key precondition for enhanced competitiveness and economic and societal modernisation, as well as an important instrument for bridging economic and social divides and reducing poverty.

The important role played by communication technologies (in particular, social media) during the recent political upheavals in countries such as Tunisia and Egypt cannot be discountenanced. Governments and public organisations are slowly realising the

power of technology in redefining governance and providing new modes of engagement with citizens. President Goodluck Jonathan made known his desire to run for office first on the social networking site, Facebook.

However, despite the achievements and contributions of the sector to national development, institutional change remains slow and hard. Experts said the nature and pace of the changes in the sector create challenges for regulators and players.

They noted that for telecommunications to be used effectively, technology has to suit the local context and be sensitive to people’s needs.

Senator Olugbenga Obadara, representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, argued that if the national momentum towards global technological leadership must be sustained, consolidation is vital.

According to him, this is the only way the sector can effectively contribute to economic development, in the face of the harsh operating environment.

• Continued on page 18

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ISSUES • Continued from page 17

Obadara said “merger and acquisition” of ailing operators would ensure that resources are optimally utilised for cost-effectiveness and national growth.

He said: “A lot of operators in the telecom sector can’t stand on their own. How many Internet Service Providers(ISPs) are working today? If we have only five strong companies that are bringing billions of Naira in return, that is better than having 100 operators that are worth nothing. One hundred per cent of nothing is nothing. Operators should start thinking of merger and acquisition. It will help the individual, the industry and the nation.”

At a forum in Lagos, operators decried the harsh operating environment which saw a lot of them going under, with some derailing from their core businesses.

The presidents of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON and the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Titi Omo-Ettu and Gbenga Adebayo, called for concerted efforts in helping the sector, stressing that some operators, mostly local ones, were facing serious threat to their survival and needed bailout to remain in business.

According to Omo-Ettu, about 45 per cent of indigenous telecoms businesses have folded up over the past few years because of the operating environment.

He noted that of the 145 indigenous operators licensed by the NCC and registered by ATCON, 65 went under because of what he described as the “vicissitudes of the business environment.”

Omo-Ettu said the remaining operators were increasingly finding it difficult to compete with bigger players, adding: “In the 17 years of our association, our membership which rose to 145 has dwindled to 80. Sixty-five of these, an awesome 45 per cent, actually went under due to the vicissitudes of the business environment.”

Former President of ATCON, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem said to bring Nigeria to international competitiveness in the telecom market, certain crucial areas such as quality of service (QoS) delivery, broadband infrastructure penetration, strengthening the sector, local content development, capital flight and full participation of Nigerians in the sector through listing of telecom companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) must be critically looked into.

Making a case for quality service delivery, Managing Director of DCC Networks, a member of the Computer Warehouse Group Oladipo Raji said, going forward, QoS will make or mar the telecom sector.

He noted that though the sector has made positive impact on the lives of Nigerians, QoS was still a sore area that needed to be urgently addressed.

According to him, the ripple effect of quality of service delivery is that subscribers will be willing to spend more, more value-added service and applications will be developed, operators will rake in more profits and investors’ confidence will rise, to the benefit of the country.

He proposed enabling laws and government’s intervention in provision of infrastructure, fuel and power to protect telecom users and help the industry grow.

To the Chairman of Zinox Computers, Leo Stan Ekeh, the telecoms industry can only realise its potential, if critical sectors of the economy are built on information technology, chiefly Nigerian technology.

Telecom services, he noted, offers the foundation for major leap forward in almost every area of human activity.

Prospects and challenges as GSM clocks 10

• Juwah

He said the Federal Government should deploy 25 million Personal Computers (PCs) in each of the six geopolitical zones in the next three years or forget the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He said: “The security, governance, agriculture, energy, finance and overall development of Nigeria would be best assured if built on a Nigerian technology. The road to Vision 20:2020 for the sector will be full of so many challenges that every practitioner would have to be focused and avoid dissipation of scarce energy.

“Nigeria needs to deploy a minimum of 25 million Personal Computers (PCs) in the next three years, 3.7 million in each of the six geopolitical zones and 2.5 million in Abuja or forget the attainment of the MDGs by 2015.

“These PCs would be targeted at youths who leave secondary school with six ‘Alphas,’ and all graduating students in tertiary institutions.

The machines are to be funded by the Federal Government under an arrangement that requires all corporate persons to pay one per cent ICT tax for a period of five years.

“Or the alternative savings from the Sovereign Wealth Fund can be ploughed into the provision of these PCs in the next three years.

This huge investment which will power domesticated technology would place in the hands of Nigerian youths the equipment to launch an era of ‘unlimited possibility.

• Raji

“This generation closely interconnected by satellite television, social media and the Internet will give rise to a new ICT-based work culture, increasing productivity and self-sufficiency; reducing corruption and the kinship that leads to ethnicity and enabling a self interpretation of faith that will undermine religious extremism.

“This scenario will encourage even development, hasten the attainment of the MDGs by 2015 and place this nation firmly on the road to 20:2020. Our various governments have failed to create jobs for our graduates averaging 600,000 per year because they still concentrate on deploying outdated solutions in a digital century. These have all failed before take-off”.

“Besides, the deployment of large numbers of PCs will immediately boost participation in the development of software applications, the Internet and social media and we can start talking of revolution in real terms. I subscribe to the ideals of a free market, I believe in the economic possibilities of globalisation but I am passionate about the emergence of a Nigerian technology deeply rooted in Nigeria.

“The West and America may canvass an end to protectionism but we have no business singing that refrain until Nigerian engineers begin to fabricate our factories and run them optimally; Nigerian satellites are built and launched from our shores; and Nigerian work-

shops produce components for designs owned by foreign capital,” Ekeh said.

Speaking in Lagos at a conference organised by the ICT Publishers Alliance, to celebrate GSM at 10, NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr Eugene Juwah said while trying to consolidate on the achievements of the telecom sector in the past decade, there is the need to take a strategic look ahead in line with global developments and dynamics.

According to him, Nigeria must remain a relevant and critical player in the global telecom sector by opening up other segments of the market like broadband services provisioning, to attract huge investments.

He said the commission was “tying” into the vision of the Federal Government in advancing ICT penetration in the country by focusing on the following areas: consolidation and integration of mobile wireless services including quality of service; fixed line and broadband deployment for national development; enhanced competitive market and choice for the consumer; vigorous compliance monitoring and enforcement of regulations and directives national connectivity for accelerated growth and enhanced international relations.

Juwah said: “What we plan to do at the NCC is to take advantage of the situation, open up that segment of the market which will improve quality of service and

‘A lot of operators in the telecoms sector can’t stand on their own. How many Internet Service Providers(ISPs) are working today? If we have only five strong companies that are bringing billions of Naira in return, that is better than having 100 operators that are worth nothing. One hundred per cent of nothing is nothing. Operators should start thinking of merger and acquisition.

It will help the individual, the industry and the nation’

boost investment and socio-economic development. The world’s attention has switched to broadband and its benefits.

“Although subscriptions are increasing, a penetration rate of less than one per cent illustrates the challenges that persist in increasing access to high-speed, high capacity Internet access in the region.

“Like in the early days of mobile technology, we see this adversity as a honey pot. We see broadband as a technology that can bring development and economic growth to Nigerians irrespective of their location, status and age and the commission is ready to promote policies to woo and attract development partners that can share in our broadband vision”, Juwah said.

He identified quality of service as the biggest problem confronting the industry, saying this is why a major area of focus by his administration is vigorous compliance monitoring and enforcement of regulations and directives.

“For this reason we have strengthened the enforcement unit of the commission which has started to engage in some activities that do not make the operators happy. But we have a responsibility to make the Nigerian telecom consumers the centre of attention for the operators; the Nigerian telecom consumers should get the value for whatever money spent on any network.

However, we believe the quality of service issue should be addressed squarely from its foundation.

“What is responsible primarily for this is congestion on the network. Aside from the Key Performance Indicators that we have put in place to ensure that a certain threshold quality is maintained, we are also canvassing regulatory accounting on the part of the operators to ensure they invest as per the number of subscribers on the network.

“While that is being done, the NCC is also looking at cross regulatory issues which will make it possible for progress and developmental activities in the telecommunications industry to be impaired by the activities of other government agencies.

“For instance, if investments were to be made in base station today, that investment may not contribute to the network quality until after about one year because of the period of time it takes to do Environmental Impact assessment. The NCC is aware of this development and it is being addressed. We encourage others to look at what the Nigerian telecommunications market has become, and make an investment decision on the next frontier”, Juwah said.

Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Brett Goschen has, however, assured that the Telco would continue to invest resources to tackle poor quality of service.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the company in Lagos, Goschen disclosed that an additional $1 billion had been earmarked for network expansion and building of more base stations for the benefit of its over 40 million subscribers.

He said: “MTN provides telecom services to over 40 million active subscribers. We plan to continue to deepen our penetration in the rural areas and also transform MTN from being a purely telecom company to one that offers converged ICT services.

“To this end, we are committed to investing an additional $1 billion to upgrade network in the current financial year.”

Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria in a chat with The Nation, pledged that in the coming months, Airtel subscribers would begin to enjoy a new phase of customer service experience, especailly in network quality.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

A precarious balance

Appointing RECs •Jonathan must show more circumspection

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HE nation can only get it right electorally if it takes concrete steps to correct the mistakes of the past.

But we doubt whether this is being done, especially with the hullabaloo that heralded the reported list of new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The list is allegedly replete with names of men that cannot be said to have reasonably acquitted themselves in similar positions in recent past. In other instances, the president reportedly chose people with bad record or people with partisan standing. This has left us agape as to whether the government is sincere about its self avowed public statements regarding its resolve to enthrone, before 2015, genuine electoral reforms in the country.

Nigerians have specifically expressed reservations about some of the re-nominated names from the just retiring 13 RECs whose five years tenure have expired. Two of the contentious names will do: Dr. Gabriel Ada is one of the 13 RECs who just ended their tenure. He supervised the controversial 2007 elections in Benue State. He was also the electoral overseer of Delta State’s January 6 governorship rerun poll and the April general elections in Delta State that have been objects of litigations, causing INEC to be accused of bias.

Ada’s antecedent included being a

member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the same as the president that renominated him. He was also elected Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly in 2000 and was removed in hazy circumstances.

Austin Okojie on his part is reportedly one of the re-nominated RECs. He is from Edo State but served INEC in Imo State in 2007. He conducted in that year a governorship election that was cancelled without justifiable reasons, at least in the eyes of reasonable members of the public. Serious protests stopped INEC from using him to conduct the supplementary May governorship election in that state.

Curiously too, INEC has shown crass insensitivity to the feelings of electionweary Nigerians by applauding, during its recent retreat, the ‘commitment which the RECs brought to bear in the discharge of their duties’. The unpleasant aftermath of past and recently conducted elections in the country was a sharp contrast to the electoral body’s position. At least, the above mentioned two from the 13 retiring RECs could not have been said to have creditably discharged their duties.

Rather than allow them to go, it is sad that the president is reportedly tinkering with the idea of returning them as RECs. The REC is by law the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state. He appoints returning officers for elections held in the state and supervises INEC’s activities. He is responsible to the electoral umpire but can only be appointed or removed by the

president. So, we acknowledge the fact that the president has the power to reappoint any or all of the retiring RECs. But in invoking this power, we call on President Jonathan to show more circumspection. He should deploy this power in such a way that will show his concern for ensuring corrective approach to electoral mal-administration that is now routine in the country. History is watching him and the best way he could be positively judged by posterity is not by appointing or re-appointing people with tainted reputations or obvious partisan standings as RECs. If democracy must be deepened in the country, then, the president must start by getting people with impeccable character into sensitive positions in INEC.

‘We acknowledge the fact that the president has the power to re-appoint any or all of the retiring RECs. But in invoking this power, we call on President Jonathan to show more circumspection. He should deploy this power in such a way that will show his concern for ensuring corrective approach to electoral maladministration that is now routine in the country’

Beautiful Bahrami •A beautiful Iranian woman radiates even more beauty in shunning vengeance

A

MENEH Bahrami could pass for an Arabian queen: fairskinned, lush dark hair, buxom, large eyeballs and the smiles of an enchantress. Ameneh’s physical beauty and elegance ironically turned out to be her undoing, as a certain Mojid Movahedi would not take ‘No’ for an answer. For Majid, if he did not have Ameneh, nobody else would.

When therefore, Ameneh turned down his marriage proposal, he doused her with acid, damaging her two eyes beyond repairs and disfiguring her beautiful face. This happened in 2004.

Iranian laws allow for retributive justice and in 2008, the courts allowed Ameneh to also cause Majid to lose one of his eyes through a medically supervised acid drops into his eyes.

Last week, in an Iranian hospital, before live television, Ameneh had her chance to take her pound of flesh from Majid, the man who turned her life to an endless nightmare. Doctors were poised to drop acid into one of Majid’s eyes as he wept profusely like the coward he is. They asked Ameneh for a final go-ahead.

In that brief moment that would have seemed like eternity for weeping boy Majid, a brief second on the cliff hanger when his life was set to explode in unmitigated pain as he received the fiery “eye drops”, a brief spell when his life was set to suffer partial eclipse, he was taught a les-

son in grace, forbearance and forgiveness. “I forgive him”: Ameneh told the doctors.

With those glorious three words, Ameneh, despite her wrinkled and “ugly” face, glowed beautifully in the eyes of the world. The watching world erupted in ecstatic joy at her gracefulness and kindly heart.

Her ability to forgive her wicked tormentor has been ascribed to her being a woman; some say it may be due to the holy month of Ramadan which has just started. But whether it was influenced by these factors, or that Ameneh’s heart is made of gold, the lesson is in what Mahatma Gandhi said long ago, that an eye- for-an-eye will only end up making the whole world go blind.

Even Amnesty International had described cold vengeance as a form of punishment and torture that must be jettisoned by the civilised world.

Ameneh has by her singular act, reminded the world that it is still divine to forgive, that it is the most beautiful and graceful thing to do.

The other lesson is the relentless bestiality by men towards the women folk in this so-called internet age.

Even as this celebrated case was going on in Iran, another young woman reportedly died from complications arising from acid bath in that same coountry. Her offence was the same: she declined a marriage proposal.

According to reports, there is hardly

any week that young women are not given acid bath in some parts of Asia.

Even here in Nigeria recently, a man reportedly stabbed his wife to death.

Wife battering, widows alienation, bride burning, honour killing, breast ironing, forced prostitution, dowry death and all sorts of physical and psychological violence are still meted out to women even in this age in alarming proportions.

The equality of man and woman under God and under the law is a long-settled issue and for any man to think or act otherwise is to seek to turn the hand of time. Man and woman are made to perfectly complement and to regenerate our common humanity. Only in mutual respect can we live happily together and achieve this divine purpose.

‘I forgive him: Ameneh told the doctors. With those glorious three words, Ameneh, despite her wrinkled and “ugly” face, glowed beautifully in the eyes of the world. The watching world erupted in ecstatic joy at her gracefulness and kindly heart’

P

AUL Samuelson, the great economist, observed that Wall Street indexes had predicted nine out of the last five recessions.

It is tempting to hope that big falls in world stock markets this week are also driven by exaggerated fears of renewed downturn. Unfortunately, whether or not they are ultimately realised, the fears are plausible.

The global economy is in its most precarious state since the banking crisis of 2007-09. Policy debate has been dominated by the risk that the world economy might fall into a double-dip recession. Yet there is a realistic possibility that something still worse will happen: a “lost decade” of growth. Such as Japan suffered after the bursting in the early 1990s of a huge bubble in the stock market and in property prices.

Figures released yesterday showing a reduction in the US unemployment rate sparked a brief rally in stock markets, but it was short-lived. Equity prices have fallen dramatically in the past two days. The main reason is that the eurozone debt crisis resists efforts to resolve it. Investors do not believe that European institutions, notably the European Central Bank, are strong enough to bail out the heavily indebted countries of Southern Europe or to stabilise these countries’ financial markets by buying their sovereign bonds.

The inherent inflexibility of the currency union compounds the problem. The financially weaker members of the eurozone, such as Greeze and Portugal, face a painful adjustment in their living standards, which might have been made easier if they still had the option of currency devaluation (which by raising import prices would reduce real incomes). But the fundamental problem of the Southern European economies is that they have been living beyond their means. And this is by no means a recent or a novel phenomenon.

The Western banking system collapsed three years ago under a cascade of bad debts. Financial markets periodically undergo booms and busts (as with the bubble in technology stocks in the late 1990s), but this time was different. The asset that had experienced an unsustainable boom in the early years of this century was not a segment of the financial markets, but credit itself.

Banks and other financial institutions had lent profligately and indiscriminately to borrowers who turned out to be poor credit risks. Banks assumed that the development of new and complex financial instruments had reduced the risks of lending. They were terribly mistaken, and their balance sheets suffered huge damage.

The remedial measures – low interest rates and big budget deficits – that policymakers put in place after the colllapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 managed to avert a repeat of the Great Depression.

But these policies have had big costs and global recovery has been weak and fitful. Invstors are concerned that financial weakness might merely have migrated from the private sector to sovereign borrowers. The evidence is worrying.

The US came within a day of defaulting on its national debt this week. The integration of national weaker countries to larger ones. Commodity price inflation is squeezing living standards and depressing consumption and investment. And there is a big additional question: whether the banking crisis has enduringly damaged the Western economies’ capacity to grow.

Policymakers’ options in this crisis are limited.

Interest rates are already very low. Fiscal stimulus has been tried with only muted effect. The underlying problem of the Western economies remains: there is too much debt. No painless way out of the crisis is available, but the most direct route to stability is to get a grip on borrowing and thereby restore the confidence of financial markets. Much needs to go right. Governments can help most by first tackling what has gone wrong.

– The Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi

• Controller (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu • Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

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•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina •Group Political Editor Bolade Omonijo •Group Business Editor Ayodele Aminu •Abuja Bureau Chief Yomi Odunuga •Sport Editor Ade Ojeikere •Editorial Page Editor Sanya Oni

•Pre-Press Manager Chuks Bardi •Press Manager Udensi Chikaodi •Manager, Corporate Marketing Hameed Odejayi • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

20

EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: “The fear is that in five to ten years, what will be left of the African or Nigerian Information society space will be pieces of recycled information about the bad things happening in Nigeria….”

One Mr. Popoola, a Nigerian, was quoted to have made the above statement in a write-up way back in 2006, as an essential response to the spate of the so-called “Yahoo-Yahoo Boys”, that trick unsuspecting individuals, groups and organisations online to part with their money.

Therefore, it is nothing new that virtually every informed Nigerian agrees that Internet fraudsters or “Yahoo-Yahoo Boys” as they are addressed in local parlance in the country, are doing the most damage to Nigeria’s image abroad.

Nevertheless, in their desperation to make quick money at all costs, scores of these young Internet

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IR: Today, Nigeria has a 36State structure. However, expectations are high as to the possible creation of more states.

The challenge of creating a state out of the old Ogoja province has been of great concern to the entire populace of this extraction. The struggle has been there for quite a long time. And this has made the Ogoja man ‘The last man standing’ without a seat in his own state.

Somehow, hopes and expectations are dying since the public is tied to the erroneous belief that states could only be created by the military. A good number of social analysts have taken the pains to set those mindset and such devastating superstition. The masses even upon clarification still think that state creation cannot be feasible under civil rule. They still argue that the process under civil rule is terribly demanding, cumbersome and outrageously extravagant. They maintain that the executive fiat of military rule could solve all these in split seconds. This set of people tends to tempt democracy. Was the defunct mid-west state not a creation of civil rule? The First Republic created it.

So, those who are in doubt should be warned and guided.

Upon amalgamation, Lord Fredrick Lugard as Governor-General, created a 24-Province structure to ease the administrative network of the colony of Nigeria. This administrative network gave way to the 12-State structure under Gen. Yakubu Gowon, which later grew into a 19-State structure following the report of the ‘Irikefe Commission’ in 1975, to the Murtala Mohammed military administration. However, in 1987, Nigeria got its first set of siamese twins. The

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From Yahoo-Yahoo to kidneys for money fraudsters, male and female they are, of late have reportedly changed strategies into more dangerous ones in the course of reaping where they have not sown.

Hitherto, their approaches such as “Yahoo Plus”, “Yahoo Plus Plus”, both described as “challenging, but lucrative and profitable” had been the rave of the moment. These terms simply mean the use of diabolical means to improve their chances of extorting money and other material things from their vic-

tims jokingly described as “Magas” online. Now, they have graduated to overseas travel to sell their kidneys for money.

Sadly, recent media reports confirmed that in their inordinate attempts at becoming wealthy overnight, many of them now travel to European and Asian countries, specifically Malaysia, to donate kidneys in exchange for cool cash. In the process, such desperate young Nigerians allegedly travel to sell one of their kidneys each, collect

N10million per kidney donated, and head back home to “enjoy their wealth”.

This latest “kidney-for-money” bazaar by these young, mischievous ones sure continues to hammer the country’s image badly in the international system. A Nigerian businessman caught in the vortex of the ensuing bad impression being created about Nigeria in the global arena was quoted to have summarised his experience thus: “I’m not so much worried about the

A case for Ogoja state midwife was the Babangida military administration. These two additional states were the Akwa Ibom and Katsina states. Today, Nigeria has a 36-State structure. However, expectations are high as to the possible creation of more states.

From the foregoing, one will realize that Ogoja province is the only old province that has not transmutated into a state. Some provinces have witnessed the birth of two states and even more. This is the crux of the matter and basis for the demand for the ‘great Ogoja state’. For instance, Rivers province comfortably gave birth to Rivers and Bayelsa states. Owerri province has witnessed the birth of Imo and Abia states. I understand there is an agitation for Aba state in the current agitation for states creation. If created, that brings the number to three states from the old Owerri province.

In the far north, has Sokoto province not given birth to Sokoto and

Zamfara states and Bauchi not to Gombe and Bauchi states? And in the West, Oyo Province has evolved into Osun and Oyo states. In the MidWest, Delta province that was buried in old Bendel has since gained statehood in 1991.

So, why has Ogoja Province been buried in Cross River state for so long? Where in Nigeria could one travel six hours to the state Capital?

It is only the ‘Ogoja Man’ who travels that far within his own state, wasting productive hours on a dilapidated road to Calabar.

The fact remains that, it is only pertinent that Ogoja province has to be given a state of its own.

Each time states were created, it was always expected that Ogoja state will be part of such exercise, but, Ogoja remains the Ogoja we use to know, some 60 years ago.

Abakaliki and Afrikpo divisions, which were part of Ogoja province, now has a state of their own - Ebonyi state. However, Ogoja which was

left with four divisions – Ogoja, Ikom, Obubra and Obudu have now been split into 11 local government areas out of which nine L.G.As are currently agitating for ‘Ogoja state’ out of Cross River.

Looking back to the issue of states creation, you will see that in the 50s, when various groups were asking for states, Ogoja, Calabar and Rivers, together asked for a CalabarOgoja-Rivers State (COR State) to be split from the former eastern Nigeria. What we are asking now is to split Ogoja from Calabar (Cross River), so that we can realize our aspiration. Let the organs responsible for restructuring Nigeria look into the sad way the people of Ogoja have been treated and see that Ogoja state be added to their recommendation when states creation is considered in Nigeria.

• Ushonye Ayim Ishong Ayim Street Ishiborr Ogoja – Nigeria

insult and shame the scams have brought on every Nigerian in the diaspora than the problem it has caused many budding entrepreneurs in and outside the country.”

With the determined support of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Information Technology (IT) professionals and the Media, there ought to be continuous, massive national campaigns against online scams.

Parents, guardians, community, political and religious leaders should also assist this nation in teaching morals towards reviving the societal value system. This will further dissuade many of these distracted young people, who engage in all manner of absurdities to make money while risking their precious lives in the process.

Despite that, it has been proved medically that the average human can live on just a kidney, those who still contemplate storming Malaysia, or any other country to sell their kidneys for cool money should stop living in a fool’s paradise. What if the kidney being surgically removed from them happens to be the more functional one after all? What will happen to the individual? Indeed, an express invitation to sudden death!

While parents and guardians should be responsible in monitoring their children and wards, the government as well can liaise with the Malaysian Embassy in Nigeria to be more stringent with their immigration guidelines, by asking these young ‘ kidney hawkers’ questions before they are issued visa to leave the country for a foreign land.

For vigilant and responsible parents and guardians, “a word,” an aphorism says, “is enough for the wise.”

• Gbenga Kayode is a media professional and CEO, Wordkraft Communications Limited,

Plight of Nigerians in Nigeria IR: Nigerians nursed some hopes at the dawn of the 1960 Independence.

Then Nigeria’s founding fathers, despite their limitations, succeeded in laying a solid foundation for the country’s socio-economic development. It is disheartening, however, that successive regimes since 1966, with one or two exceptions, have failed to build on the achievements of their predecessors. Instead, Nigeria has been saddled with inept and corrupt leadership at all levels of governance.

This ruling clique has succeeded

S

so far in foisting themselves on the people. The immense resources of the country, meant for human and infrastructural development like power, energy, water, road, housing, transportation, education, health and medical facilities, necessary for socio-economic development and nation building have largely been appropriated by bad leaders for their personal interest through contract inflation, oil block allocation, oil export licensing and import licensing of essential goods and the like.

The negative consequences of these are what we are witnessing

such as bad roads, blackouts, inadequate educational facilities, poor health and medical facilities, lack of potable drinking water, food insecurity, poor capacity building, low productivity and monumental unemployment which are breeding crimes in the society.

It is equally incomprehensible how the Nigerian leadership can still be operating a neo-colonial economy in which the immense mineral and agricultural resources are exported in its crude form 50 years after independence.

The people’s sense of justice, responsibility, decency, integrity

and fairness has been violently assaulted and their psyche brutalized. All these have produced what we now have as communal, ethnic and religious violence typical of the type that is happening in the Niger Delta, Jos, Bauchi, Maiduguri, etc.

This can only be stopped if the states and the federal governments are just and judicious in their management of what belong to all Nigerians that are currently being mismanaged.

• Tunde Afilaka Ali Ishiba,Sango Ota.

21

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

Potholes; railways sleepers; waste or wealth?: UBE’s N70m for chairs not blocks?

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HE Lagos Ibadan Expressway has received some small attention from Ogun State and the contractor, BiCourtney. Every accident, injury or Tony death caused by the potMarinho holes hangs like a deadly weight around the necks of those who played contract and toll gate politics with our lives. Oyo State has also benefited from pothole filling-four years too late for some. Nigeria should really get serious about pothole filling unless it is nuclear physics! Death is not a joke. Filling potholes without reducing the axel weight of the trailers will not solve the problems on the overburdened roads.

Government at last is executing railways resuscitation but spreading it over 25 years is too long. By then the advanced countries will have hover train and flying trains. We need to speed up railway development. Miraculously the Jonathan Government has overturned 90 years of bad policy and at last approved the private sector and states involvement in railways-hurray! But we do not want only the ‘usual billionaire suspects’ to participate. Gautrain in South Africa cost $4b and will carry 100,000 a day at speeds of 160kph. Kenya Uganda rail will cost $164 m. Nigeria is still far behind and must quickly catch up. Some rail replacement with concrete sleepers has been done. Who owns and what is the plan for the thousands of 5-6feet long rusty sleepers removed and seen lying by the rail-side where they constitute a hazard and a danger if used by criminals to block the track. They should be removed to the rail yard by the rail contractors or workers.

They can then be sold off to Osogbo or Ajaokuta Mills to recover funds.

These iron sleepers should be huge ‘waste to wealth’ resource recycled as bridges, gutter covers and smelted. This is a job creation area.

Did you hear that the funds unspent by UBE amount to N70,

E

ACH time he appears in court these days, Major Hamza AlMustapha, former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to the late maximum dictator, Sani Abacha, exudes such confidence and bravado that is very much unbecoming of somebody in his present shoes. This is a rapid departure from his comportment in the early stages of his trial when he looked confused and morose. Then you could read the pains visibly etched on his forlorn face.

But all that has changed. Each appearance in court nowadays is akin to a political campaign setting.

Hordes of people, perhaps, sympathizers who may probably have been co-opted to line the route to the court out of sheer financial inducements, are seen struggling for space. As the convoy of prison vehicles and security cars bearing AlMustapha screeches to a halt at the court premises, the shuffles and shovels grow to a near riotous situation. Their hero, Al-Mustapha, in his trendy Senegalese wear, appears waving enthusiastically to the ‘wellwishers’ without betraying any emotion as he moves briskly in and out of the courtroom brimming with smiles. Such demeanour has always left many people wondering whether the former CSO has iron in his backbone or is simply playing to the gallery as if awaiting a certain miracle to happen in his case.

Al-Mustapha and his co-travellers have been in detention for the past 12 years to answer to alleged criminal charges in connection with the June 4, 1996 daylight murder of the late Kudirat Abiola, wife of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.

Abiola, who was arrested in 1993 for

000,000,000. They are planning to meet this week to design the spending proposals with the states. Write to UBE with your advice. The money is enough to give more than N1, 000,000/school and even more if only Primary schools get the money. Whatever the formula is for distribution is, this money must not to go on bricks and classroom blocks but on classroom content. With this money, UBE should give every classroom a UBE Education Box containing dictionaries and 10 reference books, encyclopedias for teachers, 100 story books, a computer, an assortment of teaching aids. UBE should ensure that no child or teacher is left without a desk and chair and no class is left without a shiny white board with adequate writing pens or at least a newly painted and smoothened black board.

This money could also paint every school classroom, one million, in an attractive white for the upper part of the class for brightness and a light colour for the lower half. This money should be allocated directly to the school headmasters and headmistresses to spend on the above items through a school Staff/PTA team accountable to the entire PTA with Zonal Prizes as incentives. It is misguided to spend the money on a few schools when it can change the lives of every single student immediately. The old UBE methods have failed to raise the pass rate above 20%. Providing a new classroom block to schools does not improve the performance of students not in the new classroom.

Nigeria through President Jonathan, the Cabinet, NASS and the UBE, has the money to immediately change the fortunes of 20 million Fellow Nigerian children. These children depend on UBE and the Ministry of Education adults to protect them from ignorance and also to give them the same chance as UK and USA children as their right. The current level of educational tools in schools constitutes a criminal offence, a human and child rights abuse. The bible says ‘it is better to have a millstone around one’s neck and be cast into the sea than harm the hair on the head of one child.’

A serious warning! Well, Nigerian authorities seem to have an eternity death wish. But judgment day is next common

entrance. How will they explain to God that they had N70, 000,000,000 and refused to provide chairs for innocent children that fellow Nigerian mothers laboured and sometimes died to give birth? Surely, this N70, 000,000,000 is 70m chairs and marks the end of sitting on the ground for the Nigerian Child, the end of unreadable blackboards in 1,000,000 classrooms, the end of ‘librarybook-lessness’. If it does not, then, we know we are doomed as a nation, uncaring and unworthy of children. Educational ‘expert’ meetings in exclusive Sheraton contrast with the squalor of our classrooms. UBE Meetings should be conducted in the schools so that the UBE can see the suffering of the children.

Once again, the Nigerian child is at the mercy of the system.

Can UBE, no longer hampered by a lack of funds rise to the challenge or will this money go up in a whiff of contract smoke? Happily, the funds have not disappeared as they would have a few years ago. The truth is that the UBE has received enough money to equip every classroom adequately but has failed due to a lack of strong nationalistic focus and dedication to uplifting children: UBE and education are a calling and not just a job. The President should ensure the appointment of sound passionate educationists as helmsmen or nothing will be done with even N170, 000,000,000.

‘If it does not, then, we know we are doomed as a nation, uncaring and unworthy of children. Educational ‘expert’ meetings in exclusive Sheraton contrast with the squalor of our classrooms. UBE Meetings should be conducted in the schools so that the UBE can see the suffering of the children’

Al-Mustapha’s verbal ‘diarrhoea’ having the effrontery to claim his mandate, later died in military gulag in July 1998.

Kudirat was killed in a hail of bullets rained on her while driving in Lagos around 9.30am on the fateful day. She had put up a titanic struggle to extricate her husband from the iron grip of his captors but was silenced by bullets from assassins allegedly under the command and supervision of Al-Mustapha who by then had turned into a terrorist in military uniform. Before Kudirat was killed, several other innocent Nigerians, many of them with democratic credentials, had been either killed, maimed, driven underground or simply forced into exile to avoid being killed by rampaging goons of the junta.

Al-Mustapha and others were first arraigned before P.D. Gbogodo, the presiding magistrate at an Ikeja court on Thursday, October 15, 1999.

As the suspects arrived in court on that day, the atmosphere became chaotic and rowdy with the motley crowd shouting “Ole! Ole!! Ole!!!

(Thief! Thief!! Thief!!!)”, as the men were led into the courtroom. The charges on that day were that five people, including A-Mustapha, unlawfully killed Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. Apart from the Kudirat charges, Al-Mustapha and Lieutenant-Colonel Ibrahim Yakassai were also separately charged for the “unlawful killing of one Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua by administering stupefying and overpowering substance through lethal injection.”

As a former senior editor with

‘It behoves on the nation’s judiciary, the last hope of the common man, to refuse to be swayed by the tantrums of a blood-thirsty individual by getting to the root of Kudirat’s murder. The public also need to be steadfast’

TELL Magazine, one of the few media houses in the forefront of the fight against Abacha’s junta and its goons, I was opportune to watch the footages of the recordings of the Special Investigative Panel, SIP, headed by a female police officer who retired years ago as Assistant Inspector General of Police. In one of them, Barnabas Jabila, aka Sergeant Rogers, who did most of the hatchet jobs, was one of those who squealed on Al-Mustapha during the investigations.

It was obvious that Rogers was one of the leading actors in the game of visiting death on innocent citizens.

He volunteered a lot of useful information to the SIP. One particular episode was when Al-Mustapha was brought to confront Rogers. He lambasted Rogers for betraying him while he laboured frantically to convince the panel that his boss, Abacha, was indeed mentally unstable during his days in office as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The SIP investigations covered the murder of Kudirat, Pa Alfred Rewane, Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Olusola Omotshola, Toyin Onagorowa and the attempted murder of Abraham Adesanya and Alex Ibru. On Kudirat’s murder, the panel discovered that the decision was taken at an inner security meeting attended

by Abacha, Al-Mustapha and others. At the meeting, Abacha was said to have expressed his worry over Kudirat’s political activities, especially her statement that “there will be trouble if MKO Abiola should die in detention.” Rogers had confessed to the panel that as an Aso Rock insider, he learnt that “Kudirat’s murder was recommended by one of the many marabouts who were then milling around Abacha”.

