The Nation August 11, 2012

Governor’s aides arrested over Okene killings

Security agencies probe AsariDokubo’s threat 5

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Soldiers ransack markets 2 Senator warns against harassment

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012 N150.00

THOUSANDS ATTEND GHANA'S MILLS’ FUNERAL

The coffin of President John Atta Mills being escorted to the Independence Park for the funeral service in Accra. Thousands of mourners, including African leaders, dignitaries and ordinary Ghanaians, attended the state funeral yesterday. Mills died last month ahead of a re-election bid.

A cultural troupe at the funeral.

PHOTOS: AFP

FG to Clinton: Don’t brand Boko Haram as terrorist group PAGE

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US may shelve plan Offers intelligence support to Nigeria IN THE NEWS

Mother of four dies Madman Candidates record kills woman for 38 per cent pass as WAEC after serious beating by releases SSCE results PAGE hubby over missing PAGE denying him sex 4

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

•From left: Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engr. Andrew Yakubu; Group Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, Bernard Oti; and Group Executive, Refinery and Petrochemical, Engr Anthony Ogbuigwe during an interaction with new NNPC employees in Abuja... yesterday.

Photo: Abayomi FAYESE

•From left: Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi; Special Adviser for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ganiyu Johnson; Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello; Special Assistant on Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Raji and Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje, during a question-and-answer session on the 1900 days of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) in Office at the Igando/Ikotun LCDA PHOTO: Omosehin MOSES Secretariat, Lagos West Senatorial District... yesterday.

Police quiz two governor’s Special Advisers over killing of soldiers T WO special advisers to Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State are in police custody over last Tuesday’s killing of two soldiers in Okene.

The two–Yahaya Karaku (former Chairman, Okene Local Government Council) and Abubakar Zubair Adagu (former chairman, Okehi Local Government Council)– are among those being interrogated by the police over the soldiers’ killing.

Gunmen stormed the Okene Local Government secretariat on the fateful day and opened fire, killing the two soldiers in the process, just 24 hours after terrorists invaded Deeper Christian Life Bible Church in the town, killing 20 worshippers.

Karaku and Adagu were appointed by Governor Idris Wada as Special Advisers without portfolio on July 26.

The incumbent boss of Okene Local Government, Mr Salihu Ogembe, was believed to be the target of the attack. Ogembe escaped death by a whisker.

Several other politicians from Okene are also being held by the police, but their names were not immediately available.

The suspects have been

•Military men ransack Okene main market

Senator warns against harassment

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HE Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, yesterday begged residents of the area to remain calm and lawabiding.

The Senator, who is still on Lesser Hajj, made the call amid tension in the district occasioned by several complaints of serious harassment by soldiers deployed to restore normalcy in Okene town.

The soldiers were drafted to the area following successive attacks on the Deeper Life Church in Otite, Okehi LGA and the Okene LGA Secretariat, which led to the death of about 20 persons and the killing of two soldiers respectively.

Abatemi-Usman in a statement by Michael Jegede, his special assistant on Media and Publicity, disclosed that he had discussed with the leadership of the security agencies and had been assured that they were duly cautioned to concentrate on fishing out the criminals and not molest innocent citizens.

Sanni ONOGU, Okene moved to Abuja.

Ogembe, in a text message to our reporter yesterday, confirmed that he was in the office when the gunmen

opened fire on the secretariat.

He, however, said he was not sure of their mission.

He said: “Yes, I was in the office but not sure of their mission. God is in control.”

Sanni ONOGU, Okene He said: “In line with the information reaching me concerning the activities of some security agents in my district, I have spoken with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). The COAS said he cautioned his Commandant of the men on ground against harassing innocent people.

“Their rule of engagement is to fish out criminals only, so they assured me.

“We appeal that our people should remain calm and lawabiding, as we pray for God’s relief and intervention.”

The Senator commiserated with the families of the two soldiers killed and the Nigerian Army.

He equally applauded the State Governor, Alhaji Idris Wada, and the management of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for their prompt responses to the crises.

It was gathered that the Monday attack on the Deeper Life Church might have been a smokescreen to divert the attention of the military men from the city centre where the council secretariat

NDLEA arrests student, 28 others with 169kg of hard drugs

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PERATIVES of the Federal Territory Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have nabbed a 30-year-old student of marketing in Owo Polytechnic, Mr. Henry Joseph, with 107.4kg of cannabis sativa.

Also arrested was a correspondence student with American Hotel Education Institute, Mr. Charles Babalola (23), who hails from Ibadan, Oyo State, and 27 others who were in possession of additional 61.66kg of various types of narcotic drugs.

FCT commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Obiefulei Dennis, disclosed this while presenting his score card for the month of July.

He said a total of 29 suspects, comprising 24 males and five females, were apprehended while a total of 169.06kg of illicit drugs were seized. This comprises 166.523kg of cannabis, 2.4gm of cocaine and 2.3kg of psychotropic substances.

The commander emphasised the determination of the FCT Command to tackle agents of wares of destruction with a view to grounding their activities. The FCT command, he said, would not allow drug traffickers to infiltrate the Federal Capital.

Kelvin Osa - OKUNBOR

He noted that the Command’s stop-and-search strategy had been beefed up with many attendant successes.

Henry Joseph, who hails from Ndukwa West LGA, Delta State, was arrested along Lokoja-Abuja road. He had completed his Ordinary National Diploma programme and was awaiting admission for Hihger National Diploma at Owo Polytechnic. He said he regretted his actions, which he blamed on hardship.

Reacting to Joseph’s arrest, the Director General/ Secretary of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Femi Ajayi, applauded the efforts of the FCT command of the Agency.

He said the NDLEA, if equipped with the needed financial and logistic assistance, is properly positioned to contribute significantly to the efforts of the Federal Government at reducing insecurity and terrorism in the country.

He regreted that NDLEA has commited officers and men to prosecute its mandate but lacks adequate funding.

He appealed to all Nigerians to contribute to the agency’s efforts aimed at reducing the level of insecurity in the country.

is located.

According to one source, a security alert had gone round all the banks in the town on Monday before the attack on Deeper Life Bible Church. They were then advised to beef up security around their premises.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) also deployed its members to the city centre to check the threat.

One source said this appeared to have been done to deceive the security agents because, according to him: “Immediately that attack (on

Deeper Life Church ) was reported, all the security agents, who hitherto were at the city centre, moved to the Federal College of Education area where the incident took place.

“But the two soldiers who died in the attack were sent to the council secretariat, following a distress call by an official of the council before the gunmen came.

“This may also explain why Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility for the killings.”

Soldiers yesterday ransacked all the markets in Okene township.

The few traders who had displayed their wares took to their heels when the soldiers who were patrolling the town started shooting sporadically into the air.

An eyewitness stated that when the soldiers got to the main market, they alighted from their trucks and started overturning market tables and the wares displayed on them.

Food items like palm oil, rice, beans, garri, meat and cassava flour littered the market. A similar action was allegedly carried out by the soldiers at Ogamnana Market.

Economic activities in the town remained paralysed yesterday.

Banks are closed; the sick cannot access treatment at the hospitals while the Okene, Adavi and Ohehi local government secretariats remained shut.

Retraction of publications on Professor Biyi Afonja (rtd) OUR attention has been drawn to two publications on page 46 of The Nation On Saturday, May 29, 2010, headlined “Protests as Governor Daniel’s man emerges PDP front runner”, and on page 4 of The Nation,Monday, May 31, 2010, headlined “Protest as Daniel’s man emerges Ogun PDP flagbearer”. In these publications, it was said that Professor Afonja attended high level political meeting of a certain ‘Apex Committee’ of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).with the aim of appointing gubernatorial candidate for the PDP. We have since discovered that the stories are not true because Professor Afonja did not attend the meeting as reported by us. As a matter of fact Professor Afonja was not and is not a member of the PDP let alone its Apex Committee, neither has Professor Afonja ever been a member of any political party..

We deeply regret the embarrassment and inconveniences which the said publications might have caused the highly respected, revered and distinguished professor of international repute.

The story is hereby unequivocally retracted.

Editor

NEWS 3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

No compulsion in religion S

HEIKH Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Gumi is not only a knowledgeable Islamic scholar; he exemplifies the character of a Muslim nurtured from an early age in a virtuous environment. Having been taught and raised by his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi, he serves as a role model for the spirit and virtue that Muslims can aspire for and attain.

In the spate of the recent unabashed religious threats and violence by misguided elements, it has been necessary for notable and respected members of the Nigerian Islamic society to speak out on the outrageously arrogant, criminal and aggressive actions of people purporting to speak and act on behalf of Islam. Up until the recent sermons Sheikh Gumi has given, in which he has contradicted much of what these unsavory elements spew, hardly anyone within the Nigerian Islamic leadership order has had the courage and persuasion to speak out. Few Scholars have been brave enough to set the record straight on the fact that the individuals and groups presently attacking the peace and stability in Nigeria by claiming an Islamic affiliation are operating with a vile distortion of the noble and peaceful teachings of Islam.

It is regrettable that Islam, a religion of peace, harmony, goodwill and brotherhood has been used by unruly and ghastly people to justify unwarranted acts of violence such as suicide bombings, threats and other forms of violence. At the very base of Islam is the quest for freedom, justice and equality and when a Muslim uses Islam to threaten and condemn another because they do not share the same faith, that discrimination is totally foreign to the pure teachings and doctrines of Islam. In the Quran, God bestowed honour on every single individual, no matter their background, race or tribe. Liberty and everything that emerges from it are some of the great favours God has given us and concepts such as kidnappings, threats and the kind of unprovoked violence we are seeing in Nigeria today towards people of a different faith to Islam, especially the Christian community, are not part of the true teachings of Islam.

It is so shocking that people claiming to promote Islam can issue an ultimatum in which they threaten a Christian president to convert to Islam or face their wrath. How on earth can they give a Christian who believes in his religion as much or even more than they believe in their religion that kind of ultimatum?

Under Islamic dispensation, it is clearly taught that “There is no compulsion in religion…” The Qur’an was very clear on the issue of forced conversion by stating, “Had your Lord wanted, all the people on earth would have believed. So will you force people to believe?”

Throughout history, Muslims themselves were the targets of forced conversion during the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades and the Communist era of the 20th century and first hand Muslims understand how unacceptable and unreasonable such a notion is. Threatening people who don’t convert to Islam, persecuting non-Muslims and treating a society in the unjust manner that extremist elements have been doing most definitely is not what Islam is about. When one reads in the Qur’an that Allah encourages Muslims to deal kindly and justly with anyone of any faith who has not fought Muslims for our faith and

driven us out of our homes because God loves the just, one wonders why anyone would want to put a negative interpretation to what is clearly a message of patience, peace and harmony between different faiths cohabiting.

The second source in Islam, after the Qur’an, are the statements made by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who in his lifetime gave a clear view on the persecution of non-Muslims when he stated, “Whoever kills an innocent non-Muslim will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise.” How could such statement possibly be compatible with the extremist ideal for Islam to force itself onto others? Instead, it makes it clear that non-Muslims should by no means be harmed by Muslims.

The one doctrine that is used by extremists to lend credibility to the notion that Islam encourages violence is the concept of jihad. The word Jihad brings into play the vision of a marching band of religious fanatics with savage beards, short trousers and fiery eyes, brandishing swords, screaming in Arabic and attacking everyone and everything in their wake.

However, the true spirit of Jihad in Islamic terms means to endeavour and strive in a noble way. Over time this meaning of Jihad has been eradicated or at least diluted. The critical juncture in the Islamic world requires reviving and recapturing the true and pristine meaning of Jihad. Jihad can be divided into two broad categories. First is ‘Jihad-e-akbar’. This is Jihad against one’s own person to curb sinful inclinations, which is the purification of self. This is the most difficult Jihad and hence in terms of rewards and blessings is the highest category of Jihad. The second is ‘Jihad-e-asghar’. This is Jihad of the sword.

This is communal Jihad and presupposes certain specific conditions. The Quran speaks of fighting only as a self defence and this is the very condition laid down in several verses of the Holy Quran. The so-called verse of the sword in the Islamic scripture is often taken out of context as if it inculcates an indiscriminate massacre of all non-Muslims. The Quranic words such as “kill whatever you find them” apply only in cases of selfdefence and a state of unprovoked war; they do not apply to provoked wars and battles. The Muslims who interpret these verses in any other manner commit a travesty of the lofty ideals of Islam. There is not a single instance in the life of the Holy Prophet where he offered the alternative of the sword or Islam to anyone.

The Holy Quran does not make Jihad in context of an article of faith. The sayings and traditions of the Holy Prophet render

it into a formula for active struggle that invariably and incorrectly tended towards a militant expression. Suicide bombings, violent threats and killing those of different faiths just for the sake of killing are contrary to the purview of the real spirit of the Islamic Jihad. It is pure and simple mass murder.

The presentation of Islam as a crude and barbaric religion which gives itself the right to cause unwarranted human and material suffering and destruction under the guise of Divine authority is not the kind of Islam we find in the precepts of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

The basic unity of the followers of all faiths is emphatically stressed in the Holy Quran and the creation of discord and disunity by terrorism or otherwise has no place in Islam. Islam is an all-encompassing codes of values and conduct and with those values, those of us that practice it from the depths of our heart and soul must use its teachings as a ground of hope to progressively promote unity and accord in Nigeria rather than mischievously and maliciously using it as a justification for violence.

The Holy Quran teaches that God has sent His revelation to all people from time to time. Jesus Christ and many of the Prophets of the Old Testament are mentioned by name and they are all honoured and revered by all true believing Muslims.

Indeed, the Quran requires belief in the truth of all the Messengers of God and requires an affirmation in them all wherever they appear. And therefore it seeks to bring about reconciliation between the followers of different faiths and to establish a basis of respect and honour among them. The Quran says: “Surely, those who believe and the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians - whichever party from among these truly believes in Allah (God) and the Last Day and does good deeds, shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them nor shall they grieve.”

In the Holy Scriptures, the Qur’an, Torah and the Bible, both Christians and Muslims are taught that God is the Source of peace and the bestower of security. And since the doctrine of peace and security are ‘His’’, the establishment of that peace and maintenance of security must, therefore, be the constant objective of all Muslims and Christians alike. Those who choose to exact a campaign of hatred, violence and threats against others who have done nothing to provoke them, purely because others worship in a different way to them, must revaluate Allah’s message of peace and harmony and understand that, only through conformity to the spirit of peace, patience, conscience and the promotion of human welfare can we achieve a society where all can co-exist. If they don’t, they have only themselves to blame in the hereafter when they have to make the real account to the Almighty, All seeing and All Knowing.

Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Gumi is a beacon to the inherent justice in Islam and a brave Scholar, especially when examined with the lenses of the present Islamic leadership in Nigeria.

Like his father, he lives a life outstanding in its dedication to the cause of Allah. May God protect him and guide him to continue speaking out against those within the Muslim Ummah choose to distort the message and meaning of Islam. Nigerian Muslim, extremists especially, can learn from Sheikh Gumi when he explores them to follow Allah accordingly and advises them that there is no compulsion to Islam.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter -@hanneymusawa

Attacks against Aviation Minister unwarranted, petty

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HERE seems to be a secret war going on in the aviation industry and in its wake it is hindering the development that has eluded this industry in the last four decades.

Sadly major stakeholders in the industry have taken sides.

Even the watchdog, the press, seems to have fallen in one divide or the other knowingly or as unwitting pawns in this war that has used its media, print and broadcast as a battlefield for half truths that serve certain purposes.

What would be gained by tying lies to the realities on ground and making people look stupid or fabricating scenarios that have not actually happened? A case in point: the Minister of Aviation had planned to go on her road trip to the US, Canada and China with some members of the House of Representatives, and even before the trip was embarked on, she made what she wanted to do public.

So, why would such a trip be tied to a bribery scandal such as the one that happened in the petroleum subsidy probe? Or are there some underlying factors at play that we cannot actually see? The aviation sub-sector has not seen this immense change in years and yet people are writhing and kicking. For what?

People, especially stakeholders, did not writhe and kick this hard when N19.5 billion Aviation Invention Fund vanished

into thin air The experts did not writhe and kick when no progress was made at prosecuting anybody.

The answer was that this is Nigeria and yet development was sacrificed at the altar of faces we want to see and those we do not. An airfield runway light is still not operational four years after it was commissioned. Toilets were hurriedly built with billions of naira and commissioned only to become inoperable just two weeks after construction. Yet no one said that these were wrong or wrote extensively about them.

An industry player said he would rather call what is happening a negative expression of opinion. And since it is a free country and they are Nigerians, they have the right to express their opinions on developments in the aviation industry. He also held that there are some stakeholders who have commended the efforts made by government to change things and the Minister’s dexterity in handling the remodelling of airports, and that those who are constantly criticising have something else hurting them and not the reconstruction (if you dig, you will be disappointed why they are doing this) He said, “I have heard all kinds of commendation from different aviation professional stakeholders and non-aviation stakeholders praising the current Government’s efforts on the

•Stella Oduah Nuhu MAIGDA

reconstruction.

This negative opinion is negligibly few even though it is constant. If you look at it, I have not heard anyone from the local or international operators pass any negative comments on this. I have also not heard airport users condemn the process besides complaints of the inconveniences they face now to travel.”

“While that of convenience is understandable and will soon end, one only needs to advice the Government to continue with what they are doing and remain focused and not allow themselves to be distracted from a process that will benefit the entire people

of Nigeria and other users.

“We know that change is something some people hate, especially when there is no direct benefit. A baby does not cry for nothing. If you check, there is a reason for this ‘attack’ you talked about. But one thing I know for sure is that Government is doing the right thing by the massive action on infrastructural development at our airports. “ “Don’t also forget that the joy of others may be the sadness of some. ‘Osondi Owendi’ as one Nigerian musician once sang. Some people have lived fat on the current status. So, any attempt to change it is a direct attack on their interest. As

such, it is only natural for them to attack. The thing to do here is to leave the rest for posterity to judge.”

On the alleged Greek gift from the Minister to the National Assembly on the road show and how it was likened to the Farouq Lawan bribery scandal, he said, “I believe when you say allegedly, it is not certain. I do not want to speak on speculations. The question however is this: I have seen that when the President travels, sometimes he picks people from the business community related to the trip, some legislatures, governors, etc.

“I believe a minister who is traveling can also invite delegates to travel with him or her unless it is not appropriate or against the civil service rule.

Would you call that bribery?

Again, if the legislators were offered the trip and they refused, it’s not in anybody’s place to level an allegation of bribery against the Minister, except it is the legislators themselves that are alleging.

Who is alleging now? If it is not the legislators, please find better things to do with your time.”

A true professional will commend any form of development in the sector even if not a priority and rather advise on priority areas; not to condemn with such outright negativity regardless of whether he or she thinks it is

misplaced priority or not, especially after so many years of doing the same thing in different days.”

On the panel the Minister set up to look into the problems of the industry, and whether the panel has done a stand up job and whether criticisms were justified, he said: “ICAO audit that took place in Nigeria in 2006 was conducted in one week. Processing the audit and submission of findings is a factor of convenience for ICAO thereafter. If the team is not busy, they can send you a report in few days. If they are busy, it could take longer.

“The last Panel had as members experienced professionals, including people with backgrounds similar to or that which surpasses the people that were reviewed. They sat for seven weeks and came up with 59 findings and 41 recommendations. It must be a thorough job, especially as the finding were based on the verbal testimonies of those who appeared and the documents submitted.

“The report was also published the next day. This is something that had never happened in recent times. This is a sign that the report can’t disappear under the carpet since it is in public glare. What could be more outstanding than this in current day Nigeria?”

Maigda is an airline transport pilot and certified flight instructor with 30 years industry experience.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

4 News

JTF recovers nine rocket launchers in Maiduguri

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The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State yesterday announced its recovery of nine Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers from a hideout of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, in Maiduguri.

Also seized were four AK47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun ( GPMG), 11 chargers, 1,032 rounds of ammunition, three AK47 Magazines and three Wooden Butts.

The Field Operations Officer of the task force, Col. Victor Ebhaleme, credited the new tactics “Humanitarian Line of Operation” adopted by the JTF with the breakthrough.

He said the tactics entail cooperation between the civil society and the military.

Ebhaleme said some members of the public provided the information on the hideouts of Boko Haram, which led to the raid on the hideouts and the arrest of suspected Boko Haram members.

The JTF Field Commander also said two suspects had been arrested for allegedly sending anonymous threat text messages to individuals demanding money.

He advised the public to always report such threats to security agencies early enough for prompt action, even as he enjoined them to

Constitution review: Group canvasses mass participation Augustine AVWODE

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S the process for the review of the 1999 Constitution gathers momentum, The Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) has called for full particiaption by the people and civil society groups in the country.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos yesterday, Senior Legal Programme Officer, Collins Okeke, said constitution making or review in the country should not be made a secret ritual restricted to the elite alone.

“Constitution making in Nigeria should not be a secret affair dominated and directed by the political elite, especially conservative lawyers and politicians. It should be guided by the principles of inclusivity, diversity, transparency, openness, autonomy, accountability and legitimacy,” he said.

Okeke noted the wrong approach, which former reviews and even the making of new constitution in Nigeria took, subjected all such efforts to controversy and contention. These controversies, he said, have not been helped “by years of military rule, the curtailment of democratic rights and the undue influences on political and judicial institutions.”

He said previous constitutions have failed to serve the primary purpose of providing the plank for corporate existence because the people were largely alienated from the process that brought them into being.

“Consequently, they have not just remained elitist documents but have also failed to serve as the basis for Nigeria’s corporate existence.

“The vast majority of Nigerians have never seen or read the constitution, much less considered it as the source of their corporate existence,” he said.

Joseph ABIODUN, Maiduguri always give information that will lead to the arrest of criminals in the state, stating that all information provided by

the general public will be treated with utmost confidentiality.

Similarly, unknown gunmen have shot a banker to death and injured another in an ambush at Gwange ward

of Maiduguri metropolis.

The deceased and two of his friends were said to be breaking their fast when the gunmen opened fire on them.

The Police Public relations Officer, DSP Gideon Jibrin

said, “information available to the Command revealed that some suspected terrorists laid ambush in Gwage ward on Thursday evening, killing a banker and injuring one.”

•From left: Executive Director, Training and Operation, Backup Networks Limited, Ottun Nurudeen; Regional Sales Manager, UK, Ireland and Africa for Transition Networks, Zack Admani; Business Development Manager, Openmedia Communications Limited, Joy Okorodudu and Managing Director/CEO International Telecom Equipment and Cable Company Limited, John Holt Ologbo, at the Transition Networks Product Awareness Seminar organised by Openmedia Communications Limited in Lagos.

Candidates record 39 per cent pass as WAEC releases SSCE results

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NLY 649,156 candidates or 38.81 per cent of the 1,672,224 who sat for the last May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) obtained credit in five subjects, including English and Mathematics, the examining body announced in Lagos yesterday.

The Head of National Office, West African Examinsations

Ramat MUSA Council (WAEC), Dr. Iyi Uwadiae, told reporters that the figure was a slight improvement on the previous years’ results.

He gave the figures as 23.71 per cent in May/June 2010; in 2011, 30.91 passed while in 2012, about 39 per cent passed.

Uwadiae, however, said that

112 candidates’ results were being withheld for their involvement in various examination malpractices and human errors.

He stated that about 46 candidates’ results were not released because their schools failed to submit their continuous assessment.

The HNO explained that some of the withheld results might be released after the decision-

making committee, Nigeria Examinations Committee, had concluded its investigation on the affected candidates.

Meanwhile, a total 114 blind candidates registered for the examination, while 95 of them wrote it.

Out of these, 21 of them, representing 22.11 per cent, obtained credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Holiday classes: Belgore accuses Kwara govt of double standard

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HE ACN governorship candidate in Kwara State in last year’s elections, Mr.Dele Belgore (SAN) has accused the state government of double standard for stopping the annual free holiday classes sponsored by him across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Reacting to the directive issued by the State Ministry of Education to school principals to disallow the holiday lesson classes, Belogore described the government’s action as harsh and one that ‘smacks of cheap politics.’

He wondered why government stopped his own initiative for no reason while it allowed that of the immediate past governor, Senator Bukola Saraki, to continue to run.

MDB Solidarity Team, the group supervising the initiative, had earlier secured written permission of the various schools chosen for the lessons.

In a statement in Ilorin, Belgore’s media aide, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, accused the education ministry of succumbing to “intense pressure from the PDP” on the issue.

He said: “Officials from the state Ministry of Education and SUBEB went round some of the schools to stop the les-

Adekunle JIMOH, Ilorin sons. The officials said they were acting on the orders of the Commissioner for education who, in turn, has directed the principals to stop the extra lessons.

“The lesson, in its second year, commenced last Monday, August 6, following the long school break across the country.

“As at Thursday, the state government had stopped the lessons in St. John’s Primary School, Maraba (Ilorin East); St. Barnabas Primary Schoo, Sabo-Oke (Ilorin East); Adabiya Primary School, Abata Baba Oyo in Ilorn West and United Community Secondary School, in IIorin South. No reason was given for the directive.”

He accused the government of double standard since it did not stop a similar

initiative by Senator Bukola Saraki a few months ago when he floated extra coaching for students writing the UTME in Ilorin.

“For the avoidance of doubt, public schools (Ansarul Islam Primary School, Okekere; Banni Secodary School; Pakata Primary School, Ilorin) were used for the UTME thing and the government didn’t stop it. We agree there’s no reason to have stopped such initiative which, like the one Belgore, SAN, is organising, was an effort to mould better Kwarans,” Ajakaye said.

“It is cheap politics, the sort we are preaching against, to stop this wonderful (education) initiative which, to our mind, is the best way to empower the people.”

The subjects taught under the Belgore initiative are

Corrections

In an interview with Prof. Akin Oyebode in our Sunday edition of August 4, entitled “How Nigeria can win back Bakassi Peninsula”, we inadvertently wrote that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya, met with former French President, Nicholas Sarkozy in respect of the Bakassi Peninsula. We also wrote that Prince Bola Ajibola was one of the lawyers representing Nigeria. We have since found out that the French President at the time was Jacques Chirac and not Sarkozy, and Prince Ajibola was a judge ad hoc. The mixup is regretted.

Mathematics, English Language, Chemistry, Physics, Account, Economics, Commerce, Agricultural Science, Yoruba, Computer, Government, Literature in English, Biology, Basic Science, Business Studies, Social Studies and Yoruba.

FG to meet labour to avert nationwide power outage John OFIKHENUA, Abuja IN order to avert the threatened nationwide power outage by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, yesterday invited the labour movement to a meeting scheduled for August 15.

The Assistant Director, Press, Mr. Samuel Oloowokere, who made this known in a statement, said the invitation was to ensure a hitch-free power sector reform.

The workers, who protested the non-payment of their accurate retirement benefits this week at the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) Limited Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, also threatened to embark on industrial action by shutting down all the PHCN installations to cause a nationwide power outage if the Federal Government fails to pay their retirement benefits.

Members of PHCN staff have since noted that they are not against the privatization of the unbundled companies, but that their demand is simply payment of their accurate severance packages.

But the ministry’s statement reads: “The Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, CON, has in a letter dated August 10, 2012 invited the labour movement to a meeting.

“The meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday August 15, 2012, by 2 pm at the Honourable Minister’s Conference room, will among other things discuss current labour issues existing in the power sector.

“Chief Wogu assured Nigerian workers of the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing collective agreements, while encouraging the labour unions to further embrace the spirit of tripartism in the interest of the entire nation.

“The Minister emphasised that the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is developmental-oriented, while soliciting the continued support of labour unions and other stakeholders.”

Madam Ajibade passes on

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HE death has been announced of Madam Susan Olamisewo Ajibade(Nee Fadairo). She was aged 85.

A former teacher and business woman, she had served as President of Wardens of St. Mary Catholic Cathedral, Oke Paadi, Ibadan, Oyo State. She was until her death a member of St. Leo Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos.

She is survived by Mrs. Funmilayo Fasuru, Kola Ajibade, Captain Banji Ajibade, Mrs. Maltina Modupeola Alobo-Bakare and Mrs. Olayinka Anoku.

According to a statement by the family, her burial will commence with a service of songs at St. Leo Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos State at 6.30 pm on August 28 while her lie-in-state will hold at

•The late Ajibade

Jogor Hall, off Liberty Road, Ibadan, Oyo State at 5 pm on August 30.

Her remains will be interred after a funeral service at St. Mary Catholic Cathedral, Oke Paadi, Ibadan, Oyo State on August 31. Reception will follow immediately at Jogor Hall, Ibadan.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

News 5

Security agencies probe Asari-Dokubo’s threat

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ECURITY agencies have launched a probe into a statement credited to Niger Delta activist, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, that Nigeria will disintegrate should the House of Representatives go ahead with the threat to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan.

There were indications last night that Asari-Dokubo, founder of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), might have been invited for an interaction by security agents.

The probe, sources said ,was at the instance of the presidency which was said to be uncomfortable with such divisive propaganda.

“The presidency has asked security agencies to investigate circumstances behind such comments which are capable of deepening NorthSouth divide in the country,” one source said.

“These agencies have the mandate to find out whether Asari-Dokubo was working

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation alone or in concert with others because the nation cannot afford to be plunged into another civil war.

“The government was surprised that at a time it is trying to reunite the country, Asari-Dokubo could be engaging in war alarm.”

Responding to a question, the source said: “We did not see the comments as favouring the government. That is why the presidency asked security agencies to look into it.

“By not taking action, it could be erroneously assumed that the government was in support of such a divisive tendency.

“The President is a nationalist, he will not allow anyone under whatever guise to breach national security and fan the ember of secession.”

Another source said: “I think Asari-Dokubo might have been invited by security agencies, but I do not have the details.

“But there were strong signals that a letter of invitation for an interaction was sent to him.”

None of the security agencies was willing to comment last night on the purported invitation.

All the current lines of Asari-Dokubo were also off last night.

Asari-Dokubo had asked the House of Representatives to shelve the impeachment threat against the President failing which the people of Niger Delta would “resist any such action by whatever means.”

He said:”Nobody should dare us by trying to impeach Jonathan. If they do, there will be trouble.

“All that we are saying is that they should allow the President Goodluck Jonathan to complete his eight-year tenure. For over 50 years, they held the position that Jonathan is holding. They used our resources to oil their political machinery.”

•Director-General, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr. Bayo Okauru (right), presenting the state Peer Review Mechanism Base Document to Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State during a courtesy visit to the governor in Dutse, yesterday

FG to Clinton: Don’t brand Boko Haram as terrorist group

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HE planned designation of the Islamist sect,Boko Haram,as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) or International Terrorist Organisation (ITO) by the United States of America (USA) may not come to pass afterall, it emerged yesterday in Abuja.

The Federal Government, according to highly placed sources,has succeeded in securing a positive commitment from the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, on the issue.

Clinton was in Nigeria on Thursday during which he met with President Goodluck Jonathan, top government officials and security functionaries.

Boko Haram and the threat it posed to the nation topped the agenda at the meetings.

Besides, the US offered to give intelligence support and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to check the menace of the sect.

It was gathered that the Federal Government pleaded with the US Secretary of State and members of her delegation to shelve the designation plan.

One source said: “In making a case against the designation of Boko Haram as a terrorist group, the Federal Government took into consideration the fact that it will look like a sanction which will hurt innocent Nigerians.

“Some people think that the designation will only hurt Boko Haram members without knowing that all of us will bear the brunt.

“We realized that it might scare away investors from Nigeria and lead to visa restriction and subjection of Nigerians to maltreatment at airports all over the world, including frisking of their bodies and other harsh measures.

“And once the US does that, the EU countries will follow.

The consequence of the designation is that this country will return to the club of pariah nations. This will surely in turn hurt our economy.

“So, the government pleaded with the US Secretary of State and other top officials against designation.

•US may shelve plan, offers intelligence support to Nigeria Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation “We also succeeded in explaining in details what we have been doing to check insurgency in some parts of the country. As a matter of fact, the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was at the session to brief the US delegation.

“The Federal Government delegation was optimistic that with steps taken so far and its readiness for dialogue, the Boko Haram menace can be tackled.

“We were able to convince the delegation that it will be counter-productive to designate Boko Haram as a terror-

ist group since the US considers Nigeria as its‘strategic partner’ in the sub-region.

“The US Secretary of State and others were positive in their response. They agreed with us that there is no need yet to take a drastic designation action against Boko Haram.

“So, we are positive that they will shelve the plan and cooperate with us to strengthen our capacity to address our security challenges.

“One of the key areas they are looking at is about how to assist us in intelligence gathering and empower our security agencies (in terms of training and exposure) to address

the Boko Haram insurgency.”

When contacted last night, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, only spoke about the gains of the bilateral session with the US Secretary of State without any reference to security matters.

He said:”For about two hours, we were all engrossed with how to improve ties between the two countries. The US promised to support us and back our reforms.

“We decided to explore more cooperation on agriculture, power and petroleum resources. Clinton explained that some American companies are interested in agriculture and gas turbines in Nigeria .

“We are expecting more investors from the US in these key areas of the economy. It was a major foreign policy breakthrough for us as a nation.” .

My daughter was rejected in NNPC recruitment, says GMD •As corporation recruits 595, including four disabled, for asset growth John OFIKHENUA, Abuja

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HE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday battled hard to explain its transparency in the 2010 recruitment with the Group Managing Director, Engr.

Andrew Yakubu, saying even his own daughter failed to get a job in the corporation on account of the adherence to merit and transparency.

Speaking at the induction ceremony for the new intake into the corporation at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, he said of the 269, 376 applicants who indicated interest, only 595 candidates were adjudged successful.

He said : “May I also add on a personal ground that out of the 296,000 was my daughter, and she was not employed.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Corporate Services, Dr. Peter Nmadu, noted that “for the first time, the NNPC deliberately recruited into the organization four disabled people.”

Yakubu, therefore, submitted that “the 2010 recruitment exercise which ultimately led to today’s induction ceremony stands as one of the most painstaking and transparent recruitment ever conducted in the history of the corporation.”

The successful candidates, said Yakubu, would be trained to drive the corporation in view of its road plan to grow its asset base and compete anywhere in the world or with the international oil companies.

Jonathan should account for his failures, says El-Rufai

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ORMER Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir elRufai, wants the Jonathan administration to account for its failure to deal with such problems as kidnapping, terrorism, armed robbery and insecurity now ravaging the country.

He asked President Goodluck Jonathan to be receptive to critics whose outspokenness paved the way for him to be made acting president when the late Umaru Yar’Adua took ill.

El-Rufai also took on the Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe,telling him to do his job with fidelity to history.

He was reacting to a statement by Dr.Okupe in which he asked the former minister and the Presidential running mate of the CPC in last year’s election, Pastor Tunde Bakare, to stop “their consistent and unwarranted criticism” of the Jonathan administration.

In a statement in Abuja through his Media Adviser, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye,ElRufai said if the Presidency

•Lashes out at Okupe:’Do your job with fidelity to history’ Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation needs a manual for governance, it should not do so by violating his rights.

His words: “After the needless drama at the Lagos airport when the SSS tried to truncate his trip abroad, Mallam Nasir el Rufai was greeted at his destination with evidence of further misguided action by the Jonathan government.

“That was the spectacle of the recycled Dr. Doyin Okupe providing a specious political thesis that confirms the crisis of thoughtlessness in government. Dr. Okupe asked that critics of the government should tell it what to do, wrapping his defence of incompetence around a false patriotism.

“It bears repeating that the duty of patriots is to stand up for their country, not necessarily for its government, especially one as uninspiring as the incumbent. Had more patriots stood up in Nazi Germany and Apartheid South

Africa , millions of lives would have been saved.

“Service to one’s country includes being able to acknowledge when the responsibilities of office seem beyond the ken of its government.

“The Federal Government is failing to tackle terror, kidnapping, armed robbery and other forms of insecurity. It is right that it be held to account for these failures.

“The best response the government can give its critics is performance, not cheaply questioning their patriotism.

“The Jonathan government cannot outsource to others the duty to provide good governance and the quality of leadership that can inspire the country.”

He gave details on why the government must give room for criticism instead of persecuting critics.

He added: “It was the patriotism of many citizens in the Save Nigeria Group, including Pastor Tunde Bakare and Mallam Nasir el- Rufai, that

helped make Goodluck Jonathan acting president against the machinations of the Yar’Adua cabal.

“It was the patriotism of citizens, expressed in the discourse and agitations against fuel subsidy removal, that exposed the trillion naira subsidy scam.

“Better still, it was the patriotism of these citizens that pressurized the government to reluctantly indict their friends and financiers that were found wanting by the National Assembly probe into the worst corruption saga in our chequered history.

“When the government is not begging the opposition for ideas, it is busy trying to cocoon clerics. Nothing stops priests from caring about the conditions of living of those to whom they provide moral and spiritual leadership.

“And their status as priests neither abrogates their citizenship nor constrains their right to free speech. Tunde Bakare is not the first priest to

perceive his responsibilities as embracing a concern for his country’s fate. He is following the illustrious examples of the Reverend Martin Luther King in the pursuit of civil rights in the United States and Bishop Desmond Tutu in fighting racism in South Africa . The courage of these clerics helped make their countries freer and more equal, and the world, a better place.”

El-Rufai urged Okupe to do his job with fidelity to history.

He said: “Dr. Okupe is apparently keen to impress in his new job. He should do it with fidelity to history, and cease calling patriots that stand on principles his brothers just so he can smear them.

“If the Jonathan administration wants El-Rufai to provide them a manual on governing Nigeria , they should do so nicely without violating his civil rights, harassing him incessantly or suggesting that the man wants to run for an office now being desecrated by an occupant who blames everyone but himself for his zero performance.”

6 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

I’m not in London for jamboree, says Ajimobi

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HE Oyo State govern ment yesterday dis missed as absolute falsehood a social media report that he is on a jamboree with 15 aides at the ongoing London Olympics.

Dr.Festus Adedayo, Special Adviser on Media to Governor Abiola Ajimobi, said contrary to the insinuation, the governor is in London on a business investors’ drive as part of the strategy to reposition the state as a preferred investors’ destination in Nigeria.

Adedayo said: “The Bank of Industry (BOI) and Oyo State recently entered into a trade agreement on boosting small scale industries in the state. The agreement necessitates that the government pays the counterpart funds of N500 million while the BOI pays the sum of N500 million, all totalling N1billion.

“The state government has begun advertising for prospective traders to apply for this loan which is an expected boost to small scale industries in Oyo State. Thus, using the current Olympics where millions of investors would expectedly gather to watch sports as an investment showcase, the bank organized a specialized exhibition of investment potential in Oyo State in the areas of agriculture, culture, tourism and mining in London. “ The forum was divided into three sessions. The first one, which held at Guilford, Surrey county, was organized by Surrey’s Department of Commerce and Surrey Chambers of Commerce in collaboration with the BOI from July 16 - 18. It had about five Nigerian states in attendance, including Niger, Kogi, Delta and Ogun. Surrey is akin to the economic backbone of London. The forum had the Oyo State Commissioners for Agricul-

ture, Lands and Housing making presentations. Indeed, the presentation of the group was adjudged to be the best by the panelists, so much that the President of the Surrey Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Louise Potter, promised to bring investors to Oyo State very soon.”

Another session,according to Adedayo,was billed for

yesterday with Governor Ajimobi as Chairman of a panel of discussants on investment potential in Oyo State.

“Other panelists are Minister Olusegun Aganga, MD of Notore Chemical Industries Ltd, Ministers of Agriculture, Finance Minister Okonjo Iweala, CEO of Ethiopia Commodity Ex-

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L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, handing over an agricultural farm loan to a beneficiary, Miss Akinwande Bukola, during the disbursement of 500million credit facilities to 150 graduates of the Youth Commercial Agriculture Development (YCAD) programme in Ado-Ekiti recently

LASTMA officer crushed to death The Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, (LASTMA) yesterday lost another officer, Ahmed Balogun, 34, in an accident.

Balogun was knocked down by a traffic offender in the Ajah area of Lagos.

Precious IGBONWELUNDU

The alleged killer of Balogun was said to have taken a one-way road while driving a green colour Land Rover with registration number CY276 LSD.

Damisi OJO, Akure and Legal Adviser, Tolu Babaleye, said: "The people of Ondo State, like every other South West state, need to be integrated into the Yoruba politics through the ACN to enjoy good goverance".

Boroffice, who is an ACN lawmaker representing the Ondo North Senatorial District, assured the group that Akeredolu would defeat Mimiko in the forthcoming election in Ondo State.

He said the good people of Ondo State would get a better goverance under the admin-

istration of Akeredolu who had moved round the whole Akokoland to identify its various problems and get urgent solutions.

The forum expressed satisfaction with Senator Boroffice’s explanation and thanked him for the time he took to explain what Akoko and Ondo State at large intend to gain from the South West integration.

The group assured the Asiwaju of Akokoland of its support for Akeredolu and promised to mobilise people in the four local government areas of Akoko to vote massively for him.

Spokesperson of the agency, Mr. Richard Akinbode Omolase, confirmed the accident to our reporter.

He said: “Balogun was crushed to death yesterday morning, while trying to stop a one-way trespasser at Ikota Mega City, Ajah. The vehicle, a Land Rover green colour driven by a woman (names withheld) threw Balogun to an oncoming vehicle from the other side.

“Balogun, a level 4 officer, was finally crushed to death by the oncoming vehicle and was taken to Germaine Hospital, Lekki Road, Ajah.”

Meanwhile, the one-way trespasser has been arrested and taken to Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah.

A release signed by Omolase, said the agency’s General Manager, Engr Tunde Edu, has called for calm while commiserating with the family of the deceased officer.

Aregbesola appoints Soyinka culture centre chairman

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OVERNOR Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has appointed the Nobel Laureate, Prof.

Wole Soyinka, the chairman of the Governing Board of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

According to a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu

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HE Lagos State Univer sity Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has set up a committee to look into the case of Mr Benedict Uwalaka of the Leadership who was beaten up by two workers of TOS Funerals last Thursday on the hospital premises during the release of some identifiable bodies of the victims of the June 3 Dana air crash to their families.

Its Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Wale Oke, said: “The mortuary is a public-private participation. Therefore, the hospital should not be held liable for the action of the TOS workers just because the mortuary is on the hospital premises.”

Oke, who spoke to journalists yesterday at the hospital, said the committee headed by Dr Rotimi Coker, the Griev-

Wale ADEPOJU ance Officer of LASUTH, had been given two weeks to submit its findings.

He appologised on behalf of the hospital, saying, “I tender an unreserved apology for the photo journalist involved, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the public. We regret the assault meted out to the journalist by the mortuary staff.”

He, however, said: “Every profession has its ethics, and medical ethics forbid taking photographs of corpses of patients who are still in the care of the hospital because it can lead to litigation against the institution.”

Oke said the journalist was treated before he discharged himself the same day at about 8:00pm.

Eko Atlantic City to accommodate 250,000 residents —Fashola

Akoko group backs Akeredolu KOKO Elite Forum (AEF), a pressure group in Ondo State, yesterday endorsed the candidature of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) flag bearer, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), for October 20 governorship election in the state.

The group, after its twoday meeting in Lagos and Akoko hosted by the Asiwaju of Akokoland, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, agreed to work for the victory of the ACN and Akeredolu.