I can go on and on to refresh people’s memory about the sav-

agery committed by Al-Mustapha and the goons during the darkest part of Nigeria’s history. Funny though, today, we are being treated to the theatrics of the most dangerous man that ever inhabited this part of the African continent. Let AlMustapha deceive no one and claim that he is holier than the Pope. I am sure that those who were at the receiving end of the mindless bloodletting of the past would be in the best position to understand what I am trying to say. All we have been treated to in the past one week is a circus show designed to hoodwink people and divert attention from the real issue at stake, which is the gruesome and callous murder of Kudirat. The late amazon and relentless campaigner for the enforcement of her husband’s fundamental rights was brutally cut down, and her children made motherless. The children finally became orphans when, about two years after, their father also died apparently from man’s cruelty to another man.

Suddenly, Al-Mustapha, who never wanted the court to sit on the case, has become emboldened while casting aspersions on innocent and revered people who never allowed themselves to be cowered in their lifetime. Now the storyline is that the late Afenifere leader, Pa Adesanya, and late Chief Bola Ige, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice took bribe to scuttle the June 12 struggle; Nuhu Ribadu wanted to kill Al-Mustapha; Abdulsalami Abubakar wanted Olusegun Obasanjo dead – and all such balderdash.

I am not a legal practitioner, but if I may ask: What is the relevance of all this ‘nonsensical nonsense’ AlMustapha is bandying about? Assuming he is right, what is the correlation between what happened in 1996 and subsequent events two years after in 1998 or thereabout?

The video recording that was

Dele Agekameh played in court last week showed both Adesanya and Ige coming out of the presidential villa after a meeting with the Head of State.

Adesanya was accosted by journalists and he told them that they had a good meeting and were able to extract a promise of a Government of National Unity. Then they walked away. The same Al-Mustapha misinterpreted their brief smiles to mean that they were “settled” with money. And some people are tempted to believe him. This is a season of selective amnesia. I doubt if Abiola’s children will believe that Al-Mustapha loved and cared for their father as he now wants people to believe. I do not think that Nigerians can be so gullible to believe any of this without asking questions.

Nigerians should subject AMustpaha’s vituperation to empirical test. At the end, they shall see through the whole web of deceit that he is just trying to secure undue sympathy. It behoves on the nation’s judiciary, the last hope of the common man, to refuse to be swayed by the tantrums of a blood-thirsty individual by getting to the root of Kudirat’s murder. The public also need to be steadfast. Afterall, no one, not even a thousand Al-Mustaphas, can rewrite history.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

22

EDITORIAL/OPINION FROM THE CELL PHONE ‘The late Gani Faweihinmi was right. The events of January 15 1966 and June 12 1993 are negative spiritual forces haunting this country. Reason On both days the God given right of all Nigerians to choose their leaders and be ruled democratically was taken away by force. In both cases God was offended. In the words of Maurice de Tocqueville 1805 to 1859, “To fight against democracy is to fight against God Himself.” The world cannot but accommodate itself to the social state imposed upon it by Providence. The result of this offence is the reprobate spirit under whose influence the leaders and masses now operate.

Cure June 12 should be proclamed National Reconciliation Day. It should be a solemn day in which all Nigerians shall ask for forgiveness from God and reconcile with each other and ask God to give us a new spirit. If not our leaders will continue to disappoint us like Bankole. Anonymous’

• Jonathan

For Dare Olatunji June 12 is a “spiritual force” that cannot be wished away with a wave of hand. Like Martin Luther King’s Day in USA so shall June 12 be in Nigeria. From TER AKAA, Abuja You guys at The Nation are doing well, please keep on giving your facts and blunt issues. God bless you all.

‘June 12’a national issue, now SouthWest ‘shrine’.Thanks to politics in a plural or ethnic/tribal society. From Joe, Lagos.

Nduka Irabor did the dirty job not Nduka Obaigbena.

Dear Prof., in your today’s ‘’The Day They Couldn’t Bury’’ you did not mention one Debo Harstrup, or something that sounds like that; who was Master Planner/Strategist of the ABN. Well, the good thing is that, nemesis had caught up with some and will soon catch up with the rest of all those who carry the ‘June 12 Albatross’. From Temitope Vincent, Akure It beats my imagination for somebody like IBB to turnaround to declare june12 as the fairest and freest election ever conducted in this country and expect Nigerians to declare him the hero or evil genius of democray. He wll be honoured in hell. He should be ashamed for talking about politics in this Country. God bless the King of our democray, President M. K. O. Abiola. From Danny Kay. Dare, your back page comment in The Nation on June 12 pricks my heart. How I wish Nigerian leaders would appreciate the force and reality of June 12, and urgently revert our Democracy day to it. Thanks. Hon. Fred Akpad.

No force can wish away June 12, its God’s own making. Try to obliterate it at your own perile.

Don’t worry, nemesis will catch up with them one by one especially the evil genius.

From Yaba Kano They don’t have power to bury ‘June 12’, because they can kill the messanger but they cannot kill the message. From Adewumi, Iragbiji, Osun state.

I just finished reading your piece today on “The day they couldnt bury.” It was a masterpiece. Without june 12 which MKO sacrificed himself, there wouldn’t have been democracy today. Afterdarkness there is light at the end of the tunnel. and the lights are the ACN control states. Hope Ondo will join soon. From Oladapo Komolafe, Ibadan.

I strongly believe that had the same fate of June 12 befallen May 29 in 1999, it would have since replaced June 12 in priority. Let not the Yoruba, d most dynamic ethnic group in Nigeria inadvertently rubbish this priceless democracy they fought so hard to attain for us all. From Chris Onu, Unijos.

Thanks for your deeply illuminating topic titled ‘The day they couldn’t bury’. We now know some of the key actors and the roles they played. As a saying goes, ’if you do not call the destroyer by his name, he struts about as the builder of the city’. However, it should be noted that the world is a perfect example of a perpetual struggle to remedy a defect.

‘June 12’ will ever remain unburied provided

the electorate are not ignored. From Adegoke O. O., Ibadan.

Sir, with your piece on “The day they couldn’t bury”, you have once again shown that you are indeed a worthy model to people like us. The day will truly continue to haunt those who made mockery of Nigerians by wishing away our sacred mandate to one of Nigeria’s greatest Icons- MKO Abiola. Shina, From D Rovn Tourist magazine.

Your ever captivating piece, The day they couldn’t bury, is heartbreaking. The principal actors who led the annulment of June 12 paraded themselves as apostle of democracy. Until a commission of inquiry is constituted to probe the circumstances that led to the cancellation of June 12 , 1993 presidential election, there will no be true reconcillation, peace, justice and one Nigeria.

From Yunisa Idaiye, Abuja.

Thank you for philosophically reminding us that June 12 is not only alive, but will continue to live to avenge and destroy those who still attempt to bury its unperishable significance in Nigerian history. It could only have been written by Olatunji Dare, an honourable and memorable player in the battle to actualise June 12. From A. O. Mohammed esq, Ilorin.

Thanks Tunji Dare for your back page comment on the 14th June. May God be with you. Babangida and his co planners are alive to see wonders that happened in the Southwest last sunday the 12th of June 2011.

Evil that men do .....,, From Asifat Akanni, Iwo, Osun State The late Gani Faweihinmi was right. The events of January 15 1966 and June 12 1993 are negative spiritual forces haunting this country. Reason On both days the God given right of all Nigerians to choose their leaders and be ruled democratically was taken away by force. In both cases God was offended. In the words of Maurice de Tocqueville 1805 to 1859, “To fight against democracy is to fight against God Himself.” The world cannot but accommodate itself to the social state imposed upon it by Providence. The result of this offence is the reprobate spirit under whose influence the leaders and masses now operate. Cure June 12 should be proclamed National Reconciliation Day. It should be a solemn day in which all Nigerians shall ask for forgiveness from God and reconcile with each other and ask God to give us a new spirit. If not our leaders will continue to disappoint us like Bankole. Anonymous.

For Gbadegesin That was a very good write-up on the Nation’s backpage today sir, I agree with you completely. Anonymous.

My dear Segun, Sometimes I begin to wonder whether the effort you make to talk to us, as it where, thruogh your very cerebral column is ever read by those you think should read it - the political class, the judiciary, the elites of whatever hue or colouration. Sometimes I begin to think how much you agonise as if no body cares, as we continue our journey to only God knows where. But don’t be demoralized, continue the good crusade, did what the holy book says, ‘he who perseverest to the end shall be saved.’ Your bits these few weeks have been great. God is with you and the holoi poloi.

Continue the good work. We appreciate.

From Uwalaka Val, Porthacourt.

Prof., you are quite correct, we must confront the appostles of unitary system in this count if we must make progress. Many

of these people supporting the system enjoyed true federalism in the first republic, yet they are supporting unitary because it profits them. Alh. Adeboye Lawal, Felele Ibadan.

Good write-up. We need a true federal system where states will have thier destiny in thier hands. But, who leads the campagn?

Anonymous.

Segun, thank you for your piece. It is now left for us to read the hand writing on the wall. This country needs nothing but disintegration. The time is now. From Bassey Effiong. EKET. Prof., you are deep into my heart, please keep it up. From Olasunbo Olalekan Olakunle Ibadan.

Dear Segun, I can’t but agree with you wholly on the issue of federalism. For us to avert the doom that might come, we must do all we can to pressure the 7th National Assembly to re-visit the issue of true federalism or outright Co-federation. From Hon. Andy Egbadon.

My dear ‘Sege’, I have been diligently following up your very well thougth out write-ups and down to earth submissions, especially, the present serial ‘A question of structure’. When I read from you and a couple of other great writers. I have hope that Nigeria will get better someday. Please don’t loose steam, so we don’t loose faith in Nigeria. – From Tony Iheanacho - Silverbird, Jos. Rather than using this as the basis of the union; I feel that there are certain fundamentals that can make a union work and these are equality, equity, justice and for the constituent units to have a strategic say/lion over the exploration and exploitation of resources found within the area. Power should devolve from the centre to the constituent units as operated in the US. - Abdulmalik Ibrahim Egbon Gbade, eku ohun, agba koni tan lorile. l read your article of yesterday and felt disturbed about happenings in my nation Nigeria. Nitoripe bilu odun, ko somo talika tio rode emu. Pls. write more about Oyo state and Okeogun in particular because Ajimobi must not fail. Tori ile lati nkeso rode. From Yinka Ogundokun.

The masses are now acguiring nihilistic tendency like Boko Haram. This message has been made known to all our Presidents since 1999 even Oputa Panel. From S P C Aniamaka.

Delta State On your fourth article, “A question of structure,” one is tempted to ask that is there anybody listening to the clamour of intelectual people like you, Segun, calling for the restructuring of the country along true federalism since 1999, when democracy first came newly after the disengagement of the military from the political scene after about 38 years in power imposing a unitary system of goverment on the country? It is a pity that former President Obasanjo who took power in 1999 was also a military product who once ruled the country and was relunctant to dismantle the structure the military left behind. He was not favourably disposed to the convening of a genuine national sovereign conference where the question of structure would have been thorougly discussed, instead he selfishly organised an unproductive national conference and barred members not to discuss about true federalism. He also attempted to teleguide members aiming at amending the constitution to perpetuate himself in power. With this scenario, if President Goodluck Jonathan will want to

• Sanusi

go down in history as the best President Nigeria will ever have, let him accede to the request and clamour of the Progressives in convening a genuine National Sovereign Conference where the restructuring of the country and other national issues will be ironed out without any restriction as was the case during Obasanjo’s so called national conference. I quite agree with you that this nation will not know genuine national unity or make real progress until we are able to confront and defeat the enemy of progress whose power is to appropriate as much of the national patrimony as they can. From Prince Adewumi Agunloye.

Re: A curse on the continent. Sir, I believe that Africans are the architects of our own misfortune. We all must realise that the path to a new prosperous Africa starts with a renewal of the minds of Africans. Issues such as hereditary presidency, perpetual despots in civilian clothing, corruption, tribalism and nepotism must be stopped. It is also important that we Africans must realise that our destiny lies in our own hands and the need for us to plan for generations yet unborn. If not, we shall only be revolving in a vicious cycle. Africa has remained ‘a prosperous potential state’ for too long. It is high time we all ensured that its potential is actualized. The Europeans, Americans and Asians won’t do it for us. From Olumide Soyemi, Bariga.

Sir, Re. Islamic Banking: Mr. Sanusi, the Governor of our country’s Central Bank appears to be a man we can hardly take seriously. Will he print separate money for the non-interest economy, thereby dualising our economy? Will he use money generated from the interest-based system to finance the Islamic non-interest platform or vice-versa?

The sum of our Central Bank Governor’s antics is that he is posing as a religion’s champion or hero to hide his crass incompetence. He should be directed by his employer to re-read the text of the Oath of Office that he took, whilst holding a copy of the Holy Qur’ an, that he would serve all of us, honestly and fairly, regardless of creed or tribe. From Adebayo Adedayo, Akure, OD. Your story entitled “A curse on the continent?” was a wonderful write-up and a naked truth. The question you asked in one of the paragraphs of this master piece that “When does religion - a personal spiritual matter - become a political weapon? Nigeria is a multi ethnic nation with christianity and islam as the main religions. We have the two religions in the northern and southern parts of Nigeria. My question is this, “why are our northern moslem brothers practicing the islamic religion quite different from their southern moslem brothers? Why I asked this qustion is for one reason - we have the southwest, southeast and southsouth. In these areas, I have not heard, seen or read from the papers where our southern moslem brothers attack or kill the christians, or where the christians who are the majority in this part of the country attack or kill the moslems. Let our leaders come out from their shells and address. Anonymous.

Ghana friendly cancelled over London riots Pg. 24

AHEAD OF LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS QUALIFIER

NFF hires German assistant for six weeks Pg. 24

Nation Wednesday, August 10, 2011

PAGE 23

FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP

History favours Nigeria over England Pg. 24

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

FIFA UNDER-20 WORLD CUP

History favours Nigeria over England •Ganiu Ogungbe fit again

T

HE records favour the Flying Eagles to beat England Wednesday and qualify for the quarterfinal of the U-20 World Cup in Colombia.

While the Flying Eagles have played in two championship games in this competition, England’s best performances were recorded in 1993, when they placed third, and in 1981 when they reached the last four.

England have lost more games than they have won in this tournament – they lost 14 games, drew nine and won eight.

In the 2009 edition of the competition, they crashed out in the first round with a mere point.

And at Colombia 2011, the Young Three Lions barely squeezed through to the knockout stage as one of four “third best teams” after they recorded three goalless draws in Group F playing against North Korea, Argentina and Mexico.

Nigeria, on the other hand, has been on cruise control in this year’s tournament after they finished the first round with the maximum nine points from three games and fired home a record 12 goals.

England are in Colombia after they reached the last four of last year’s European U19 Championship, where they lost 3-1 to Spain.

Ex-Aston Villa defender Noel Blake who qualified them for the World Cup has since been replaced by the experienced Brian Eastick, who has been involved with the England U18s, U19s and now U20s.

He also headed the football academies of Newcastle United and Birmingham City.

As has often been the case, the English Premier League clubs have again held back their best young players from featuring in this competition and so the likes of Jack Wilshere of Arsenal who qualify to be in Colombia were not available for selection.

However, England have still been able to line up a defence that has yet to concede a goal in three games.

This is not surprising because three of the six ever-presents thus far play there – giant goalkeeper Jack Butland and defenders Reece Wabara and Adam Smith.

Butland from Birmingham City has caught the eye with his composure between the sticks and even saved a penalty against a Mexican team who controlled their clash from start to finish but could not find their way past the 1.96m tall shot stopper.

Six-time African champions Nigeria have not been shy about the intention of becoming the second African team after Ghana to be world champions at this level.

•Nigeria's Abdul Ajagun, right, celebrates after scoring against Guatemala during a U-20 World Cup group D soccer match in Armenia, Colombia, Sunday

Nigerian Judokas set for World Championships

T

HE President of the Nigeria Judo Federation, Isa Matori is set to lead seven Nigerian Judokas to the World Judo Championships slated for Palais Omnisports de ParisBercy,Paris.The French Judo Federation will be hosting the 31st World Judo Championships from 23 to 28 August 2011.

Amongst those expected to fly the country's flag high are Rabo Adikwu, Ayanmife Alabi, Abass Salisu, Emeka Onyemachi and Nsa Nka Abasi. In the female category, Franca Audu and Agatha Justina are also set to make the country proud, while Coach Dickson Egbowo and Referee De-Souza Alexander are on the Nigerian team.

However, the judokas will have to wait on the French embassy for visa to enable them embark on this trip as they have been asked by the embassy to wait till next week Thursday to know their fate.

Meanwhile, the Judokas have also commended the National Sports Commission(NSC) for ensuring that the camping session for the All Africa Games commenced early. In a chat with the NationSport one of the Judokas, Rabo Adikwu stated that the camp site was conducive. This he believes has gingered most of the Judoks. Meanwhile twenty eight Judokas are already in camp for the All Africa Games. Fourteen will, however, be selected for the Games slated for Mozambique.

This will be the 5th time the World Judo Championships have been held in Paris, and they will see the best French and international competitors compete against each other during 6 days of tough combat. Although Japan, the country of origin of judo, is one of the clear favourites to win medals at

•Await Visa, to travel August 19

By Stella Bamawo these World Championships, Nigeria is also a serious contender, as are the United States, Greece, South Korea and Brazil.

“We will be victorious against England on Wednesday because like Ghana we want to be world champions after being the best in Africa,” declared Flying Eagles skipper Ramon Azeez.

Azeez is one of four Muslim players in the team who are observing the Muslim Ramadan fasting but will now skip it on match day Wednesday.

It seems the fasting caused them to struggle against the Saudis and they have accepted to “buy out” the fasting on match days.

The hot weather and the fact that they have already played two matches at the Estadio Centenario in Armenia would give Nigeria additional edge in this firstever U20 World Cup clash with England.

Central defender Ganiu Ogungbe is fit again after he missed the final group game against Saudi Arabia on account of a right ankle injury he received against Croatia.

Striker Olanrewaju Kayode, who also suffered another horrific tackle that caused him to fall head first in the Saudi Arabia match, has been given the all-clear after skull scan revealed he did not suffer any other problem.

Coach John Obuh favourite Terry Envoh resumed training Monday with a workout at the gym in the morning and special drills later evening in Montenegro, outside Armenia.

Forward Envoh has yet to feature at Colombia 2011 after he suffered a thigh strain during a bruising warm-up match against Mexico in Panama City last month.

The Sharks of Port Harcourt star netted the goal that gave Nigeria a sixth African Youth Championship at the expense of Cameroon in May in South Africa.

He was an ever-present as Nigeria reached the final of the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Ghana friendly cancelled over London riots T

UESDAY night's friendly match between Nigeria and Ghana, slated for Watford’s Vicarage Road Stadium, has been called off, Hertfordshire police have confirmed.

The match becomes the latest in an increasingly long line of midweek football games to be called off as a result of the London riots, joining the England and The Netherlands international friendly and four Carling Cup games.

A statement released by Hertfordshire police read: “The planned friendly between Nigeria and Ghana at Watford FC tonight (August 9) has been cancelled as a precaution due to potential demands on Hertfordshire Constabulary as a result of what is happening in London.

“The decision was not taken lightly and was done in full consultation with the club. We hope those fans who had been due to

attend the game will understand the reasons why. Any fan who had been planning to travel is being asked not to come to Watford.

“In relation to tickets, please visit the Watford FC website where details will be announced in due course.”

It is not yet known if the game between the Super Eagles and the Black Stars will be scheduled for a later date, as has already been suggested for the England v Netherlands match.

Siasia disappointed over cancellation

N

IGERIA’s COACH Samson Siasia has expressed his disappointment at the cancellation of Tuesday's international friendly match against Ghana.

The game was due to be hosted at Watford FC's Vicarage Road stadium, but the club were forced to call off the game on the advise of the Hertforshire Constabulary.

Siasia and his players were left to contemplate the effects "We are very disappointed that the game has been called off.

"We were looking forward to playing this game, and the players were also very prepared and confident despite the fact that we

didnt have a full house and we had just one training session.

"I also spoke to the NFF officials and they are also disappointed that this game did not hold.

"But there is nothing anybody can do. The police have the final

authority and if they say they cannot guarantee our security, then we have to take it like that."

Organisers are working hard to reschedule the game, with November being looked at as a possible date for the fixture.

P

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja need to be careful, tactical and technical in playing with such an opponent team as England."

“If we scale through in this match, then we are sure to go very far in this championship which means, we have to be more dedicated, focused and improve on the existing team-work so as to remain on track and hit the target of bringing the trophy” Urging the team to do everything possible to bring back Nigeria's lost glory in sports, Mark said: “It will be a great achievement if the trophy is brought to Nigeria at the end of this tournament and this can only be achieved through dedication, teamspirit and patriotism”.He assured the team of the continued support of the government and people of Nigeria.“We are in prayers for you to do the nation proud once again”. He concluded.

NFF hires German assistant for six weeks

S

UPER Falcons technical assistant, Thomas Obliers will be in the country for six weeks.

The German who has since reunited with the team is expected back in his native country after Nigeria's second leg Olympic qualifier against Cameroon in September.

Falcons confront the Indomitable Lioness on August 28 at the Abuja National Stadium for the first leg.

NationSport gathered from an insider that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)

•Eucharia

By Ejiro Femi-Babafemi decided to bring back the German to ensure that it qualifies for the Olympics.

His contract had since terminated after the teanm's elimination from the FIFA Women's World Cup. As it is now there is no way we can leave it in the hands of Eucharia Uche. We cannot take chances. The Olympics is the only event that we have left after we failed to qualify for the All Africa Games, said the source.

'His contract will be renewed if the Super Falcons qualify for the Olympics in London next year,' said the source.

His salary for the period was not known.

Prior to the Women's World Cup, Obliers was receiving 16,000 USD monthly for the four months he spent with the team. He was hired in March for his technical expertise.

A native of Cologne, Obliers returned to his family after the competition.

Obliers, who was part of Falcons

coaching crew at the just concluded women's world cup believes that the overall performance of Falcons was good but they had problems scoring goals.

"The girls played well but they have to learn to score goals. If we had scored against France the tournament could have favoured us. Against Germany we had chances to score but could not utilize them.

Our fitness was better than that of the Germans, I am surprised we didn't win that match and as for Canada we should have scored 3 to 4 goals.

"We had a strong team with good defence, good in endurance and marking ability.

The bottom line is that we didn't score goals. Scoring was our problem" the German said.

On Nigeria's chances to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics Obliers replied by saying "Our performance at the world cup was very good. If we repeat same performance Cameroon stand no chance.

It is going to be a tough match but I know we will qualify" he said.

Obliers was part of Tuesday’s morning training.

HE coach of Nigeria Beach Soccer team, Adamu Audu heaved a sigh of relief after seeing the Super Sand Eagles avoid powerhouse, Brazil as Venezula emerged as Nigeria’s remaining opponent in Group C of the 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Italy.

Having won 13 out of 15 editions of the Beach Soccer World Cup (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), Brazil is by far the most successful beach soccer national team in the world.

Brazil defeated Nigeria 4-3 in the group stage of the 2009 edition held in Dubai, but in a chat with NationSport, Adamu believes it will be a different game if both team should qualify from the group and meet in any of the knock out stages.

“Brazil being the world champion, we have respect for them, though it is a good thing for us not to be in the same group. I know by the grace of God, when we qualify from our group, we might meet them in the semi final and this time around it will be a different case. The team has never been into the semi final before and this is our target.

We want to be among the top four teams in the world and I believe we

By Akeem Lawal

can achieve that with our level of preparations so far”, he said.

Taihiti are making their first appearance at the Beach World Cup and Adanu believes the team will not be underrated.

“Just like Madagascar did at the Africa Championship and nobody expected that. If we had been in another group, Madagascar could have qualified for the World Championship. So we don’t look down on the names, be it

Venezuela or Tahiti. We will come all out to face them as our aim is to win all our matches in the group”, he told NationSport.

The team has been in camp since August 1 and Adamu hinted that there has not been injury concern.

“My old players are still intact, those that were runners up in Morrocco and there is no injury with any of the players and I thank God. When we get to Portugal for our Europe camp and play about two to three games, I think with the exposure the boys will do the country proud”.

•Siasia

•Ladi Martins

Obafemi Martins’ brother dies of heart problem

Rangers aim for WAFU L CUP glory A

•As action, Isoko for Mid-West zonal elimination

ADI MARTINS, the older brother of Nigeria international Obafemi Martins, died Monday in Lagos suspected to be of a heart problem.

MTNFootball.com learnt that Martins has struggled to eat normally for the past few days and when he finally had a meal Sunday morning, he began complaining of heart problem by evening.

He would give up the ghost at Doren Hospital in Ajah on the outskirts of Lagos the following day.

Obafemi Martins confirmed the shock passing away of his 27-year-old brother who also played professionally in Europe for some time.

Family member Otunba Kay David Lawson announced that Ladi will be buried at Victoria Garden Cemetery in Ajah, outskirts of Lagos, later Tuesday.

Before his death, Ladi's career as a footballer did not hit the headlines like his brother, Obafemi.

But he featured for AC Reggiana of Italy, FK Partizan of Serbia and Innsbrucker AC of Austria before returning to Nigeria. He also had an unsuccessful spell at Inter Milan.

It is the second time in three years that ‘Oba-goal’ will be left bereaved.

In July 2008, the Rubin Kazan striker lost his mother, Alhaja Sherifat Martins.

T

Bankers football gets N13m medical boost

FTER a 3-0 whitewash of Kwara United in the WAFU CUP Club competition in the last round, Rangers Interntional of Enugu have set their sights on emerging victorious at the expense of cup holders, Sharks of Port Harcourt when the curtains fall on the sub-regional tourney later in the year.

In a telephone chat with NationSport shortly after their 2-0 home win over Kwara United, the Technical Adviser of the Flying Antelopes, Alphonsus Dike stated that with the way their two opponents in Mighty Barolle of Liberia and Kwara United were dispatched with aplomb in the WAFU Cup competition thus far, it would be difficult for any of their future rivals to halt their progression to the

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri

summit of the sub-regional tourney.

“We have set our focus on winning the WAFU Cup competition. I believe that our victories over Mighty Barolle where we won 5-0 and Kwara United another 3-0 would have sent jitters down the spines of our future opponents. We are determined to usurp Sharks of Port Harcourt at the end of it all.” Dike boasted It would be recalled that Rangers had two consecutive wins over Kwara United 1-0 and 2-0 respectively to secure a berth at the next round of the WAFU Cup Club Competition.

Pensioneerz, Inter Enugu emerge Eastern champions

AHEAD OF LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS QUALIFIER

•To return to base after second leg

Nigeria relieved to avoid Brazil T

GULDER 5-A-SIDE FOOTBALL

Beat England, Mark urges F/Eagles RAISING the team spirit of the Flying Eagles at the ongoing World Youth Championship (WYC) in Colombia, the Senate President, Senator David Mark has urged the Flying Eagles to go all out and beat their England counterpart in the second round of the biennial tournament scheduled for today.

In the first round, the Flying Eagles beat Guatemala 5-0 and Saudi Arabia5-2.Mark, in a goodwill message to the team contained in a statement issued yesterday by his spokesman, Paul Mumeh, applauded the team-spirit of the players which has given them victory over their counterparts during the first round.But he cautioned the team to be very tactical in order to beat their England counterparts.

He said, “We have a great team that defeated Saudi Arabia in the last match, they will now clash with England. We

FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP

HE ancient city of Enugu was the ultimate centre for action in the Gulder 5-A-side elimination tournament for the South East zone last Thursday. The venue was Rangers FC training ground where the Pensioneerz FC of Enugu and Inter Enugu FC have emerged champions at the Eastern zonal finals.

The two teams, after three days of football battle with over 50 teams, emerged the ultimate flag bearers of the Eastern Nigeria that will go for the knockout stage in Lagos come September 5, 2011 when all the two teams from each of the seven regions of the country will gather for the final crackers.

In the tension soaked semi finals, that had a large turn-out of audience, The Pensioneerz defeated Gapps FC by 1-0 while Inter Enugu FC whipped Emubem FC by 2-1. These results set The Pensioneerz against Gapps for the final battle of supremacy. At the end, Inter Enugu FC was crowned champions after defeating Pensioneerz FC by 2-0. The game was full of fun, tension and has been described by fans of the two teams as “a high quality, action-packed soccer”.

Expressing his happiness after the match, the coach of Inter Enugu FC, Coach Okpara Fred said “it was not surprising that we are going to Lagos for the final showdown, we were there last year after emerging champions from the zone and it is good to note that we have successfully defended our title as the Eastern Champions” The coach commended the organizers of the competition, stating that “there has been an improvement on the overall organization of the game, compared to last year. The officiating is very professional but there is room for improvement” Coach Kingsley Omenazu of Pensioneerz FC on the other hand, said that though they are coming into the competition for the first time and “now that we have qualified to go to Lagos, we will not disappoint our fans and the whole of the states in the zone we are representing”

The Gulder 5 Aside zonal elimination train is currently in Oley Stadium in Isoko area of Delta State. All registered teams from the state and other neighboring states such as Edo, Ondo, Ekiti etc are to come to the stadium with all their playing kits, identification and authentication documents by 8 am on Wednesday August 10, 2011. Games will start same day after registration and the games will be played till Friday, August 12 when best two teams would have emerge to represent the zone in Lagos on September 5, 2011.

Ijebu-Ode Stadium and the NIS GYM Complex of the National Stadium will respectively host the last zonal contest of the Gulder 5-A-side Football competition.

The last three best teams will not only enjoy fame that may propel them into reckoning in the global world of football, they will also be financially empowered.

This, according to the Senior Brand Manager of Gulder, Mr. Ita Bassey, the last team standing will share among themselves N5million while the second and third best teams will go home with N2million and N1million respectively.

T

HE second edition of the yearly Bankers Football Championship received a N13 million boost last week from an Abuja based medical organization, Chrystal Mobile Health According to the coordinator of the Bankers football Championship, Ibrahim Idris, the boost will come in form of services and donation of equipments and drugs for the competition Malam Iibrahim said that the company will provide professional services, emergency services and drugs adding that these will ensure that the bankers do not sustain serious injuries and that the players get prompt attention He stated that banks have been given two weeks extension to register teams to enable them hold the draws for the championship to start in September pointing out that this year’s edition will be of very high quality

YOUTH SOCCER CLASSIC

Onigbinde to train 300 grassroots coaches

A

S part of the programme designed for the maiden edition of the ongoing Youth Soccer Classic tournament which kicked off on Monday at the Dipo Dina International Stadium Ijebu-Ode, there will be a Technical Seminar tagged ‘A 1-day technical seminar’ for 300 coaches by FIFA and CAF instructor, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, on Friday at Confluence Hotel, Ijebu-Ode, invitation are also extended to all premier leagues clubs in Nigeria.

The tournament, which is powered by ArabaNla Foundation, Abaj Sports Ltd in conjunction with the Nigerian Football Coaches Association, Ogun State chapter, is designed to serve as the largest recruitment platform in West Africa for foreign and local football scouts/agents and club officials to discover the hidden

football talents.

Over fifty-two clubs from the federation are in Ijebu-Ode with clubs from River State, Delta State, Plateau State, Benue State, F.C.T, Edo State, Osun State, Ondo State and others are jostling for the giant trophy donated by the Senate President David Mark.

Speaking with journalists during the opening ceremony program, former Super Eagles tactician who’s also the first indigenous coach to lead the Nigerian senior team to World Cup, Onigbinde stated that; “From the matches we have seen so far it can be confirmed that Nigeria are bound with football talents and all we have to do is to find a way in reaching them, developing them, monitoring them and guiding them aright and I think this is what this competition is all about.”

ADMONITION

TARGET

CAPACITY

Clergymen, politicians advised on peace

IGR to hit N1b

1,087 graduates trained

Plateau 28

Benue

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2011

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Ondo

Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

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Page 25

Call for safe water mounts W

HY are Nigerians blessed with so much water, yet majority of the people do not have enough to drink? What they do drink is often unhealthy, sourced from polluted wells, streams and rivers.

A firm, Goldwater Quality Services Limited, has weighed in on the matter, appealing that safe water should be available to all, and not just the privileged few who can almost buy anything they want.

Mr. Noel Oliver, the executive director of the water accessories-making company, said in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, that good and clean water should not be the exclusive right of some individuals. Rather, everyone should have access to the life-giving liquid. He also urged that Nigerians improve their sanitary habits in order to avoid diseases that thrive in unwholesome environments.

Oliver accompanied by the company's Business Development Director, Pastor Francis Ogah and Mr. Sanny Iyagba of the Business Development Unit, was speaking at the unveiling of water purifier, said to be useful to rural dwellers.

In those rural settings, drinking water is usually sourced from the local streams where residents also do their laundry.

Women and children file out from their homesteads with pots and sundry containers to the stream. They wade into the water, fill their containers and head home feeling fulfilled that they have met the water needs of the entire family. They drink it, cook and wash with it.

But experts say such water is unfit for

• Rural women fetch water from stream

Firm advocates use of purifier Urges government to tackle poverty From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

human consumption. Sundry diseases are associated with it.

Still, it is not peculiar to Nigeria. More than one billion people in the developing world have no safe drinking water or water for washing their food, hands and utensils before eating, while 2.4 billion have no adequate sanitation, Oliver said.

The pathetic situation leads to water-borne diseases (cholera, typhoid), water-related diseases (malaria, yellow fever, river

blindness, sleeping-sickness), trachoma, scabies and diarrhea, the last a leading childkiller in developing countries.

Said Oliver: “Improving access to clean water and sanitation will drastically reduce illness and death in poor countries,” the company’s executive director said. “Clean water supply reduces diarrhea-related deaths by up to 25 per cent, while improved sanitation reduces it by 32 per cent.

“It is regrettably observed that trachoma,

which is one of the commonest causes of blindness in the developing world, is linked to extreme poverty, which has prevented many people from having access to good drinking water and sanitation.

“It is triggered by bacteria that cause repeated conjunctivitis. It spreads quickly, especially where there is no good and reliable water for people to wash hands and faces regularly. Results have shown that there are six million new cases of these preventable diseases each year in Africa alone. Adequate and good water drinking habit and sanitation will help vulnerable people.

“In the quest to overcome all these related problems, the Goldwater Quality •Continued on Page 26

Police partner FCT on traffic management

T

•Mohammed

HE police authorities are set to collaborate with the task force set up by the Federal Capital Territotry (FCT) administration to monitor traffic on high-capacity bus routes. The collaboration is to make for effective service delivery.

Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim gave the indication when members of the Task Force visited him in his office.

The IGP who was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations, Mr. Audu Abubakar said the mandate of the task force is in line with the operations of the police.

He described the setting up of the task force as timely, assuring that the police will

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

cooperate with the FCT Administration’s transport scheme.

“The task force,” he said, “is timely and has made our job easier because of what we are observing in the FCT in recent times whereby some vehicles ply the road without registration number plates, some with foreign numbers while others with fake registration numbers.

“The task force and our velvet operation are working towards the same goal of bringing sanity to the transport system. We are ready to give you all the necessary support once the task force is fully

operational,” he added.

The chairman of the task force, Mr. Wilson Unougwu, an engineer, told the IGP that the bus routes extend to the states bordering the FCT and sought the assistance of law enforcement agencies, especially the police, to work effectively.

“We are here to solicit for the cooperation of the Nigeria Police Force because we have discovered that some of the bus routes are not within the jurisdiction of the FCT and we need your good offices to liaise with other states that share borders with the FCT,” he said.

It would be recalled that on May 24, 2011, the FCT transport licence scheme was launched to regulate the transport sector.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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Call for safe water mounts •Continued from Page 26 Services Limited, in partnership with one of the leading water filter manufacturing companies in the United States of America, Crystal Quest, with over 30 years experience in water filter business, is introducing the unique water purifier."

Oliver also stated that the water filter pitcher is an effective response to the challenges of safe water in Nigeria, especially in the rural areas, where the people suffer to get water.

After a careful examination and laboratory analysis of Nigeria's water, the water filter pitcher was said to have been recommended for usage among families in the country.

The executive director added: "The filter is uniquely prepared to fit into the present realities of water challenges that cut across

the societal paradigm, and to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"The poor are being considered as major beneficiaries, as we have purposely rejected every design that will make the product unaffordable by the poor. Our desired goal is to ensure that every person, no matter the status in the society, must have access to good drinking water."

The executive director stressed that the crystal quest pitcher water is 50 times cheaper than bottled water and has the capacity to remove caliform bacteria.

He said poor quality drinking water and lack of sanitation had been responsible for 80 per cent of diseases, killing more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

Oliver added that drinking water problems would be solved by the water filter pitcher, which was described as very cheap.

A

N organisation known as Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) has called on the Federal Government to be gender sensitive while preparing the annual Appropriation Bill.

WARDC said what it called a "gender budget" if put into operation, will reflect the government's commitment to various treaties, conventions and declarations on women and the girl-child.

This was the outcome of a day workshop held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The

• Mr. Noel Oliver, Executive Director of Goldwater Quality Services Limited (right) and Pastor Francis Ogah, Director, Business Development

Centre urges gender-sensitive budgeting Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

workshop had the theme: 'Engaging The Government On Gender Budget Analysis; A Road Map To Gender Accountability' The guest lecturer, Kehinde Olayode said gender-budgeting is about taking gender is taken into account in policies, processes and

WARDC said gender budgeting if put into operation, will reflect the government's commitment to various treaties, conventions and declarations on women and the girl-child

practices, stressing that the ultimate goal of gender mainstreaming is to achieve equality.

According to him, gender budgeting involves the analysis of national budgets from the perspective of their impact on women and men, boys and girls, pointing out that it [gender budgeting] is not about separate budgets for women or men, rather a dissection of the government budget to establish its gender differentials.

He said it would also appreciate different needs, privileges, rights and obligations of women, and men, and boys and girls in society, as well as recognising the different contributions of men and women in production of goods, services and human labour

Olayode noted that the benefits of Gender Budgets is a way of implementing gender related commitments, show commitment to gender equity, promote efficiency, instrumental in improving accountability and achieving effective policy implementation, promotes transparency and promote good governance through service delivery “All line ministries were required annually to prepare a report on the implications of their expenditure and sometimes also revenue for women and men respectively,” the lecturer stated, just as he equally noted challenges of conducting such in Nigeria.

The BIRS has employed over 600 fresh graduates working with the Service to help generate revenue for the overall development of Benue State. Not even the existing three universities in the state have employed that number of graduates.

By the end of August, the Service would have employed 831 people

• The headquarters of Benue Internal Revenue Service

NTERNALLY Generated Revenue, IGR, earned by the Benue State Government since 2010 has been administered transparently and put to judicious use, the chairman of the state Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) Mr Andrew Ayabam has declared.

Addressing journalists, Ayabam regretted that some opposition politicians have been keen to discredit the achievements recorded by the BIRS in shoring up the revenue base of the state.

Ayabam spoke to reporters after a facility tour of the BIRS Corporate Headquarters and its new zonal offices in Gboko, Aliade, High Level, Wadata and Adikpo.

He said the restructuring of the revenue framework of the state has put it on a footing that cannot be undermined.

Ayabam said the BIRS has the highest number of fresh graduates who have been employed to drive an information-based revenue generation scheme for the state.

I

Benue IGR to hit N1b soon From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

His words: “As I address you gentlemen of the press, the BIRS has employed over 600 fresh graduates working with the Service to help generate revenue for the overall development of Benue State. Not even the existing three universities in the state have employed that number of graduates. By the end of August, the Service would have employed 831 people.

"The people of Benue State deeply appreciate the work that the BIRS has done for them in the face of economic recession and we will not be distracted because we are working in the interest of the people. The bigger picture for Benue State supersedes destructive falsehood being peddled online by opposition politicians. Even online where the news item claiming the mismanagement of

internally generated revenue from Benue State was posted, majority of respondents faulted the false claims, citing the wonderful physical achievements that we have recorded in recent times," Ayabam noted.

He informed that he took over the management of the BIRS after a dismal N120million was generated for the entire 2009 fiscal year as IGR and has since grown the monthly IGR of the state to N500million, while the BIRS is working to hit the N1billion mark soon.

He said: “I decided to conduct this media tour of our new offices to ensure that the public knows what is happening and how far we have gone in implementing outlets to ensure the effective management of BIRS at all levels. These offices are funded and run in line with best practices in revenue generation.

We have nothing to hide and we shall always remain accountable to the public through the media. An organisation that runs weekly phone-in programmes on tax matters cannot be accused of hiding facts from the people of the state”.

The BIRS chairman stated that nothing untoward was happening at the agency, advising Benue people to continue to cooperate with the agency in order to reposition the finances of the state in this challenging period.

He said that politics should be played in line with decorum and not aimed at destroying public institutions that have lived above board and have performed beyond the set targets for it.

"In 2009, nobody knew that the BIRS existed when its performance was below par. No politician made baseless allegations because the contributions of the agency were minimal. Now that the agency has been reformed and immensely contributing to the infrastructural development of Benue State, it has become an object of political mudslinging, which is unfortunate and should be discouraged by well meaning Benue people,” he said.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

Sultan admonishes journalists

S

ULTAN of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III has advised journalists to adhere to the ethics of their profession in order not to publish reports that might plunge the country into crisis.

He said reports should be factual, unbiased and objective so that the reporter will not go contrary to the rules of his profession.

Unprofessional reports, he said, "can be dangerous to the country."

The Sultan said journalists' reports should not be such as to cause a civil war or disharmony among the components of the nation.

"As professionals, you have to strike a balance between leaders and followers on issues and events by ensuring honest, sincere and transparent reports get to the readers according to the ethics of your profession," he said.

He noted that the profession is instrumental to building the bridge of peace and unity through objective and positive reportage.

"Journalists should always be patriotic and positive in their practice," he added.

The revered royal father spoke in Sokoto at a forum organised for journalists in the state by the Sultanate Council.

"Reporting what will suit your mind is a deviation from the ethics of journalism," he pointed out.

Sa'ad who is also the PresidentGeneral Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) commented on the sighting of the

27

From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

moon as well as Islamic banking.

He said Islam is a straight-forward religion guided by the holy Qur'an and the teachings and practice of the Prophet.

"As long as we do not deviate from the Islamic tenets as prescribed by Allah, which is spiritual, I believe nothing is wrong."

He said: "We have a national moonsighting committee chaired by retired Group Captain Usman Jibrin, and similar committees across the 36 states including the FCT apart from subcommittees in respective states with proper liaisons."

It is through these mechanisms that he gets his information on the appearance of the moon. It is not a unilateral thing, he stressed.

Regarding Islamic banking, the Sultan said there is nothing to prove that it will Islamise the country. He explained that it is aimed at encouraging Muslims to avail themselves of business opportunities.

"On this there is no compromise," he said, "and let's not [dwell] on that but face the realities of life for human survival by improving our security, power and food production challenges. Sa'ad said "some Christian leaders including politicians are not against it and Nigeria is not a secular state because we have two spiritual faiths, Islam and Christianity, which we always refer to while seeking for intervention of God." On Boko Haram, the royal father said the military should guard against colossal damage and the loss of life, especially that of the innocent.

He described the inauguration of the Galtamari Committee as apt, adding that engaging leaders of the sect in a dialogue is a good way to save the country unnecessary loss of life.

‘Maintain public facilities’

T

HE Tutor-General/ Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Education District 11, Mrs. Ajibike Ogunsanwo has appealed to principals and school administrators to ensure that facilities provided for the implementation of Eko Project in the state are judiciously used.

Ogunsanwo, who gave the charge at the district community awareness day which held at the premises of the State Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Maryland, said it is not sufficient to work hard on the implementation of the project; facilities provided must also be well maintained.

She said the focus of the Babatunde Fashola administration in initiating the World Bank financed Eko project was to improve learning in schools through the development of teachers, provision of infrastructural and instructional materials and improvement of teaching and learning

By Miriam Ndikanwu

environment.

“It is heartwarming to report that most of our schools in the district have achieved over 70 per cent in improved learning environment; all our schools can now boast of ICT-propelled instructional materials which have made both teaching and learning interesting and enjoyable,” she said.

She said the impact of the implementation has encouraged regular attendance of students and teachers in the school assemblies and classes, while adding that incidences of truancy, roaming the streets, vandalism and negative manifestation of youthful exuberance have drastically reduced.

“It is hoped that by the time the project runs its full course, the overall improvement would have gone above the 90 per cent mark.”

Ogunsanwo said the advocacy programme was geared towards showcasing the impact of the Eko project. “It is gladdening to report

I am very positive we shall be celebrating improved teaching and learning outcomes which will be manifested in improved academic performance both at internal and external competitive examinations

T

HE promise by the chairman of the Presidential Committee set up by the Federal Government to look into the problems of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), Mr. Steve Oronsaye, that it will work to improve the Commission's operations and processes has brought excitement to workers of the commission.

Oronsaye also said the committee will not witch-hunt the Commission's workers or recommend anyone's sack.

The setting up of the Presidential Committee had instilled fear in many workers, some apprehensive that they might soon be relieved of their service. But with the pronouncement in Port Harcourt

by Orosanye that all the committee would do is to find facts and present them as they were, has brought joy and excitement to the workers.

A middle of the cadre staff of the commission who pleaded anonymity told The Nation last weekend that many workers were gripped by panic but on hearing the statement made by the former Head of Service, excitement and joy replaced their fear.

"I am sure some of the workers would give testimonies in church because the situation was really tense. There was fear that many may be caught in the vortex of the intense power struggle at the top which has culminated in the setting up the Presidential Committee. "You know that in a place like this, many people have sympathy for this and that and once it is discovered that you are for this or for that, anything could happen if the game changes. But thank God, the gentleman has promised that nobody would be sacked or relived of his duties. That alone secures the jobs of all those in the board and cleaners as well," he stated.

When the Presidential Committee visited the corporate headquarters of the interventionist agency, Oronsaye had promised to unearth the truth about what he called 'bad press' and make

•Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw, member, Presidential Committee on the Problems of NDDC, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, Chairman of the Presidential Committee and Mr. Chibuzor Ugwoha, MD/CEO, NDDC during the inaugural meeting of the Committee with management staff of the NDDC in Port Harcourt

Oronsaye's pledge excites NDDC workers

By Austin Avwode

appropriate recommendations.

His words: "Our committee is here because of the bad press reports against the NDDC. It is our work to find out what is true and what is not and make appropriate recommendations. It is our expectation to make NDDC come out better than it is."

But a Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, Chief Livinus Okoroafor, while reacting to the action of the Federal Government, said the Presidential Committee owes the Niger Delta in particular and the country in general a lot of

responsibilities. Okoroafor argued that the Oronsaye-led Committee has a rare opportunity to put things right in the NDDC if it must achieve the objectives for which it was set up.

He said there should be no overlapping of functions and that the chairman of the board and the managing director/chief executive officer will not clash again.

"My first reaction is to thank Mr President for setting up the Presidential Committee to look into the problems of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). It shows that the president is abreast of

developments in the commission and he wants to be sure that things

that since the first year of the project implementation in our schools in 2009, the visible physical infrastructural and instructional inputs have resulted in many academic laurels won by our students.”

She listed the academic achievements to include 2010 schools debate which was won by CMS Senior Girls Bariga, overall Best Speaker in the state by Surakatu Jumoke of Model College Igbokuta among others.

The Permanent Secretary expressed optimism that by next year when the project will be in its third year, the district would have improved by over 80 per cent.

“I am very positive we shall be celebrating improved teaching and learning outcomes which will be manifested in improved academic performance both at internal and external competitive examinations,” she said.

“She appealed to parents to help complement the effort of government and the schools by monitoring their wards in and out of school, ensuring that the spend quality time on their academic work instead of engaging in time wasting and fruitless peer-group, youthful frivolities.

“I want to enjoin parents to make available to their wards good food, clean uniforms and necessary textbooks and writing materials not supplied by the government.”

She also stressed the need for parents to be more involved in what is happening in their children’s schools through constant visitation and close monitoring to clarify things that are not understood. are done properly in a way that the overall objectives of government in setting up the agency will not be defeated by internal squabbles and egoistic bickering.

"I want to appeal to the chairman, he is a seasoned technocrat and an administrator, he should not leave the place without a thorough delineation of jobs in the place.

There are some laws there that are not in consonance with the civil rules procedures in the country".

On his part, the Managing Director/CEO of NDDC, Mr. Chibuzor Ugwoha, while welcoming the committee, assured that the Commission would facilitate the work of the committee by providing all information required to complete the task promptly.

Ugwoha enjoined them to assist the Commission in settling some grey areas in the Commission's operations and processes, to enable the NDDC come out stronger and better.

The Committee was set up two weeks ago by the Federal Government to, among other things, assess and evaluate a sample of some NDDC projects, evaluate the contractor's prequalification process, evaluate the roles and relationship of the Board, Management and Staff of the Commission, as well as evaluate the procurement practices of the Commission and its compliance to the letter and spirit of the Public Procurement Act.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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‘Focus on people-oriented programmes’

Demolition: Trade groups hail Fayemi T

•Fayemi

RADE groups in Ekiti State have commended the state government on the demolition of illegal structures in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

In separate addresses to journalists at the capital, the groups noted that meaningful progress cannot be made with the current features of Ado-Ekiti, even as they added that the physical condition of the capital before the demolition would not attract intending and serious-minded investors. The state government had said that the exercise was meant to serve as launch pad for its urban renewal project.

The groups observed that with the current experiences of traffic gridlocks everywhere in Ado-Ekiti and shops and kiosks positioned haphazardly at locations that hamper both

Clergymen, politicians advised on peace

P

EACE among the various ethnic and religious groups in Plateau State has been identified as the major avenue through which meaningful development can be achieved.

In view of this, preachers of the gospel of Christ as well as politicians in the state have been urged to preach peace to their followers and encourage peaceful coexistence among the people.

This advice was given in Jos when the Irigwe Ministers’ Forum paid a visit to Mr. Audu Adere, member representing Rukuba/Irigwe State Constituency at the State House of Assembly.

Speaking through their leader, Rev. Yakubu Ngwe, the Ministers stated that peace is the cardinal factor toward achieving development especially now that Nigeria is a democratic dispensation.

Plateau From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

The forum also urged their representative to do what is right for the people with the fear of God, maintaining that all lawmakers should endeavour to carry out their legislative functions for the benefit of the citizenry and to the glory of God. Responding, Mr. Adere who is also the Deputy Majority Leader of the House appreciated the visit, saying he will abide by the advice given him as “no government can exist without peace hence, the search for peace cannot be compromised.”

He said: “The present peace experienced in the state should not, in any way, be sacrificed for our selfish desires.”

Oshiomhole seeks govt, church rapport

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DO State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has sued for the sustenance of cordial relations existing between the government and the church as he pledged to deepen the engagement between it and the government in the area of educational development.

Comrade Oshiomhole dropped the hint while declaring open the 2011 plenary session of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Edo State chapter, held in Benin-City.

Represented by his Deputy, Dr. Pius Odubu, Oshiomhole recalled the support of the church in its revenue generation drive through tax.

He said: “I recall, in particular, CAN’s forthrightness and decisive support for our quest for appropriate taxation. Today, the modest progress we have made in raising internally-generated revenue is due to the support we received from critical stakeholders such as CAN.” The governor told the gathering that

Edo government reversed the decision of the Ministry of Education to charge churches for the use of facilities of public schools.

While commending the church for their prayers for his administration, the Comrade Governor charged the Christian community to continue to pray for peace and harmony in the country.

Earlier in his address, the Anglican Bishop of Benin dioceses and chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Edo State, Rt. Rev. Peter Imasuen called for a re-orientation among individuals and families in order to enhance a better society.

He prayed for sustenance of the existing good rapport between the government and the church, while urging the government to prevail on some of its agents still harassing church vans in pursuit of taxes.

The theme of this year’s CAN plenary session is “Building a better Society.”

Ekiti From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

human and vehicular movements impossible, such a move from the state government which has been long due can win only commendation from the sincere public.

The Are Oloja of Ekiti State and Iyaloja of Ado-Ekiti, Chief (Mrs.) Waye Oso, observed that Lagos State would not have become a firstgrade settlement today in the world if the Fashola-led administration had not embarked on demolition of illegal structures, adding that if Ekiti State would develop, it would start from the capital city.

She said that Governor Fayemi has done what past governors of the state never had the courage to do, noting that all members of her union are strongly in support of a move that, • Emir Of Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu (Left), with the Kaigama of Dass who is also hopefully, would reverse the face of Ekiti and its economic fortunes through bringing Bauchi State Head of Service, Mr. Abdon Gin, during his courtesy visit to the Emir in Dass, Bauchi State PHOTO: NAN investors.

Also, a notable leader of the O’odua People’s Congress (OPC) in Ekiti State, Prince Adeniyi Adedipe, who observed that some of the members of the Congress were affected including himself, said that only enemies of HE Federal Capital Territory Administration progress would place hurdles or complain is set to release the sum of N5m to 50 repentant about government’s moves which it described commercial sex workers after their as bold and worthy.

“I am not saying this because I want attention rehabilitation.

Indications have emerged that the first set of or credit from anybody, but the truth is that From Bukola Amusan, Abuja Governor Fayemi is making progress here in repentant commercial sex workers undergoing each as take-off grant and a start-up kit the state and there are evidences of this rehabilitation and skills acquisition training at the during the graduation which is slated for Federal Capital Territory Centre for Rehabilitation, particularly in the capital city. next month.

“It is a saying that ‘it is with smarts and Lugbe would be graduating next month.

They would however be entitled to The ex-commercial sex workers who have been pains that one receives tribal mark incisions, another N100,000 after six months if there but on healing, it becomes beauty and undergoing training at the centre for the past three is satisfactory reports of judicious use of enjoyment. Those who do not know what this months after the FCT administration announced the initial take-off grant by an assessment effort means are the ones complaining now.” clampdown on the activities of commercial sex team. Three months after, they would be workers in the city would be given a sum of N100, 000 given another N60, 000 which brings their total take-off grant to N260, 000 each.

According to the Coordinator of Society Against Prostitution and Child Labour in Nigeria (SAP-CLN), Mrs. Grace Adogo whose non-governmental organisation is in charge of the rehabilitation and training of the repentant commercial sex workers in Abuja, the graduation was earlier scheduled for August but was shifted to September due to the Ramadan fasting.

She explained that the girls, about 100 of them at the centre, have proved the FCT Administration right that they can be role models if properly trained and given all the necessary support as well as facilities to be on their own.

Mrs. Adogo, who spoke to journalists during a tour of the centre located along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road Abuja, noted that the centre would continue to provide necessary atmosphere for the rehabilitation and training of commercial sex workers who are ready to be integrated into the larger society. She advised members of the public to also assist the girls by accepting them back to the society rather than • Local government caretaker chairmen in Oyo State taking their oath of office in Ibadan stigmatising them.

N5m grant for 50 ex-commercial sex workers T Abuja

Council employs 200 youths

I

•Ikeja Local Government Chairman, ‘Wale Odunlami fielding questions to journalists during the recent environmental sanitation exercise in Lagos. With him are the chairperson, Ikeja 2E, Sade Odunlami and Mr Biodun Olaofe

N line with Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola’s vision to empower the people, especially the youth, the Caretaker Chairman, Ayedire Local Government Area, Mr. Gbenga Ogunkanmi, has recruited 200 youths under the Poverty Alleviation Programme.

At the inauguration of the recruitment of the cadets for the programme tagged “Ayedire Youths Empowerment Scheme” (AYES) at the council secretariat in Ile-Ogbo, the chairman said the youth empowerment scheme was to complement the effort of the state governor in alleviating the suffering of the people.

During the inauguration, 70, 000 exercise books and 1,000 packs of chalks were also distributed to pupils at both public and private schools across the council. Farming utensils like cutlasses, hoes, sprayers, farm chemical, chemically-treated maize, among others were also distributed to farmers.

Ogunkanmi declared that his administration is poised to promote agriculture, education, good and affordable healthcare delivery system in the council which, he said, form parts of Aregbesola’s 6-point integral action plan.

According to the chairman, some of the 200 employed youths would be trained as teachers and health officers; even as he disclosed that a

Osun From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

sizeable number of them would be integrated into the local government’s agricultural programmes which included livestock farming and crop plantation.

The chairman, who said it has become imperative that lives of the people at the grassroots are transformed, described maladministration and bad governance as the bane of development in the rural areas.

He said the AYES programme is to enhance the internally-generated revenue (IGR) of the local government as well as enhancing food security, thereby banishing poverty and hunger.

Ogunkanmi stressed that establishment of small and medium-scale enterprises would help the employed youths to be economically empowered.

Commenting on the programme, the Secretary to Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, said with the step of the council chairman on the AYES, education and agriculture, the IGR of the state would be boosted.

Adeoti, who described the chairman as a committed leader, maintained that the employment of the 200 youths has added value to Aregbesola’s and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government.

W

ORRIED by the spate of criminality in the Niger Delta Region, the Akwa Ibom State Government has advised the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to focus more on people-oriented programmes and projects, particularly job creation and youth empowerments.

The State Deputy Governor, Nsima Ekere, stated this when he received the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe and his Minister of State, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi who visited him at the Government House, Uyo. Ekere, who stood in for Governor Godswill Akpabio, stated that the state government had already done a lot in this regard and was prepared to partner with the ministry to

Akwa Ibom achieve more.

He explained that the state government, in the last four years, had created an enabling environment for the massive industrialisation of the state through the provision of world-class infrastructure including 205 new roads, an international airport, healthcare and educational facilities as well as an independent power plant.

The deputy governor added that with this enabling environment, the government would build one industry in each of the 31 local government areas of in the next four years.

Besides, he said the government was committed to the Ibom Industrial City project which would encompass a deep seaport, even as he solicited the partnership of the ministry to ensure its success.

Ekere commended the ministry on its development efforts so far and used the opportunity to hail the election of President Goodluck Jonathan, describing him as a pride to the Niger Delta region.

In his remarks, Chief Orubebe informed the

•Akpabio deputy governor that his ministry had executed a number of projects in the state including a N5b skills acquisition centre, which, on completion, would train youths in oil and gas, maritime, ICT and agricultural skills.

Chime reaffirms commitment to rural development

E

NUGU State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime has reiterated his government’s commitment towards providing basic infrastructural needs in all communities in the state.

Governor Chime made the statement when he received in audience the Igwes

‘We’ll continue vocational training for women’

By Oziegbe Okoeki

L

AGOS State Deputy Governor, Mrs Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire has promised that the state government will continue the vocational training for women and disbursement of soft loan in order to eradicate poverty in the society.

She stated this during the disbursement of soft loan for market women/men and smallscale business owners organised by Hon. Omowunmi Olatunji-Edet representing Oshodi-Isolo 2 state Constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly at Oshodi/Isolo Local Council Development Area of late.

Orelope-Adefulire said poverty in the society has resulted in crisis in many homes, adding that her ministry receives about 400 cases of wife-battering and 10 cases of abuse and molestation on a daily basis.

“We have embarked on different programmes that would assist women and one of them is vocational training which a continuous thing is,” she said.

While appreciating the initiator of the programme, which the Chairman of the LCDA described as first of its kind in the constituency, Adefulire urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the money in a way that will yield profit and ensure the sustenance of their businesses.

The initiator of the scheme, Hon. OlatunjiEdet explained that the essence of the programme which she described as a revolving loan is to reduce poverty in the society.

BRIEFS

Enugu and representatives of Obinofia Ndiuno and Obinofia Ndiagu communities in Ezeagu Local Government Area at Government House, Enugu.

He assured the people that his government will reconstruct and rehabilitate the road from Aguobu-Owa–Umana Ndiagu–Aguobu Umumba to Ugwuoba in Oji River as well as the road leading to the Songhai Modern Farm, Heneke.

He also assured them that government would extend the rural electrification project from Obinofia Ndiuno to their brother at Obinofia Ndiagu before the end of the year.

Governor Chime assured them that their request, which he said he didn’t take for granted, had been on the front burner at the previous executive council meetings. He promised to give them the required attention.

He noted that it is not in his administration’s character to accept gratitude from communities whose sons and daughters were appointed to serve in the state. He used the opportunity to

appreciate and commend communities which uniformly present their people for him to select for the service of the state.

Earlier in his speech, the Secretary of the Igwe-In-Council, Hon. Patrick Okoli, on behalf of the two communities, commended the governor for being magnanimous in choosing two of their children-Dr Mrs. Edith Okolo, Special Adviser on Health as well as Sir Augustus Victor Okolo as Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development-to help him in achieving his goal in industrialising the state.

While pledging their unflinching support and loyalty to him and his administration, Mr. Okoli noted that it is only during Sullivan’s administration that the two communities have been given the opportunity to serve.

Mr Okoli, who commended the governor for his good works, used the occasion to remind him of some of their pressing needs which included rehabilitation of Obinofia Ndiuno and Obinofia Ndiagu Road, completion of Aguobu-owa Road, the Umunna Ndiagu–Orie Njina in Aguobu, Umumba–Obinofia Ndiagu to Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, among others.

Borno distributes 2,200 tricycles

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OVERNOR Kashim Shettima of Borno State has, again, called on members of the Boko Haram sect to embrace dialogue as it is the only way grievances could be resolved.

The governor gave this advice while speaking at the launch of the first phrase of Keke NAPEP tricycles in Maiduguri.

Governor Shettima said that engaging in dialogue would enable the state government to tackle problems confronting the state and provide the much-needed development for the people.

He said the state government was distributing the 2,200 tricycles to the beneficiaries under the first phase of the scheme to provide Achaba (motorcycle) riders as a result of the ban on the use of motorcycles due to the current security challenges in the state.

He further disclosed that the state government purchased the tricycles at the rate

Borno of 350, 000 each but are being sold at N200, 000 to the beneficiaries with 14 months repayable period.

He urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the cycles in order to improve their well-being as well as serving as their own contribution to the socio-economic development of the state.

The governor revealed that the government-owned Borno Transport Commission is to manage the scheme in order to achieve the objectives and goals of the scheme.

The Borno State government purchased 5, 000 tricycles to be given out to Achaba riders and to other interested people to ease transportation problems which the people in Maiduguri and its environs are experiencing.

‘Prosecute sanitation offenders’ THE Delta State Special Task Force on Sanitation has urged mobile courts across the state to take up the responsibility of prosecuting people apprehended for sanitation offences and jail them if found guilty without an option of fine. This will, the task force disclosed, serve as a deterrent to others, even as it will serve as a means of emphasising on the importance of sanitation days and adhere to them.

The Warri South representative of the Delta Waste Management Board, Prince

Kenneth Efejuku who represented the Executive Chairman, Comrade Olori Magege, made the call in Warri during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise for the month of July, 2011.

He stressed that the arrest and prosecution of people will be a routine practice on sanitation days during which sanitation offenders are arrested and prosecuted by the Chief Magistrate. The approach, he said, would aid in enforcing seriousness of the board on the people on every sanitation exercise.

Ex-lawmaker loses father A community leader and father of Senator Tony Adefuye, Pa Carter Olufunmi AgbeDavies is dead. He died at his residence, 15, Olatilewa Street, Surulere Lagos at the age of 97 years.

Until his death, he was a retired Principal Accountant with the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

He is survived by children, grand and great grand children, brothers, uncles, cousins, in-laws and other relations, among

who are Mrs. Tomi Toluwalase, Chief Mrs. Sunmisola Tony Adefuye, a retired secretary to the board of the former Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation, the proprietress, Vicsum Group of Schools, Omole Phase II, Lagos State and the wife of frontline politician and elder statesman, Senator Anthony Adefuye, Mrs. Mofoluke Soyemi wife of the General Manager, Aresco Construction and Engineering Company Nigeria Limited Lekki, Lagos and Deaconess Yewande Aluko, among others.

•Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abiodun Idowu presenting a plaque tothe chairman of Iru-Victoria Island Local Council Development Area, Prince Muideen Daramola

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

Life

29

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Text only: 08023058761

UNICEF makes case for data-driven reporting – Page 32

Forbidden Fruit:: Fruit A test of the senses – Page 34

•Jasraj

• SEE PAGE 30

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Doyen of Indian classical music Pandit Jasraj, 83, is visiting Nigeria. At a dinner hosted in Lagos in his honour by Jim Ovia, he performed briefly alongside two of his disciples.

Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME was there.

•Ovia, Tyer and Jasraj

PHOTO BY: OZOLUA UHAKHEME

Octogenarian singer with sonorous voice

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HERE was pin-drop silence as he entered the medium-size hall at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. Escorted by his two disciples and the Managing Director/Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer of Visafone, Mr Sailesh Tyer, the doyen of Hindustani vocals, Pandit Jasraj, 83, walked in with a broad smile.

The Indians among the selected guests quickly took turns to honour Jasraj with ‘cultured’ salute, touching his feet with hands before going for an handshake. The veteran of the Mewati Gharana is in the country on the invitation of the Indian Fine Arts Society (INFAS), Nigeria. He was hosted to a dinner by the Chairman of Visafone, Mr Jim Ovia, for his contributions to music globally. He also performed at the MUSON Centre, Lagos.

Ovia, who presented Jasraj with a plaque and a traditional drum described Jasraj as one of the greatest Indians that ever lived. He said he learnt much from the India community who, according to him, formed the core of customers at Zenith Bank. “They are shrewd business people. They hardly default in their loans. It is a statement of fact. Sooner, Nigerians started to learn from them,” he said. Ovia is former managing director of Zenith Bank.

For a few minutes that Jasraj led two of his disciples in a short rendition of one of his songs in a rich, soulful and sonorous voice, he literarily lifted the guests into the spiritual realm- that moment when ‘everyone hears in his voice the whisper of the unknown and experiences in his singing the stillness of unheard sound’.

And everyone was filled with a sense of gratitude that he shared in the rich Indian musical tradition. That was the peak of the moment.

But the octogenarian Indian music icon did not hide his love for Nigeria. He said India and Nigeria are similar, adding that Nigerians are warm people. “Immediately I arrived in Lagos, I thought I was in my country,” he said.

He recalled that as a little child he never knew how he got into music, but that he started off with drumming before going into music proper. “Before learning music, I taught music in college in Pakistan. Thereafter, I started learning music from my elder brother, Pandit Muniram. In fact, God has been kind to me. If you are lucky, God will take you to great places,” he noted.

On his relationship with Indian movie producers and directors, he said: “I did my first sound track for a movie in 1954. And the legendary Indian movie producers and directors love me and my music.” The Mewati

‘Before learning music, I taught music in college in Pakistan.

Thereafter, I started learning music from my elder brother, Pandit Muniram. In fact, God has been kind to me. If you are lucky, God will take you to great places’

maestro, who has won numerous awards worldwide, said he has a growing disciple of musicians in Indian that two of them would perform in Lagos during his visit. He recalled that at 73, her wife made her first movie and that she is still a movie producer.

The contemporary doyen of North Indian vocals was born in a family that has given to Indian classical music four generations of outstanding musicians. He had his initial grooming in music under his father, late Pandit Motiramji. At age three Jasraj, with just the seven notes as his inheritance from his father, stepped out into the cold world of harsh realities.

Today, those seven notes make up his rainbow... his bridge to a mystical realm of sound... that lies beyond the applause, the awards, the titles, the trophies, the •Continued on page31

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

‘I was affected by the Civil War’ The award-winning novelist, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, has published another novel. The book explores a subject many deem controversial – the Nigeria Civil War. Published under the Jalaa Writers’ Collective, Roses and Bullets has also raised certain questions, some of which were answered at an event with some book lovers in Lagos. EVELYN OSAGIE was there.

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OU have done works close to the theme. This work is on what many would wish away into the dustbin of the past? Why tell the story now?

I had always had it in mind to write this war novel. Of course, other novels came first, but I knew I was going to write it. And I am glad that I have done that. I was a young school girl when the Nigerian Civil War was fought. And I lost relations and was affected psychologically by that war. And I always knew I was going to write a novel about it. When I went to the university, it was my Ph.D thesis entitled Facts and Fiction in the Literature of the Nigerian Civil War. And it was published as a book after my defence. And then I have also written short stories about the war, but I wasn’t able to live the war alone. I kept thinking of this novel I wanted to write. And then I started collecting materials for the novel in 2003 after my trilogy.

And I started writing it in 2006 in the United Kingdom (UK). It took me about a year. I finished in 2007. And here it is. It was like I needed to exorcise it somehow. I know that now that this book is out, I feel some kind of relief.

What new angle is your work exploring; different from what other works on the civil war such as Half of a Yellow Sun has not touched?

I am looking at it from the perspective of not the politicians or political leaders or Generals – these were mentioned of course - but on the impact of this war on the young people, families, and relationships. The conflicts that the war generated and how it destroyed young people, blighted their future, and cut short their lives. An article reads ‘Older men declare war but it is young people who must fight and die’. And that was exactly what happened.

Even while I was writing it, I was crying all the time because I still remember the war – the feelings, the emotions, what happened even in the eyes of the child? I wasn’t thinking that others had written about it. I wanted to write my own story. I wasn’t guided by anybody else. If you read my book, you would see that it is different from other books

on the war. I concentrated on the impact of the war on young people; on families. There’s no way you write about the war without getting into the trenches and the military action.

The military action is there too because some of the young people also went war and some died either during the war or after. So, I was trying to explore the war from the perspective of the young people. The title of the book Roses and Bullet is very symbolic. I mean these young people were like the flowers of land and with the way that they were cut down. But, of course, the focus is on the relationship between two young people that was destroyed by the events of the war.