A statement, issued after the meeting and signed by its President, Mr. Yomi Arodu,

change, DG Commonwealth Business Council with President Goodluck Jonathan declaring the forum open,”he said, adding that the officials on the governor’s entourage are “ officials who were carefully selected to represent all the sectors and ministries relevant to the numerous engagements” and not commissioners as claimed in the story.

LASUTH sets up committee to probe journalist’s battery

Adesoji ADENIYI, Osogbo Okanlawon, the governor or any other appointee in line with the Osun State Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (Amendment) Law 2012 signed into law in July, will be chairman of the board.

The statement added that the new board will have concurrent responsibility to develop the Yoruba World Heritage Centre to be called

New Ife, Ile-Ife. “Apart from the chairman of the board, board, in accordance with the law, will comprise two representatives of the academia, four representatives of arts and culture, a representative of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Nigeria's Permanent Delegate to the UNESCO," the statement read in part.

The statement further said

that Soyinka's choice as the chairman of the board was informed by his global status as a culture icon and promoter.

According to the statement, the new Yoruba World Heritage, which the board will also have the concurrent responsibility to develop, is a massive project of the Aregbesola administration to revive the Yoruba culture as part of the tourism package of the state.

AGOS future and new city, the Eko Atlantic, will only accommodate 250,000 residents and 150,000 commuters daily on completion, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), has said.

The governor also said that the Eko Atlantic City on completion would not experience flooding or any encroachment from the Atlantic Ocean unlike what was experienced at the bar beach coastline along Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island.

Governor Fashola made this known while marking his 1,900 days in office with the people of Lagos State at the Lagos City Hall.

The governor was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Justice and At-

Adebisi ONANUGA torney General, Mr. Ade Ipaye, on the occasion.

The governor said the area reclaimed from the lagoon had expanded to 3,081,050 square metres as at June, 2012 while the volume of sand pumped rose to 8,081,050 cubic metres since the second phase of the project commenced in October, last year.

He gave the overall area for reclamation as approximately 1,037.763 hectares.

The governor disclosed plans by his government to reclaim all lands under the flyover bridges from those described as illegal squatters and miscreants in the different parts of Lagos under its Greening Programme geared towards improving the aesthetics of the environment.

We must create more competitive environment for youths, says Ikuforiji

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PEAKER of the Lagos State House of Assem bly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has said that a more competitive environment should be created for youths to encourage them to do better because moral decadence in the country is better addressed from the angle of the youth.

Ikuforiji spoke at a debate and essay competition of the Students’ Union Government of the Lagos State University sponsored by him as part of the activities marking the students’ union week.

“We have seen all that the

Oziegbe Okoeki elders could do today. Of course, we still have hope in the future. I agree with the fact that if we take care of the education of individuals in the society, the nation would be better for it,” he said.

He emphasised that the programme was his own little way of introducing an idea of a better education for the younger generation “so that our future can be assured.

This is the first, but many others will follow. Those who know me know that when I make a promise I always fulfil it”, he said.

Med-View airlifts Lagos pilgrims

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N air carrier, MedView, has com menced the airlifting of Lagos pilgrims for this year’s Umrah (lesser hajj).

The air carrier said no fewer than 2, 000 pilgrims would be flown to Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the exercise.

So far, the carrier has airlifted 1, 000 pilgrims.

Speaking with journalists yesterday at the departure hall of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the General Manager, Med-View, Mr David Babatunde, said other pilgrims from Ilorin, Maidugiri and Abuja zones

Tajudeen ADEBANJO were also on baord.

Babatunde explained that the first phase of the exercise would end today, while the return leg would commence on August 19.

“For our pilgrims, we have really explained to them the implication of running away when they get there.

We are very selective when it comes to picking pilgrims.

At times, when we are in doubt, we ask them to provide us with guarantors just to ensure that they don’t disappear when they get to Saudi Arabia,” he said.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

NEWS 7

Imo LG crisis deepens as sacked chairmen remain in office

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HERE was palpable tension in Imo State yesterday as the 27 council chairmen, whose tenure of office was dissolved by the state government resumed work in their respective local government areas, forcing senior council workers to relo-

•Council officials relocate to hotels

Area, the chairman and secretary of the All Local Governcially announced the dissoOkodili NDIDI, Owerri ment Of Nigeria lution of the local govern(ALGON),Enyinna Onuegbu, ment councils and directed said that they were still in ofcate to hotels in the capital city the Directors of Administrafice as elected council chairmen of Owerri. tions and General Services to until the final determination of The state government, in a take over the running of the the court on the suit which will state wide-broadcast had offilocal governments. come up for hearing on Monday next week.

He said that they will sustain their positions until the governor sees the reason to obey the rule of law, stating that the scenario was a script by the state government to further frustrate them.

According to him, “you can see that the council is almost comatose, this is because the Heads of Administration and council treasurers have relocated to hotels from where they are running the affairs of the council and we learnt they are even paying workers’ salaries today in the hotels.”

Onuegbu further argued that the court did not announce who should take over the councils but directed that status quo should remain until after the determination of the substantive suit, adding, “except for the Governor Godswill Akpabio of AkwaI Ibom State, congratulating the GMD of Nest Oil Plc, Dr Ernest Azudialu frustration of the council heads after being conferred with the West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Lagos on Thursday, while the MD, we as the political heads will remain in our offices.”

ABN Group, Roberta Nadoo watches.

But in defiance of the directives, the embattled chairmen and their councilors resumed work in their offices in the early hours of the morning, apparently to forestall any plot to lock them out.

At Ngor Okpala Council

76 oil wells: Supreme Court judgment punitive, says Imoke

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OVERNOR Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has described the Supreme Court judgment that ceded the disputed 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibom State as punitive.

Speaking while receiving the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties and Agreements led by its chairman, Hon Yacob Bush Alebiosu, Imoke said the International Court of Justice Judgment of 2002 and the Green Tree Agreement which was a fallout of the ceding of Bakassi to Cameron had stated that the exercise would not be punitive on people.

“But the recent experience with the Supreme Court Judgment seems to show that Nigeria has taken a punitive measure against the state,” he stated.

He said the handover of Bakassi to Cameroon in 2008 by the court’s interpretation meant Cross River has ceased to be a littoral state and has lost its revenue from the oil wells which have been given to Akwa Ibom, yet it still faces the same challenges.

Imoke maintained that the Green Tree Agreement between Nigeria and Cameroon which is yet to be ratified should not be punitive to any citizen of the country.

He said the Committee’s visit would provide it opportuni-

We don’t want relocation anymore —Bakassi HE Paramount Ruler of our land, taken our resources paramount ruler Bakassi, Dr Etim Okon so we now know that we are

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Edet, said the people of Bakassi do not want to be relocated anymore by the Federal Government, but want the ceded land back.

Speaking in a forum with the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties and Agreements led by its chairman, Yacoob –Bush Alebiousu in Calabar, he said the people would take back their land by any means as they had been left to their own fate by the Federal Government.

The Paramount Ruler who said he would have chased away the committee members were it not a new committee said: “We have not been fairly treated by this nation and what we are looking for now that you are here is that we want to go back to our area by any means possible. We don’t even want relocation any longer, we are going to take it by whatever means because we have been abandoned for almost ten years now. To add to our grief, they have taken

not wanted.

“I have seen some people doing bomb, they have not seen bomb yet, what they are doing is a very small bomb.

What they are fighting for maybe is not even up to the magnitude of ours. Our own is that the whole local government, the whole people where are we now? The Bakassi people are roaming about, they don’t have where to stay.

“We are going back to our area, we will take it by any means possible. We don’t have any problem with Nigeria. Our problem is with the Cameroon and that is that they must leave our area and they are going to leave very soon. We have been assured that they will leave. Nigeria can leave us alone. There was Bakassi before political Nigeria and there was Bakassi before political Cameroon.

“When anything happens, Nigeria will bear us witness that we have waited for long.

We don’t have any problem with ICJ and I don’t want anybody to go and appeal any case because it will be waste of time and money. We want to take our area out and we will do so and Nigerians will see with their two eyes that God is still on the throne.

“I am very happy to know that this committee on Treaties and Agreement is a new committee, if not, I would have asked you to go away. Because if you were there and the treaty that Obasanjo did with whosoever and it did not pass through the National Assembly and that committee was there and did nothing I would not have seen you. My happiness is that this is a brand new committee of the seventh Assembly, so I welcome you warmly and I hope you will not be like other committees in the National Assembly.”

Alebiousu appealed for peace, saying his committee would do what it can to redress the issue.

Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcour

treaty have been.

The Chairman said they were in the state on a fact finding visit following the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon.

Alebiosu disclosed that their visit was prompted by several reports which the committee had received on the Green Tree Agreement between Nigeria

ties to get the facts and see what the implications of the

and Cameroon.

Meanwhile, Governor Imoke has appealed to the people of Bakassi not to take laws into their hands in their quest for justice and equity in Nigeria.

Imoke, who was reacting to reports that a group in the Bakassi peninsula has declared self-independence from Nigeria as symbolised by the hoisting of a purported Bakassi flag and commencement of 'Bakassi Radio' described the development as unfortunate.

A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita said the Imoke administration believes in the peaceful resolution of the Bakassi crisis and views the development as unnecessary and un-called for.

According to the statement, Imoke believes that the only sustainable way of resolving the crisis is through dialouge and peaceful conducts.

"In line with this posture, the governor has appealed to the people of Bakassi not to abandon dialogue" He urged them to give the Federal Government a chance to look into their grievances and find solutions to them.

The Governor, therefore, wants the people to reciprocate the Federal Government's gesture by returning to the path of peace.

One killed, 18 injured in Rivers auto crash on East-West Road

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NE person yesterday lost his life, with eighteen others injured in an auto crash in Rivers State, when two vehicles had a head-on collision.

The accident occurred at Elele-Alimini on the everbusy, but potholes-ridden East-West Road, currently being dualised by the Federal Government, by Setraco Construction Company.

The vehicles involved were a Toyota Corolla saloon car, with registration number: SAP 244 AA and Toyota Hiace bus, marked: LG 30 ABU. Stakeholders, including

Nicholas KALU, Calabar the East-West Road Communities Association (EWRCA), also called for speedy completion of the East-West road dualisation.

The Rivers State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Kayode Olagunju, who confirmed yesterday’s accident said: “The Toyota bus, belonging to a local government in Rivers State, was completely razed.

“The injured casualties have been taken to the Gen-

eral Hospital in Ahoada, Rivers state, while the corpse has also been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.”

The accident occurred not far from Okogbe in Ahoada West Local Council Area of Rivers State, where over 200 persons lost their lives to petrol tanker fire on July 12 this year.

The Okogbe accident was attributed to the bad and narrow East-West Road, with many lives lost on the strategic road on a daily basis, but the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, assured that it

would be completed in December 2014, if adequate funding could be provided.

Orubebe complained of inadequate funding, when he recently met with the members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Niger Delta Affairs.

The Niger Delta Affairs Minister explained that his ministry inherited the EastWest road from the Federal Ministry of Works in 2009, with only 10 per cent of the work completed.

He disclosed that a total of N133 billion had been expended on the East-West Road, with an outstanding

liability of N24 billion, while insisting that the road was 48 per cent complete.

The N349 billion EastWest road dualisation project was awarded in 2006 and ought to have been completed in 2010.

Orubebe added that only N23 billion was appropriated for the East-West road project in the 2012 budget, with an additional N21 billion under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), while efforts were being made by the ministry to secure alternative sources of funding from the Infrastructure Bank Plc.

Jonathan’s wife, Oritsejafor, others extol virtues of Uduaghan’s mother-in-law

W

HILE President G o o d l u c k Jonathan was gracing the funeral rites of the former President of Ghana, Atta Mills, his wife Dame Patience Jonathan led top government functionaries to the funeral rites of the Mother-inlaw of the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday.

Among the dignitaries that graced the occasion were former governor of Ogun State, OlusegunOsoba, Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, Kaduna State governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa and his wife, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Wife of Akwa-Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, erstwhile governor of Edo State, John Oyegun.

Others were publisher of Vanguard Newspaper, Elder Sam Amuka, Publisher of Thisday, Nduka Obaigbena, Senators Ifeanyi Okowa, BukolaSaraki, wife of former PDP National Chairman, Mrs Maryam Ali, James Manager, Ndidi Elumelu, Josephine Anenih, veteran actor, Justus Esiri.

Also present were captain of industries, several banks executives, Secretary to the State Government, Ovouzorie Macaulay, commissioners, top government functionaries, among others.

Uduaghan’s mother-in-law was earlier driven in a motorcade from her family house in Ugbaugwu along the NPA Expressway, Warri where she was laid-in-state around 10:am before the corpse in a procession, was taken to First Baptist Church, Warri for a funeral church service.

Officiating priest at the church service included Rev C .F Ugbege, Pastor incharge of First Baptist Church, President of Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor , state Chairman of CAN, Rev Gideon Oyibo, as well as Pastor Timothy Ayomike of Soul Harvester Church Warri.

Sermonizing during the service, Pastor Oritsejafor pondered over the mystery of death, saying, death is inevitable and all mankind have to prepare for it because no one knows when it will come.

He, therefore, admonish Christians to be steadfast to God at all times, saying that being poor does not make one a candidate of heaven.

He noted that poverty is not an automatic ticket to heaven, citing the example of Nicodemus and Lazarus in the Bible as a guide for all who seek heaven.

Also speaking, Patience Jonathan eulogize the motherly role of the deceased to her children and the society at large.

She said that she has had personal encounter with Madam Ayomike while alive and found her a women of virtue.

Late Madam Ayonmike, mother of Delta State First Lady, Deaconess Roli Nere Uduaghan passed on at the age of 81 on July 9, 2012.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

8 NEWS

Police detain Wada’s aides over killing of soldiers

F

ORMER Chairman of the Okene Local government Area, Yahaya Karaku is among prominent politicians arrested by police on Wednesday.

It is also believed that the

DFID/PATHS2 support Kano Govt with N1.175bn health facilities

…as soldiers ransack Okene main market Sanni ONOGU, Okene former local government chairman of Okehi Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar Zubair Adagu was also among those being detained.

Karaku and Adagu were on July 26 appointed Special Advisers by Governor Idris Wada without portfolios.

Gunmen had on Tuesday attacked the Okene Local Government secretariat, killing two soldiers in the process.

Karaku who was chairman of the council from 2008 to 2011 is said to be nursing the ambition of returning to the council during the next election.

The suspected leader of the gang that attacked the

church is believed to have been one of Karaku’s thugs popularly called ‘boys’.

Investigations revealed that Yekini Isah has a shop at the Okene Local Government shopping complex, close to the secretariat.

Our source said most people who have stores in that choice area of town are in one way or the other connected to Karaku, whose ad-

Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano

K

ANO State Governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso yesterday took delivery of N1.175 billion worth of drugs, medical equipments, consumables and generating sets donated by the Department For International Development (DFID) in collaboration with PATHS to boost health-care delivery in the state.

DFID Representative in Kano state, Mr. Ben Irod said the organization was determined to help Kano state government in the health, education and agricultural sectors, noting that over the years, the organization has spent millions of pounds to improve the standard of living of people of the state, particularly, those in the rural areas.

Also speaking at Government House during the distribution of the items to 329 health facilities across the 44 Local Government Areas of the state, National Programme Manager of PATHS 2, Dr. Mike Egbo said under the projects, 1, 945 Doctors, Midwives, CHEWs and Laboratory Technicians were trained.

According to him, the programme has also seen improved quality data collection and timely submission through DHIS software-data from 792 HFs report online.

He further stated that the project also witnessed completion of procurement support to DMCSA, upgraded 16 HFs in four clusters, training and retraining of health workers, supportive supervision and mentoring.

He also revealed that the DFID/PATHS2 project is planning to procure equipment, drugs and medical consumables worth N610 million for Kano state between 2013 and 2014, adding that within the next two years, the project would have established 800 health facilities in Kano.

Dr. Egbo commended Governor Kwankwaso for giving priorities to the health sector, with free MCH package, approval and release of over N400 million as state MDG counterpart funding.

He also praised Kwankwaso for approving N33 million for SPHCB, N217 million for the relocation of DMCSA as well as N27 million for the renovation and construction of equipment warehouse.

According to Dr. Egbo, said Kwankwaso is among the very few Governors that have approved employment of over 500 workers in the health sector within a year as well as establishing two Health Institutes—Post Basic Midwifery Gezawa and College of Nursing Madobi.

Governor Kwankwaso thanked the organization for their gestures and promised to continue to show support to the DFID/PATHS2 programmes not only in the health sector but also in other areas that helps alleviating the needs of the common man.

•Director-General, Nigeria Governor's Forum, Mr. Bayo Okauru (right), presenting the state Peer Review Mechanism Base Document to Gov. Sule Lamido of Jigawa State during the courtesy visit to his office in Dutse,... yesterday

ministration allocated the shops.

Most residents are of the view that the killing of 17 members of the Deeper Life Church in Otite was a smokescreen meant to divert security attention from the city centre before the gunmen believed to have targeted the current boss of the council, Mr Salihu Ogembe, struck.

Ogembe who was in office when the shooting began was believed to have lay flat in his office to escape the bullets.

A police source in Lokoja confirmed that prominent politicians from Okene were in police custody allegedly in connection with the killing of the two soldiers but refused to disclose names.

He added that the suspects have been moved to Abuja.

Ogembe, in a text message to our reporter yesterday confirmed that he was in the office when the gunmen opened fire on the secretariat.

He, however, said he was not sure of their mission.

Responding to enquiries by our reporter, Ogembe said: “Yes, I was in the office but not sure of their mission.

God is in control.”

According to another source who works in one of the new generation banks in Okene, there was a security alert of an impending strike before the gunmen attacked the church on Monday.

He said following the security reports, all banks in the city were asked to beef up security by the police.

He added that members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) were deployed in their numbers to the city centre to

counter the threat.

He said the attack on the Deeper Life Church on Monday must have been a red herring to deceive the security agents.

The source said: “Immediately that attack was reported, all the security agents that hitherto were at the city centre moved enmass to the Federal College of Education area where the incident took place.

“But two soldiers who died in the attack were sent to the secretariat following a distress call by an official of the council before the gunmen came.

“Because of this, it is widely believed that the killing of the church members was meant to divert security attention to enable the gunmen penetrate the council.

“This may also explian why Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility for the church killings which is their usual trademark.”

In a related develpoment, soldiers yesterday ransacked all the markets within the Okene metropolis.

Few traders that dared to display their wares took to their heels when the soldiers who were patrolling the town began shooting sporadically into the air.

An eyewitness stated that when the soldiers got to the main market, they alighted from their trucks and started overturning tables and wares displayed on them.

A visit to the market showed palm oil, rice, beans, garri, meat, cassava flour and other items littering the market.

A similar action was allegedly carried out by the soldiers at Ogamnana market.

Deeper Life Church massacre: ANPP advises Jonathan to ensure inter-faith dialogue

T

HE All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to channel his efforts towards inter-faith dialogue.

ANPP said considering the obvious reality that criminal elements are now cashing in on religious sentiments to feast on the blood of innocent Nigerians, urgent steps needed to be taken.

According to the statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Emma Eneukwu: “The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) received with shock the

Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja mindless massacre of some worshippers of Deeper Life Bible Church in Okene, Kogi State on Monday. While we mourn with other Nigerians and sympathize with the bereaved families, friends and the Deeper Life Church family over this sordid loss, we express our profound concern over the deepening tragic trend of untamed bloodlettings in our beloved nation.

“For some time now, the country has been a victim of persistent religious ag-

gression, which threatens the integrity of our nationhood. Due to the fact that ours is a country of unity in diversity, which has its singular pride in the truth that among all African countries, Nigeria has the highest number of ethnic nationalities as well as religions living side by side in peace and brotherhood.

Our great party believes that the masterminds of religious violence are actually a threat to every black man on the face of the earth.

“In this wise, we commend the efforts of many Muslim and Christian leaders who have visited churches and mosques,

and shared food with fellow Nigerians of other religions with a view to nurturing a sense of oneness among citizens of differing creed. We also commend the effort of the African Independent Television [AIT] in its ongoing sponsored inter-faith dialogue programme, because of its capacity to melt the wall of misunderstanding between the two most populous religions in the country.

“The ANPP believes that Nigeria will surmount its current problems. This is why we want the Federal Government to also include inter-faith relations

and inter-religious peace building as part of its strategy to fight religious terrorism; just as it supports governmental organizations to fight various societal challenges like climate change, girl-child education, polio, maternal mortality etc.

“Every battle starts in the mind, and it is the mind of man that is the hardest to conquer, therefore, more efforts should be made by the government to help the Christians and Muslims in Nigeria to know their common grounds, so as to resist temptations to be their brother’s killer, instead of his keeper.”

Public Complaints Commission resolves 8,009 cases in Niger

O

VER 98 percent of the complaints received by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in Niger State since its inception in 1975 have been resloved, Alhaji Umar Abdulkadir, the state commissioner has disclosed.

Revealing this yesterday during a familiarization visit to the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Desire Diseye Nsirim, the commissioner also said that the sum of N30 million was recovered by the Com-

Jide ORINTUNSIN, Minna mission in the last one year.

According to him, out of 8,283 cases that emerged from complaints received since inception of the commission in the state, 8,009 have been amicably and permanently resolved.

Abdulkadir said the commission was living up to its primary assignment, which he said is aimed at promoting and enhancing peace and social justice in the society, adding that the

Commission also promotes efficient and effective service delivery in government.

He explained the activities of the Commission to include entertaining various complaints ranging from delay in getting payment of retirement benefits like pension, gratuity and death gratuity as well as wrongful termination of appointment and dismissal from service including delay in getting payment of compensation for land ac-

quired for public use by the government and abandoned community projects.

He, therefore, solicited the support of the state police command in carrying out its official duty, especially in situations where summons were issued to recalcitrant respondents.

In her response, the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Desire Nsirim assured the Commission of the assistance of the Command in the discharge of its du-

ties.

“We want a situation whereby we can partner with you fully because the preaching by the Police high Command has always been on the issues of community policing in terms of the exchange of vital information by government agencies and the general populace in order to achieve maximum results and for both of us to bring lasting peace to the country in general and Niger State in particular,” Nsirim said.

9

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

I

was privileged to be at a break fast reception for members of the Island Club hosted by former Head of State retired General Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta the Ogun State capital very recently. In response to a request by the Club for support in building a multi storey car park facility the global diplomat in the retired general took over proceedings as he launched into a treatise of sorts on global wealth and politics which I have decided to make the topic of today. Initially the former Commander in Chief excited his guests by giving a free business advice that the proposal before him needed to be turned into a business proposal for a willing bank to execute based on its viability potential.

General Obasanjo then took flight into the rarified air of global business finance which I found most revealing. He told his audience that in his recent travels he discovered that the nations of South East Asia and India have so much wealth in hard currency that they are willing to invest in Africa if the conditions are right. The inference was that the Island Club project could be one of such. In particular he mentioned Indonesia, and India. He then went on to single out Brazil and his meeting with former Brazilian President Lula da Silva who ruled Brazil for two terms like he too did in Nigeria .

General Obasanjo revealed that Lula told him that the Brazilian Development Corporation is richer than the World Bank and that is the kernel of our discussion today. This is because if a supposedly Third World nation can manage itself in such a way that it has more capital than the leading global financial rescue institutions then it must have something to teach the worl .

The former Nigerian Head of State referred to two parts of the world that can benefit Africa in terms of available wealth for much needed investment and these are Asia and South or Latin America. With regard to Asia the Asian Tigers of the Association of S East Asia nations – ASEAN - namely Taiwan, S.Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia , Malaysia, and Thailand are well known to have cut their teeth a long time ago for rapid economic growth accompanied by political stability.

I have left out China because even though China was initially a part of the Asian Tigers, it has since beaten out a path on its own to become a huge dragon and engine of global economic growth that has left no one in doubt that it is destined to take over sooner than later as the world’s biggest economy. Japan too was a Tiger until natural disasters and nuclear accidents stalled its growth and global economic dominance.

In Latin America, Brazil is the only nation with a Portuguese heritage from its colonization by Portugal while the rest of the nations in the region have a Spanish background from their former Spanish overlord, Spain . Brazil has always been the biggest nation in Latin America and now from Obasanjo’s analysis, its biggest economy. What is important is that what Lula told OBJ was no exaggeration.

Even when the newly appointed IMF boss French woman Lagarde visited Brazil after Lula she could only praise Brazil’s excellent growth pattern as Brazil did not and does not need any IMF loan or conditionalities. Indeed Brazil is a member of the BRICS an acronym for nations made up of emerging markets giants like Brazil, Russia, India China, and S Africa. In the BRICS, Russia is the largest producer of oil in the world while China is the largest consumer and between them they are building the longest pipeline in the world for service delivery and customer satisfaction. Yet in terms of the political control of world politics and power only two members of the BRICS have real power as members of the UN Secu-

Global wealth and politics

rity Council and these are Russia and China and that too is a matter for serious discussion and consideration.

In an article titled The Brazilian Model in The Economist this year, Lula‘s successor as President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff lamented that global governance structures need to change ‘to reflect the world as it is today, in particular the UN Security Council, the IMF and the World Bank. Developing countries need to have their voices heard and their concerns and contributions taken into account‘, Dilma concluded .

Whilst Dilma has carried on where Lula left in Brazil there is need to commend Lula for laying a strong foundation for Brazil’s new wealth which has helped in transforming the Brazilian society and lifting millions out of poverty.

Lula campaigned for Brazil during his tenure and Brazil got the hosting rights to two major world sporting events namely the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. There is no doubt that these two events will go a long way to boost Brazil’s infrastructural development, enable it to use its wealth usefully in creating jobs, entertainment and comfort for its citizenry and improve the Brazilian society and environment tremendously .

You cannot talk of Brazil without dwelling on Lula’s leadership style and his succession plan and making some comparisons locally.

Lula handpicked his successor Dilma a lady who was a little

known Economist and Technocrat and who was Lula’s Chief of Staff when Lula was President of Brazil.

Dilma’s major political experience was that she had been tortured during military rule in Brazil. Lula campaigned for her and she won the election and the succession plan has been a tremendous success for the Brazilian state and people.

I am sure OBJ had a similar vision for Nigeria at the end of his two terms but I am sure he will be the first to accept that things have not worked quite well in that regard.

There is no better proof of that than his recent statement with IBB that Nigerians now live in a state of fear of life and property; insecurity and uncertainty, which are bound to deter willing foreign investors. To rub salt into our injury US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came by last Thursday and there was no doubt that security concerns were topmost on her agenda. Especially the humiliating assumption of the US establishment that Nigeria can not stop the Boko Haram menace by military means ; something I expect the Nigerian government to object to vehemently and go on to prove it is capable of doing.

However in stark contrast in Lagos State, a successful replica of the Brazilian Lula–Dilma Transition is in place in the way former Governor Bola Tinubu picked his former Chief of Staff BRF as his successor and the smooth and successful transition has benefitted the citizenry of Lagos State massively.

In the article by Dilma that I mentioned earlier the Brazilian president noted that Brazil can thank luck for the peaceful Latin American regional environment that has enabled its fast growth and huge wealth. According to her– ‘We are fortunate to live in a low conflict area of the world, irreversibly nuclear weapons free, and extremely promising in terms of its energy, mineral, industrial and food production potential‘. Such factors are lacking in Asia where the new wealth of the world is lurking, waiting to be unleashed and in the Middle East where most of the world’s wealth and oil lie. In Asia, both India and Pakistan have the nuclear bomb and have boxed themselves into a cruel corner of doubt and mistrust that hamper long term economic planning and growth for their teeming masses of impoverished population.

In the Middle East, the Strait of Homuz is the life line of oil flow to the West and Iran which is suspected by the West of making a nuclear bomb on the pretext of producing electricity, has threatened in recent times to block the strategic strait, while the US has calmly and firmly affirmed it would use all options including force to make transport flow through the Strait of Homuz.

Nowhere is the fight for the share and control of global wealth more illustrative than in the fight for the control of Syria by the Assad regime and the Syrian Opposition and the global supporters of both . On Assad’s side are China, Russia and Iran .

On the Syrian Opposition side are the US and Western Europe or just call them the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation -NATO - member nations . China and Russia have blocked UN Security Council resolutions for military intervention to save civilian lives twice and the reason is not far fetched. They do not want what happened to late Muammar Gaddafi to happen to their friend Assad in Syria.

In Libya where both China and

Russia supported a No Fly Zone resolution it was used by NATO to snuff the life out of Gaddafi’s army from the skies while his airforce lay prostrate in castration because it could not use its radar blocked by the electronic blanket of the No Fly Zone.

Oil production has since resumed in Libya and it is NATO nations that have the big contracts. China and Russia are determined to prevent such a development in Syria. Especially for Russia which has been a regular and traditional vendor of arms sales to the Assad Dynasty since the days of Haffez Assad the father of the present president who took over power on his father’s death 12 years ago .

With regard to Iran, Syria has been a staunch ally providing proxy support to Hamas which shoots rockets into Israel - a nation that Iran has vowed to wipe off the face of the earth. Syria provides similar support to Hizbollah in Lebanon and is duly rewarded with oil supplies by the oil rich Iranians.

Yet, it is apparent that the Assad regime is battling against time and that those who have supported it because of commercial and business interests have on their hands the blood of thousands of innocent Syrians fighting for freedom against the dynastic oppression of just one family which has cornered the national wealth. The Syrians should however be encouraged with the news from Tripoli, Libya’s capital last Thursday when the Transitional Ruling Council set up after Gaddafi was toppled , shanded over power to the elected representatives of the Libyan people who will elect a new Speaker of the Libyan National Assembly from amongst themselves. Which means that at last the national wealth and politics of the Libyan people is in their hands and out of the hands of the Gaddafi family which stole and used it for itself for 42 years. That should spur the Syrian opposition not to relent until they topple the Assad regime and become the manager of their resources and wealth as in Brazil and Libya in recent times.

10 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

Wanted: A Senate President on the people’s side

vincentakanmode@yahoo.com

S

ENATE President, David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark, may not occupy the first position in the roll of the luckiest Nigerian politicians. He will have to contend with the likes of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president who ruled the country for eleven and a half years, three and a half of which he functioned as a military ruler. He will also have to contend with the incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who has had his stints as deputy governor, governor, vice president, acting president and President literally thrust into his laps by mother luck.

Still, the senator from Benue South will rank among the top three or four luckiest Nigerian political office holders, considering all that have not happened to him as an ex-soldier and politician. He became the military governor of Niger State as a lieutenant-colonel in 1984 and rose to the rank of a general without the misfortune of being implicated in a failed coup. For his unsavoury comments against the iron fist regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, he became the target of his killer squad, but escaped into exile before the squad could bring down its hammer.

As the Minister of Communications under the Babangida regime, he committed a verbal treason, declaring that telephone was not an item for ordinary Nigerians. In other climes, the unguarded statement would spell the end of whatever political ambition he nursed and even condemn him to the anthill of inglorious history.

But he has contested the senatorial seat of Benue South four times and won on each occasion with massive votes from his Idoma kinsmen. Indeed, he is spending his second term as the Senate

President and Nigeria’s number three man.

Therefore, it would not come as a surprise that the Idoma man once again activated his insult mode against the mass of the people during a keynote address he delivered at the Senate Press Corps Retreat held in Umuahia, Abia State last week. There he called for measures to check the use of the social media like the Facebook and Twitters which, to him, are no more than veritable tools employed by the ordinary people he holds with so much disdain to insult their leaders.

“There must be a measure to check the negative tendencies of the social media in our country,” he said. “I say this because media practice, particularly journalism, process of news gathering and dissemination operate a feedback mechanism, and where the practitioners erred, there is room for rebuttal. But in the social media, a faceless character can post any information that is absolutely false and misleading, but will never retract it. At the end of the day, one is bombarded with questions over what one has no business with.” The Senate President also said we need to change our attitude about our country and emulate foreign reporters who never report negative things about their country.

If the Senate President has been looking in the right direction, he would realise that the foreign media are not as avuncular as he portrayed them. Neither the Watergate scandal nor former President Bill Clinton’s scandalous affairs with his secretary were broken by Nigerian news media. And these are just only two instances in the long line of scandalous stories the foreign media discharged and acquitted by Mark have broken about their leaders.

As a Nigerian from the same geo-political zone as the Senate President, I cannot but sympathise with him over the coarse criticisms that have been his lot on the social media. But I must also say that he and the so-called leaders, whose interests he sought to defend, have themselves to blame for the bashing they receive from those media which, like the camera, can only portray them in the light in which they conduct themselves. If Mark wants praises for

‘

If the Senate President has been looking in the right direction, he would realise that the foreign media are not as avuncular as he portrayed them. Neither the Watergate scandal nor former President Bill Clinton’s scandalous affairs with his secretary were broken by Nigerian news media

’

our leaders in the social media instead of insults, on what pedestal will such praises be based? The smooth, nylon-tarred roads that crisscross the country, the steady supply of electricity or the security system that guarantees the safety of the people’s lives and property?

What, for instance, are the spectacular achievements of Mark that would have been portrayed on those media since he became the Senate President. If anything, he has proved time and time again that he remains his conservative, nearly reactionary self, ever so willing to submit to the whims and caprices of any President in power.

The criminal silence maintained by the Senate during the mass demonstration against the nocturnal hike in the pump price of fuel from N65 per litre to N97 is traceable only to Mark’s pedigree as an establishment man. It is an image he has sustained since his days in the military. As a soldier, he was so blindly loyal to Gen. Ibrahim Babangida that he earned himself the sobriquet of IBB boy. For that, he was rewarded with his posting to Niger, Babangida’s home state, as a military governor and was later appointed the Minister of Communications, the platform he employed to deal his infamous blow

on the ordinary Nigerian.

Only the Hon. Aminu Tambuwal-led House of Representatives stood on the side of the people in the matter. But even when the House passed a resolution, asking Jonathan to return the price of fuel to N65, he had the audacity to wave it off as the personal opinion of the lawmakers because he knew that there was little they could do with the Senate and its leadership in his pocket.

Right now, the clamour for proper implementation of the nation’s budget is a battle between the Presidency and the House of Representatives. The involvement of the Senate in the sensitive matter has been, at most, tepid.

The nation must count itself lucky that Mark was not the senator presiding at the time former President Olusegun Obasanjo plotted his thirdterm ambition. He probably would still be occupying the Aso Rock villa today, lording it over everyone in the true fashion of an emperor. The establishment man that he is, it is not beyond Mark to oblige support for Obasanjo even against popular wish. He would most likely disapprove of the live television coverage that put every senator on the spot. He would more likely subject the matter to his customary voice vote and the “yeah” would have had it. In the Senate of today, one with Mark is a majority.

If we stomached our own insult when he delivered it with such remorseless glee many years ago; if we have tolerated his conservative tendencies and endured his reactionary potential, on what moral ground would Mark now complain about being insulted by the people that have been bearing the brunt of his verbal recklessness? He is concerned that there is no way to make users of the social media who insult leaders like him retract their stories, but he has not deemed it necessary to apologise to the ordinary Nigerians he once insulted to cover up his failure as the Minister of Communications. Neither has he apologised to Nigerians on the role he played in the wicked annulment of Nigeria’s freest and fairest presidential election of June 12, 1993, or his laughable claim that a sergeant in the Nigerian Army is a better individual than a university graduate.

Now, a bloody depravity goes on a road show Knucklehead

D

EVASTATED by the report of the callous murder of a pastor and 19 other worshippers at a Deeper Life Bible Church in Okene, Kogi State on Monday night, Knucklehead had initially resolved to dedicate this space to readers’ reactions.

It was meant to be some kind of protest against the crying incompetence at the highest level of governance - a situation that has made life so horribly cheap in Nigeria. It was also meant to be a tactical way of avoiding the proverbial tag of the bird with the broken beak. For, if the truth must be told, there is nothing on the ground to give one the confidence that those raining bullets on the bodies of innocent, unarmed citizens would soon be apprehended or brought to justice. On the contrary, their testosterone of depravity seems to be growing in leaps and bounds, judging by the rate at which they now randomly visit horror on hapless Nigerians and even trained security forces. What was once thought to be a local crisis has suddenly grown, before our very own eyes, into an untamed monster threatening the continuous existence of this Lugardian contraption. It is a reality that many are too scared to discuss. Yet, it is an inescapable topic that we are bound to talk about either now or in the immediate future.

I changed my mind about writing this week after seeing the comical image of the Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada, fully wrapped in bullet-proof vest atop a flowing babanriga while condoling with the survivors of the unprovoked attacks at the General Hospital, Okene. Although, Wada literally threatened fire and brimstone as he vowed to bring the cowards who snuffed lives out of 20 innocent worshippers and left many others with various degrees of injuries, his words meant nothing to those who have become accustomed to such official platitudes. In some sense, it was a great relief that Aso Rock has been unusually quiet since the Okene assault. In the past, it would have issued a statement condemning the attack and promising to apprehend the culprits in no specific time. Its deadened silence this time signifies one thing – those who issue such statements must have seen the futility in that vague gesture. It must have dawned on them that they can no longer continue to roll out dumb statements when all that is required is any shred of evidence that government is having the upper hand in the war against terror.

Its eternal embrace of self-deceit notwithstanding, the government must come to grips with the waning public confidence in its capacity to handle not just the descent into anarchy but also the speed at which the monstrous carnage is spreading. That Wada went on a condolence visit in protective war gear attests to the palpable fear that has gripped the land, its people and even its elites. Before, the tension was measured and intermittent. Now, it is a recurring decimal. Our streets are no longer safe. Public places are endangered. People now seek refuge at places of worship at their personal peril. It is a scary scenario that the Nigerian story is not written in canvas of blood. These perilous times have consumed many lives. Soldiers are wasted. The rank and file of the Nigeria Police are decimated daily. Bombs boom daily. The peace we once enjoyed and took for granted has been eternally fractured. Together, we are victims of a sickening madness that was left untamed for months.

Today, we now count our man-made disasters in harvest of

tears. Like I once wrote on this page, Nigeria’s transformation from a relatively peaceful country with its own fair share of the absurd started one fateful night in 2010 with the detonation of five bombs in Jos, Plateau State. The blast, which went off at a social centre in Angwan Rukuba, left, in its trail, scores of casualties and maimed many. The catalogue of agonizing tales was to continue on December 31, 2010 when a huge explosion silenced the celebratory ambience at Abacha Barracks’ Mammy Market in Abuja. As medics battled to save the lives of survivors of the Abuja bombing, there came the news of twin explosions at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Kabong, and the President Goodluck Jonathan Flyover, Jos. By April 8, 2011, there was a bomb blast at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s office in Suleja which killed, at least, six people, mostly ex-youth corps members. There was the Maiduguri explosion of April 26. In May 29, the mammy market at the Shandawanka Barracks in Bauchi State caved in under intense bombings, killing 13 people on the spot while scores were injured. There was the May 30 explosion on Baga Road, Maiduguri. Then followed the June 4 blast at another mammy market in Bauchi State where 13 people died and over 40 others suffered various degrees of injuries.

Then another blast killed 10 persons in Maiduguri on June 8. And on June 16, there was the big one which rocked the heart of the Federal Capital Territory and put a big question mark on the ability of the police to protect the citizens as a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the Headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force located some few kilometres from the seat of power. Till date, the police are yet to unravel the mystery surrounding the terror visited on its symbol of authority.

We are still counting. On June 26, a blast killed 27 persons at a drinking spot in Dala Kabonti, Maiduguri.; 10 persons were killed near a police barracks in Maiduguri on July 3; three persons were killed on July 10 during a blast at the All Christian Mission Church in Suleja; three others were killed via bomb blast on August 5 in Maiduguri; a suicide bomber attacked the United Nations building in Abuja on August 25, killing 25 persons while hundreds were injured; seven died in a September 13 blast in Bauchi; two died in an explosion in Maiduguri on October 2; on October 17 in Gombe State, four people were killed in yet another blast; there were the October 24 and 31 explosions in Kaduna and Borno states, which killed four people; there was the coordinated gun and bomb attacks in Damaturu, Yobe State with over 100 casualties.

A publication on the Tuesday, August 7, 2012 edition of this paper catalogued some of the attacks that were unleashed on the nation from December, 2011. They include the December 4, 2011, bomb and gun attacks on police buildings and banks where a soldier, a policeman and a civilian died; the December 7, 2011 explosion in the Oriyapata district of Kaduna city with eight casualties; the Dec 13, 2011 bomb attack on a military checkpoint and the counter shooting by soldiers in Maiduguri which left 10 dead and 30 injured; there was the December 17, 2011 shootout gunmen and policemen Darmanawa area of Kano State where seven persons died including three police officers; on December 22, 2011 the sounds of bombs ricocheted in parts of Maiduguri killing 20 while four policemen and a civilian died in gun and bomb attacks on a police building in Potiskum, Yobe State; and, during the same period,

With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 over 100 lives were lost following multiple bomb and shooting attacks and ensuing gun battles with troops in the Pompomari outskirts of Damaturu.

The mode of the sporadic attacks were to change when, on December 25, 2011, bombs tore through the supplications of penitent worshippers at the Saint Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla town near Abuja and killed 42 worshippers; then came the killing of three secret police (SSS) operatives when as suicide bomber rammed his bomb-laden car into a military convoy at the gates of SSS headquarters in Damaturu; and on December 30 2011, four Muslim worshippers were killed in a bomb and shooting attack targeting a military checkpoint in Maiduguri as worshippers leave a mosque after attending Friday prayers.

The story of year 2012 is not any better. In spite of the government’s declaration of state of emergency in some affected local government areas in some states, the killings continue unabated. The gunmen have simply gone viral. Hardly a day passes without news of massacres and assassinations. Before the latest round of killings, the United States Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism puts the number of deaths through terrorism in 2011 alone in Nigeria at 590 with an unenviable 5th position after Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia. It is most likely that the 2012 figure must have overshot that of 2011 even in this third quarter as the blood of the innocent is being needlessly spilled daily.

Now, the irony—as things get worse by the day, those saddled with the responsibility of protecting us appear to be too enraptured in their incompetence to understand the potential danger the untamed madness poses to the bond that binds us together. They say we are not at war but many die by the sword daily. They say we are not under the threat of terrorists yet terror stares us in the face daily. They say there is no point convoking a conference to determine our continuous existence as a nation yet we live in mutual suspicion of one another. They say they are on top of the situation yet the body bags continue to pile up in hundreds. They say we should pray for God’s divine intervention yet our worships places have been turned into war zones where unknown gun men spray their deadly bullets. The sickening depravity is on a bloody road show and we seem to be helpless. Question is: will they ever stop offering platitude and get serious about tackling the clear and present danger to our collective existence as one, indivisible nation?

—Kenny Saint Best

LIFE & STYLE/ 41

INTERVIEW/22

I’m a loner

‘Why our leader insisted on killing victims in spite of our pleas’

I gave up smoking after 44 years -Charly

Boy

CRIME / 14-15

Weekend

PEOPLE Okene THE NATION, Saturday, AUGUST 11, 2012

Relat io

nship

11

A city’s chronicle of violence

SEE PAGE 12

12

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

R

ESIDENTS of No 31, Ekimogun Street, Moshalashi, Alimosho, Lagos were thrown into mourning on August 5, following the assassination of a 66-year-old driver, Pa Saka Lasisi, inside his room.

The deceased Abeokuta-born driver, according to sources, had barely returned home from an outing on Saturday August 5 when his assailants sneaked into his apartment to carry out the dastardly act.

Recalling the circumstances surrounding the killing of the late driver, a younger brother of the deceased, Emmanuel Akinbowale, said: “On Saturday August 4, my brother had spent some time with some of his friends and had returned home at about 9.30 pm. Shortly before he went to bed, he called his girlfriend on the telephone to prepare food for him, but the woman said it was already late and that she would instead bring the food in the morning.

“Although he was a Muslim, he had been advised by the particular woman not to fast because of his age.”

Akinbowale also explained how Saka’s mutilated body was discovered the following morning by the deceased’s girlfriend, who had brought food for him.

“The woman brought the food the next morning and had even called my brother’s phone without any response. She got the shock of her life when she found my brother in a pool of his blood with his body mutilated.

“She quickly ran outside to raise the alarm. That was when we all went in to confirm that he was dead.”

A co-tenant, Tochukwu Ulor, has been arrested over the incident.

Arrested by policemen from the Gowon Estate Police Division, he has since been detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Lagos State.

“The 35-year-old Ulor was said to have beaten and threatened to kill Saka over domestic issues on several occasions.”

During a fight a few weeks ago, the suspect, who hawks puffpuff, was said to have wounded Saka and he was arrested and detained at Gowon Estate Police Station.

“On account of his violent attack on the deceased, Ulor was compelled to write an undertaking that he would not beat or harass the deceased again.

This, according to Akinbowale, did not go down well with Ulor.

“He further threatened to deal with my brother as soon as he was released from police custody.

“He even accused the landlady of supporting my brother and threatened to visit his anger on my brother again. We felt he was joking.”

A source, who asked not to be named said Tochukwu (Ulor) had the only door leading to the landlady’s apartment had been locked from outside so that even when the landlady wanted to go out, she had to call on Ulor to open it.

The source said: “The landlady queried Ulor for locking the door

Puff-puff hawker arrested over murder of 66-year-old driver Kunle AKINRINADE

‘

The woman brought the food the next morning and had even called my brother’s phone without any response.

She got the shock of her life when she found my brother in a pool of his blood with his body mutilated

,

from outside, but he said he did so to prevent other residents from intervening in a feud he had with his wife.

“At that time, landlady did not know that Baba Saka had been killed.”

The suspect was said to have gone out of the house shortly after answering his landlady’s call and did not return home for some days.

Meanwhile, the deceased driver has been buried in Abeokuta amid tears by relatives, friends and associates.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, the Deputy Public Relations Officer, Mr Ozoani Chukwuma, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said: “The incident was reported at Gowon Estate Police Division as a case of sudden and unnatural death. But the family of the deceased alleged that they suspected one Tochukwu Ulor to be the mastermind of the killing. The matter has been transferred to SCID, Panti after a preliminary investigation.

“However, the suspect has said that he had no reason to kill the deceased and that he had no previous confrontations with him. Investigation is still ongoing.”

•Lasisi

13

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

Okene: A Kogi city under siege F

OR a long time now, Okene the headquarters of Kogi Central Senatorial District, has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

From the conflicts engineered by the Maitasini Islamic sect to the fights engendered by the yearly masquerade festivals, the political upheavals masterminded by politicians, intra-ethnic wars and, lately, the transmutation of the ancient city into the enclave of Boko Haram, the residents have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Even travellers, who pass through the town have had their own sour tales to tell.

Much as the political class and traditional institutions have, in collaboration with the police, have laboured to restore peace in the area, the crises have continued to soar rather than abate. Robbery is rampant in the city, So also is assassination and ritual killing. Yet it is home to indigenous peace loving and hardworking people who have no other place to call their home.

Some sons and daughters of the town have since said goodbye to the land of their forebear. They would rather suffer humiliation and stay where they are across states in Nigeria and in the diaspora than come home. Prominent indigenes in the past were known to have lost their palatial mansions to arson by suspected political thugs who kill, maim and burn houses of perceived enemies. Unfortunately the crisis is still on and nobody knows when peace will return.

The Boko Haram activities in the town have led to whole families being wiped out, houses demolished and business activities crippled. Okene is today a land where the free born have turned into captives in their own land.

An indigene of the town lamented in a conversation with our correspondent that the numerous crisis have painted the people black in the eyes of the world. She bemoaned a situation where people turn and look over their shoulders when one says “I am from Okene.”

The latest act of violence in which no fewer than 20 people have died from an attack on a branch of Deeper Life Bible Church in the town was merely an instance of the incessant conflicts and bloodletting that appears to have become a permanent feature of the community.

Prior to Sunday’s attack, the city had enjoyed relative peace after the restiveness that bedevilled it in the wake of the 2007 general election. It had taken the intervention of the police, who toed the line of the amnesty declared by former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, to rein in the ‘boys’. The general belief then was that the political thugs in the area had submitted their weapons to the police on account of amnesty. But in spite of the grandstanding by the security agents during the widely televised ceremony in 2009, the guns have not stopped booming.

In November last year, a Director in the Kogi State Ministry of Education, Mr. James Opotu, was killed. About the same time last year, a high chief in the city, the Otaru of Oziudu, was killed at Ikuroko area.

A pastor was also killed in his church at Agasa.

In March this year, the custodian of Alijenu masquerade, Jaguda Ichogudo, was killed near the Okene toll gate along Ajaokuta Road. Mr Dio Ozinaija was also killed in his house close to the Deeper Life Church where about 20 worshippers were killed by gunmen early in the week.

The foregoing were apart from the various incidents of bank and highway robberies in Okene and its

Following the killing of about 20 members of the Deeper Life Bible church in Okene, Kogi State, and the dusk to dawn curfew imposed on the town by the state government, SANNI ONOGU in this piece chronicles the various violent uprisings in the city now made worse by attacks from the Boko Haram sect.

•An old woman who was also a victm

•One of the survived victims

adjourning communities like Kabba, and Ajaokuta. Barely a week after a bomb explosion at main gate of a church located at Obehira District in the city, a suspected gang of armed robbers bombed a branch of a new generation bank and the Divisional Police Station in Iyara, the headquarters of Ijumu Local Government Area, killing one police officer and wounding several others.

Most observers are quick to link the attacks to terrorist activities in Okene and its environs.

The police and the security forces have since responded to the occurrences in brutal of fashions.

While suspected terrorists have been killed or hauled into detention, houses where bombs were suspected to have been manufactured or concealed were demolished. Today, soldiers have been stationed permanently in Okene to respond to uprisings, but

there has been no let-up.

A trend that many thought was a passing phase has since turned into full-blown terrorism. A car believed to be explosive-laden exploded along Obehira road last month.

Robbers attacked two new generation banks at the city centre.

Another gang attacked a bank in Ajaokuta and torched a police station.

Again gunmen attacked the Federal Prison at Koton-Karfe and set over 120 inmates free. The killing of about 20 members of the Deeper Life Church at Otite and two soldiers have again awaken the world to the horror tales emanating from Okene and Kogi State in general.

Reacting to Monday’s incident and others before it, the Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada, slammed a dusk to dawn curfew on the town.

Wada who wore a body armour while visiting the volatile city to commiserate with the bereaved and ascertain the true situation of things, later said in a state wide broadcast: “I feel very sad to address you on the tragic incident in Okene last night, in which 15 promising indigenes of Kogi State were brutally murdered and several others inflicted with serious injuries by unidentified gunmen during a church service without provocation.

“The information on this sad event got to me at a time we had just gathered for Ramadan dinner. For reasons yet to be determined, some armed men reportedly invaded a Deeper Life Church in Okene town when service was going on and opened fire on worshipers, killing the innocent worshippers in the process. This sad news changed everything for me. I instantly felt the pains of a father bemoaning the

death of his children and children weeping for the loss of caring parents.

“I personally went to the scene of the grievous incident where the gory signs of the inhuman act perpetrated by devil incarnates who should be coasting in hell assaulted my sensibilities the more. Painful as it is, we have to rise to the occasion.

“I therefore visited the General Hospital, Okene and commiserated with men and women who were not only nursing gunshot wounds but also suffering traumatic pains for losing beloved ones in such a frightening circumstance.

“My dear people of Kogi State, the incident, no doubt, is, to say the least, ungodly, inhuman, barbaric, devilish and condemnable. The perpetrators have no place in sane society. Kogi State government will spare no resources or leave any stone unturned to ensure that these terrorists are smoked out of Kogi State.

“I have instructed all the traditional rulers in the Central Senatorial Districts to also put heads together and come up with clear strategies on how to rid the area of these despicable evil elements among them. The situation we have now is unacceptable and I have told them so in clear terms.

“As an interim measure to curtail the incident and prevent further attack and after due consultation with the security agencies, government has resolved to and hereby direct as follows: “Dusk to Dawn curfew is hereby imposed on Okene town.

Commercial motor-cycle operation is hereby restricted between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm in Lokoja, the Capital City and the entire Central Senatorial District until further notice. More toll-free phone lines will be installed for the public to call in any strange occurrences or encounter with strange people.

“Government has approved the immediate release of additional brand new Hilux vehicles to security agencies to facilitate their crime combat operations.”

Senator Nurudeen AbatemiUsman representing Kogi Central Senatorial District on his part urged the “security agents to intensify their fight against terrorist activities in Okene and Nigeria in general. He called on the citizens to be “more vigilant and security conscious to help weed out the perpetrators of evil in their communities.”

He said: “I wholeheartedly condemn the unjust killing of worshippers in a Church in Otite on Monday night. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who lost their lives, those who are injured, as well as their families and friends.

For such a horrific event to occur in my home constituency is really devastating. It is especially disheartening that this kind of senseless massacre of innocent Nigerians is taking place at a time when we are supposed to be in a prayerful mood, moving closer to God.” Apart from these two political leaders, however, other prominent sons and daughters of the town are not known to have spat a word against the virulent disease ravaging Okene town.

Today, Okene residents are living in fear as the Joint Task Force begins to enforce the sit-at-home order of the state government.

14

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

•The suspects

T

WO members of a five-man robbery gang arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command have revealed why the gang’s leader insisted on shooting the drivers of the vehicles they snatched dead before getting away with them. One of the arrested suspects, 23-year-old Ernest Eze, said the gang’s leader, identified simply as Joseph is an ex-convict who had been hardened beyond measure during his stay at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison.

In the confessions he made while he was being paraded with Charles Iweka (27) by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters GRA, Ikeja, Lagos on Monday, Eze, a native of Umudansu village in Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra State

Ebele BONIFACE said he was a bus conductor before he joined the gang.

He said he had only participated in two robbery operations before he was arrested by SARS operatives, adding that Joseph, a native of Aguleri, Anambra State, who was responsible for the death of the driver of a luxury bus they wanted to rob on the Benin-Shagamu expressway. “In spite of our pleas that he should not to shoot the driver since the logs of wood with which we had blocked the road were enough to stop the vehicle, he still went ahead to kill him,” he said.

“It was not the first time he would shoot people during operations. He is hardened by his long stay at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison. In fact, the police had been looking for him since he started shooting victims.

Why our leader insisted on killing victims in spite of our pleas —Robbery gang suspects We told him to stop shooting victims because it would make the police to see us as dangerous criminals, but he threatened to shoot us if we pleaded with him again, asking if we did not know that the po-

lice had declared us wanted dead or alive. He said the only thing that would make him to stop shooting his victims was for the police to stop looking for him.”

Recalling the first operation he

participated in, Eze said: “I will tell you the truth. I was getting enough money to take care of myself as a luxury bus conductor. We carried many passengers as attachments and the m oney they paid was usu-

15

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

•The recovered Opel spacewagon

I was getting enough money to take care of myself as a luxury bus conductor. We carried many passengers as attachments and the m oney they paid was usually shared between me and the driver.

There were days I made as much as N5,000 between Abuja and Onitsha.

But all that changed when Joseph lured me into his five-man gang

‘

,

ally shared between me and the driver. There were days I made as much as N5,000 between Abuja and Onitsha. But all that changed when Joseph lured me into his five-man gang. Other members of the gang include one Sunday aka Agbor Boy, and one Jaguar, a native of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. Three of the gang members owned guns, but Charles and I did not.

•Some of the recoveredguns

“On that day, we had attacked the driver of a Land Cruiser jeep on Benin Road and collected the car, his mobile phone and laptop computer. Unfortunately, the buyer of the car, one Nwaokoya, did not give us a dime. Rather, he told us to run into hiding, saying that policemen were looking for us. Since then, he cut off every link until Charles and I were arrested. Jaguar is already in prison as a result of the first operation in which he was the only member arrested and prosecuted.

“The second operation I participated in occurred on the Ondo-Ore Expressway. We robbed one man of his Opel Safina space wagon with registration number FKJ 676 AP. It was Joseph who shot the driver. After mounting a road block with a big log of wood, we saw the Opel car coming. As it approached the roadblock, Joseph shouted at the driver to stop. Before we could advise him not to fire, he shot the driver in his left arm and the right eye.

“When the car stopped, we robbed the three female occupants of their two phones, N26,000 and foodstuff. Joseph took one of the phones and Eloka took the other.

Joseph took over the steering and drove the car to Iddo Park in Lagos.

•IGP MD Abubakar

He and Eloka then went to buy marijuana and ogogoro (local gin) while Charles and I stayed in the car. I later told Charles to push the car while I handled the steering to see if it would enter the reverse gear.

“As we were experimenting, the officer in charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, and his squad appeared. He asked me whether I was the driver of the Opel, since he saw me with the key at the driver’s seat. I said no, saying that I was a mere auto mechanic called to repair the faulty gear. But Charles told them that we were robbers.

“They asked Charles about the others and he said they had strolled out and would soon be back. Unfortunately, Joseph and Eloka sighted the SARS operatives from a distance as they were coming back and took to their heels, abandoning us to our fate.

“No one in my family knew that I was a member of a robbery gang.

They thought I was still a bus conductor. When they no longer saw me with the bus I used to follow from Onitsha, they thought I had changed to another bus. We carried out the operation on Thursday night and we were arrested on Friday night.

“I swear, if I regain my freedom by miracle, I will run straight to my village and will never come to Lagos again till I die. I became an armed robber because I wanted to become rich quickly and do what my mates in the village had done.

Now I wish to be even poor and

free for life.”

On his part, Charles Iweka (27) said: “I am newly married. I used to drive long vehicles, including trailers and heavy-duty lorries. My father is a trader at the Trade Fair Complex, Lagos. He bought a lorry for me to drive. Unfortunately, I had a fatal accident with it and abandoned it to avoid being arrested by the police. I went into hiding when the police started looking for me. It was while in hiding that I met Joseph shortly after he was released from the Kirikiri maximum prison. He lured me into his gang and that made me to know Eze, Eloka and others.

“I only participated in one operation. It was Eze who called me when he saw me at Iddo Park and begged me to lead him to a buyer of the Opel Safira Space Wagon before the operatives of SARS stormed Iddo Park and arrested us.

“Let me tell you about the first one I fully participated in. We were 11 boys and all of us were based at the Iddo Park.

“On the fateful day we carried out the operation, we left Iddo Park at Ebute-Metta, Lagos and went to Ijebu Ode. We robbed a man of his Land Cruiser Jeep and I drove the jeep from Ijebu Ode to Iddo Park in Lagos, where Eze took over the Jeep and later went away with it to look for a buyer. But up till today, we have not seen the jeep or received a dime from the purported buyer.

“As for the one for which Eze and I were arrested, I did not participate in the opertaion. Rather, I met Eze at Iddo Park and he begged me to push the Opel car for him because it could not enter reverse gear.

“He also said I would follow him to Agbara on Badagry Road to get a buyer, to which I agreed. But before we could move to Agbara, the officer in charge of SARS and his men arrested us at Iddo park.

“Eze is a pathological liar. He lied because I did not follow them to operate in the second operation that caused our arrest. I am surprised that he lied against me. I have never lied against him. Why should he lie against me? Let us tell the truth, because the police know everything. Even I am sure that with the way the SARS operatives are working now, they will soon arrest Joseph, Eloka and the other members who are still at large.

“I am a confirmed armed robber but I am not a liar. I was aware of the second operation, but I did not follow them to operate at Ijebu Ode. It is foolish of anybody to lie when we were caught red-handed. The evidence is very clear.

“If I am released now, I will run back to my village. I can even enter a trailer to the East and I will never come to Lagos again. I will stop being an armed robber.

Commenting on the arrest of the robbery suspects, CP Manko said on July 27, at about 3.30 pm he was informed of the activities of some men suspected to be armed robbers and he quickly ordered the officer in charge of SARS, SP Abba Kyari, to track down the suspects.

“The OC SARS swiftly mobilised his operatives to Iddo Park, Ebute Metta where one Ernest Eze and Charles Iweka were arrested with one Opel Safira No. FKJ 676 AP. “On interrogation, the two suspects confessed that they operated along Ijebu Ode Expressway. Further investigation revealed that this particular vehicle was snatched at gunpoint in Ondo State where the driver was shot and was still receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital,” he said.

Manko also commended members of the public for their cooperation and implored them to be more vigilant and give police more information so that together they can fight crime successfully.

16

THE NATION, SATURDAY,AUGUST 11, 2012

Onitsha in shock as assassins murder prominent businessman weeks to his wedding T

EARS flowed freely from friends, family and sympathisers as the remains of Mr. Ugochukwu Anthony Odimegwu aka Ezekatakpim was lowered to mother earth. His death would probably have been avoided had his friend made good his threat to seize his car the day he was gruesomely murdered. But not even his intimidating physique could save him from the assassin’s bullets. Odimegwu was nicknamed Otigbu because of his big frame. The news of his sudden death threw the city of Onitsha into commotion. For 24 hours, the city stood still in honour of the popular businessman.

His friends could not believe the story that he was dead until the reality dawned on everyone later.

Odimegwu had become yet another victim of the insecurity that has become the trademark of Onitsha on May 9, 2012. He had gone to the bank to withdraw some money. Then he called some of his friends he owed various sums and settled his debts to the surprise of many of them. In the course of settling his debts, he had a disagreement with one of his close friends who could not even understand the basis of their quarrel. As a result of their disagreement, the friend threatened to demobilise Odimegwu’s FJ cruiser jeep.

But the friend later changed his mind and Odimegwu went home in it. But he had hardly reached home when he received a call on his phone and he told his wife, Chinyere, that he wanted to see someone briefly. That, however, turned out to be his last discussion with his wife. He left but did not return alive. Several bullets were said to have been pumped into his car by some gunmen, three of which hit him and he lost control of his vehicle. He was rushed to the hospital by some concerned individuals but he could not survive the attack.

Born to the family of the late Chief F. O. Odimegwu on September 25, 1977, he was the sixth child in a family of nine children. He grew with a strong Christian foundation, as his mother, Lady Grace Odimegwu, nurtured him with the fear of God. He had been recruited into the league of mass

Odogwu EMEKA ODOGWU, Nnewi servants popularly called altar boys. He served as an altar boy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral under the tutelage of the late Emeritus Bishop Emmanuel Otteh (then Monsignor Otteh), who was the administrator of the church. He also served as an altar boy with Rev. Father John Uzuakpundu before he left for secondary school.

The trainings were believed to have helped to mould him in a way that he never discriminated between the rich and the poor.

His mother, Mrs. Grace Odimegwu, was inconsolable. She believes his assailants only succeeded in ending his existence on earth but can never stop him in heaven. She said: “He is way beyond their reach now. We do not mourn like them that do not have hope. Death, to the believer, is gain in Christ. To be absent in the body is to be present with Christ. Hence, this presents another opportunity for those that are left behind to redirect and reorganise their lives. “If Ezekpim could die, then next time, it could be someone else. How prepared are you then to meet your Maker.

This is a question everyone should be able to ask himself or herself sincerely at this moment.

The time is short. Now that time has been given to you, use it judiciously. The past can never be recovered, but you can change the future, beginning today, by reorganizing and making the important things your priority. And that includes your soul. Ugo attended the prestigious All Saints Primary School Onitsha (then Premier Primary School Onitsha), where he obtained his first school leaving

•Odimegwu

certificate. He then proceeded to Marist Brothers Juniorate, Uturu Okigwe in 1990. He graduated from Marist Brothers Juniorate in flying colours and then proceeded to Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma to study Economics.

He did not waste time after his service year to join his father’s

multi-million steel business. He smoothly integrated himself into the business circle as one of the directors of Homus Steel Ltd, a company involved in the manufacture of steel flat bans and iron rods. He was also one of the directors of Omus Oil Ltd, another company that distributes petroleum prod-

‘

But he had hardly reached home when he received a call on his phone and he told his wife, Chinyere, that he wanted to see someone briefly. That, however, turned out to be his last discussion with his wife. He left but did not return alive. Several bullets were said to have been pumped into his car by some gunmen, three of which hit him and he lost control of his vehicle

,

ucts. His business strides have taken him to some African countries, like Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic, all in the bid to expand his horizon. He had paid Chinyere’s bride price in January, with their traditional wedding scheduled for this August before the cold hands of death snatched him. The bereaved wife was speechless as Odimegwu was laid to rest.

Aside Chinyere and Ugo’s mother, his sisters Deaconess Oge Felicia Adinnu, Mrs. Uju Ebulue, Mrs. Francisca Amaka Ezenwenyi, Mrs. Ifeoma Maureen Agabaenwere and Mrs. Chioma Augusta Enwerem and his brothers, Chief I. K. Samuel Odimegwu, Hon. Felix Chinedu Odimegwu and Pastor (Dr.) Nnamdi Jude Odimegwu were in sorrowful mood.

17

THE NATION, SATURDAY,AUGUST 11, 2012

‘My exploits as a pickpocket turned armed robber’ A

ROBBERY suspect, Seun Oladipupo (25), arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command, has confessed that he operated as a pickpocket in Lagos and Abeokuta, Ogun State before he was initiated into armed robbery by another robbery suspect named Tunde aka Bullet.

Narrating his journey into the crime world, Oladipupo, a native of Abeokuta, said: “I was in Senior Secondary School One (SSSI) when my father died and my mother was not able to carry the family’s financial burden, especially in terms of education, feeding and accommodation.

Despite the fact that I, my mother and my siblings lived in one room in a face-me-I-face-you house at 25, Kogberegbe Street, Isolo, Lagos State and sold raw rice, there was not enough money for me to buy text books or note boos.

“Although the state government operates a free education scheme for secondary school students, the extra fees some school charged their students made a mess of the scheme. So, I dropped out at SSS 1. I tried to help my mother by going to construction sites to work. At the end of each day, I was able to go home with between N900 and N1,500. That went a long way in helping my mother in her rice business, but the job was not a regular one..

“One day, as I was searching for a construction site to work when I saw some boys discussing how successful they had become as pockets. I asked to join them but they were so aggressive that I left them. I got home and started planning how to try my hands on picking pockets. The next day, I went to a bus stop and pretended to be a passenger. As people rushed to board a bus, I cleverly joined them and, in the process, used two fingers to pick a wallet from a man’s pocket.

“Before the driver could start the bus, I disappeared from the scene.

When I opened the wallet, believe you me, I saw clean N23,000 neatly parked in the wallet. I was very happy. I gave my mother N15,000 and lied to her that someone paid me to do a job for him. I said the job would take one week to complete, but he paid me because he would be travelling and did not want the supervisor to cheat me.

The next day, I continued in the trade. There were days I went home without a dime. On a particular day, some angry passengers caught me and nearly lynched me, but I was saved by God’s grace. When my mother saw the wound on my face and parts of my body, I told her that it was an accident I had at my place of work and that she should not worry herself as I was already taking proper care of myself.

“There was a day I stole the brief case of a passenger who sat near me in a bus. The passenger had begged me to wake him up when he reached

•The type of gun he uses

Ebele BONIFACE his bus stop because he was tired and sick as a result of night duty. It was a bonus for me. When I noticed that he was fast asleep and was even snoring, I quietly took his brief case and pretended that I was the owner. I alighted majestically at the nearest bus stop while the sleeping passenger continued his journey. To my utter disappointment, I opened the brief case and it was filled with all manner of useless documents, fried groundnuts, pop corn, tooth paste and tooth brush. The only money inside the brief case was N150. I took the N150 and dropped the man’s briefcase at one of the bus stops on the route.

“If I removed a co-passenger’s phone and the owner noticed that his or her phone had been stolen while I was still in the bus, I would cleverly throw the phone under the seat of other passengers to save myself from being beaten by the passengers.

“Most of the time, I cleverly chose a bus stop I knew that people would not pursue me if my operation failed.

At times I would choose a bus stop where it would be difficult for anybody to pursue me. There was a day the mob gave me the beating of my life and later handed me over to

Alakara Police Station.

“Apart from giving money to my mother for family up keep, I used part of it to buy good clothes for myself. At times, I would dress corporately and even wear a tie like a bank clerk just to look responsible and make people not to suspect me. It really worked for me.

“Whenever I got big money, I went to a hotel to have fun. I could go for short time of N1,500 or full time of N3,000 with prostitutes and used whatever was left to buy Indian hemp or beer. I used to drink only one bottle of beer in a day. At times, I would go to a night club to steal big boys’ money.

“I was in police cell for days without my mother or anybody coming to bail me out. I was in that hopeless situation when my friend Tunde came and bailed me. We used to smoke together. So, when he secured my bail from Alakara Police Station, I was very happy and liked him the more.

“My mother advised me to learn motor mechanic at Isolo Egberegbe in August 2011. That was where I was before I was arrested, because I combined my apprenticeship there with pick-pocketing. She did not know that I was arrested and I did not tell her. I only told her that I could not come back because of the nature of

•The Suspect

the job I was doing.

“I started moving and sleeping with Tunde in the bus stop. About 20 of us slept there every day. For you to be a tenant at the bus stop, you must be an Indian hemp smoker, a pickpocket, an armed robber or a fraudster. So, we were birds of a feather. We helped one another and lived as a family. If you had a problem and tabled it in the night when

There was a day I stole the brief case of a passenger who sat near me in a bus. The passenger had begged me to wake him up when he reached his bus stop because he was tired and sick as a result of night duty. It was a bonus for me. When I noticed that he was fast asleep and was even snoring, I quietly took his brief case and pretended that I was the owner. I alighted majestically at the nearest bus stop while the sleeping passenger continued his journey. To my utter disappointment, I opened the brief case and it was filled with all manner of useless documents, fried groundnuts, pop corn, tooth paste and tooth brush

‘

,

we are smoking, we would help you find a solution so far it was within our ability.

“Tunde then lured me into carsnatching and we formed a two-man gang. We operated successfully, but our problem was the buyers who cheated us continually. At times, they would tell us that the police came to raid their shops and removed the stolen vehicles, making us to run into hiding and enriching their pockets.

The problem with Tunde is that he does not want to see a victim without reasonable cash. He always threatened to shoot such victims because he said they were selfish and should be taught a lesson. In fact, Tunde is heartless. I had intended to abandon him before I was arrested. I am sure that SARS will track him down.

“My problem started during the last operation when I was arrested while Tunde escaped without a trace. I plead for leniency and promise to be a good boy if I am released unconditionally. I will also tell my mother why I was arrested and beg her to forgive me.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, has ordered the O?C SARS, SP Abba Kyari and his men to fish Tunde out.

18

THE NATION, SATURDAY,AUGUST 11, 2012

Mother of four dies after serious beating by hubby over missing N1000 •The late Bosede

T

HE police in Ogun State are probing the death of a housewife, Mrs Bosede Akanbi, moments after she was allegedly beaten mercilessly by her husband, Mr. Bayo Akanbi. Although sources in the neighbourhood of

Kunle AKINRINADE the couple at No3, Irepodun Street, Adalemo, Agbado, Ogun State, said fighting between the deceased mother of four and her husband

had become a regular occurence lately, the one of Wednesday last week ended on a fatal note. Bosede, it was gathered, bled to death after she was beaten black and blue by her husband.

While there are two versions of the

My in-laws must produce H

•Ngozi

E looked every bit a sad man. He fought back tears with a white handkerchief, but the tears were more than the piece of cloth could contain. Osita Onwudijo instantly turned the reporter into a sympathiser as tears rolled down his cheeks.

As he narrated his predicament in his austere apartment at No 22, Ogundele Street, Orile-Agege, Lagos State on Thursday, Onwudinjo shook his head in a gesture of lamentation over the fate that had befallen him.

The lanky singer cum businessman later opened up on the circumstances that led to his sad mien. He said: “I was a happy man until July 7 when a sad incident took my joy away.”

Asked what the sad incident was, Onwudijo, an indigene of Abia State, said his conjugal bliss was terminated on July 7, 2012 when he lost his dutiful 40-year-old wife, Ngozi, to the cold hands of death in controversial

Kunle AKINRINADE

circumstances. The deceased woman was a native of Asaga, Ohafia Local Government Area, Abia State.

Onwudijo said: “She died on Saturday July 7 in the care of her relations who live in Ajegunle, Apapa, Lagos State.

I spoke with her on the telephone from Abia State, where I had gone to receive treatment for my ill-health. She told me her relatives had refused to accompany her to a hospital she was directed to seek treatment, claiming that the place was too far.

“She later made it to the hospital in her Rav 4 jeep and she was discharged after two weeks. Although I persuaded her to return home so she could rest and recuperate very well, she decided that she would stay back in Ajegunle in order to gain weight before returning home.

“Her people failed to intimate me when her health deteriorated to the extent that she could not call me. They also

failed to inform me about her death until Tuesday July 10. By this time, a foul play had been committed.

“For instance, on Sunday July 8, one of my wife’s sisters called Doris stormed my house with some other members of their family with the keys to our bedroom and carted away some documents and valuables from my bedroom. They had lied to my brothers who were at home that my wife was okay and that she had sent them to fetch certain things for her in Ajegunle.

“One of them even took away some electronics from our residence while the Rav 4 jeep my wife drove to their place in Ajegunle is still in their possession. As I speak, they have deliberately refused to show me where they have deposited my wife’s body despite all my pleas since I returned to Lagos.

“I have met with them twice and the two encounters have not yielded any good result. I have been begging them to allow me to visit the mortuary where they claimed to have deposited her body on Lagos Is-

19

THE NATION, SATURDAY,AUGUST 11, 2012

‘

•Akanbi

The fight between Baba Sikiru and his late wife is not new at all. He is used to beating his wife. He had stopped her from selling bread and provisions at Adalemo Market because he feared she might be snatched from him... he beat the woman to the extent that she suffered internal bleeding.

He did not bother to take her to the hospital even after she had complained of serious body pains.

Hence, she slumped to death three days later

,

circumstances that led to Bosede’s death, both accounts point to the fact that her sudden death was not unconnected with an attack she had from her husband over a missing N1,000 note he kept in their room.

Bosede was said to have explained to her husband that she took the money to defray some of her debts, but her “confession” was said to have only infuriated her husband who dealt her manyl blows, following which she bled profusely and later slumped and died.

The errant husband was said to have accused Bosede of stealing the N1000, which was part of the sum of N4000 kept with him by some

members of a nearby mosque where the couple worshipped.

A resident, Mr Shakiru Oladerin, told our correspondent a version of the story, which he described as “very unfortunate”.

He said: “Mr Akanbi is a taxi driver and he is popularly called Baba Sikiru in this area. He and his wife worship in a nearby mosque and some members of the Asalatu group in the mosque had kept about N4,000 with him. He did not tell his late wife about the money, but the woman stumbled on it where it was kept when she was looking for money to buy some things.

“When it was time to return the money to its owners, Akanbi discovered that N1,000 was missing from it, and that was what led to a fight. ‘“His wife had confessed that she actually took the money, but her husband was angry that it took her many hours to open up. This led to a fight and he was said to have beaten her to death.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, explained to our correspondent that Akanbi, who is now cooling his heels in police cell, had turned his wife into a punching bag lately.

The resident said: “The fight be-

tween Baba Sikiru and his late wife is not new at all. He is used to beating his wife. He had stopped her from selling bread and provisions at Adalemo Market because he feared she might be snatched from him.

“Although I have heard about the missing money theory too, I reliably learnt that the latest fight between the couple was the result of a disagreement they had over plans by the woman to attend a meeting of some Muslim women called Alasalatu. He even frowned at the woman for daring to send some refreshments to the group at their meeting.

“He beat the woman to the extent that she suffered internal bleeding. He did not bother to take her to the hospital even after she had complained of serious body pains. Hence, she slumped to death three days later.

“Baba Sikiru has been fighting his wife lately. Therefore, we cannot exonerate him of complicity in the death of his wife. He has demonstrated how unfeeling he is and he deserves every consequence of his actions.”

One of the relations of the deceased woman, who asked not to be named, confided in our correspondent that the late Abeokutaborn petty trader had been subjected to a lot of “physical torture” by her husband lately, adding that the family had agreed to let off the case in the interest of the children.

The relation said: “I used to hear about their fights and how my aunt was beaten by her husband on many occasions, but I cannot determine the veracity of the story since I don’t live with them.

“This time around, I also learnt that she was beaten by her husband and that she died moments later. However, the family has resolved to settle the matter amicably in the interest of peace and the future of the children of the couple.”

It was further gathered that men of Agbado Police Station had a hectic time controlling residents who insisted on visiting jungle justice on Akanbi. The police were, however, able to arrest him after they were reinforced with mobile policemen who allegedly shot spo-

radically into the air to scare the mob away.

“People around had prevented some policemen from Agbado Police Station from arresting Baba Sikiru because they thought that he might later be released. Instead, they wanted to give him jungle justice. They were, however, overpowered, following a reinforcement of mobile policemen who were drafted to the scene.

“The mobile policemen shot into the air to disperse the crowd, and that was when Baba Sikiru was taken away to the station in a police van,” said a resident who simply identified herself as Sherifat.

Sikiru, the eldest child of the couple, had just returned from his base in Warri, Delta State. He was said to have waded into the arrest of his father, asking for his release from police custody.

An impeccable source told our correspondent that Sikiru asked the police to stay off the matter and release his father.

The source said: “Sikiru has returned from his base in Warri, and he has said that the police should release his father so the family can resolve the matter amicably.

“Mr Akanbi told the police that he knew nothing about his wife’s death and that the frequent misunderstanding they had could not have made him to kill her. He told the police that she slumped while he was talking to her over the missing money and that all the efforts he made to revive her failed, adding that she died while she was being taken to the hospital.”

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), in a text message forwarded to our correspondent, said: “The Divisional Police Officer of Agbado Police Station said it is not true that the woman was killed by her husband. He (DPO) said the woman died while she was being taken to hospital.”

Our correspondent gathered that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Abeokuta for further investigation on the heels of allegations of complicity leveled against Akanbi by residents.

my wife’s body, says bereaved musician land, but they have refused to accede to my request.

“They even visited our newly built home in Ilogbo-Ota, Ogun State, to seal it up. We were planning to move into the building later in the year.

“Some of the documents carted away from my bedroom by my wife’s siblings included receipts of landed properties we jointly owned and that of her vehicle. How then am I supposed to believe that my wife had actually died when I am being prevented from seeing her body? When I queried their complicity in the purported death of my wife, they came up with another flimsy excuse that

I was being prevented from seeing her body because I did not provide some items for her maternal relations during our traditional marriage in 2000.

“And that is not true, because I gave them everything they requested before consummating the marriage at Oshodi/Isolo Local Government marriage registry in 2004. My wife was a self made person. She joined the University of Lagos (UNILAG) as a typist in 1991 and later earned a degree in English Language. She later capped it with a master’s degree in the same discipline about two years ago.

“I had gone to UNILAG to of-

,

Her people failed to intimate me when her health deteriorated to the extent that she could not call me. They also failed to inform me about her death until Tuesday July 10. By this time, a foul play had been committed

,

ficially notify the school’s authorities about my wife’s death only to learn that some people had already done that. I was told by the faculty officer that some persons came to the school, claiming to be my uncles and that I sent them to break the news. This is impersonation and I wish that everyone involved in these illegalities are brought to book.

“I have been married to my wife for about 12 years now and I am the legal and only husband. Hence, I should be spared of this kind of ill-treatment.

Please ask them to release my wife’s body if at all she’s truly dead, so I can give her a befitting burial because she tried all she could to bear children after she had a still birth a few years ago.”

When our correspondent sought Doris’s comment on the telephone, she denied knowing Onwudijo, saying, “It is true that my sister, who was a staff of UNILAG just died. But I don’t know if she was married or not. I don’t even know the man you just mentioned.”

•Osita and Ngozi on their wedding day

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

20 INTERVIEW

My ugly encounter with Obasanjo after a sermon criticising his government —Okogie

,

When I got to the door, something just came to my head and I turned back and said, ’Excuse me sir…’

Before I could finish, he said: ‘What again?

What again? I said I just want to remind you that it was when we left the Third Marine Commando that you came in. He grabbed a big book from his table and threw it at me gboa!

Then he shouted, ‘Take him to Yar’Adua! Take him to Yar’Adua!’

•Okogie

,

The immediate past Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos State, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, is reputed for his frank views on national issues. But that has not come without a price, as he recalls an ugly encounter he had with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, among other issues, in this interview with INNOCENT DURU How would you describe your 46 years as a priest and Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos State? have enjoyed every moment of it.

Even when I went to the war front, it was difficult. But as the good Lord would have it, there was no obstacle on our way. I have enjoyed every bit of my life as a priest. I have nothing to regret about it, except that now when I pray, I suffer from some distractions, which when you look at it properly, is only a stepping stone for you to do better when you overcome them.

The priesthood is what everybody should try and partake in. But it is not everybody that can be a priest. The few that are there should live a good, holy and exemplary life to bring people nearer to God. That is what directs me to be a man of prayer, without which everything would be difficult. As it said in common parlance, one with God is

I

majority. No matter how difficult the problems might be, I always face my God. Prayer changes things as you can see on the inscription behind you. You must never lose hope, and that means you must have firm faith and hope in God. What were your high and low points as a priest?

The high point in my career was even before I became a priest. Priesthood had always been something I looked forward to. I always prayed to God to make me a good, holy and exemplary priest. When I became a priest, I started living the life of priesthood. I am not a perfect man, but I have seen that it is God that actually called me to be a priest. There were so many challenges along the line. As a priest, many people would come to you with their problems, not even knowing that you also have your own problems and difficulties. At

times you have a project that you are carrying out and there may not be money to do it.

You were at the war front as a chaplain during the civil war. Could you recall your experience during the war?

I was sent to the toughest part in the war front. I was sent to the Third Marine Commando under the Black Scorpion, Benjamin Adekunle. I went there as a civilian and not as a commissioned officer. Even when they wanted to make me a commissioned officer, I refused.

The life there was not as if it was brutal, but it was inhuman. There was a time I asked for a car because I had to be mobile to do my work very well. The commander told me that he knew that I needed a car. He said I should go to the street and commandeer anyone that I wanted. When I approached the protestant chaplain, the man told me

that if I wanted four cars, I could have them. I asked him how to go about it, he said, ‘Go to the streets and tell any man that is driving, hey you! and drag him out of the car’. I said but that is stealing. He said, ‘What? This is war front.’

That was the reply he gave me. I couldn’t believe it; that a clergy like me could be inhuman. I was just two years old in the priesthood then. I was posted there as a chaplain. Bullets were coming from different angles when you moved into the trenches. Oh my goodness! You have to learn how to crawl like a crocodile and jump like a frog within the few minutes you are trained to avoid being hit by bullet. I was given two orderlies, one in front and another at the back. If the bullets should miss them, then, you know what would happen.

You have always spoken against the policies of virtually every administration that you feel is not good for the people and the nation. Which of the leaders would you say was a hard nut to crack?

People saw Abacha as a hard nut, but he was cracked. People saw Obasanjo as a hard nut to crack, but it all depends on tactics. My one on one relationship with Obasanjo was not more than three times.

He has one thing with him and boldness is Continued on page 21

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

INTERVIEW 21

•Jonathan

•Obasanjo

, •Okogie

goes with the vow of chastity. If your neighbor is in the bathroom and you go there to open the door to ask him for something, they would call you to explain what prompted you to look at your neighbour’s nakedness.

What is your opinion about Jonathan’s administration?

The administration is very, very weak. It is very weak and if there is another very that I can add, I will add it. When the head is weak, the whole body is weak. Unfortunately, if we had a man like Idiagbon guiding Jonathan, we would have had another nation. The head is weak, the tail is weak, so what do you expect of the remaining parts of the body? Bankole, the former Speaker of the House of Representative was in the news almost every day, but what has become of him? Look at the recent one between Lawan Farouk and Otedola. Have you ever heard or published anything about it again? There are so many cases like that. People deserve to know all these.

What is the way out for Nigeria?

The way out is love. We don’t love ourselves in this nation at all. I can tell you that there are about three people in this country who have the money to bring in industries and rebuild the nation, but they would not do it. Instead of using the money to take care of the populace, they are even looking for more and they do not care about the way they get it. People used to be afraid of Nigeria that I knew in those days, even in football. Today, Nigeria is nothing. I don’t even know what to call it.

What is your advice to Jonathan?

Jonathan can turn this country around if he wants. Don’t take the impeachment threat against him lightly. Everybody cannot be for the President because they are getting money. When the time comes and they come out, God help Jonathan.

The worst disgrace anybody can have is to be thrown out of office. People have been demanding that he calls for Sovereign National Conference. What is bad in calling for that? Is he afraid that they would blame him? If they blame you, then you change if you are wrong.

Many a times, my priests come here, and after bowing three times, they would say, I don’t like the way you treated me the other day. Then I would say, sorry.

One thing with me is that if I know that you are wrong, I will tell you off. If I am wrong, tell me.

When they say call a sovereign national conference, they don’t mean that you should call the whole Nigeria.

That is one of the ways out. Things are very bad in the country today. We are talking about Boko Haram and people are saying call a conference. There are people in Nigeria today who are feeding Boko Haram with money. The ones that they said they caught, what did they do with them? You can imagine a group of people coming to dislodge a prison yard for all to go out. What kind of government have we? They broke through and not one of them was caught. Is this a nation? Is this a government? When you talk about investment, nobody would want to come and invest his money in this kind of nation. Before, we had Ghana-mustgo. Now, we have Nigeria must go. Very soon, most of the innocent children that rushed to Ghana for education will be sent back to Nigeria.

The administration (Jonathan’s) is very, very weak. It is very weak and if there is another very that I can add, I will add it. When the head is weak, the whole body is weak. Unfortunately, if we had a man like Idiagbon guiding Jonathan, we would have had another nation. The head is weak, the tail is weak, so what do you expect of the remaining parts of the body?

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‘The Jonathan administration is too weak’ Continued from page 20 number one. The boldness is not in the sense that he can face anybody but he tries to terrorise you. If you confront him, the next thing he would want to do is to get you out of his sight.

There was a time I spoke against his government during the anniversary of Murtala’s death. He asked every Christian to pray on Sunday in the church and every Muslim to pray on Friday in the mosque for the repose of his soul. In the course of my sermon in the church, I said that his government was too slow and all that. Thereafter, he sent for me. When I got to his office, he said, ‘I thought you are my friend’. I said yes sir. He said, ‘Shut up! By the time I finish with you, you will know the presence of the person you are. When I tried to open my mouth, he told the orderly that led me to him, ‘Take him out before I lose my temper!’ I was just staring at him.