Some of your readers said they were shocked at the sexual scene involving two of your characters, Eloka and Ginika.

And that the last two or three sentences seemed rushed.

Were you shy at that point?

I have always had sexuality is in my works. I remember when my first collection of short stories, Rhythms of Life with stories of Modern Nigeria, published in the UK, came out, my husband looked at one of the stories that began with the words ‘And they made love…’ and said ‘this is pornography’.

In my House of Symbols, there are scenes like that. I do not believe in writing about sexuality for sexuality sake. But I always explore it when it comes naturally. It must flow naturally; it is not forced. You would always find it in my

PROFILE Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo is a professor of English at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). She is the author of several novels, poetry collections and children literature. A joint winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2007, she has, over the years, garnered numerous literary awards. She has also undertaken reading tours locally and internationally. Her latest work Roses and Bullets takes readers into the civil war: the pain caused by untimely and violent death, and the humanity that prevails in spite of its damage.

• Adimora-Ezeigbo

writings because I do not think that it is an aspect of life that we can run away from. But I believe we must address it responsibly. Not just that you want to titillate people or be sensational. I always address it in my work but I do it with a sense of responsibility.

Octogenarian singer with sonorous voice •Continued from page 30

•Big Joe

I’m into music to make a difference - Big Joe

By Adeyeni Adeyemo

U

P and coming music star, Bolade Joseph, popularly known as Big Joe, has been working tirelessly to make a mark on entertainment scene.

Big Joe, whose musical career started in 2007, has two singles to his credit, ‘Nigga’ and ‘Make Money’, which is already receiving massive airplay in major radio stations across the country.”

“I have been into music since 2007, but needed to wait this long to come out with the musical stuff that will stand the test of time,” he intones.

The Hip-Hop rapper, is working on his new single entitled ‘Champion’, and who is planning to feature D’banj, Seun Kuti and Shege Safari, said he is into music to make a difference.

Big Joe identified D’banj as his mentor. “I will also like to work with 9ice, P Square, Tuface Idibia and many more,” he enthused.

honours...putting him in touch with the music of the infinite.

Under the tutelage of his older brother Sangeet Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Maniram and with the spiritual influence of Maharaja Jaywant Singhji Waghela of Saanand, Pandit Jasraj began his vocal and spiritual journey. The Maharaja, himself a gifted and scholarly musician of the Mewati Gharana, gently ushered Jasraj into the realm of devotion, preparing him for the sublime music he was ordained to create.

In honour of the glory of this unparalleled living legend, awards and titles have not only been created and bestowed upon him but have also been instituted in his name, thus these awards gaining more in prestige and value on account of being associated with his name.

The University of Toronto has instituted a scholarship in his name for young Canadians wishing to train in music. Also, the first Distinguished Visitor Award was created specially in honour of Jasraj by the same university in 1999 for the first time since its inception 200 years ago.

Endowed with a rich, soulful and sonorous voice, which traverses effortlessly over all three and a half octaves, Jasraj’s vocalising is characterised by a harmonious blend of classic and opulent elements, projecting traditional music as an intense spiritual expression, at once chaste and densely coloured. This gives his music a very sublime emotional quality, touching the soul of the listener.

He has been guided in this by his spiritual guru, the late Maharana Jaiwant Singhji of Anand, another doyen of the Mewati Gharana. Perfect diction, clarity in Sur and extreme tunefulness, command in all aspects of laya, choice of composition and interplay of the notes with the words to evoke the desired mood and feeling are other highlights of this Rasraj Pandit Jasraj’s music.

This sensitivity together with the pure classical approach has given his singing a lyrical quality, which is the quintessence of the Mewati style of singing.

Although every performance by Jasraj can be deemed as original, he is the originator of a most unique concept that will go down in history as the work of a genius and as one of his great contributions to Indian music.

A novel Jugalbandi (duet), which finds inspiration from the ancient system of moorchanas, is the Jasrangi.

In his words, he says he devised the duet, “Like the Yin and the Yang or Shiv-Shakti.” The Jasrangi is a sensuous fusion of the ‘Purush (Male) and ‘Prakriti’ (Female).

Few Indian musicians have been so felicitated as Jasraj. The list of accolades he has received bears testimony of his musical exploits. He is indeed India’s bestknown cultural ambassador to the world. He has received numerous awards including the Padma Vibhushan, (art-classical music-vocal) in 2000- the highest award given to any musician in Indian, Sangeet Samrat by Vedic Heritage, New York, Ved Shiromani - the highest Awards of Vedic Heritage of New York, Param Acharya by Pandit Jasraj Institute, Rajeev Gandhi Award for professional excellence, Giants International Award, American Academy of Artists Award, Prime Minister of India Mr. AtalBihari Vajpayee honour in 2002, Award for Peace on October 14, 2001 in New York for the peace of the New York People after September 11, tragedy and a scholarship instituted by the University of Toronto for young deserving students of Indian music.

Jasraj received the University of Toronto highest award, ‘The Distinguished Visitor Award’ making him the first ever to receive it in the 200-year history of the university.

This also makes him a visiting Professor of its faculty for life. The award consisted of a citation and a medal crafted by the renowned Canadian sculptor, Sandra Nobel Goss.

Also, the Harvard University Art Museum together with Kalawati (a wing of the University) of the US and the BharatiyaVidyaBhavan of London honoured him.

He has been accorded civic receptions at Oklahoma City in the USA as also in Mumbai (MahanagarPalika), Valsad, Nagpur, Hissar, Varanasi and Ujjain in India.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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The Midweek Magazine UNICEF makes case for data-driven reporting

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

•Trains journalists in Lagos The benefits of data-driven reporting in nation-building cannot be overemphasised. This was the focus of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) workshop on Data-Driven Reporting held in Lagos. EVELYN OSAGIE was there.

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S journalists, they had heard and practised most of what was taught at the Data-Driven Reporting Workshop before. Yet, the media is in want of better data-driven reporting.

In short, the Nigerian media has not been practising data-driven reporting as it should, it was learnt. Scholars said that the fear of numbers and lack of adequate skills to humanise data are some of the reasons much attention is not given to data-driven reporting.

And so, how to churn out more data-driven reports formed the thrust of the two-day workshop organised

by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) B-Field Office in Lagos in conjunction with theFederal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), it was more than just another workshop for the participants: It was lecturecum interactive sessions that came as a tonic for the 25 journalists who attended from across the Southwest.

It featured two resource persons – Dr. Ayobami Ojebode of the University of Ibadan and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF, Bauchi, Dr Danjuma Almustafa.

In Ojebode’s words: “Data-driven reporting is the process of making research findings newsy…turning hard data into stories that readers want.” He noted that datadriven story writing requires a lot of work, but added that it is obligatory.

“Data-driven story writing is also moral and social responsibility… it is a must.”

Going by the content of the media, he said, data-driven reporting has been lacking or inadquate.He called for a detailed approach in presenting stories, saying it would galvanise positive response from policymakers.

“There should be a greater emphasis on data-driven reporting in our colleges and organisation need to train their staff in data-based reporting because it would go a long way to in influencing policymakers and changing public opinion on key subjects,” he said.

On his part, Dr Almustafa said data-based reporting has been lacking or inadequate. And so, while speaking on the relevance of evidence-based reporting, he took participants through the concepts and methodologies in data collection, in addition to ways of analysing and presenting data i.e. from data to text.

Many people are often put off by, a statement, for instance, laced with numbers and figures, and so, the journalist owes it a duty to reduce the statement to an easy to read and understand report.

Thus, he said: “While telling the story, give the background and source of the data; describe the key features of the data collected into commonly understood language; highlight key facts the data has brought to the fore and possible alternative facts to corroborate the data; cite similar data and actual life scenarios; project possible implications, and make recommendation (where necessary). “ He spoke on UNICEF’s role in the country’s data collection process, saying: “It gives capacity building and

•Participants at the workshop

•From left: Dr. Olabode, Communication Officer,UNICEF Lagos Office, Blessing Ejiofor; Dr. Almustafa and General Manager, Metro FM, Ndidi Osaka

partner’s government, non-governmental organisations, civil societies to monitor and evaluate development activities. UNICEF, he added, supports funding and coordination surveys – e.g. 2007 and 2011 Multiple Indicator Comparative Survey (MICS); and helps disseminate and encourage the use of data for planning and tracking of results including child friendly budgeting.”

Ojebode, a teacher of journalists, took participants into practical sessions on data-driven news reporting. His was

August break show at Quintessence

Soyinka, Achebe, Jackson for literary festival

E

T

HE Garden City Literary Festival will hold from Sep tember 12 to 17 at the Atlantic Hall of the Hotel Presi dential in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The Garden City Book Fair (GCBF) is part of the activities at the festival, and is open to all book sellers, bookshops, publishers, artists and gift shops, its organisers, Rainbow Book Club and the Rivers State Government, have said .

Other activities include writer’s workshops, interactive sessions and book signing by authors, various literary fora, performances, and special events for children. The Keynote speaker is Prof. Chinua Achebe (via Satellite), Ama Atta Aidoo and Rev. Jesse Jackson. They will be joined by several other writers from within and outside Nigeria.

Literature and Politics is the theme for this year’s edition.

Partners include Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), PEN International and the British Council.

focused on how to turn data into news stories.

Like Almustafa, he also spoke on language use, steps in writing data-driven stories, making numbers meaningful and attractive, among others. He said it is better to use short sentences and paragraphs, adding that a paragraph should contain one main idea. “Numbers are already numbing; don’t make it worse by long and winding sentences. Be concise. Avoid wordiness and tautology.”

•Soyinka

•Achebe

The organisers are calling for entries from aspiring writers for the workshop. Intending participants (prose, poetry, drama, non- fiction) should submit their entries to the organisers. All workshops are free but strictly by registration.

For details please visit our website: www.gardencityfestivalcom.

VERY year, August is dedicated to showing a variety of works of artists who have interacted with Quintessence Gallery, Falomo Shopping Complex, Ikoyi, Lagos. This year, the focus is to offer new entrants an opportunity to show their works with the masters.

It opened on August 6.

The gallery is considering many generations of artists, to give the public a panoramic view of the growth of art. Leading the pack are works of the late Chuks Anyanwu, Irein Wangboje, David Dale, Jimoh Braimoh, Ben Osawe, Tola Wewe and Sam Ovraiti.

According to Dele Jegede, “Anyanwu’s style is eclectic and oscillated between a slick figurativeness and abstracted representationality.” Ovraiti of the Auchi School, whose generation produced the “colour masters”, presents some captivating works that deserve to be celebrated. Pita Ohiwerei, also a product of Auchi School, has put together radiances of colours that have been graphically presented and will not go unnoticed by critics and art lovers. Adewale Alimi is one of the youngest whose post-modern works on mood and passage are an expression of the new generation art.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

George J. Sefa Dei is a Ghanaian and professor of Sociology and Equity Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada. A lover of African culture and values, Dei, who was in Nigeria recently, is spearheading a trilateral agreement between the University of Toronto, Canada, the Centre for the Study of Community Science and Technology Education, University of Winneba, Ghana, and the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Oto/Ijanikin (AOCOED), Lagos. He is embarking on a research on African proverbs in partnership with AOCOED. He speaks with ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA.

W

HAT is the thrust of your new project?

I am canvassing the need for African scholars to document and appreciate our indigenous knowledge system. It is one of the things I’ve been interested in.

What are the teachings of these systems?

We cannot talk about evolving without starting from what we already know. We cannot talk about appreciation of African culture without appreciating that the culture is to teach the young and old; and not only for African learners but all learners from various parts of the world.

What are your views on this?

If you look at our communities, they do have a body of knowledge but, sometimes, we don’t appreciate this knowledge. We seem to know more about other people’s knowledge systems. So, we have youths today who know about histories of other communities than theirs. The passion comes from how we begin to appreciate history and knowledge as a way to empower ourselves and realise that, as Africans, we do have contributions that we made to history. And this can be seen in the way our knowledge system and its teachings have empowered our forefathers to be able to address some of the problems they faced in their lifetime.

African contributions to world civilisation have to be appreciated in terms of its knowledge base. What are the African philosophies that are also relevant to understand some of the issues of today?

For instance, in Canada, I teach students from diverse backgrounds and I think we have to talk about multiple knowledge systems of these communities that the students come from to appreciate the contributions of each community. To me, I am interested in the reclamation of African culture and history because they are very useful lessons that we need to know, understand and study for the benefit of our empowerment and development of generations yet to come.

We don’t want this knowledge to be lost.

Though we are moving, yet we can’t afford to leave our cultures and traditions behind.

To what extent has this affected the Black race?

One of the problems is that many Africans do not have a sense of appreciation of their history, culture or knowledge systems. So, how do we empower the learners today to appreciate these?

What prompted the research and what is the focus?

The focus is on proverbs. Actually, I’m looking at some of these proverbs in some ethnic groups in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria because Nigeria is known for its rich proverbs be it Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa.

I’m interested not in the proverbs alone, but in the teachings of the proverbs.

It is one thing to say this is a proverb, but what is the meaning of the proverb?

How can our young ones take the proverbs and work with them in daily lives? If there is a proverb that offers

‘Today, we lament about our youths who lack respect, who are very corrupt and greedy, but I believe if we look within our proverbs, we will find lots of powerful teachings that point the way on what we need to be as an individual. Becoming somebody is equal to one being able to determine between good and bad; somebody who lives a life that is worthy of emulation’

•Prof. Dei

‘Africa is not about failures’ words of wisdom, I want to see how these words of wisdom are applied in their lives. If a proverb speaks of responsibility, morality, respect for elders, appreciation of culture and all that, how are the learners of today working with that knowledge to improve upon their own lives and education? We need to understand that those things need be documented for the sake of their own education and even adult education. I see proverbs as one area in which we can begin to appreciate the words of wisdom that are embedded in our knowledge.

Today, we lament about our youths who lack respect, who are very corrupt and greedy, but I believe if we look within our proverbs, we will find lots of powerful teachings that point the way on what we need to be as an individual.

Becoming somebody is equals to one being able to determine between good and bad; somebody who lives a life that is worthy of emulation. What are these teachings and how can they be ingrained in our learners of today in order that they can grow up to be responsible citizens, and deal with some of the problems that confront us? For instance, when you look at some of the teachings of proverbs, they speak powerfully against corruption, and stealing and other forms of immoralities.

As a teacher in Canada, to what extent is African culture given prominence?

Eko Oni Baje new yam festival

C

ASTLEDOWN Art Centre/MSM2 Limited will hold its maiden Eko Oni Baje New Yam Festival (Iri Ji Ndigbo na Eleko, Ibeju-Lekki) from August 26 to 28, at Eleko Beach, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. It is a three-day fiesta of arts, music, cultural exhibition, beauty pageant, beach soccer, traditional wrestling and horse parade/Durbar.

The festival is an opportunity for the people of Lagos to express themselves and “feel free” to celebrate the cultural heritage of the Ndigbo. It hopes to showcase the tourism potentials of the Ibeju-Lekki, the hospitality and the rich cultural heritage of the host community and the enormous investment opportunities of the Ibeju-Lekki constituency as the free trade zone of Lagos State.

The Divisional Police Officers at Akodo Police Station and Eleko Police Station have thrown their weight behind the festival. They have guaranteed maximum security throughout the festival.

It is dying here in Canada and it is least talked about. That is why I am emphasising on the documentation of these teachings. We have African learners who are living in the Diaspora. Sometimes, they forget their roots and teachings of their culture. It’s important that we bring the body of knowledge back.

Don’t you think this is due to the influence of Western civilisation?

You are right. African civilisation is an integral part of global civilisation, and this is why, to me, we cannot devalue or negate African value system. I am not saying that we should transplant them wholesale. But, let us look at the ones that are very useful, that offers relevant lessons for our youths to deal with some challenges of today. To me, we can talk about African civilisation in terms of contributions of Egyptian civilisations, Nubian civilisation, western Sudanese civilisation, Yoruba and Benin civilisations.

All these civilizations have something to contribute. Here we are talking about the legacies of our people. Today, we cannot be African learner without recognising the history of African civilisation and what it means.

What stage are you in your project?

Actually, we are midway. Tentatively, we are working towards about three years. But, I don’t believe in the kind of research that is, only about coming and taking. I also believe in sustaining the local people’s capacity to undertake their own research.

So, I am also interested in what can I do with scholars here to build institutions that will promote some of these ideas. I’m happy the provost of the college is interested in the idea of establishing a centre for the study of indigenous knowledge and languages that are going into extinction. We need to document them for the sake of our children and future generations. I want to work with a group of students and scholars to share ideas, research knowledge and partnership. Already, I’m

doing that in Ghana and I want to see that replicated here in Nigeria. Though we cannot do it in all institutions in Nigeria, we should be able to point to one or two schools whether it’s a college or a university and work with them.

Hopefully, this partnership will expand so that students from other parts of the country will mingle together and exchange ideas.

Why proverbs alone?

Our scholars need to do a whole lot of documentation in this context. Proverb is just one example. Traditional art and craft is another. How do we document and even improve on some of our local traditional industries? If we want to do this, then we need to understand what local people know already before we can offer lessons about improving on them. Basket weaving, pottery making, even the making of some traditional food, such as fufu, and garri, not only in terms of preservation but for the lessons they offer about teaching African science.

Does the absence of indigenous knowledge system pose any challenge to our children?

It poses a great challenge because it is like we are building a foundation and the root itself is shaky. It is going to crumble. We need to have an educational system that is functional, that people can easily identify with and appreciate their culture and knowledge that already exist in it. As a Ghanaian, I could recall growing up in Ghana. I knew more about the rivers in North American than rivers in my own village. I’m not saying teaching them those things are not important, but you have to start from where they are and ground them within their own communities. From there they know who they are and become so strong and firm and they can easily make connections with those things outside. But, you don’t start by telling them what is outside if you don’t tell them about their own. No wonder when they finished school, they want to go outside their countries instead of remaining in their own communities. Africa is not about failures, war or crisis. Africa has success stories and how can we leverage on this success recorded to improve on the contemporary challenges of our people?

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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Forbidden Fruit: Fruit: A test of the senses

By Evelyn Osagie

H

OW deep are you willing to go with your imagination? Well, some artists are set to go beyond the board with their creative surge. The result is the Forbidden Fruit project.

It is an art movement aimed at demystifying human sexuality as an aesthetic rather than a threat.

In October 1, this year, a group of international artists in the movement will be exhibiting at the Rag Factory in Shoreditch, London. The exhibition, tagged: Forbidden Fruit, will run till October 5.

For a conservative mind, some exhibits to be displayed which depict woman and man nudity or sexual scenes may come as vulgar, but to Ruth Bircham, it reflects life. Ruth, a British-Jamaican, is one of the artists for the project. She will be exhibiting her works alongside others from Nigeria, Ghana, the United Kingdom and US. According to Ruth, the exhibition is designed to have a stronger representation to empower or intimidate.

But what could have inspired the project, she was asked. “Our source of inspiration comes from our everyday lives. Our works will shed light on people’s feelings concerning sexuality as an aesthetic rather than a xxxxx; the development of the art piece is about dis-empowering the minds of fixed sectors. The art pieces will have an aesthetic nature from our own angle and interpretations from different races, females and male nudity. We are about disrupting the fixed ideals that exist within our environment. Our practical art pieces help question the type of world we are a part of”, she said.

Ruth said the works will have a psychological appeal on the viewers. “I feel that these art works will open people’s eyes to the real world around themselves. It will build scope and confidence that they never thought existed, it will force them to acknowledge how they view themselves and make changes.”

She noted that the art movement seeks to unite artists across the world. “We seek to bring artists from around the globe, to base artistic expressive art creations in many forms on one chosen theme”.

She added: “About 17 artists will exhibit in the Forbidden Fruit Project but there are over 100 of us in the art movement. We come from USA, UK, Nigeria, Ghana and other countries. The artists involved are me, Dr. Iyabo Tijani (Nigeria/UK), Chika Art Adiele, Sabitu Abu Hassan, Kenneth Ikenna Onah, Tunji Olu Akinloye, Amodu Oluwanbe, Burns Iffiom, Shittu Saheed Adekunle and co-performance-artists: Wale Ilebiyi Snr. Amodu Abiodun Oluwakemi, Oriyomi Joseph Oluwafemi, Adeyanju Bukola Jumoke, (Nigeria); Paul Burke, Titus Agbara, Eugene Ankomah, Ade Ogundimu, Niyi Sadare (UK); and Fanta Celah, Julie Brayton (US).”

•One of Ruth’s works

‘Our source of inspiration comes from our everyday lives. Our works will shed light on people’s feelings concerning sexuality as an aesthetic rather than a threat; the development of the art piece is about dis-empowering the minds of fixed sectors...We are about disrupting the fixed ideals that exists within our environment. Our practical art pieces help question the type of world we are a part of’ •Ruth

Dance for peace holds in Abuja

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•Okolie

OR the promotion of peaceful co-existence among the diverse ethnic and religious groups in the country, the Pro-Mobile Grafix Ltd, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, will hold Dance for Peace Nigeria 2011.

The maiden edition is scheduled for September 21 to 23 at the Eagle Square, Abuja. It will feature several dance troupes from across the states, according to the co-ordinator, Mr Anthony Anekwe, the best of Nigerian dances will be on display “in terms of moral regeneration, physical, emotional and ethical development of the youth. This, he said, is why the organisers need the support of all and sundry,”he said, adding: “We intend to use dance – a powerful and common element of our diverse cultures to construct peace in the minds of Nigerians. The ultimate goal is to further a unified vision premised on the

By Victor Mark-Onyegbu

principle of unity in diversity and sanctity of the human life”.

Anekwe and the Chairman of ProMobile Grafix, Chief Frederick Okolie, believe that preserving, protecting and projecting Nigeria’s cultural and religious diversity should be part and parcel of our broader goals of achieving integration and national unity. They, therefore want traditional institutions, corporate bodies, individuals, donor agencies and NGOs to assist government in re-orienting Nigerians to curb the menace of youth restiveness by channelling their funds towards sustainable youth development programmes and laudable initiatives , such as the Dance for Peace Nigeria 2011.

“This will, in no small way, complement the efforts of government to re-channel the energy of the youth

towards positive endeavours,” they added. In their view, the task of creating a peaceful atmosphere supportive of the developmental and transformational agenda of the current administration is an onerous one that demands collective responsibility from all segments of the society.

The Dance for Peace initiative is, therefore, a clarion call to Nigerians to help achieve a stronger integration and a more robust national unity. “We want to make a bold statement about Nigeria being a great nation of good people working together harmoniously towards building a peaceful and egalitarian society. Hence, we are promoting dance as a tool for peace, harmony and national development,” Anekwe stated.

The event is expected to attract culture and tourism administrators from the ministry, parastatals, agencies, the diplomatic corps, culture practitioners and arts lovers from across the country.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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When couples talk

H

AVING carefully read this book, I should announce that it doesn’t pretend to offer all solutions to challenges in marriages. The author has restricted the treatment of the subject to specific own examples and a couple of other situations she is familiar with. And so, in reviewing the book, I also will not do a full treatise, but will limit my assignment to the areas she has touched.

The purpose of this book is to encourage readers, especially those who are married and those who aspire to, to understand the role of communication between couples.

The first chapter opens with the following apt quotation from the British writer, George Bernard Shaw, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” This sets the tone for the chapter and is followed on page 10 with a dialogue between a Patrick and Samantha and it is clear they are having a row. Patrick accuses Samantha of speaking before reasoning, with Samantha retorting that Patrick doesn’t have to insult her. Clearly we have just read a case of ineffective communication, and this is supposed to be common and prevalent in many similar relationships.

Nkechi, thereafter, goes scholarly; she defines Communication and how we can effectively manage it. To her, Communication is about giving birth to an idea, thought, meditation or feeling conceived inside of us; an expression of a buried expression inside of you. When correctly expressed it gives the right meaning, presence, life, light, exposure, attention etc. Communication as a process can only be effective when there are two or more people because there must be a sender and a receiver. This means the communication success factor is built on three platforms: communicator; message and receiver She proceeds with another example of John who gets home and meets his wife at the door and instead of giving the usual hug, mumbles and simply walks by. He gets in, throws his briefcase on the floor, and begins harassing everyone. According to Nkechi, only John knew what was bugging him, since he didn’t

communicate his grouse to anyone in the house. Perhaps he was reacting to a bad experience at work. Another example of failure of communication.

She cites John A. Stanford in his book, Between People. In the book, John Stanford likens conversation between two people to the tossing of a ball between two players. For the game to work and be interesting, one player must throw the ball in such a way that the other can catch it and be in a position to throw it back with minimum stress.

Her third example is about James and his wife Lara, who had been married for over 20 years. James married the woman early and while they were overseas she worked to support his education. He finished and got a good job and began to feel the woman was inadequate because she didn’t improve herself. She was busy working to support him and the home. The relationship began to have problems as the husband began to look down on her and even humiliate her. Even when they tried to have conversations, she found James too academic. In this case, the author assures us the problem is because one partner has become to qualified and educated than the other, making communication very difficult.

Communication can also be hampered if either or both partners like to shout or raise their voices. Usually, this leads to disrespect and a bottling up of grievance.

Nkechi goes ahead to instruct us on page 18: there are two types of communication; VERBAL and NON VERBAL. Rude partners with caustic tongues will always incur the wrath of their spouses. She reminds us she is a Christian by citing a passage from the Bible where we are admonished to avoid filthy communication.

She cites the fifth and final example in the chapter. Paul and Jane don’t have children and are believing God for one. paul returns from an evening with friends and raises the issue, apparently following a similar discussion with his friends. As soon as he raises the issue at home, Jane flares up and accuses him of abandonment, reminding him that children just don’t jump on people especially when the couple don’t meet physically. Nkechi cites this as

BOOK REVIEW Title: The Talking Couple Author: Nkechi Alli-Balogun Reviewer: ‘Lolu Akinwunmi No of Pages: 180 Publisher: NECCI Limited, 354 Muritala Muhammed Way, Yaba

a misunderstanding in communication. The husband meant well, but the wife had a different point of view.

NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION confirms that communication doesn’t stop because people stop talking or listening because according to psychologists, about 85% of what we communicate is non verbal. This is broken down to 30 per cent through symbols such as our clothes, hairstyle, cosmetics, jewelleries, gifts etc, and 55 per cent through the actions of our body gestures, facial expressions, a hug, eye contact etc. She cites for example that in some places in America, gays are known by the way they carry their bunch of keys. Facial expressions and these other expressions can be for good or bad.

She rounds up the chapter by emphasizing that communication remains the life wire of any relationship Chapter 3 opens with two quotations from the book of Proverbs and from a certain

Barbara De Angelis. She then follows with a startling statistic that about one in two marriages ends in divorce. Communication or the lack of it is a major culprit.

She advises on how to manage arguments, which are inevitable in marriages. She also advises that people must be ready to compromise for the sake of the relationship. She puts a lot of premium on prayers and, especially urges Christian couples to pray. I think everyone needs to pray. She waxes religious and stresses the key role of God in a relationship and especially in communication.

Communication is to a relationship what blood is to the body. When blood stops flowing the body dies; when communication stops the relationship dies.

She further directs us to the Bible which teaches in the book of Proverbs 2.11-12 that we need to apply discretion and understanding. This is so key. She goes ahead to cite the following rules which should help the relationship: Allowing enough time for communication. Create the time and don’t be distracted; learn to listen. She also cites many things you can do to become a good listener; be sure about what you say; trade places and put yourself in the other person’s position;Be honest and open; learn to present your issues properly Communication has some rules of engagement. She lists the 7 C’s of communication.

This chapter treats the issue of conflict resolution and starts with two quotations from Proverb 3.5-6 and Amos 3.3-5. And she opens the discourse with how God created man and didn’t intend that we be alone. God always knew companionship was good.

She then adds the fact that when people live together, conflict is inevitable, as undesirable as it may be. Marriages collapse and fail because people do not know how to manage conflicts. Sometimes, it’s because the couples are not mature to observe the signs and not equipped to manage it.

She warns the reader to be mindful of conflicts because they represent a crack in the relationship. If the cracks are not sealed on time they can lead to a total collapse of the marriage. She traces the origin of the word conflict to the Latin word Confligere, which means to strike together; fundamentally it means disagreement. She proceeds to give us the opinions of experts such as Conrad, Folger, Poole and Stutman, experts on this issue. I don’t know them, but I suppose they must be authoritative if she has cited them.

Wale Adenuga Productions partners DSFN

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HE Wale Adenuga Productions has joined the list of the Down Syndrome Foundation (DSFN) partners on advocacy with its move feature a shut on the foundation in its programmes.

The Nation learnt of this when the famed child ambassador, Nnenna, visited the DSFN Resource Centre penultimate Friday.

The DSFN children are still basking in the euphoria of the experience. One of them, Awele Mordi, who marked her 24th birthday that day, said she was fortunate to have someone like Nnenna attend her birthday. “I am very happy… really very happy. And she is now my friend,” she said.

Yinka Olukunga, popularly called Nnenna, for her role in a soap opera by Wale Adenuga Productions, was at DSFN End-of-Term Party to felicitate with them as they closed for the academic session. According to her, the love for the children inspired her visit.

“I have been hearing a lot about what the centre is doing for people living with Down Syndrome (DS) and I felt it is inspiring. But it was not until I met Mrs Mordi, DSFN President, that I had an opportunity of knowing what it means to live with Down Syndrome and how wonderful they are. This inspired my coming to celebrate with them and show them that I care. They need our love and affection”, she said.

She called on the public to show love

•From Left: Nnenna, Mrs Mordi, Awele and another DSFN member

By Evelyn Osagie

to people living with DS and other physically-challenged, saying they are human beings too. Nnenna was there with the media crew from PEFTI. She told The Nation that as part of its

support for DSFN, Wale Adenuga’s Production has filmed a promo, which would be aired on most of its programmes on television. She said: “We have also shot a promo on the centre which would be aired on most of Wale Adenuga’s programmes. We hope that

it would go a long way to create awareness for the centre, and also show people the need for them to show love to people living with Down Syndrome and other physically-challenged. Everyone needs love, including them”.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

BADAGRY FESTIVAL 2011

•(L-R): Oworu, Adegunle and Akran of Badagry.

PHOTOS: OZOLUA UHAKHEME

Feasting to heal slave trade wounds

T

HE weather was simply friendly.

So was the host community. The different cultural troupes from the various quarters and kingdoms in Badagry came in their best colourful costumes drumming, singing and dancing. For hours, Badagry Grammar School playground, venue of the event, became a ‘Mecca’ of a sort. Food vendors spiced the green lawns with different wares ranging from drinks to food, snacks, and other gift items.

And the drumming and singing never creased. But suddenly, the tempo rose and beholds, the Royal Majesty, De-Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1, Akran of Badagry. He arrived amidst a retinue of praise singers and dancers at the venue of the festival on a colourful wooden carriage raised above the waist level. That royal entrance signalled the start of the grand finale of this year’s Badagry festival last Saturday.

The seven-day celebration that was tagged Festival for Unity, flagged off on July 30 at the Black Heritage Museum in Badagry. It featured lecture, football

By Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor (Arts)

competition, fashion parade, boat racing, drama performances, art exhibition, and cultural performances. The festival was supported by MTN. Present at the closing ceremony were Secretary to Lagos State Government, Alhaja Idiat Adegunle, Prof. MKO Padonu of the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr. Ashamu Fadipe, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Sola Senapon Oworu; Chairman of Badagry Local Government Area, Mr Moses Dosu; Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development, Mr Tunde Hunpe and of Lagos Zonal Director of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Mr Leke Kaka, among others.

Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos assured African Renaissance Foundation (AREFO), organisers of the festival of his administration’s continued support, saying

•Sator drummers on stage

the festival would get better. The governor who was represented by the Secretary to government, Alhaja Idiat Adegunle urged the corporate bodies in Badagry especially the commercial banks to show interest in the festival as part of their corporate social responsibility.

President of AREFO, Mr. Babatunde Olaide-Mesewaku said the festival is organised every year to reminisce on the tragedy called slave trade, which plagued Badagry and its people for about 400 years.

He noted that it is also to celebrate as a people of common historical experience

their freedom and liberation from the unfortunate phenomenon.

“The festival is to enhance tourism by supporting the huge investment by the Fashola’s administration on tourism infrastructure in Badagry…To build and develop a sustainable cultural tourism culture within the Badagry community and as a product for pro-poor tourism for poverty alleviation amongst the people,” Mesewaku said.

He commended the role of Mrs. Oworu in assisting the organisers in recommending the inclusion of the festival in state government’s budget for next year.

Unseen side of Berlin Wall revealed On August 13, Germany will mark the 50th anniversary of the erection of Berlin Wall. Newly uncovered photos offer an unprecedented glimpse of the communist eastern side looking to the free West.

•Berlin Wall

F

OR nearly three decades, people in West Berlin were able to go right up to the Wall, write graffiti on it, even kiss it as described by David Bowie in his ‘Heroes’ song. Yet, from the east the Wall was a barrier which was almost hidden.

Soon after its construction on August 13, 1961, people in the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) were barred from approaching the “anti-fascist protection wall” by a wide death strip. Houses and churches along the route were demolished.

Even after November 1989, when its function had been lost

and people were allowed to travel freely, approaching the Wall from the east remained dangerous due to land mines.

Now the unseen face of the Berlin Wall has been revealed, in photos taken by the border patrol units between 1965 and 1966 to provide East German planners with an overview to fortify the barrier.

Hundreds and hundreds of photos were taken, developed and then stuck in a box which disappeared into the enormous official file system of the GDR and then forgotten.

They have been unearthed from Federal archives by photographer Arwed Messmer. He digitalised them and knitted them together to create panoramas, sweeping views of the ‘inside’ of the Wall as it was originally built.

The pictures illustrate the provisional nature of the initial construction, sometimes made from the outer walls of demolished houses along the divide. A series of photos of the first watch towers also show the almost pathetic nature of their construction – at times it looks as if scavenged material was simply hammered together.

Messmer worked with author Annett Gröschner to marry the pictures with fascinating vignettes of cross-border communication – insults and jokes shouted over from west to east, incidents noted in obsessive detail by the eastern border guards, themselves unable to reply.

“When the soldiers were on duty they had to record what was shouted at them in their reports,” Gröschner told The Local.

“We found the reports from 1962 and 1963. They would

categorise the remarks, so if someone threw something over, a present for someone, it was regarded as an attempt to make contact. If someone shouted ‘Ulbricht must die’ (referring to East German leader Walter Ulbricht), it would be categorized as an ‘ideological diversion’.”

One such incident involved a 35- to 40-year-old West Berliner, who laid a letter and two cigarettes on the railings at the border crossing on Chausseestrasse and then called to the guards, “Take that to Walter Ulbricht”. The guards fired off two warning shots and the man pretended to have been hit, bending over and saying, “I die for Germany.”