When I got to the door, something just came to my head and I turned back and said, ’Excuse me sir…’ Before I could finish, he said, ‘What again? What again? I said I just want to remind you that it was when we left the Third Marine Commando that you came in. He grabbed a big book from his table and threw it at me gboa! Then he shouted, ‘Take him to Yar’Adua! Take him to Yar’Adua!’ When we got to Yar’Adua, he just looked at me and said he was busy. He said I should be taken to Oduaye. Yar’Adua was a gentleman.

Another encounter I had with him occurred when they wanted to approve the national pledge. Four of us were appointed by CAN because I was the president of the association then. He gave us an appointment for six o clock.

When we got there, he asked, ‘What are you here for? What are you here for? I told him as the leader of the group that as Africans, most of us believe in God and it is innate in us. I said it would be good if we could begin the pledge with God. For example, starting with

something like I pledge to you, Almighty Father, and the rest would follow. Immediately I said so, he jumped up from his sit and said, ‘If you have not learnt it, go and learn it now.’

That is Obasanjo for you. Look at the country today. Are you pledging to the country or to God? Who owns the country? Is it not God? When the Israelites wandered away, was it not God they called upon? Is it not the same God they neglected that saved them?

Look at America that we are trying to follow, every little rat in that country has a gun. There are also so many people in Nigeria today who have guns, but it is only when they use it that you know that they have guns.

With the high level of insecurity in the country, you went about without security men around you. What gave you that boldness?

It is God. When Okogie was a household name in the country, one army officer came to me and said that IBB wanted to give me security personnel. I said he should go and tell him that I didn’t need it. I told him there was no need for it and that, for his information, I always sat in front of the car. The officer left me and went away. If you have your faith in God, nothing bad will happen to you. It may happen by mistake or by means of God trying to test your faith or courage. When you look at my coat of arms, I have just three words; faith, courage and love. Those have been my guiding principles since I became a bishop, and I’m still following them.

At this stage of your life, have you started getting ready to meet with your creator?

Anybody who knows me very well would tell you that Okogie is always saying ‘I want to die’. Right from when I was 52, it has remained my song that I want to die. I am not afraid of death at all. If I die today, what would happen?

When people say that I am looking younger than my age and ask me what

the secret is, I always tell them to remove fear from their lives and that would be it. Okogie would never be afraid of what you would be afraid of. I have no fear for death because I believe that when you die, you will go and meet your God. You must be accountable for your life. If you don’t want somebody to mess up with your wife or your daughter, then be careful with what you do to others. Do unto others what you want them to do unto you.

What are the things your retirement would give you rooms to do now?

I miss reading. I used to read very well in those days. I am going to start reading again by the grace of God. Secondly, I will also devout my time to counseling people. Lastly, I will be conducting retreats. Again, if the church comes tomorrow and asks me to do anything, I will do it.

With your retirement, will you now be getting married?

I am a property of the church. No wife, no children, no property, nothing. That is what I signed. That is the life I told God that I want to live. If any priest finds himself having children or other things like that, it means there is something wrong with that priest. He missed his road to the priesthood. But God will punish him before he leaves this world, not to talk of when he dies. Some priests today deceive themselves by saying that they didn’t vow for chastity, that they only promised obedience. Rubbish!

From the word go, when you enter the seminary, they would start grooming you in that path. It is like the military; when they are saying left right and you are doing right left, they would kick you.

You have to obey. Obedience is the first thing. In those days when they gave you a book, you dared not tear it or mess it up. If you did, they would call you to order. You must learn how to keep other people’s things. In line with the vow of poverty, if they give you a tablet of soap to wash and you waste it, they would check you immediately. The same thing

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SOCIETY

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

Clark, Ojora, Osoba, Edun,Adebayo, others honour Ibru at daughter’s wedding

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ROMINENT Nigerians last Saturday were at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos to witness the second leg of the traditional marriage of Makashe, the daughter of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Ibru Organisation, Olorogun Oskar Ibru, to KayodeAwogboro.

The first leg was held on Saturday, July 29 at her father’s residence in Agbara-Otor, Delta State.

The beautiful bride, who read French at the Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, United States, is the Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta-based Oskart LCC, an entertainment company.

The real wedding will hold at the city of love, Paris, France on Saturday, August 18 at Eglise Saint Clotilde, while the reception follows at the Pavilliond’ Armenonville.

Among dignitaries at the Lagos event were Aremo Olusegun Osoba and his wife, Derinsola, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, Chief Adekunle Ojora, Admiral Allison Madueke, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, Dr. Ore Falomo, Mr. Olawale Edun, Chief Kunle Alex-Duduyemi, Olori Ladun Sijuade, Vice Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Chief Kola Jamodu, Hajiya Abah Folawiyo, Senator Florence ItaGiwa, Otunba Funsho Lawal, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Mr. Fola Adeola, Mr. Willy Anumudu and Prof. J.P. Clark.

•Aremo Osoba and his wife, Derinsola •The couple cutting their cake

Chief Sena Anthony, Hajiya Abah Folawiyo and Senator Ita-Giwa Mr. and Mrs Edun

Otunba Adebayo and Mr. Adeola

•Prince Samuel Adedoyin and Chief Duduyemi

23 Gospel act, Kenny Saint Best (KSB), hit stardom with her debut album entitled 'You're worthy Lord' about 15 years ago.

Younger sister of popular showbiz personality, Keke Ogungbe, KSB started a career in music after a fruitless search for a plum job in the oil and gas industry.

SEE PAGE 28 - 37

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

I’m a loner —Kenny Saint Best

24

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

STAND BY! h

Wit

VICTOR AKANDE E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com Tel: 08077408676 (SMS only)

THINK

SNAPSHOTS

nt part of An importa s of any the succes is its civilisation late the mu ability to e t led to the a th factors ther success of o Eric .— s civilisation rt Reine

Sequel to the appointment of Charles Oputa (Charly Boy) as one of the judges of the last edition of Nigerian Idols, a musical reality show, the criteria for picking judges of reality TV became a topic of discourse in a section of the entertainment industry, the argument veered into who really a musician is, and whether a mere singer, with a popular face is all that is required to judge other budding talents.

F

Umpiring the judges of reality TV (2)

: Interesting discourse here on whether CB is qualified to be a judge on any musical show. Truly, he may not be a successful musician, but you cannot take away his experience in the music industry having been around for a long time. Unlike Joke Silva who according to C, turns every reality show into 'comedy with her exuberance and flattery words due to her inexperience in music.'

Certainly, @A/E: A&R managers are best fit as judges in these shows. What do you expect in Nigeria, a nation where abracadabra (the more you look, the less you see) reigns!

E: Oh certainly, I have no qualms with CB's inclusion. In fact, he has been around to qualify for such a position.

But the debate for me is why he is dubbed a 'musician'. @ A, yes Dede was dubbed Fela's protégé because he lived and breathed Fela and was almost cloning Fela facially and otherwise. The point for me is that those we hail as musicians are not musicians in the real sense of the word. But CB is eminently qualified to be on the panel!

A: @E, I agree with you that most people we call musicians here are nothing but singers.

How many of them can play any instrument or read a musical note or key? How many of them have the stage showmanship of KSA, Fela and co. However, folks what I want to know is what qualifies one to be a judge? Is there a universally accepted criterion? That is what I want to know, not whether a CB is a musician or a successful one at that. Please someone should answer my question and spare me this controversy

Folks what I want to know is what qualifies one to be a judge? Is there a universally accepted criterion?

That is what I want to know, not whether a CB is a musician or a successful one at that.

Please someone should answer my question and spare me this controversy over CB over CB. C: On the 'allegation' levelled against XYZ for making Dede feel he is a musician, according to A, I quite AGREE. I don't want to mention names but the newspaper should apologise to Nigerians for allowing Dede to get away with his pranks. Na joke o. But sebi Dede was judge in the same Project Fame abi na Idol West Africa sef in the past? If Dede could make a judge, CB is more than qualified to be.

A: @E, you can ask me that

Here is how the Cambridge dictionary defines a musician; 'someone who is skilled in playing music; usually as their job'. So pray is skid Ikemefuna a musician? The same dictionary defines musicianship as 'a person's skill in playing a musical instrument or singing’

WRITE TO US!

again, and he has won several awards with it when awards event was credible in Nigeria and not a conduit pipe with which brand managers of blue chips companies use the few ones around to siphon money from their companies.

E: Here is how the Cambridge dictionary defines a musician; 'someone who is skilled in playing music; usually as their job'. So pray is skid Ikemefuna a musician?

The same dictionary defines musicianship as 'a person's skill in playing a musical instrument or singing'. So pray, is Daddy Showkey a musician? Or is Julius De Genius Agwu a musician? At least he has three albums like CB. A: @E, Daddy Showkey is an acrobat (jokes).

C: Well, Julius never claims to be one anyway. He says he is a 'Musicomedian'.

A: But Julius once won award as the best new artiste of AMEN award.

D: @E, how does your Cambridge dictionary definition of a musician invalidates CB? Let us bear in mind that this discussion is meant to educate and not to advance fanatical or ego driven Man U/Chelsea-like beer parlour argument. Here, we should be able to own up to new knowledge. Any one who knows CB well would tell you that not only is he knowledgeable in musical instruments, he invests in them and plays the instrument with the same passion with which he rides his Power Bike. One does not even need to know how to sing to be a musician. Lastly, being a musician doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a profession.

Do you watch Nollywood movies? What do you think of the Nigerian motion picture industry? Send your review of any movie or short essay on any topic of your choice about the film industry in not more than 200 words. Send entries by e-mail to: victor_akande@yahoo.com or SMS your short comments to 08077408676

Desmond Elliot dazzles LASTMA

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HE star power for Nollywood actor, Desmond Elliot played out for him penultimate week, when he mistakenly missed his way around Abule-Egba, Agege axis, and thus committed a traffic offence.

In their usual hunting style, members of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), oblivious of whom the driver of the car was, jumped to the front of the vehicle, and ordered its

occupant to come down. The actor wind down instead, and upon recognition, the traffic agent began to hail the thespian. His colleagues joined in the star struck fever. They created a scene, in which passers by also joined.

Whether or not the actor was embarrassed by the scenario, no one could tell, but an angry 'okada' rider said: “because he is a star, they can't do their job.

It is shameful the way they are all hovering around the actor.”

Omoni Oboli hosts underprivileged kids

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OLLYWOOD actress and Venus ambassador, Omoni Oboli, recently treated some underprivileged children at Ecole Diven Nursery, Primary and Secondary School to an educative excursion through her Omoni Oboli Foundation.

The kids were taken to the offices and factory of Chellarams Plc where they received lectures on milk production and packaging. The visit may have impacted positively on the children as one of them disclosed his desire to own a milk factory in future.

The aim of the visit, according to Omoni, “was to enlighten the leaders of tomorrow on various ways to become achievers in life for the good of our society.”

•Omoni Oboli

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

RE ELNEW S Author of National Anthem gets royalty from MCSN

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HE sum of N150, 000.00 has been paid as royalty by the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) to Pa Benedict Odiase, the composer of the Nigeria National Anthem. The amount is the proceeds from the usage of his composition “Arise O Compatriots”, which was adopted as the Nigerian National Anthem, as a ringtone by a telecommunication content provider in the country.

MCSN says the payment for the copyright for the use of the National Anthem was made possible by one of the content providers who obtained the necessary licence from MCSN for the purpose of deploying the work as telephone ringtones on the network of telecommunications companies operating in Nigeria.

“Arise O Compatriots” was chosen and adopted as the Nigerian National Anthem with effect from October 1, 1978 and MCSN is the assignee of the copyright in all works written, composed and authored

by Pa Benedict Odiase, including the work now known as the Nigerian National Anthem.

ACADA auditions for Atunbotan

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OR the much anticipated film Atunbotan, a Yoruba title for 'Nemesis', foremost Campus Magazine, Acada, the producer of the youth oriented movie, it appears, is set to get the camera rolling.

Publisher of the magazine, Biodun Caston-Dada says arrangements are in top gear to cast young actors and actresses for roles in the upcoming flick, which he maintained is billed for the big screen.

According to Caston-Dada, the scouting team will be visiting University of Lagos and University of Ibadan's Theatre Arts faculties to get the talented acts who will be doing justice to the movie. “We are passionate about this movie and like we've been promising, we will be making new Nollywood Stars with Atunbotan. We don't want to keep recycling the old faces and stars, hence our aim of visiting these campuses to seek out fresh faces. The movie is expected to give opportunity to undergraduates who desire to take their acting careers to the next level.” He explained.

The audition is expected to commence in September, as filming has been scheduled to hold in November, when the rains would have subsided.

Caston-Dada is optimistic that about the project. “We've criticized the industry for long, and it is time we take the bull by the horns and show the world that a good movie can be made in Nigeria. It's time to up the game. There's a standard, and with the film ACADA is producing, we cannot do anything below the quality of films like Tango With Me, Phone Swap, Last Flight To Abuja, Ije, Figurine and Arugba.

These are world-class movies produced by Nigerians who work by the standard rules.

You can't cut corners and expect a good result in movie making.” He said.

And Last Flight to Abuja premieres

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NE of the most anticipated movies of the year, Last Flight to Abuja was premiered in grand style.

Sponsored by Diamond Bank, the event which held at Genesis Deluxe Cinemas, Lekki, Lagos, pooled celebrities from all walks of life, including friends and family members of the cast and crew.

Strutting the red carpet were celebrities like Omotola JaladeEkeinde; Kunle Afolayan; and Abolore Akande a.k.a 9ice. Others were comedians Julius Agwu and Ayo Makun; Skillz of the JJC fame; Jeffrey Daniels; Oge Okoye; Halima Abubakar, Chinezie Anyanene, Omoni Oboli, Mahmoud Ali Balogun, Teco Benson, Celine Loader and Uru Eke among others.

The premiere was also hugely attended by people from the corporate institutions, including

members of staff of Diamond Bank, led by their Managing Director, Dr. Alex Otti; CEO of UBA, Mr. Phillips Oduoza; Mr. Ernest Nduke; staff of Zinox Computers, former Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Professor Ibidapo-Obe, and the Lagos state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Adetokunbo Abiru.

Producer of the film, Obi Emelonye was obviously elated at the outcome of the event: “I thank God for how this premiere has turned out. You do all the planning, promotions and logistics... and then hope that people will respond. For the first time, a Nollywood film premiere has sold out all six screens at Genesis Deluxe Cinema and from the reaction afterwards, they were impressed by what we are trying to do. This is a vindication of all the extra pains we took to make a film like this in Nigeria”, he said.

Dapo Dina thrills Soyinka, others at Nelson Mandela Day

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UT together by the South Africa High Commission in partnership with entertainment body, Silverbird Group, was an event held recently at the Galleria to honour living legend, Nelson Mandela fondly called Madiba.

Entertaining guests at the occasion was German based Nigerian pianist, Dapo Dina, who left attendees spellbound as his band which includes Saxophonist Segun Atoyebi and Bassist Joshua Fashina performed to the delight of the crowd.

Dina thrilled the audience with his Clarinova piano which he specially brought to the event, because of what he called its 'weighted keys'. In-between the various activities on the program of events for the day, he was on hand to deliver both traditional South African tunes from Miriam Makeba, Abdullahi Ibrahim and also Nigerian traditional standards.

Over the last five years, Dina has featured in festivals abroad with his favourite performing spots being the European and South African music scenes. Here in Nigeria, he is expected to feature prominently in the forthcoming 'The Tale of Two African Cities' Fusion showcase between Nigeria and South Africa and The MUSON Jazz Festival 2012 among other events.

Some of the dignitaries present at the event were Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, Consul General South Africa High Commission, Ambassador Monaisa, Seasoned broadcaster, Soni Irabor and Chairman, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Mr. Foluso Philips.

•Dapo dina and his band

NAFDAC, NMVA partner on drugs and food

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•Cally Ikpe

ISTORY was made penultimate Friday, when the management of National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and organisers of the annual Nigerian Music Video Award (NMVA) officially launched a joint sensitization campaign against counterfeit drugs, unwholesome food, corrosive cosmetics, poor quality packaged water and other substandard regulated products.

The well attended event had names from the entertainment industry, including the coordinator of the NMVA, Cally Ikpe, Patrick Doyle, Raskimono, Philip Trimel, Gbenga Adeyinka, Baba Dee, Deji Bakare, Kenny Ogungbe, ID Ogungbe, Goldie, Azadus, Kween, Uti Nwachukwu, X-project, and Love Idoko.

Mr. Cally Ikpe in his address he said, “It is a historic moment for us, that NAFDAC has considered the Nigeria Music Video Awards, worthy enough a platform for its re-launch of the campaign against food adulteration and drug counterfeiting. This, no doubt, represents for us a major land mark in our efforts towards entrenching the brand as an icon that is truly national”.

He noted: “some people may wonder what the correlation is between NMVA, a purely entertainment brand and NAFDAC, a strictly regulating agency for food and drugs. The reality however is that entertainers are actually also heavy consumers of food and drugs.

While they may not be involved with the production and sales of such, they are no doubt very significant by way of direct usage and influence on their fans that constitute the general public. This relationship is meant to use the entertainment platform, particularly the NMVA to reach the youths and the entire Nigeria public in general”.

According to DG of NAFDAC, “I wish to state that the task of safeguarding the health of the nation is a collective responsibility of all of us. It was in recognition of this extant reality that when I assumed office as DirectorGeneral of NAFDAC, I extended invitation to all Nigerians to find a role for themselves within the broad spectrum of NAFDAC's regulatory activities with particular reference to our fight against counterfeit drugs and other substandard regulated products.”

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

T

HOUGH he is only five years old, Osiomachukwu Favour Mojekwu already has his eyes fixed at the top. Popularly known as Ozzy Bosco, little Osimanchukwu would rattle you with his audacious ambition of wanting to rule the world of music. But as you try to make meaning of what he was saying, Ozzy Bosco formed his right hand into a punch, and shouts 'I'm the youngest African super star.'

Truly, you cannot fault his submission. Osimanchukwu would only be six next January, but he is already a master with the guitar and piano. His electrifying dance steps would make late pop icon, Michael Jackson green with envy.

But while the world may marvel at the talent of Ozzy, his mother, Chief Nonye Mojekwu-Chukwujama says she is not surprised in any way. According to her, Ozzy Bosco started manifesting his even before he could walk. She told The Nation the kid wonder first displayed his dancing skill as a three month-old baby.

“He first demonstrated his talent when he was three months old. This was when he could not even sit down.

He was in my arm while we were playing a particular music. You needed to see how he was jumping, raising his hands and shaking to the rhythm of the music. That was when we all realized that this boy is indeed a wonder kid.”

Also, the Nnewi, Anambra State-born chief is now worried that her little boy is hyper active. “I am not worried at all.

As a matter of fact, I had to ask my kid who is a professor of medicine in the US about the same thing. But he said I should not worry, and that people with huge talents are usually hyper active.”

While Ozzy Bosco first displayed his uncommon talent to his immediate family at three months old, he would, however, have to wait till he was four years old to announce to the world that a new star had truly been born.

The venue was the popular MUSOM Centre in Lagos, and the stage was a talent hunt programme for kids, tagged Kids got talents. Though the competition was organized for kids between the ages of four and 14 years, four year-old Ozzy Bosco went home with the top prize as the overall winner of the competition.

According to his mother, “his performance at

•Ozzy Bosco

The childprodigy …five year-old musician proclaims self youngest African super star Segun Ajiboye the competition really surprised everybody. He went for the competition without any prior training or practice. As a matter of fact, I became aware of the competition when I saw the announcement on television. He went and stole the show from much more older children.”

His performance at the competition was enough to encourage his parents to do more for the new-found talent. “You see, prior to that competition, all we did was dance and sing at home. But after he emerged as the winner, I now said, 'wow, so we got a good talent all this while', the mother disclosed, and added that, “From that point we decided to encourage him to do more. But the good thing about him is that you don't need to teach him something twice before he grabs it.”

I can tell you that Nigerians have not seen anything yet. Ozzy loves doing his own thing in his own way. And I can assure you that by the time he blossoms, a new super star would have been born Ozzy has, however, moved on from dancing and singing in the sitting room to showcase his talent to the world. The latest of his public performance was at the wedding ceremony of a relation of the boss of Capital Oil. The young talent wowed the guests, and won the heart of the oil merchant who could not resist the tantalizing music.

Prior to that, Ozzy Bosco was also the lone performer at the wedding ceremony of popular dancer, Kaffy. He was also at the 2012 edition of Sisi Oge fashion show, where the compeer showered him with encomiums.

All these, according to the mother, are merely a tip of what to expect from the child prodigy. “I can tell you that Nigerians have not seen anything yet.

Ozzy loves doing his own thing in his own way. And I can assure you that by

the time he blossoms, a new super star would have been born.”

Between then and now, the little musician has moved on to record a single entitled Super Star, and is making final preparations to shoot the video.

The single, which has received high reviews from music aficionados across the country, is currently enjoying air play on radio stations.

But while his musical career is receiving major boost from the parents, the mother also promised that her son's education will not suffer any setback.

Presently in Nursery two, Chief Mojekwu-Chukwujama vowed that nothing would hinder her boy's education. “We cannot compromise his education in any way. He is presently in one of the best schools around, and I promise that it will continue like that.”

Funny enough, Ozzy Bosco was said to have christened himself Bosco while holidaying in London. According to the mother, “he was in London, and when he came back, he would tell anyone that asked him for his name that he is Bosco.

I called my sister who is in London to enquire about the new name, and she said the boy just walked up to her one day after returning from church to say his name is Bosco. So, when we were searching for names for him, I just said we should stick with Ozzy Bosco because he gave himself that name, and I believe it is spiritual.”

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

For Dento and others, Yoruba filmmakers goof

Teju Babyface set to wed

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OMEDIAN Teju Babyface is set to quit bachelorhood. The ace comedian is gearing up to walk down the aisle with ex-beauty queen, Tobi Banjoko on Saturday September 1, 2012.

Tobi emerged the Miss Photogenic at the 2011 edition of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN).

Teju and Tobi, said to be in high spirits, recently went for a photo session with top photographer, Sola Animashaun, with stunning results that have left tongues wagging.

Teju, host of popular TV comedy show, Teju Babyface Show, a syndicated TV programme that has hosted high profile guests, including the wife of Lagos State governor, Mrs Abimbola Fashola; 2Face, Ali Baba and king Sunny Ade among many others.

T

Teju Babyface and lover

Ex-Nollywood actress battles breast cancer

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•Juliet Aguwa

HE death on Monday, of popular actor, Ahmed Oduola aka Dento, has again brought to the fore the parlous state of the nation's film industry.

Dento, a popular actor in the Yoruba language genre of Nollywood, died in Ibadan, Oyo State, after a prolonged battle with stroke. His sad end came after a more than three months fruitless search for the sum of N250, 000 needed to take care of his medical bills.

It is indeed a shame that the leadership of the various associations of most Yoruba artistes could not raise a mere N250, 000 to help rescue a member, particularly one, who contributed so much to birth and build the industry, from the jaws of death.

ULIET Aguwa, a former Nollywood actress, is coming back home from her base in America, in continuation of her campaign against breast cancer.

The beautiful mother of two, who survived the pangs of breast cancer when she was diagnosed of aggressive breast cancer stage 3c in 2008, has concluded plans to embark on a campaign to create awareness about the dreaded disease.

Juliet, who has appeared on several TV series and Talk Shows before she migrated to the USA, is looking forward to launch a breast cancer awareness programme later this month. The programme, which is being packaged by her outfit, Courage to Dare Foundation, is expected to have in attendance, the First Lady of Imo State, Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha.

Uju Okeke finally weds

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CTRESS Uju Okeke is definitely a happy woman. The pretty actress has finally tied the knot with her long time lover, simply known as Melekh.

The holy solemnisation took place at the Saint Barth Anglican Church, Bishop Awelewa Adebiyi Close, Satelite Town,Lagos.

The reception had top Igbo business men and women in attendance.

However, asides Teco Benson, Mrs. Brown and Leon Shaboh who graced the event as representatives of Nollywood, most of her colleagues were conspicuously missing from the ceremony.

Tupac Foundation honours Julius Agwu

F

EW weeks after winning the African Achiever Awards in London, foremost Nigerian stand-up comedian, Julius D'Genius' Agwu has bagged another international recognition. This time, the diminutive comedian is being honoured by the Tupac Foundation in Atlanta.

Julius was presented with an autobiography of Tupac Shakur, entitled 'Tupac Shakur Legacy', autographed by Tupac's mum, Afeni Shakur. This might not be unconnected with Julius Agwu's support to the foundation during one of his visits to America and his popularity in Africa.

Afeni, who also wrote the forward of the book, written by Jamal Joseph, wrote: “Julius Agwu, peace, love, respect, se alaafia ni? We pray we will be able to come to home, Nigeria in the future.

Help make our home land safe. We are ever hopeful for African peace and prosperity.”

The book features removable reproductions of handwritten, lyrics, notebook pages and other personal memorabilia, plus Tupac Shakur Speaks, a 60-minute CD featuring rare interviews with Tupac.

•Julius Agwu

•Dento

His death, coming after that of another actor, Lekinson, because of lack of money, should bother all the stakeholders in the movie industry. In an industry that boasts of the likes of Prince Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami and all the notable films marketers in Idumota, who cruise round town in choice cars, it is indeed a shame that people who helped in building the industry are dying because of lack of funds, says an industry watcher.

“Dento's case is particularly sad if you remember that the same stakeholders rallied round to raise the sum of N1 million to bail actress Taiwo Akinwande (Wunmi) who was convicted for trafficking in cocaine.

Rather than leave Akinwande to pay for deeds for bringing the name of the industry into disrepute, top actors and actresses ran round town caps in hand to raise the money.

“Surprisingly, the same people who failed to heed the call to help Dento to live, turned up in large number to 'pay their last respect'. And it would not be too much of a surprise if in the next few months, the same people come up with another idea to organize an 'artiste night' for their late colleague. Where the money realized from the show goes is another matter all together.” He further stated.

Project Fame West Africa Season 5 kicks-off

A

FTER auditions in ten major cities in West Africa, the annual MTN Project Fame Season 5 has kicked-off in grand style with performances by Monica, Iyanya, and Chuddy K. The opening gala also afforded the eighteen finalists the opportunity to convince the judges to give them a ticket into the highly-coveted fifteen spaces in the Project Fame academy.

The hosts of the show, Adora Oleh and Joseph Benjamin, stepped out

elegantly on stage to kick off the night. The faculty and judges, in their usual exquisite element, were introduced with glamour.

Worthy of note is the introduction of Ade Bantu, as a new member of the panel of judges.

Monica the winner of Project Fame season 4 opened the show with her singles 'Tomorrow' and 'Below'. She dazzled the audience, rocked the stage and clearly re-affirmed herself as she sang and danced to her recently released singles.

•2011 Project Fame winner, Monica

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

COVER

COVER

According to her, the search for a job ended when she keyed into a message by Pastor E. A. Adeboye in 1990.

“Pastor said anybody who would key into the message will never remain the same again. I keyed into it, and even before I finished the fasting, God said 'Come and work for me.” In this interview with SEGUN AJIBOYE, the mother of two, who split from her husband, fellow musician, Eddy Remedy, few years ago, described herself as a 'loner' who would rather keep her problems to herself. She also spoke on her family, career and other issues. Excerpts:

37

OU recently did a song with hip-pop act, MI. What made you do the collabo with a rap artist, considering the fact that you are a gospel act?

Music has changed, and I always embrace change from whatever angle it comes. For me, I have embraced the changes. Hip-pop music is global, it's like a culture with younger generations, and even the older are dancing it and enjoy it. We are evolving with the young people, and I want to reach young people through my music. And the kind of young people that I want to reach is via hip-pop. Don't forget that one of the kings of hip-pop in Africa is MI. It was exciting for to get him to do a collabo with me, and even more exciting for him to accept to produce the work.

Your song, 'Sugar Sugar' sounds like a love song. What is it about?

Sugar- Sugar is a love song to God. It's my own way to say I love God. We used the angle of love and romance. God caught me through love. You see, what attracted me to God was the songs of Solomon. It was very romantic to my ears. I read that portion of the bible, and I realized it was easy for God to communicate with us through love. And I have always looked for words to express my own love to God. That is why I sang the song to express my love to God, to give everything back to Him. You have successfully recorded a number of songs with popular hip-pop stars.

What do you want to achieve with this?

Like I said, hip-pop is no longer music, it's a culture, a movement that has swept all over the world. That's the community of music that the people I want to reach belong to.

And to be able to reach them, I have to be able to live it, breathe it and dress hip-pop. I am from the old Christian school. And for me to reach this vibrant and young group, I have to buy into their movement, such that their own DJ will be able to identify with my songs. I want to say with every sense of humility that I am the only female act that has done the highest number of collabos with top Nigerian male acts.

Imagine the song I did with Dagrin, it is different from the one with Terry G and others.

With your background as a gospel act, how easy was it for you to work with these core hip-pop guys?

For me to achieve this, Kenny St Brown had to die, and in its place came KSB. There was no way Kenny St Brown would delivered, and that was why it took me a gap of about to three years for me to get into the spirit of KSB. So what were those three years for?

They were for me to rebrand and to redress. It was a spiritual rebirth into the spirit of hip-pop.

It has to enter into me so that I'd able to deliver.

It was a total overhaul from inside. And what you see now is manifestation of what I've gone through. First, God told me 'I am going to reduce your age by 20 years.' I didn't believe at first until they started to manifest. I knew there was work to be done. You see, gospel didn't get to be played on radio Monday to Friday. They were played only on Sundays. But I have been able to change that. My songs get played every day.

Kenny, I'm really sure you have moved on from the experience of your unsuccessful marriage…

Cuts in…I'm sorry, but the truth is that my career is the most important thing to me now. I mean how to make huge success of my career, and to take care of my children. That is what should be my focus for now.

Are you born again?

I am very, very born again. Do you know why? The path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter, and there is so much work to be done. The Bible says 'I shall be His witness, first from Jerusalem, then unto Judea and to Samaria and outermost part of the world.' The song I did

almost got paralysed at five’

at the beginning of my career cannot take me to the outermost part of the world. And so it took the owner of the job who keeps renewing the vision, just the way He spoke with Abraham. If you walk with obedience with Him, you'll keep going. I'll tell you, whenever God wants to birth a new thing, He is never afraid to use me because I am ready vessel.

Have you ever had an encounter with God, if yes, how did it happen?

My encounter with God was after I finished my MBA in 1995, and I wanted a job. I wanted to work with Chevron or Mobil, I didn't want to work in the banks. And while I was searching for a job, God said He likes my CV, and that I can work for Him. About that time too, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Adeboye, declared a 100day fasting period. He said anybody who would key into it will never remain the same again. I keyed into it, and that was the encounter. And even I finished the fasting, God said 'Come and work for me.' And don't forget the Yoruba adage that you cannot go into a partnership with God and lose.

Prior to that time, were you a member of any musical group?

Before that time, the only music I did was in my secondary school. It was during the fasting that God showed me what I would do.

And so you decided to keep all the certificates you've acquired in a wardrobe and take up music.

Yes, and the only certificate that I have added since then was the Bible College. I later joined the choir of my local parish.

What path do you think your career would have taken if you hadn't a brother like Kenny Ogungbe?

He didn't have a music label when I started.

As a matter of fact, it was me who told him 'let's start a music label'. You see, after my encounter with God, which was in the UK, I called Keke, and he said 'don't just come back, come with songs.' I came back with four songs, but he said they wouldn't do well in the Nigerian market, so we had to get a Nigerian producer. Don't forget all I had was a vision, and there was somebody who was willing to help transform that vision. That was when we did the song entitled 'You're worthy Lord' The album was to be released on Sony Music, but when I told my brother that we could have a record label, he believed in me and the following day, he put the money down to register the company. At that time, he was doing his thing with D-One at Ray Power. But because I was anew act, we decided that we should start with a big artiste. After that, we brought Kingsley Ike of the Wamilele fame, and then me. My brothers were dong the promotions, while I was in charge of hiring and training of staff. And what God told me had come to past.

Would you say your obedience to the GO's call is responsible for your being a musician?

The worst thing to have ever happened to me w when I was five years olas I had an injection that d. resulted in abscess. Tha makes me to limp on m t left leg. But I have beeny able to rise above it an conquer my world, sod much so that I set goal that nobody can surpass s

Yes, because while searching for jobs, I was always on Broad Street, Lagos, trying to go from one interview to the other. It was like when Peter and the rest were fruitlessly trying to catch fish. The more I looked for job, the more I became frustrated in looking for a job.

Despite my MBA, I began to think there must be something else God has deposited in me.

With your MBA certificate, how did your mum react when she found out you wanted to do music?

We have a fantastic mother. She did nothing but to support me. It was like when I told her I wanted to go for my MBA, all she did was say 'go girl' Your mum has two sets of twins…

Cuts in… As a matter of fact, she has three sets. She had a set before Keke and Taiwo, but she lost the first set.

How do people in your neighbourhood call you?

My mum is called Iya Ibeji. And for us, it is Kehinde or Taiwo Agba and Kehinde or Taiwo Kekere. I am Kehinde Kekere, while Keke is Kehinde Agba.

How would you describe your family?

It's a closely-knit family, and that is the way we are brought up. We support and encourage ourselves, such that if a cow drops in our midst, you wouldn't see it. The kudos for this should go to my mother and our elder sister, Mrs. Moji Dokpesi, she would do anything to keep us united.

What's the best advice Mama ever gave you?

My mum has separate advice for men and women. For us, she would say the woman's husband is her work. She taught us to be independent. And that a woman must not rely on her husband for everything, that the woman must allow the world to see her husband's financial nakedness, talkless of the children.

That was the way all of us we brought up. And for her, a woman must not be idle, she must be found doing something. She does not believe that a woman should sit at home idle while her

husband goes out to struggle to keep the home.

And of course, she is so blessed that she has many celebrities as children.

Doesn't she ask you for more grandchildren?

But I have given her grandchildren. Don't forget she is already 80 years old.

What if she asks you for more?

I have given her enough, and she is happy with that. Moreover, I don't want to have more children because my career is demanding, and it doesn't look like it's leaving me anytime soon. I get younger every day, and the songs keep coming, so I'm still going to make lots of music, and making babies is not a priority.

If you have to cry, on whose shoulders would you lean?

I'm a loner. I cry alone. And when I cry, I don't shout to the world to let them know about. Rather, I go out to seek laughter. Most times, the person I go to is my elder sister, Moji Dokpesi. I would have called her to let her know that I am depressed. She would laugh and urge me to come over. Being a woman with a large heart, she would definitely dwarf you depression, and whatever it is that took you to her would become so insignificant that you'll leave her place a person. And don't forget, you'll never leave her empty-handed because she'll drop a cheque in your hands.

How do you handle fame?

There are lots of things that I learnt from my sister, Mrs. Dokpesi. She is one woman that really taught me discipline. She taught me how to live a successful life. I cannot be around her and still remember that I am a celebrity. She taught us to always keep your celebrity lifestyle in your shoes. Don't forget that I am her Kehinde Kekere.

My life has gathered so many

challenges and so many victories that I keep learning every day.

What would you be doing if you weren't a musician?

I'll definitely be a cook, an Alase(professional cook). I love cooking, as a matter of fact; I already have a outfit, the KSB Foods. We deliver foods and operate outdoor services.

Who did you learn how to cook?

My sister taught me how to cook good food. I mean foods you'll eat, and you will never forget for the rest of your life. With me, I am mixing entertainment with cooking. Our menus are named after Nigerian celebrities. So you have meals like Don Jazzy or Genevieve.

What's the best thing that ever happened to you?

The best that ever happened to me are my problems, my challenges. They gave me my identity, and made me to rise above the problems with strengths that I didn't know were laid inside of me. It these challenges and problems had not confronted me, I might simply have sat down on one spot. The challenges make me to aspire because I know that once I can solve them, I would move to the next level of my life. I hate to be lost in the crowd. I don't like average life. I want problems that would make the big things in me to come out.

And what is the worst thing to have ever happened to you?

The worst thing to have ever happened to me was when I was five years old. I had an injection that resulted in abscess. That makes me to limp on my left leg. But I have been able to rise above it and conquer my world, so much so that I set goals that nobody can surpass. Another one was when I was made to go to a teacher training school. Because I was somehow stubborn, I was punished to evacuate a dunghill. That was the first time I was leaving home, and the experience has stuck with me till today.

How would you rate the Nigerian music industry?

The industry is amazing. We have done very well, and we are still doing very well. We are now rated as the best in Africa, that international stars want to work with us. Sunny Ade tried, Femi Kuti did very well, but you see, there is change from generation to generation.

The hip-pop generation is now coming with so much ease, and it has caused so much impact on the entertainment industry. In the clubs, they now play Nigerian music. Radio stations now play Nigerian music 24 hours without repeating one music. That has brought endorsements, and Nigerian acts now live like successful acts anywhere in the world. We have compelled the world to dance to our music because we have refused to dance to anything that is not Nigerian. Now we have Nigerian acts travelling to Europe or Asia to do shows on a Friday and come back on Sunday, they fly firstclass tickets. That is the level of the success that we have achieved.

But we are not talking about the structure, we are talking about the contents, about the number and quality of music we have created and the impact we have made.

AFRICANVILLAGE CLOSESDUETOFINANCIAL

PROBLEMS

LONDON OLYMPICS...

•Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare lands after an attempt during a qualifying round of women's long jump at athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012.

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

LONDON OLYMPICS...

W

ith the array of poor performances that has trailed the Nigerian contingent to the London Olympics, especially the early ouster of compatriot and friend, Isah Muhammad from the 68 kilogramme weight category of the taekwondo event, all eyes will now be on Team Nigeria’s captain, Chika Chukwumerije, who kick-starts his campaign today. But how far the graduate of Mechanical Engineering Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo state can whether the storm will go a long way to revive Nigeria’s confidence at the quadrennial games writes INNOCENT AMOMOH.

N

IGERIA may not have had a smooth run at the London Olympics, not listed yet among the medal winning nations at the quadrennial games. With the last of athletes donning the Nigerian colours, crumbling like a park of cards in different events, all eyes will however, be on Team captain, Chika Chukwumerije, who kick starts his campaign today in the +80 kilogramme weight category of te taekwondo event.

After ending his Beijing Olympic campaign with a bronze medal feat,

the son of a Nigerian senator, Uche Chukwumerije, Chika is aware of the responsibility on his shoulder is to lift Nigeria from the quagmire of sloppy performances to at least get listed on the medal table, even if it means winning a bronze again.

Drawn against Cuba's 2011 Athlete of the Year, Robelis Despaigne, who is also the fourth seeded in the world, the Cuban stands as a quarter finalist at the 2009 World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark today , Chukwumerije will be faced with a tall order of starting his campaign on a successful note at the ExCeL Arena in London.

Chukwumerije has never minced words on his ambition to do better than he did four years ago, as he has been committed to training hard all through in South Korea, despite the demands on him for his academics at the University of Liverpool where he did his masters

Ranked 29th in the world, Chukwumerije has the challenge of facing those ranked above him, like those in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, 10th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 18th and 21st above him, with only three fighters ranked below him (these are the 62nd, 65th and 100th ranked), with a yet to be named fighter who has been given a wild card.

The 28 year old first came into the limelight in 2003 during the qualifiers for the 2003 All-Africa Games, where he eventually won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category.

Competing in his third Olympics after he qualified for the 2004 edition in Athens, where he lost his first bout to Pascal Gentil, the eventual bronze medal winner. Nevertheless, after a period of intensive training that was funded by his father, he became one of Nigeria’s best chances for a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

He won a gold medal at the 2007

All-Africa Games in the +80kg class before qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games soon after.

Although he lost to eventual silver-medal winner Alexandros Nikolaid is in the semifinals of the +80kg event, he was entered into the repackaged round of the tournament. After defeating Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan he claimed a bronze medal in the event, Nigeria's third medal of the tournament.

He said in an earlier interview, “We are yet to win a medal but that should not be a burden to the other athletes. We must lift our spirit and do it for Nigeria. We are representing Nigeria here and the flag must fly high.

“I am sure my colleagues are aware of the importance of their good performance on the faces of Nigerians at home. They are waiting for us to win medals and I am hopeful that I can do it. Many of them can do it as well because we

had great preparation before coming here. We were disappointed early but we are strong now and ready to compete.”

Before now the President of Taekwondo Federation of Nigeria, Dr Jonathan Nnaji, who visited the Games' Village Tuesday, also said that the athletes were doing well but warned that people should not put them under immense pressure.

"They are okay and battle-ready.

We don’t want people to put unnecessary pressure on them.

They know what is at stake and they will do their best for the country," Nnaji said But with the ouster of most Nigeria athletes and especially that of mate, Isah Muhammad, whether Chukwumerije will fulfill his promise of lifting Nigeria’s hope will be an achievement to desire by teeming sports fans in the country.

•LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: Andrew Turner of Great Britain and Selim Nurudeen of Nigeria compete in the Men's 110m Hurdles Semifinal on Day 12 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 8, 2012 in London, England.

•Nigeria's Tosin Oke competes in the men's triple jump qualification during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 7, 2012.

•Nigeria's Muizat Ajoke Odumosu reacts after competing in the women's 400m hurdles semi-finals at the athletics event of the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 6, 2012 in London.

•Funke Oshonaike •Chika-Chukwumerije

•LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: Al-Farouq Aminu #11 of Nigeria moves the ball upcourt during the Men's Basketball Preliminary Round match against France on Day 10 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Basketball Arena on August 6, 2012 in London, England.

•LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: Doreen Amata of Nigeria competes during the Women's High Jump qualification on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 9, 2012 in London, England.

•LONDON, ENGLAND AUGUST 06: Christy Udoh of Nigeria prepapres to compete in the Women's 200m heat on Day 10 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 6, 2012 in London, England.

•LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: Edith Ogoke (Red) of Nigeria looks on against Nadezda Torlopova (Blue) of Russia during the Women's Middle (75kg) Boxing Quarterfinals on Day 10 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL on August 6, 2012 in London, England.

•Jordan's Mohammad Aabulibdeh fights Nigeria's Isah Muhammad (in red) during their match in men's 68kg taekwondo competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, in London.

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

I

T is possible that officials of the Sports Ministry/ National Sports Commission have begun searching for the over-used drawing board even as the Games in London are yet to end. They must device a new strategy to retain their jobs albeit shamefully because nothing has changed and nothing will ever change with those characters and the entire gamut of Nigeria political leadership remaining what we know them to be.

As this piece was being penned Thursday morning.

Team Nigeria was yet to come close to medal of any hue and the leaders of delegation who have promised to dig gold in London with be beside themselves now in supplication to God even if for a chance bronze medal to materialize from any sport. It will be the greatest disservice to the future of sport in the country if providence was to show up and hang any medal on the neck of our athlete(s). I can imagine the game plan being stitched together to explain away this fiasco and top of the list will be a call for Town Hall Meeting on Sports as has been the vogue with the regime in power.

There is no gain going into details of what went amiss for the country because even the man on the street have an idea that the same way the Federal cabinet is unable to track the nation’s budget performance is

Going back to the drawing board reflected in how the Ministries they head cannot develop a futuristic workable development plan. The Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi can readily exonerate his tenure by claiming he has barely occupied the office but beyond running in circumference around the football federation and the Nigeria Premier League, it is difficult to allude to any serious steps he has taken to plot the way forward for the industry.

It will be interesting to know what questions Abdullahi asked those who prepared the 2012 budget he presented to the Federal Executive Council and subsequently defended before the National Assembly.

This is the time for Abdullahi to tell the young men and women he led to London what the Ministry he supervises did by way of priming them for such a global competition that demands the highest standards in preparations.

We very easily ignore the substance to chase the subcontents but not anymore. For

By

Harry Iwuala sure, we’ve been this route before dating back to the 1980’s and it doesn’t seem we are going to see the end of the usual inquisition and avowals by the inept leadership running the industry. The only act they have perfected is that of distributing corruptive patronage to those who suck their bums while declaring well intentioned critics as enemies.

Part of the major achievement of the National Sports Commission (NSC) in the present dispensation is the sports center at Enyiogugu in Imo State and pray, how has the millions sunk into that mockery helped our athletes prepare for 2014 and beyond? Are young men and women in that axis of the country having access to

BROWN IDEYE

helps Dynamo advance in Champions League

D

ynamo Kiev's Brown Ideye scored with almost the last kick of the game to beat Feyenoord 1-0 in Champions League qualification on Tuesday.

Ideye's goal helped to secure a 3-1 aggregate win for Kiev as they advanced to the final qualification stage for the UEFA Champions League.

With the final seconds of five minutes of injury time ticking down in the Netherlands, a goal-kick from visiting Kiev was punted long into their attacking half.

A header from one of Feyenoord's players fell at the feet of Kiev's Denis Garmash and the midfielder passed immediately to Ideye.

Garmash took off around the outside of Ideye, who returned the ball to the Ukrainian on the left edge of the penalty area.

In behind the home side's defence, Garmash waited expertly before placing the ball ahead of Ideye, who smashed it into the roof of the net.

In the other second leg of Champions League thirdround qualifying on Tuesday, BATE Borisov defeated Debrecen 2-0 to win the tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Dmitri Mozolevski scored the opener for Borisov on the counter, slipping the ball under Debrecen goalkeeper Istvan Verpecz in the 25th minute.

The Belarusian club made it 2-0 eight minutes into the second half when Aliaksandr Volodko ran onto Aliaksandr Hleb's low cross and his strike was deflected between Verpecz's

legs and rolled into the net.

Tuesday's results mean Kiev and Borisov have advanced to the final round of Champions League qualifying, which starts on August 21.

train with the ‘facilities’ in place and do they have the right coaching provided by those who built the structure? Can Nigerians be told the vision behind that project and how it can fit into raising future Olympians?

It is hoped that the Minister’s period of naivety is over after interacting with the cream of global sports community in London. As a Journalist who knew his onions, the least expected of Abdullahi is to be his own man now with insight from his interrogation of other national sports modules through his equivalents that converged on London in the last two weeks. If airplanes can fly into Nigeria and if we can r u n m o b i l e

telecommunications, it is not out of place to expect Nigeria to also set up top grade institutes for sports, training facilities and programs that can place us at the apex of sports rankings. Abudullahi needs to find out beyond the challenges of funding why the National Institute for Sports (NIS) is not pulling its weight.

He must evaluate not only the quality of resource persons available but also the curricular and equipments available to produce not just the coaches, but the athletes as is done in Australia, China and such other nations that have found their footing in global sports.

Despite the budget implementation stand-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assebly leadership, it is doubtful if the National Assembly Sports Committee members were not part of the delegation to London. They are always there carrying out over-sight functions in expensive shops and holiday

OBOABONA:

Yobo built my Eagles confidence H

OME-BASED Super Eagles defender Godfrey Oboabona has revealed how Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo helped him to build more confidence in the Super Eagles shirt.

The 21-year-old Sunshine Stars player has made six appearance for the national team under Stephen Keshi and has been able to justify his inclusion to remain one of the favourite among the home base stars.

“I want to keep my shirt in the team, I want to keep improving on my games, my debut day was a sweet memory for me but I am looking beyond present games, I want to be as capped as Joseph Yobo,” said Oboabona.

“Before now, I always dream of the day I will wear the jersey and represent Nigeria at any level but my dream came through the day I finally made it and I was encouraged by the team skipper Joseph Yobo.

“Yobo has shown me he’s a good leader, he advised me because he sees me as a player who is eager to learn. I have lots of concersation that I have benefitted from him.

“He told me to be Eagles patriotic and always determined to be there. He share his own experience with me and I am seeing that in

him.

“I use to watch Yobo on the TV but I was amazed the day I met him as my skipper and too me no time to settle well with him.

Speaking further on the next month 2013 AFCON qualifiers against Liberai, the spot kick favorite said: “I don’t want to sound bullish on the faces of newspapers but I believe we are on course. Everybody wants to be at the nations cup next year and I think we will give our best to ensure we beat Liberia to the tournament by the grace of God,” he concluded.

spots even when the scandal in town is the estacode sharing for foreign trips. How much were the committee members given to be in London and what have they ‘over-sighted’ so far beyond the opportunity to be in Queensland at the peoples’ cost?

Information that emerged recently is that sufficient fund is not being budgeted or approved for stadia maintenance and the question I have asked is has there been any proper valuation of the worth of these facilities to arrive at the cost of maintenance? When bogey figures are thrown into the budget without scientific proof of how it was arrived at, it is very easy to understand why they don’t shout when approval fails short of the desired. We all know that budget approval is a responsibility of the National Assembly and if the legislators have done proper over-sight, they will know how much is required for facilities maintenance and approve accordingly or very close to it.

Our civil servants have not learnt the art of scientific justification and validation of processes not because they don’t know it but because the system has drained them of lateral thinking abilities.

My submission are that any National Assembly member(s) who collected money to be at the London Games must return it and the Sports Ministry officials who provided such bribe must be sanctioned appropriately. The Minister must not fall for the temptation of organizing jamborees to Abuja or any other city in the guise of seminars to find out what went wrong and proffer solutions.

There are enough papers from past inquisitions in the Ministry shelves to work with.

This is the time to work closely with the Ministry of Education towards reviewing our education curricular to provide proper framework for sports and education to be part of formal school system. It will also require the Federal Government and States to reform the urban and rural environment development frameworks to include the building of sports and recreational centers in neighborhoods. Such centers can be operated by private companies in partnership with local councils at moderated costs to intending patrons.

The Minister must orchestrate a review of the President Jonathan transformation blue-print (if it exists) and cause a total overhaul of the sports subhead to accommodate the new thinking in using sports as a tool for youth empowerment and national image building. It is unacceptable that our boxers, table tennis players, weightlifters and others will be engaged in menial jobs until they are camped for games for short periods. They must be treated as national assets the same way government officials treat themselves. It is criminal to hastily organize camps in foreign lands for our athletes just three months to the tournament and as Edem Offiong revealed, only for them to compete against each other in the camps.

The courage, spirit and determination of Nigerian athletes to excel against great odds form the highpoint of the 2012 London Olympic Games for Nigeria. They deserve our love, respect and commendation.

How Duchess cheered Adams'

HISTORICWIN AFRICANVILLAGE CLOSES DUETO FINANCIAL

PROBLEMS

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

I

am making a simple appeal this morning for ball fans within Ilorin (capital of Kwara State) and environs to endeavour to turn up at the Ilorin Township Stadium tomorrow (Sunday, 12th August, 2012) to cheer our U-20 National Team, which is known as Flying Eagles, to victory in their 2013 African Youth Championship qualifier against their counterparts from Tanzania.

This appeal comes to emphasize the call made by the Nigeria Football Federation last week for all Nigerians to forget the poor outing of the Flying Eagles at the Cape Town International Challenge in South Africa a couple of months ago, and get behind the team and believe in the team again.

Belief is important before heartfelt support can come and we felt it was necessary to canvass support for the team based on the waning confidence in the team as a result of that misadventure in South Africa and defeat by Rwanda’s U-20 Team in a friendly in Kigali.

The Flying Eagles helped the situation by going to Dar es Salaam to win 2-1 in the first leg of the 2013 AYC fixture and have over the past week driven past Kwara United FC of Ilorin and Prime FC of Oshogbo comfortably in test matches.

The Flying Eagles are not only the reigning champions

T

hey tumbled from events of the London Olympics one after the other. They were said to be "A" qualifiers but the Nigerian athletes did not prove their class. They were outrun, out-jumped, outlifted and out-boxed. It was the same story from all angles and the giant of Africa seems to be asleep.

We have the human resources, over 150 million yet we could not produce a weight-lifter who can make the country proud. We are surrounded by water yet we could not produce a swimmer. We have those who are in the armed forces yet we could not produce shooters. The youngest Olympic medalist was a 16 year old who was into gymnastics yet our youths have no place among the best. The truth is that she has been preparing for the London since she was 12.

The only way forward for the country in sports is to start early preparation. That is the key. It was done with Chioma Ajunwa. She prepared for four years for the gold she won in Long Jump in Atlanta-Georgia, USA. We have to identify our strong areas and build on them. We have lost our clout in the sprints. When we were strong on the track, we could not win gold so what happens when we fielded weaklings. We can still do well in sprints if the monthly Classics are brought back and the athletes have a platform to train and compete. We can get one of the telecommunications giants to support the programme. The idea can be sold to them and I believe that one will buy the idea of a four year-plan for our track

Come and cheer the Flying Eagles!

Inside The

Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI of Africa at U-20 level, but have severally lifted the spirits of Nigerians with credible performances internationally, even when other teams come home with nothing.

A cursory look at the history books will convince that the Flying Eagles were the first Nigerian team to appear at a FIFA World Cup, when the team played at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico in 1983. The team had narrowly failed to make it to the 1981 finals in Australia following a home defeat by Cameroon in the final lap.

Two years after Mexico, the Flying Eagles drove themselves hard at the finals in USSR and beyond expectation, finishing third after beating the host nation on penalties. What about the African titles in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005 and 2011?

Surely, we have good reasons to always get behind the Flying Eagles as the team

has always performed.

However, I am happy at the caution by NFF Technical Committee chairman, Barrister Chris Green, to the team to shape up and forget about the first leg win, in order to compete hard in the return leg in Ilorin on Sunday and get Tanzania fully behind it.

Barrister Green led the delegation to Tanzania and certainly knows what he is talking about. He made it clear that the Tanzanians are no push-overs, as they fought hard after conceeding two goals in the first half. They have nothing to lose in Ilorin and a team is most dangerous when it has nothing to lose.

As it is, Tanzanians are not expecting much from their team in tomorrow’s match, the exquisitely-named Ngorongoro Heroes having lost the first leg at home. So, it is play-and-enjoy-yourself-asmuch-as-possible and that is

when football is at its best.

While the Flying Eagles themselves have not been at picnic since returning from Dar es Salaam, the visitors are likely to hope that high expectations of Nigerians would conspire to put the Flying Eagles under pressure. I really believe this will not be the case.

I have a responsibility to use this opportunity and platform to express the NFF’s heartfelt appreciation to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed for accepting to host the Flying Eagles, thereby helping the NFF’s vision of taking the National Teams round the country.

The Super Eagles have been playing in Calabar, Cross River State, thanks to the ebullient Governor Liyel Imoke and his administration, and the good people of that State. The Golden Eaglets will also be making Calabar home (rather, have already made it home) as they

look forward to their 2013 African U-17 Championship qualifying matches.

While the Super Falcons played their 2012 African Women Championship qualifying and international friendly matches in Lagos, the U-20 and U-17 Women Teams played their qualifying matches in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The desire of the NFF is to see other States come forward and offer to host international matches so that football can truly serve its purpose of uniting or people and giving them joy.

Good Job, Sunshine Stars...

Last week, on this page, I had called on Sunshine Stars FC to come out and fight hard for three points in their CAF Champions League halfway mark clash with AS Chief of Algeria. And I am happy they did so.

Sometimes, you need a wake-up call to really wake up. When they hosted Cup holders Esperance of Tunisia at the same Dipo Dina International Stadium in their first match of the group phase, the Nigerian flagbearers simply caved in, allowed themselves to be brow-beaten and watched as

BRAZIL 2016: Let us start now AKINLOYE

AT LARGE

08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com and field. Jamaicans are now known for sprints and we can become a country of jumpers if we zeroed in on our strong point in track and field. I believe we can churn out jumpers after jumpers using Ajunwa's golden win in Atlanta as a peg.

Blessing Okagbare is still young. She will be available for another four years. We should convince First Bank who supports the sprinter to bankroll her four yearprogramme for Brazil 2016.

She needs to train with a quality coach and made to compete in competitions at home and abroad. She needs a strong hand to handle her training. We can call on Chief Segun Odegbami to do what he did with the police woman with Okagbare. We will be sure of at least two gold medals in Brazil especially in track and field.

We need revolution in other areas. Here the coaching-students of the Nigerian Institute of Sports(NIS) can be made the arrow head. Instead of spending the whole programme of their course in the classroom, let the theory be 60 per cent and practical 40. Let them be sent to the zones to raise teams in other sports. A competition can now be given birth to for the teams they raised to test their

might against existing teams in those sports. Their performances in the practicals and theory will determine their fate in the course.

Let swimming be zoned to the South South. They should be ashamed that there was no swimmer in Team Nigeria to the Olympic Games in London. Instead of swimming, it is wrestling that Bayelsa is spending money on.

We can't compete in GrecoRoman. We are not known for that. It is in the freestyle wrestling we can rub shoulders with the rest of the world. We are freestyle wrestlers in this part of the world and it is our strong point. I was in Cairo in 1991 during the All Africa Games which Egypt hosted. We won nine gold medals and a silver in freestyle. Our national anthem was played nine times and I was proud to be a Nigerian. Let us zone wrestling to the north west where there are traditional wrestlers who can be trained for four years and we will win medals.

Let us make South East raise weightlifters for the country.

They are traditionally strong men and women, and we should be able to make Olympic champions of them in four years. We were a force to reckon with in the sport in the past and we can return to

the glory days if our preparations are made scientific.

Table tennis could be zoned to South West while boxing should be taken to the north central for Brazil. Ping pong used to be the strong point in Lagos. The tables have disappeared from the streets and this has led to recycling of athletes who have passed their prime. It is a shame that the same ping pongers had represented us at the Olympic Games six times without a medal to show for it. It shows that we are stagnant in the sport for about 20 years.

The North central should be able to produce boxers for the country. Aside Edo and Delta, boxing thrived in the zone in the past and it should be revived so that we can reach our height in international sports fora. The North east is noted for basketball and it should be given to that zone to raise a team for Brazil. They are made for basketball and if that area is combed effectively, we will discover basketballers who can be prepared for the Olympic Games in 2016.

Preparation for Brazil has commenced in other countries despite the fact that the London Games are still on.

Countries have started identifying athletes and preparation will soon start. If we are serious, our dismal performance in London should be a wake up call.

Preparation should start now.

A Presidential committee on 2016 Olympic Games should be set up to include those who know their onions in sports with a mandate to start preparation immediately. We did the same thing for 2010

World Cup in South Africa and the committee delivered. It would tell the world that it is not business as usual by setting up the committee. It would mean that the giant is being awoken from sleep and is ready to take its place in the scheme of things in international sports fora.

the North Africans taught them some technical lessons.

Having learned so much in one day, Sunshine Stars FC became a much-better team and we saw that in their endeavour in Sousse, Tunisia two weeks later when they drew 0-0 with another strong Tunisian side, Etoile du Sahel.

That 2-0 victory over AS Chief could eventually mean so much in the campaign. I was elated reading Coach Ogunbote saying that his team would have no time to celebrate the win over the Algerians; that rather, they are already looking forward to playing and fighting hard for three points in the return clash in Algeria next weekend.

That is the spirit, guys.

Football is no magic if you prepare well and fight hard on the pitch, and remember all that you have learnt.

Getting Ready...

With the release of his final list of 21 players for the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Coach Edwin Okon has come to reality that the tournament is right at the door and whatever needs to be done has to be done fast.

In another eight days, our girls will be coming out through the tunnel to file out against Korea Republic in one of the opening matches of the competition, at the Saitama World Cup Stadium. There is really no time again and I am happy that the technical crew has been doing a good job out there in Korea Republic (where they are fine-tuning for the finals).

Alongside USA, Germany, China and Japan, Korea Republic has become one of the teams to dread in women’s football. However, the challenge for us as a nation is to do those things that will make Nigeria one of the teams to dread as well.

As vice champions of the world, the objective for Japan 2012 is to take a step further and become champions. IT IS POSSIBLE, FALCONETS, GO FOR IT.

•Kenneth

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

38

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

W L O H L Y OOD Ashton Kutcher returns to modelling

K

NOWN now as the highest-paid actor in television, Ashton Kutcher rakes in $700,000 an episode for Two and a Half Men but he has chosen to return to his modelling roots in a sultry new campaign for Brazilian sportswear brand Colcci.

The actor has resumed his role

opposite stunning Victoria's Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio in a series of photos for the label's Summer 2012 collection.

The most provocative shot from the campaign shows Alessandra pressing her chest against Ashton, topless, covering her modesty with only a hand. The actor,

wearing a plaid shirt and blue jeans, tugs at the waist of her denim shorts and wraps his arm around her backside.

It's not the first time the pair has modelled for the brand, however.

Both walked the runway for Colcci in March of last year; and in July 2011 the brand released its first campaign featuring Ashton and Alessandra in a sultry series of photos for its denim collection.

•Ashton

Van Damme still gets it

H

E may have entered his fifties now but that's not having an effect on movie hardman Jean-Claude Van Damme. The action man, 51, went out of his way to show that he's still got it as he flaunted his six pack and showed off his moves in front of waiting photographers.

He was at a photocall for The Expendables 2 in Madrid, Spain along with his castmates Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren. And ensuring he wasn't overshadowed he made quite the impact as he fooled around to please onlookers.

Van Damme first of all lifted up his shirt to reveal his honed stomach as he flexed his arm muscles while grinning at the cameras. The Timecop star was obviously in a cheeky and jovial mood as he also high kicked the air several times for maximum impact. Showing off, Jean-Claude played up to the cameras as he flexed his muscles ready for the film's release later this month The new Expendables movie is due to be released in the UK on 17 August.

U

•Van Damme

Juliet Ibrahim's new obsession

I

S

HE'S experimented with virtually every hairstyle under the sun to go with her eccentric outfits, and now Lady Gaga has switched up her look once again to ditch her sleek blonde hair for a huge afro, as she covers the September issue of prestigious magazine Vogue.

The singer took to her Twitter page to give fans a sneak peek of the cover, shot

by Mert & Marcus, which shows her stunning hourglass figure in all its glory.

Gaga is seen showcasing her feminine shape in a gorgeous purple fishtail strapless gown

by Marc Jacobs as she poses on the front of the fashion bible.

Along with her massive blonde afro, Gaga also sports purple eye shadow to complement the colours of the bright gown.

Gaga's cover shoot the second for the singer - was to mark a special anniversary issue of Vogue, celebrating '120 years of style'.

•Lady Gaga

Jah Device collaborates with Bongos Ikwe

Crane over Ghollywood

T appears that popular Ghanaian actress, Juliet Ibrahim, has found a new fascination. Observers argue that in recent times, the light skinned actress has become very fascinated by her hair. Only a few weeks ago, it was observed that the actress carried a flaming red hair. Now she has dyed it blonde.

Perhaps, the artiste has taken on a compulsive obsession with her hair which by the way looks good on her.

Gaga switches locks for Vogue cover

Nude pictures leak from Safo’s set

C

URRENTLY in circulation are some behind the scenes photos from the set of a new movie titled Amen Produced and Directed by controversial movie Producer Socrate Safo of Movie Africa Production.

The pictures, captured on location in Accra during shooting of the new movie, show actress Baby Blanche half-naked, sitting on a bed whiles actor George Berthou lay naked behind her.

These behind the scenes pictures have generated a lot of issues after the Producer of the Movie Socrate, actor George, and actress Baby Blanche had information that the pictures had been leaked.

PCOMING artiste, Jah Device (real name Vincent Nyam ) is said to be working on a remix of Bongos Ikwe's song titled 'Cock Crow at Dawn'- a soundtrack for the now rested soap which gained popularity in the early 80's.

The artiste's management outfit revealed that the reggae act, who is not signed to any label, is preparing for the release of his first full length album which will feature a few Nigerian artistes apart from the legendary Bongos Ikwe.

The burgeoning artiste who is currently putting finishing touches to his debut album, billed for the first quarter of next year, is being touted as the next best reggae musician after Majek Fashek, with a few

hits like 'Please Don't Go' and 'This Love'.

Jah Device has before now performed at the Nigeria at 50 concert at the Eagle Square in Abuja and the last edition of Felaberation concert which took place last year.

•Jah Device

Lagbaja, Eghosa Imasuen grace DW Series

I

N keeping with the tradition of boosting the interest of students in the arts, the last edition of the monthly Design Workshop Series, which held at the University of Lagos, featured

Eghosa

cultural icon, Lagbaja; Novelist, Eghosa Imasuen and motivational speaker, Lanre Olusola.

The event served as a forum for students to listen to the journey of the artistes and engage them in a question and answer session.

According to Segun Oduola, organiser of the series, the event is about engaging the creative minds of UNILAG students.

“We wanted people who could take us through the process of how they emerged with their creative works be it a novel or a song, the intricacies of arriving at where they are, understanding the creative processes behind coming out with something.”

39

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

We’ve had pre-marital sex for so long; can we stop now?

Hearts

G

With Adeola Agoro E-mail: libranadeola@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 08023162609

This information blow that I got from the internet can also help: What Is Psoriasis? Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes scaling and inflammation (pain, swelling, heat, and redness).

Skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. This process is called cell turnover, and it takes about a month. With psoriasis, it can happen in just a few days because the cells rise too fast and pile up on the surface.

Most psoriasis causes patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales. These patches can itch or feel sore. They are often found on the elbows, knees, other parts of the legs, scalp, lower back, face, palms, and soles of the feet. But they can show up other places such as fingernails, toenails, genitals, and inside the mouth.

What Causes Psoriasis? Psoriasis begins in the immune system, mainly with a type of white blood cell called a T cell. T cells help protect the body against infection and disease. With psoriasis, T cells are put into action by mistake.

They become so active that they set off other immune responses. This leads to swelling and fast turnover of skin cells. People with psoriasis may notice that sometimes the skin gets better and sometimes it gets worse. Things that can cause the skin to get worse include: infections, stress, changes in weather that dry the skin, certain medicines.

Topical Treatment: Treatments applied right on the skin (creams, ointments) may help. These treatments can help reduce inflammation and skin cell turnover, suppress the immune system, help the skin peel and unclog pores and soothe the skin.

Is there anything like weather diseases? Mine is so bad that ants craw on my body

FROM THE COURTS

Ma as I write to you, I’m very heartbroken. Please don’t reply through any other means except you could give me a flash to call back or via text because I’m not into emails and all those things, I just came by your column. Ma is there anything like weather diseases if there is what can be done? For some years now, I’ve been experiencing something that is making me seriously ashamed. There is a way the wind will blow and my body will appear smooth and there is a way it will blow my skin will appear so rough that I that will find it so difficult to pour water and people will be asking if am sick, to the extent that ants will be crawling on my body. Sometimes it will appear so sticky now it has become a thing of joke, they say today she is goodlooking, tomorrow she is not.

I’m just confused. Worst of all doctors just keep doing all sorts of tests and prescribing drugs to no avail.

Dear sister, of course, I reply

you personally but I will also do it publicly so others can learn. Yes, just as there are some diseases that come with cold weathers like the flu, cold and catarrh, here are skin diseases that may be dormant until a particular season and then they get aggravated.

I once opened up on the skin disease I had as a child and it sounds very much like what you just described, except that unlike yours, I didn’t have issues with ants. I know flies used to like feasting on the pus emitting the rashness. I will let you know some of the creams they used on it and slowly, I got healed. If what you have was what I had, doctors (even dermatologists) didn’t get it. My cousin’s daughter in England too has it and it comes on during hot weather. You will be healed. Keep yourself away from stable environment. (Hot or humid will cause itching). To ease itching, ask your pharmacists about ointments that can help. Air your towels in the sun to kill germs.

Keep the skin dry, you may use medicated powder to keep is fresh.

Ndo. It shall be well.

OOD afternoon ma, I am a regular reader of your Saturday column. I have followed this column for 3 years now but I have never had the opportunity of getting to you. I have tried your email but I didn’t get how to send and the number on the column isn’t reachable but thanks to God for today.

I have a lot to tell you and I seriously need your advice. I’m an undergraduate of English language in my third year in a university, I’m 21 years old. I have a guy have I have been dating before I gained admission and who I’m still dating till date. He is a part-time student at a polytechnic and also works as driver in a bank. I met him while he was a security guard. He attends my church and that was how we start dating. He loves me even more than I love him to the extent that my friends do pray for my kind of relationship. He loves and cares for me so much he won’t do anything without informing me and having my consent. He loves and takes care of my siblings and parents, although that is as a family friend. He has also taken me to meet his family who loves me and always ask after me through phone calls. He is Godfearing and doesn’t joke with service but the problem is we engage in premarital sex and we’ve been doing it since we started the relationship. He was once a playboy before I met him and he has changed but he can’t do without sex.

Although I have complained about this sex of a thing to him but he seems to be used to it. He may sometimes go for weeks and months without it if he doesn’t see me but when I’m around he can’t resist it and sometimes he travels down to meet me in school. I have come to accept him like that. He will finish his ND this year and he and even his father have always propose to meet my parents to perform part of the marriage rites while the main one would follow after my graduation but I have always pleaded with him to let me graduate before planning it and he has waited patiently but now my dad has been drumming it into my ears everyday that I must have masters degree before dreaming of any marriage. I told my fiancé who told me he can’t wait for that long again which would be another three years from now with my NYSC, as he would be 30 years plus then and as his father’s only son his father won’t approve that. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to go against my dad and lay bad example as the first daughter among six females. I don’t want to lose my fiancé as he has been my only confidant and always keeps my company as I lost my mother at a very tender age. I have been very secretive but he is the only one that seems to lighten my burden of secrets. Although my stepmother is trying but I don’t feel that connection to the extent of discussing anything about my life with her, she has tried to know who I’m dating and advise me but to no avail. Please ma advise me and help me on how I won’t be too secretive especially to my relations. Thanks ma. I still have a lot of things to ask you about after this time, I may eventually take you as my mum to pour out my mind. I would be looking forward to your reply.

Dear girl, there are three major issues I see here. First, your concerns about pre-marital sex. Second, your dad’s position about early marriage and third (you may not even be consciously aware of this), your relationship with your stepmother. Now, let us make an attempt at tackling them one after the other.

On the first issue of pre-marital sex, there are really no hard and fast rules about this. We live in a society where some cultures permit you to get pregnant before marriage in order to be assured that you wouldn’t have to start marking the calendar in tears in expectations for a child

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years after marriage. I cannot fault certain traditions. It depends of individual beliefs.

In your case, you started giving the poor man pudding years ago and now when he’s used to it, you want to withdraw it. I’m sorry; it may not give you a pleasant result. If you had insisted form the beginning that you wanted nothing to do with it, it would have been hard to follow, but he would at least understand. Except you change your religion now and say your new religion forbids it, there seems to be nothing you can do to change the fact that he loves your body and to keep him, you may have to continue to give in to his demands.

That takes us straight back to the second issue – marriage. Since you have been playing wife to this guy for so long, I think while it is still hot in his heart to desire you as his wife, you shouldn’t waste time.

Let no one make you waste time before you get married to the man who wants you so much. What makes you think he would be there waiting till after your masters? His father’s wish is clear, your father’s wish for you too is clear. You have to be firm on what you want and what will make you truly happy. Who says you can’t do your masters in your husband’s house?

Having said that, I’d also implore you to sit down and analyze the social status of your would-be husband very well. Would you honestly be proud of him later on after you may have been gainfully employed in a good organization and he is still a bank driver? What are his plans after his OND? Is the driving job just a fill-in-the blank thing till he completes his education or does he see it as the fulfillment to a dream? Don’t forget that he still has a longer way to go than you before he earns a degree and starts a job. You have to leave sentiments for now and sit down to deliberate on important matters.

On the third issue, I’m happy you have a good stepmother who is interested about your private life. She’s the mother god has placed in your life now and you will save yourself a lot of heartaches by confiding in her. I see no reason why you should look for a mother outside when you have a good one in the house. God will help you to develop a good relationship with your family.

I’m 14; my friends tell me that I’ll not see a husband because I have no boyfriend now I’m a girl of 14 years old, I have no boyfriend while my friends tell me that I’ll not see a husband to marry, what should i do?

Baby girl, let me talk to you the way I would speak with my children. At 14, there are two categories of men that would want to have you as a girlfriend. The first are boys your age who are still literarily wearing diapers and being spoon-fed.

They are those slightly younger than you are and a little older than you (13 to 19). The second category are big for nothing idiots who are pedophiles, out to ruin you and touch your future negatively. Those are sex-hungry men in their 20s and above.

Now tell me, which of the two categories would be ready to marry you? None. The ones still very young are just out to experiment with a bad girl who is willing to leave her

body as a specimen. The older ones are just crazy about toying with your body and mind. The young ones are not ready for marriage till they are 28, 30 and 35. That’s a long, long time my dear. Even if by providence you start with a guy now, by the time he gets into the university, he’s ready to explore with other girls and that’s the beginning of a broken heart for you.

The ones who are older would be too embarrassed to be caught with you. So you will be a secret and you know the hideous things we all do with secrets.

Stay clear of friends who tell you that you wouldn’t get a husband if you don’t have a boyfriend. They are rotten and their rewards will come, it will only take a time. I’m sure they won’t tell you that unwanted pregnancies, abortions and heartbreaks are their lot now. You don’t need such friends. Face your studies and get interested in positive things.

I’m in 200 level in the university and my rival is yet to turn 16!

Good day ma. I seriously need

your advice. I’m in 200 level in one of the federal universities. I have a boyfriend whom I love but he is yet to secure admission into the university, he has an OND certificate. Ma, the problem I’m having now is that he has another girl he wishes to marry. The girl will be 16 years this year. Please ma I need your advice on what to do. I don’t know whether to leave him because I don’t want anything to

affect my education. Thank you ma. – BJ. Dear BJ, don’t you see what I’m seeing? Even if the girl he has placed over you in his plans for marriage is an adult, I’d have still said the same thing – GET HIM OFF YOUR SYSTEM! A guy, no matter who he is has said he has plans of wedding another. That’s an eviction ticket for you, so use it now and get out of the relationship fast.

‘I was abandoned by my husband when he made it’ ‘My hubby stripped me naked in public’

A

trader, Mr. Maxwell Goodluck, has asked the Agege Grade ‘A’ Customary Court to dissolve his 15-year-old marriage to his wife, Ogechi Maxwell, for being violent and quarrelsome.

The counsel for the petitioner, Mr. A.R. Udona, told the court that the petitioner had made up his mind to dissolve the marriage because it had broken down for a very long time and the two parties had been living apart for years now.

But when the respondent was asked if she was willing to divorce her husband, her answer was in the negative.

Goodluck told the court how he met his wife in 1994 and tied the nuptial in 1997.He explained further how he encouraged her to go to the university and stood by her throughout her stay in school.

Stories Toyin AGBEBI “When things were a bit rough, I started observing some changes in her and she began to maltreat me even to the point of death. She told me on my hospital bed that she was no longer interested in me. It got to a stage that she stopped using the same toilet and spoons with me, as if l was having a deadly disease”.

The respondent, however, told the court what led to their separation citing irresponsibility on the part of her estranged husband.

She said:”I was in his house when he bought his first stove and we were happy with what we had, but when our business started booming, he suddenly disappeared from the house. He went ahead to marry another woman and we have since been living apart as couple for ten years now.”

T

HE Grade ‘A’ Customary Court, Agege was thrown into laughter when a housewife Mrs Racheal Raheem told the court how her estranged husband gave her more money whenever he wanted to make love to her.

“Every day he gives me five hundred naira for feeding, but, on rare occasions, he would give me seven hundred naira when he wants to have sex with me”.

Speaking further on her travails, she said: “He is a liar and woman beater. We met in 2001 while I was still an apprentice. I later discovered that he already had a child from another woman. He never paid my bride price till I moved in with him. When it was time for me to deliver our first child in 2006, my husband beat me merciless such that I nearly died.

“I was later rushed to a hospital where I underwent an operation. In 2009, he stripped

me naked in public and he almost beat me to death. Today, the scars of the attack are all over me and even body cleanser cannot remove them. I later learnt that his first wife had left him because of his violent attitude. ”He later came to beg me for forgiveness, and I accepted despite her father’s objection towards their living together.He abandoned me and impregnated one of my friends. He later married her.”

The respondent explained that he always beat his wife for not taking good care of his children ,adding that she always refused to listen to him whenever he tried to correct her.”

The president of the court, Mr. E.B Shokunle, warned the respondent to desist from beating his wife, while the case was adjourned till August 27.

40

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

I

missed Sophie greatly af ter she left for school. We tried to keep in touch but it was’t easy. You see, this was the time before the advent of mobile phones in the country when having a phone in your home was a status symbol.

Back then, most people communicated through letters or messages by human courier.

So, I wrote Sophie a lot of letters most of which she promptly replied, professing her love and eternal devotion to me. I used the address of my friend, the lecturer who helped her with her admission to write to her.

However, whenever she came home during school holidays, we often had sweet reunions . Like her first vacation home. It was just before Xmas and a festive air hung in the air. Sophie’s parents and siblings travelled to their village for the holidays. But Sophie remained in town so as she said, “spend some precious time with me.” We had a good time visiting some fun sports like the beach and the theatre.

That period brought us even closer, making our love stronger. I felt bad when the vacation ended and she had to return to school. I couldn’t wait for her to finish with her studies so we would no longer be separated.

“I wish you didn’t have to go back. I miss you so much when you are away,” I said one evening, a few days before her departure.

“Maybe you need to get me transferred to a school closer home. Then we can be seeing more often,” she noted, smiling coquetishly at me.

“I’ll think about it then,” I remarked, pinching her nose and hugging her close.

Things went on smoothly between us for the first few years and I had no complaints about Sophie. But in her third year in school, things began to change. It began with the letters. From being regular, they reduced drastically.

I kept writing though, thinking she was too busy with her studies to reply. Then I stopped hearing from her completely and that was when I became worried.

“What could have happened?” I thought, confused.

Worse still, she didn’t come for the long vacation that year, which was very unusual.

That week, I went to her parents’ house to check if they had heard from her. To my surprise, she had also not written to her family.

“We heard from her six months ago. That was when we sent money to her through a relative that was going to her school,” her father explained.

That was strange, I thought.

Usually, she kept in touch with her parents as she did with me.

Why this silence now, I wondered.

I thought of going to her school to see her but I was very busy at work at that time so I could not get away.

Things continued in that manner for some time, with no news from Sophie.

“Why don’t you go and visit her in school? Find out what’s going on, why she has refused to reply your letters,” John, my friend advised one day when I had complained about her continued silence.

I shook my head.

“Things are tight at the office right now as we are short of staff. But I will see my boss on Monday about giving me a few days off so I can travel to

her school,” I said.

My boss turned down my request for casual leave, stating the workload in the office as excuse.

“But you can take your leave when Fred returns from his in a month’s time,” he conceded.

Fred was a colleague in my department.

I waited patiently for his return, all the while full of anxiety about Sophie.

I prayed nothing bad had happened to her, that she was ok.

Dreams die A few months later, I travelled to see Sophie at her school. It was a long trip and I was tired when I arrived.

Since it was late, I checked into a hotel, with the intention of seeing her the following day.

She was not in her room when I got there.

Her roommate, Tessy informed me that she had not been on campus for some days. ”Where did she say she was going?” I asked, frowning.

She shrugged. ”She said she was visiting a friend. She didn’t tell me which friend though,” she replied.

I didn’t know any of her friends on campus so I decided to leave and return

‘

I felt so hurt and betrayed, like someone had plunged a knife into me, twisting it deeply. Sophie had been a part of my life for so long that being without her was a bitter pill to swallow. I felt bereft and empty, as if I was all alone in the world

’

Shadows from the past (2) later. My lecturer friend, whom I will call, Dr B also lived on the campus and since it was a Sunday, I felt he would be at home, so I headed to his house.

Dr B lived in a bungalow in the staff quarters. There was a well-kept garden in front and it was screened in by a hedge of luxuriant growing ixora plant.

There was no answer to my knocking so I pushed the door, which was unlocked, open.

In the living-room was my friend, with a young lady curled up on his lap on the sofa. I was about to greet him when the lady sat up.

“Sophie!” I exclaimed in a shocked tone.

To say she was surprised to see me was stating the obvious. She stared at me, her mouth agape, disbelief, shock and fear in her eyes.

“Lawrence, what are you doing here?” she queried.

“I should be asking you that question. What are you doing here, in Dr B’s house, cuddling on his lap?”

She didn’t say anything but stared blankly at the floor. I turned my attention to my socalled friend, who hadn’t said a word but gazed warily at me.

“And you, this is how you show your friendship, by messing around with my girl.

How could you? I trusted you to help me to take care of her, but I didn’t expect this from you! Traitor!”

Then turning to Sophie, I said: “As for you, I never want to see you again! It’s over!”

With that, I matched angrily out of the house. I had to leave because I was so furious, I feared I would do something terrible to both of them if I stayed a moment longer.

Back at the hotel, I lay on the bed, fuming; and my

heart torn in shreds by the scene I had just seen. Different emotions assailed me: anger, confusion, sorrow and an empty feeling, as if I had lost a very precious part of me. I could not believe that my Sophie could betray me in such a manner, and with a friend for that matter. How could she? What did I do wrong, I wondered. I had done my best as a fiancé to love, cherish and support her in whatever she wanted to do.

I thought we had a solid relationship, one that was unbreakable, the envy of our friends. Infant, due to the strong love we had for each other, those who knew us had nicknamed us Romeo and Juliet, teasing us that only death could separate us.

My mouth twisted in bitterness at the thought. Obviously, it took something other than death to break the strong bond that hitherto bound us together.

Later, Sophie came with her roommate, Tessy to see me at the hotel. But I was too

angry to see her. In the mood I was in then, I was afraid I could do something bad to her.

“I can’t see her. I have nothing to say to her,” I told Tessy whom I had allowed to come up to my room. “She has hurt me terribly. I trusted her but see how she has stabbed me in the back. And with my friend! No! Tell her to leave as I won’t be accountable for my actions if she comes close to me,” I told her.

Before leaving, she gave me a letter from Sophie which I flung on the table, refusing to read it.

I returned to my base and tried to put the incidence behind me. But it wasn’t easy. I felt so hurt and betrayed, like someone had plunged a knife into me, twisting it deeply.

Sophie had been a part of my life for so long that being without her was a bitter pill to swallow. I felt bereft and empty, as if I was all alone in the world.

I finally got to read the letter she gave me through

Tessy and it shed some light on how things turned out.

She explained that she had not been hearing from me for a long time and stories of how I was dating someone else in town, had reached her in school. “ I felt heartbroken when I heard you had another girlfriend. And Dr was very kind to me, offering me a shoulder to cry and lean on. It wasn’t my intention to cheat on you. It just happened. I still love you and I hope you will forgive me for the sake of the love we share....”

I initially thought she was lying when she said I had not been writing to her. How could she say that when I had written so many letters that she had not acknowledged, I wondered.

“She’s just trying to cover up her evil deeds,” I told myself.

However, events later proved her right. A mutual friend of the lecturer and I told me sometime later what really happened. He said the lecturer had hidden all the letters I had been writing Sophie and also kept her replies to me as she used his address too.

“He boasted to me sometime ago that he was going to snatch Sophie from you by any means available to him. I never knew he would snoop so low as to do this to you, a close friend. It’s really terrible of him,” he stated.

Indeed it was. It was the lowest form of betrayal from someone I regarded as a friend and a brother.

That incident marked the end of my relationship with Sophie. Though she begged me to take her back, I just could not get over the thought of catching her with my friend. That scene was etched in my mind for a long time, refusing to fade. All the trust I had in her was gone and there was no way I could marry a lady I couldn’t trust, who could be unfaithful to me the minute my back was turned.

She broke my heart badly and it took me a long time to get over her. And to trust women again. But a few years ago, I met this wonderful lady at a conference I attended and we later got married. Our union has been blessed with two beautiful children and I’m a happy man today.

But sometimes, I wonder what my life would have been if Sophie had not betrayed me and we had remained together. I just wonder…

Concluded Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity.

Newly wedded Mr & Mrs Abimbola flanked by parents and relatives during their wedding in Jebu-Ode recently

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THE NATION, Saturday, AUGUST 11, 2012

STYLE Gossip Interviews

I gave up smoking after 44 years -Charly

Boy

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THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

With KAYODE ALFRED

E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com

Judith Ameachi gets credit

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egal wife of the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi is over the moon. Her euphoric state is not as a result of her position as the wife of the number one citizen of the state, but as a result of the new Recreational Children Park which was named after her a few weeks back.

The park, built by the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA) Amphibious Brigade, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt has been named in her honour.

It was an honour she truly deserved, especially considering her laudable initiatives.

Besides being the governor's wife, she is also the head of the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI) which campaigns against HIV/AIDS, advocates for the rights of women and children, and promotes gender equality and girlchild education.

A woman well loved by her people for her many contributions to the development of her state, she promised that she would donate sporting facilities to the park and that her loving husband would support the venture.

She further appealed during the commissioning that the park be opened to all children, the indigent and the privileged.

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Daisy Danjuma celebrates R in Spain olourful politician and top celebrity woman, Senator Daisy Danjuma, is at it again. Known for her knack for hosting the most talked about parties and celebrations, she is stepping up again. On August 3, 2012, the popular Edo senator flew society's movers and shakers all the way to Spain to celebrate her 60th birthday.

Being the wife of Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), nothing less was expected.

The shindig took place at Daisy's sprawling home in Spain, and with her husband as Chief Host, the party went smoothly.

Eminent personalities like Chief Rasak Akanni Okoya of the Eleganza fame; Senate President, David Mark; Olorogun Ibru andFestus Keyamo, among others, graced the celebration.

The host, elegantly garbed, was all smiles as she welcomed her guests and saw to their every need.

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LIFE

Olori Ladun Sijuade celebrates late father

oyalty is an incontestable gift from God, and for those who command and use it well, honour and prestige come as a reward.

Olori Ladun Sijuade, the elegant wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, is being made to realise how well her people love her on the occasion of the remembrance of her late father.

Last weekend, the lovely queen of Ife, alongside her siblings stormed the ancient city of Abeokuta in remembrance of the man who sired them, the late Egba High Chief, Harrold Shodipo.

The party, which was held at De Olives event centre, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, was well attended.

Royal fathers, business tycoons, socialites, statesmen and celebrities turned up in droves to honour the queen.

Stylishly and regally garbed in raiment that fit her figure, she was the perfect host as she moved around and ensured that everyone was well taken care of.

Certainly, no cost was spared considering the huge success the event turned out to be. All the party regulars were on hand to ensure that it was smoothsailing all through.

If only the dead could see, happiness and joy would be the pervading feelings that the late chief would have.

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Uti celebrates 30 in style

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inner of the 2010 edition of the biggest Africa's reality TV show, Big Brother Africa, Uti Nwachukwu on August 3 celebrated his birthday in grand style.

Without the need to jet out of the country for celebration, the exBBA dude celebrated with widows in Nigeria.

The Delta-born hunk took the Nigerian entertainment scene by storm when he bagged the prestigious BBA star prize. Since then, aside being a celebrity, he has steadily attained the status of a socialite.