Another note, taken at 4:30 am at the Liesenstrasse cemetery, recorded a man shouting over, “Shoot that dog back there, I can’t sleep.”

A record was also made of a distressing incident along Bernauer Strasse, when a soldier charged with the demolition of house number 48 called out “Mama” from the first floor of the ruined building to a woman standing in the western area. When his superior ordered him to immediately leave the site, he wept, saying, “Can’t you see that is my mother?”

At the corner of Clara-Zetkin Strasse and Ebertstrasse, a West Berlin policeman called over, “Is it as cold with you as it is here with us?”, while his colleagues on the banks of the Humboldthafen spent their time shooting at ducks.

More cheeky was the man who called across the wall at Potsdamer Platz, “Come over, we have beautiful women for you. And you’ll get a car too. Sooner or later we’ll get you anyhow.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

38

ABUJA REVIEW

FCT to revive pottery centre T has a way of attracting the high and mighty. At a point too, it also seemed doomed to pass away unsung. But just when you thought the end was near, good news filtered in.

The Ushafa Pottery Centre in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) attracted President Bill Clinton when he visited the country in 2000.

The former American President visited in company of his host, exPresident Olusegun Obasanjo.

The dignitaries savoured the ingenuity of the potters and left.

Students of Fine Arts from diverse tertiary institutions in Nigeria have also called and left with warm impressions.

But the fortunes of the craft centre did not improve. Ironically, things took the worse turn. But now, they seem to be looking up.

The Ushafa Centre, with about 12 mud huts, has been taken over by the FCTA, and Minister of State Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide has visited it.

It was originally designed to better the lot of rural women, who formed its core workers. It was also to serve as a skill acquisition centre. But its fortunes dipped.

Hope seems to be rising because Akinjide has promised to intervene. That intervention might also improve the lot of workers who use traditional methods to make pots, beads and other forms of domestic wares from clay obtained from the Zhigogi River.

They are predominantly women of Gbagyi tribe who see pottery as their heritage.

Other pottery products produced at the centre include ornamental flower vases, cups, plates, candle stands, ceramic jewellery and figurines. Prices for traditional pottery products range from N400 to N800, while the products produced using modern methods cost between N1,000 and N10,000 or higher, depending on the size,

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•Abuja Stories from Bukola Amusan

design.

During the visit, some workers were seen putting finishing touches to their products using specialised stones and seeds to make ornamental drawings on pots while others were busy pounding clay to make it pliable.

The visit offered 28-year-old Saliha Ahmed who has worked in the centre for 15 years an opportunity to bare his mind. All he wants, he said, is a facelift for the centre. He is only a secondary school certificate holder and a son of one of the old women who have dedicated their lives to pottery.

Ahmed makes all kinds of clay products at the centre using manual wheel which he powers with his right feet. The manual wheel, according to the young potter who is also into painting, is used to give clay the desired shape while rotating it.

"I'm not happy about the way this centre is. I have been working here as a casual worker and nobody is talking about employing us. I can't

Government agencies accused of illegal land deals

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HE Department of Development Control of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) has pulled down about 14 uncompleted structures at lintel level in Lugbe District of the city.

Six of the structures in Lugbe Extension were on plots said to have been sold to private individuals by officials of the Nigerian Prisons while the other

eight structures in Sabo area were allegedly sold to individuals by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) for the purpose of mass housing development.

The said plots were said to be without allocation papers from the appropriate authorities.

The Director of Development Control, Yahaya Yusuff said these government agencies obtained

leave the centre because if I should leave the centre I will die. But I will be happy if I have the opportunity of studying Fine Art at the tertiary level,� he said.

The interns who were also designing clay into various objects disclosed that they were at the centre to acquire more practical knowledge of what they were taught in the classroom.

The minister noted that the facilities at the centre needed support and innovation to make it a destination centre.

She promised that the administration would explore the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiative to turn the fortunes of the centre around.

Her words: "I must say that I am happy that the centre has been maintained; that the traditional skills have been kept alive. I believe that this place can be transformed into a major cultural centre and attraction for FCT. I am very impressed about what I have

seen and I intend to work together with Ministry of Tourism to make sure we upgrade the facilities here, to support the facilities here and bring new innovation so that here will be a destination centre, not just for occasional visit by to drive investment and to showcase Nigeria, especially Abuja. You should expect that we will be working to institutionalize this place.

"Where there is a will, there is always a way. This place, I think will attract public private arrangement. We will certainly need to invite private sector to see what they can do. We will be able to make a mark here and make it a befitting place for the Federal Capital City.�

On the fate of women working at the centre especially on how to transform their lives, the Minister said, "whatever is done here, we have the workers in mind. The intention is not to dispossess them or to exploit them but to help them to realise their full potential. This

I must say that I am happy that the centre has been maintained; that the traditional skills have been kept alive. I believe that this place can be transformed into a major cultural centre and attraction for FCT fake allocation papers and went ahead to sell the plots to unsuspecting individuals in the name of mass housing development.

He said the private developers defied several stop work notices and public announcements from the Department by continuing with the project.

During the exercise, a Deputy Director from the Department, Ibis Tucker Bakori explained that the removal of all structures on plots of land with forged allocation papers has become necessary, not only to curtail the illegalities but to also caution innocent citizens who have been falling prey to land speculators.

Despite all the public announcements in major electronic and print media that there are no official layouts for estates beyond Federal Housing

is our cultural heritage and as you can see as a woman, I am sensitive to the plight of women and youths and every thing we do, we have that in mind" "We need to look at a model that is sustainable. By gone are the days when government prescribes. We are going to sit together to come up with workable solution to the challenge of infrastructure here.

The work of governance is to facilitate and not to prescribe.

Failed projects are the situation where may be civil servant sits down and think they have the answer. We are not going to make that mistake, she added" The Manager of the centre, Mr. Joseph Gajere, noted that "With the right facilities and manpower, the centre can turn out high outputs on a commercial scale, with qualities that can match imported ceramic wares", he said.

While speaking on how students troop to the centre for internship, FCT Director of Art and Culture, Mrs. Nana Fatima Tsokwa said the centre is one of the best in Nigeria where best pottery, ceramics and sculptures are made.

He noted that interns come to the centre from as far as Rivers state, Cross River, Lagos and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Kaduna State.

She called on the Minister to look into various challenges rocking the centre particularly in the area of generating market for the art work and provision of modern equipment to replace the crude and cumber methods the workers are currently using.

A Deputy Director from the Department, Ibis Tucker Bakori explained that the removal of all structures on plots of land with forged allocation papers has become necessary, not only to curtail the illegalities but to also caution innocent citizens who have been falling prey to land speculators Authority (FHA) land at Lugbe and the Malaysian Garden along Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX), Bakori lamented that these agencies are still hell-bent on selling the plots to unsuspecting individuals.

It would be recalled that the Department of Development Control had earlier through a

public announcement signed by the Permanent Secretary, warned the general public to steer clear of these areas.

It advised those that have documents relating to the areas to avoid such documents entirely or confirm their authenticity from relevant departments in order to avoid further losses.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

39

ABUJA REVIEW

Nyako hails Jonathan on women representation

OVERNOR Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for making good his campaign pledge on Affirmative Action, with the appointment of 13 female ministers and four female special advisers to the President.

He said it is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.

The governor who made the commendation when the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, visited him in Yola said, “by fulfilling his campaign promise to the Nigerian women shortly after assumption of office, the President has indeed demonstrated his conviction to give the Nigerian women the needed opportunity to contribute their quota to the successful execution of his Transformation Agenda.

“We must not only commend the President, but we should also emulate the gesture in our states as governors. After all, it was the women and the youths of this country that were the major voters that elected us into office.”

He however lamented the low level of representation of women in elective positions, saying that women need to go back to the drawing board and restrategise on how to improve their fortunes in subsequent elections.

He advised the Nigerian women politicians to take a cue from their American counterparts by establishing a strong non-governmental foundation that will source for funds and exclusively support female candidates into various elective positions.

The governor said women economic and educational empowerment are the panacea to their overall development. He said it is in recognition of this that his administration has established vocational centres and other income generating ventures in parts of the state.

He congratulated Hajiya Maina on her appointment which he said was well deserved, especially in view of her indelible national imprint in advocating women issues.

The Minister called on state governments in Nigeria to model the Federal Government’s initiative to correct the imbalance in political representation by implementing the Affirmative Action which seeks 35% appointive positions for women.

According to the Minister, “the lack of affirmative action measures in our national life as a key to advance women’s representation is a disadvantage. This imbalance in political representation is so grave and needs to be corrected.

Hajiya Zainab Maina also identified

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From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

poverty as a contributing factor stating that, “several inter-related socio-economic factors have led to the poor economic status of a large segment of Nigerian women, such that 70% of people living below the poverty line are women”.

“The manifestations of poverty among women is a critical concern, as this has adverse impact on women’s employment, their health, access to credit, ownership of land and property, participation in governance and other decision–making processes”.

To address this trend, Hajiya Maina said her Ministry in collaboration with other partners put in place mechanisms to boost entrepreneurial activities among women through the provision of micro-credit

• Traffic gridlock on Bodija-U.I. Secretariat Road, Ibadan during the swearing-in of Local Government Caretaker Chairman in Ibadan

Pilgrims commence orientation

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HE FCT Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board (MPWB) has commenced the orientation of its intending pilgrims in order to enable them perform an acceptable Hajj.

The programme which began with pilgrims from Abaji area council is expected to end with Intending Pilgrims from Abuja Municipal Area Council.

Addressing pilgrims at Abaji area council, the Director of the Board, Doctor Shu'aibu Yakubu Kurfi reiterated the commitment of the administration to address the challenges of the exercise.

He explained that the Board has repositioned its activities in order to ensure that its pilgrims get the best services ever in the history of the hajj operation in the FCT. The Director who was represented by the Head of Operations of the Board, Hajiya Fatima Suleiman Gumi, said the Board has come up with initiatives aimed at ensuring that pilgrims perform their hajj in a

facilities such as Women Fund for Economic Empowerment (WOFEE) and Business and Development Fund for Women (BUDFOW).

The Minister said, her Ministry has embarked on the construction of a skill acquisition centre in Michika, Adamawa State, to assist women in the area to develop their skills, be gainfully employed and generate income to support their families. She said the construction of the centre has been completed and should be equipped and commissioned before the year ends.

Hajiya Maina emphasised that if conscious and sustained efforts are not made to tackle the gender question and problems besetting the vulnerable members of the society, the chances of achieving desirable growth, development and indeed the MDGs by 2015 will be greatly limited

The manifestations of poverty among women is a critical concern, as this has adverse impact on their employment, their health, access to credit, ownership of land and property, participation in governance and other decision– making processes

conducive atmosphere at the holy land.

She advised the intending pilgrims to seek for knowledge of the religion before embarking on the spiritual journey.

Presenting a paper at the occasion, the head of education and orientation unit of the Board, Malam Rabi'u Abdullahi Kontagora stressed the importance of knowledge for all religious deeds in order to get the desired result from the Creator.

Malam Kontagora, highlighted the importance of reconciliation and settlement of all debts before embarking on the journey.

The training exposed the intending pilgrims to hajj rites and Saudi policies as well as rules and regulations of the entire operations which include prohibited items and health among others, to attain hajj mabrur (acceptable).

The team was expected to visit Kuje area council, Bwari area council and round off with Abuja Municipal area council (AMAC) at the National Mosque, Abuja.

FCTA seeks special funds for agric

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N order to promote economic development in the six area councils through the agricultural sector, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has presented a request for financial assistance from the Agriculture and Natural Resources Development and Ecological Funds.

Presenting the request, the Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide highlighted cardinal areas of intervention which include the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP), National Fadama Development Programme, Establishment of Integrated Farm Centre, promotion of Fisheries Development and Community Empowerment Agricultural Initiative.

She lamented that the challenges of food security and environmental degradation are so enormous that despite the joint efforts of the FCTA and relevant donor agencies, “the challenges are still unabated, hence the request for cash from the special funds is compelling.

“It is in this regard that the FCT Administration is requesting for funds in the

areas of irrigation programmes, fisheries resources, development of 10 grazing reserves, establishment of dairy production and processing centre, farm and youth empower centres, construction of farmers house, as well as the establishment of modern abattoirs and meat processing centres.

Other areas stated for attention, according to the Minister, include combating ecological and deforestation problems in the FCT. The Minister attributed the challenges posed by erosion and deforestation to expansion and encroachment of the waterway which have reduced the volume of streams and rivers in FCT. According to Mrs. Akinjide, most well crafted programmes in Nigeria have failed to achieve the desired impact because there was no personal attachment to their ownership.

She called on stakeholders in the FCT to see the project as their own and contribute their best to make it work.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

We adopt modern methods of weeding and planting. But, at the poultry section, there are 30 pens and over 200 crates of eggs harvested each day. Also, we have a fishery section with over 200 ponds having about 2000 fishes per pond allocated to each participant

NO fewer than 1,087 graduates are currently undergoing training in small-scale enterprises at the Agriculture Village, Ore in Ondo State. OZOLUA UHAKHEME who was at the farm reports

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N its search for sustainable solutions to the socio-economic problems of the state, especially graduates' unemployment, Ondo State government has started training no fewer than 1,087 graduates as entrepreneurs. Of the 1,087 pioneer graduate trainees, 350 are resident at the Agriculture Village in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of the state run by Ondo State Wealth Creation Agency (WECA).

Seventy new chalets, a big recreation hall and a giant generating plant are among the facilities on the farm.

Chairman of WECA, Mr. Bisi Adegoke said the target of the agency is to provide entrepreneurial training, research and experiment in small- and medium-scale enterprises for 3000 graduates as there are two other agriculture villages in the state.

Adegoke who conducted journalists round the Agriculture Village at Ore, disclosed that the trainees are involved in agro enterprises such as arable crops cultivation, fishery, oil palm and poultry farming wholly funded by WECA. "After allocating farmlands to participants for development, the agency will provide them with seedlings and other inputs as well as training. At the end of the season, participants take the profits from the sales while the cost of inputs will be reinvested.

During waiting period, the participants are provided accommodation and a monthly stipend of 10,000 naira each.

"We adopt modern methods of weeding and planting. But, at the poultry section, there are 30 pens and over 200 crates of eggs harvested each day. Also, we have a fishery section with over 200 ponds having about 2000 fishes per pond allocated to each participant," Adegoke said.

Apart from the Agriculture Village at Ore, similar farms are at Epe in Ondo East, which is 95 per cent completed and at Auga in Akoko North, which will primarily serve as cattle ranch.

He disclosed that as part of the oil revolution in the state, one million oil palm seedlings

• Chairman of WECA, Bisi Adegoke and Chief Tola Wewe (middle) with graduate trainees at Agric Village, Ore

Ondo trains 1,087 graduates were got from Malaysia for extension services. He described oil palm as one of the major economic life lines of the state, adding that Malaysian experts are assisting the state in the programme.

On the marketing of the products, Adegoke hinted that government and some corporate bodies have entered into the buy-back policy.

He said banks such as First Bank, Zenith and Stanbic-ITC have pledged some funds for the buy-back adding that part of the funds would finance the out-growers scheme.

The farm project, which costs the state government N100million gets its water from an earth embankment dam from where it is passed to the ponds.

In the last four months, the programme has lifted the souls of the unemployed graduates that hitherto lost hope in search of paid

employment. Age and marital status notwithstanding, the farm accommodates young graduates, fathers and nursing mothers, who expressed satisfaction for the skill acquisition programme. One of such participants is Miss Akingbesote Ileriayo Elizabeth, a 2008 graduate of Agriculture Economics/Extension, from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, in Edo State.

Akingbesote said she joined the programme because she has not been able to secure employment since leaving the university but that what she saw was not was she expected.

"When I joined I thought I would be made to do odd works on the farm, but I found that there are good plans for us. In fact, from the way the programme is going, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am happy to be here.

"Until now, I felt going to school to study

Lagos boosts social integration among youths

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He instance of the Lagos State government, youths gathered at a camp to learn to be more useful to themselves and positively impact the society.

The camping, called the Lagos Eko Scout 2011

•Participants at the camp

•

By Miriam Ndikanwu

Jamboree, held at Badagry and was organised by the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Social Development.

The gathering which featured young boys

aged eight and above, also had participants from Ghana.

The youths were camped at the venue located between Apovita and Agido communities for week-long activities that featured the commemoration of the 22nd World Scout Jamboree with the theme 'The Sun Rise'.

The tents and toilets were in place. Relaying his experience, F a w a z Abubakar, a form three J u n i o r Secondary School student, O k o t a G r a m m a r School, said: "I feel great to be here. I have learnt to always be prepared and to be at alert all the time and not to run immediately hearing the sound of a gun

was a waste. Although I have little experience on agriculture from school, but now I have gotten more than I planned for. I am already planning how to own a fish pond and feeding the fishes is fun," she said.

For Oyetunji Rebecca, a nursing mother who studied Career Guidance and Counseling at the University of Ado-Ekiti, her biggest joy is that she has been rescued from the pangs of uncertainty and depression. She said: "I am just happy being here. It gives me big relief. I just thank God for everything considering where I was coming from. If it rains, I still go to farm with umbrella while backing my baby.

As I am here now, my husband is taking care of our first child in Ondo town.

"I have no choice though I missed my family.

I am assured of future returns that will make enable me manage my life," Oyetunji said. but rather to wait to see where it emanates from to take the right decision," "I'm proud to be here," echoed Chime Irene, Senior Secondary School (S.S.S) 1 student of Eva Adeleja Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos.

School Counsellor, 55-year old Mrs. Florence Oladejo urged parents to allow their wards to go camping, saying there are many benefits attached to the camping programme.

Governor Babatunde Fashola enjoined the members to always be prepared to render help to others in need to make the world a better place.

Fashola who was represented by Special Adviser on Youth and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, said the government relaunched the uniformed voluntary clubs and societies in order to give the young participants a good orientation to be more useful to themselves and the society.

He said movements like the Boys Scout would equip young people with necessary skills, self confidence and the sense of patriotism to enable them take responsibilities and face challenges as they grow up.

He enjoined them to listen to what they were taught."If you want to be like Fashola, you have to listen to your ACADA, troopers, commissioners and everything they teach you and how they want to develop you and your mind into a future governor. You do not pray for anybody to have accident but at the back of your mind, you are always ready to help."

Chief Commissioner, Rev. Fr. Kunle Amolegbe enjoined members to always abide by the Scout Promise, which is: "To do our best to create a better and peaceful world for everybody to live and enjoy."

SLIDING TACKLE

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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Pienaar ruled out for six weeks

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OTTENHAM midfielder Steven Pienaar has been ruled for up to six weeks with a groin injury.

The 29-year-old, who joined White Hart Lane from Everton in January, sustained the problem

Sacked former Tiger Woods' Caddie, Steve Williams regretting his public outburst on Woods.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIEST

Casillas tips Spain as Euro 2012 favourites

up to six weeks.”

The South Africa international has made 11 appearances for Spurs since his arrival from Goodison Park last transfer window.

The former Borussia Dortmund and Ajax player has 57 international caps and has participated in two World Cups for his country.

The midfielder, who can play on the wing or in the centre, will hope to be fit again soon to help Tottenham push for a Champions League spot after they missed out on qualifying for the elite European competition last season.

in the first half of the recent pre-season game against Athletic Bilbao.

Manager Harry Redknapp will lament the loss of the South African so close to the start of the Premier League r

Ranieri hits out at 'lazy' Totti player with whom I have ever worked. He could have won several Ballons d'Or had he left Roma for Barcelona or Manchester United," Ranieri said to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I have also worked with [Frank] Lampard and [Alessandro] Del Piero, but Francesco is the better player.

The difference is that the other two have a better attitude. They always were very dedicated on the training pitch and were the last ones to leave the ground.

Totti was exactly the opposite and was the first one gone."

Ranieri worked with Totti from September 2009 until February 2011, when he resigned as Roma coach after a string of disappointing results.

•Pienaar

Colombia's coach sorry for punching woman

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OLOMBIA coach Hernan Dario Gomez has apologised for punching a woman who criticised his work at the helm of the national team.

Witnesses told local media that Gomez struck the woman, who appeared to be drunk,

OTHER SPORTS...OTHER SPORTS...OTHER SPORTS...OTHER SPORTS...OTHER SPORTS...

Williams regrets Woods' criticism "I said what I said, but I'm not going to say any more about Tiger. I had a lot of emotions going on all week. You hear people say 'How good are you now that you're not caddieing for Tiger?', things like that and

•Steve Williams (l) and Tiger Woods

•Casillas

England's match cancelled for 'safety' - FA

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

43

MONEY

Sack fear grips workers as banks get boards W

ORKERS of the three banks whose licences were withdrawn last Friday by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) are afraid of losing their jobs.

Their fears were fuelled by the appointment of new boards for the banks by the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

The banks are Bank PHB, Afribank and Springbank, which have been renamed Keystone, Mainstreet and Enterprise banks.

Many of them, especially those whose performance ratings fall below 50 per cent industry, were retrenchment victims in the industry in the past.

By Collins Nweze The workers expect that, in line with cost-cutting measures usually adopted by past bank managements, their performances may be reviewed. The investigation showed that the workers are either looking for new jobs or lobbying key management personnel for transfer.

It was also gathered that many of the healthy banks have embargoed employment of staff of three banks, till further notice.

As in past exercises, it is expected that if the mergers and acquisitions scale through, many duplicated positions in merging banks

CBN raises team to tackle inflation

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OVERNOR of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has directed that a team be constituted to address macro economic problems.

Sanusi listed the problems to include high inflationary rates, unethical fiscal spending, instability in the foreign exchange system, among others.

He said the team would help in proffering solutions to some of the problems affecting the economy.

CBN’s Deputy Governor, Financial Services Stability Dr Kingsley Moghalu said the team would fashion out measures to mitigate the effects of global oil crisis on Nigeria.

The global oil market, he said, is experiencing instability, noting that any problem in such market would have spill over effects on the country.

Moghalu said it is imperative to set up a team on macro economic issues in order not to allow country to be caught napping.

“He said: “We are very conscious of the developments in the global oil market, and how they would affect us. If these challenges in the oil market continue, they would affect the demand/ prices of crude oil.

The issue would affect the oil benchmark set for Nigeria in

By Akinola Ajibade the long run, When the prices of oil are affected, it would affect a lot of things, including banking activities. We are assuring Nigerians that the country would not be caught napping in this regard, because we are putting in place measures to mitigate the possible effects of global oil crisis.

He said one of the major priorities of CBN was to establish a financial management framework that would guide the operations of the banks.

“We are working on macro prudential frameworks for the Nigerian banking system.Globally, whatever happened to a bank in Europe would affect others. We cannot afford to live in isolation, hence the decision to put in place measures to address those issues,” he added.

The Sanusi-led CBN had put in place reforms package for the industry in 2009. The reforms resulted in the introduction and implementation of policies that would tackle problems in the financial sector. The policies border on corporate governance, risk management, foreign exchange management.

MasterCard nets $608b

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ORLDWIDE spending on MasterCard- and Mae stro-branded cards climbed 16 per cent to $608 billion in the second quarter, the company has said.

Spending by consumers outside their home countries surged 19 percent. Processed transactions rose 17 per cent to 6.6 billion, Ajay Banga, chief executive officer of MaterCard Inc. has said.

The firm’s earnings per share of $4.76 exceeded the $4.23 average estimate of 29 analysts surveyed

by Bloomberg as net revenue increased 22 per cent to $1.7 billion.

MasterCard aims to gain a bigger share of the US debit market as new rules on transaction fees and processing threaten to erode the dominance of larger rival Visa Inc. ”Solid global performance, in-

cluding strong increases in volume and processed transactions, fueled double-digit revenue growth this quarter,” Banga said in a statement.

MasterCard’s US debit-card spending surged 19 per cent to $98 billion from last year’s second quarter, and US credit-card spending climbed 6.1 per cent to $129 billion, he said.

Operating expenses rose 20 per cent to $782 million, in part due to costs linked to acquisitions, MasterCard said. The company paid $526 million in October for DataCash Group Plc, a United Kingdom credit-card processor, to expand e-commerce offerings. In December, MasterCard said it would buy prepaid card-management assets from London-based Travelex Holdings Ltd. for $470 million.

may be harmonised to save costs.

This means more people would be thrown into the labour market.

A worker of one of the banks, who asked not to named, said he would explore opportunities in other banks to avoid being taken unawares.

“It has happened several times where banks sacked staff at the end of mergers or acquisitions. I don’t think there will be an exception this time,” he said.

Another worker of the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she would seek alternative career because of inconsistent policies in the sector.

AMCON, at the weekend, appointed Oti Ikomi the Managing

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16 major peers as Asian shares slid for a fifth day and European equities dropped for a seventh. The euro advanced after the European Central Bank started buying Italian and Spanish bonds to curb the region’s debt crisis.

“Rising risk aversion has led to more demand for safe- haven currencies, such as the Swiss franc and yen,” said Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon Corporation in Lon-

tal base; Keystone Bank, N283 billion and Enterprise Bank, N111 billion to bring them to same level of capital adequacy. The three banks, formerly referred to as Bridge banks, were acquired

by AMCON from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

The newly-appointed CEOs and their Board of Directors are charged to manage the banks profitably to compete effectively in the industry and provide quality service to customers. Depositors are again assured that their deposits are safe, and employees are also assured of seamless continuity of business operations and job functions.

• Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun flanked by Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Jibril Aku (left) and Executive Director, Domestic Banking Group, Kingsley Aigbokhaevbo, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Abeokuta.

Banking transactions hit N11.2t, says CBN T HE total value of transactions, transfers plus cheques, rose by 16.5 per cent to N11.2 trillion in June, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The 245 per cent increase in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FACC) last month at N1.3 trillion will become manifested in total value of transactions next month, analysts said. This is due to the three-month lag between disbursement and financial impact. It also indicated that value of cheques cleared also increased by 15.5 per cent to N1.4 trillion in June. The interbank transfers and settlements (RTGS) also rose by 16.7 per cent to N9.8 trillion.

Managing Director, Financial

Dollar weakens against Euro, Yen after US rating downgrade HE Japanese yen and the Swiss franc strengthened as Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the United States economy. Also, a deepening euroregion sovereign debt crisis, lifted demand for the safest assets.

The dollar dropped to a record low against the Swiss franc and fell for a second day versus the yen after S&P lowered the US credit rating one level on August 5. The yen gained versus all but one of

Director/CEO of Keystone Bank, Faith Tuedor-Martins is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of MainStreet Bank and Ahmed Kuru Enterprise Bank.

On Monday, AMCON concluded arrangements for the injection of N679 billion into the three banks.

CBN has also granted them the same interbank guarantee given to the banks that have signed Transaction Implementation Agreements (TIAs), until December 31. The banks have been fully capitalised, strengthened and well positioned for future growth.

MainStreet Bank will receive N285 billion to bring it to over 15 per cent capital adequacy and a minimum of N25 billion capi-

don.

The dollar fell as much as 2.5 percent to as low as 74.85 Swiss centimes before trading 0.6 percent weaker at 76.26 centimes on Monday. The US currency weakened 0.9 percent to 77.68 yen.

Against the 17-nation euro, it traded at $1.4263, from $1.4282 at the end of last week. The euro dropped 1 per cent to 110.90 yen and declined 0.7 per cent to 1.0883 francs.

By Collins Nweze Derivatives Company Bismark Rewane said gross revenue grew by 32 per cent from N670.46 billion in May to N883.3 billion in June. External reserves were $32.5 billion at the end of July, after reaching $35.3 in mid month while forex demand increased marginally by two per cent from $3 billion in June to $3.1 billion in July.

The CBN had said its priority was to refocus the payment system which presently has remained largely cash-based to e-banking platforms. The apex bank is, therefore, strengthening the mobile banking platforms, as seen in a policy that seeks to limit the daily cash withdrawal and lodgment in the country.

Rewane, in a report at his monthly economic news and views presented at the Lagos Business School (LBS) executive breakfast meeting tagged: Nigeria’s Make or Break, said the retail sector of the economy enjoyed significant increase in cashless transactions which according to him also climbed from nine per cent in 2010 to 12 per cent in the first quarter of

this year.

On the real estate sector, Rewane said price discovery mechanism remained faulty in the sector, adding that high brow properties in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki were seriously experiencing high vacancy factor and decreasing values. According to the financial market expert, middle and low end properties are, on the other hand, experiencing increased values and low vacancy factor experience.

But forex demand at the official market (CBN) increased by 20 per cent to $3.04 billion when the velocity of circulation of naira increased. The payment system volume is a reasonable predictor of exchange rate and foreign reserves.

External reserves fell marginally by 0.6 per cent to $31.9 billion in June.

Rewane said emerging markets also facing serious inflationary threats, which could be much higher in 2012. Unsecured lines of credit for banks to become more expensive to support trade finance.

For Nigeria, raising new money from the Euro bond market will be more challenging. He said the gap between inflation and short term interest rates narrowed, thereby helping to stabilise the naira and reduce the rate of external reserve depletion.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

44

MONEY

Sanusi: Cash-based economy bad C for growth

ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Lamido Sanusi has faulted the use of cash as the major means of transaction.

This, he said, informed CBN’s planned cash limit policy under which individuals’ and corporate entities withdrawal limit is pegged at N150,000 and ....

Sanusi lamented that Nigeria has remained a cash-based economy despite growth in the banking sector and the billions of naira invested in electronic banking over the years. This, he said, must change.

Speaking recently in Lagos, Sanusi explained that the high cost of handling cash, is weighing down on bank’s profits and liquidities.

He estimated that by next year, banks would be spending N192 billion on cash handling, noting that this would be passed to customers in fees and interest charges.

Such huge costs of cash management are transferred to customers in terms of high interests on loans and high bank charges. A cash heavy economy, he said, creates an environment where robberies and burglaries thrive. It also facilitates money laundering and corruption.

By Collins Nweze “The target is getting the cost reduced by 30 per cent in three years; through enforcement of four-pronged initiatives namely, reduction in cash management cost, enhanced electronic payment, system, Information Technology and centralised back-office systems,” he said.

He said Nigeria should move to other alternative efficient, safe and cost-effective payments/ transactions systems being used in other parts of the world. Such platforms include the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of sale (POS), Internet, Instant Electronic Transfers (NIBS), Mobile banking among others.

Sanusi explained that contrary to widespread misunderstanding that the apex bank barred customers from withdrawing more than N150,000 per day (and N1 million for businesses), people can actually make withdrawals as much as they want, but would bear the cost of such transactions if they exceed the stipulated limit. The policy implementation will start in January 2012 with Lagos only

and then all out to the rest of the country by June 2012.

The CBN said from the above date, organisations that make cash transactions above the limits will be charged a penal fee of N100 per thousand and N200 per thousand for amounts, above the cumulative limits. Also, contravention of this policy will attract a fine of five times the amount that the bank waives as a first offender. But further contraventions will cost the bank 10 times the charges waived.

The apex bank also stipulated that third party cheques above N150, 000 will not be eligible for encashment over the counter except through clearing. If a bank allows third party cheque encashment above N150,000, a sanction of 10 per cent of the face value of the cheque or N100,000 whichever is higher would be applied.

Sanusi said the Lagos State Government is already upgrading physical infrastructure in the state to accommodate the platforms. For instance, the state is virtually wired with Glo 1 Mobile and Main One Networks,

which already have under-sea optical fibre cable. This will make it easy for PoS terminals to be installed.

“Lagos State has the most widely distribution of mobile networks and as such has the most densely internet and mobile network penetration than any other state in Nigeria. Therefore, it is most ready for mobile banking,” the CBN said.

The CBN has said the 24 Deposit Money Banks would roll out 100,000 Point of Sales (PoS) terminals by June 1, 2012, to cope with pressures in the cash limit set by the apex bank. The banks would also increase the PoS terminals to 350,000 before December 2015 to make cash available to banks customers through the channel.

The apex bank has also stated the process of registration of companies providing cash-in-transit and currency sorting in the country. In addition to enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of currency management, the policy is aimed at facilitating the generation of fit notes for payment and ensuring product quality, integrity and standardisation.

So far, two companies, Bankers Warehouse Limited and Integrated Cash Management Systems Limited, have been registered as Cash-In-Transit companies and given approval-in-principle as currency sorting companies.

He said the CBN is getting ready, working in collaboration with commercial banks to implement the necessary infrastructural developments that would fasttrack the transformation to cashless banking and transactions. For

• CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi

instance, the apex bank has instituted a framework that will ensure shared services among the telecommunication firms and among banks to hasten the deployment of point of sales terminals.

The CBN has also reversed its earlier directive which asked banks to withdraw their offsite ATMs located in airports, hotel and eateries. Citing the new cash limit policy, the apex bank said banks can now deploy ATMs outside their premises.

Plans by the CBN to test-run its cash transaction limit policy in Lagos has compelled banks to prepare for the implementation of the policy in the state.

Lagos State, with a population of about 17 million, is arguably the economic capital of the Nigeria. Findings show that banks have started deploying ATMs and PoS terminals to strategic points such as shopping malls, airports, higher institutions of learning, and busy markets to make cash readily available to customers.

ECOWAS calls for speedy microeconomic union

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• From left: Executive Director, South, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Olusegun Osilowo; Chairman of occasion and Vice Chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Prof. Hilary Edoga and Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Prof. Godwin Onu, during the South East Zonal Draw of Intercontinental I-Save, I-Win Promo and Customers’ Forum held in Enugu.

Banks to hands off MfBs

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EPOSIT Money Banks (DMBs) may relinquish firm control of their microfinance banks, in line with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). CBN asked them to divest from their subsidiaries.

Under the divestment policy, banks are required to focus more on core banking practices, by stripping off shares in their whollyowned subsidiaries. By this, the banks may stop running their microfinance banks as separate entities or subsidiaries. The banks that are going to be affected are United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc and Afribank (now Mainstream Bank Limited).

The Nation gathered that some of the banks are making arrangements to give up control of their microfinance banks, following the directive.

Part of the measures being considered includes subsuming the

By Akinola Ajibade operations of microfinance banks into the larger banking services.

Through this, the banks are planning not only to run microfinance banks as departments, but to operate them under different titles as being done by Oceanic Bank International Plc. The defunct Afribank Plc had stopped operating its microfinance bank as a subsidiary, a move suggesting that the bank is aligning itself with the CBN’s divestment policy.

The bank was said to have converted its microfinance bank to a department to ensure effective management.

Sources close to its microfinance bank said the bank was waiting for the recapitalisation to end before changing its status.

Intercontinental Bank Plc owns 60 per cent in its microfinance bank, and would not find it difficult to divest its shares from the bank.

The Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), Lagos State chapter, Mr Olufemi Babajide, said the development is in line with CBN’s policy.

Babajide said CBN has told the banks to divest their shares from their subsidiaries, adding that the directive would affect every facet of their operations.