Recently, happily married Uti celebrated his 30th birthday, and instead of the usual revelry and unadulterated fun that follow celebrity celebrations, Uti went down another path.

He gathered 67 widows and spent the day with them, eating, drinking and generally having fun. When asked the reason for his action, the dreadlock-sporting model revealed that since his mother is a widow, he knows the extent of their suffering and decided to celebrate with them. The number 67 is his mother's age, and he thought it fitting to celebrate with 67 widows.

Amongst notable organisations and personality in attendance were Indomie and Martini's, Tontoh Dikeh, Ifeoma Okeke, Kefee, Kenneth Okoli, Chidinma and Chidiabere Aneke, Alex Ekubo, Uche Nwabuputa, Akinlami Babatunde - Elenu, Ejiro Cross, Yolanda Okereke, Sillo Joy, Geraldine Iheme, Uche Jombo, Dosunmu Olabade, Onah Nwachukwu, his sister, were in attendance.

Gift items like noodles, cooking stoves, Ankara fabrics, rice and vegetable oil were distributed to the widows.

He rounded it off with an after party at Piccolo Mondo Club on Victoria Island.

The Ibrus, Alakijas fix offshore wedding for wards

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ome next week Saturday, the Ibru family will be buzzing with activities as lovely Makashe will walk down the aisle with her heartthrob and the man of her dreams, Kayode Awogboro.

Awogboro is an executive director with Ark Insurance.

The wedding ceremony, slated for Saturday, August 18, is now the talk of the town among top socialites, business tycoons, silver spoon kids, among others. It is one event that holds a lot of promise in terms of class and panache, judging from the background of Makashe. She is the first daughter of one of the scions of the Ibru dynasty, Olorogun Oskar Ibru.

Currently sparing no costs, plans are set in stone to fly an impressive number of friends and family members to France where the wedding ceremony will take place. The ceremony will take place at the Eglise Sainte

Clotilde in Paris with reception at the Pavillion d'Armenonville, Allee de Longchamp also in Paris, France.

The Alakijas are certainly not to be left out in the new trend among powerful families who prefer to take their children's wedding celebrations outside the shores of Nigeria.

They, however, will be storming the beautiful city of Dubai to celebrate the wedding of Ladi Alakija to beautiful Lolade, daughter of one-time Lagos Commissioner, Yemi and Abimbola Cardoso.

Both families had earlier in the year performed the traditional engagement ceremony with guests given a foretaste of what is in stock at the superlative overseas ceremony.

High society is certainly in for a swell time, if one were to go by the earlier celebrations.

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For Adunni Bankole, life can't be more beautiful

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Lanre Nzeribe gets serious

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agos socialite and celebrated club owner, Lanre Nzeribe, has gained a new lease of life. The well-built dude now exudes confidence, charisma and charm.

Many would remember his shortlived hibernation from the social scene, which set many a tongue wagging.

At the time, it was speculated that he had beaten a retreat from nightclub business and handed over his fun spot, Deuces, to a group of foreign investors. No one could confirm the story, and some even went as far as saying that the club had been sold. Many months have passed and the truth eventually came to light.

The dude, who was the boss of Lantana Taxi before he changed focus to nightclub business, has severed the deal with his foreign partners.

The deal between Lanre and the foreign investors is due to be renewed, and apparently, he is not satisfied with their management of the business.

Those in the know claim Lanre has now resolved to operate the hangout, bringing in new management that would be placed directly under his supervision.

Happenstances gathered that the development came as the investors were unable to meet projected target and with the club seemingly running at a loss.

Presently, Lanre is back at the helm of affairs and things seem to be looking up for the night club. Those in the know have revealed that he is currently in need of a manager to harness the potential of the club.

Deuce Night Club is presently under renovation, and many believe that Lanre Nzeribe is indeed back in business

hief Mrs. Adunni Bankole, the Yeye Mokun of Owu Kingdom and Iyalode of Gbagura Kingdom has for some time now taken a back seat. During that period of social hiatus, it seemed that she was planning her deserved retirement from the social scene, but no one seemed to be sure.

Happenstances gathered that the lovely Iyalode has become a born-again Christian. Well respected on the social scene, her new endeavour is in a bid to get closer to her God. On August 4, she dedicated her new house in Ikorodu to God, and in attendance were men of God who blessed the new home.

Also around to felicitate with her was the former President of

Akeem Sodeinde comes under the weather

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opular club owner and dude behind Movida Nite Club, Akeem Sodeinde, whose beau recently dropped a bouncing baby girl for him is under the weather.

It would be remembered that it was celebration galore at the time the little bundle of joy, who incidentally is Akeem's first baby, was christened.

Good fortune seemed to have at the time found a peaceful abode in his home as things were indeed going on well for him.

At the time, his club was said to be raking in good money every weekend, running into millions, and those who patronised the club believed he possessed the Midas touch in night club business.

But things, however, seems to be taking a turn as he was recently rumoured to be ill.

An auto aficionado, Akeem has been known in the past to love good cars. Among his auto collections are a white Bentley and a BMW M6, among other cars he is said to have bought in recent times.

He was recently sighted returning from the United Arab Emirates. He is rumoured to have a kidney disease.

While the truth of his illness has not been confirmed, his recent retreat from the social scene speaks volumes.

Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, among other distinguished personalities.

Her loving mother, Chief Mrs. Gbemisola Adesida was by her side every step of the way.

A few months back, she celebrated her birthday with a breakfast celebration at Protea Hotel, and many fought tooth and nail to be invited in order to pay the elegant woman back in her own supportive coin.

Uju Murphy regains groove again

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Frank Okamigbo, Kola Adewale float One Stop Fun Place

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ola Adewale, introverted owner of famous fun spot, The Place, in G.R.A Ikeja, Lagos, is set to storm the social scene with something new. He is perfecting this concept in conjunction with club ownerFrank Okamigbo.

The latest initiative is tagged Papas @ The Place, Lekki. Kola just set up a two-storey wonder edifice in Lekki Phase 1 using his famed trade name, The Place. The club owner has taken over the middle floor as the Arena for the re-launch of his claim to fame- Club Papas.

The new concept will kick off on Friday August 31, 2012. But unlike past operations, the new Papas @ The Place, Lekki will operate as a Lounge, bar and club.

Scheduled to be opened all days of the week for leisure and networking with special club nights, Kola has put plans in place, to bring in rave-making artistes on the opening night.

Artistes like Tuface, Sauce Kid and D.J Zeez supported, by specially invited Azonto dancers from Ghana are expected to thrill fans on the last day of the month of August.

un-loving and amiable socialite, Uju Murphy, can certainly be called resilient. Just when it seems she has fizzled out for good, she resurfaces with something

new.

Her entry into the Lagos social scene was sharp and unexpected. She scrambled up the ladder of prominence with grace and ĂŠlan, and she steadily became a fixture on the social scene.

At a time, no party was complete without her, and she spent her time attending society parties, hobnobbing and rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty. A journalist’s favourite any time, she never fails to capture the lens of every camera around her.

Her scarcity on the social scene for some time now has been a source of worry to many. Her last disappearing act was as a result of her ill-fated marriage to Japan-based Igbo businessman, Murphy Uzohue, which crashed irretrievably.

At the time, everyone knew and understood the reason the boss of Exquisite Bath had a lot to contend with. Having taken time off to mourn her crashed marriage, Uju has suddenly reemerged, looking as vibrant and beautiful as ever and ready to continue from where she left off on the social scene.

Her latest moves have revealed that her hibernation was spent planning and re-strategising. The style aficionado recently opened a fashion outlet, Zarazit Collezione at Ikota Shopping Complex, Lekki, Lagos.

Uju has certainly got her groove back.

Abibatu Mogaji's grandson set to wed

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ward-winning grandson of the highly venerated IyalojaGeneral of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alh. (Dr) Abibatu Mogaji, OON, and nephew of former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Prince Adedamola Kasunmu, is finally set to quit bachelorhood.

The UK-trained lawyer, who operates quietly as the Executive Director of Bodmas Integrated Ventures and Modupe Group of Schools, Magodo, Lagos is finally set to say ' Yes, I Do' to his long-dated lover, Miss Oluwaseun Akomolafe.

According to information extracted from the event's exquisite invites currently in circulation, the epic nuptial will begin with an elaborate engagement ceremony in Ibadan on Friday August 31, 2012, while the church wedding will take place on Saturday September 1, 2012 in Ibadan.

Fondly known as Jagaban Junior, Prince Adedamola Adetokunbo Kasunmu was educated at the

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THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

University of Wolvehampton, the United Kingdom. He is also the national leader of The Democrats Group, a nationwide association of politicallyinclined young men and women who share progressive ideology. In 2011, he was honoured with Best Education Administrator of the Year award in Lagos.

His father, Chief Adekunle Kasunmu, holds the title of Amoye-Ilu of Lagos while his mother, the late Mrs. Abiodun Kasunmu is the daughter of nonagenarian Alhaja (Dr) Abibatu Mogaji, OON. The bride, adorable Miss Oluwaseun Christiana Akomolafe, an alumnus of Babcock University, is currently into 'A-class' fashion and makeup artistry. She is from the famous Akomolafe Family of Ekiti State.

All the Southwest governors and ACN stalwarts across the nation are expected to storm the event.

Omisore battles irrelevance

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or those who witnessed Senator Iyiola Omisore's defeat in Osun politics, they would understand his need to fight to remain relevant in the scheme of things, especially now that he is a member of the opposition party in Osun State: the PDP. It would be remembered that Omisore served as the Deputy Governor of Osun State from 1999 to 2003. Earlier on, Omisore had positioned himself for Osun State governorship as a candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 1999 election.

He later shifted his allegiance to PDP and won a seat in the Senate.

Recently, he allegedly went on a war path with Governor Rauf Aregbesola, casting aspersions on him.

Apparently, his efforts to make Osun PDP a success in the state did not work out, and since the party's defeat, he has continually struggled for relevance.

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HAT is the next chapter of Charly Boy we should expect?

In essence, you are asking me what I’m going to do next. Sometimes, I don’t know.

But whatever I come up with, I usually know that I will have fun with it, though I walk through the wilderness sometimes and usually have to pay the price for it.

Nothing good comes easy. I like to be spontaneous with things coming up my sleeve and I’m passionate about what I pursue. So I don’t know what is next, I live for the moment.

At the moment, I am concerned about my environment. I am thinking about the way we are, why we are where we are now and why things are not working: my frustrations and the frustrations of the people I meet daily. I am, however, also happy that I have been able to meet some exceptionally young people who have kept me useful and full of creativity.

Which would you say has been the most dangerous terrain you trod on?

I don’t mind a little drowning from time to time. As a matter of fact, I have drowned a little from time to time, and I have been able to overcome that too, I don’t regret anything. But I have experiences that I would not want to repeat. Experience, as you know, makes or mars you. But in my case, my experiences have helped to mould me. So, it is good. I guess my biggest achievement is just being who I am in a very conspicuous, myopic, Mungo Parkish kind of environment. My people are really ignorant.

Which people are you referring to?

I’m talking about Nigerians generally.

Even when I started the brand Charly Boy, the first people to accept me were children.

They could connect because they didn’t see anything harmful in it. It didn’t take me time to connect back to the children. The whole purpose of the brand is for young people, not for elders who are derailed in their thinking or ignorant, but for young people who want to be free to express themselves; freedom for those who want to be want they want to be, not who their father wants them to be or who the society wants them to be.

That has always been our problem: we want to do things today the way we did them monkey years ago. It is like we never learn. It is like our leaders are bereft of any creativity. We do things the same way we have always done them, that they put us in problems.

We can’t plan, so we remain a nation of consumers. We don’t even make plans for the future.

Is Charly Boy a political brand, an economic brand or a brand for social change?

It’s a mixture of everything.

Charly Boy means different things to different people, and it is d i f f e r e n t personalities in one person. And if I do not have control over the different personalities in this one person, then I will have personality disorder. But I am in charge, because I am the creator of the brand.

Charly Boy, you know, Mr Oputa you don’t know.

Linda you don’t know and Cheetah you don’t know. Linda is my feminine side; it is a side that is emotional, and I cry. I’m very sensitive, or rather, Linda is very sensitive. Cheetah is my spiritual guide. I am not a religious person.

I don’t believe in it. I believe religion is politics. So I am a spiritual person.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

The real Charles Oputa may forever remain a mirage, especially if the image is wrapped up in the brand popularly known as Charly Boy. Even Oputa himself believes his image is split into three complex personalities he described as a mixture of everything: “Charly Boy you know, Mr Oputa you don’t know; Linda you don’t know and Cheetah you don’t know. Linda is my feminine side. It is a side that is emotional, and I cry. And I’m very sensitive, or rather, Linda is very sensitive: while Cheetah, is my spiritual guide,” he said. With such a complex explanation, it may be easier to accept Charly Boy as one who grew up with a silver spoon, lived and schooled in America, returned home broke and lived in poverty in a Nigerian village with his American wife. But he rose out of it all, struggled through a music industry he now denies exists, to live in luxury in Abuja, the nation’s capital city. Yet he says he is not a rich man. Now 61, the happy grandfather speaks to PAUL UKPABIO about the rebellious lifestyle that led him into poverty, his quarrel with his Supreme Court judge father and the tides of life that reunited them.

I don’t want to be rich, but to be like my father

•Charles

People ask me if I pray. I believe in a Spiritual Being, whether it’s He or She. I believe something started all this existence.

You can give it whatever name that makes you happy. How do you believe in God when you don’t see him? So, you have to

start with yourself, reaching inward. All the religions preach love. So, if you have love and know the dynamics of love, then by all means, you are there. But all the religions are brain-washing and commercial. Poor people bring out money to build universities

their children can never attend.

So, which aspect of the brand has made you a rich man?

I am not a rich man, and I don’t intend to be one. I can never be one. I am not looking for worldly materials. My father didn’t have money; he was a civil servant. But he had things which people do not respect anymore.

Things like honesty and integrity. He was an epitome of uprightness. That is who I want to be, because at the end of the day, we get six feet grave. And it cannot contain my cars or my house or even the small money that I have. It will just be me in a box. So, what I’m pursuing is what will make me fulfilled and happy. I’m concerned about what will make me to be remembered for as long as possible. But right now, I am miserable and frustrated because many of us who work hard could be better if we had an enabling environment.

I’m bitter when I see young people with no guardian because their parents are consumed by frustration. They don’t have the kind of time that our parents used to have for us. And you can’t even blame these parents because the environment is throwing in their faces different things unimaginable. And children are now looking at the elders who are misbehaving and who have stolen their future. So, what do you want these children to do? We should remember that just because everybody seems to be taking a left turn doesn’t mean it is right.

You come from a background that is more than average. You are also presently surrounded by comfort.

So, how do you connect with the man on the street?

Simple! Even though my pedigree is high because I was not born into poverty nor wealth, or class, but I picked up those good qualities from my father: integrity, honesty and decency. How do I connect to the poor? When I wanted to build this career, after I finished my Master’s degree in America, my parents didn’t understand it, because like other parents, they were very concerned. They wanted me to have a good financial security. They didn’t think that what I said I wanted to do could offer me all of that. So, they were upset with

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

nt , ke r •Charles me. They already had a good job waiting for me at the Public Relations Department in one of the frontline multinational organization in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. But I didn’t like the idea of living under my father’s shadow. We were brought up to be independent, to think for ourselves and to question things: to be curious and be adventurous. I did not like the idea that I didn’t have an identity.

So, when I decided to go into entertainment, it was to be like a punishment for the dishonor I did to myself for not having been sincere to myself all those years by being myself. It was the quickest way for me to get my own identity so that I could do my own thing. So, I started from America. There I was doing my own thing and I enjoyed it. Whatever I did right or wrong, I took responsibility for it. For doing that, of course, I paid a heavy price because I became wretched and obnoxiously parasitic. That really taught me how the poor lived, because I could not even afford food. At a time, there was noting that indicated to me that I would come this far. And then after a time, I had to return to Nigeria and look for employment.

So, for seven years, I was poor. It was the darkest time of my life, because before then,

I had never experienced any form of poverty.

I had never lacked the basic things of life. But at that point, I couldn’t even afford the basics.

I sold pepper soup and did all kinds of things just to survive. This is my true story, I experienced it. And that is why I do not take it as an excuse from anybody who tells me he is poor because he has no father or because he lost his parents at a youthful age. If you are determined, you will make it. I was determined to succeed. But I had that entire problem.

So, that period helps me to relate to people who are in need. And now I know that people could actually be poor not because they do not want to be rich but perhaps because they had not played their cards well, or they do not have the enabling environment or even the society may affect them negatively. So, that was when I started fighting and helping people who are under-privileged, poor or cheated out by the society. Or how else would I be involved with okada (commercial motorcycle) riders? I had to have experienced some of the things they are experiencing to know and understand where they are in life.

Why are you successful today?

Why won’t I be successful? I was overfed, over-abused with love and the good things of life as a child. Don’t forget that I am a

I didn’t touch alcohol but during my youth, I was sexually hyperactive, which resulted in my kids who are in the register. I don’t know about the ones that are not in the register. So, as a spiritual person and a Buddhist, I must have spiritual control over myself. And when things start controlling me, then that is a problem. I had been smoking since I was 17

‘

’

product of the 50s, then we used to have the highest level of respect for teachers, even though we may not have had one. But there was too much, in short, the highest form of discipline in our house: It is that same discipline that I now transfer to my children.

But I don’t tell them that ‘this is how you must do it.’ I tell them the likely results of the decisions they take and then leave them to decide on their own. And that was what my father did to me too. I was independent right from the age of 10, and my kids have had their own lives to live from the age of five. I only encourage them and they are getting it right.

So what is the brand doing about the current issues in the country? People are dying because of insecurity…

Unfortunately, I am not interested in politics except the politics of change. I am interested in the politics of freedom, I am interested in the politics that makes every man have his true freedom to know who he is, freedom to know and do what he really want to do; not what society says they should do or force them to do. Not what their fathers force them to do or what their friends force them to do. I cannot get involved in the Nigerian kind of politics because I will be swallowed. I will be killed if I do, because I do not know or believe in their own kind of treachery, criminality and fraudulent ways.

Well, on what Chaly Boy is going todo regarding the insecurity in the land, I must tell you that I am not Jesus Christ who is saving the world. And I am not pretending to be Him. I tell young people that at the time I came back from America, things had started going bad. But there was one guy then I knew in school, his name was Isreal. He did not have a mother or a father. Each time he came back from school, people would contribute money for him. I used to be one of those people who contributed the money because he used to take me lessons then. So, when my father gave me money, I gave some of it to him. I tell young people that they do not have to have anybody to get their dreams. All they need is the determination to do what they want to do.

Is Charly Boy a movement or just a brand, and how much has it cost to keep the image?

It is not a movement; I am just trying to give people a superior way of thinking: to let the young people know that as long as they are consistent in doing what they are passionate about, there will always be a 90 per cent chance that they will succeed in what they are doing, despite the rubbish that our environment is. So, I set out to make myself an example. I am teaching them the philosophy of Charlyboyism. Whether that translates to money, I really don’t know. And if you are asking me the cost, well, I cannot put a damn amount to it because most of the time, it has been oiled by my blood and sweat and a spiritual determination that I am not going to mess up or run to dad. And everybody knows me because I say it like it is, because I am free. I am confident in myself.

When I pursue something, 80 per cent of the time, I get it, because I am determined. So I tell young people that this is the politics they need.

Where is your music career at present?

I don’t have a music career, I never had one.

I am not a musician. Music was just a medium to propagate my philosophy. There is nothing like a music industry here: unless we want to describe it as a music scene. If it is an industry, there will be millions of Dbanjs and millions of P-Squares because we are blessed with much talent. But our problem is management.

We do not even have a recording industry, which is supposed to scout for new talent.

You see somebody that is hot, so creative; they have to trek and nearly die of suffering on the street before somebody mistakenly notices them. And when that person recognises them, most often, they want to exploit them. But if we had a recording industry, a recording company scouts and discovers a talent, it gives them what they need and wants, creates for them that needed environment and money, then the future is made.

For every Michael Jackson in America, I can give you ten on Nigerian streets. It’s just the environment, just the leadership, just the riff raffs that are in government; the same people reappearing in government. You can imagine somebody, who was in government 35 to 40 years ago, still wanting to come back to his former position. So, where are the opportunities for the young ones? And they still keep messing things up, re-creating new offices for themselves.

While we exchanged pleasantries earlier on, you said you have changed. What exactly has changed about you?

Yes, I have changed one major habit I have always had, and that is smoking. I no longer

smoke. I didn’t touch alcohol but during my youth, I was sexually hyperactive, which resulted in my kids who are in the register. I don’t know about the ones that are not in the register. So, as a spiritual person and a Buddhist, I must have spiritual control over myself. And when things start controlling me, then that is a problem. I had been smoking since I was 17, you can imagine how far I had gone in smoking. I had to quit a couple of times though in time past, I usually went back to it. And I am praying that this should be the last decision I take on that matter.

What do you like about your father?

I guess it is the fact that he is content and happy despite the fact that he doesn’t have money. And I can say that I am not rich, so that should give you a picture of where my dad is financially. All through his years as a civil servant, he never took bribe and I didn’t like him before for that. He was a judge at the Supreme Court, and he had no building of his own anywhere. He did not care for any elaborate wealth (laughs). Remarkable, isn’t it? But later I found out that it was those qualities of his that I used to run away from, that I was later on going back to. I had watched my father over the years. Everything he did revolved around his family. Now I have found that in so many ways, I am like that too. At least those who know me can testify to that.

I am a boring person in true nature. I guess it is that Charly Boy thing that makes me to open up a little bit. I have now in the last four years realised that I had been living like my father without realizing it. The man has been on the bench over the years, fighting against injustice, and that is what I have been doing since I started the brand. When I was living in Lagos, there was no single poor person who came to my house to complain about one injustice or another that I did not go out there to fight for.

That was what I was doing to the point that I did not even have my own life to live again. I was going to the police station, following people to the law court to rescue them, and these were even people I didn’t know. What even concerns me with a lot of okada people?

But when they come, I find that I am on their matter even when I don’t know when I got involved.

What do you think your dad likes about you now?

That must be my determination: The fact that I refused to live a life of frustration, being who I never would have loved to be. The fact that my determination took me to doing what I love to do.

And whydo you love your wife, Lady Di? Simple! Because she is the same woman that has been with me for 36 years, who accepted the brand, despite all my wahala and problems; the woman who stood by me through thick and thin, in those my years of suffering in the village. She was there with me. I used to be very upset with her then because in the village, there was no clean tap water. I want you to have this mental picture: we would go to the stream to bath, and on the journey, she would be whistling, enjoying all the moment of i. Meanwhile, I didn’t know where the next meal was going to come from! This was someone beside me, acting as if everything around us was alright. I didn’t understand it. You know when a man doesn’t have money; it could be very devastating to the man. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand her happiness then. So I would ask her, ‘Why are you happy?’ And she would reply, ‘You be miserable if you want to, but I am happy!’

My frustration couldn’t make me happy then, I guess. So, I looked around and I noticed that a lot of Nigerians who came back home with American wives then were experiencing it differently: When their marriages started getting interferences and the centre could not hold, the women ran back home. But my own wife loved me even more than I could imagine. And it was not like it was a bed of roses. You know, marriage can never be a bed of roses. It is just give and take. So, that her love has kept me going.

Our friendship and bonding has made it happen for 36 years. Even if I am surrounded by all the women in this room, she knows where my heart is. And even if all the men are toasting her, I know where her heart is. I don’t worry myself.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGSUT 11, 2012

Determine your style personality Wumi OGUNTUASE OUR personality is what pulls your whole look together. It is your personality that dictates your style which is your own interpretation of fashion and how you like to wear clothes together. If you ignore your personality and only buy clothes because they are the latest trends of the season, you will lose your identity and your look will lack focus and your personal signature style.

Y

Edgy: An edgy style personality would love fashion, but will not be a slave to it.You should always make an entrance.

Wear clothes that have the ‘wow’ factor.

Creative: This requires a sense of style that goes against everything else. You need to be artistic and unconventional in your choices, but to achieve this look, you need to have a creative flair. You need to have a unique look. Put interesting combinations of colour, materials, accessories and fashion themes together. Think of how the items you buy will make you stand out.

Girly: You need pretty and feminine things.

Also you need luxurious details such as ruffles, fringes and so on. Pink is a typical girl colour, but do not shy away from black and blue, as they can also be worn very cute. You should wear clothes that fit you well: mini skirts, skinny jeans, sundresses, tee shirts and tights.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGSUT 11, 2012

Art in 3D at La Champagne Tropicana F

INDING what to do after their reign has always been a challenge for most beauty queens. Some venture into pet projects that have become disasters. That fate is not associated with Samantha Ozigbu, former Sisi Oge who has delved into the creative world and come up with a concept tagged Art_in_3D, a combination of fashion, music,dance and comedy themed “Fashion Meets Entertainment”. It is in partnership with Motherland Beckons, World Conference of Mayors and La Campagne Tropicana.

The evening started with the swaying of the palm trees that surrounded the artificial beach by the swimming pool side of the club.

Curiosity was high as most people were trying to decipher the concept, Art_in_3D. They didn’t have to wait too long when the first set of models strutted down the undulated runway showcasing the exquisite designs of Ox-ray.

The night was filled with surprises, acrobatic displays in the area of dance, fashion and maximum use of the environment with the unexpected dive by models into the waiting crystal blue swimming pool, modelling E-lalus collection, Vanity kings and Dee designs as part of the surprises of Art_in_3D. It was indeed a night to remember.

Fashion in the Gallery holds tomorrow The Zebra Living Limited will tomorrow hold an event titled “Nabilla: Fashion in the Gallery” at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos State.

In the event, there will be a presentation of a capsule collection of soft, sultry and sublime fashion pieces crafted from the global apparel industry’s fabric blends. It is meant to expose a select audience to the versatility and integration of fashion, fine art and luxury as key lifestyle components.

The event, scheduled to hold between 2 and 8 p.m. is the first public fashion showcase of 2012 collections.

Some of the features of the fashion and lifestyle event include a fashion-art runway show, cocktails, boutique and fashion clinic, among others.

Bella Naija, Pot of Gold, Plug Media and Bolaji Animashaun supported the programme.

Italian style icon and fashion journalist, Anna Piaggi, dies at 81 FASHION journalist, Anna Piaggi, who provided inspiration for designer, Karl Lagerfeld, and was celebrated for her own eccentric style, died Tuesday. She was 81.

For years, Piaggi’s vibrant dress sense, including funky hats and theatrical make-up made her stand out on the front rows of Milan and Paris runway shows.

Piaggi started her career as a translator for Mondadori Publishing Company and went on to write for, among others, Vogue Italia. She provided inspiration for Lagerfeld who published a sketchbook of her creations and once wrote “Anna Invents Fashion.”

The Victoria and Albert Museum in

London held an exhibition in 2006 of her extensive wardrobe collection, including thousands of dresses and hundreds of pairs of shoes.

Master milliner, Stephen Jones, paid tribute to Piaggi, saying she had served as his “guiding light and an inspiration” and praising her for her “effervescence and inventiveness.”

In a statement to The Associated Press, the British hat designer for royalty and superstars reminisced about how Piaggi would call him and say: “Ah, Stephen, I am doing a wonderful thing and I need a new hat.”

Piaggi stood out in the front rows of Milan and Paris runway shows dressed in her eccentric style outfits, including funky hats and theatrical makeup.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

‘I have a love-hate relationship with Olunloyo my father’ On the eve of her 48th birthday on August 6th 2012, ex-Oyo State Governor’s daughter, Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo, changed her first name in the Canadian name-change registry to Ms Kemi, a decision she said she took because most people in the country could not pronounce her full name correctly. That, however, was taken by many to mean that she was having a problem with her stay in Canada. Kemi spoke in an online interview with PAUL UKPABIO about her alleged deportation which blew up online recently. The retired pharmacist and publicist also spoke about her plans for politics in 2015.

•Kemi

W

HAT exactly is your relationship with the former Oyo State governor, Dr Omololu Olunloyo?

He is my father and we have a lovehate relationship. He always thinks he is smarter but I really am the smarter one and he knows it. We are both outspoken radicals. However, I am not a PDP (People’s Democratic Party) person. I am ACN’s (Action Congress of Nigeria) Public Relations Officer in Canada. That is the party I support.

You are known to have lived abroad for long. What is this so?

I was a smart child. I got scholarships to study in the best schools abroad. The Nigerian government did not pay for my education. At 16, my independence came through living alone abroad.

What were the challenges you had growing up abroad. Did you feel you missed anything not growing up in Nigeria?

I did not miss a thing. There is too much mayhem in Nigeria—unexplained murders, riots, disorganisation in government and so on.

What is your educational background like I practised as a pharmacist for 28 years, as a journalist for 16 years and as a public relation specialist for 16 years.

What do you do now?

I am at present a social media expert. I am also a journalist and the CEO of Keminications Media/PR How did you become an activist?

I have always been a problem solver in

my neighbourhood. Teenagers generally listen to me everywhere. I help the Toronto Police to arrest people responsible for murders and also give the families of homicide victims a voice by encouraging people to find who killed their loved ones. The gun violence in North America is astounding. Most of these can be traced to the home. The people are not allowed to use corporal punishment.

What about your foray into showbiz and entertainment reporting?

I report only music and media gossips. I want a job in Nollywood as a mean lady in any capacity. I am very mean in real life.

How is your family life and marriage?

And how have you been coping combining your work with managing the home front?

I have five grown children, including a preteen. Two of them are mine while I am a god

parent to the three others. I raised them all. Before now, I had never disclosed how many kids I have. My children always like their privacy. I have read online that I have four children for four different men. However, till date, no one is yet to name those men. I don’t put my kids out there for wicked Nigerians to exploit.

You have a son with a health challenge. What actually is the problem and how have you been coping with it over the years?

My 26-year-old son is a high-functioning autistic. He, however, lives and works independently. It was a challenge raising him as it would be for any parent. Nigerians need to learn more about autism.

You have lived in America, Canada and generally travelled wide. Which country would you say you have enjoyed most and why?

I guess I have enjoyed the US more. I lived there for 29 years. Americans are more open to foreign ideas and integration. Canadians feel more intimidated by immigrants and make that clear on online fora and newspaper comments. I have battled cyber bullies and stalkers on many of my views on issues. A Canadian went all the

49

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

‘ •Kemi with Canada's nister Assistance Defence Mi Julian Fantino

•Kemi

way to build a blog slandering and defaming me, calling me everything from a wanted felon to a child abuser and financial fraud suspect; even photo-shopping my public documents like my US Pharmacy licence off a government website.

This form of cyber-bullying was extreme and my clients and media watched it all until the April 10 arrest of a Canadian named Shawn.D McQuaid of Georgetown,

Ontario for criminal harassment, among other charges. The Toronto Police told me I was one of four other victims, some in the US. I aim to conquer cyber-bullying, which is prevalent among white Canadians.

Tell us about the lifestyle of Nigerians abroad?

Nigerians are suffering abroad. Most of them live from hand to mouth. But they would rather live this way than live at home

where there is no power or water. Most Nigerians in North America are not happy. Domestic violence among green card lotto winners has led to at least 10 murders. There is so much chaos.

What is your impression of Nigeria?

I love my country. I must confess that I do not carry any useless foreign passports and I want to take charge of the youth, which I do online even though I cannot be there physically because of those that make it impossible for us to do so.

How is Nigeria perceived in all the coutries you have been to?

They believe we are fraudsters. The 419 thing still lingers. But after my book comes out, that will all change.

The book will simply be titled “419 reasons to love Nigeria.”

Are you rich? And what does success mean to you?

I’m rich in wisdom and success is getting where you want to be. I’m not there yet. One day, I will win the Nobel Prize for Peace and end the Boko Haram mayhem. Regarding monetary wealth, yes, I once wired $100 each of the first 50 of my Facebook friends who wrote an essay on how they can mobilise Nigeria. After I sent the money out, all I heard online was that it was the money my father “stole” from the government.

My father has never looted Nigeria’s treasury and these morons know it. In the height of my Pharmacy career, I made over $100,000 a year in addition to my media salary. I am no longer charitable for that reason. Every Nigerian must mobilise themselves. If you keep giving people things, they become lazy, although the ones who received my stipend were appreciative.

Can you recall some of your happiest or most memorable moments?

I received Most Beautiful People Awards from the Governor of Maryland in 1997 for my volunteer work in Baltimore in educating people about drug abuse and crime. I will also be receiving the African Entertainment Award for Community Contribution on September 15, 2012.

Recently, the internet was awash with the news of your deportation from Canada. What do you have to say about this?

I fled to Canada after the 2007 elections. I could not live that way, as I had not lived in Nigeria for 38 years. They attacked our media houses and killed and injured people.

My refugee status was declined due to article 1E (I have an American family and had a green card at the time). However, the Ca-

He is my father and we have a love-hate relationship. He always thinks he is smarter but I really am the smarter one and he knows it.

We are both outspoken radicals.

However, I am not a PDP (People’s Democratic Party) person. I am ACN’s (Action Congress of Nigeria) Public Relations Officer in Canada. That is the party I support

’

nadians allowed me to live on their fiveyear visa and work permit and held on to my green card and let it expire. That meant I could not go to the US unless I renewed it from the scratch. They then decided they would not renew my Canadian visa, saying that Nigeria was no longer dangerous for journalists, so I could go home.

However, things are on hold now because of an outrage from politicians, the police and the media, citing what I have done as an activist in the war on Toronto’s gun violence. I have no say. I still have status in Nigeria. Many Nigerians I met at the same time at the immigrant shelter who also filed refugee status with bogus reasons like lesbianism, religious persecution and so on, have got their Canadian residency and even dual citizenship, based on lies. The system approves you faster if you lie!

Will you like to return to Nigeria? If yes, what will you be doing there?

Yes, I will like to come home when all the mayhem stops or when attacks on reporters end and political targeting of people too ends. I want to be a minister, specifically for youth and development, if I had a choice. I do too much for young people in Canada and the US, and I just can’t forget the ones at home. My Facebook page is dedicated to them, where they can ask questions. We network and mobilise our thoughts.

Do you have any plan to remarry?

I’ve never been married in my life. Just like Oprah, I have been engaged to the same person for the last 20 years.

How would you describe a Nigerian?

To me, Nigerians are smart but very lazy people who don’t like an iron fist leader.

They are smart citizens of the world who hate themselves so deeply that they fail to empower their inner qualities. Nigerians are too busy hating one another that they end up destroying themselves. They are also people who don’t take charge of their country but wait for others to do that for them. I only tell the truth and the truth hurts.

How will you like to see Nigeria in the near future?

I would love to see Nigeria with more female leaders, including me. I am going to be mobilising Nigerian women very fast. It is time for the men to leave Aso Rock and stop wasting our time.

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

50 INTERVIEW

Mike Awoyinfa is regarded as one of the most accomplished journalists in Nigeria. Twice, he pioneered two successful publications, Weekend Concord and The Sun. Like a Trojan, at 60, he is still waxing strong, doing what he knows how to do best. In this interview with Deputy Editor, VINCENT AKANMODE and Assistant Editor, GBENGA ADERANTI, Awoyinfa recalls his high and low moments as a journalist.

He also speaks about his soulmate, Dimgba Igwe. Excerpts: Would you consider yourself lucky, considering the fact that you did not experience what other journalists have experienced? ’M extremely lucky because God has been very, very kind to me. It is not that it is my making, it is just a favour that is from God. You can imagine many that have passed away, people that you have mentioned. People like Dele Giwa, people that have gone to jail. I’m so happy that all my years as a journalist, I've never slept in a detention, even for a single day. I have never been tortured. We go through harassments, I've had one or two harassments, and they are not news making kind of encounters. I remember going to the scene of news, I saw some soldiers and policemen, they raided a mechanic workshop, I thought I saw news so, I quickly parked my car and I went there, I started doing my work until this short stature soldier, said: “Yes, what is your business?' I brought out my ID card and I said, 'look, I'm a journalist from Concord, he said, ‘ ehh, you're a journalist, ‘God,'don catch you today’, what is your business?” and the soldiers started flogging me. I was in Sunday Concord then, that was one terrible encounter where I got physically manhandled and it is part of the price you pay. I went back to the office and I told my editor and it became news. Writing about your encounter being beaten, it is a raw material for the job, that is the nature of the job.

We thank God, and I would say that I'm not a failure. I know a whole lot of people who have gone into journalism and regretted ever coming into it. I don't think I have any regret. Money is not everything. It is a profession that keeps you alive, it is a profession that keeps you bubbling, it is a profession that keeps you seeking for knowledge everyday, you are just like a lawyer, always curious, wanting to know, what is the new thing? What is new? What is in the news? News is like a sea, a sea has no end, everyday, there are always new things happening, you can't even predict. You don't know what will happen in the next moment. you go to the office and you say, ‘this is the time I'm going to spend, suddenly, there is a coup, all the dynamic changes and you start running helter skelter, you start to look for angles for stories, sitting down strategising. It is a very interesting and adventurous profession.

If you say that you have no regrets, could that be a synonym for being fulfilled?

I feel very very fulfilled. I was at a dinner last Sunday, and all kinds of accolades and tributes that were paid by all the big names: Chief Tola Adeniyi, Chief Segun Osoba, all the big names in journalism were all present to honor me. It was as if I had won a Nobel Prize in Literature or Journalism. the things I didn’t remember, everybody started saying he is the king of tabloid journalism. He is the king of human angle journalism. He changed the face of journalism in Nigeria by humanising journalism; those are the kinds of things that make one fulfilled. When everybody is saying this is what you have achieved and it is not as if they are saying it because they want something from you. I'm not a politician, I felt really proud and swollen headed, all my children were alive to be hearing what their father has done in his life time, so that it will also inspire them. You know Olympic athletes, when they win medals and they mount the podium and they start playing their national anthem, tears start flowing from their eyes, I mean, it made me understand why people cry when they are being celebrated. I just felt like crying but I said 'no, no, this is not the period for tears of any form.

When you were about to start Entertainment Express, some of us were expecting something close to Weekend Concord, why entertainment?

I like to try different things. I've done tabloid journalism and I saw this niche which is mainly entertainment. We were asking ourselves, if sports can be exclusive niche, why can't show business be a niche of its own? Show business is a big business in Nigeria; journalism must be tied around where money is. Just like sport is a religion, people love entertainment a lot. There is so much tension, ostentation, frustration; there are so many problems in Nigeria, that people see entertainment as an escape valve, as the means of making themselves happy. We saw that this is an area, that we can go into business on a sustainable basis, by creating a newspaper that addresses entertainment and also, we were aiming at a new market, market of the young people who normally do not go out to buy newspaper.

When I go around and I see people you don't expect to buy newspaper, like okada people and recharge card sellers, sitting down to read Entertainment Express, I feel very very fulfilled, these are the people who normally don't buy newspapers.

What we are trying to do is to build a customer of the future.

We are trying to build a brand, believing that it is aimed at the university students, and if newspaper readers decide to buy our paper, then it is bonus for us. We are starting with entertainment, but gradually, as it grows, we will pan out into wider area of journalism. By the time we start going daily, we won't want to be limited to entertainment; we would go a whole hog into human angle journalism and journalism in general.

How has it been so far, your entertainment experience so far?

It has always been a whole lot of excitement and challenges, starting something from the scratch. I’m almost becoming veteran in starting things. I started Weekend Concord from the scratch, The Sun with my colleagues from the scratch and this one too from the scratch, so all the challenges are there and they have to be surmounted. You know, Nigeria is a very difficult market to really predict. It is an unpredictable market, if you think you have the money, you have the machine, you have everything to start a newspaper and you just come in like that, you just print anything,

I

Awoyinfa

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

INTERVIEW 51

I didn’t plan my exit from The Sun –Awoyinfa the market will reject you. It is a very difficult market, it takes a whole lot of thinking, strategising, trying to know what the market want and giving it to them at the price they can afford. Luckily for us, we have a marketing background. Dimgba Igwe and I have written some books on management and branding, which has given us an edge.

When we add this to our newspaper skills, it is very very important not just in Nigeria but in life generally, to understand branding and marketing, because a whole lot about life is marketing. Marketing is just like news, everything you do there must be news in it. It must be exciting, it must satisfy your reader, it must be properly packaged in such a way that your reader must be attracted to want to buy. Our strategy has always been to drive journalism knowledge with our marketing knowledge, that has been part of the key to the little success we have been able to make.

Did you come into journalism by accident or design?

I don't know whether it was an accident, but I know right from my childhood, I've always been associated with books and reading. I was a voracious reader as a kid, it influenced me a great deal. I definitely wanted to be a writer, maybe a novelist, a poet or anything that has to do with writing, so that is how I ended up going to read Mass Communication at the University of Lagos many years ago. After reading Mass Communication, I had no choice; I had to really go into journalism. I started my journalism, at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). We were the pioneer, but I didn't spend much time there, after one year, I left. I learned the rudiment of reporting at the NAN. I didn't like the anonymity of news agency journalism, where nobody even knows you.

I came into journalism with an ambition to be known, for my name to be recognised. I left NAN, and I joined Concord that was when we started. We paraded all the big names in journalism in Nigeria: Dele Giwa, Sam Oni, I said wow! This was the place to go, that was how I joined Concord. I was their chief correspondent in Kaduna. In Kaduna, I just saw myself as an editor. It is very good to be ambitious, right from there, I said no no, I want to b an editor, I won't end up here, I did everything. As chief correspondent, I was doing everything, not only reporting, I was doing features. That was where Dele Giwa noticed my ability and he gave me a column in the Sunday Concord, ‘Reporter's Note Book’. I did small features for him and it was a story about an illiterate Hausa woman, the woman I met at a press conference, Malam Aminu’s press conference. This old woman was asking questions in Hausa. I went and interviewed her. I asked her, ‘Are you a journalist?’ How come you don't have a jotter, you don' have a pen. When I did this thing for Dele Giwa, that was ‘journalist without pen, Dele Giwa used it as column for me, Reporter' s Diary.

That was how the column started.

I was determined to sustain the column, every week, I was giving him human angle feature stories about Kaduna and all that.

Eventually, he brought me down to Lagos, believing that my potential was at the headquarters. I learnt a lot under him.

Sunday Concord under Dele Giwa was the place to be. That was a real university of journalism.

That man, Dele Giwa, he was a great guy.

Anybody who did not study under him or do apprenticeship under him would have missed a lot. I learnt a lot under him. And eventually, I went abroad for a fellowship, Commonwealth Press Union Fellowship and I was attached to a paper in Newcastle called Sunday Sun, that was where I also learnt about tabloid journalism from British perspective. After the completion of this three months course, the ambition of becoming an editor seemed stronger, I felt I had known, so I became an assistant editor. From an assistant editor, I was moved as the features editor of the daily, but before becoming features editor, my friend, Dimgba Igwe andI, had written this book, ‘Act of feature writing’. It was this book that became the template for The Weekend Concord. We thank God for the revolution, we started looking at news from very different perspective, things that mainstream papers were not reporting, those were the things we were turning into news.

But suddenly, ordinary people became heroes on our front page, okada riders, female mechanics, you can use anybody as a story to sell, it depends on how you drill the person, just to strike gold that was what we did. I think, Weekend Concord was the high point of my career as a journalist. I was a young man, very adventurous, very determined to make a difference. I was supported by a team of aggressive creative, young men who were ready to learn and who were ready to make a name for themselves. People like Femi Adeshina, Dele Momodu, Sola Osunkeye, Eric Osagie, they were all under my school of journalism. We had a good time.

You must have been pained that the paper, Concord went down the way it did.

To me, it was just like losing my baby, I was more like the father of the paper. No father ever prays to see his child or children die in his hands. How I wish Weekend Concord was still alive to compete, I would have wanted to see how that paper would have faired in today's market. I've always believed that human angle is the real journalism, journalism of the people, by the people, to the people, that is it.

Wasn't there something you could have done to sustain it?

I had left the place, after 10 years of being an editor. I had been promoted upstairs as reporter at large, Dimgba and I, we had to resign. From there, we veered into writing corporate books, we wrote 50 Nigerian Corporate Strategists, then Nigerian Marketing Memoir, it is a book that changed our fortune. We went out there, we didn't, know anything about business management, we didn't know anything about management, we didn't know anything about marketing, but we decided to learn, but by going out to experts, the CEOs, the

managers of the big companies in Nigeria, we sat them down, we asked them to tell their stories, asked them management orientedquestions, marketing-oriented questions. Even if you are a fool, you will learn. That was a learning curve for us.

We learnt a lot about how business may run, we ended up writing this big book , 50 Nigerian CEOs, sharing the secrets of their business successes and we told them in a story form, not in very academic approach, it was management made easy.

Management in story form.

People can read and learn and say is that so? Is that how you run you own business? It featured everybody from UAC to Cadbury, to Liver Brothers to Nestle. We didn't limit ourselves to Nigerian CEOs, even the white men that run those companies; we interviewed them, I mean the CEOs. Nigerian was just a generic term, even if you were a foreigner CEO, you were qualified to be interviewed to share your experiences, what you have gone through in managing a business in Nigeria and it was a big sell out for us. We printed three editions. A copy was selling for 10,000. People were buying it because they knew it was offering them value. That was it.

I always advise journalists to join us in book writing. Don't just sit down there and be lamenting, there is so much Awoyinfa money to be made in book writing, biographies, a lot of people have achieved. This is a great country with over180 million people, there are millionaires among us, there are were determined and at the end of the day, achievers among us, who have good story we wrote 630-page book on him. We had to who can't write their own story. But we are go and interview his associates, his brothers, trained to be able to write, biography. It is his friends his workers, everybody that knew very very challenging, it is an extension of him. It took us about 6 years to write that journalism because everything that you are book, transcribed all these and absorbed trained as journalist, they become an asset for them, let them sink into us. Then we turned you as a biographer. You are going out there into a narrative story that is compelling. I to ask questions, to look for news about the think it is the most challenging thing we have person you are writing about. You interview ever done, for us to write 630 pages for everybody, at the end of the day, it is still somebody who never granted us an journalism, journalism of the higher interview. We would have loved to push it dimension. Journalism is like driving a car, out to the market this year but the big man biography writing is like flying a plane. You said, he will be 60 next year that he would be are up there getting your thrill and happy if we use it to mark his 60th birthday, excitement, it is an area. The beauty of it is you know it makes sense to tie the book to that if you are determined to write about something momentous. somebody who doesn't want to talk, you can The thing about us is that we don't write still go ahead and write. Look at Mike biographies to praise anybody, we write Adenuga, we wrote his biography, this is a Continued on page 56 man who doesn't even grant an interview, we

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

Embrace wisdom in your home

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Dear Reader, You are welcome to another interesting time in God’s presence. Last week, I took you through different kinds of wisdom and how you can connect yourself to the wisdom of God. This week, I want to teach on how you can operate in the wisdom of God in your home as a man.

Like I said last week: wisdom is knowing the scriptural way to go, the scriptural steps to take and the scriptural things to do. How then can you apply yourself to this scriptural wisdom? Wisdom is hearing the sayings of God and doing them. It is the correct application of knowledge.

It demands that you take steps in applying correctly all you will learn of God this month concerning your home. Only then, will you begin to reap the fruits of a successful home.

The place of wisdom in building a successful home cannot be overemphasized (Matthew 7:24, Proverbs 4:7).

As a husband, the Bible instructs that you dwell with your wife according to knowledge. I like the way Amplified version of the Bible puts it. It says: In the same way you married men should live considerately with [your wives], with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God’s unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively] (1 Peter 3:7).

Men, when you understand the nature of your wife and walk according to that understanding, quarrelling and tension will not find its way to

your home. When you are knowledgeable about your wife, you will not put pressure on her because you will realize that your wife is not a robot. She is a wife, mother and homemaker all at once, and all these place a demand on her.

You must be considerate of her feelings and needs, and be available to attend to her.

From the above scripture, the second clause there is, “giving honour unto the wife”.

This implies that your wife is not to be treated as a slave or inferior human being, but is to be held in respect. Your wife should be sought and allowed to make her own contributions in the home, in her own little way.

Some men beat their wives as if they are beating children.

It is foolishness to beat your wife. When a man beats his wife, he is not walking in God’s wisdom, rather he exhibits folly. God’s Word says: Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him (Proverbs 26:4).

No matter how provoked you are, you must never beat your wife. If you do that, you are simply beating yourself. God’s Word says: For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it,

even as the Lord the church (Ephesians 5:29).

It is important for you to know that, beating your wife is a great sin against God. God hates it when one party deals treacherously/deceptively with his/her spouse in marriage. One common way of dealing treacherously with your spouse is when you engage in physical combat.

If you see anything trying to go wrong in your family, don’t turn it into a fight, malice or engage in a cold war.

Don’t give room to strife, envy or begin to discuss and report your wife, opening her nakedness to relations back in the village or house help or friends who don’t know God at all.

I want to advise all the unmarried, the day you get married, go before the Lord after you leave the church and say, “God this home is dedicated unto you. There is no situation or circumstance that will ever come our way that we shall not be able to handle with You on our side”. That was what my husband and I did.

As soon as we got into the house, the two of us knelt down and held our hands together and prayed, “Father we don’t know how to do it, but we hand over this home to you. As long

Sleep disorders

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LEEP is a state of unconsciousness and usually when we sleep we do so in a safe environment and exclude all other activities. When we have a sleep disorder, we sleep unprepared and during other activities, or exhibit uncharacteristic behaviours during sleep. This can have costly consequences.

Some sleep disorders are temporary. Jet lag, for example, occurs when one reaches a destination after travelling eastwards or westwards on the globe. This is because daytime and night times are different in different parts of the world and the circadian influence on the traveller’s biological clock changes affecting his or her sleep habit. One soon adjusts to a new environment and a new lifestyle at the destination and normal sleep is restored naturally.

People who work night shifts may not sleep well during the day because they cannot sleep well in daytime or they get involved with day-shift people and do not give themselves time to sleep. Long-term night shift workers may be able to eventually develop a good sleep habit. People who are new to night shifts or who do night shifts on temporary basis need to be mindful that sleep deprivation can lead to errors of judgment and accidents. This is especially important for attentionsustained tasks such as driving, cooking, ironing, operating anything mechanical or electrical, using a sharp instrument such as a knife or razor, using chemicals such as some household cleaning products, and taking care of infants. High frequencies of accidents have been associated with night-shift workers; including such incidents as leaving food on the stove to burn, sleeping off and neglecting an infant that is doing something unsafe, and freak accidents on the road .

As we grow older our ability to sleep and our sleep pattern changes. Elders tend to sleep for shorter durations at night time (4-5 hours). Elders may also sleep more lightly and so may deserve the quietest part of the home to sleep. An elder may take more time to fall asleep than young people and may wake up more frequently during the night (sleep fragmentation), taking some time to fall back into sleep. Therefore the total length of time in bed at night for an elder may be prolonged, for him or her to achieve a good rest. Some elders may suffer from interrupted breathing during sleep (sleep apnea) or an organic disease that disturbs sleep.

Apneas are caused by relaxation of the breathing tube muscles in such a way that the tube collapses instead of remaining open for air flow. The oxygen levels of blood drop and this wakes the person up. The person is then able to breathe again. Apneas are usually very brief and the person may not realize what has happened but with the interruptions of sleep, the person may feel tired even though he or she has slept for a very long time overall.

Sleep is different from a coma although both are stages of unconsciousness. A person can be wakened-up from sleep but cannot be wakened-up from a coma.

Insomnia is the general term for difficulty in falling asleep and staying asleep. Sleep disorders that are characterised by abnormal perceptions and unnatural behaviours associated with sleep are called parasomnias. The stage of deep sleep in the non-REM phase appears to be the stage in which parasomnias such as night terrors, nocturnal enuresis (bed-wetting), somnambulism (sleep-walking), and somniloquy(sleep-talking (can be quite loud)) more often occur.A dyssomnia is any disturbance or difficulty related to sleep

(sleepdisorders.about.com).Dyssomniasinclude narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, and fatal familial insomnia.

“Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks… ….. Narcolepsy tends to run in families. Certain genes are linked to narcolepsy…Narcolepsy symptoms usually first occur during ages 15 to 30” (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). A person with narcolepsy can sleep off irresistibly while talking to someone, while at work, and at other inappropriate times and places.

“Narcoleptics, when falling asleep, generally experience the REM [rapid eye movement ]stage of sleep within 5 minutes; whereas most people do not experience REM sleep until an hour or so later” (Wikipedia). The narcoleptic daytime sleep bouts last about 15 minutes each and the person feels refreshed after each bout. Apart from daytime sleepiness, people with narcolepsy may also suffer from cataplexy (strong emotions cause them to have sudden muscular weakness for some seconds), sleep paralysis (sudden inability to talk or move when waking or when falling asleep), and hypnagogic hallucinations. Narcoleptics can also exhibit automatic behavior (continuing to talk or do something) during sleep episodes but waking with no memory of performing such activities.A narcoleptic should be careful with attention-sustained tasks.

“Restless leg syndrome is a disorder in which there is an urge or need to move the legs to stop unpleasant sensations…

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) occurs most often in middle-aged and older adults. Stress makes it worse… Restless leg syndrome can result in a decreased quality of sleep (insomnia).

This lack of sleep can lead to daytime sleepiness, anxiety or depression, and confusion or slowed thought processes” (PubMed Health, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmedhealth/PMH0001810/) “Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) is repetitive cramping or jerking of the legs during sleep. It is the only movement disorder that occurs only during sleep….movements are repetitive and rhythmic, occurring about every 20-40 seconds… often disrupt sleep and lead to daytime sleepiness” Fatal familial insomnia is a rare, incurable inherited disease.

People suffering from this “slowly lose the ability to fall asleep” (sleepforall.com), suffer from agonies associated with sleeplessness andeventually die from increasing chronic insomnia. It is a prion disease. A prion is a mis-folded protein that permanently modifies the structure of the brain. (Mad-cow disease is another prion disease).

Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

as we live in here, there shall be no situation that cannot be under control in the name of Jesus”.

Today, I’m glad to say that years have rolled by, and God has stayed faithful to that prayer. If you are married, you can also pray that prayer and rededicate your family unto God. If you pray that prayer in sincerity, nobody will hear your voice next door, in Jesus’ name.

To have the mind of Christ to manage your home as a man, you need the wisdom of God. To have access to this wisdom, you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviuor. You can do that by saying this prayer of faith: Dear Lord, I come to You to-

day. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again!

Congratulations! Till I come your way again next week, call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 07026385437, 07094254102 For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches, and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work and Building a Successful Family.

Loneliness ‘can shorten your ?????????????????????? life and make every day activities a struggle’

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OR the over 60s feeling lonely is a common source of distress and can lead to an impaired quality of life. Now researchers from the University of California have found that it could increase the risk of death by almost 10 per cent.

The authors believe their findings could reveal important public health implications.

The team, led by Dr Carla Perissinotto, said: ‘Loneliness is a common source of suffering in older persons. We demonstrated that it is also a risk factor for poor health outcomes including death and multiple measures of functional decline.

‘Assessment of loneliness is not routine in clinical practice and it may be viewed as beyond the scope of medical practice. However, loneliness may be as an important of a predictor of adverse health outcomes as many traditional medical risk factors.

‘Our results suggest that questioning older persons about loneliness may be a useful way of identifying elderly persons at risk of disability and poor health outcomes.’

The team examined the relationship between loneliness and risk of functional decline and death in older individuals in a study of 1,604 participants in the Health and Retirement Study.

The participants, with an average age of 71, were asked if they felt left out, isolated or a lack of companionship. Of the participants, 43.2 percent reported feeling lonely, which was defined as reporting one of the loneliness items at least some of the time, they

found.

Loneliness was associated with an increased risk of death over the six-year follow-up period, 22.8 percent compared to 14.2 percent.

They also found isolated participants were twice as likely to experience a decline in daily activities with 24.8 per cent adversely affected compared to 12.5per cent of peers.

Meanwhile 40.8 per cent of lonely people struggled with the stairs compared to 27.9 per cent of others.

The authors of the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication concluded: ‘Loneliness is a negative feeling that would be worth addressing even if the condition had no health implications.

‘Nevertheless, with regard to health implications, scientists examining social support should build on studies such as those published in this issue and be challenged to investigate mechanisms as well as practical interventions that can be used to address the social factors that undermine health.’

A separate US study in the same journal found a link between living alone and an increased risk of death from heart disease among people at risk of blood clots.

Scientists examined data on 44,573 middle-aged participants, 8,594 of whom lived alone.

Living alone was associated with three per cent greater chance of dying over a period of four years. It also increased the risk of death from heart disease from around 7 per cent to 8.6 per cent

•Loneliness: Found to be a good indicator of illness, shortness of life and death, a new study has shown

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

53 Coping with diseases with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

Holistic remedy for HIV/AIDS

Body cleansing, the natural way Feeling sluggish or out of sync? Having skin problems, aches and pains or digestive problems? Straying from your healthier habits lately? Having trouble kicking off your weight loss? It might be time for a body detox.

Practiced for centuries by many cultures around the world - including ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems -detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, then feeding your body with healthy nutrients, detoxifying can help protect one from disease and renew the body’s ability to maintain optimum health. Health experts believe the body has its own natural healing system which is enhanced by detoxification.

Today, with more toxins in the environment than ever, it’s critical to detox. It is recommended for symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, sluggish elimination, irritated skin, allergies or low-grade infections, bags under the eyes, a distended stomach even if the rest of your body is slim, menstrual difficulties or mental confusion.

A good detox will leave you feeling refreshed with greater vitality and energy. It’s also good for the skin as it brings a smooth glow to your skin.

How does detoxification work?

Basically, detoxification means cleaning the blood. It does this mainly by removing impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph and skin. However, when this system is compromised, impurities aren’t properly filtered and every cell in the body is adversely affected.

A detox program can help the body’s natural cleaning process by: - Resting the organs through fasting; - Stimulating the liver to drive toxins from the body; -Promoting elimination through the intestines, kidneys and skin; -Improving circulation of the blood and - Refueling the body with healthy nutrients.

When to have a detox Experts suggest that everyone should detox at least once a year. A short detoxifying program or whole body cleanse is generally safe; in fact, scientific studies show that a detox is beneficial for health. However, detoxifying is not suitable for nursing mothers, children, and patients with chronic degenerative diseases, cancer or tuberculosis. Consult your health care practitioner if you have questions about whether detoxing is right for you.

Which detox program is best for you?

There are many detoxification programs and detox recipes, depending on your individual needs. Many programs follow a 7-day schedule as it takes the body some time to clean the blood. There is a program that involves fasting on liquids for two days, followed by a carefully-planned five-day detox diet to allow the digestive system to rest. Another is a 3-7 day juice fast (drinking only fresh fruit and vegetable juices and water) as an effective way to release toxins and cleanse the system.

Other popular detoxing programs and natural body cleanses include: Cleansing supplement packages, which generally contain fiber, vitamins, herbs and minerals. There are several safe products on the market,

with easy-to-follow instructions.

A routine of drinking only water one day each week — an ancient practice of many cultures.

After a detoxification program, you can cleanse your body daily through diet, supplements and lifestyle practices. To do this: 1. Eat plenty of fiber, including brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Watermelon, carrots, cucumber, cabbage, broccoli, pawpaw and pineapple are excellent detoxifying foods.

2. Cleanse and protect the liver by taking herbs such as dandelion root, burdock and milk thistle, and drinking green tea.

3. Take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that drives away toxins.

4. Drink at least two quarts of water daily.

5. Breathe deeply to allow oxygen to circulate more completely through your system.

6. Transform stress by emphasizing positive emotions.

7. Practice hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower for five minutes, allowing the water to run on your back. Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this three times, and then get into bed for 30 minutes.

8. Sweat in a sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through perspiration.

9. Dry-brush your skin or try detox foot spas/foot baths to remove toxins through your pores. Special brushes are available at natural products stores.

10. Exercise is an important way to detoxify. Jogging or jump-roping at least 30 minutes daily are good.

Foods to avoid post-detox Avoid caffeine and booze Caffeine can be extremely stimulating for the central nervous system. It can alter your state of mind and make you nervous. Non-organic coffee, tea and soda contain pesticides and chemicals that can add to the toxicity level in the body. Alcohol can add unnecessary calories to the diet and make you lose your inhibitions so that you eat foods that do not contribute to your overall detox. Both caffeine and alcohol also dehydrate you and it’s critical during a detox to keep the system fully hydrated.

Drink tons of filtered water and caffeine free teas. Limit your intake of wine to one to two glasses of antioxidantrich red wine.

Don’t eat processed foods and meats It takes energy to break down processed foods and processed foods can be laden with pesticides and chemicals.

So give your system a break by giving them up at least for a while. Processed foods also come with tons of packaging that’s hard on the planet. It’s also best to cut back or give up meat. The key to a good detox is the ability to pass bowel movements and meat is much harder for the body to digest than other protein sources.

Holistic Healthcare is the application of the best combination of natural therapies, in the provision of complementary and wholesome health care services. Natural therapy in this context implies a non-conventional system of preventing or eliminating physical, mental, social or spiritual ailments; which may rely exclusively on past experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, verbally or in writing. It involves the use of natural plants (herbs), animal matter and mineral compounds.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a complex of diseases and symptoms resulting from unexplained immune deficiency; caused by a retrovirus, culminating in a “mixed-bag” of life-threatening opportunistic infections, which invariably result in death. The retrovirus that causes AIDS is known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with types I, II, and III already isolated.

During the past few years, a lot of technical and financial supports have been provided for scientists searching for a cure for AIDS. Many of their efforts have been to try and discover a single pharmacological or immunological solution to what is, in fact, a “mixed-bag” of different disease conditions.

Paradoxically, while orthodox researchers have been struggling unsuccessfully to produce a single drug remedy for AIDS, there has been a tremendous advance made by the unorthodox, self-financed but highly ridiculed holistic approach; and it has become clear that the natural defence mechanisms of the individual sufferer can be augmented towards evolving a panacea to the disease problem.

It is against this background of unproductive waste of human, material and financial resources, in the face of the physical, psychological and social hazards imposed on mankind by Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and several other devastating, insidious and otherwise intractable diseases; that I have embarked on this exposition of the “wisdom of ages”, as a private sector contribution to the strategies towards attainment of the much-desired “Health For All” in this millennium.

Over the past 28 years, I have conducted research at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; as well as at Interdisciplinary Research Centres in Europe and Southern Africa; on holistic and complementary healthcare systems.

In the course of my research activities, it has become glaring that the body’s ability to protect itself from the onslaught of offending virus, bacteria, fungi, cancer cells, etc can be enhanced by holistic herbal ‘immuno-modulators’ , because, apart from supporting the body’s own immune defence mechanisms, they also prevent opportunistic infections.

In Holistic Lifecare, we are committed to total cure of HIV/ AIDS sufferers when they have just been tested and diagnosed positive, when they are still able to eat, drink and move around on their own, but not when they are expecting their funeral the next day!

The Holistic Natural Remedy being suggested for restoring good health, vitality, and total cure in HIV/AIDS sufferers; is a combination of herbal, nutritional and psycho-social therapies at the appropriate time and in the right proportion. Notable among the useful herbs for HIV/AIDS are Aloe vera, Allium sativum, Harpagophytum zeyheri, Echinacea augustifolia and Zingiber officinale.

For further information and consultation on Holistic Lifecare research and services, especially on Blood Infections, Infertility, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Chronic Debilitating Conditions as well as mental and social problems, please call on: 0803-330-3897 or visit: Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre, Adeyalo Layout, Ogbere-Tioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan. Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

Mmamu Water Fall at Ufuma

Mystery of Ogbaukwu cave in Anambra

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OME people who were in the entou rage of Hon. Ben Nwankwo, representing the Orumba North and South Federal Constituency in Anambra State recently, to the little known Ogbaukwu cave in OwerreEzukala, Orumba South Local Government Area described the place as evil forest.

But it is not, rather the place can best be described as one of the seven wonders of the earth which has even shocked a team made up of members of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), among others.

Not only that the cave, believed to be the biggest in West Africa is located there, from a distance, you will hear the humming of a water fall that has made that of

Ufuma a child’s play.

Besides, another unique thing close to the cave is a place the people of the area refer to as the bottomless pit.

It is alleged that nobody goes there and comes back a normal person, if indeed you are alive.

Also, inside the cave, there is an artifact the people of the community describe as the unknown face of Ogbaukwu god.

The Owerre-Ezukala cave, popularly known as Ogbaukwu to connote its gigantic nature, has a dome of naturally-carved rocks with two different entrances.

The escape route in time of danger extends to about two and half kilometres, reaching out to the neighbouring community of Awlaw in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State.

At the entrance route of the

cave, the visitor or tourist beholds the fascinating waterfalls, cascading from about two-feet above the ground which forms a natural swimming pool that provides warmth.

From investigations, it was gathered that lions used to live inside the cave and hence a few steps from the entrance point is referred to as the lions’ den.

Furthermore, it was gathered that the “gods of Ogbaukwu” abandoned the cave to avoid insignificant consultations.

Inside the mystery cave, one could easily see carved artifacts like gun, vehicle spanner, among other things.

Also a walk further down the cave, the visitor would witness a place that has seven chambers in form of sit out or parlours, naturally made and placed.

Dr George Ufot, Director, Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, described the area and the Mmamu water fall at Ufuma as wonderful sites to behold.

For Dr. Ayodele Esan of the Regional Centre for Africa Hydro Power in Africa (RC-SHP), who was part of the entourage of Nwankwo, kept his mouth agape throughout the duration of the visit.

“This is a natural endowment and it has to be tapped.

It is not man-made, but a

Hon. Ben Nwankwo and Ezeigbo Suleja with the entourage

wonderful work of God. The next line of action is the feasibility study which has to be carried out by Hon Nwankwo”.

He said with the water falls alone, power generation would be easier in the area.

Another visitor was Dr Uchenna Ojobor of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) who represented the Director General, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, who said he had never seen such a cave like that.

The Head of Department (HOD), Performing Arts, Dr O. Osunsanya, said the federal and state governments would not fold their hands and allow such natural creation to waste.

Hon Nwankwo said:The place is qualified as a world heritage centre.

“We need to design a road map, but we can not do it without the full support of the community. This is God’s blessing to OwerreEzukala.

“This community is supposed to be the most visited place in the entire Nigeria because of what you have here. This is a monument that has not been known by the world and the time has come.

“Ogbunike cave in the Oyi Local Government Area of this state is no where close to what Owerre-Ezukala has. It is a mysterious creation from God and attention should be directed towards this area.

“Nobody can do it alone, but there are three components to it. The first is the local appreciation by the community, the second is the state component of giving this place an access road to the cave, while the third is the private sector component where hotels should be built here and the federal government recognizing the demetrics of nature.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

The cave

“This place is supposed to be a natural monument and that task has become mine from today in making it work. We have only two of this in Nigeria. We are going to speak with the stakeholders. This is awesome” Nwankwo said.

The President General of the community’s association, Ikegwu Sunday, said the only thing they need from the government is the development of the cave to become a world attraction centre.

For another community

leader, Hon. Nduchi Emmanuel, “It is a good thing that Hon Nwankwo has come to discover this place and being our representative, we are hinging our hope of making this place a tourist centre on

him.

“We want the world to know that a place like this exists in Owerre-Ezukala, a community that has something like this should not be hidden in Nigeria”.

According to the Chairman, Planning and Organizing Committee of OwerreEzukalla Cave and Waterfalls Tourism Committee (OCWTF), Ezennia Osiberoha URP Osibe, Ogbaukwu wonder cave has served many useful purposes the community.

“There are also proofs of multiple upstairs inside the cave with stone steps, some of which lead to an exclusive hide-out which can hardly allow a human head to enter. A leg of an elephant (ukwu enyi) can be viewed by a tourist through a tunnel.

“A royal throne signifying existence of a palace, wardrobe, store rooms, pit toilet, spanners and guns of stone as well as numerous compartments for the households like kitchen, moulded salt and other utensils,” Osibe said.

Though the place looks unkempt without a good access road, the potential in Owerre-Ezukala, if tapped, could be another Obudu in Anambra State.

Tourists troop to Arigidi-Akoko for Okota Festival

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HE quiet town of Arigidi-Akoko in Ondo State was set aglow recently by the influx of tourists from all over the country who turned up to witness the 2012 edition of the annual Okota Festival.

The festival, which has been made popular by the Olokun Festival Foundation, is a two-day event in honour of the Okota River deity, famed to possess healing and life-transforming powers for anyone that can take a taste of the water there in.

The venues of the two-day event were packed full with many people climbing whatever available platforms and buildings to catch a glimpse of the happenings. Commercial activities were also at a climax, as the enlarged population also led to an increase of patronage of virtually every product and service on offer within the community. Sellers of items like food, drinks and souvenirs smiled to the banks, while service providers and owners of hospitality outfits like hotels and transporters were not left out.

On day one of the festivities, organizers put up a show at the Arigidi Town Hall where pretty girls from many parts and higher institutions within the southwest region of the country contested in the now famous Okota Beauty Pageant.

The competition and night saw the ladies also taking part in exciting cultural dances, beach wear and evening gown displays all to the admiration of the audience which filled every available space of the hall, with some watching from outside through the windows.

Activities of the pageant

•L-R Otunba Gani Adams, Zaki of Arigidi, Oba Olanipekun and other guests at the grand-finale

night were directed by Amstrong Ihua, a legal practitioner, who seems to have found a love in the arts of fashion, beauty and entertainment.

At the end of the contest which involved 21 finalists, 21-yearold Okunuga Olasumbo, an undergraduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University came out the winner. She was trailed by Sodeinde Olawunmi, from the University of Ibadan and Olarere Shade from the Ladoke Akintola University who came second and third respectively.

The night also featured several performances by upcoming acts and cultural displays by the Royal Ambassadors Cultural Troupe, while the disc jockey ensured there was not a dull moment until the show ended in the small hours of the morning. This year’s edition was, however, made a bit less exciting by the duo of masters of ceremony

with rather uninteresting and monotonous jokes and antidotes.

Despite the lateness of the evening’s excitement, participants were up early again the next morning as they thronged to the Okota River to scoop and fetch of its contents after it was blessed by the custodians of the divinity. People came in their hundreds with containers of different sizes to take water which has been famed to heal illnesses, make barren women give birth to children and also bring about material and financial blessings, among others.

Some visitors testified that they received one form of healing, blessing or the other when they drank from the water of the river.

A participant testified that she became pregnant and had a baby boy after she drank water from the river. Her case, she claimed,

was after a long period of fruitless search for the fruit of the womb.

From the river, everyone proceeded to the ArigidiAkoko Palace square for the grand finale of the festival for more fun, entertainment and an enlightenment lecture.

In his welcome address, chief promoter of the Olokun Festival Foundation, Otunba Gani Adams, stated that over the years, the event has provided a veritable avenue for sons and daughters of the town and their friends to showcase their cultural values and traditional heritages.

While noting that God has continued to provide the resources needed to carry out the festival despite the challenges, he said that they were proud that four years on, the tiny seed sown had become a huge tree and a reference point in what cultural festivals should look like, not only in Nigeria, but all over the world.

Comfort at Sandton Towers

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NTERCONTINENTAL Johannesburg Sandton Towers Hotel is an ideal destination for business travellers attending conferences or meetings in the financial hub of South Africa and offers guests access to some of the city’s premium dining, entertainment and shopping venues.

It offers free Wi-Fi, quiet soundproofed rooms, quick check-in and a host of services designed to meet the needs of the modern business and leisure traveller requiring the ultimate comfort and hassle-free service. Special features include 24-hour complimentary self-help business centre, modern techno-gym, steam rooms and an indoor heated swimming pool with a panoramic view across the Johannesburg skyline. Also in-room flight information allows you to time your travel plans in the comfort of your room.

According to the General Manager, Josiah Montsho, the hotel has drawn its inspiration from the African continent, capturing the culture and spirit of Africa through the use of simple shapes and symbolic artefacts to create a peaceful African environment in a contemporary setting.

The rooms are spectacularly fitted with the finest and most modern of finishes and technologies, catering to the needs of the most distinguished of guests.

Intercontinental Johannesburg Sandton Towers was recently awarded a Gold Class Certification by the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme. This is higher than the silver status awarded in the 2010 audit, and is an indication of the hotel’s commitment to the Heritage Audit Protocol and ultimate desire to improve environmental management in a hotel of this stature. Falling in line with the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s conservation partner, National Geographic, and their drive towards responsible tourism through their Green Engage programme; the affiliation with Heritage emphasises the global drive to take accountability and drive initiatives with guests, partners and staff alike.

The hotel is an associate brand on the Tsogo Sun Group (formerly Southern Sun) stable which is Africa’s leading hotel group with an extensive range of brands which provide world-class accommodation and leisure resorts.

NCPC seeks spiritual rebirth for all pilgrims

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HE Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara, has said that the commission would emphasize on the spiritual re-birth of all pilgrims. He disclosed this in Abuja recently during a courtesy visit by Pastor Andy Cochran of the Bren Wood Bible Society of the United States of America.

He explained that the commission would ensure that Christians who travel on pilgrimage are morally and spiritually transformed so that they could transform the people positively.

The NCPC helmsman said that the commission would also ensure that the pilgrimage to the holy land would be a life- time expe-

rience. He stressed that pilgrimage should not be seen as a jamboree, thus the commission will be very thorough in the screening exercise for intending pilgrims this year.

Earlier, Pastor Andy Cochran, in his address, said that he was in Nigeria to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, adding that he would be ministering in some churches in Abuja, Lagos and Bayelsa State. He added that he would also visit some orphanage homes.

He was accompanied on the visit by Mr. Reno Omokri, Special Adviser to the President (News Media), his wife, Darlene, and daughter, Juliet.

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

56 INTERVIEW Continued from page 20 biographies to say the truth. We approach biography like a journalist. We put you on a balance and say, if you are good, we say you are good and , if you are bad we say, that is it. We don't spare anybody. But we don't go out to assassinate anybody's character. Before we decide to write your biography, there must be something in you that appeals to us, you must be our hero in any way. Like Adenuga, he is a hero for us in a way because here is a man who doesn’t have no in his dictionary, here’s man who doesn't have impossible in his dictionary. If he has to break a wall to get what he wants, he will make a hole inside. He will do anything to get what he wants. That is the spirit that powered us to write that book. At a point, we got frustrated but we said, ‘this book e don do’. We asked ourselves if it was Mike Adenuga that was writing this book, will he give up? You know he is an unusual man. Look at oil exploration, no Nigerian went into oil exploration.

Usually, when they get the licence, they sell it off. This is a man that got the licence and said, ‘Look, I will go and look for oil.’ Initially, he looked like he was a mad man, even his own mother told him ‘Why are you wasting money, the little money that you have, pouring it into kalokalo? This oil business, don't you think it is kalokalo? ’But how did it turn out? On a Christmas day, he struck oil and today, he is an exporter of oil. And it didn't end at that, when the GSM revolution started in Nigeria, he was frustrated, they canceled his licence.

This man was still persistent. He was still determined, saying ‘I will do anything to get this licence’ and today, look at Glo, it has become a big brand. Everything is told in that book, ‘The A-Z of Mike Adenuga’. so it is been a fulfilling life for us and so much ahead for us to do, more biographies to write.

What is your assessment of journalism today?

Every generation thinks that their own generation is better than the present. I think there is a lot to be done.

When you look at journalism this days with all the facilities, exposure and the internet, you expect journalism to have improved far from what it is today.

There is still room for progress, I want to see the passion being restored to journalism. These days, I don't see the passion of the Dele Giwa era. I don't see it, I will want the young reporters of today to wake up and see journalism as a do or die thing. I mean they should just go out there and get stories. This is the era of freedom of information, we have always been asking for freedom of information, now we've gotten it, but no story, no big investigative stories coming out of it. Everything is normal. It makes one wonder why was this clamour for freedom of information. No scoop, with the exception of this Farouk that came, nobody is seeing investigative journalism at its best; I think investigative journalism in Nigeria now is dead. It ought to be revived.

The best of journalism is the journalism of investigation.

Investigative journalism, things like Watergate scandal, there is so much corruption going on this country, so much, our role as journalists is to go out there expose all the thieves around us, there is so much to do around us. I won't bring down journalism and say today’s generation they are bad, they are this, all I will say is that one needs to wake up and take this business seriously, let's do the best we can.

Could it also be because of lack of motivation, in terms of salary...?

Yes, it is part of it. The salaries are not there, people are being paid pittance, I wish the condition of Nigerian journalists can be improved, so that they can be inspired.

Imagine you came for an assignment, you don't even have a car to go home. They pay you peanuts as transport allowance, where and where will you go? I wish the condition of journalists could be better so that they I'll be more motivated. In our days, we didn't have all these GSM, yet we were going out. I remember when 090 came, I was telling my MD ‘just give me this 090, you will see what I'll do.’ But that was not possible. You people don't know what you have, you’re just taking this thing for granted. In our days, we didn't have anything like that, now you can sit down in you office making calls. Let us take advantage of all the facilities at our disposal, to enhance and raise the standard of this profession.

Would you wish any of your children to practice journalism?

Sure, why not. I think one of my sons is at the News Agency of Nigeria. He is now where I started. I wish him well. I wish he can be bigger than me. I try to encourage him, but it is up to him. What would I do?

How did you feel when you were leaving one of your babies The Sun? The Sun story is not an area I will like to go into. Let us leave that one for now, this is my birthday, I don't want to say anything that will be blown out of proportion. Let us just say we did our best we laid a foundation, and our prayer is that The Sun will grow and grow into a mega brand. So far, so good, we passed the baton to them, it is an Olympic sprint, it is up to them not to allow the baton to fall from their hands.

It seems you had it so easy with The Sun It was not my doing; I think it was the grace of God. It was God that did it. It is a miracle story, it has never never happened in the history of Nigeria. We came in with the right product with the right story, people accepted it, we know of other publications that even spent money, more than The Sun and they didn't make it. Even Next, Comet all folded up.

Compass is struggling. This thing is not about how much money you put in the business, it is about creativity, it is about doing what you have to do right. It is about God factor.

It is about God’s blessing. Like I said The Sun was a miracle baby. The right people were in charge, they gave the paper the foundation and the vision and everything just worked,

writes like me, he is very intelligent. We would cover assignment together then, virtually we wrote books together. Ever since, we have been friends despite being from different tribes and we are still together. It is not about tribe, it is not about religion, it is about being a good human being. For, me, Dimgba Igwe is somebody I have come a long way with and I trust him, he trusts me and everybody brings his own unique talent to the table. It helps the partnership. If one is good in this area, the other will be very good in another area. I'm the outgoing type. I go out and do the story, Dimgba is the finest editor, if he sits down to edit your work, he improves on it. I can give that one to him.

From experience, you would have known that publishing is not the best business to invest in because it is capital intensive. Why did you venture into it?

Well, we have no choice. We are already in it, there is no other job we do. It is not for the money, it is just for the fulfillment. It is just our destiny that this is what we do, whether there is money or there is no money in it, it is for us to focus on it and turn it into a profitable venture. We just don't have any choice. It is when you have a choice that you say let me leave this one. We just decided that we had no choice, we are condemned to publishing, we just have to make it work.

What about your family life?

I'm a good family man. I have a wife that has been standing by me all these years, her name is Olubukola Awoyinfa. She is from my village, Ijebu Jesha. The good thing about marrying from your village is that the children always go home, that is the thing my father had always wanted, that I should marry from my village so that nobody or no stranger takes your children to wherever, America, to the east, to the north. That has been the vision of my father. I have been a very loyal son. She is a good woman. We journalists are very very difficult to live with. At least, she stoop to conquer. It is not easy to marry a journalist. We are all rascals, we play all kinds of games.

Can you share your experience with women?

Well, I'm just like King David in the Bible. I won't say I’m a womanizer. I think I appreciate women a lot, I appreciate their beauty, I celebrate their beauty in my writing, in my everything. God knows that we men need women that is why he created women.

The world would have been a dull place without women, though they can be very irritating at times, we just have to learn to tolerate them. A world without women would have been a dull place. I don’t hate women, I like women but not in wayward terms.

You are a successful man, and success attracts women, how do you cope with women?

I try to behave like a good husband. At times, I fall and start running again. So, King David is my hero. He is a poet like me, and when he sinned he begged God, so I keep begging God, but right now, I think I'm sober, particularly now that I'm a pastor. Now, my writings are now evangelical.

I believe that every Christian has a divine mission on earth which is to win soul for the kingdom of God. No matter the kind of job you do, you can use your platform to win souls for God. You don't necessarily need to build a church. My Press Clip column is a church and every Saturday, if God gives me a message, I preach it in my own unique style and people get my message. Initially, it started as a joke, but the things of God are not things you joke with, even if it started as a joke, it is no longer a joke. People call me Pastor Mike, I think that is the direction I'm going. I’m going to work for God, win more souls. The older you are, the closer you get to God, you become more spiritual, that is the way I want to go Talking about marriage, would you allow your children to marry outside your culture?

The issue of marriage, Iwill not say anything about it. I will just advise my children to marry where they will find happiness, maybe my wife will be the one that will say I don't want you to bring in this, I don't want you to bring in that, but for me as a journalist, I'm a very liberal person. If my children want to marry from the moon, let them go ahead, I will join them in the moon. We are very liberal kind of people, I mean journalists generally, we are very liberal, we don't impose anything. The other day, my son was giving testimony the other day at Sheraton, saying I'm an unusual kind of father. I'm not your conventional kind of father who follows his children to school, but for home work and all that, I lead by example. When they see me working, and they say if daddy can work like this, let me also work. If they see I don't smoke, they will say why must I smoke when my daddy is not smoking. So whatever we do, you think our chilvdren are not watching, they are watching, let us all be good role models to our children.

Journalists criticise people, how do you feel when you get flaks from people?

I'm a very liberal person. If I've done something wrong, I'm not sensitive to criticism at all, I mean if I do something wrong, go ahead and expose me because I'm in the business of criticizing and exposing people. I'm just like a boxer, if I punch other people I must be ready to receive punches too..

The idea of criticising somebody is for the person to know his weakness so that he will sit up and make amends.

‘Like King David my hero, I appreciate women’

we were coming from the background of the Weekend Concord. We carried along our goodwill. People were saying if it is Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe of The Weekend Conord coming to The Sun, let's see what they will do. We came into the market, we gave them a product that they liked, the rest is history.

Did you at any point in your life plan your exit from paid job?

Well, like I said, The Sun story would be told, I mean my story in The Sun would be told in my memoir, it is not an area I want to talk about for now.

I’m not talking about The Sun. Did you plan for your retirement?

It is still part of it; we were taken by surprise, at the time we left The Sun, we never knew we were going to leave. But thank God we have a God and we have education, we have our mind intact. The true mark of a champion is not how he falls, but the ability not to rest on the canvass but move on with life. The ability to reinvent yourself, that is the most important thing. When you find yourself in a problem, you sit down, when you find yourself in a tight corner what do you do? What is your skill? When we left there, we didn't have money. You can't be going and be meeting politicians and say you want to start a newspaper. They will dribble you and all that. We had to really really sit down and think about, what we could do. We thank God, we can write books and we have been writing books. We had to go to our ‘Plan B’, which is the book. That was why we had to go and continue with Mike Adenuga’s book which we have been writing.

Luckily, the Osoba book was there, we had also been writing that one, we quickly put all hands on deck to complete those books. The Entertainment Express project also came up, we had to bring together friends, like minds, to start something, which we believe will grow. We started small. The beauty of anything that you start small is watching it grow big. There is so much beauty in it. It is true, a lot of people don't plan.

Journalists don't plan, we just live by the day, and suddenly, we find ourselves in a tight corner. It is good to plan. The stock market affected everybody; it is the worst thing that has ever happened to anybody in Nigeria. You plan for the rainy days. All the money you have, instead of you using it to buy land, or putting it under your pillow or digging ground and put it there, at least when you come back, you will meet it, but there was much talk about stock market, private placement, everybody was coming, there was so much 419 in this country. The little money you should be saving for your own future, you go and invest, thinking you are planning for the future, only to find out that everything is wiped away. Yes, I lost some money in the stock market, but I'm not alone. We have to start all over again. What I know is that it is not alway too late. The beauty of having partnership with my friend Dimgba is that two of us can bear shock together. We can inspire each other, when one is down, the other one will lift him up. It is a partnership that has been rewarding.

We met many years ago in Sunday Concord under Dele Giwa, that was where we met. I was higher than him, he came and I discovered that he was a talented young man and I made him my friend. Ever since, I discovered that he

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

57

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

58 •A women's cultural troupe queues to pay respects to late President John Atta Mills in Accra.

Thousands of mourners from presidents and dignitaries to ordinary Ghanaians arrived in the capital's Independence Square on Friday for the funeral of president John Atta Mills. (AFP )

•Mourners at the ceremony

Thousands mourn Ghana's Mills

HOUSANDS of mourners including African leaders, dignitaries and ordinary Ghanaians attended the state funeral on Friday of president John Atta Mills, who died last month ahead of a re-election bid.

Ghana was plunged into mourning after the death of Mills, a veteran politician who became president in January 2009 and was well-regarded for his honesty and integrity.

A military cortege took Mills' body from the State House parliamentary complex, where it had lain in state since Wednesday, to the funeral at Independence Square where more than 10,000 people gathered.

"He entered politics not to amass wealth but to serve people, which he did until his death," said new President John Dramani Mahama.

The cortege transported Mills' body to the grounds of Osu Castle, the official presidential residence, where he was buried at a ceremony that featured a 21-gun salute and laying of wreaths.

As the motorcade passed through streets, residents lined the roads to get a glimpse, some crying and others chanting.

A number of people climbed trees to have a better view.

Among those who viewed the body as it lay under a glass case before the service were Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia as well as the leaders of Benin and neighbouring Togo.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who wrapped up an African tour on Friday, also attended the funeral.

"He was like a brother to me. I will surely miss him," Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe told journalists.

Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi, also the current African Union chairman, described Mills as "passionate about peace in Africa and in the region".

His death on July 24 at the age of 68 following an illness came as a shock to many Ghanaians, despite rumours that he had been sick and reports that he suffered from throat cancer.

Coming just five months ahead of polls in which he was to seek re-election, it upended the presidential race in a country that recently became a significant oil producer and is praised as a stable democracy in an often turbulent region.

"Today is my saddest day," said Akua Danso, an 80-yearold former teacher who was confined to a wheelchair, being pushed by her grandson.