He said the development is good for most microfinance banks, since they would be able to function well.

He said microfinance banks must be operated in line with the global practices, adding that the banks were established to meet the needs of poor segment of the population.

He said microfinance banks cannot operate optimally, in a situation where they are being run like commercial banks.

He said specialised skills are needed to run microfinance banks, adding that commercial banks and microfinance institutions have different methods of operations.

HE Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member-states have called for speedy implementation of the commission’s macroeconomic convergence, known as ECOMAC. This is expected to accelerate single monetary union in the region.

The ECOWAS Commission said series of workshops had been held in Lomé, Lagos and Abidjan in last year to examine and validate the ECOMAC database.

The Information Officer in the Commission, Uwem Thompson, said in a statement that the methods of data retrieval from each ECOWAS member-state were also discussed at the workshop.

“Member states, experts and other regional institutions have called on the commission to accelerate the process for the

operationalisation of the ECOWAS Macroeconomic Convergence,’’ the statement said.

It said further that the commission reiterated its commitment to the operation of the database to facilitate macroeconomic activities of the member states.

The database will focus on generalities and country-specific guides which were developed to address challenges in each of the member states.

The general and country-specific guides will be prepared in the three ECOWAS official languages comprising English, French and Portuguese.

The ECOWAS member states are Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, GuineaBissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

EU gives extra $40m to Africa

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HE European Union’s (EU) executive will increase funding for victims of the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, the EU’s crisis chief, Kristalina Georgieva, has said.

Georgieva said the Commission would immediately give a further 28 million euro on the 70 million euro it has given the region this year. EU governments have made further donations.

The United Nations has declared a famine in two regions of Somalia and said it may spread further.

Years of conflict in southern Somalia have exacerbated the emergency, preventing aid agencies from helping communities. Nearly 135,000 Somalis have fled since

January, mainly to neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia.

“This unprecedented crisis in the Horn of Africa calls for an unprecedented response,” Georgieva said after visiting Kenya’s Dadaab camp, which shelters 400,000 people.

“On top of the new funding of 27.8 million euro, I have started the process to mobilise another 60 million euro to alleviate the sufferings of so many people,” she added.

“This will bring our response to nearly 158 million euro.”

The World Food Programme says it needs an extra $360 million in urgent funds. Oxfam says that overall, another $1 billion is needed to handle the situation.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

45

INSURANCE ‘Poor technology affects Insurers target huge submission of insurance returns’ premiums from oil and gas T I

NSURERS are banking on the oil and gas Industry Act to win more businesses from oil majors to grow their premiums to over N1trillion by 2012.

The Act provides for 40 per cent, 70 per cent, and 100 per cent local retention in marine, non-life insurance and life insurance services in the oil and gas sector.

With the Act, the coast is now clear for insurers to get a sizeable chunk of industry’s business, hitherto in the hands of the foreignowned insurance companies.

Chairman, Law Union and Rock Plc, Princess Adenike Adeniran, said the passage of the Oil and Gas Act, has opened a window of opportunities for underwriting companies.

While speaking during the company’s 42th Annual General meeting in Lagos, Adeniran said the opportunity to increase the market capacity of the operators has come with the passage of the Act. She said the Act will enhance operators ability to participate in oil and gas business, as well as facilitate local risk intention. Local risk intention means the capacity of insurers to retain or keep certain risks locally, while trying

Stories by Akinola Ajibade

to encourage growth.

She said: “Local retention of premium is projected to increase by up to 50 per cent, while a reduction in the insurance capital flight is expected to be around 80 per cent”.

Adeniran, who is a former President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), said the local capacity utilisation of the insurers will increase with the passage of the Act, as against a situation where the services of insurance companies are under-utilised.

Also, the Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, said the introduction of the local content policy has increased the number of operators now participating in the sector.

He said the Act would help in reducing the huge capital flight in the insurance sector, as well as boost confidence therein.

He said operators have achieved a considerable level of success by underwriting some of the oil and gas businesses, adding that the trend would continue now that the Act has been passed.

Ladipo-Ajayi said the under-

writing companies, in full support of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), are currently handling as lead underwriters, some dollar-denominated accounts of insurance and related services in the oil and gas.

Meanwhile, many insurance firms have increased their underwriting capacity in oil and gas sector, as shown by their financial results. For instance, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance made a provision of N75.8 million for (marine and oil gas) in 2010, as against N29.9million in 2009.

Regency Alliance Plc has increased its expenditure for oil and gas business from N.5million in 2009 to N4.3million in 2010.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has released guidelines guidelines for oil and gas, in pursuant of the provisions of the Insurance Act 2003 and the National Insurance Commission Act 1997.

The guidelines stated that no person or organisation shall transact insurance or reinsurance business on any life, assets, or other property classified as domestic insurance unless with a company registered under Act Insurance 2003.

HE failure of insurance firms to submit their annual accounts early has been attributed to poor technology.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) had recently chided some insurers for not meeting the deadline set for submission of their annual accounts to it. The body approved 2010 annual reports of 23 out 42 firms submitted to it, citing late submission, among others, as the reasons.

In explaining the reasons for low submission of annual accounts, the Deputy Managing Director, Niger Insurance Plc, Mr Kola Adedeji, said most of the firms do not have the required technology to produce their financial statements.

Speaking during the company’s Pre-Annual General Meeting briefing in Lagos, Adedeji said the failure of the firms to render accounts appropriately could be linked to their inability to get robust technology for their operations.

He said: “Technicalities is key to

By Akinola Ajibade

the industry. Insurance is not like manufacturing where the turnover of the companies can be captured without stress. In insurance, all the accounting and financial statements, must be done through a strong and efficient technology. No company can claimed to have a robust technology for its operations. We want to have software that would capture all facets of our operations for growth.”

Also, the Managing Director of the company, Mr Justus Urantus, said the company has just started a right issue of N2.5bilion to widen its shareholding base and further records growth.

Urantus said the company would not rush at buying some insurance firms, adding that there are procedures to follow when such issues arise. He said there is nothing wrong if a company back out of business combination, after discovering that it can no longer continue with the arrangement.

Cornerstone grows premium to N3.76b

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N underwriting firm, Cornerstone Insurance Plc has recorded profit after tax of N339.5million for the year which ended in December 2010.This is against N442.97 million losses in 2009. Also, the company’s premium income rose by 6.79 per cent to close at N4.02 billion from N3.76 billion in the 2009, while its net asset rose by 7.14per cent to close at N6.0 billion from N5.60 billion in 2010.

Though there was no approval for a dividend payout during the Insurance Company’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos over the weekend, the shareholder unanimously commended the board and management for weathering the storm and

retuning the organisation to path of profit.

The shareholders including Owolabi Peters, Timothy Okpaise said the bad days were over, as evident by the results.

Reviewing the company’s performance, the company’s Chairman, Sulaiman Adedotun, said the company has used the last two years to redefine its place in the nation’s insurance market, championing ethical practice and trying to communicate positive values.

According to him, the company has succeeded in creating impact in making some operators and brokers believe that things can be done the right way.

Goldlink records gross premium of N4.3b

G • From left: Principal Manager, Finance and Administration International Health Management Service, Mrs Joke Rotimi Fadipe; Chief Operating Officer Dr Chidi Ukandu and Chief Marketing Officer, Mr Wole Olomojobi, at a briefing on health insurance policy in Lagos.

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NAICOM laments dwindling values of insurance stocks

OMMISSIONER for Insurance Mr Fola Daniel has lamented the persistent drop in the values of insurance stocks in the market.

Daniel, while speaking during the monthly programme organised by the Institute of Directors(IoD) in Lagos, said insurance stocks have lost their values sharply in recent times. He spoke on the topic The Role of Directors in Maintaining Confidence in The Insurance Industry.

Represented by his deputy, Mr George Onekhena, Daniel advised practitioners to help in restoring confidence in the industry.

He said it was imperative for directors of companies to focus on how to ensure growth in the prices of stocks, stressing that such steps would help in restoring confidence in the industry.

He advised them to take a critical look at issues bordering on corporate governance and cost management. He admitted that many corporations have failed to adhere to the best practices of corporate governance.

He said until cost management issues are addresed, operators

By Miriam Ndikanwu

would continue to have problems with corporate.

He urged insurers to pay attention to risk and claim management issues, stressing that the development would help in restoring the image of insurance industry.

Earlier, the President of Institute of Directors, Thomas Awagu, in his welcome address, said the objective of the forum was to address salient issues in the financial services industry, especially the insurance sector.

“This discussion is coming at time when the issue of insurance has become more relevant and supportive than ever before, particularly given our recent experience of floods and collapsed buildings in Lagos State and other parts of the country. The issue has resulted in the loss of human lives, materials and resources,” he said.

He said insurance firms have been abiding with regulatory rules, noting that 42 out of 61 licensed

insurance/reinsurance companies met the June 30 deadline set for them to submit their annual accounts to the commission for approval. This, he said, translates to 68.85 per cent.

He said issues such as insecurity of lives, unwanton destruction of properties, among others, are worrisome in the ecountry.

Awagu said the issues have impacted negatively on businesses, making it impossible for both local and foreign investors to come to Nigeria.

He described the constant security challenges as a manifestation of failure on the part of the government and the security agencies to take full control of the situation in the overall interest of the nation.

“It is instructive to say that the unity and integrity of the nation are fundamental issues that are being threatened. As business leaders in Nigeria, we hereby call on the government to provide enough security for the teeming populations.

By so doing, people would be able to carry out their busines activities without fear or favour.”

OLDLINK Insurance Plc has said its gross premium rose from N4.01billion in 2009 to N4.43billion in 2010.

The Chairman, Mr Gbenga Afolayan, disclosed this during the company’s 18th Annual General Meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He said: “We are determined to focus on market growth strategies, improved life portfolios, branch expansion, annuity, new product launch. Similarly, we will improve in our cost management and review cost control mechanism, annuity, new product launch.” Afolayan said the company will improve on its cost management initiatives, and further

provide prudent investments to encourage growth.

Also, the company’s Managing Director, Mr Femi Okunniyi, said that for the third year, the company received an A rating from the world’s renowned global rating agency Global Credit Rating.

According to him, Goldlink had continued to grow its businesses and explore new markets as well as new processes of running its business to provide excellent service to its clients and value for the stakeholders.

He said the firm had increased its investments in the oil and gas sector, and has been training its personnel for greater efficiency.

Law Union increases shareholders’ fund to N4.7b

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AW Union and Rock Plc has increased its shareholders’ fund by five per cent from N4.5billion in 2009 to N4.7billion in 2010. The company grew its premium income from N3.53billion in 2009 to N4.05billion in 2010, marking 14.64 per cent increase.

Claims incurred increased marginally by 6.02 per cent from N746.81million in 2009 to N792.27million in 2010.

Also, the company increases its profit before tax from N351.62 mil-

lion in 2009 to N384.27 million in 2010, representing 9.27 per cent. The investments, and other income realised was N307million in 2010, as against N362million in 2009 The company’s Managing Director, Mr Yinka Bolarinwa, said. This indicates a decrease of 15.1 per cent.

Bolarinwa said the slight increase in investment income was due to the instability experienced in the capital market in 2009, lull in real estate market, and low returns from the money market.

Firm to provide health policy

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NTERNATIONAL Health Management Services (IHMS) Limited has initiated a policy that will enable the insured to enjoy health care within and outside the country at a very considerate premium.

According to the company, the policy known as Mega Plan would provide a comprehensive health insurance-cover for staff, dependants

By Wale Adepoju

and expatriates residing and working in Nigeria.

At a briefing in Lagos, the firm said the plan is open to groups with 10 and more members whose age bracket range from three months to 70 years, while the individual category is for people between five and 55 years.

46

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP TIPS

‘Global stock trading is profitable’

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OUNDER of Trimas Business Concepts, Kakue Gbenegbara is an Ijaw youth who never bothered about fighting for resource control while the agitation by his kinsmen lasted.

He was one of those Nigerians who stormed the stock market for a kill.

But when the local stock market crashed,he turned to the global stock market where he does business from the comfort of his home.

Gbenegbara said online stock trading is one of the most viable sources of income. Compared to other industries, stock trading can make a person or a trader a millionaire for just a day transaction.

This is because stock trading is considered one of the biggest income-generating industries in the world. Multi-billion transactions are being held every minute,he added.

Frustration with the Nigerian stock market after the crash helped him to devote his time to online stocks. He got into online stocks business in 2009, with a little investment. Today, he claimed he had made $6,000.

He is betting that his approach to owning and trading online shares will translate to a homegrown success story and has an eBook on online stock trading.

Armed with computer skills, Gbenegbara set to work building his trade.

With online resource, he is able to get an annualised return for each share, and it also factors in dividends. One can invest $50,000 in stocks and receive a higher rate of return,he added.

He is provided regular updates of forecasts, revenues, profits, margins on the internet.

Rendering geriatric care services

By Daniel Essiet

When the world equity markets was going through some turbulence past year, Gbenegbara was not discouraged. He was confident that the stocks would pick up again.

He preferred to trade online than return to the Nigerian stock rather market.

He said online stock trading is good for Nigerians because of dollar denominated dividends.

Gbenegbara is keen on converting more Nigerians to own foreign stocks as the system has hit the mark for a big percentage of traders. He’s on good form and eager to share his thinking on the economy. For him, the market is doing well.

What has helped him is that he was ready to face all the challenges and difficulties that come along with the industry.

He said with $100 one can begin the business. Gbenegbara said stock trading is one of the most successful industries one can get into for as long as he or she has the skills, the knowledge, the ability, the enthusiasm, and the drive to push forward.

People are jumping into stock trading because there is relatively low cost of transaction or sometimes, there is really none at all.

The only thing that needs charging is the services of brokers.

People do the work on their own.

One major advantage of getting into stock trading, according to him, is the flexibility of its business schedule. Since the industry runs 24/7, one can create own trade on schedule at one’s e pace and time.

Beyond this, the availability of wide array of trading vehicles is

By Edwin Agbaike

•Gbenegbara

also a major benefit one could get.

It gives people options in carrying out their transactions.

In stock trading, transactions can come in several forms, which can suit the need of the trader or broker.

Just as with any business venture, to achieve success takes many years of experience and a great deal of time and effort to become as knowledgeable about the market as possible.

For him, people who have spent many years studying the market are disciplined in taking trading decisions.

According to him, those who trade without any experience are often recipients of a very costly lesson.

He said individuals who are well-trained became success stories in the long run.

One of the basic tenets most experts discuss regarding the stock market is to leave out all emotion when trading. It is a day filled with ups and downs, and if one become too upset or stressed, success will elude one.

•Managing Director,Business Impact Limited, Mr Samson Olatunde and Managing Director, First Registrars, Mr Bayo Olugbemi, at an event in Lagos.

Nigeria still investor-friendly, says Dangote

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EADING industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said Nigeria is still the best place in the world to invest.

Dangote, who was at the Lagos Business School to share his experience of managing businesses in Africa with participants as a part of an entrepreneurship course, said Africa and Asia offer opportunities for doing business with high returns on investment. But Nigeria,he noted, is still the best place to invest in the world.

During the session which lasted over three hours, participants who

were mostly chief executives and owner managers of companies, wanted to know how the Group had accomplished outstanding results, in spite of the socioeconomic and infrastructural challenges in the Nigerian economy.

Dangote said: “We are able to grow the businesses because we were very determined. We knew where we were going and we had a vision”.

He explained that many people make the mistake of starting businesses without having any vision.

The other factors attributed to the

success of the Group, he said, were in taking calculated risks, investing and diversifying the business.

He said: “We have taken quite a lot of risks, but it’s also the sheer amount of money that we keep investing, because we believe in what we are doing.”

To foreign investors and aspiring entrepreneurs, his advice is that Africa and Asia offer opportunities for doing business with high returns on investment, but Nigeria, he believes, is still the best place in the world to invest.

“We believe in Nigeria, and that is why we are investing”, he said.

GERIATRIC care addresses the complex needs of older people, focusing on health promotion, prevention and treatment of diseases and disabilities in the elderly. Comprehensive health care of the aging patient takes place in acute, and long – term care settings. This is usually provided by a multi – disciplinary team that may include a geriatrician, geriatric nurse practitioner, primary care clinician, nurses, pharmacists, and others.

In Nigeria and other developing countries, the diseases that are most frequent causes of death are slow, so that time between diagnosis and death may be relatively long. Observations have shown that, for people who are terminally ill, 90 per cent of the last years of their life is typically spent in their own homes, despite the fact that a majority actually die in hospitals.

Formal care for the elderly people- the chronically ill and disabled, the sick and dying, has never been a priority for either health or social services in Nigeria, though common in developed countries.

Formal institutions rendering geriatric services in the country are few.

It is a complete new area which many have never thought about. The few ones operating in the country are NGO-based, and the services rendered are scanty. Most of the services rendered to the elderly and chronically ill and disabled in our society are offered by close relatives at home. This can be very demanding and strenuous on the care givers. The hectic schedules of urban workers in Nigeria have left them no option than to seek a care providing home where their aged ones can relax and be properly cared for. The perennial demand for health care services, especially for the age ones, adequately illustrates the wide market that awaits this project.

There are bright prospects for geriatric care services, and care of the chronically ill and disabled, especially in the urban cities where most people are on the fast lane of life. Many middle/ top level executives and business people in urban cities, have their aged ones to care for at home. Often, these aged ones are chronically ill, physically and mentally disabled. This observed trend is high and growing rapidly every day. It is influenced by population growth, rapid-urbanisation, growth in industrialisation, educational institutions, social awareness, eating habits, etc. Moreover, as a result of the continuous rural urban drift and the traditional desire to care for loved aged parents, geriatric services will continue to command high demand. Increase in population will naturally lead to increase in the demand for the envisaged services of this project.

Geriatric care services will include among others the followings: Treatment /management of diseases; Provision of comfortable home; prevention of disease and disability in elderly people; Provision of right diet for longevity; offering of personal attention, assistance and support to meet needs of the elderly, chronically ill and disabled; counselling and support services; Provide physical, spiritual, emotional and practical needs of the elderly, chronically ill and disabled; providing surroundings to make their stay as comfortable as they have never had before.

There are no specifically standard charges for services offered by either private or government hospitals, nor for care giving home services.

The charges for consultations, treatment and residential will be competitive with prevailing charges of similar institutions. Those with serious disability and chronic, life–threatening illness will definitely be charged higher. Bed space could be graded and charged monthly.

A duplex sized Geriatric Care Services Home, set up with a total cost of N25 million, in any of the urban cities of Nigeria, stand the chance of reaping huge incomes for the promoters. A turnover of about N175 million of its 45 per cent installed capacity utilisation at first year of operation is possible. This will give a first year after tax profit of about N31.5 million, which is 18 per cent of the turnover.

This project stands a good chance of attracting loan facility from the bank. We are also positioned to source offshore funds for both existing business and off-takers. A well-packaged feasibility report is a prerequisite to securing both local and international finance for the project.

For details on how to implement this project or any other (over 5,000 on our researched list), please contact us. We are willing to assist potential investors on any aspect of the project. Prospective investors may get in touch with us at the address stated hereunder. Edwin Agbaike is of [Projects/Financial Consultant Kris-Ed Brilliant Limited (Brilliant Consulting). Tel. Nos. 08098525122; 08023381900.E-mail: krisedbrilliant@ yahoo.com; edwinagbaike@yahoo.com.

Knowledge entrepreneurs ideal for Nigeria CHIEF Executive Officer, Primedia Communications, Mr Victor Bassey, has called on emerging entrepreneurs to direct their energies to industries concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information.

He said information to industries are becoming increasingly important to economic well-being, adding that industries depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation.

According to him, there is a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property and urged entrepreneurs to build on individual creativity, skill and talent.

He noted that the electronic publishing industry was a large one, adding that the industry requires diversely skilled input to produce a valuable outcome.

Bassey called on young professionals to offer information to generate growth to bring the country out of recession.

He said the economy is in need of professionals, who are smarter and more innovative and creative and more flexible and adaptive and confident and entrepreneurial than the competition.

According to him, the explosion on the economy has opened the door for knowledge entrepreneurs across a number of different industries to take advantage of the growing domestic market for goods and services.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

47

THE NATION’S

INVESTORS Panic as world stock markets slide F into recession EARS of possible relapse in the global economy recovery appeared to have woserned world stock markets performance following the poor returns recorded by many advanced and emerging markets.

The year-to-date return analysis of key advanced and emerging stock exchanges for the period ended August 4, showed that many markets which ended the first half well are now carrying significant negative returns.

The development was attributed to shareholders’ fear of investing on equities.

The three key indices that measured the performance of the United States of America

By Taofik Salako

(USA) showed a major reversal as the world's dominant economy struggled with its national debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which returned 7.23 per cent in the first half, now indicated negative return of 1.67 per cent. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index's year- to-date return stood at -4.58

per cent as against 5.01 per cent in the first half. The NASDAQ, which indicated average return of 4.55 per cent by June, now carried 3.64 per cent.

European markets that generally showed a positive outlook in the first half saw a reversal, with the Germany's DAX Index indicating a loss to date of 7.22 per cent as against its half-year return of about 6.68 per cent.

• From left: Oba Rilwanu of Lagos, Ambassador Segun Apata; Chairman, Nigerian Bottling Company Plc (NBC), Mr Kelvin Balogun, MD CocaCola Nigeria Limited and Mr Ben Langat, MD NBC, at the unveiling of NBC's 60th Anniversary.

France's CAC 40 Index posted double digit average return of -12.73 per cent compared with a first half gain of 4.66 per cent. Britain's benchmark index, the FTSE 100 Index, reversed from 0.78 per cent within the first six months to -8.59 per cent. Spain's SMSI Index, which grew by 4.59 per cent by the first half, now carried a negative return of 12.43 per cent. Switzerland recorded the highest loss with its benchmark index- SMI, carrying -17.88 per cent as against -3.87 per cent in first half.

Most emerging markets were also on the downtrend although Ghana and Brazil retained substantial gains for investors. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) All Share Index of South Africa, which posted a sixmonth yield of -0.79 per cent worsened to 7.84 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index which returned -2.77 per cent in the first half worsened to -5.0 per cent while India's BSE 30 Index slipped further from -8.11 per cent to -13.73 per cent. Japan stock market, benchmarked by the NIKKEI 225 Index, recorded a loss to date of 5.57 per cent.

The Nigerian stock market, which closed the first half with year-to-date gain of 0.85 per cent, closed the review period with negative return of 4.14 per cent.

Brazil, however, witnessed the biggest recovery during the period as it reversed its negative return to lead the tracked stock markets with a year-to-date return of 23.58 per cent. Brazil's Bovespa Index returned 9.70 per cent in the first half. Ghana continued to retain substantial value for investors although the year -to-date average gain dropped marginally from six-month return of 18.89 per cent to 17.63 per cent.

Analysts at First Securities Discount House (FSDH) Group said the downtrend presented opportunities for discerning investors given the strong fundamentals of many stocks that had been undervalued by the generally negative overall market situation.

According to analysts, investors that desire to achieve real return on their financial investment should take strategic positions in equities now.

Analysts advised investors to maintain a medium-to-long term investment horizons while screening key sectors for undervalued stocks.

Investors fault nationalisation of three banks

S

HAREHOLDERS and fund managers have described the nationalisation of Afribank Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB and Spring Bank nearly two months before the September deadline for recapitalisation as pre-emptive action capable of eroding investors’ confidence in the capital market.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) last Friday took over the three banks, which were quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and transferred all their assets and liabilities to private limited liability companies, otherwise referred to as bridge banks. The bridge banks have been sold to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The three banks were valued at about N30 billion as at the time of the nationalisation.

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

Shareholders and investment managers who spoke to The Nation, said though the government has the prerogative of ensuring the stability of the financial system, it must follow due process and be fair and transparent in its handling of issues.

Leading investment management firm, Afrivest West Africa, said they were surprised by the decision to nationalise the banks more so when the September deadline for their recapitalisation was still some 53 days away.

They said the nationalisation could further undermine the credibility of the financial markets and especially the banking reforms.

According to investors, the decision to na-

tionalise the bank was hasty and unfair to minority shareholders, who had been encouraged to invest in these banks by the regulators.

“We believe the impact of this action on the equities market will be markedly negative, given the challenges in the global economy and the renewed concerns about the downturn in recent weeks. This assumes even more frightening proportions when considering the apparent lack of investor confidence in the domestic retail segment,” Afrinvest noted.

President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr Faruk Umar, said the nationalisation was a vote of no confidence on the management teams appointed by the Central Bank of Ni-

Starcomms appoints marketing director STARCOMMS Plc has appointed Justin Coetzee, a versatile commercial telecoms professional, as its new marketing director.

Coetzee will be responsible for the company's marketing operations and is expected to play crucial roles in the rejuvenation of the ailing telecoms company.

Starcomms' Chief Executive Officer, Logan Pather, said the company would benefit from Coetzee’s wealth of experience which he had garnered not only in top telecoms market in the world, but also in other sectors and other markets.

"We are proud to have him join the Starcomms family to take the company to higher heights with us," Pather said.

Coetzee joined Starcomms Plc directly from Shaka Mobile Corporation (USA) where he was Commercial Director and was responsible for the overall commercial functions of the company. He was also a specialist distribution consultant with Onecell Holdings (Pty) Limited, South Africa the leading airtime distributor and third party virtual vending operator in that country. He was also involved in the Startup of Glo Mobile in Nigeria.

Forecasts Q3 OANDO TURNOVER N127.82 PAT N3.06BN

geria (CBN) for the banks.

According to him, some of the managements of the banks were deliberately delaying and frustrating the recapitalisation processes because of their personal gains.

“The CBN must probe the activities of the managements of the three banks if we are serious about reforming the banking sector,” Umar said.

He said the apex bank must now focus on developing efficient regulatory framework that would forestall the recurring collapse of banks, adding that the financial regulators appeared to lack resources and capacity to manage the number of banks currently in existence.

Shareholders' leader and activist, Gbadebo •Continued on page 48

DN MEYER TURNOVER N582.16N PAT N14.81M

NPF MFB T/O N827.31M PBT N198.55M PAT N198.55M

STACO INS. TURNOVER 6.43BN PAT N665.05M

TRIPPLE GEE & COMPANY PLC TURNOVER N166.09m PAT N74.59m

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

48

THE NATION’S INVESTORS

Banks’ nationalisation irks investors •Continued from page 47 Olatokunbo lamented the loss of investments and blamed fifth columnists for the frustration of the recapitalisation of the banks.

He said beyond nationalisation, the government must undertake comprehensive investigation to fish out and punish all those who were responsible for the collapse of the banks.

"We hope AMCON shall continue with the recovery of all debts while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should go after those responsible for the sorry states of the banks.

We must get to the root of this great loss on bank investment if we are serious as a nation," Olatokunbo said.

He, however, blamed some segments of shareholders for their uncooperative attitudes toward the recapitalisation of the nationalised

N

banks, pointing out that some shareholders failed to see the reality of the precarious positions of the banks while some acted for selfish reasons.

He said the loss of investment should be an eye-opener to all shareholders to always rise up against bad corporate governance practices as well as poor regulations as they stand to lose more than any other stakeholder.

Shareholders under the aegis of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) said the nationalisation would further deepen the crisis of confidence at the stock market.

According to a statement by its National Co-ordinator, Sir Sunny Nwosu, the revocation of the operating licenses of the three banks would further impoverish Nigerians and constrain ability to create wealth through long term savings window of the capital market.

EIMETH International Pharmaceuticals Plc has said it is set to resume payment of dividend to shareholders.

The Head, Corporate Affairs and General Services, Mr Okay Nwaka, disclosed this while shedding light on the performances of the company in the just-concluded year ended March 31, 2011.

This reaction came on the heels of the sanction meted out to 33 companies for late submission of their full year results. More companies have continued to respond by making available their results to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Neimeth, one of those placed on technical suspension, late Thursday made available its full year report ended March 31, 2011.

According to Nwaka, the full year 2010/2011 report of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc released to the NSE revealed that Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc achieved a 405 per

FACTS

TO

Neimeth to resume dividend payment

By Tonia Osundolire

cent growth in Profit before Tax over last year (2009/2010).

He explained that despite the apparent sluggish growth in turnover of less than two per cent largely due to late delivery of invoiced good, the benefits of a significantly improved cost management regime was manifest.

At the last Annual General Meeting, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc announced that it was in the last phase of its transformation from a company that depended on franchised and licensed products to one that would depend on its own indigenously developed products and brands.

In the report, it was shown that the benefit of this transition has been evident as cost of sales

dropped significantly from 53 per cent last year to 40 per cent this year. As a result of this, the company achieved N123.4 million Profit before Tax as against a loss of N40.5 million last year.

Mr Nwaka said there are indications that the turnover of the company will go up this year just as the profit jumped in the previous year under review because of the ongoing efforts at new products launch and market expansion.

"The Management of Neimeth is particularly elated by this performance as the President/Chief Executive Officer, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, had promised shareholders, customers and staff of the anticipated rebound of Neimeth at the 2010 Annual General Meeting,” Nwaka said.

FACTS

Vitafoam vs Vono: Same business, different performances

V

ITAFOAM Nigeria Plc and Vono Products Plc are the two leading names in foam manufacturing in Nigeria. For five decades, the two companies have competed for the leadership of the foam manufacturing industry and through booms and bursts struggled to remain going concerns. In the distant past, 51-year-old Vono was the industry leader with its wide range of foam and related products as well as largely exclusive claim on high-end products such as spring mattresses. Beside foam products, Vono still, manufactures bunks, hospital beds and school furniture.

But over the years, Vitafoam's steadfastness and commitment to capacity development have placed the company in incontestable position as the leading foam manufacturer. Although it has struggled lately with sluggish sales and declining profitability, Vitafoam over the years has remained a profitable return-yielding company with average turnover growth of 14 per cent and pre-tax margin of about 7.9 per cent in the past two years.

Vono, on the other hand, has has had to deal with mounting losses and declining sales. These have greatly eroded the brand franchise and market share of the company, but its status as a premium heritage brand has continued to be primary driving force.

Sales Generation Vitafoam witnessed a slowdown in sales growth in 2010 with a below-average performance of 8.9 per cent. Turnover had grown by 19.4 per cent in 2009. These indicated a two-year average sales growth of 14.2 per cent. However, Vono has continued to lose market share with 29 per cent and 2.3 per cent declines in sales in 2009 and 2010 respectively. This implies that sales has dropped by an average of 16 per cent over the past two years.

Profitability Vitafoam has struggled with high costs of operations in recent years but it appeared to be making a slow recovery in the immediate past year. Gross profit grew by 8.9 per cent in 2010 while profit before tax increased by 5.4 per cent as against a decrease of 23 per cent in 2009. Net profit after tax was almost unchanged with 0.2 per cent increase in 2010 but it was a considerably better performance than 27 per cent decline recorded in previous year. The underlying profitability of the company also was stable though edgy. Gross profit

By Taofik Salako

margin remained unchanged at 29.8 per cent but pre-tax profit margin inched downward from eight per cent to 7.7 per cent.

However, Vono's losses have built up considerably in recent years. Gross profit had dropped by 15 per cent in 2010, which trickled down to 60 per cent and 57 per cent increase in pre and post tax losses respectively. Loss before and after tax had doubled in 2009; putting average increase in loss before tax and loss after tax at 85 per cent and 84 per cent respectively. Gross margin dropped from 22 per cent to 19 per cent while pre-tax profit margin worsened at -90 per cent as against -55 per cent.

Actual Returns Vitafoam has maintained doubledigit returns to shareholders and other stakeholders, although its returns fell below average in the immediate past year. Actual return to shareholders, as measured by return on equity, stood at 21 per cent in 2010 as against 24 per cent in 2009, indicating a two-year average of 22 per cent. Total return

FACTS TO FACTS Turnover growth Gross profit growth Pre-tax profit growth Gross margin Pre-tax profit margin Net profit growth Return on Assets Return on Equity

• Chairman, Vitafoam, Samuel Bolarinde

Chief

on the balance sheet dropped below two-year average of 13.95 per cent to 13.5 per cent as against 14.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, Vono shareholders have lost more than 45 per cent over the past two years. Return on equity stood at -65 per cent in 2010

‘The difference between Vitafoam and Vono is the stability and quality of corporate management. While Vitafoam has enjoyed a stable board and management with focus on expansion and sustainable growth, Vono has reeled under frequent changes’ compared with -25 per cent in 2009.

Return on total assets also rose below two-year average of -16 per cent to -19 per cent as against -13 per cent.

The Bottom-line Foam manufacturing companies, like many other companies, face

Vitafoam

the arduous tasks of consistently managing externally induced variables, with potential for pronounced negative impacts on overall performance.

These include poor national infrastructures such as power supply, inconsistent and often unfavourable fiscal and monetary policies and rampant socio-political risks. When these combined with global economic recession and resultant contraction in monolithic export-dependent national economy, they formed a perfect crisis situation for corporate managers.

The difference between Vitafoam and Vono is the stability and quality of corporate management.

While Vitafoam has enjoyed a stable board and management with focus on expansion and sustainable growth, Vono has reeled under frequent changes.

Probably, the recent acquisition of significant stake in Vono by Vitafoam may bring the muchneeded stability. But it definitely means Vitafoam has outflanked the competition and now it will dictate the pace in the industry.

Vono

2010 %

2009 %

Average %

8.9 8.9 5.4 29.8 7.7 0.2 13.5 20.8

19.4

14.15 4.45 -8.8 29.8 7.85 -13.2 13.95 22.3

-23.0 29.8 8.0 -26.6 14.4 23.8

Pre-tax profit margin (Vitafoam)

Turnover growth Gross profit growth Pre-tax loss growth Gross margin Pre-tax profit margin Net loss growth Return on Assets Return on Equity

2010 %

2009 %

Average %

-2.3 -14.9 60.4 18.8 -89.9 56.5 -18.5 -65.3

-28.9

-15.6 -7.45 84.7 20.21 -72.65 83.75 -15.5 -45.25

109 21.62 -55.4 111 -12.5 -25.2

Pre-tax profit margin (Vono)

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

49

THE NATION’S INVESTORS CORPORATE SCORE BOARD

C

ONSIDERABLE decline in sales and significant increase in financing charges impinged on actual profit of UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc in the immediate past business year but the real estate company rode on the back of efficient cost management to improve its intrinsic profit-making capacity.

Audited report and accounts of UPDC for the year ended December 31, 2010 showed that total turnover declined by about 39 per cent while interest expenses grew by 68 per cent, depressing pre and post tax profits by 10 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively. With these, basic distributable earnings per share dropped by about 24 per cent while net assets per share declined by 23 per cent.

With 10 per cent increase in cash dividend per share, the sustainable dividend outlook of the company dwindled, although current earnings per share was still thrice the amount of payout.