"I have seen presidents come and go but he was the best.

He was very humble. I wish I had the opportunity to meet him while he was alive, just to tell him that he was a gem," she told AFP. Mills' brother Cadman said at the service, which was broadcast on national television, that the gratitude expressed by ordinary citizens since the president's death had brought comfort to the family.

"The testimonials from the ordinary Ghanaians demonstrate that he did his best and that is all that we, as a family, could ask of him," he said.

For a short time ahead the funeral, a helicopter hovered over the area dropping leaflets reading: "We want peaceful elections in 2012."

Mahama, the former vice president, was sworn after Mills' death to serve out the remainder of his term, as dictated by the constitution.

The new president is expected to be endorsed by the ruling party to run in the December election, which analysts say is likely to be close.

Ghana, a country of some 25 million people, has begun producing oil from its offshore Jubilee field, one of the largest

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discoveries in West Africa in recent years. The field's operator Tullow has estimated that its recoverable resources amount to up to one billion barrels.

A BBC reporter in Accra says his death has united Ghanaians in grief.

She says his death was seen as a test for the country's young democracy.

Mills, who started a four-year term in January 2009, was succeeded by Vice-President John Dramani Mahama.

Ghana has won international plaudits for the swift manner in which it handled the transition in a nation known for its divisive politics.

"Today a dark cloud hangs over Ghana, over Africa and indeed over the entire world," Mr Mahama told the thousands of mourners who were able to watch the proceedings on large television screens set up around the square.

"President Mills was the very embodiment of what has been missing from our politics - civility, humility in service, honesty," he said.

The BBC's Vera Kwakofi says people began gathering before dawn in and around Independence Square, dressed in the official colours of mourning - black and red.

Most of the traditional chiefs attended along with their own drummers who pounded out personal messages of grief, she says.

In front of the drummers, dancers performed - the twisting of their hands and arms all had symbolic meanings.

When the military band and cortege carrying the coffin entered the square, the drumming, praise singing and warrior songs stopped, our reporter says.

Mournful flutes played while President Mahama lit the perpetual flame of remembrance for the late president, who was often referred to as "The Prof" - a reference to his long academic career - and "Asumdwoehene", meaning prince of peace in the Twi language.

The president's body has been taken for burial in a bird sanctuary next to the seat of government, the 17th-century Fort Christiansborg, also known as Osu Castle, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

John Atta Mills •Born in western Ghana on 21 July 1944 •Lawyer by profession •Lectured in law for more than 20 years •Vice-president from 1997 to 2001 •Became president in 2009 •Married to a marriage counsellor •Obituary: Ghana's John Atta Mills Over the past two days, thousands of Ghanaians have streamed into Accra to pay their last respects to Mills as he lay in state.

Some mourners queued for hours, many of them wailing …..Ghana's Foreign Minister Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni (L) with grief, in lines up to 10km (6 miles) long outside the State greets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R). She arrived in House in Accra. the West African nation of Benin on Friday on the final stop of "I've been here for about three hours, just to see him, but we're really going to miss him so much here," one woman a 10-day African tour. (AFP ) told the BBC. Mills, who died aged 68, was a senior political figure for Mrs Clinton arrived from Nigeria on Thursday to attend many years. the funeral, on the last stop of her 11-day, seven-nation tour of Between 1997-2001 he served as vice-president to former Africa. military ruler Jerry Rawlings, but distanced himself from his She has held talks with President Mahama. former boss.

Seen as a bastion of democracy in an often turbulent region, He came to power after narrowly winning against a Ghana was chosen by Barack Obama for his first visit to sub- candidate from the then governing New Patriotic Party, Nana Saharan Africa as US president in 2009.

Akufo-Addo, in polls in December 2008.

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

59

Tragedy in Nnewi as Madman kills woman for denying him sex

•Sikh temple members bring in a casket for the funeral and memorial service for the six victims of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin mass shooting in Oak C r e e k , U S A , y e s t e rd a y.

The service was held in the Oak Creek High School.

Three other people were wounded in the shooting last Sunday at the temple. (AP)

I Odogwu Emeka ODOGWU, Nnewi I

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Hundreds gather for Sikh temple shooting memorial UNDREDS of people streamed into a Wisconsin high school yesterday to pay their final respects to six worshippers gunned down by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.

Somber, tearful mourners, most wearing scarves on their heads in the Sikh tradition, greeted victims' family members with hugs at the Oak Creek High School gymnasium. Flowers adorned the six open caskets and a large video screen flashed photos of those killed and injured.

Mourners took their seats as Sikh singers sang hymns in Punjabi, an Indian dialect. One of the singers paused to translate some lyrics into English.

"Dear God, you have given me this body and this soul. This body is doing whatever you want me to do. You take this soul, this is your soul," he said.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder applauded the Sikh community, saying they responded without violence despite witnessing the worst of humankind.

"You've inspired the best of who we

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are," Holder said.

Federal investigators may never know why 40-year-old Wade Michael Page chose to attack strangers in a holy place. What they do know is that the Army veteran opened fire with a 9 mm pistol at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, shortly before Sunday services were due to begin.

Page killed five men and one woman, and injured two other men. Authorities say he then ambushed the first police officer who responded, shooting him nine times and leaving him in critical condition. A second officer then shot Page in the stomach, and Page took his own life with a shot to the head.

Violence against Sikhs is becoming too frequent, Holder told the mourners Friday.

"That is wrong, it is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated," he said.

Several dozen police officers stood by in the gym, watching the service.

Gov. Scott Walker told mourners that the Sikh community has shown that the best way to respond to hatred is with love.

"Today we mourn with you, we pray

with you, we support you," Walker said.

Pardeep Singh Kaleka, the son of the slain temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, said his father was selfless, often telling him that "you make a living by what you make, but you make a life by what you give."

Kaleka, 65, was shot as he tried to fend off Page with a butter knife.

Mourners were expected to later return to the temple where priests would read the Sikh holy book from cover to cover in a traditional rite honoring the dead called "Akhand Path." That process takes 48 hours.

"We want to pay homage to the spirits who are still in there," said Harpreet Singh, a nephew of one of the victims.

The FBI roped off the temple for four days while agents conducted their investigation. They handed the keys back to Sikh leaders Thursday morning, allowing worshippers to replace blood-stained carpets and apply fresh paint to some walls. One bullet hole in a door jamb leading to the main prayer hall was left unrepaired as a memorial to the shooting victims.

Senior U.S. soldier killed by suicide bomber in Afghanistan senior U.S. soldier was killed Kevin J. Griffin, 45, of Laramie, Wyo., the along with a couple of majors by a brigade's senior enlisted soldier. As a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, command sergeant major, Griffin was one and three special forces soldiers were of the brigade's senior leaders and gunned down by an Afghan commander provided leadership and guidance to the who had won their trust and invited them 4,000 man brigade. to dinner.

Also killed in the blast The suicide bomber were Army Maj. struck Wednesday as a Thomas E. Kennedy, 35, group of U.S. military and of West Point, N.Y., and civilian officials from the Air Force Major Walter 4th brigade, 4th Infantry D. Gray, 38, of Conyers, Division were in Sarkowi Ga. Gray was an air in Kunar Province, which liaison officer and flight is located in eastern commander attached to Afghanistan. The suicide the brigade. attacker detonated an The brigade is tasked explosive vest near the with providing security group. in three provinces that Killed in the attack border Pakistan. Based •Griffin were Command Sgt. Maj. in Fort Carson, Colo., the

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Another hits North Iraq Shi'ite mosque, kills five OSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber driving a truck attacked a Shi'ite mosque near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul as yesterday prayers ended, killing at least five people and wounding 70, police and health officials said.

The mosque where the bomber detonated his explosives belonged to the Shabak minority in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of

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madman in Nnewi,Anambra State,yesterday killed a 42-year old woman for allegedly rebuffing his sex advances.

The victim identified as Ebere Okafor was dealt several machete blows by the suspect,according to eye-witnesses.

The woman’s dead body was found at about 5 am at Otolo,on the Okigwe/Nnewi expressway.

The victim,a native of Obiofia Otolo Nnewi was said to be mentally unstable herself and sustained herself selling fire wood at Eke Amobi market.

She was attacked on the premises of Akwudo Central Primary School It was gathered that the madman accosted Ebere demanding sex but the woman walked away only for the madman to go after her,striking her on the left hand with a machete.

She managed to flee the scene but, after apparently losing much blood from the deep wounds inflicted on her, she collapsed in front of a house ,a short distance from the school.

With no one available to rescue her she bled to death where she had collapsed.

Her body was later removed by police officers from Otolo Police station and deposited at Nnamdi Azikwe Teaching Hospital Nnewi.

The police also arrested the suspect who,it was gathered, confessed to the killing although he did not say why he struck.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was not on seat but a senior officer at the station who does not want his name in print confirmed the incident.

Baghdad.

"A suicide car bomber targeted a Shabak mosque in Mwafaqiya village," said Hanin Qaddo, a local Shabak leader. "Part of the mosque building collapsed over the heads of the worshippers as they were leaving."

A wave of attacks on mainly Shi'ite pilgrims and religious sites in recent months has increased worries about sectarian

violence as Iraq's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders struggle to end a crisis over their fragile power-sharing agreement.

The site of yesterday's blast is near disputed territories at the centre of a feud between Baghdad's Arab-led central government and the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north, which runs its own government and armed forces.

brigade arrived in Afghanistan this past April.

The explosion also killed American USAID Foreign Service Officer Ragaei Abdelfattah. Another American foreign service officer and an Afghan civilian were also injured in the attack.

In a statement released Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Abdelfattah's work in eastern Afghanistan over the last year as "critical to our efforts to support Afghanistan's political, economic and security transitions and was an example of the highest standards of service." She said he was so committed to his mission that he had volunteered to serve a second year-long tour in Afghanistan.

The second incident was described by Afghan officials as a clear case of infiltration where a Taliban operative joined the Afghan army, climbed its ranks, and earned the trust of his U.S. counterparts – only to kill them when the opportunity arose.

Afghan sources say the three killed service members were U.S. special forces who had been invited to dinner today in a small village of Mosa Qala, in southern Afghanistan.

The troops had been in touch with a local Afghan commander named Asadullah, trusting him enough to accept the invitation. During the dinner, in which Afghan local police were present, Asadullah opened fire, killing three soldiers and injuring one. He then escaped and joined the Taliban, who quickly boasted of the mission's success.

Omolayole to speak at Vining Memorial Church lecture ormer Chairman/Managing Director of Lever Brothers Nigeria Plc, Dr. Michael Olawole Omolayole, will tomorrow speak at the quarterly lecture series of the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathederal, Ikeja.

Omolayole, who is the guest speaker, will address the parishioners and invited guests on the peculiar ways God has touched his life in the last eight decades.

The octogenarian, a foundation student of the University College, Ibadan, joined Lever Brothers in the late 50s after his graduation from Oxford University where he bagged a post-graduate diploma in education. He would later attend the prestigious Havard Business School, USA, for an advanced management programme.

Dr. Omolayole was also director or chairman on the boards of many blue chips companies such as UAC, National Bank, Chemical and Allied Products and, Ogun State University Investment Company among others.

Omolayole also had a distinguished career in public service. He was a member of the Federal Government Vision 2010 committee and member of the Federal Government Committee of 25 on higher education in Nigeria. He is the honorary life president of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association (Lasgos State branch) and member of the United Kingdom Institute of Directors

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Events planners form association S part of efforts to instill discipline into its members, the Association of Party Professionals and Event Managers of Nigeria (APPOEMN) recently held its inaugural meeting to formally launch the group.

The event, which took at the Lagos City Hall, Lagos Island, attracted dignitaries including the representative of the Lagos State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Aduke Gomez.

Speaking at the event, president of the association, Mrs Omolara Akinlosho-Akande, stated that the idea of forming the association was conceived in 2010, adding that the association has a mission to educate, advance and promote the events industry and its network of professionals across the country.

“Social events have always been part of our culture.

But in the recent past, it has received a sudden boost.

And there is recent desire to mix international growing trends with the existing tradition. Events planners have become a necessity, and with the growing rate of event planners in the country, there is a need to demand professionalism and ethical standards from all.

“Therefore, our mission in APPOEMN is to demand professional and ethical standards from members in order to inspire client confidence and enhance the reputation and interests of its members. There is also the need for us to form a place where people of like-minds can be seen and identified.

A

60 Bowen varsity medical college gets accreditation OWEN University has been given the nod to run its college of medicine programme. The Bowen University Teaching Hospital(BUTH) in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, will serve as the teaching hospital for the university. It has state of the art facilities and infrastructure to enable the university accomplish its goals.

The accreditation was given by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) which said the institution fulďŹ lled all requirements through its strong focus on academic learning and development, huge investment in competent manpower and

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Sen Ashafa donates computers to school s a way of assisting educationdevelopme nt at the grassroots and encourage information technology among students, Senator Gbenga Ashafa in collaboration with EMC IT Company has donated 15 computers, 17 tables and chairs with free internet facilities to Iwerekun Community High school, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.

The students of the school were advised to make good use of the latest facilities given to them.

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infrastructural development.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Titus Olagbemiro, while speaking on the accreditation said it was the vision of the university to provide ďŹ rst rate graduates in key disciplines. He said the College of Medicine is part of the strategic plans of the university to become a centre of learning and research of

distinction.

The Acting Chief Medical Director of Bowen University Teaching Hospital and Provost College of Medicine, Professor Olusola Akute, said the accreditation by the MDCN was basic and fundamental to learning in the college. He said that a medical school has to adhere to a reasonable standard to obtain accreditation.

THE NATION, Saturday, August 11, 2012

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 4-8-12

NSE sustains recovery with 0.26% gain

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CTIVITIES on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed upbeat on Friday as highly capitalised firm continued to rally the overall market position.

The benchmark index at the NSE, the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.26 per cent to close at 23,239.03 points as against 23,178.86 points recorded on Thursday.

Market capitalisation of listed equities added N20 billion to close at N7.397 trillion compared with N7.377 trillion posted on Thursday, a gain of 0.27 per cent.

The uptrend was driven largely by gains by a handful of highly capitalised stocks. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised company on the NSE, gained N1 to

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

close at N115. Nigerian Breweries added N1.50 to close at N119.

Other top gainers included Union Bank of Nigeria Plc with a gain of 23 kobo to close at N4.88 per share. Eterna Oil added 12 kobo to close at N2.68 per share. AG Leventis appreciated by 5.0 kobo to close at N1.14 per share. Flour Mills, Neimenth, UTC, Premier Breweries, GT Assurance, Mobil and Livestock added N2.00, N0.03, N0.03, N0.03, N0.05, N3.49 and N0.03 respectively.

On the other hand, UAC of Nigeria led the losers with a drop of 88 kobo to close at N33.52. Arbico followed with a drop of 82

kobo to close at N15.61. Berger Paint dropped by 38 kobo to close at N7.29. Also on the table were Paint Company, Dangote Sugar, Vitafoam, UBA, Gold Insurance, Royal Exchange, Skye Bank and Diamond Bank with price drop of N0.11, N0.23, N0.15, N0.20, N0.02, N0,02, N0.10 and N0.09 apiece.

In all, turnover dipped by 55 per cent as 192.692 million shares worth N1.522 billion were traded in 3,408 deals compared with 429.57 million shares valued at N1.5 billion and traded on Thursday in 3,821 deals.

The finance services sector again topped the list in terms of volume with 149.556 million shares worth N1.108 billion in 2,007 deals. This was followed by the conglomerates with 13.605 million shares worth N30.030 million across 137 deals.

Other actively traded sectors were consumer goods, oil & gas, services, industrial goods and ICT with 9.289 million shares, 6.894 million shares, 4.403 million shares, 3.523 million shares and 2.352 million shares.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 4-8-12

THE NATION SATUDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

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SPORT EXTRA

Obuh: Fasting will make players stronger

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IGERIA U20s coach John Obuh has said his players who will fast in Sunday’s AYC qualifier against Tanzania will be spiritually stronger.

Several of Obuh’s Flying Eagles will carry on with the Muslim Ramadan fasting during which a person does without food and water from dusk to dawn.

And the coach said on a special Royal Fm 95.1 programme Friday morning that he was confident this would not affect their performance.

“The players fasting should

not be a problem because it is for their own good and will give them more spiritual strength, which is a bigger force than sheer physical power,” Obuh said on Sports File programme.

His team were also observing the fasting when they featured in last year’s FIFA U20 World Cup and reached the last eight.

The Flying Eagles have equally observed special Christian and Muslim prayers for this clash.

On Sunday, the Flying Ea-

gles will defend a 2-1 first leg victory against the Ngorogoro Heroes of Tanzania in continuation of the qualifying series for the 2013 African Youth Championship.

“Ilorin has given me so many victories (when he was coach of local team Kwara United) and it will again give me victory on Sunday,” said Obuh, whose team beat Kwara United and Prime FC in warm-up games leading to this match.

In the meantime, defender Aliyu Mohammed has rejoined the team after he returned to his base in Ukraine soon after the first leg in Tanzania.

The Tanzanians, made up of 18 players and nine officials, arrived Ilorin Friday morning from Lagos.

They are booked at Kingstone Hotel, Offa Garage.

They will train Friday afternoon at the Kwara Football Academy before having their final workout on Saturday at the match venue.

Blackburn Rovers move was easy—Etuhu

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TUHU BLACKBURN Rovers new boy Dickson Etuhu has revealed that it was an easy decision to agree to join the Lancashire club from Fulham.

The Nigeria midfielder, who inked a four-year deal at Ewood Park this summer, looks set to form an experienced backbone to Steve Kean's midfield alongside fellow former Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy.

"This is exciting to me, coming to a big club like this in the Championship, there are some quality players so I thought it would be good to be part of that," he told the East Anglian Daily Times.

"I spoke to the manager, he told me his plans of how he wants to play and the direction he wants to take the club.

"Once I heard of the ambition that the club has, it was a no-brainer for me (to decide to move).”

Etuhu was regarded as a surplus to requirement by Fulham Dutch manager Martin Jol last season.

•Flying Eagles forward, Aminu Umar

Heartland abandons league tie

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E A R T L A N D goalkeeper Akpeyi Heartland on Friday abandoned a rescheduled

Falconets cage Widek girls • As Omagbemi hails team

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IGERIA'S U-20 Women National Team on Friday continued their build up to the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with a 4-1 victory over Widek Univeristy female team in a warm up match played at the Namhae Public Stadium in Korea.

Nigeria's goals were scored by Ebere Orji, Charity Adule, Chisom Henry and Asisat Oshoala in both halves of the encounter.

First Assistant Coach, Florence Omagbemi commended the level of opposition.

"It was a good game for our team and a good build up to the World Cup. So far we are satisfied with the sides that we have played since coming to Korea," explained Omagbemi.

The second string team was fielded by the technical crew unlike Tuesday's friendly which was to gauge the strength of its bench.

While comparing both matches , Omagbemi said the girls are good technically but not tactically better than the boys.

"But they should be hailed.

They had a good goal which could have been beaten any keeper. Also do not forget

that all over the world boys are better than girls in football," she added.

The friendly produced a yellow card collected by the Koreans.

Nigeria's next friendly comes up on August 13.

Nigeria Premier League game at Kaduna United with the home team leading 2-0.

Kaduna United coach Tanko Lato told MTNFootball.com that they did not know why Heartland decided to abandon the game after an hour of action.

"Heartland abandoned the game for no just cause. We were leading 2-0 after 60th minutes with goals from Oliver Insidebe and Tony Michael,” said Lato “We persuaded them to continue the game, but I suspect they didn’t want to

concede more goals, so they decided not to continue with the game."

Heartland spokesman Cajetan Nwokpara told MTNFootball.com that they decided not to continue the game after it was obvious the referee was out make sure they lose.

"The game was inconclusive because our players refused to continue the game after the officiating became so bizarre that they could no longer bear it. Kaduna United were leading 2-0 by then,” he disclosed.

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Sunshine begs for Eagles stars

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UNSHINE STARS have asked for their top stars to be released by the Super Eagles for their CAF Champions League tie in Algeria next week.

The Nigerian flag bearers are now second in Group A behind champions Esperance of Tunisia.

•Keshi

They face ASO Chlef of Algeria in the reverse clash on Saturday after they won the first game 2-0 at home last week.

Top official of Sunshine stars Mike Idoko told MTNFootball.com that they have demanded for skipper Godfrey Oboabona, Izu Azuka, Moses Ocheje and Solomon Kwambe to be excused from a friendly against Niger in Niamey on Wednesday so they could fly out with the Akure club to Algeria.

"We have four players in the Eagles camp, namely Solomon Kwambe, Godfrey Oboabona, Izu Azuka and Moses Ocheje, and they are very important for our crucial game against ASO Chlef in Algeria. We want the NFF to see reasons with us and release at least three of the

four players for our Champions League match,” Idoko disclosed.

“I am in Abuja as I speak with you to appeal to NFF to release the players to us. They have been supportive to us since the competition started and I hope they grant our request on those players.”

He added: “The Eagles game is a friendly, though a buildup to qualifier, while our game in Algeria is a CAF Champions League game that we need to win or get at least a draw.

“We know ASO are a good side, so we need our best players for this game."

The Nigeria Premier League (NPL) have already assisted Sunshine by bringing their Week 37 game against Kwara United forward to Sunday before they jet out to Algeria.

Bolt: No respect for Carl Lewis over drug slur

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EWLY-CROWNED "greatest-ever sprinter" Usain Bolt has said he had lost all respect for Carl Lewis, the man whose on-track exploits he has surpassed with his unique Olympic doubledouble but who still leads the way in self-regard.

American Lewis is the only other man to win two Olympic 100m gold medals, the second coming in 1988 when he was promoted from second place after the disqualification of Ben Johnson. He won the 200m in 1984 but managed only silver four years later. He did, however, have a remarkable run of success in the long jump, winning that event in four successive Games for a tally of nine golds in all.

In the wake of Bolt's triplegold record success in Beijing Lewis was quick to point the finger of suspicion at him and Jamaica in general.

"I think there are some issues," he said at the time.

"Countries like Jamaica do not have a random (drugs testing) program, so they can go months without being tested.

I'm not saying anyone is on anything, but everyone needs to be on a level playing field.

I'm not saying they've done anything for certain. I don't know. But how dare anybody feel that there shouldn't be scrutiny, especially in our sport?" He has continued to fire broadsides ever since but Bolt, now with his sprinting record unquestionably superior, hit back.

"I'm going to say something controversial right now, Carl Lewis - I have no respect for him," Bolt said, having cited 1936 quadruple champion Jesse Owens as a man he held in the highest regard. The things he (Lewis) says about the track athletes, it's really downgrading for another athlete to be saying something

like that about other athletes.

"I think he is just looking for attention really because nobody really talks much about him. It was really sad for me when I heard the other day what he was saying, it was upsetting. So, for me, I've lost all respect for him, all respect. It was all about drugs, about drugs stuff for me. For an athlete to be out of the sport saying that was really upsetting for me. As far as I am concerned he is just looking for attention."

Lewis tested positive three times for a stimulant before the 1988 Games but had the results overturned by American officials.

He was named "Athlete of the 20th Century" by the IOC, the IAAF, and American magazine Sports Illustrated and has always seemed uncomfortable with the idea that someone from the 21st century could surpass his achievements.

•Bolt

Arsenal partners Danjan, committed to Nigeria Tour

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ONDON clubside, Arsenal have reiterated its ambition to come to Nigeria in the near future.

Strong confirmation of the Gunners' visit to Nigeria, one of their biggest African supporter base, was given by Arsenal influential playersLukas Podoski and Per Martesaker during a recent visit to Nigeria in solidarity with the tour promoter, Danjan.

The meering, which took place at the Eko Hotels Lagos was between Dan Jan big

wigs, Rasak Bello-Osagie, David Omigie and Waidi Akanni with Podoski and Martesaker. speaking, Akanni, who is the Lagos coordinator of the tour said Danjan was happy with the visit of the Arsenal players, which was to reaffirm its commitment to the Nigeria Tour.

The pre-season tour of Nigeria, which was to have kicked off with a match against the Super Eagles on August 5 was postponed at the instance of Londoners.

• Arsenal player, Lukas Podoski in warm handshake with Rasak Bello-Osagie of Danjan Tour Promoter official, while others (from far left), Waidi Akanni, David Omigie and Per Martesaker look on with admiration during Arsenal players’ visit to Nigeria.

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012

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SPORT EXTRA

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Enyeama’s return to Israel good—Shorunmu

UPER EAGLES’ Goalkeeper Trainer, Ike Shorunmu has lauded the loan move of Eagles Vice Captain and first choice in goal, Vincent Enyeama from

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja his current club Lille of France to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.

The former Eagles’

goalkeeper said he actually advised Enyeama to have a change of scene from France and move to a place where he can play regularly instead of warming the bench at Lille.

“The good thing is that Vincent made a move now because before this time around we had a dialogue and I told him, you are the main man now and you know what you have passed through last season. I told him I know his abilities as a good and very experienced goalkeeper and I told him that I want the best thing for him and that he should be aware of the fact that time is no longer on his side and must take a wise decision.

“He now replied me senior man, no problem as soon as

possible things will work out.

So I was happy when Vincent made a (year) loan move from his club Lille of France to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel. This is good for him although a lot of people are saying that he ought to have moved to another quality team in Europe like France, Germany or Spain.

“What they don’t understand is that all European club now are trying to build their own goalkeepers back home. So for any foreigner to come in it’s a little bit tight. So for him to get this kind of chance where he will play week in and week out, I think it’s very good for him”, Shorunmu told NationSport in Abuja.

Siasia commends MTN on Automania game

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ORMER Super Eagles’ Chief Coach, Samson Siasia has lauded the initiative of telecommunication giant, MTN for doling out 14 Sport Utility Vehicle (SUVs) to subscribers in the Abuja MTN Goodwill Automania game held at the Nicon Luxury Abuja yesterday.

Speaking with NationSport during the presentation of the cars, the coach who together made the presentations to the 14 winners of the SUV in the company of Nollywood film actor, Larry Koldsweat, said he was particularly impressed with the fulfillment of the promises by the MTN and the winning of the some of the cars by the youths involved in the game.

“I think what MTN did today

AFRICAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS

Go for victory against Tanzania, Glo urges F/ Eagles • Enyeama’

Keshi: Niger clash a must win

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UPER EAGLES’ helmsman, Stephen Keshi has charged his players to ensure they beat Niger Republic in Niamey on Wednesday saying he never like losing any game.

“Although, the outcome of the match is not really what I want or looking for but that doesn’t mean that I want to lose the match away to Niger.

I will tell you honestly I am eyeing a victory in Niamey”, Keshi confessed to NationSport in Abuja at the weekend He explained that, “We are building a different mentality of winning matches and playing good football. That is what we are trying to build here. We are not going out there (in Niger Republic) to lose, we don’t want that. Our focus is that the team plays the right way we want them to play against Liberia and getting the formation right and also building the self confidence, self esteem are very crucial for us.

“The home based players are beginning to be used to the picture or the vision of where we are going to with the professionals too. The last three weeks that we spent together last June have afforded them the opportunity of seeing where we are going to. We talked about it. I told them this is my vision for the team and they told me Coach let’s go we can do it.

“I am very impressed with their attitude in June when they came and their professionalism too was

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja good. I can never ask for more than that. The discipline level was so high and the atmosphere in camp was good too. If only we can keep this momentum going and the players knowing that it is not holidays in national team but about the players being committed and giving 100 percent I think we get to where we are going. I think we are in the right direction”, the former Eagles Captain popularly called the Big Boss told NationSport.

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E A D I N G Telecommunications operator, Globacom has advised the U-20 National team, Flying Eagles to work towards victory in their African Youth Championship qualifying match against Ngorongoro Heroes of Tanzania in Ilorin on Sunday.

A statement from Globacom on Friday exhorted the Flying Eagles to go for outright victory to boost their chances of qualifying for the next African Youth Championship.

“The Match is a must-win for Nigeria”, the company said, adding that their victory over the Tanzanians would bring smiles on the faces of Nigerians, particularly at this period when Nigeria has of recent recorded a string of losses in competitive sports.

Globacom also commended the team for their outstanding performance during the first leg, in which they defeated the Tanzanians by two goals to one in Dar es alam.

The statement encouraged the John Obuh-led coaching crew to correct the lapses noticed in the Dar es salam encounter as they prepare for the last hurdle.

The Sunday match is the

Kano, Kwara clash as Milo Basketball Championship ends in style today

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ANO’S Ahmadiyyah College will be aiming to defend its title in the boys event of the 14th Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship, as the Coach Shuaibu Maitama-tutored team confronts Kwara’s Government Secondary School in today’s epic final holding at the Indoor Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos.

With plans by Nestle Nigeria Plc to make today’s final glamorous as top artiste, Davido, will spice up the atmosphere during the event scheduled to kick off at 10am. Kano team unbeaten run streak was not halted yesterday in the semifinal match, as the northern team overwhelmed their Lagos State counterpart, International School, Lagos (ISL) 52-27 to berth in the final. Western Conference champion, Kwara managed to beat Ebonyi’s St August School

40-36 in the second semifinal tie to set up a final clash against Kano.

In the girls’ event, defending champion, Benue’s Queen of the Rosary failed to make it to their second consecutive final after they were pummeled by Delta’s Anglican Girls Grammar School 29-24 in the first semifinal match.

Although the handler of the Benue side, Yende Terkimbi has boasted that they are in Lagos to retain the title. But the coach was made to chew his words when his girls could not withstand the skills of the Asaba girls. However, it was the end of the road for the home team, Lagos’ Ajigbeda Girls School, as they were also thrashed

by Bayelsa’s St Jude Girls School 28-14 for the competition to be looking forward to a new champion in the girls’ division. It will be a fight between two Niger Delta States, as Delta and Bayelsa tango in today’s girls’ final.

return leg of a second round fixture. The winner of the encounter will slug it out with the winner of the match between South Africa and Congo Brazzaville for a place at the eight-nation African Youth Championship scheduled for Algeria in March 2013.

Globacom is the official sponsor of the Nigerian national teams.

•Siasia

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja is very good. Sometimes you think this raffle draw games are fake things but now we actually know that anybody that plays their raffle and win will certainly be given their prizes. By so doing MTN is encouraging people in what they say and promise and that is the reason why I identify with the brand any way.

“Some of the teenagers or rather the youths that won the SUVs today must thank their stars because they are very lucky. For them to buy a car like this will take them ages.

So for them to just text yes to number 1010 and win this expensive cars today is great.

Those that have called this exercise before will now believe it’s for real and would like to play next time.

Some of the lucky winners are; Wasiri Ibrahim, a Custom Officer from Katsina Command, Chief Ugochukwu Hyginus from Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, James Sylvester Angut from Plateau State, Nnaemeka Eyah frfom Makurdi, Ibrahim Sulieman from Kaduna, Dandy Odionye from Lagos, Edmond Isang Eddu from Calabar, Egbu Arinze Vitalis from Lagos, Ibe Chike Kelly, Lagos, Ayodele Sunday from Yagaba East, Lasisi Wasiu Charles from Owo, Ondo State, Udekwe Onyeka from Saki, Oyo State, Monday Chima from Enugu and Benjamin Akhuemokhan from Benin City.

Count your blessings (1) • Continued from back exercises. Others attend refresher courses and are better equipped when pitched against Nigerians coaches.

Our coaches’ poor techniques kill our athletes’ talents at the grassroots because they are taught the mundane tricks of sport. Little wonder, when the extremely talented ones get global recognition, they excel because the rustic aspects of their game are corrected.

Coaching has gone scientific and it showed in all the winners at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Rules are dynamic. Older rules give way for newer ones. Even athletes garbs are modernised for easy mobility and equipment are upgraded towards ensuring enhanced performance. With a better equipped coach, Nigeria’s basketball team would have given USA’s Dream Team a tougher challenge.

I watched from the stands how the Americans repeatedly loosened up before the Nigeria game by throwing the ball from the distance. I told Vanguard Group Sports Editor Onochie Anibeze that the Americans wanted to wreck us with three pointers. I pointed at the way our players loosened up as if they were about to play a football match. They later returned to throwing the ball into the rung.

The difference was clear. We were not as efficient as the Americans and it showed when the game began.

“Ade, Ade, see trouble o. you were right in the technique that the Americans wanted to adopt, but what are our coaches doing?” Anibeze screamed. I kept quiet as the Americans ran us to tatters, using the three pointers and accurate shooting inside the Dee line. It was clear that the Americans watched our old matches and came with the three-pointer joker.

What did our coaches do for the game? The devastating result told the story of how Nigerian coaches prepared from the game.

It was quite a spectacle watching these Americans. Poor coaching diminished our players’ talents, making them look like upstarts. Of course, you give what you have and I hope that the basketball coaches are prepared to update their knowledge. Sports have gone beyond players’ sheer determination and prayer sessions. It is about players’ innate skills and how they apply their coaches’s tactics during competitions.

Blessing Okagbare would have returned from the Olympics with a gold medal around her neck if she represented another country. She had shown a champions stuff, running in major athletics Grand Prix, hence she was touted to be the one to beat in the 100 metres.

Rather than look at the finer details of Okagbare’s feats with particular attention on how she prosecutes her races, we went to town celebrating. Okagbare is a good athlete, but like Usain Bolt, she has problems with taking off from the starter’s block and it showed in all her races.

Yet, we saw how Bolt overcame his through the concerted efforts of his coaches and the running spikes that he used. Whilst Bolt prepared for the Olympics, special attention was paid to his starting to such an extent that he only raised his head after the six seconds.

From what Bolt did in training, it didn’t come as a surprise that he caught up with others after six seconds despite his seemingly poor start. Recall that at the World Athletics Championships in Degu, Bolt didn’t run because he made a false start. Apparently, the work to improve on his slow start had begun.

Okagbare is somewhere bemoaning her fate: She could remain in that state until the Commonwealth Games, except we get her and others good coaches.

Okagbare has a big future but she must be packaged like the champion that she is. She needs a trainer, a dietician, a nutrutionist, a doctor, pyscologists et al. Others like her have such a team of experts. She needs them to shine on the big stage. It is possible as the 2014 Commonwealth Games beckons.

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 2214

If we have given successive governments the responsibility of implementing budgets on our behalf over the years with dismal results, why not allow Nigerians, at least for once, to take their destiny in their own hands?. Let the governments share the budgets directly amongst them!

—Tunji Adegboyega

N

IGERIA'S political system offers an in teresting paradox. The country's ex ecutive presidency is easily one of the most powerful offices in the world. Yet, the Nigerian state is one of the weakest and most inefficacious and is tottering critically on the brink of collapse. It seems to me that there is an inexorable link between the inordinate power of the presidency and the functional vulnerability of the Nigerian state. In optimally performing state systems, the executive is necessarily circumscribed by effective checks and balances, with other arms of government contributing maximally and qualitatively to the public policy decision-making and implementation process. Here, however, the executive presidency is so powerful that it not only dwarfs other arms of government, it directly or indirectly inhibits the capacity of both the legislature and executive to perform their functions objectively and optimally in the public interest. There is, therefore, a lack of symmetry among the arms of government with the presidency being a veritable albatross weighing the entire system down. I refer here to the presidency as an institution and not necessarily the government of President Goodluck Jonathan. Furthermore, much of what I say about the presidency applies equally to the states where, irrespective of party affiliation, many governors are miniature presidential tyrants!

Ordinarily, President Barack Obama is regarded as the most powerful political office holder in the world. This is by virtue of the status of the country he leads as the lone super power in an emergent uni-polar world, the strength of the American economy, the might of its military, the depth of its democratic institutions and the vigour of its liberal traditions. Yet, in reality, Obama or any American President wields much less individual power than his Nigerian counterpart.

This is because of deliberate systemic fortifications to protect the American presidency against the tendency of power to pervert and absolute power to pervert absolutely. Thus, in exercising the immense powers of his office, the American President must contend with a vigorous party system, fierce and vigilant opposition, a rigorous legislature, an independent judiciary, a vibrant civil society and a thoroughly professional and independent media. These countervailing centres of power go a long way to help protect the executive office holder in America against his own failings and weaknesses.

Again, if a presidential system of government is not to degenerate into sheer executive tyranny even if in democratic guise, critical organs of state must enjoy a reasonable degree of 'relative autonomy' from the control and domination of the presidency. It is inconceivable, for instance, that the secret services, police, the military, electoral system or critical regulatory agencies can be politically manipulated by an American President the way that is the norm here. Indeed, the quality of the members of the United States Cabinet is such that the President must necessarily respect and take their views seri-

Presidency as albatross

‘

For starters, the notion that the President must necessarily be the leader of his political party is arrant nonsense and must stop forthwith. The President cannot be bigger than the platform that provided him an opportunity to be elected

•Jonathan ously, even though the responsibility for the final decision rests on his shoulders. The Cabinet of the United States can simply not be a body to rubberstamp the President's whims.

But what did we experience here, for instance, during late President Umaru Yar’Adua's long incapacitation? The Federal Executive Council was unable to take the right decision on the President's ill health in line with its constitutional responsibility and the best interest of the country. Obviously the loyalty of the (FEC) members is first and foremost to the President who appoints them rather than the constitution they swore to uphold. What then is the quality of decision making to be expected from such a body? How will a strong presidency not end up superintending a weak and unviable state when public decisions are most times informed not by the highest logical rigour and commitment to public good, but the idiosyncrasies of a supposedly all knowing elected 'potentate'?

What is intriguing about the development of the presidential system in Nigeria is that we consciously and deliberately opted for a presidency with such pervasive powers. Even if they did not expressly say so, the leading minds that engineered Nigeria's transition

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from the parliamentary to the presidential system in the Second Republic were influenced by the spirit of Thomas Hobbes, the 17th century English political philosopher.

Apparently determined to avert another descent to the veritable 'state of nature' - solitary, nasty, brutish and short - that consumed the First Republic and resulted in civil war, they fashioned for the country an all-powerful Leviathan presidency that would be the focus of national unity, loyalty and stability.

Of course, the late Dr. Bala Usman, who along with Dr. Segun Osoba, produced a minority draft constitution different from the majority document of the Constituent Assembly that became the 1979 constitution, saw through the fallacy of this Hobbesian logic.

How prophetic Dr. Usman has proven to be when he made the following observation over two and a half decades ago: "The justification they give for making the office of President so powerful is that he will provide effective government and become a focus of national unity. But it is not clear how this effectiveness and loyalty will develop if there are no provisions to ensure that the president will be elected and operate during his term as somebody who, with his team, stands for a definite political programme and poli-

cies. Unless this is ensured, the president will be seen as standing for nothing more than his personality and ultimately his place of origin". Rather than being a focus of national unity, the Nigerian presidency has become the object of fractious zoning wars. Loyalty of key public functionaries and agencies to the president as an individual rather than the constitution is undermining the integrity of the Nigerian state. The Nigerian presidency has become an albatross obstructing the deepening of democracy and the development of the economy.

Under the authoritarian and impulsive General Olusegun Obasanjo, we saw how the all-powerful Nigerian presidency bred Messianic delusions that ultimately resulted in the third term agenda fiasco. Professional palace sycophants were already referring to the nationalistic General as the 'founder' and 'architect' of modern Nigeria with his tacit approval! And gradually, we are seeing the monstrous Nigerian presidency transform an otherwise unassuming and humble Dr. Goodluck Jonathan into a haughty person remarkably different from the one Nigerians massively voted for at the last polls. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between Dr. Jonathan and the Pharaohs or Nebuchadnezzers he once publicly disavowed. We will recall his assertion on national television that he would not publicly declare his assets and didn't 'give a damn' what anybody thought about it. Again, consider the utter disrespect with which he completely ignored the invitation by the House of Representatives to address them on the country's fragile security. President Jonathan has treated the judiciary with the same insolence and disdain by pointedly disregarding the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) that the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, is guiltless and should be reinstated.

Please don't get me wrong. It is not that President Jonathan is necessarily bad. Rather, the powers of the Nigerian presidency are so awesome that they will most likely pervert anyone who occupies the office, irrespective of his party platform. The challenge for the legislature is certainly not that of commencing impeachment proceedings against President Jonathan as the House of Representatives has threatened if there is no improvement in the implementation of the 2012 budget. Nigeria can ill afford that distraction now.

Rather, the challenge is to tame a rampaging presidency, curb its excessive powers and convert it into a vehicle for democracy and development in Nigeria. Achieving this will necessarily involve, among others, a cohesive, serious and focussed opposition, a knowledgeable and patriotic legislature, a truly professional and committed public service as well as an alert and incorruptible media. For starters, the notion that the President must necessarily be the leader of his political party is arrant nonsense and must stop forthwith. The President cannot be bigger than the platform that provided him an opportunity to be elected.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Count your blessings (1)

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flashback: Nigeria performed badly at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, according to pundits. And those who thought they loved the beautiful game better than others recommended to President Goodluck Jonathan to withdraw Nigeria from all soccer competitions to allow for proper rebuilding.

Trust Jonathan team player; he heeded the advice of his trusted ones in the Presidential Task Force (PTF). The President announced the ban. Many cried foul. Nigerians stormed the social media to connect with President Jonathan. They advanced reasons that the PTF men hid from the President. FIFA threatened a ban. Football stakeholdersplayers, coaches, referees and ancillary staff of the game went to churches, mosques and

all manner of assembling points to pray for a change of heart.

Jonathan listened to the voice of the masses and rescinded his decision.

Today, Nigeria has participated in her worst Olympic Games ever. Should we tell the President to withdraw Nigeria from all global sporting events?

I say ‘no’ because most of those sports men and women are professionals who earn a living from doing sports. I also don’t want to join the maddening crowd calling for anyone’s sack. Rather, I want us to build on the lessons that we have learnt and make holistic changes, having in mind the Commonwealth Games, which holds in Glasgow in 2014.

So, what are the lessons? Coaching is the key to sports development. It sets the formats for athletes’ growth. It distinguishes

athletes during competitions. It emboldens athletes to be professional in their conduct.

Without good coaches, the athletes’ foundation is faulty- no matter how talented they are. It is what the coaches expose athletes to that they imbibe and execute during competitions. Once the wrong techniques are introduced to athletes, it is always difficult for them later to learn and accept new tricks of their game. Don’t habits die hard?

Going to the London 2012 Olympic Games, coaching was certainly our biggest challenge, given the steady decline in sports in this polity. Nigeria headed for the Olympic Games with ageing and rehabilitated athletes. No new names were included in the contingent because of the absence of local competitions and our refusal to attend international tournaments for spurious reasons, such as lack of cash, inability to secure entry visas for athletes and sometimes, the

failure of the federations to accredit athletes.

Very few sports competitions were held in this country due to the lack of vision by those who administer sports from the 36 states and Abuja. Sadly, these inept sports administrators form the nucleus of the national sports federations, hence the dearth of competitions, the opium of sports development.

Whereas other countries keep discovering new athletes through hosting and participating in competitions, we delude ourselves by insisting on parading older athletes, hiding under the cover that they are experienced-as if they didn’t start representing Nigeria as rookies.

Our coaches are lazy. They are not adventurous. They are blinded by fixations, hence the need to stick to the past in fielding athletes for competitions. They are scared of taking risks. They refer to err on the side of caution and won’t enrol for refresher courses to update their knowledge. They wait for free cash from the government to do such

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