However, the company fell back on its internal control and management to mitigate the adverse effect of the sluggish macro economy and back-breaking liquidity squeeze that choked demand for capital goods on the one hand and contracted corporate access to funds on the other hand. With 70 per cent reduction in cost of sales and 24 per cent in non-core business incomes, the company fundamentally made more profit from each unit of sale in 2010 than in the previous year.

Restructuring of its balance sheet in favour of longer-tenored loans reduced the immediate financial leverage while improved liquidity provided better assurance of ability to meet emerging financing obligations.

Financing structure UPDC Group's paid up share capital increased by 25 per cent from N550 million in 2009 to N688 million in 2010. The increase was due to capitalisation of reserves through a bonus issue of one for four shares made for the 2009 business year, which were effected in the 2010 business year. Shareholders' funds meanwhile was almost unchanged at N29.89 billion as against N29.84 billion. Total assets rose by 12 per cent to N69.53 billion compared with N62.28 billion in 2009. Current assets had increased by 49 per cent from N19.7 billion to N29.4 billion while

UPDC: Mixed performance

By Taofik Salako

long-term assets had dropped by 5.8 per cent from N42.6 billion to N40.13 billion.

However, total liabilities grew by 22 per cent to N39.6 billion as against N32.44 billion. Although total interest-bearing loans rose by 50 per cent from N15.65 billion in 2009 to N23.51 billion in 2010, short-term loans dropped by 62 per cent from N9.28 billion to N3.57 billion. This also mainly explained 22 per cent decrease in current liabilities from N25.6 billion to N19.96 billion.

However, the restructuring into longer-tenored loans shot up longterm liabilities by 189 per cent from N6.8 billion to N19.68 billion.

The balance sheet position of the company thus reflected a mixed outlook with improved immediate financial leverage but decline in equity funds and built-up of future liabilities. The proportion of equity funds to total assets dropped from 48 per cent in 2009 to 43 per cent in 2010. Long-term liabilities represented 57 per cent of total assets as against 52 per cent. Current liabilities/total assets ratio meanwhile improved from 41 per cent to 29 per cent while proportion of bank overdrafts and commercial papers to total equity stood at 12 per cent, an improvement over 31 per cent in 2009.

Efficiency UPDC achieved considerable improvement in cost efficiency during the year with 19 percentage points decline in non-interest cost of business relative to sales. Average number of employees increased by 133 per cent from 136 persons in 2009 to 317 persons in 2010. This obviously was due to recruitments, majorly lower cadres employees, for the hotel subsidiary. Total staff costs thus rose from N303 million to N396 million. The company also obviously reviewed remunerations during the period as average cost per employee dropped from N2.23 million to N1.25 million. Average contribution of each employee to pre-tax profit had dwindled from N20.8 million to N8.0 million. Meanwhile, the proportion of cost of sales and operating expenses to total sales improved from 74 per

Fiscal Year Ended December 31

2010

Nmillion

12 months

•MD, UPDC, Mr Hakeem Ogunniran

cent to 55 per cent.

Profitability In spite of the sluggish outlook of the actual profit and loss items, the underlying profitability of UPDC improved considerably in the immediate past year. Group profit margin rose from 36 per cent to 68 per cent while pre-tax profit margin improved from 21 per cent to 31 per cent. Segmental analysis showed similarly strong underlying performance for the businesses of the group, although huge loss recorded by the start-up hospitality services impacted negatively on actual overall earnings. Gross profit margin under the development and sales of properties business segment, under the purview of the parent companyUPDC, stood at 68 per cent as against 35 per cent while the hospitality business- under the purview of UPDC Hotels Limited, recorded a gross profit margin of 76.3 per cent in its first year of operations. However, while the pre-tax profit margin in the main business segment increased from 24 per cent in 2009 to 44.4 per cent in 2010, pre-tax margin was 153 per cent in the hotel segment.

This partly contracted underlying returns of the group. Return on total assets dropped from 4.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent while return on equity slipped from 8.2 per cent to 7.8 per cent. With the contrast of 24 per cent decline in basic unadjusted earnings

2009 % change

12 months

Profit and Loss Statement Main Business Segment Total turnover Cost of sales Gross profit Operating expenses Interest and other incomes Finance expenses Pre-tax profit(loss) Post-tax profit (loss) Basic earnings per share(kobo) Gross dividend Cash dividend per share (kobo) Net Assets per share (kobo)

7,637 8,194 2,610 5,584 1,931 139 1,253 2,539 2,323 169 756 55 2,174

-42.7 -38.5 -69.7 18.0 51.6 24.1 68.2 -10.1 -4.6 -23.5 37.5 10.0 -22.9

13,331 13,331 8,600 4,731 1,274 112 745 2,825 2,435 221 550 50 2,819

Balance Sheet Assets: Fixed assets Total long term assets Trade debtors Current assets Total assets

16,853 40,134 2,914 29,397 69,531

3.6 -5.8 166.1 49.4 11.6

16,262 42,609 1,095 19,675 62,284

5,429 3,570 19,961 19,680 39,641

-6.5 -61.5 -22.1 188.9 22.2

5,809 9,281 25,628 6,812 32,440

688 29,890

25.0 0.2

550 29,844

Liabilities: Trade creditors Bank loans Current liabilities Long-term liabilities Total liabilities Equity Funds: Share capital Total Equity Funds

per share and 10 per cent increase in cash payout per share, dividend cover diminished from 4.42 times to 3.07 times.

Group turnover stood at N8.2 billion in 2010 as against N13.33 billion in 2009. The decline was due mainly to the 43 per cent drop in sales in the property development and sales business segment from N13.33 billion to N7.64 billion. The hospitability segment of the group contributed N557 million to the topline. The contraction in sales reflected poor demand for property stock, where incomes dropped by 65 per cent and low project management incomes, which had dropped by 73 per cent.

Meanwhile, cost of sales dropped by 70 per cent from N8.6 billion to N2.6 billion. Gross profit thus increased by 18 per cent from N4.73 billion to N5.58 billion. Operating expenses increased by 52 per cent from N1.27 billion to N1.93 billion while interest expenses grew by 68 per cent to N1.25 billion as against N745 million. Consequently, profit before tax dropped from 2.83 billion to N2.54 billion while profit after tax slipped by 4.6 per cent from N2.44 billion to N2.32 billion. With 25 per cent increase in outstanding shares due to bonus issue, basic earnings per share dropped by 24 per cent from 221 kobo to 169 kobo. This also reflected on the net assets per share which dropped from N28.19 to N21.74. The company meanwhile increased dividend per share by 10 per cent from 50 kobo to 55 kobo, which was made possible through about 38 per cent increase in gross dividend from N550 million in 2009 to N756 million in 2010.

Liquidity UPDC strengthened its ability to meet emerging financing obligations during the year. Current ratio doubled from 0.77 times in 2009 to 1.47 times in 2010. Working capital was positive and amounted to 115 per cent in 2010 as against -45 per cent in 2009. The proportion of debtors to creditors was 54 per cent as against 19 per cent in previous year.

Governance and structures UPDC Group consists mainly of UPDC and its hotel subsidiary,

Fiscal Year Ended December 31

UPDC Hotels Limited, which operates the 471-rooms and suites Golden Tulip Hotel; former Festac '77 Hotel. UPDC owns about 95 per cent equity stake in UPDC Hotels Limited and another 67.5 per cent equity stake in Manor Gardens Property Development Company Limited, a firm of architects and building engineers. It also holds 6.7 per cent equity stake in UNICO CPFA Limited, a closed pension fund administrator that manages retirement assets of employees in the UACN Group.

UPDC also holds 50.5 per cent equity stake in 1004 Estates Limited, a special purpose vehicle floated to purchase the 1004 Estate flats from the Federal Government.

UPDC itself is a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc, which holds 46 per cent equity stake. First Trustees Limited holds the second largest single shareholding of 12 per cent while hundreds of other institutional investors hold 18 per cent.

The board and management of the company have remained stable and were in line with the UACN Group tradition of rotating employees within the constituents of the group.

Group managing director of UACN, Mr. Larry Ettah, chairs the board of UPDC while Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran leads executive management as managing director. UPDC has broadly complied with the code of corporate governance and best practices.

Analyst's opinion UPDC has no doubt built inherent capacity in terms of the scope of operations and institutional strengths.

And this was aptly demonstrated with the performance in the immediate past business year. With the financial crisis and economic slowdown, the odds were stacked against the capital goods industry.

The investors' apathy at the capital market have forced many companies to rely on costly bank loans, with attendant implications for financial mismatch. This is the crux of the concerns about the sustainability of the somewhat commendable performance of UPDC. With a sluggish market, increasing financing expenses might further moderate returns to shareholders. The company needs to build on the success of its bond issue to raise more amenable equity funds, which would support the long term growth of the business.

2010

2009

%

%

43.0 57.0 28.7 11.9

47.9 52.1 41.1 31.1

Profitability Gross profit margin Pre-tax profit margin Return on total assets Return on equity Dividend cover (times)

68.1 31.0 3.7 7.8 3.07

35.5 21.2 4.5 8.2 4.42

Efficiency Pre-tax profit per employee (Nm) Staff cost per employee (Nm) Cost of sales, operating exp/Turnover

8.0 1.25 55.4

20.8 2.23 74.1

Liquidity Current ratio Working capital/Turnover Debtors/Creditors

1.47 115.2 53.7

0.77 -44.7 18.9

Financing structure Equity funds/Total assets Long-term liabilities/Total assets Current liabilities/Total assets Debt/Equity ratio

50

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

51

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

PDP tackles Nasarawa governor In a move reminiscent of the Second Republic experience in Kaduna State, the legislature and the executive have started a cold war in Nasarawa State. While the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) produced Governor Tanko Almakura in April, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 20 of the 24 seats in the House of Assembly. Now, the PDP members in the House are flexing muscles. Correspondent JOHNNY DANJUMA captures the drama in this piece.

T

WO months after the Umaru Tanko Almakura administration of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was inaugurated in Nasarawa State, the government is yet to fully take off as the executive council, an arm of government is not fully constituted. While the structure of government is beginning to emerge in most states, the list of the Nasarawa cabinet members is is still a closely guarded secret in the Northcentral state that dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the opposition CPC at the April poll.

Though the last administration of Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma similarly took time before the list of his cabinet members was sent to the State House of Assembly, the people of the state had thought that his successor will adopt a different approach.

Since the inception of the CPC administration in May this year, only three major appointments have so far been made which are the Secretary to the State Government, the Head of Service and the Chief Press Secretary.

Unlike these posts that grew out of convention and probably necessity, the executive council, made up principally of Commissioners, is a constitutional imperative. Provision is made for it in sections 192 and 193 of the 1999 Constitution.

Within the contemplation of the Constitution, a government is not properly constituted until an executive council is put in place.

Section 193 (2) says: “The Governor shall hold regular meetings with the Deputy Governor and all Commissioners of the Government of the State in the discharge of their executive responsibilities.”

The operative word is “shall”.

“As other major appointments are being awaited, especially the announcement of Commissioners who are expected to give a helping hand in the administering of governance in the state, tongues has however started wagging as to delay in their appointments.

While some believe that the new Governor is taking his time in order not to fall into an avoidable pit, others think he has got stuck due to the politicking between his party and the deposed People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that has the large majority in the state House of Assembly.

While the CPC has four seats, the PDP has a comfortable 20 members. In recent times, the State Assembly and the Executive got locked up in battle of supremacy over the appointment of Transitional Management Committees

(TMCs) of the 16 development areas of the state.

To the Assembly, the governor acted ultra vires in constituting the TMCs without recourse to the Assembly, thereby contravening Sections 43, 80 and 81 of the state’s Local Government Law 2009 as amended which gives it the power to oversee the selection, confirmation as well as tenures of the Development Area Management Committees. It also reportedly violates Section 4 sub Section 6 and 7 of the 1999 Constitution.

Under the law, Development Area Committees operate under their mother council areas and for now there are no existing councils at the state’s 13 local government areas in addition to the fact that the 2011 local government budgets has not been approved, thereby leaving the Assembly wondering how they can operate. The Assembly has insisted that at least three members of the PDP should be included in the Committee managing each of the development area. A demand that the governor turned down.

There have also been suggesteions that there were demands for financial gratification.

Efforts to get the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Hon. Musa Ahmed Muhammed, to react to the issues however did not succeed. .His Press Secretary, Ibrahim Tanko, could not react to inquiries and said he could not tell if his boss was in town or had travelled at the time of writing this report.

The tussle took a dangerous turn when Elayo allegedly sent the House a correspondence considered rude. It took an apology from the SSG to calm frayed nerves. It is believed that the inability or unwillingness of Governor Almakura to send his list of commissioners to the House is because he fears that it would be turned down.

However, a senior official of the government told The Nation that the governor was merely studying the government he inherited and would make his appointments when he is sure of what is required to turn things round. “You know that His Excellency made promises when campaigning for the office.

It requires a serious study of the situation on ground before serious appointments can be made.

“The outcry is only by mischief makers. It took Akwe Doma who came to office in 2007 on the platform of the PDP six months to appoint commissioners even when he had majority in the House. So, what are they saying? Why is it consid-

• Almakura

•Mohammed

‘While the governor says he is taking his time to choose those he believes can work with him to deliver the goods, those that supported him during the campaigns who had looked forward to playing the godfather are kicking. The governor says there are educational and other criteria for picking members of his executive council. Almakura has insisted that only those who have higher educational qualifications will serve at that level in his government’ ered strange now?”

On the stipulations in the constitution, the official said: “Yes, it is there. We know. The point is that the Constitution does not say Commissioners should be nominated the same day that the governor is sworn in. It takes time and this probably explains why the Constitution does not indicate a time frame for constituting the council. Meanwhile, it must be noted that the government starts running from day one.

“Under the presidential system (of government), the governor is the chief executive of the state. He is the executive. Others merely assist him in carrying the burden of state. He is the one known to the electorate; the person elected. He appoints others and must accept responsibility for their actions.”

The governor is not faced with tackles from only the PDP. There are also members of CPC and other opposition parties and even an arm of the PDP opposed to Akwe Doma who teamed up with him before the polls. To them, this is pay-back time. While the governor says he is taking his time to choose those he believes can work with him to deliver the goods, those that supported him during the campaigns who had looked forward to playing the godfather are kicking. The governor says there are educational and other criteria for picking members of his executive council. Almakura has insisted that only those who have higher educational qualifications will serve at that level in his government. The governor has said that there will be no room for tired

hands or old men and women in the yet-to-be named cabinet.

Governor Almakura has said he would not appoint commissioners for ministries when there is no money to run government business. He is reported to have said that commissioners in his government would not be appointed “to just pay salaries”. Civil servants can do that, he is reported to have argued at meetings held with politicians and Assembly men The necessity of this he said cannot be overlooked as the new cabinet members whoever they may be are coming into office with their own style of politics more so that their constituency and close associates are also waiting to be attended to even as they also have to run political errands for the governor that will help stabilize his administration.

Surprisingly, the state Chairman of PDP, Yunana Iliya, found an ingenious way to support Governor Almakura. He described Governor Almakura as a novice and noted that he could take as much time as he may need in making his choice.

Iliya explained that “as a novice, he has to take his time and not rush in making appointments, particularly those who should guide him in governance.

“Nasarawa State, and Nigeria in general, today, are full of betrayals and so, taking his time to come up with quality people that he may think will help him in bettering the lots of the state is okay by me.” It is doubtful if members of Iliya’s party in the House share his view on the matter.

According to Iliya, the insistence of the House members on the appointment of TMCs for development areas is purely being tackled from the angle of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because the finances of Local Governments as well as their tenures are the prerogatives of the members of the State Assembly.

Development areas or Local Government creation in the state, he said, was done by the state Assembly because they decided the financing as well as their structures and, “so, there is no way any appointment is going to be made into them that will not attract the attention of the Assembly.” The PDP chairman said that there was no way anybody will just come from the blues and say he was going to disregard the laws that has been there.

For Commissioners to effectively take charge of the ministries, Iliya pointed out that they have to pass the state assembly hurdles which the governor must have to recourse to, “but if he chooses to violate it the same way he did in the case of development areas, then he must be ready to face another dust” As the list of commissioners is being awaited in the state however, a reliable source close to the government told our reporter that it will be made public soon.

Elayo declined comment on why the appointment of cabinet members has been delayed, saying that whatever he say at the moment may be interpreted differently.

He simply said “the Executive Governor has the discretion of appointing his cabinet members”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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POLITICS Hon. Bamidele Faparusi represents Emure/Gbonyin/Ekiti East/Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He dissected some of the ills besetting Nigeria in an encounter with Assistant Editor DADA ALADELOKUN.

‘I’ll ensure creation of Ibadan State’

‘President Jonathan’s T burden too enormous’ A

SK Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, an engineer-turned politician for the rationale behind his foray into politics which, last April, culminated in his election into the House of Representatives, he may burst into tears!

For over 35 minutes last Thursday, he exuded deep concerns over the plight of Nigeria especially, his constituency, while his encounter with The Nation lasted at Ikeja, Lagos. His emotions got over him when he was asked to explain why he opted to represent his people at the National Assembly.

“There is no federal presence there in terms of projects, either big or small. Therefore, I want to attract federal government projects into the area. The place is bereft of infrastructure like electricity, power distribution networks, good roads and federal government institutions among others,” he explained. But he expatiated: “We are also in the House to make enabling laws that will create the opportunity for Nigerians to be able to develop their expertise and skills.

We will ensure the enabling environment that will make it possible to fend for themselves. This can be achieved if policies are in place to create sharpen their entrepreneurial skills and by so doing, relying less on the government for survival. We won’t to usurp the responsibility of the executive, but we will give back to the constituency. There are a lot of graduates and unskilled youths all over the place. We will give them direction in form of training and workshops to enable them to believe in themselves. Ultimately, we will support them.”

But how will you function well in the House dominated by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members? The Nation asked. His reply: “It may not be that easy, but it is equally interesting that the present House is not as dominated by the PDP as was the case with the sixth Assembly. We do have our say now. I must say that my colleagues in other parties are credible people who will readily support good ideas that will be in the best interest of our people. Irrespective of their party background, I’m very sure that my colleagues in other parties. I nurse no doubt or fear about that.”

On the impression that the National Assembly is the home of corruption, he reacted: “The impression was created by the media. The reality has dawned on me now that what we read in the media is different from what is on ground now. For almost two months in the assembly, we did not receive a dime; nothing like hotel bills’ payment. We were fending for ourselves. But funny enough, within the six weeks, we were reading in some newspapers that we had collected N50 million; some said N100 million jumbo pay. I don’t want to say that there are some arms of government that are trying to paint the National Assembly black for their selfish interests. We are the watch dog of the country. We are there to scrutinize budgets and prevent corruption in the country. We are there to ensure that the executive does the right thing in the interest of the welfare of the people.

We are committed to our oversight duties. When the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Com-

• Faparusi

mission came to tell us how mush we would be earning per month, I realised that my monthly pay is not up to the salary I pay myself in my own private business. I am even of the opinion that the RMAFC should add to what we earn because we are the ‘executives’ in our constituencies. There are deprivations there and our people won’t understand. We pay hospital bills, provide roads, water and what have you. It is a lot of responsibilities. How many are we in the National Assembly? We only pass budgets; we don’t sign cheques. The media should beam its searchlight on the executive arm and the civil service.”

Since nothing seems to be working, he was asked how prepared the National Assembly was for the task. He responded thus: “We should not deceive ourselves thinking that the National Assembly has the magic wand. There is a lot of disconnect in the system and it will be difficult to have an efficiently running system; that is why people are calling for a Sovereign National Conference. Some feel we should do a review of the constitution, but we have a lot of oversight functions to attend to; hence, we don’t have the time to do a review of the constitution. For instance, there are no good roads and the federal government budgets billions of naira on road construction annually. We don’t see road; we don’t see the money. The Federal Government is saddled with a lot of responsibilities it cannot cope with. That is why it should relinquish part of these duties and share them between the states and local governments. The revenue sharing formula must be reviewed to favour the states and councils so that the Federal Government can face issues like security, defence and others. If the beneficiaries of infrastructural facilities are allowed to build them, they will do good jobs and their monitoring will be more effective. For the federal government to embark on infrastructural development, it is a waste of resources. People can then hold the government at states and local levels accountable on such projects.”

The lawmaker sees nothing wrong with the six-year tenure kite being flown by President Jonathan.

“As we keep thinking out ideas as to getting out of the doldrums, there is no crime selling an idea.

People are already castigating the President’s proposal, but we have

not seen it in its entirety. If the proposal is meant to serve the interest of the sitting president, the bill we die in the House. If it is genuinely to serve national interest, let us look at it patriotically. For instance, I’m coming up will a bill on the possibility of having vice presidents in all the regions. We saw developments when we operated regional government. By that each zone will be represented at the Presidency. So, it is good for people to come up with ideas.”

He lamented the fact that politics had become the mainstay of each family’s economy, fuming: “It is worrisome. There is nothing bad in people who have made marks in their private endeavours joining politics to contribute to remaking the system. But a situation where youths who have not achieved anything in life now see politics as their main source of living is bad. Also, we now have a situation where unemployed young men especially in the villages, fall over themselves to get peanuts from public office holders.

It is an unhealthy trend that must be discouraged. Look at how much politicians spend during elections; it is an issue that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must look into by monitoring how much candidates are spending on campaigns. Our people must also eschew demanding money before voting. You can imagine how much President Jonathan spent on his campaigns.

He outspent other candidates. Such must not continue so that our people do not see election periods are times to do ‘businesses’ with their votes. People must be encouraged to vote for people based on their ideas, issues and campaign promises.”

He emphasised that his journey into politics was not by accident, recalling: “I started as a students’ union leader at the Federal University of Technology, Akure. There I floated an ideological group that can be likened to a political party.

It is called, Movement for Progress and Justice (MPJ). Up till now, it exists. Besides, I was compelled to find a way of contributing my own quota to lifting my struggling system.”

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

HE Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide has promised the Olubadan of Ibadan Land, Oba Dr. Samuel Odulana Odugade that she would work tirelessly in the Federal Executive Cabinet to ensure the creation of Ibadan State which she said, had been long overdue.

Oloye Akinjide made the promise in Ibadan at the weekend while on a ‘Thank You’ visit to the monarch in his palace in Monatan area of Ibadan.

While thanking the Olubadan and the people of Ibadan for their support, the minister disclosed that the actualisation of Ibadan State is the number-one priority on her agenda, assuring: “If only one state is created at the end of the day, it will be Ibadan State.”.

Describing the royal father as the pride of Ibadan land, she added: “I’m grateful to God for this opportunity to serve the people of Ibadan and Oyo State as a whole. I’m also proud to come from Ibadan.

Ibadan as we all know is a home to all and sundry. It is a popular city in Africa and the political centre of South West. I’m in Abuja because of the support given to me by the people of Oyo state. Oyo state is the heart of Yoruba land, and I promise here that the creation of Ibadan State will become a reality because it is our agenda. If at the end of the day, only one state is created, it is going to be Ibadan State” The monarch expressed his delight over the minister’s promise on the creation of Ibadan state, even as he expressed optimism that the dream of having Ibadan State would become a reality. He noted that President Goodluck Jonathan had also promised same during his presidential campaign tour to the ancient city early this year.

He commended the minister for finding time to come home, adding that the gesture really showed that she valued the support given to her by the people of Ibadan. The monarch, however, advised her not to fail on all the promises she made to the peo• Jumoke-Akinjide ple.

Senator’s agenda for Kogi constituency From Mohammed Bashir, Lokoja

T

HE Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District at the national assembly, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, has promised to ensure absolute transformation of his constituency.

Top among Senator Abatemi’s agenda was the push for the quick completion of the abandoned Ajaokuta Steel project in Kogi State.

The Senator, while receiving members of Ebira Peoples Forum (EPF), who paid familiarisation visit to the National Assembly, said he would leave no stone unturned to justify the confidence reposed in him by the entire people of Kogi Central Senatorial district.

He told the EPF members that he would not go to sleep until he ensures the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel project and find solution to the perennial water shortage in the whole of Ebiraland.

Abatemi said he had assembled a team of vibrant, talented and young men, who would work with him to realise his laudable plans for Kogi Central.

• From left: Vice President Mohammed Sambo; Hon. Minister/Chairman National Planning Commission, Dr Shamsudeen Usman; and the Minister of Defence Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed at the opening of Validation meeting on key performance indicators (KPISs) for Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 by National Planning Commission at the Banquet Hall Presidential Villa, Abuja.

PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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NEWS ‘Governor’s son not involved in brawl with soldiers’

Sam Loco: Ajimobi, Aliyu, Mofe- Damijo mourn

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BIA State government yesterday denied that Governor Theodore Orji’s son was involved in a brawl with soldiers.

It described the governor’s son as “a law-abiding young man” who was in Lagos at the time he was alleged to have been engaged in a brawl.

A statement by Orji’s Special Adviser on Media, Ben Onyechere, said: “The insinuation that the son of the governor was engaged in a physical brawl with soldiers in Umuahia is the projection of cheap lie propagated by unscrupulous and idle minds against an unsuspecting and undeserving target.”

It described the rumour as a fabrication meant to insinuate that the governor’s son is visible in the affairs of the state.

The statement said the story was sponsored by those who are not grounded in the affairs of the state.

“It is not unusual for political opponents to originate and sustain falsehood, what is intriguing is to aim at the wrong target just to mislead the society and divert attention as is in the case of the governor’s son,” the statement said.

Orji lambasts engineers From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

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OVERNOR Theodore Orji of Abia State has blamed t6he state engineers for conniving with contractors working on road projects to dupe government.

The governor expressed his disappointment at a meeting with engineers in the Ministry of Works in Umuahia. He decried the poor quality jobs they had executed.

The governor said their behaviour portrayed his administration in bad light, “as nobody attack you (engineers) when the roads you built go bad, but I am no longer ready to tolerate your inadequacies.”

Orji said: “All the poor quality jobs that we are having today are caused by the engineers in the Ministry of Works. If I’m asked to assess you, I will not give any of you up to 10 per cent.”

The governor accused them of inflating contract sums, without supervising the jobs assigned to them.

He said “There is no single paper for a contract that goes to the Ministry of Works from day one and comes out clean.

It must move from one table to the other with you people padding it. Padding of bill is now the order of the day, put this for me, put that for me; that is what you do, you know that what I’m saying is the truth.”

The governor, who was a retired permanent secretary in the state civil service, said he is familiar with all their tricks in the system, “and you come here with bathroom slippers, while you pack your expensive cars in your villages. Only for you to drive same in the night when you go home during weekends, you think I do not know what you people are doing in that ministry. I am only waiting for the dry season to set in. If there is no change, then heads will roll.

From Jide Orintunsi, Minna

•The late Sam Loco

O

YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his Niger State counterpart, Dr Babangida Aliyu yesterday joined other Nigerians in mourning the demise of popula actor, Sam Loco Efe, who died on Sunday.

In a statement signed by his Media aide,Festus Adedayo, Ajimobi noted that the exit of the veteran actor and polygot dug a big hole in the Nollywood movie industry, which would take a miracle to be filled.

He described the thespian’s death as a big blow to the people of Oyo State because the

actor once lived in Ibadan, the state capital.

The governor recalled that Sam Loco’s name was a household name in the state then, especially on the Nigerian Television Authourity (NTA), Ibadan.

He said at a time when acting was renowned for not bringing material reward to its practitioners, the late thespian stuck to the trade.

He described the late actor as a man who brought smiles to the faces of the sorrowful with his high sense of ribaldry, saying there were few actors who possessed such multi-talents which Efe delivered through a mastery of diverse languages.

The governor commiserated with the governor and people of Edo State over the loss of a man he described as an “essential thespian”, the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Segun Arinze and the family of the late actor.

In a statement issued in Minna by Mallam Danladi Ndayebo, Aliyu commiserated with the family of the late actor, writer and singer.

Aliyu described Sam LOco’s death as a big blow, not only to the movie industry but to humanity.

Mofe- Damijo, who is the Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, attributed Sam Loco’s death to excessive stress from acting.

Mofe-Damijo said in Asaba that actors in the country worked for endless hours without food or rest during production.

According to him, Sam Loco had immersed himself in the movie production in Port Harcourt, paying less attention to his health.

Sam Loco, 69, died in a hotel in Owerri, after a post-production work on the “Unknown Prophet”, which he directed.

Mofe-Damijo said:“Sam Loco’s death should make actors in the country to reexamine the condition under which they work.

“We rush to complete a whole load of work in a short period, doing so without food or rest’ He said remuneration in the industry had become good, but that the key issue, which actors must address was working condition.

“We stay in hunger, working for long periods and without even an hour break .After all that, actors don’t bother to go for medical checks.”

The commissioner described the late actor’s demise as a painful loss to all.

He said Sam Loco brought joy to many homes through his acting, but regretted that he did not live long enough to enjoy his fame and goodwill.

Mofe-Damijo said the deceased actor was his role model in the theatre business, adding that he decided to study theatre arts in the university because of Sam Loco’s acting influence on him.

He said: “ grew up watching him and Jimi Solanke in drama programmes on television and indeed Sam Loco was one of the models that made me to study theatres arts.

“He was dedicated to acting and was a great influence on younger actors. He loved the theatre and his life was that of total dedication to the theatre.”

The commissioner said actors would rally round to give the fallen actor a befitting burial.

Workers strike shuts down Anambra

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HE strike embarked upon on Monday by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), inAnambra State has paralysed socio-economic activities iin the state.

Despite Governor Peter Obi’s promise to pay the N18,000 minimum wage, the workers insisted on observing the one- week warning strike.

Chairman of Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council and Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe, described the strike as unnec-

essary.

Addressing reporters after its meeting at the Government House in Awka, yesterday, Achebe urged the NLC to suspend the strike.

He said: “Our message is that withdrawing from service cannot solve the problem, the workers should go back to work.

“As fathers, we are partnering the governor to find a lasting solution to the minimum wage issue.”

Obi yesterday reassured that the state would pay the N18,000 after the State Executive Council meeting.

“Our commitment is total and we are not going to renege on it, the issues contained in the agreement between the Governors Forum, Labour and Federal Government are being followed in accordance with their peculiarities.

“The peculiarities are that levels 1-7 will be the major beneficiaries of this minimum

Chinese shot dead in Lagos CHINESE, who is yet to be identified, was reportedly shot dead by a suspected armed robber on Monday night on ACME Road, Ogba Industrial Estate, Lagos.

The deceased, an accountant with Western Metal Product (WEMPCO), it was learnt, was trailed from a bank on Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, where he had withdrawn an undisclosed amount of money.

An An An eyewitness said the

A

Ebonyi police strengthen security HE Ebonyi State Police Command has strenghtened security in the state.

Commissioner of Police, Adeolu Adeniji, attributed the reduction of crime in the state to the 24 -hour patrol in the 13 Local Governments by the command .He also hailed other security outfits for their collaboration.

Adeniji disclosed this yesterday at the police headquarters in Abakiliki during the decoration of 131 newly promoted Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASP).

The police chief said the command also adopted intelligence gathering and got cooperation from the public.

He urged the public to volunteer information to the police.

T

By Jude Isiguzo

gunman shot the Chinese in the head inside a bus, marked (Lagos) XM 318 LSD, belonging to the company.

The driver said the gunman suddenly appeared and fired several shots at the late Chinese before collecting the money.

The Nation learnt that the driver was too shocked to speak about the incident.

Nobody in the company was also prepared to give de-

tails of how the shooting happened.

Police spokesman Samuel Jinadu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the matter was being investigated.

PUBLIC NOTICE FOR ALL PEOPLE PRAYER AND DELIVERANCE EVANGELICAL MINISTRY (FAPDEM) THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT CAP C 20 LAWS OF THE FEDERATION 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

PROPHET PETER A. OLAWUYI 2.

PASTOR SAMUEL A. ODUBANJO 3.

ELDER OLADOKUN OLAYINKA PETER 4.

ELDER SAMUEL ADEBAYO FASHOLA 5.

ELDER SOLOMON GBADEBO ABEGUNDE 6.

LADY EVAGELIST BUKOLA IYABODE OLAWUYI AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: TO PREACH,TEACH,PROPAGATE AND DEMOSTRATE THE FULL GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST AND TO ADVERTISE HIS SECOND COMING WORLDWIDE. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General,Corporate Affairs Commission, Wuse Zone 5,Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

OLADIIPO OLAYINKA Solicitor

wage and those from levels 817 will not earn more than additional N20, 000 to what they were being paid before,” Obi said.

In compliance with the strike order, the workers deserted their offices yesterday.

Members of the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) paraded at the offices.

The second and third election petition panels also postponed their sittings following the strike.

Church holds crusade THE Gospel Apostolic Church,Asimi Asiwaju Street, Orilowo Ejigbo, Lagos, will hold a five-day power- packed crusade at Oboye market playground from August 15-19.

The theme of the crusade is:”The Next Better Level.”

According to the District Overseer of the Church, Pastor S.A Gbadebo, the crusade will offer salvation, healing and deliverance to the participants. Anointed men of God are expected to minister at the crusade.

Funeral for Ondo community leader THE remains of Caroline Olusola Olukoju, a devout Christian and community leader in Afin-Akoko in Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, will be interred on September 2. Madam Olukoju died on July 9. She was 82.

A Christian wake in her honour will hold on September 1 at her A24 Igo Quarters; Afin-Akoko home. Her body will be buried after a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, AfinAkoko, Ondo State, on September 2.

She is survived by many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, among whom is Yomi Olukoju, a Corps Marshall with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

PUBLIC NOTICE I formerly known and addressed as Mr. John Gbarango, now wishes to be known and address as Mr. John Uwaezuoke Nwala Amaechi. All former documents remain valid.

Umugbem Umuobiri Odufor Community, Etche Ethnic Nationalilty, United State of America.

General Public please take note

•The late Madam Olukoju

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MONEY LINK

Foreign reserves hit 6-month high at $35.9b

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IGERIA'S foreign exchange reserves rose to 6-month high of $35.90 billion as at August 8, Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest figures showed. The rise is up from $32.55 billion on August 1, but was lower than a year ago when it stood at $37.80 billion.

Before the current position, the reserves rose to $34.5 billion on July 13, from $31.5 billion a week earlier, netting about $3 billion in one week.

The CBN attributed the modest increase in the external reserves to risig oil prices in recent months. It, however, noted that the inflow into

Stories by Collins Nweze Senior Correspondent

the CBN is not consistent with the high oil prices, saying this underscored the need for tighter fiscal controls around oil revenues as well as first line charges, including Joint Venture Company deductions and subsidies.

A higher rate of retention of oil revenues should facilitate the efforts at maintaining exchange rate stability.

Before the increase, the reserves have been declining, shedding seven per cent from the middle of July to the end of the month, as the CBN

from NNPC would have helped support the naira.

The naira closed at 152.30 to the dollar on the interbank market on Monday, compared to 153.40 Friday's close. "We have so much dollar liquidity in the market and we are expecting the naira to remain strong for the rest of the week," one dealer said.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves have been under pressure since last month with strong local demand for the United States dollar by oil and rice importers, leading, sometimes, to a depreciation of the naira. The CBN has maintained that the present level could finance more than 17 months of import.

tried to defend the naira. “The current external reserves level is still adequate and is expected to remain robust in view of the favorable outlook for oil prices and output,” CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido, said at the July Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

For instance, the naira has continued to firm against the dollar on the interbank market as the volume of forex sold appreciated in recent weeks due to dollar sales from International Oil Companies (IOCs).

The IOCs sell dollars to some banks on monthly basis, using the naira proceeds to fund its account with the Central Bank. The dollar inflows

•CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi Lamido

Liquidated bank’s shares to be delisted, says SEC DG ing the situation to understand specifically, the profile of the investors and chat the way forward. ”So, right now as we already announced, those shares have been fully suspended. There cannot be trading in any of those three shares as the banks’ licences have been lost,” she said.

She said the resolution of the banking crises has helped boost

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HE Director-General of Secu rities and Exchange Commis sion, Ms. Arunma Oteh, yesterday, said shares of Bank PHB, Spring Bank and Afribank will be delisted from the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

She said shareholders still have their shares in the banks, but since the banks’ operating licences have been withdrawn by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), they will have to be delisted.

Speaking during the 2011 Annual Audit Committee Conference, Oteh said the shares were already placed on suspension and ca n no longer be traded at the Stock Market.

She explained that before the licence withdrawal, the banks had negative shareholders’ funds, stating that what the shareholders of the affected banks lost was the opportunity of having new investors come in to help bailout their institutions.

However, she said the body will in the next one weeks, be review-

investor confidence.

Oteh said the banks’ financials have also underscored the importance of developing a competitive economic environment which is achievable through entrenchment of corporate governance standards.

She advised that audit committees should be more deeply concerned about companies’ abilities to identify emerging risks and anticipate

the likely impact of significant risks facing them. She said internal auditors should carry out their responsibilities with the required level of diligence and independence.

The operating licences of Afribank Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB Plc and former Spring Bank Plc were revoked by the CBN last week.

The apex bank said the three

‘Leasing remains untapped goldmine for banks’

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HE Chairman, Equipment Leas ing Association of Nigeria (ELAN) Kehinde Lawanson has said that deposit money banks and finance houses should pay attention to lease businesses because of great potentials in the sector.

He said that already, foreign investors are picking interest in leasing as the volume of business in the sector rises.

The industry which recorded a turnover of N500 billion in the last 12

months, still has more potentials that investors are aware of, Lawanson, has said.

Speaking during the Sierra Leone leasing investment forum, held in Lagos, Lawanson said aside the traditional practitioners made up of banks, finance houses and independent leasing companies, the industry has attracted new investors cutting across the various sectors of the economy.

There are also a couple of foreign firms in partnership with Nigerians

have opened shops in the country with many more concluding arrangements to participate in businesses springing up in the sector.

He said the oil and gas sector maintained its lead achieving about 40 growth, followed by an impressive performance from transportation at 37 per cent growth, where commercial vehicles for passengers and haulage remained the major attraction to lessors.

“Total figure for the industry could well be over N500 billion taking into

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES OBB Rate Call Rate

7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 09-8-11 SYMBOL

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CHANGE

HONYFLOUR

8.80

3.99

0.19

NCR

3.25

3.41

0.16

SKYESHELT

97.00

100.00

3.00

DANGSUGAR

10.06

10.27

0.21

ETERNAOIL

5.10

5.20

0.10

IBTC

9.00

9.10

0.10

OKOMUOIL

17.85

18.00

0.15

LOSER AS AT 09-8-11 SYMBOL

cognisance the level of leasing activities carried out by non-ELAN members especially in the oil and gas sector which are not captured,” he said.

Lawanson explained that there are over 350 established companies engaged in diverse forms of leasing in the country.

For example, insurance companies, manufacturers/vendors, construction companies, oil services companies and even government are now getting more involved in leasing.

DATA BANK

Tenor

NIDF NESF

banks did not show the necessary capacity and ability to recapitalise within the September 30th deadline.

It subsequently handed the banks to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), before the banks were sold to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which in turn established bridge banks in their stead.

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CHANGE

BAGCO

2.20

2.09

0.11

ECOBANK

3.00

2.85

0.15

OANDO

35.51

33.74

1.77

UAC-PROP

19.10

18.15

0.95

ETI

14.49

13.77

0.72

ZENITHBANK

12.92

12.28

0.64

ACCESS

6.27

5.96

0.31

Amount Sold ($)

Exchange Rate (N)

Date

450m

452.7m

450m

150.8

08-8-11

250m

313.5m

250m

150.8

03-8-11

400m

443m

400m

150.7

01-8-11

EXHANGE RATE 30-05-11 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD NGN GBP

147.6000 239.4810

149.7100 244.0123

150.7100 245.6422

-2.11 -2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

Bureau de Change 152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

(S/N) Parallel Market

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

05-08-11 N7.484tr 23,399.44

08-08-11 N7.345tr 22,963.11

% Change +1.86% +1.86%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

(S/N)

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW January ’11

February ’11

July ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

8.75%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 10.2%

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 117.62 1,586.00 0.80 1.00 0.00 1,586.00 9.61 1.39 1.87 8,827.74 193.00

9.08 1.00 117.16 1,576.75 0.78 1.00 0.00 1,576.75 9.14 1.33 1.80 8,557.73 191.08

ARM AGGRESSIVE KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY THE DISCOVERY FUND • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 04 MAR, 2011 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 24, MAY, 2011 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 MAR, 2011

07, MAR, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

57

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

Nationalisation impinges on market turnover

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 09-08-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 15 16

Quotation(N) 0.50 7.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,000 1,000.00 226,615 1,675,044.00 228,615 1,676,044.00

Quotation(N) 2.23 6.57

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 200 424.00 1,890,686 12,607,808.93 1,890,886 12,608,232.93

Quotation(N) 1.46

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 406,938 595,469.48 406,938 595,469.48

Quotation(N) 5.96 3.98 2.85 5.82 1.75 10.58 0.50 11.97 9.10 0.70 1.15 5.60 1.40 4.52 2.09 0.62 0.73 12.28

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 42,158,164 251,592,331.79 17,974,824 71,414,647.57 9,093,260 26,254,049.45 10,993,129 62,984,397.20 12,061,557 21,107,724.75 23,990,447 254,181,730.02 2,521,368 1,260,684.00 60,538,967 726,779,192.82 3,680,225 32,625,366.97 553,836 387,685.20 14,182,402 16,309,762.30 5,692,330 31,877,048.00 26,261,980 36,732,479.46 14,054,542 63,526,529.84 2,273,568 4,751,757.12 401,000 248,620.00 5,736,696 4,202,063.05 51,031,909 626,692,306.91 303,200,204 2,232,928,376.45

Quotation(N) 228.00 86.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 135,150 30,304,036.56 2,653,374 229,355,358.51 2,788,524 259,659,395.07

AIR SERVICES Company Name No of Deals AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 2 NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC 73 Sector Totals 75 AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 22 22

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 224 98 60 95 86 624 17 1,073 74 30 74 27 55 114 34 8 60 508 3,261

Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 65 200 265

Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 53 2 4 47 106

Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 9 36 45

Company Name Secure Electronic Technology PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 46 47

BANKING

BREWERIES

BUILDING MATERIALS Quotation(N) 19.54 8.00 120.00 42.01

Quantity Traded Value 837,340 7,000 1,405 365,408 1,211,153

of Shares (N) 16,350,696.28 53,200.00 160,812.45 14,926,840.15 31,491,548.88

Quotation(N) 9.34 28.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 47,600 422,929.00 708,547 19,343,701.84 756,147 19,766,630.84

CHEMICAL & PAINTS

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Quotation(N) 0.88 3.13

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,000 1,680.00 779,050 2,372,871.41 781,050 2,374,551.41

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 3.41

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 51,000 173,910.00 51,000 173,910.00

Quotation(N) 1.99 40.99 6.11 0.98 39.02 27.50

Quantity Traded Value 37,500 277,548 1,621 601,402 28,099 1,081,202 2,027,372

Quotation(N) 2.66 47.50

L

AST Friday’s nationali sation of Afribank Ni geria, Bank PHB and Spring Bank might reduce the volume of activities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as two of the three banks had their shares mostly dematerialised and warehoused for active trading at the Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS), the electronic custodian for the Nigerian stock market.

The defunct Spring Bank had about 79 per cent of its issued shares on the CSCS while Afribank and Bank PHB had 63 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.

The Nation’s check indicated that prior to the expropriation of the banks by government last Friday, Afribank had 8.565 billion shares worth N5.482 billion, Bank PHB had 8.837 billion shares worth N5.04 billion while Spring Bank had 8.933 billion shares worth N7.504 billion respectively.

Afribank had total issued shares of 13.56 billion ordinary shares while Bank PHB and Spring Bank had 20.15 billion shares and 11.32 billion shares respectively. This translated to a total of 26.34 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Dematerialised shares are usually the effective shares for trading on the NSE, although they may remain dormant unless the share-

of Shares (N) 71,250.00 11,095,015.91 9,418.01 589,373.96 1,045,691.15 29,759,560.71 42,570,309.74

holder gives a sale order.

A source close to the CSCS said given the situation of the defunct banks, there shares in the CSCS have become meaningless.

The source said government could have handled the defunct banks in a different way given that the market was just recovering.

“The volume of these shares is not much and can be taken care of by the Federal Government if really the interest of the economy at large is considered. As an investor with what just happened do you think I will want to put my money in any long term investment,?” the source said.

According to the source, what the government should have done to bring back confidence was to pay off investors at the Friday’s closing figures on the exchange which were less than N1.00 each. This will go a long way to assure investors that their interests are actually protected as not all investors in the market are traders as some buy to keep.

Meanwhile, investors traded 400.979 million shares worth N2.963 billion in 5,192 deals yesterday at the NSE. Banking stocks recorded the highest volume of 303.200 million worth N2.963 billion in 5,192 deals.

This was followed by the in-

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 09-08-11 LEASING Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 19 19

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 85,000 226,100.00 91,822 4,276,711.31 176,822 4,502,811.31

Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 48 48

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 50,000 109,500.00 50,000 109,500.00

Company Name ASO SAVINGS AND LOAND PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 2 6

CONSTRUCTION Company Name COSTAIN (WA) PLC JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 35 7 42

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 2.19

No of Deals 20 52 158 61 25 38 37 44 3 2 440

Quotation(N) 45.00 17.00 10.27 80.00 3.99 4.30 43.25 402.00 0.50 0.63

Quotation(N) 5.31 0.95 1.68 24.40 3.85 9.52 1.47 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 12 60.60 65,000 59,150.00 561,923 944,030.64 46,206 1,108,927.34 27,000 99,000.00 58 524.90 3,800 5,586.00 10,000 5,000.00 713,999 2,222,279.48

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 25 25

Quotation(N) 5.70

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 380,846 2,153,426.98 380,846 2,153,426.98

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 22 29

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 300,500 150,250.00 1,410,086 706,113.00 1,710,586 856,363.00

INSURANCE Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 16 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 19 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 2 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 16 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 10 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 7 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 7 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 3 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 4 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 1 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 3 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 41 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 6 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 11 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 1 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 1 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 3 Sector Totals 152

Quotation(N) 0.91

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,323,800 1,204,658.00 1,323,800 1,204,658.00

Quotation(N) 0.62 1.00 0.50 2.70 0.50 1.19 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.67 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.51

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.52

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20,810,392 10,405,196.00 50,000 26,000.00 20,860,392 10,431,196.00

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 9,675 415,119.32 450,794 7,651,544.31 3,458,284 34,676,474.45 878,066 70,753,140.50 850,540 3,271,713.15 711,885 3,066,033.38 300,391 12,886,471.18 95,920 38,313,578.15 1,063,000 531,500.00 2,000 1,200.00 7,820,555 171,566,774.44

HEALTHCARE Company Name No of Deals EKOCORP PLC 1 EVANS MEDICALPLC. 12 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 16 GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC 15 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 4 MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 1 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 3 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 1 Sector Totals 53

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 334,000 303,940.00 334,000 303,940.00

MORTGAGE COMPANIES

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 0.91

MARITIME

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC Sector Totals

surance with 49.795 million shares worth N35.906 million while Mortgage companies and Food Beverages both traded 20.860 million shares and 7.821 million shares respectively.

The number of gainers also continued to thin out as only seven equities appreciated while the remaining 35 stocks reduced in value. First Bank and UBA recorded losses of N0.55 or 4.9 per cent to close at N10.58 and N0.23 or 4.8 per cent to close at 4.52 respectively; cautious re-entries could however stem a further slide today.

Cadbury, Nascon and Flour Mills were sent tumbling during the session, losing over 4.0 per cent apiece.

Cadbury dropped of 80 kobo to close at N17.00, Nascon declined 22 kobo to close at N4.30 while Flour Mills lost N4 to close at N80.

However, Honeywell Flour and Dangote Sugar were divergent to the downtrend, gaining 19 kobo or 5.0 per cent and 21 kobo or 2.0 per cent apiece. Others on the gainers table were NCR, Sky Shelter and Eternal Oil with price gain of N0.16, N3.00 and N0.10 while on the losers table were Bagco, Ecobank, Oando, UAC-Properties and ETI with price drop of N0.11 to close at N2.09, N0.15 to close at N2.85, N1.77 to close at N33.74, N0.95 to close N18.15 and N0.72 to close at N13.77.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

CONGLOMERATES Company Name No of Deals A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC 4 PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC 48 SCOA NIGERIA PLC 1 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 17 UAC OF NIGERIA PLC 23 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC 80 Sector Totals 173

By Tonia Osundolire

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 390,549 242,140.38 4,883,262 4,937,369.94 10,800 5,400.00 2,319,098 6,190,004.61 10,922,712 5,461,356.00 2,110,737 2,511,777.03 1,088,884 544,442.00 1,050,000 525,000.00 118,552 59,276.00 149,510 74,755.00 51,000 25,500.00 24,719,079 12,391,062.00 225,201 112,600.50 1,749,998 2,822,146.82 500 250.00 500 250.00 3,000 1,500.00 2,000 1,000.00 49,795,382 35,905,830.28

Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 7 9

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,195 597.50 78,094 39,047.00 79,289 39,644.50

Quotation(N) 2.09

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 363,694 760,120.46 363,694 760,120.46

PACKAGING Company Name No of Deals NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC 17 Sector Totals 17

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 45 50 11 14 140 7 270

Company Name LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 16 23

Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 20 20

Quotation(N) 0.50 34.21 5.20 18.32 156.50 33.74 203.32

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 11,400 5,700.00 136,948 4,527,191.28 1,152,066 5,828,855.76 16,197 281,989.77 6,568 976,596.24 757,116 25,545,093.84 8,224 1,603,534.00 2,088,519 38,768,960.89

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Quotation(N) 5.09 4.39

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 110,000 559,900.00 82,098 357,286.09 192,098 917,186.09

Quotation(N) 18.15

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 339,277 6,244,091.15 339,277 6,244,091.15

REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST Company Name SKYE SHELTER FUND Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2

Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Company Name UNITED NIGERIA TEXTILES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 3

Quotation(N) 100.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 750,000 75,000,000.00 750,000 75,000,000.00

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Quotation(N) 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 100 50.00 100 50.00

Quotation(N) 0.57

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 85,750 49,205.00 85,750 49,205.00

TEXTILES

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name No of Deals ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 21 Sector Totals 21

Quotation(N) 13.77

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 572,360 7,885,099.70 572,360 7,885,099.70

Overall Totals

5,192

400,979,358

2,962,765,606.08

58

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

59

60

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

61

FOREIGN NEWS ANARCHY IN UK Countries warn citizens to avoid riot-hit UK AS a third night of violence saw rioting spread from London to Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, foreigngovernments have started issuing advice to those thinking about visiting the UK. Germany, Latvia, Sweden, Denmark and Finland have all urged tourists to be vigilant, keep checking the media for updates and ensure they are insured.

Foreign newspapers are also dedicating huge amounts of column inches to the riots, with several using images of burnt out cars, looters and embattled police on their front pages.

Latvia became the first country earlier today to advise its citizens to avoid visiting parts of Britain hit by riots.

Its Foreign Ministry in Riga also urged all travellers to Britain to ensure they have health and life insurance policies.

Cameron orders 16,000 police P to regain capital

OLICE warn they could use plastic bullets to quell riots tonight as Cameron orders 16,000 officers to regain control of the capital Police yesterday admitted they were prepared to use plastic bullets against rioters if a fourth night of lawlessness sees gangs of youths marauding across London and looting businesses.

With an ‘unprecedented’ 16,000 police officers due on the streets of London last night, answers were being demanded over the failure of police to bring last night’s riots under control.

Just hours after David Cameron warned rioters they would face the ‘full force

of the law’ shops were boarding up their windows across the capital amid fears of more violence across the capital.

Businesses, pubs, schools and even medical centres were sending staff home early.

Disorder has already been reported last night in Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Salford.

Around 20 police officers stood guard around the entrance to Hackney town hall, on Mare Street, in east London, which had to be evacuated this afternoon amid fears of further attacks. Managers decided to shut the Southside shop-

ping centre in Wandsworth, south London, to avoid the risk of looting and violence.

Asked if plastic bullets could be used, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh said: ‘That’s a tactic that will be used by the Metropolitan Police if deemed necessary.’

He added that he was ‘not going to throw 180 years of policing with the community away’ as the prospect of using the non-lethal ammunition for the first time at a British disturbance was raised.

The army of police officers

on duty in London will swell to 16,000 tonight - compared with just 6,000 last night - as reinforcements are drafted in from 26 forces across the country.

Mr Kavanagh said he was sorry ‘that London has got to wake up to these scenes’.

‘We need to do better for London because those images last night were shocking for everyone,’ Mr Kavanagh told reporters.

Every police cell in the capital was full yesterday, forcing officers to transport suspects outside the city.

The mayor Boris Johnson faced calls to resign from angry residents as he visited riot-hit Clapham with Home Secretary Theresa May.

• Cameron

Mr Johnson struggled to make himself heard as he said: ‘Tonight we are going to have a huge number of police on the streets.’

He added: ‘It is time that people who are engaged in looting and violence stopped hearing economic and social justification for what happened.’

140 years of business up in flames THE owners of a 140-yearold family furniture store were devastated yesterday after seeing the charmed remains of the building that fell victim to the riots.

House of Reeves has stood on the same corner in Croydon, south London, for more than a century but was targeted by rioters as violence spread across the capital.

Flames ripped through the historic building and spread to neighbouring businesses as firemen battled desperately to quell the inferno.

But yesterday it was looked likely that the damage which was ‘worse than the blitz’ would force the ravaged building to be demolished and rebuilt.

•Croydon: Looters run from a shop in Hackney with a bag of clothes while another rioter in Hackney raises a wine bottle as he rampages through the streets

Nigerians are safe, says Tafida

Mark Duggan didn’t open fire at police, says IPCC report

T

HERE is no evidence Mark Duggan opened fire at police before being shot dead by a firearms officer, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has said.

Mr Duggan, 29, whose death sparked the first riots in Tottenham, died from a single bullet wound, an inquest heard.

The police watchdog said ballistic tests showed “no evidence that the handgun found at the scene was fired”.

BBC News understands firearms officers discharged their weapons in the belief there was a threat to human life.

Their guidelines allow them to open fire in such circumstances.

Mr Duggan, a father of four, was shot in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, north London, on Thursday, as specialist firearms officers attempted to make an arrest.

A key witness, the driver of the minicab in which Mr Duggan was travelling, has

yet to give his version of events. He is understood to be in a severe state of shock.

Investigations by the IPCC show two shots were fired by a Scotland Yard CO19 firearms officer.

The initial results confirmed a bullet found lodged in a police officer’s radio was a “jacketed round” - a police issue bullet consistent with being fired from a force Heckler and Koch MP5.

Forensic officers have told the IPCC it may not be possible to “say for certain” whether the handgun found near Mr Duggan was fired.

Further tests on the weapon, which had been converted from a blank-firing pistol to one that shoots live rounds, are being carried out to establish this.

The IPCC said it was not a replica and was an illegal firearm.

Further tests are being carried out on a “bulleted cartridge” found in the magazine.

In response to the findings,

N • Mark Duggan

the Met said it was in everyone’s interests “the IPCC are able to establish all the facts of the events of last Thursday so that there is a complete understanding of what happened”.

An inquest into Mr Duggan’s death was opened at North London Coroner’s Court in High Barnet and adjourned until 12 December.

Colin Sparrow, deputy senior investigator for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is looking into the shooting, told the hearing the inquiry could take up to six months.

IGERIAN High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr. Dalhatu Tafida said yesterday there have been no negative reports on any Nigerian following the on-going riots in Hackney and Peckham areas of London.

“The situation is still ongoing, though we have not heard any adverse reports about Nigerians especially in those two areas where we have the largest concentration of our nationals in the UK,’’ Tafida told NAN in an interview in London.

“We are also in touch with the members of the community through their leaders to ensure that Nigerians, whereever they reside, are safe,’’ the envoy added.

According to the 2001 UK census, Peckham is home to the largest Nigerian community in the UK with seven per cent of the population having been born in the UK. NAN reports that many of the local establishments are

Yoruba-owned, including churches and mosques.

However, the Chairman of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK), Mr Bimbo Folayan, assured that Nigerians in Hackney and Peckham were safe. “ I can assure you that no Nigerian is affected or involved at the moment in the incidents,’’ he said.

“We are in touch with the community leaders in these areas and as the event keeps unfolding we will get the public informed,’’ he added.

Folayan however dispelled the notion that the incident had a racial undertone.

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), UK Chapter, Mr Kayode Ogunsola, while expressing sadness at the act of vandalism and destruction, called for investigation into the incident.

“The alleged shooting by the police, which led to the riot in Tottenham, needs to be investigated and necessary ac-

tion taken to ensure that fatal incidents that led to loss of lives are avoided,’’ he said.

“The government has called for peace and the security agencies are already taking remedial action. So, we are hopeful that the situation will soon be brought under control,’’ he added.

Also, Mrs Janet Ojo, a trader in Dalston market, near Hackney, said traders had to close their shops for fear of being attacked by the hoodlums.

She said the market was closed down on Saturday after police shot Duggan, and added that the situation was quite scary.

“The kids cannot go to school, because you can never tell. Anything can happen,’’ Ojo said.

In response to the riots, the acting London Police Commissioner, Mr Tim Godwin, said there was significant disorder breaking out in a number of communities across the city.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

62

NEWS Council uncovers N10m wage scam

‘Jonathan should declare state of emergency in Ogoni’

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HE Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Nnimmo Bassey, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of environmental emergency in Bodo, Ogoni community, Gokana Local Government of Rivers State over oil spills.

He said the President’s pronouncement that it would take three decades to clean up the pollution in the Ogoni community was not enough.

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

The environmentalist spoke at a briefing with reporters in Port Harcourt, after a meeting with the Global Green Grants Fund.

He said the era of impunity must end in the neglected Niger Delta community and other parts of the region.

Bassey said: “The impact of the environmental disaster in Ogoniland is so much, that people of the

area may not have access to clean water, with their fishing activities having been halted.

“The Federal Government must address many important issues affecting the lives of the people , who have been coping with the severe devastation.

“Despite the depth of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, there is the need to carry out more researches on marine life in the area, the condition of the aqui-

T

•Jonathan

fer, flora and fauna and other natural matters.”

HE Finance and General Purpose Committee of Sagbama Local Government in Bayelsa State has uncovered a N10 million monthly wage scam, a report stated.

The report, released on Monday, stated that the scam involves more than 29 dead workers and 77 ghost workers, whose names have been used to collect salaries and defraud the council since 2003.

The report of the five-member committee, forwarded to the office of the Deputy Governor Wernipre Seibarogu and the Local Government Service Commission, further stated that the practice had been unnoticed over the years.

It showed that aside from the names of more than 29 dead workers discovered to have been collecting salaries since 2003, another 44 were found to have falsified their ages.

Among them were 14 persons found to be non-indigenes, who were working in other local governments.

The report said many allegedly scanned appointment letters and were collecting salaries in the local council.

The Chairman of the Council, Pere Peretu said the report was certified by the legislators.

He, however, said those involved would not be prosecuted but advised to accept the verdict of the committee.

Flood destroys 200 houses, farmlands in Cross River

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HE main river in Cross River State has overflown its bank with attendant destruction of houses and farms worth millions of naira. The state is named after the river.

The overflow registered monumental effect at the Ikom axis, where 200 homes

From Kunle Johnson, Calabar

were submerged and over 2,000 farm lands ravaged.

Areas mostly affected were Ikom, Okuni and Agbaragba.

Over 2000 displaced persons are now squatting with neighbours and relatives.

Our reporter, who visited

the scene, said canoes were deployed to ferry victims and their property to safety.

Also affected was the Okuni axis, where the Ikom -Calabar Road was submerged, cutting off traffic on both sides.

Hundreds of vehicles including lorries carrying per-

ishable goods, such as tomatoes, bananas and plantain were stranded with the goods rotting away.

Some people have cashed in on the situation to make quick money by ferrying travellers across with high fares as much as N100 per person.

The Director-General, State

Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Vincent Aquah, described the loss as unprecedented.

He said it was pathetic that the state was experiencing such magnitude of disaster.

Aquah recalled that Calabar South and Calabar Municipality were recently rav-

aged by flooding.

The Chairman of Ikom Local Government, Tony Ngban, appealed to the government to come to their aid as the effect of the disaster was beyond the council.

He said the victims were living in dehumanising conditions.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011

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http://www.thenationonlineng.net

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 6 NO.1848

Tomorrow in THE NATION ‘Is it for money? Is it for sex? Is it for position? Is it to cover another murder? Those who kill do so for various reasons. Some kill for money, others for sex or for position. No matter the reason, we all know that murder whether premeditated or not is a criminal offence punishable by death’ LAWAL OGIENAGBON

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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HE first time I heard the speculation about the now controversial putative bill of President Goodluck Jonathan to replace the current constitutional twoterm limit for the executive arm of government with a single term of six or seven years, I was tempted to dismiss it as idle. With all the problems in the country of so much insecurity, potential labour unrest over minimum wage, lousy infrastructure – you name it – facing the man, I thought the least of his concerns should be any type of tenure.

I was tempted to dismiss the speculation as idle not merely because I thought it was a diversion the president should know he could ill-afford. My temptation was the more difficult to resist because the deal that was supposed to help the president get his bill through the National Assembly could hardly be more narrow-minded and probably futile; in return for getting the bill passed by the legislators, my source said, the Senate president, David Mark, was promised the ruling party’s presidential ticket for the 2015 elections.

The Senate president, I told myself, would have been foolish to believe such a promise if only because of the high expectations by the South-East, not, of course, without a wink from the presidency, that it will be its turn to produce the country’s president in 2015. And anyone who knows Mark knows that they don’t come any smarter than he is even if there’s no telling what the promise of power can do to one’s sense of judgement.

I resisted the temptation to dismiss the President Jonathan’s single term bill as idle because my source, a one-man mafia of sorts if ever there was one, has never been given to idle talk. Even then I could not swallow his story hook, line and sinker. Even for the one-man mafia that my source was, I thought his story needed at least a pinch of salt before it could be nibbled at.

My agony about how much salt I needed to apply to the story before nibbling at it ended on July 26 when Dr. Reuben Abati, the president’s spokesman, issued a statement that his principal was indeed considering such an executive bill. The possible intrigue, if you may, behind the bill may sound incredulous, but in spite of his overflowing tray the president obviously believed he had enough idle time on his hands to seek a constitutional amendment to the current two-term limit for the president and governors.

Predictably, the proposed bill has come under near-universal attack, largely because most critics think it is former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s thoroughly discredited “Third Term” project all over again.

People and Politics By MOHAMMED HARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

The President’s single-term bill

•Dr Jonathan

The bill raises at least two questions, namely, its merit and, of course, whether it is self-serving of the president.

Naturally, the president and his sympathisers and courtiers think it is unfair, if not downright cynical, to accuse the man of self-service for merely proposing such a bill, especially when the man himself has stated categorically that he will not benefit from it.

Even some of the president’s long standing critics think it is unfair to dismiss the bill out of hand as self-serving. Thisday’s editor and well-regarded columnist, Simon Kolawole, for one, says, albeit with a rider, that it is wrong to dismiss the bill out of hand purely on grounds of suspicions that the president wants to use it to elongate his tenure. “I honestly cannot see the link between third term and single term, but this is Nigeria. Anything can happen.” (Thisday,

RIPPLES JONATHAN WILL GO IN 2015, SAYS GOV ALIYU

HARDBALL

•For comments, send SMS to 08054502909

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Can’t and won’t somebody stop Assad’s murderous crackdown?

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Thank you..’.INFORMATION MINISTER’ par excellence

July 31).

For someone who says he believes in Nigeria anything can happen I am surprised that Kolawole would not only criticise critics of the bill as being unfair. I am even more surprised that he would dismiss such critics as “incurable” cynics. “I believe,” he said, “it smacks of incurable cynicism to tear a proposal apart before seeing it.”

If Nigerians have become incurable cynics, we all know that it is essentially the leadership that is to blame because it hardly ever means what it says or says what it means. And you need no more than the president’s own flagrant repudiation of his party’s zoning and power rotation agreement only last year to prove the leadership’s culpability of behaving with impunity.

I am sure Kolawole and those like him who think those who disagree with the president over his bill are merely being cynical would agree with me that in a country like Nigeria, where, as Kolawole himself says, anything goes, people are more than justified to be cynical of anything their leaders do or say.

In this particular case there’s even more basis for cynicism. For one, the president’s rather disingenuous attempt at distancing himself from the proposal by claiming the idea was not originally his own once it came under widespread public attack could hardly inspire public faith in his credibility and integrity.

For another, the president and his spokesman seem to be at odds on the extent of the president’s consultations before he made his intention public.

The president, according to Thisday (July 29), told a meeting of his party’s National Executive Council in Abuja the day before that he has not done sufficient consultation to knock the bill into the final shape that he will present to the National Assembly. “Before I

take any decision,” Thisday quoted him as saying, “I ask people...I have not consulted with governors. I have never. Though as individuals probably I have mentioned it to one or two. Even the leadership of the party and the National Assembly...I have not done that level of consultation.”

However, whereas the president says he has not consulted widely on the bill his spokesman told the Presidential press corps during a subsequent briefing that his principal has. “This,” Dr Abati said, “is not a new issue for us as Nigerians, or in terms of Mr. President talking about this issue, I believe that he has consulted widely.”

Between Dr. Abati and his principal I am inclined to believe the doctor. The president may not have consulted widely but obviously he must’ve believed he had done so enough to have made his intentions public.

The man himself says he did so because he heard people were already not only associating rumours about the bill with Obasanjo’s Third Term agenda. People, he said, were also meeting against it. “When,” he said, “we got to know that people were holding meetings, we said no, no, no, clarify this.”

You do not and cannot clarify a proposal that is not in good enough shape and has sufficient content for public contemplation.

The devil, as they say, may be in the detail, but if the basic elements were not in place the president would not have asked his spokesman to make it public.

The fact is that the basic elements of the president’s single term bill lack merit. Our four yearly elections, as he said, may have been too expensive and they may have bred too much acrimony. However, there is nothing inherent about these in the current system. Rather the problem is the bad faith of politicians and no amount of constitutional amendment will solve that problem.

As for the argument that four years is not enough to make a difference, you only need to remember General Murtala Mohammed’s six-month military presidency to debunk the argument. Besides if longevity of tenure is enough to make a difference or a condition for making a difference, all those countries of the world with sit tight leaders would have been heavens on earth. But we all know, don’t we, that most of them are hells on earth.

The simple truth is that President Jonathan’s single term bill lacks merit, never mind the cynicism it rightly attracts, and one cannot agree more with Thisday’s editorial of July 31 that the man would occupy himself more usefully as president if he rests it.

HE bitter and bloody crackdown in Syria is nowhere nearing an end.

President Bashar Assad seems determined to crush pro-democracy protesters in his country wherever they can be found, and is unfazed by the rising casualty figure directly caused by his forces’ brutality. Avaaz, an international rights group, has estimated that since March when the protests began more than 1,700 unarmed protesters have been killed by security forces, 26,000 arrested, and a staggering 30,000 have disappeared and can’t be traced to any detention centre. The scale of the crackdown is so benumbing that fellow Arab countries have begun to distance themselves from Assad’s murderous rage.

Many European countries have also condemned the killing spree, while the International Criminal Court may be preparing to bare its fangs against the intransigent leader.

Assad’s crackdown is so horrifying that even Bahrain, which recently needed the help of Saudi Arabia to contain the effects of its own Arab Spring, has strongly deplored the killings and recalled its ambassador in

Damascus for consultation. Kuwait is not left out in taking diplomatic action against Syria, worsening Assad’s growing isolation. Saudi Arabia’s denunciation is probably the most evocative. Saudi King Abdullah, who has called for an end to “the killing machine and bloodshed” in Syria, issued a statement warning that “Any sane Arab, Muslim or anyone else knows that this has nothing to do with religion, or ethics or morals; spilling the blood of the innocent for any reasons or pretext leads to no path to ... hope.” Saudi Arabia has also recalled its ambassador from the troubled country. Neighbouring Turkey, which is bearing the brunt of the refugee exodus, has strongly denounced Assad and added its voice to the growing call for the Syrian leader to respect the dignity and rights of his people.

Though Western nations have been cautious in their reaction to the Arab Spring in order not to be seen as fomenting or promoting dissent in Islamic countries, especially given the geopolitics of the region, the scale and brutality of the crackdown have so offended human feelings and civilised norms that it no longer makes sense to be restrained in tackling the madness in Damascus. It is, therefore, not

enough to condemn Assad, or to merely warn of the intervention of the International Criminal Court. It is time to match words with action. Syria’s neighbours have shown the way; they must now be assisted vigorously by the rest of the world. Damascus should not only be completely isolated, Assad, his family, government officials, and military and security chiefs must be individually isolated and marked down for prosecution.

The world demonstrates little patience with crimes against humanity in regional and international wars. It must now send a strong message that it would be even more impatient with murderous leaders who terrorise their own people in order to extend the life of their governments. Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was in power for about 30 years; Zine Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia was in office for about 24 years; Muammar Gaddafi has been in power for about 42 years; and the Assad family has ruled Syria for about 40 years. As Egypt and Tunisia demonstrated, the forces and spirit behind the fight for political change are usually extremely difficult to defeat, no matter how bloody the crackdown. Syria will not be an exception.

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